Sports supplements, what are and which are the most common?

Surely you have ever wondered what sports supplements your favorite athlete takes or someone who considers that they understand supplements, or perhaps what these supplements do in your body. The sports supplements They are not the panacea, that is, they do not make miracles, much less, without training hard, feed yourself well and be an active person. You will not achieve just by consuming them to be the strongest, the fastest or healthier. The supplements will never replace food, and perhaps if you take them without knowing their effects very well or what dose it is the most appropriate for you, they have health -harmful side effects.

Sports supplements according to your goal

Sports supplements They aim to improve sports performance, Complement our diet, improve muscle recovery, increase resistance, avoid sports injuries or improve physical performance. They have different functions and must be selected with the help of a professional. Several entities such as "the International Sports Nutrition Society" collect information from the marketed supplements and order them according to their scientific evidence. The maximum level of evidence and safety corresponds to the gels used in long -term exercises, electrolytes to rehydrate, protein mixtures and carbohydrates, or protein shakes (of the latter we speak in the following article "Protein smoothies, are they really necessary?”)

Goals

For one Useful performance improvement They find caffeine, beta alanine, nitrates and creatine monohydrate. For a Increased muscle mass Essential amino acids are found; HMB, which is a metabolite of leucine; and the vital amino acid, for the increase in muscle mass. The Vitamins They can intervene in beneficial chemical reactions for our body, such as releasing the energy that food nutrients contain. The mainly interesting ones are: calcium, vitamin D, iron and zinc. The minerals They are essential components of the enzymes that regulate the body, for example, intervene in the transport of oxygen from the red blood cells to the cells, which is essential to protect the tissues of polluting substances or so that the heart exercises its function correctly.

Most common sports supplements

The most common supplements are powdered protein, creatine, caffeine, glutamine, beta-alanine and nitrates. Next, we are going to develop each of them:

✅ Beta-Alanina and sports performance.

During the high intensity exercise, hydrogen ions are released that reduce the pH of the muscle and limit its contractile capacity. Beta-alanina supplementation counteracts this effect by increased muscle fleshy, the synthesis of fleshy in the muscle is limited by its bioavailability. Carnosine has many functions at the muscular level such as, among others: improve intracellular capacity, facilitate calcium reabsorption in muscle fibers, and counteract muscle acidification associated with physical exercise delaying muscle fatigue. Besides, It has antioxidant activity and protection protection. The proper supplementation are 3-6 grams/day for 2-4 weeks. The increase in muscle fleshy improves performance in high intensity and short duration exercises (30 seg-10 minutes). On the other hand, in resistance sports there is not much evidence. The only side effect is parstesthesia or sensation of itching, which can be attenuated by ingesting several doses on the day of 0.8 to 1.8 grams.

✅ Glutamine

Glutamine is the most abundant and versatile amino acid in our body. It has an important role in the immune system, since it is a decisive energy substrate for it to work properly. In the case of being an athlete, do you think there will be more glutamine demand? Really only in clinical context situations As patients in the ICU, sepsis, or serious burns, there is a decrease in worrying glutamine, but not in a healthy athlete. Taking glutamine in supplement is not the only way to obtain glutamine, since it is present in different proteins.

And, glutamine and muscle mass gain?

This is another context where the supplementation industry has sold you that glutamine is essential for muscle mass synthesis. Glutamine It is necessary for the muscle synthesis process to beginYes, that is true, but by itself it will do nothing. In fact, a quality protein source has the necessary amount of glutamine, EAA, BCAA and nea to optimally perform protein synthesis. Therefore, your best option will always be a quality protein supplement or a quality protein source. The next context where glutamine is supplemented is by the gastrointestinal system. Our intestines use 30% of total glutamine, their function is to maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier, modulate inflammation, regulate the response to stress and cell apoptosis, and maintain the metabolism of nucleotides. The supplementation of 0.3-0.5 grams/kg of body weight at any time of the day can be useful in diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn, gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable intestine and mucositis.

✅ Caffeine

Caffeine It provides energy, stimulates the nervous system and is very beneficial for the body. The mechanism of action of caffeine is mainly antagonizing adenosine receptors in the central nervous system. Caffeine facilitates a greater release of dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine and beta endorphins, which are the fundamental neurotransmitters in the maintenance of an optimal mood. Besides promotes muscle contraction through two mechanisms developed at the cellular level, reducing fatigue and increasing pain tolerance, improving at the same time sports performance. The optimal moment of caffeine intake will be strongly influenced by the source from which it comes, it can be pills, gum, gels, energy drinks, pre-Americans or natural coffee. Chewing caffeine is absorbed faster than in pill, producing the effects before. In summary, the optimal amount of caffeine is 3 to 6 mg/kg of body weight. It is important to take care of caffeine tolerance starting with low doses and take it 25-60 minutes before training.

✅ Nitrates

For relatively a short time, nitrates have become a beneficial nutrient in both cardiovascular health and sports performance and strength disciplines or resistance sports. There are many supplements of different formats and sources, being beets the most studied. The main problem of beet -based supplements is the real amount they contain vs. The amount that marks the labeling. And it is difficult to value, so its action. The consumption of acid cherries to improve the recovery and attenuation of the symptoms caused by the muscle damage induced by the exercise, will probably be due to the high levels of flavonoids and anthocyanins that contain these fruits. The anti -inflammatory and antioxidant properties of these phytonutrients are known when reducing the inflammation and production of Rons by inhibiting cyclooxygenase. The daily dose of nitrate supplements should be greater than 300 mg, taking into account that more trained athletes should have higher doses.