Supplements for the active

This association is wrong as some protein supplements are simply necessary for us – active women. By applying them correctly, we do not cause our muscles to grow bigger, just the other way round: if we want to burn fatty tissue (one of the main training aims of many women), we need to take care of building blocks for our muscles. Then, our metabolism will speed up and we will achieve desired goals. I mentioned the need of using supplements when I was recommending a hair tissue mineral analysis. I will cite Jacek Kucharski’s words here: “Why is a balanced diet not able to satisfy the demand for all nutrients? The reasons behind a deficiency of nutrients in food are:

• Deficiency of minerals in soil due to the farming that is focused on a quick growth and production of high biomass. Farmers fertilize the soil only with chemicals that accelerate the growth of plants.”
• Soil acidification, which prevents some minerals from being absorber (eg silicon)
• Processed food.

For economic reasons food is processed and preserved, which decreases its nutritional value. The process of refining (sugar, white flour, white rice) causes removing most minerals and vitamins needed for organism. Consuming such products cause demineralization of tissues, because the organism has to find those minerals somewhere to function properly. When the minerals in tissues are used up, diseases start to appear. Deficiencies stem from the change in a lifestyle. In short we can state that in the past people used to move more and experienced less stress. It is the other way around now. The above changes are in opposition to the needs of the contemporary man.

When we lead a healthy lifestyle our organisms have special needs. A lot of liquids are lost and in part minerals together with them. We need building blocks of our muscles. We need energy and we want to improve our endurance. To meet those needs balanced diet and water is often not enough

Hydration: 

• Drink water regularly a day
• Drink sports drinks when exercising longer than one hour (isotonic, hypertonic, hypotonic) to complete the level of electrolytes and vitamins
• Sodium is lost with sweat, so it’s recommended to replenish it drinking about 450 mg per hour
• After a workout we should drink carbohydrate and sodium drinks in proportion to the loss

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are our main source of energy and neglecting their intake before a workout exposes us to fatigue quickly.

• The latest 30 minutes before exercising we should have a balanced meal of low GI (Glycemic Index); if there’s no time to prepare one, we can take advantage of supplements containing complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, ginseng and caffeine optionally
• Post workout snacks prevent a sudden fall of sugar in blood, they control the level of glycogen; an energy bar can be eaten 10 minutes after a workout
• 1 hour after a workout we should have a balanced meal with carbohydrates, of high GI

Proper hydration and carbs intake can improve endurance.

Proteins

Protein supplements provide amino acids and proteins which are responsible for creating new muscle fibers and regeneration of muscular tissues.

Types of proteins

• Whey protein (so-called ‘fast’ anabolic proteins, short-lived). It prompts the production of antioxidants that improve our immunity, which is especially important when leading a stressful lifestyle and intensive physical activity.
• Casein (anti-catabolic proteins so-called ‘slow’, absorbed slowly). It maintains the level of amino acids in blood for a long time, best when drank before sleeping, the day before a workout. It can be also treated as a snack before meals.
• Egg protein – easily absorbed, rich in BCAA
• Soya protein – vegetable protein – recommended to vegetarians, water-soluble, quickly digested

What protein to choose? Without carbs, natural (without preservatives). Liquid proteins better water-based than milk-based.

Below I’m presenting an article about supplements by Wojciech Zep – a dietician who specializes in nutrition of professional athletes. Here is his website: Żywienie Mistrzów

Supplements or a diet by Wojciech Zep

Supplements market is growing really fast, they are advertised everywhere, at every step we are informed about the effects they have on our organisms. We believe that they have an influence on our health and, even though our diet is not balanced, we can make up for it taking concentrated vitamins. For the majority of people taking supplements is a compensation for bad nutrition habits. Our health awareness is increasing, we want to live longer and be healthy, but we cannot see to our healthy diet that is why we turn to supplements. Is it not enough to heat healthily to be healthy? There are ifs and buts, though. The foundation of our health is balanced and varied diet. During autumn-winter season there can be some nutrition deficiencies, for example vitamin D that cannot be provided with food, or when we are exposed to unfavorable environmental conditions. In those periods our diet is worth enriching in elements improving immunity, thus supplements seem to be necessary in some cases.

Supplements “for health” and “in sports”

In my practice I always propose supplements divided into two groups. The first group of supplements is “for health” group and it is recommended for everyone. Here we have substances that can be found in natural foods. They are called nutraceuticals or functional foods. The second group is suggested for people who lead a very active lifestyles, which means that they spend 10 hours or more a week exercising – this is the “in sport” group.

Another “but” referring to taking or not taking supplements is the number of hours spent on exercising. I suggest a simple differentiation: if the number of hours is more than 10 and the includes different workloads – you should take supplements from both groups. If your workouts take less than 10 hours and they are rather recreational activities, then a balanced diet and the first group of supplements is enough.

