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Lead Stories: Thursday, August 28, 2008

Low Blood Sugar Causes Mental Fatigue During Competition

Posted November 23rd, 2007 at 3:45 PM by Martha Jones

Section: Nutrition, Race Prep & Recov, Health & Fitness, Exercise

Athletes can expect to feel fatigued when their blood sugar levels drop. Researchers at Loughborough University, UK showed that athletes who did not take sugar during soccer competition lasting 90 minutes felt more tired, had less competitive desire, and had far lower blood sugar levels than athletes who took a sugared drink every 15 minutes during their game (Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, October 2007).

Your brain gets more than 98 percent of its energy from sugar in the bloodstream. However there is only enough sugar in the bloodstream to last about three minutes. The liver must constantly release sugar into the bloodstream, but there is only enough sugar in the liver to last eight hours during rest and far less than that during exercise. So athletes who do not take a source of sugar during events lasting more than an hour can suffer the psychological effects of low blood sugar levels what include a mental feeling of fatigue and lowered competitive desire.
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Exercise makes cells more efficient; increases overall health & life expectancy

Posted March 23rd, 2007 at 9:15 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: Health & Fitness, Exercise

Why does risk for heart attacks, strokes or diabetes increase with age? A team from Yale University showed that as you age, you lose your ability to make AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) (Cell Metabolism, February 2007). This enzyme functions to increase mitochondria in muscles.

Anything that reduces the number or efficiency of mitochondria interferes with your body’s ability to burn fat and sugar for energy. As a result, blood sugar, fat and cholesterol levels rise.
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Does leucine effectively increase endurance? Is it safe?

Posted February 19th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: Nutrition, Supplements

A study from Australia showed that leucine helps athletes exercise longer (European Journal of Applied Physiology, August 2006), so now athletes are lining up to waste their money on supplements that are no more effective than any other source of sugar.

Leucine is a branched chain amino acid that the liver readily converts to sugar. Your body needs extra sugar during endurance exercise, and it doesn’t care where it gets it. Your brain gets more than 95 percent of its energy from sugar in your bloodstream. It cannot store extra fuel in its cells.

However, there is only enough sugar in your bloodstream to last three minutes. To prevent blood-sugar levels from dropping, your liver constantly releases sugar from its cells into your bloodstream. There is only enough sugar in your liver to last up to 12 hours at rest, and you run out of liver sugar much faster than that when you exercise.
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