Category: General

According to a study supervised by Ithaca College's Exercise and Sport Sciences Chair Thomas Swensen, betaine—a nutrient found in shellfish and beets—boosts athletic performance by nearly six percent when added to a sports drink. Published in the "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition," the study is available athttp://www.jissn.com/content/9/1/12. Tips and Takeaways "Betaine may contribute to creatine synthesis, which improves, strength, power and short-term performance," Swensen said. "Future research should elucidate the mechanism of how betaine supplementation improves performance." To see results at the gym: Dissolve 2.5 grams of betaine (either powder or tablet form) in a 20-ounce sports drink, and drink half in the morning and half in the afternoon. Methodology Sixteen college-aged cyclists were tested three times in order to measure how the sports drink and betaine beverage affected performance variables such as average and maximum peak power. The first test established baseline performances. The subjects then consumed half of either the commercial drink or betaine beverage twice a day for seven days and were tested again. Three weeks later, the subjects repeated the process with the opposite beverage. The results showed that one week of betaine supplementation increased peak and mean anaerobic power by 5.5 percent...

A large French retrospective analysis provides good news for caffeine lovers: investigators showed that drinking tea or coffee was associated with a small but statistically significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In addition, drinking tea and coffee was also associated with a significant reduction in pulse pressure and heart rate, although the heart-rate reductions were greater with tea. Unfortunately, the researchers did not differentiate between green, black, or herbal tea consumption, which is one of the limitations of the analysis. In addition, the questionnaire is not sophisticated enough to address estimates in the caffeine content of the coffee consumed in France. 

Patients with celiac disease may be more likely to develop early atherosclerosis, but a gluten-free diet has the potential to mitigate this increased risk, according to recent results. In a pilot study, researchers assessed the risk for atherosclerosis in 20 adults with celiac disease, at diagnosis and after 6 to 8 months of a gluten-free diet with mucosal recovery. Evaluated factors included total, HDL and LDL cholesterol, C-reactive protein (CRP), folate, vitamin B12, triglycerides and homocysteine. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and endothelium-dependent dilation (EDD) also were measured via ultrasound at both time points and compared with measurements obtained from 22 matched healthy controls. Patients had normal HDL and total cholesterol levels at baseline, while LDL levels were slightly elevated. Total and HDL cholesterol levels increased among patients after gluten abstinence (185.4 ± 37.77 mg/dL vs. 204.42 ± 35.2 mg/dL; P<.003 for total and 51.4 ± 18.6 mg/dL vs. 68.2 ± 17.4 mg/dL; P<.001 for HDL), with a decrease in total/HDL cholesterol ratio (3.77 ± 0.92 vs. 3.05 ± 0.71; P<.02). LDL concentrations did not significantly change within the cohort. Mean levels of CRP decreased after gluten abstinence (1.073 ± 0.51 mg/dL vs. 1.92 ± 1.38 at baseline; P<.05). Plasma homocysteine...