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Athlete's Ultimate Guide to Sport Supplements Endurance Athlete

Products Catalog

By Kim Brown, MS, RD,

Sports Nutritionist Sports scientists are a constant mission of discovery when it comes to potentially performance-enhancing supplements. However, one should always be skeptical when entering the supplement world as the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) does not regulate the claims often made by supplement companies. Furthermore, a lot of supplements have not been involved in any well controlled research studies to back some of their pretty amazing claims. Even the supplements that have been involved in well-controlled research studies have shown mixed results, meaning that not all will “respond” the same way to a certain dose of the supplement. It is recommended to discuss with your physician any potential side effects or interactions associated your supplement of choice. Furthermore, it is never recommended to exceed the doses recommended by the manufacturer, even if you don’t find yourself “responding”. Below, I provide a sampling of some of the more popular sport supplements on the market today.

Protein Amino Acids In Greek, protein means “to take first place,” a feat many of us in the endurance world would like to accomplish. Scientifically speaking, proteins are large, complex molecules that make up 20% of our body weight in the form of muscle, bone, cartilage, skin, as well as other tissues and body fluids. During digestion, protein is broken down into at least 100 individual chemical building blocks known as amino acids that form a little pool within our liver and are used to build muscle, skin, hair, nails, eyes, hormones, enzymes, antibodies, and nerve chemicals. Inadequate protein intake leads to a dehydrated amino acid pool and consequent breakdown of healthy cells without repair, ultimately leading to elevated injury risk, slowed recovery time, increased feelings of lethargy, and poor athletic performance. Consequently, scientists have been evaluating the effectiveness of protein and amino acid supplementation for improved muscle performance and enhanced muscle recovery in endurance athletes.

Branch Chained Amino Acids (BCAAs): Branch chained amino acids, which include leucine, isoleucine, and valine, are essential for aerobic metabolism and may have performance enhancing qualities for endurance events lasting greater than 3 hours. During endurance activity, BCAA levels decrease as they are taken up by skeletal muscle, which triggers the ratio of serum BCAA to tryptophan to skew in favor of tryptophan, an amino acid that increases serotonin formation, ultimately enhancing the perception of fatigue. Furthermore, a decline in BCAA may accelerate breakdown of muscle glycogen, thereby contributing to premature muscle fatigue, otherwise known as “hitting the wall”. Edward Blomstrand, PhD, of Research Laboratories in Stockholm, Sweden discovered that supplementation with three grams of BCAAs helped to maintain adequate BCAA levels, thereby muting the increase in serotonin levels and improving the usage of available fuel and protecting against protein breakdown in 7 highly trained endurance cyclists.

Featured Supplement:

Universal Nutrition Amino Nitro

Providing a unique blend of amino acids, including branch chained amino acids, arginine, and glutamine in the ideal concentration for a quick, yet steady, absorption rate, Amino Vital has been shown to help minimize muscle damage and soreness as well as promote quick muscle recovery during intense endurance training. To implement Universal Nutrition Amino Nitro into your training regimen, For better results, take 2 packs daily --the first immediately before training, and the second within 30 minutes after. If you use a post-training protein shake, wait at least another 30-45 minutes after you’ve taken the Animal Nitro pack before drinking your shake. Always take Animal Nitro on an empty stomach, preferably with 8 oz. of grape or other fruit juice.

L-Glutamine:

Accounting for more than 60% of the total intramuscular free amino acid pool, glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body and consequently essentially every cell in the body uses it. Because glutamine is synthesized in both skeletal muscle and in adipose tissue in addition to the lungs, liver and brain, it is not considered an essential amino acid. However, there is evidence that our body cannot produce enough glutamine during times of stress, like intense exercise, to keep up with demand, thereby making it more essential than some may think. Clinical research has verified that overtrained endurance athletes suffer from chronic low plasma glutamine levels, which have been shown to contribute to muscle breakdown, diminished immune function, and reduced performance.

