Lecture 4: Supplements

Question 1

What is a supplement?

Answer 1

“A food, food component, nutrient, or non-food compound that is purposefully ingested in addition to the habitually consumed diet with the aim of achieving a specific health and/or performance benefit”

Question 2

Are high protein foods supplements or not? (e.g. high protein yogurt)

Answer 2

These are protein fortified foods

Question 3

What are the enhanced games?

Answer 3

Athletes are taking banned drugs to ‘push the limits of humanity’

Question 4

What is the main disadvantage of taking performance enhancing drugs?

Answer 4

They can have detrimental effects on the body, in some cases death

Question 5

What is WADA?

Answer 5

World Anti-Doping Agency

Question 6

What are the rules for WADA?

Answer 6

“It is each Athlete’s personal duty to ensure that no Prohibited Substance enters his or her body. Athletes are responsible for any Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers found to be present in their Samples”

Question 7

What percent of supplements are contaminated?

Answer 7

10-20%

Question 8

How do you minimise supplement risks?

Answer 8

• Chose a product with proven efficacy
• Ensure product made to high quality standards
• Ensure product has been tested for banned contaminants by a recognized sports anti-doping lab

Question 9

What are examples of supplement testing companies?

Answer 9

Informed sport, informed choice, certified sport, HASTA

Question 10

What is the food first approach?

Answer 10

“Where practically possible, nutrient provision should come from whole foods and drinks rather than from isolated food components or dietary supplements”

Question 11

What does food first, but not always mean?

Answer 11

Supplements are the sprinkles and icing on top of the cake (NOT the main ingredients)

Question 12

Why shouldn’t we use supplements as the base of an athletes diet?

Answer 12

Supplements can displace other important nutrients from the diet

Question 13

What are potential reasons for supplement use?

Answer 13

• Difficult to obtain from food without excessive intakes
• Only available in foods some athletes won’t eat
• Difficult to determine the exact nutrients in food
• Difficult to consume close to, during, after exercise
• Nutrients may be required in high doses

Question 14

What are the questions to ask before you consider using a supplement?

Answer 14

Does it improve energy, health or recovery?
Lacking sufficient qualities in real food?
Is it allowed in your sport?
Is it tested?

Question 15

What is creatine?

Answer 15

a molecule that is produced in the body from amino acids

Question 16

What foods is creatine found in?

Answer 16

some animal-based foods and is most prevalent in meat and fish

Question 17

What does creatine store?

Answer 17

High-energy phosphate groups in the form of phosphocreatine

Question 18

What are these high energy phosphate groups used for?

Answer 18

phosphate groups are donated to ADP to regenerate it to ATP

Question 19

What is creatine an energy source for?

Answer 19

high energy muscle contractions

Question 20

How do we get ATP from food?

Answer 20

1. Foods digested
2. Absorbed in the small intestine
3. Nutrients travel to cells
   Nutrients utilised to create ATP

Question 21

What is ATP?

Answer 21

Adenosine Tri-Phosphate, the energy currency of the body

Question 22

How do we release energy from ATP?

Answer 22

ATP broken down to ADP releasing energy

Question 23

What does the pathway for ATP synthesis depend on?

Answer 23

Intensity and exercise mode

Question 24

What is the difference in ATP demand between high intensity exercise and rest?

Answer 24

a 1,000-fold increase in the rate of ATP demand

Question 25

Where does the energy come from when ATP is broken down?

Answer 25

ATP produces energy when its phosphate bonds are broken during conversion to ADP

Question 26

How is ATP resynthesised?

Answer 26

1. Cellular respiration
2. Creatine phosphate system
3. Anaerobic glycolysis

Question 27

What is the creatine phosphate system?

Answer 27

Provides a rapid means of resynthesizing ATP by transferring a phosphate group from creatine phosphate to ADP, producing ATP and creatine

Question 28

When do we rely on the phosphagen system?

Answer 28

High intensity short bursts

Question 29

Do we use one energy source at once?

Answer 29

No exercise relies on just one energy source, however some rely on one more than the others

Question 30

What energy sources are used from low ATP turnover rate to high?

Answer 30

1. Mitochondrial fat
2. Mitochondrial CHO
3. Glycolytic
4. Phosphogen

Question 31

When looking at evidence, what are the best practices?

Answer 31

Systematic reviews, RCT’s

Question 32

When looking at evidence, what are the worst practices?

Answer 32

Reports with limited data, opinions, ideas

Question 33

What does phosphocreatine decompose to?

Answer 33

Creatine plus a phosphate ion plus energy

Question 34

Why is creatine overlooked for female athletes?

Answer 34

because of a perception that it causes weight gain

Question 35

What do studies show that creatine use enhances?

Answer 35

Muscular strength and power and other measures of anaerobic and aerobic exercise performance with minimal effects on body composition

Question 36

What is the classification that the Australian institute uses?

Answer 36

The A, B, C, D Classification system focusses on sports foods and individual ingredients rather than specific supplement products and brand

Question 37

What are the A,B,C,D groups?

Answer 37

A = Strong evidence
B = Emerging Evidence: needs more research to be used under monitoring or research protocols
C = No supportive evidence
D = Banned/high risk