January is the month of resolutions for the new year and many people return to the physical activity with renewed strength. Others are encouraged for the first time, with as much enthusiasm as they have doubts about the technical material, the training or nutrition plans. … Regarding this, there are countless recipes, recommendations or advertisements for products that often do not specify their known effectiveness and safety. However, they make us consider replacing foods with pills and powders, believing that they will accelerate the results we want to achieve with sport.
In order not to lose focus, we must not forget that the scientific consensus Above all, it prioritizes rest and sufficient intake of foods that provide all the macronutrients – carbohydrates, proteins and fats – and the micronutrients – vitamins and minerals – necessary to maintain the health of an active person who trains at any level.
The difficulty is in adequately covering these needs, which vary according to individual requirements based on sex, special situations such as certain health conditions, pregnancy or breastfeeding, or the sport that is practiced. In fact, the more time you dedicate to physical activity, the more attention you have to pay to food intake that we do.
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For this reason, high performance sports centers (CAR) cannot lack specialists in nutrition and dietetics such as Saioa Safe, of the CAR of Sant Cugat of the Valleys (Barcelona). However, when consulting it, its basic message is for the entire population: “Energy requirements are completely individual and fluctuate depending on lifestyle and objectives.” And he continues: “If we increase the hours of training, we must take even more care of rest, increase energy intake and take care of nutritional quality.”
The nutritionist emphasizes that only if the planning or sports objective raises special needs that cannot be covered in this way, is it recommended to add sports supplementation to the diet. However, Segura warns that the general population takes supplements without needing them and even in greater quantities than the sporting elite, despite the fact that only five substances have sufficient scientific evidence (according to international consensus such as that of the International Olympic Committee) to guide their safe use and the possibility of helping, although in a limited way, in regular athletes.
Caffeine: Improves endurance and delays fatigue
This stimulant has been accumulating scientific evidence for more than fifty years on its improving effects on endurance capacity and fatigue delay in long-distance sports such as running, cycling or rowing. In addition, it can also improve performance when performing repeated sprints or applying high power in short periods of time, as in many team sports.
However, as the professor at the Pontifical University of Comillas Álvaro López Samanes, coordinator of the Exercise Physiology Laboratory of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, warns, “although caffeine is, along with creatine, one of the supplements with the greatest scientific support, its prescription must be made on an individual basis to be able to assess each response, the possible associated side effectssuch as alteration of rest, or increased tolerance due to continued use.
Creatine: To increase muscle mass and strength
For just over thirty years there has been some evidence that creatine can help increase blood pressure. muscular timeas well as strength and power, with beneficial effects in explosive and short-duration movements. But now, as López points out, studies on this substance are also opening up to investigate its effects on health in a broader sense, since “it seems that it can help in cognitive processes and degenerative diseases,” says the researcher.
For Segura, it is important to highlight that Not everyone tolerates creatine the same way. despite having the highest category of evidence available. “In addition, it can be obtained from food but, if the supplement is prescribed, it must be done in the appropriate dose and indicating the duration and purpose for which it will be taken,” explains the expert.
Beet juice (nitrate): Effects on mind and body
The first evidence on the ergogenic effect of nitrate or its ability to increase physical performance, already belongs to this century and soon the use of nitrate began. beet juicea as a source of this supplement. Its main benefits are associated with delaying fatigue in resistance work and promoting blood flow to the muscles. It has also been seen to improve the function of fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are used in intense and intermittent movements, predominant in team sports, but not only.
However, López’s group has been studying its effects on elderly women and with low physical conditioning. In this population, they are beginning to see improvements at a cognitive level, something that, as the expert points out, “in the future could reduce health costs, with a greater overall impact than the effects on performance in athletes.” But he warns: “Unlike caffeine and creatine, for nitrate the dose adapted to each body weight is not yet known, which prevents correct individualization.”
Sodium bicarbonate: More intensity but with nausea
Since the end of the last century, some evidence has been gathered about the effect of sodium bicarbonate as muscle pH regulator and, therefore, as an aid in delaying fatigue during exercise, especially short-term, explosive and repetitive exercise, such as jumping or speed. It also seems to help in longer tests that require specific increases in intensity, such as the final sprint or changes of pace in running or swimming races.
The main problem, López points out, is the gastrointestinal problems which often causes: stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting. «Now they are trying to divide the dose into several smaller doses and it seems that this can greatly reduce the side effects. This encourages athletes to use it, because they do not want to suffer problems in competition,” explains the expert, who recognizes that there is a lack of information about the appropriate doses for each person based on their weight, sex or age.
Beta-alanine: for muscles and more tingling skin
Since the beginning of our century, evidence has been increasing on how beta-alanine contributes to the delay of muscle fatigue in a similar way to sodium bicarbonate, since both, through different pathways, regulate the pH of muscle tissue. In addition, there are studies that demonstrate the added effect of taking them together. Despite this, there is still little information on how to adapt the dosage and intake to each athlete profile. But, in addition, Segura warns that, based on the literature and his experience working with athletes, “this supplement can produce tingling sensations on the skin that not everyone tolerates and, in those cases, we assess whether the benefit that may be obtained is worth it.”
