Sport nutrition

Sport nutrition

Scientific studies (review articles) on the relationship between diet/nutrients and sport performance:
One swallow does not make a summer. A famous Dutch saying that could not be any more obvious. Just because one single scientific study about a certain topic makes certain claims, it does not necessarily mean it is true. On the other hand, a review article (a collection of scientific studies on a certain topic) of randomized, placebo-controlled double blind clinical trials (RCTs) will answer the following question:

688mg polyphenol supplementation for at least 7 days increases sport performance

Objectives:
Does polyphenol supplementation increase sport performance?

Study design:
This review article included 14 studies. Of these, the studied populations were predominately-trained males with an average intervention dose of 688 ± 478mg polyphenols per day.

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found pooled results demonstrated polyphenol supplementation for at least 7 days significantly increased performance by 1.90% [95% CI = 0.40-3.39].

Fish consumption during pregnancy is not associated with risk of asthma and other allergy-related diseases from infancy to mid childhood

Objectives:
It has been suggested that prenatal exposure to n-3 long-chain fatty acids protects against asthma and other allergy-related diseases later in childhood. The extent to which fish intake in pregnancy protects against child asthma and rhinitis symptoms remains unclear. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.

Does fish consumption during pregnancy reduce risk of asthma and other allergy-related diseases later in childhood?

It is probably better to consume a low-glycemic-index carbohydrate meal before endurance performance

Objectives:
Although pre-exercise consumption of a low-glycemic-index (LGI) carbohydrate meal is generally recommended, the findings regarding subsequent exercise performance are inconsistent. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.

Does a pre-exercise low-glycemic-index carbohydrate meal lead to greater endurance performance than a pre-exercise high-glycemic-index (HGI) meal?

Aerobic exercise performed in the fasted state induces higher fat oxidation than exercise performed in the fed state

Objectives:
What is the effect of aerobic exercise performed in the fasted versus fed states on fat and carbohydrate metabolism in adults?

Study design:
This review article included 27 studies with a total of 273 participants.

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found a significant increase in fat oxidation during aerobic exercise (duration ≤120 min) performed in the fasted state compared with fed state [WMD = -3.08 g, 95% CI = -5.38 to -0.79, I2 = 39.1%].

Resistance training reduces blood pressure in prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects

Objectives:
Does resistance training reduce blood pressure in prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects?

Study design:
This review article included 5 RCTs provided data on 201 individuals.

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found when compared to group control, resistance training alone significantly reduced systolic blood pressure with 8.2 mmHg in prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects [95% CI = -10.9 to -5.5, I2 = 22.5%, p for heterogeneity = 0.271 and effect size = -0.97].

No more than 1.62 g/kg/day dietary protein supplementation augments resistance exercise training induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults

Objectives:
Does dietary protein supplementation augment resistance exercise training (RET)-induced gains in muscle mass and strength?

Study design:
This review article included 49 RCTs with RET ≥6 weeks in duration, involving 1,863 participants.

Aerobic exercise benefits global cognition in mild cognitive impairment patients

Objectives:
Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at high risk for developing dementia. Physical exercise is a promising intervention for cognitive decline. Systematic reviews regarding the effects of physical exercise on cognitive and psychological outcomes among MCI patients are limited and a systematic review exploring the effects of exercise modalities on the results has not been conducted. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

Do individuals with mild cognitive impairment benefit from physical exercise?