Supplementation with 6-8 grams/day of BCAA and glutamine has been shown to decrease protein degradation during ultra-distance triathlon competition, decrease exercise induced muscle damage after prolonged running, and improved performance in 40K cycling time trial performance. Furthermore, there seems to be an immuno-enhancing effect, helping to reduce the incidence of infection post-event. Endurance athletes should aim at consuming 6-8 grams of glutamine with a pre-exercise meal approximately 1-2 hours before a long training session (ie greater than 2 hours), and supplement with .5-.75 grams/hour during training in addition to a carbohydrate containing energy replacement drink. Furthermore, a dosing of glutamine immediately following long exhaustive exercise will help enhance muscle recovery.

Featured Supplement:

EAS L-Glutamine EAS L-Glutamine powder has no taste or odor and dissolves easily in water. It can be mixed with your favorite protein shake to enhance dietary intake of Glutamine. To meet the recommendations stated above, aim at consuming 1.5 scoops in the 1-2 hours prior to long training bouts, approximately 1/6 scoop each hour of training, and another 1.5 scoops immediately post training. For more information, go to Soy Protein: With its complete amino acid profile and high percentage of BCAAs, soy protein is a popular protein supplement for vegetarian athletes as well as athletes looking to reap the benefits of the phytochemicals found in soy which have been show to lower cholesterol levels, enhance bone health, boost immune function, as well as decrease risk for certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. In China, medical researchers linked the consumption of soymilk to a 50% risk reduction for stomach cancer. Studies done in Hong Kong suggest that daily soy consumption was a primary factor in a 50% reduction in the incidence of lung cancer. Studies have established a suggested daily requirement of at least a half-gram of protein per pound of body weight for endurance athletes. Many researchers encourage a total daily intake of 25 grams of soy protein to reap the most health benefit.

Whey Protein Isolate: One of two protein types found in milk, whey protein contains all the essential amino acids and has a 25% higher BCAA composition as compared to other protein sources. Because of its quick absorption rate, whey is also well tolerated by athletes. A recent study conducted at James Madison University by Saunders and colleagues discovered the addition of whey protein (1.8% concentration) to carbohydrate post workout reduced post-exercise creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, a common indicator of muscular damage, by 83% (p < .05) as compared to athletes only consuming carbohydrate, which indicates whey protein has a potential ergogenic effect for endurance athletes engaged in intense training.

Vitamin Mineral Supplements I like to think of vitamin and mineral supplements as oil that you put into a finely tuned engine. More oil doesn’t necessarily make the engine run more efficiently and can actually cause harm in some instances. The same goes for vitamin and mineral supplementation. Most people who take vitamins probably don’t really need them and much of what is consume is not actually absorbed so in the end, the supplement becomes expensive urine. There certainly are instances where vitamin and mineral supplementation is warranted, including individuals who are 1) not eating a balanced diet (multivitamin), 2) lactose intolerant and not consuming any dairy (calcium, magnesium, vitamin D), 3) athletes over the age of 50 (vitamin B12), 4) pregnant or breastfeeding (folic acid, calcium, iron), 5) prone to colon cancer, heart disease, prostate cancer, or Parkinson’s disease (vitamin E), 6) battling high blood levels of homocysteine (vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, 7) anemic (iron), 8) battling an intestinal condition (multivitamin), 9) on a weight reduction diet (multivitamin), 10) a cancer patient (multivitamin), and 11) vegetarian athletes (vitamin B12). Food still remains the number one source of nutrients and supplementation should merely supplement a well-balanced diet if you so choose to go this route.

Antioxidants: There is a plethora of antioxidants spotting the supplement aisle, including the most popular ACES complex (vitamins A, C, E, Selenium), as well as the less known compounds oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs), Alpha Lipoic Acid, grape skin, grape seed, beta-carotene, lutein, and tocopherols, tocotrienols. These antioxidants are thought to help reduce the damage to and potential death of cellular proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and DNA by free radicals, which are created as a by-product of oxidative stress including exercise. Studies have shown that endurance athletes produce more free radicals than sedentary individuals and are therefore more vulnerable to cellular damage and consequent decline in aerobic capacity.

A diet rich in whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables provides superior antioxidant protection but for the athlete whose food intake revolves around processed convenience foods, antioxidant supplementation may help to maintain the integrity of cell membranes, enhancing the blood’s oxygen carrying capacity and positively affecting aerobic performance. Within a few months of consuming more antioxidants in the form of colorful fruits and vegetables and potentially supplementing with an antioxidant compound, research indicates that there will be reduced incidence of infection, faster recovery and better workouts.

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