15 Jun 2011

Do Probiotics Prevent Upper Respiratory Tract Infections?

As a former competitive athlete (in the sports of cycling and winter biathlon), I know that there’s nothing more frustrating than an interruption in your off-season training schedule from getting sick.  With all of the buzz surrounding probiotics, do they actually work to prevent upper respiratory tract infections in athletes (URTI’s)? To answer that question,…

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25 Apr 2011

Chocolate Milk Improves Recovery and Athletic Performance?

Competitive athletes need to recover quickly from bouts of training as well as competition to prepare for subsequent events. Studies have shown that postexercise consumption of carbohydrates and protein results in better recovery than consumption of carbohydrates alone.

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31 Aug 2010

L-Arginine Supplementation Enhances Exercise Tolerance?

In a recently study which included just 9 recreationally active males, researchers studied the effect of acute ingestion of l-arginine supplementation on high-intensity exercise tolerance (Bailey et al, 2010). L-arginine is an amino acid. The subjects who were between the ages of 19-38 years of age consumed a beverage either consisting of 6g of l-arginine…

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23 Aug 2010

Does Soda Loading with Sodium Bicarbonate Work?

The biochemistry of acid-base balance during exercise has been a topic of interest for over 70 years. Current consensus suggests that it’s not the accumulation of lactate that results in symptoms of fatigue. Instead, it’s due to an imbalance in the rate of proton release, buffering, and removal. Sodium bicarbonate or sodium citrate is a…

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19 Aug 2010

Improve Athletic Performance: Cold Beverages?

When I think back to the days that I used to compete in bicycle racing, I can certainly remember the effects of running out of water during a race. Back in those days, the average racing bicycle weighed about 21 lbs, so deciding how much water to carry was always an important factor. It’s still…

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