Research TidBits

Her is a list of archived research tidbits featured on the sidebar . . .

February 2010

• Do athletes still need to worry about contamination in commercial sports supplements?  Yes, according to Stear, PhD (English Institute of Sport)  A study of 634 nutrition supplements (bodybuilding and weight loss products) indicates that about 15% contained a banned substance, even though it came from a factory that didn’t make the banned substance (i.e. steroids, ephedrine)

January 2010

• A study looking at the prevalence of the female athlete triad in adolescent athletes found that, although few had all aspects, 20% of the athletes (n=170), met at least one of the criteria (Nichols JF, 2006).  The female athlete triad consists of 3 health disorders:  low-energy availability (w/ or w/o an eating disorder), osteoporosis, and amenorrhea.

• Tart cherry juice may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.  Trained runners who drank two 10.5 oz bottles of tart cherry juice for 1 week before the 192-mi Mt. Hood to Oregon Coast relay race reported less post-race muscle pain than the placebo (ACSM annual meeting, abstract 851).

• Research has shown that consuming a sports drink with glucose + fructose leads to a 20% to 50% higher oxidation rate than glucose alone.  But does it matter if the CHO is in the form of a drink or a gel?  No.  Both gels and sports drinks were oxidized at a rate of about 1.4g CHO/min and were equally effective for cyclists during an exercise test (60% VO2max) (ACSM annual meeting, abstract 1456).