Many of us probably started the new year’s resolution of doing more exercise. In this issue, we will take a look at some of the most commonly taken supplements/herbs for exercise or athletic performance.
Some supplements will help, some will not. Some you might not need and some you will want to avoid if you are a competitive athlete.
Beet juice or Beet supplements
Beets and beet juice are among the best food sources with nitrate. Beet juice might improve athletic performance because the body converts some of this nitrate to nitric oxide, which expands blood vessels. This blood vessel expansion increases blood flow and the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to exercising muscle. The expanded blood vessels also speed up the removal of waste products that cause muscle fatigue.
Many, but not all, studies have found that beet juice can improve performance and endurance in aerobic activities like running, swimming, cycling, and rowing, but whether it helps with strength training and bodybuilding exercises isn’t known. Beet juice is more likely to improve the performance of recreational exercisers than highly trained athletes.
Safety: Drinking moderate amounts of beet juice is safe, but it can turn your urine and stool pink or red. Don’t rush to see your doctor for GI issues if this occurs after drinking beet juice.
Dosage: The usual approach in studies is for participants to drink 2 cups of beet juice about 2.5 to 3 hours before exercise.
Creatine
Creatine is a compound that is stored in your muscles and supplies them with energy. Your body produces some creatine (about 1 gram a day), and you get some creatine from eating animal-based foods, such as beef and salmon (about 500 milligrams in a 4-ounce serving). However, it is only when you take much larger amounts of creatine from dietary supplements that it might improve certain types of performance
Creatine supplements can improve strength, power, and the ability to contract muscles for maximum effort, but the extent of performance improvements from creatine supplements differs among individuals.
Use of creatine supplements for several weeks or months can help with training. Overall, creatine enhances performance during repeated short bursts of intense, intermittent activity (lasting up to about 2.5 minutes at a time), such as sprinting and weightlifting. Creatine seems to have little value for endurance activities, such as distance running, cycling, or swimming.
Sports-medicine experts agree that creatine supplements can improve performance in activities that involve intense effort followed by short recovery periods. It can also be valuable in training for certain athletic competitions.
Safety: Creatine is safe for healthy adults to take for several weeks or months. It also seems safe for long-term use over several years. Creatine usually causes some weight gain because it increases water retention. Rare individual reactions to creatine include some muscle stiffness and cramps as well as GI distress.
Dosage: In studies, people often took a loading dose of about 20 grams per day of creatine (in four equal portions) for 5 to 7 days first and then 3 to 5 grams a day to maintain.
Tart or sour cherry
Tart or sour cherries of the Montmorency variety contain compounds that might help recover from strenuous exercise. Specifically, these cherries might help to reduce pain, muscle damage from strength-related activities, and lung trauma from endurance activities that require deep, heavy breathing.
Here’s limited research on tart cherry as a performance supplement. The studies that have been done suggest that it might help bodybuilders recover their strength faster and feel less muscle soreness after exercising. The supplements could also help runners race faster and be less likely to develop a cold or respiratory problem after a marathon.
Safety
Studies of tart-cherry products in athletes have not shown any side effects, but the safety of tart-cherry supplements has not been well studied.
Dosage:
The typical dose is about 2 cups of juice or 500 milligrams of tart-cherry-skin powder daily for a week before the exercise and for 2 days afterwards.
Ginseng
Ginseng is the root of a plant used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine. Some experts believe that Panax (also known as Chinese) ginseng improve stamina and vitality. Siberian or Russian ginseng has been used to fight fatigue and strengthen the immune system. However, there is no large trial to prove this right or wrong.
Safety:
Ginseng consumption is generally safe, especially in the older population. However, taking ginseng for certain individuals may cause headaches or GI effects and disturb sleep, esp. for the younger population.
Dosage: Ginseng is expensive even in raw herb form, use 1-2 thin slices to make tea in boiled water, refill with hot water several times until the flavor is gone and you can chew the soaked slices to eat them too. Chinese ginseng is better in the winter months for its warming property. American ginseng is Qi to take in summer time for its cooling effect.
Supplements that you might need to avoid if you are a competitive athlete:
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
DHEA is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands. Your body converts some DHEA into testosterone, the male hormone that enhances muscle size and strength.
There’s been little study of the use of DHEA supplements to improve performance. The few published studies (all in men) have found no benefit from taking the supplement. Muscle size or strength and aerobic capacity didn’t improve, and testosterone levels didn’t rise.
Safety:
DHEA hasn’t been studied enough to know whether it’s safe to take. Two small studies in men found no side effects, but in women, taking DHEA supplements for months can increase testosterone levels, which can cause acne and facial hair growth.
Important to know:
There’s no scientific evidence to support taking DHEA to improve exercise or athletic performance. The National Collegiate Athletic Association and the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibit the use of DHEA in athletic competitions.
Supplements that you might not need for performance purposes:
Antioxidants
Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Coenzyme Q10)
The idea behind taking antioxidants in sports performance enhancement is : When exercising, you take in more oxygen than when not exercising. As a result, free radicals form and can damage muscle cells. Antioxidants can reduce free-radical damage to muscles, that is why some people think that taking these supplements might reduce muscle inflammation, soreness, and fatigue.
Actually, that is not the case. The free radicals that form when you exercise would help muscle fibers grow and produce more energy. Antioxidant supplements might actually reduce some of the benefits of exercise, including muscle growth and power output. Also, they have little effect on aerobic fitness and performance in endurance activities like distance running.
Everyone probably needs those nutrients for good health, but too much of Vitamin E could be harmful, but a typical supplement of Vitamin c 1000mg/day and Vitamin E 500mg in most supplements are still considered below the upper limits, side effects of coQ10 could be fatigue, insomnia, headache, and GI discomfort, but usually mild.
Overall, if you consume an adequate nutritious diet, you don’t need to supplement them.
