Caffeine Study Shows Sport Performance Increase

Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 15 Dec 2011 - 2:00 PST

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Caffeine combined with carbohydrate could be used to help athletes perform better on the field, according to new research by a sport nutrition expert.

Mayur Ranchordas, a senior lecturer and performance nutritionist at Sheffield Hallam University, carried out studies on footballers using caffeine and carbohydrates combined in a drink. Along with improvements in endurance caused by ingesting carbohydrate, the athletes' skill level improved after taking caffeine and carbohydrate together.

Mayur said: "There is already plenty of research that shows that caffeine and carbohydrate improve endurance, but this study shows that there is also a positive effect on skill and performance.

"We carried out three different soccer-specific match simulations of 90 minutes each two 45 minute sessions that tested agility, dribbling, heading and kicking accuracy. The test was designed to mimic a football game where the participants had to carry out multiple repeated sprints, dribble the ball around cones and shoot accurately.

"We found that the combination of carbohydrate and caffeine allowed players to sustain higher work intensity for the sprints, as well as improving shooting accuracy and dribbling during simulated soccer activity.

"These findings suggest that, for athletes competing in team sports where endurance and skill are important factors, ingesting a carbohydrate and caffeine drink, as opposed to just a carbohydrate drink, may significantly enhance performance. Our findings suggest that soccer players should choose a carbohydrate caffeine drink over a carbohydrate drink to consume before kick off and at half-time."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Source: Sheffield Hallam University
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Does Caffeine Enhance Exercise Performance? The Debate Continues

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 15 Dec 2011 - 2:00 PST

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Caffeine is regarded by some as being a potent stimulant, but the debate continues as to whether it enhances exercise performance. A range of expert opinions capture the scope of this ongoing debate in an informative roundtable discussion published in Journal of Caffeine Research, a quarterly peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Led by Journal of Caffeine Research Editor-in-Chief Jack E. James, PhD, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland, the roundtable "Caffeine and Physical Performance" presents a range of views on the extent to which caffeine may enhance athletic performance. While the participants appear to agree that caffeine is likely to have performance-enhancing effects and seems to have the broadest effects of known stimulants for enhancing performance and endurance, they emphasize that the study data have been mixed. Many factors can affect caffeine's impact on performance, including the type of exercise or sport and whether it is aerobic or anaerobic, caffeine dosing, the use of other stimulants (poly-supplementation), and the length of rest intervals. Additional studies are needed to understand what factors can boost or inhibit the effects of caffeine and why some people may achieve enhanced performance with caffeine while others will not.

A research article in that same issue by Richard Bloomer, PhD and colleagues, Cardiorespiratory/Metabolic Laboratory, University of Memphis, looks specifically at the effects of caffeine and 1,3-dimethylamylamine (1,3-D, a natural stimulant derived from geranium flowers) on exercise performance. The researchers compared the effects of these stimulants, taken alone or in combination, on run times by participants in a 10-kilometer run.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Source: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc
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Natural Supplement Shown To Improve Mental Performance And Decrease Test Anxiety By 17 Percent

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 08 Dec 2011 - 2:00 PST

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Keeping your brain in shape...no sweat. Health-conscious consumers may not realize that supplementing a healthy diet is just as important to maintaining mental performance as it is to maintaining six-pack abs. Natural supplements are an easy, effective way to manage mental focus, memory and overall mood. Natural supplement Pycnogenol® (pic-noj-en-all), an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, was found to significantly enhance mental performance in healthy college students in a recent clinical trial published in Panminerva Medica.

The study was conducted at Pescara University and examined 53 Italian university students, aged 18-27. Students were assigned to a control or test group. The test group was given 100 mg of Pycnogenol® per day, over a period of eight weeks. Students' mental performance was evaluated using cognitive function tests that were carried out by computer-assisted methods. Students' final exam scores were also evaluated. Verbal IQ tests ensured that students recruited for the study demonstrated highly comparable intelligence.

The study found that: Pycnogenol® effectively enhanced mental performance, including improved sustained attention, memory and mood in students within an eight week period Students taking Pycnogenol® had higher test scores on university exams than the control group Alertness and contentedness improved significantly within the Pycnogenol® group and levels of anxiety decreased by 17 percent "Oxygen-rich blood supply to the brain plays an important role for cognitive function and the improvement of vascular function with Pycnogenol® may be responsible for the beneficial effects found in this study," says Dr. Gianni Belcaro, the lead researcher from Pescara University, Italy.

Results showed that not only did Pycnogenol® decrease test anxiety, but also confirmed Pycnogenol®'s ability to improve mental performance by evaluating students' scores on exams. Researchers suggest that several physiologic contributions of Pycnogenol® may have contributed to the improved cognitive function of investigated students, namely antioxidant potency and blood circulation improvement. While the results are promising they need to be further investigated in a larger population group.

This study confirms previous findings that Pycnogenol® effectively improves cognitive function. Research published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology demonstrated that Pycnogenol® supplementation improved both numerical working memory as well as spatial working memory in Australian senior citizens.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our nutrition / diet section for the latest news on this subject. Pycnogenol® is a natural plant extract originating from the bark of the maritime pine that grows along the coast of southwest France and is found to contain a unique combination of procyanidins, bioflavonoids and organic acids, which offer extensive natural health benefits. The extract has been widely studied for the past 40 years and has more than 280 published studies and review articles ensuring safety and efficacy as an ingredient. Today, Pycnogenol® is available in more than 700 dietary supplements, multi-vitamins and health products worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.pycnogenol.com./
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