Supplements Flashcards
What is a dietary supplement?
A product taken by the mouth that contains a ‘dietary ingredient’ intended to supplement the diet
Name 4 forms of dietary supplements.
- Enriched foods
- Functional foods
- Sports food
- Capsules
Give 5 health benefit reasons on why an athlete would use supplements?
- Aid recovery
- Health
- Improve performance
- Prevent illness
- Compensate for poor diet
Name 5 risks associated with supplementation?
- Contamination
- Absence or lower levels than declared
- Presence of undeclared doping agents
- Harmful to health/performance
What should you do prior to taking supplements for nutrient deficiencies?
Seek medical advise from a doctor
Why may everyday food for an athlete be impractical? (3)
- Training schedules
- Gut comfort
- Energy budget
What is a golden rule surrounding supplements?
If it works, its probably banned
When should you consume supplements? (6)
- Insufficient in foods
- Not consumed in diet
- Difficult in establishing precise content in foods
- High concentrations for health
- Hard to consume around exercise
- Convenient alternative
Where is creatine produced in the body?
Liver, pancreas and kidneys
Approximately how much creatine is stored in muscle?
120 mmol/kg dm
What is the upper limit for creatine?
160 mmol/kg dm
What is the turnover rate of creatine?
2g per day
State 3 benefits of creatine supplementation.
- Increased time to fatigue
- Increased work
- Hypertrophy
What enzyme is responsible for splitting PCr?
Creatine kinase
How long does it take for 80% recovery of creatine stores?
4 minutes
Name the 6 mechanisms of creatine supplementation?
- Increases 30% creatine store
- increases glycogen store
- increases growth factor
- increases protein synthesis
- decreases muscle damage
- hypertrophy
What is the recommended protocol for creatine loading? (ST and LT)
ST: 20g/day for 5 days
Lt: 3-5g/day for a month
What can creatine supplementation change, which can be important in some sports?
It can change the body’s water weight as it is stored in water
When is creatine retention at is greatest?
With CHO - as it triggers the insulin response
What % increase in performance does creatine have? (single and repeated bouts)
Single: 1-5%
Repeated: 5-15%
Other than performance benefits, what has creatine been seen to improve?
Cognitive function - the ability to recover from mild head trauma
What is the half-life of caffeine?
4-6 hours
Name the 3 effects of caffeine supplementation?
- Improved alertness
- Reduced perception of effort
- Reduced fatigue and pain
What is the most supported mechanism of caffeine?
Adenosine receptor antagonism
Outline the adenosine receptor mechanism.
Caffeine has similar structure to adenosine, therefore blocks receptor and delays fatigue
Outline lipolysis mechanisms.
Caffeine stimulates lipolysis directly and via increased epi release, therefore sparing muscle glycogen
Outline the myoactin force production mechanism.
Caffeine stimulates calcium release
What happens when caffeine is ingested with CHO?
No change in substrate metabolism - therefore effects of caffeine cannot always be from lipolysis
Why is it hard to recommend caffeine doses?
Quantity can differ from source to source
What alternative to supplements are there for caffeine? And what is it advantage?
Caffeine gum - bypasses gut so faster absorption and less GI distress
What is the optimal dose for caffeine?
3mg/kg
