Food/ Sports Supplements Flashcards
What are food supplements used for?
- Used to increase energy stores, which in turn enhances athletic performance.
What are all performance enhancing aids or substances (illegal or legal) known as?
- Ergogenic aids.
What does UK sport advise athletes to do?
- Be cautious in their choice to use any supplement, as no guarantee can be given that they are free from prohibited substances.
Sodium bicarbonate- what is it?
- An antiacid which increases the pH value of the blood- more alkaline. ‘
- Higher pH increases the ‘buffering’ capability of the blood.
Buffering= bloods ability to cope with increases in lactic acid and hydrogen ions and maintaining pH level.
How does this benefit a performer during exercise (Sodium Bicarbonate)
- Delaying the lactic threshold/ OBLA/ anaerobic threshold/ ability to work at high intensities.
- Benefits athletes that use the Lactic acid system- 400m runners.
Side effects of Sodium Bicarbonate
- Bloating, stomach cramps (SEAGULLS EXPLODING!!!).
What is caffeine, and what does it do?
- Caffeine is a natural stimulant.
- It increases mental alertness and decreases fatigue.
- Also it improves the mobilisation of fatty acids (therefore sparing muscle glycogen stores)- this is known as ‘glycogen sparing’.
Who is it used by (Caffeine)?
- Used by endurance athletes who used fats as their preferred energy source.
What are the side effects of caffeine?
- Insomnia (performer cannot sleep and recover).
What is creatine monohydrate and what does it do?
- Used to increase the stores of phosphocreatine found in the muscles.
How does creatine monohydrate aid a performer?
- This helps the ATP-PC system to last longer.
- Creatine supplementation also improves recovery times.
- Athletes doing explosive events can benefit.
What are the side effects of creatine monohydrate?
- Dehydration- link to water.
What is glycogen loading?
- Dietary manipulation designed to maximise muscle glycogen.
- Used by endurance athletes relying on the aerobic system for ATP production.
Old glycogen loading
- High intensity work is performed with a low carbohydrate intake on days 6-4 before competition. This is to deplete muscle glycogen stores.
- Then days 3-1 before competition= low intensity work (tapering) takes place, with the athlete increasing carbohydrate (‘supercompensation’) and water intake (water is needed to facilitate glycogen storage)- x2 glycogen storage.
- Disadvantages= heavy legs due to high intensity work, bloated and lethargic, and water retention due to extra water needed.
New glycogen loading
-Takes 1 day.
- Exercise at a very high intensity for 3 minutes.
- This opens a ‘carbo window’ where glycogen stores can be increased dramatically. This window only remains open for 2hrs following exercise.
- During this window carbohydrate intake should be significant.
- If an athlete could follow their normal dietary plan, they wouldn’t have to taper their training program and would not have to deal with the disadvantages of the old method.
