Time to reformulate sports drinks?
By Dwayne Jackson
Dec 23, 2011
Over the past decade, the importance of
protein supplementation
in athletes has been a hot area of research. Generally, research on protein supplementation is geared toward understanding its role in
strength
and
muscular development
. However, more recently, scientists have been investigating how protein supplements may help with fatigue resistance during sports or exhaustive exercise.
In a very recent article published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, researchers from the UK examined how drinking a
whey protein
and
maltodextrin
(a fast digesting carbohydrate) shake may improve running capacity in football (soccer) players.
In this study, 6 amateur soccer players completed 3 randomized placebo-controlled trials completed on separate days. The trials consisted of 75 minutes of intermittent running exercise (simulating a soccer game), followed by a 15 minute recovery and a subsequent "run to fatigue test" at 80% of their V02 max. At the beginning of each trial and half way through the exercise session subjects ingested the same drink consisting of placebo, maltodextrin, or whey protein + maltodextrin. The scientists reported that supplementing whey protein + maltodextrin resulted in ~44% longer runtime to fatigue than ingesting carbohydrate alone and ~109% longer runtime to fatigue than placebo. As well, with
whey + maltodextrin
, ratings of perceived exertion were much lower at the onset and end of exercise compared to the other two groups.
Reference:
Alghannam AF. Carbohydrate-protein ingestion improves subsequent running capacity towards the end of a football-specific intermittent exercise. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2011 Oct;36(5):748-57.
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