Supplements “for health”

Supplements “for health” – in this group there are supplements that have proven beneficial influence on the organism, improve health, physical state and decrease the risk of diseases based on bad dieting. Health improvement results mainly from bioactive substances that control the work of the digestive system, lowering cholesterol level, regulating the level of glucose in blood, lowering blood pressure, delaying the aging process, having a positive influence on a physical state or improving the use of minerals from the alimentary canal. Those supplements contain:

• Lactic fermentation bacteria (probiotics) and oligosaccharides (prebiotics)
• Fiber
• Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (DHA, EPA)
• Vitamin D
• Folic acid
• Minerals: calcium, iron, iodine

Supplements “in sport”

“In sport” supplementation should be used together with “for health” supplements. High physical activity requires more nutrients that are necessary to proper functioning and rebuilding tissues. The demand for vitamins and minerals depends on the energetic demand, therefore, the more work we do, the more we disturb our energetic reserves.

Division of regeneration supplements.

There are 5 levels of regeneration supplements. All of them are important in the process of regeneration – depending on a type of training and the purpose of their application.

1. Hydration and minerals – water is essential in almost every process in the cell – even in the presence of other constituents without proper environment regeneration will not take place properly.

– provide 1,5 l of water for every 1 kg of body mass loss during a workout – remember of sodium, potassium and magnesium intake.

2. Replenishing reserves of energy – the level of energy is the second important element of regeneration – when an organism need s energy, it will use proteins to get it!

a) During a workout – a drink containing carbohydrates (6-8%), sodium (10-20mmol/L – 2 grams of salt per liter) and potassium (3-5mmol/L). After a workout drinks can contain about 10% of carbohydrates to replenish lost energy quickly. They can also contain calcium, chlorides and magnesium.

b) Sports gels.

Highly concentrated carbohydrates dose available in an easy way. If you train longer than 90 minutes during one session, take one with you. If longer than 2 hours, take 2 gels. Gels contain more concentrated carbohydrates than energy drinks – drink a lot of water with gels as they can cause stomach ache.

c) Sports bars.

Used before a workout and directly after it. Not recommended during a workout unless the workout lasts longer than 2 hours and there is a phase of lower intensity.

d) Meal replacement.

Especially useful when eating a whole meal is not possible up to 1 hour after a workout. Rich in carbohydrates, partly rich in proteins and low in fat, in a form of powder or liquid to prepare, easily absorbed and rich in nutrients.

3. Limiting free radicals – they are released in greater amounts during intensive efforts (matches, competitions, injuries – working over aerobic threshold, they damage cells, cause inflammation (high temperature, pain) and slow down the process of regeneration.

ANTIOXIDANTS – depending on their components, they can work at different levels

• Vitamin C, E
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Extracts from fruit, vegetables or teas.

4. Muscular tissue repair – after replenishing all the above constituents, we are talking about the direct aim of training – increase in muscle mass, improving endurance (super-compensation), after a workout tissue repair takes place, so it is necessary to supply all the vital to quicken the repair.

a) Complete protein (whole protein) and protein hydrolyzates

• whey protein – absorbed quickly, can be used instantly after a workout
• casein – released slowly, best used in the evening
• eggs – protein from chicken eggs is claimed to be 100 per cent protein for the man (without yolk)
• soya – indirect release

b) Amino acids

• Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) – regeneration, energy
• Glutamine – takes part in regeneration through limitation of negative effects of training, speeds up the transportation of metabolites, inhibits free radicals, they are not 100 per cent proven by researches, if we decide to take supplements – the form and name of producer is important

c) Carbohydrates – it seems that talking about muscular tissue we should talk only about proteins – make easier absorbing proteins in the intestinal tract, provide energy that is necessary to digest proteins and build into the muscle. If we provide only protein – part of it is changed into energy that is necessary in digestion and building into muscles. Depending on training – carbohydrates and proteins should be mixed in the right proportion.

5. Improving the immune system – autumn-winter season is especially dangerous – we fall ill more often, mainly because of the cold weather, but also because we consume fewer fruit and vegetables (they are also of poor quality). Intensive efforts decrease immunity (matches and competitions).

a) Vitamin C – depends on the form in which we take it

b) Vitamin D – reduces inflammation – accelerate regeneration, improves immunity. Its quantity is hugely reduced in autumn-winter season (because it is produced in skin prompted by sun rays: no sun light, no vitamin)

c) Probiotics – improve immunity “through the intestinal tract”, they are bacteria living in the colon. Probiotics can be delivered with dairy products, but also as supplements. They control evacuations as well.

d) Antioxidants.

I mentioned supplements here that can be taken as tablets or capsules; they are all present in natural foods. However, the amount of them is not sufficient to be efficient. Additional problems are also other limitations related to allergies, food intolerance or nutritional beliefs (vegetarianism), in such cases supplements are also recommended. The thing to remember is the fact that the base is a balanced diet and varied food products in nutrition, though.