Ergogenic Aids for Recovery, Immune Function, and Injuries

What are the ergogenic aids for recovery, immune function, and injuries?

“Muscles that ache get care & conditioning”

• Milk

• Tart cherry juice

• Antioxidants

• Glucosamine

• Collagen

• Creatine

What are the components of milk?

It is an isotonic solution, meaning it is good for fluid balance.

It contains:

• Macronutrients

  • Water

  • Carbohydrate

  • Fat

  • Protein (8 g / 8 oz)

• Micronutrients

  • Sodium

  • Calcium

  • Potassium

  • Vitamin D

Nutritional value varies based on type of milk! Skim, 1%, 2%, whole

Which proteins make up milk?

20% whey protein, 80% casein

What are the benefits of using milk as an ergogenic aid?

• Physique enhancement

  • Resistance training adaptations

    • Lean body mass

    • Body fat

    • Maximal strength

    • MUSCLE MASS DEVELOPMENT

• Endurance performance

  • Rehydration

  • Recovery/suppression of muscle damage

What is the connection between resistance training and milk?

Implementing both has the greatest increase in muscle mass development!

This is because milk provides a lot of LEUCINE!

What are the benefits of milk in older adult exercisers?

Exercise plus milk showed the greatest increase in lean mass and muscle cross-sectional area.

Milk… or CHO/electrolyte replacement drink?

Milk is comparable or outperforms commercially available options in terms of calories, ratio of carbs to protein, sodium content (low), and COST!

What are the claimed benefits of tart cherry juice?

• Anti-inflammatory

• Anti-oxidant

• Sleep quality

• Pain mediation

• Muscle recovery

What is the inflammation response to exercise?

Inflammation can be detrimental to recovery and adaptation. Inflammation occurs due to an increase in inflammatory cytokines such as interleuken.

How can cherry juice help with inflammation post-exercise?

Its anti-oxidant benefits decrease inflammation markers in the body like IL-6 and C-reactive protein. This greatly decreases oxidative stress!

What is the role of cherry juice in muscle RECOVERY?

It helps with muscle recovery over time, showing less loss of strength from baseline to days after exercise.

Why is cherry juice so effective?

It contains melatonin, which has antioxidant and cyclooxygenase inhibitory effects.

How much cherry juice is needed to get its benefits?

• 45 cherries a day decreases systemic inflammatory markers

• Cherry juice non-concentrates have around 50 cherries, and concentrate cherry juice has around 90-100

What is the best practice for consuming cherry juice?

CONCENTRATE: 1 oz / 2x per day, 5-7 prior to event , or through the event

DILUTED OR JUICE: dilute with 3-7 oz along with the same protocol

What are antioxidants?

Vitamin C, Vitamin E, several minerals, and phytochemicals.

They all help with recovery through anti-inflammatory processes.

What are the functions of vitamin C?

• IMMUNE FUNCTION

• Aid in ion absorption

• Aid in collagen synthesis - growth/repair of tissues

• Anti-oxidant

How do high-dose antioxidant supplements affect exercise-induced cellular adaptations?

They can reduce ROS signaling and blunt benefits like mitochondrial biogenesis, endogenous antioxidant upregulation, and improved insulin sensitivity.

What does the antioxidant ascorbic acid do to endurance training?

It inhibits endurance training adaptations

What does the antioxidant resveratoral do to VO₂?

It blunts the positive effects of exercise training by showing less change in VO₂ compared to placebo without resveratoral.

Why do we have to think twice about supplementing vitamin C?

Exercise causes an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) which is required for exercise adaptation and increases mitochondrial growth factors and decreases muscle atrophy. Vitamin C dampens the effects of ROS.

How does Vitamin D impact performance as it relates to injury protection/repair?

Deficiency in vitamin D can cause catabolic effects on muscle tissue, impaired cross-bridge formation, and muscle weakness.

Supplementing vitamin D decreases risk of stress fractures!

Which athletes are most likely to benefit from vitamin D supplementation?

• Athletes with low vitamin D level

  • Indoor and winter sport athletes

What is glucosamine?

It is carbohydrate naturally made within the body and involved in the creation of the molecules that form cartilage. It is often taken with chondroitin sulfate and helps retain the structure of protein lattice.

How does glucosamine work?

It is involved in glycoprotein metabolism, which means it stimulate synthesis of building blocks of cartilage. It is also involved in the composition of connective tissue and has potential anti-inflammatory benefits by inhibiting activity of proteolytic enzymes.

Where can you find glucosamine?

It is a natural component in healthy cartilage.

It can also be supplemented from shells or shellfish or made in a lab.

Where can you find chondritin

It is a natural component in healthy cartilage.

It can also be supplemented from animal cartilage or made in a lab.

What is the recommended intake for glucosamine and chondroitin?

500 mg, 3x a day just glucosamine

400 mg chondroitin sulfate 3x day

These two have a possible synergistic effect?

Why should you supplement glucosamine sulfate or chondroitin sulfate?

• Protects against joint deterioration

• Helps heal tendons, ligaments, and cartilage

• Anti-inflammatory properties

• May interfere with the progression of osteoarthritis by reducing joint space narrowing

NOT officially recommended for the treatment of osteoarthritis!

What is collagen?

A structural protein that forms connective tissue and skin

How can collagen help with injuries?

It strengthens tendons, ligaments, connective tissue, and reduces pain related to injuries

What is the biologic mechanism of collagen?

It is still in question, but likely due to peptides that broken down in the gut don’t necessarily get built back up to produce collagen.

What evidence proves that collagen supplementation works?

• Thickens cartilage in osteoarthritis patients

• Decreased knee pain in athletes after 24 weeks

• Significant angle injury reduction for subjects with chronic ankle instability

Latest recommendations for collagen supplementation?

Around exercise, supplement whey protein with collagen and vitamin C.

Post surgery, supplement even more whey, collagen, and vitamin C multiple times a day.

Women may benefit from collagen as they may have more laxity when progesterone andrelaxin is high.

What can increase collagen synthesis?

Supplementing gelatin and vitamin C together.

How is creatine supplementation related to brain health?

• Helps with cognitive processing and acute stressors of sleep deprivation and exercise

• Helps with brain function to prevent conditions like depression and Alzheimer’s

• Helps the brain recovery from trauma or TBI