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Studies Vitamin E, Protein Valuable to Runners Strength Training Update
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Posted:
February 13, 2005
While veteran runners and ambitious
joggers toil through the winter months as they prepare for the spring
marathon season, two recent studies suggest that vitamin E and
protein
supplements can bolster the body's health during times of demanding
exercise.
Researchers in Oregon examined the
benefits of vitamin
E supplements for runners in a 50-kilometer (31 mile) ultramarathon
in Corvallis. Their study found that runners taking vitamin E did not
experience the usual increase in lipid oxidation a kind of damage that
can weaken cells and cause long-term cardiovascular problems that
results from extreme exercise.
"We looked at a marker of oxidative
damage," said Dr. Maret Traber, principal investigator at the Linus
Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Traber helped conduct the
study, published in May in the medical journal Free Radical Biology.
"It's called isoprostane, and
isoprostanes are important because they're associated with an increased
risk of heart disease. So we were really interested. Could we protect
the runners?" she asked.
The answer was yes.
Traber said a daily dose of 400
international units of vitamin
E protects endurance athletes from damage that is linked to a number
of long-range health problems, including diabetes, stroke, heart disease
and Alzheimer's. She stressed, however, that a vitamin E supplement is
necessary because the amount found in a regular diet isn't enough.
A study published Jan. 4 in the
Annals of Internal Medicine suggested that high doses of vitamin E may
slightly raise overall mortality. The study examined 19 clinical trials
involving more than 130,000 participants, and some critics said they
were not persuaded because of the difficulty in combining results from
several studies.
Meanwhile, another study shows that
protein supplements consumption after exercise can help to maintain the
body's short-term health during intense training periods.
Researchers at Iowa State University
studied Marines during their 54-day basic training. A third of the
recruits received a protein supplement after workout sessions, while the
rest received a carbohydrate supplement or a placebo. The protein group
experienced fewer infections, fewer treatments for muscle soreness and
far less heat exhaustion than the others.
While protein has been known to help
rebuild muscles after physical stress, the results of the study extend
beyond that, said Paul Flakoll, a professor of nutrition at Iowa State
who published the study in the Journal of Applied Physiology in March.
"People training at that level
marathoners are a good example a lot of times have compromised immune
function," he said. "There's been a lot of work with
antioxidants in marathon runners, but it looks like protein may be very
important for that as well."
Flakoll emphasized protein should be
consumed immediately after exercise, but he said that an appropriate
amount can be found in protein milkshakes or bars or in protein-rich
food. A pill isn't necessary.
That approach may please marathoner Deena Kastor, 31. The 2004 Olympic
bronze-medalist said nutrition is essential
to her success, but she doesn't get wrapped up in the multitude of
"gimmick" supplements or diets that continually appear on the
market.
"I believe that you can get all the
nutrition you need through food that you eat, so I don't believe in
supplementation at all," Kastor said. "I definitely try to get
a combination of proteins and carbohydrates within a half hour of
running, but I'd rather get it though eating some leftover steak from
the night before and throwing it into some pasta."
Food or pills, or both, is an athlete's
decision, but any runner preparing for a marathon should monitor
nutrition as meticulously as training, Traber said.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm for
extreme exercise. Yes, do the extreme exercise, but protect
yourself."
Source: Scripps Howard News Service.
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