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Lead Stories: Friday, November 21, 2008

Amino Acids 101: Do they positively affect performance?

Posted March 11th, 2007 at 12:52 PM by Megan Hueter

Section: Nutrition, Supplements

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. About two-thirds of a person’s body consists of water, and most of the rest is made of proteins. Proteins are one of the three principal nutrient elements, along with carbohydrates and fats. About 100,000 different kinds of proteins are found in the human body. These proteins are made up of only 20 amino acids, some of which are produced by the body (non-essential amino acids), others of which we have to ingest (essential amino acids). (1)

Amino acids act in various ways. During physical exercise, your body needs energy to do work. Initially, the body uses carbohydrates for energy, and then after a period of time, it resorts to fat. When the body breaks down fats, it goes through a process called the Krebs Cycle, where lactic acid is formed. A buildup of lactic acid makes muscles very fatigued. During prolonged physical activity such as a marathon, if sugars and fats are no longer available for energy, lactic acid builds up in the muscles and stamina declines and the athlete tires very quickly. (1)
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Battle of the protein supplements: Whey vs. Soy

Posted December 8th, 2006 at 8:00 PM by Christopher Jack

Section: Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Race Prep & Recov, Supplements, Vegetarianism

For even the most health conscious, balancing a days worth of meals can be a daunting task. Finding the time, or even the motivation, to maintain a healthy diet may seem near impossible. Enter protein. Adding protein supplements to your diet can seriously improve your health, athletic performance and appearance. However, with so many powerful proteins on the market, the question then becomes - which one’s for me?
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Supplements Made Easy - Part 3

Posted October 26th, 2006 at 12:15 PM by Jonathan Faccone

Section: Nutrition, Supplements

This is Part 3 in my “Supplements Made Easy” Seriesfor runners and other endurance athletes. Make sure to also go back and read Part 1 and Part 2!

Shopping for supplements can be a daunting task, but remember to keep it simple and that supplementation will only help if you first help yourself by doing your best in giving your body what is needs via your food intake.

Once you have taken care of proper eating, you can move onto supplements. Keep in mind, everyone’s body is different and therefore supplementation choices that you pick should be as unique as yourself.

BCAA (Branched chain amino acids) include the leucine, isoleucine, and valine. They are essential for aerobic metabolism and may have performance enhancing qualities for endurance events lasting longer then three hours. Lack of BCAA’s during endurance events could accelerate the breakdown of muscle glycogen and cause premature muscle fatigue.

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid found in the body and is usually used for strength training as a muscle recovery agent, but may benefit endurance athletes as well. Evidence has shown that in times of stress, like exercise, the body cannot produce enough of this amino acid. This has been shown to contribute to muscle breakdown, diminished immune function and reduced performance.

Supplementation with 6-8 grams/day of BCAA and glutamine has been shown to decrease protein degradation during ultra-distance triathlon competition, decrease exercise induced muscle damage after prolonged running, and has shown to improve performance in 40K cycling time trial performance Read the rest of this entry »

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