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We often pay attention to the "basic" issues that are supposed to ensure our harmonious development - an appropriate diet, training tailored to the possibilities and needs, often personalized and thoughtful supplementation that improves the effectiveness of training, but is this all we need to reach the peak of our abilities?
Today's text is about a topic that is often neglected, namely regeneration. Neglecting it can lead directly to a weakening of the body's adaptive capabilities, a decrease in exercise capacity, or even an increase in the risk of injury and the resulting interruptions in preparation for the start or achieving the desired sports form.
Well-established foundations
The basic nutritional and supplementation issue that affects our regeneration (both in the post-training period and during recovery after an injury) is ensuring an adequate supply of energy and proteins, as well as fluids. In short, sufficient protein supply, hydration and caloric value of the diet are the key to success. An additional aspect is the amount of sleep - 6-8, maximum 9 hours/day is considered optimal. Sleep itself should take place in an airy, possibly quiet and darkened room, and during the period preceding bedtime, it is worth refraining from using sources of light (and often emotions) - computers, televisions, tablets and smartphones. If you must reach for them - use blue light blockers or glasses that limit exposure to them. It also seems like a great idea to postpone exciting discussions (about politics, football or the future of your relationship) to another time of the day – when you go to sleep, let your body “think” mainly about rest, and not about the events of a few minutes ago that knocked it out of rhythm.
The impact of supplements on regeneration
In March 2018, the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism published an interesting article on supplementation to support health, adaptation processes, and the aforementioned recovery in athletes. Eric Rawson and his colleagues reviewed the scientific literature and outlined some noteworthy supplements, along with a brief commentary of their own. Below are examples of supplements discussed by the researchers in this paper, expanding their descriptions with data from other sources:
- Creatine monohydrate – the authors emphasize that the “risk group” for deficiencies are mainly people who consume small amounts of it with food (vegans and vegetarians, people who eat little meat). At the same time, they emphasize that “nutritional deficiency” does not carry any harmful effects for athletes. As for the positives of supplementation – most of you probably know that it is the strongest permitted anabolic, but in the context of regeneration, supplementation can contribute to its improvement by increasing the level of phosphocreatine (PCr) and the rate of glycogen resynthesis, as well as increasing gene expression, intracellular water content and reducing the occurrence of delayed onset muscle soreness (popularly known as DOMS). The recommended doses are considered to be 3-5g/day with constant supplementation or the use of a loading strategy – 20g/day (in divided doses of 5g) for 5-7 days, and then including a dose of 3-5g/day.
- Vitamin D is a prehormone, the source of which is approximately 90% sunlight. Deficiency may occur in people who avoid the sun or in months when the length of light rays does not allow for its synthesis (in Poland this is most of the year - months from September to April). The authors of the aforementioned work mention among the benefits of its optimal level a reduction in the frequency and duration of URTI (upper respiratory tract diseases), the frequency of fatigue fractures of bones and a positive effect on exercise adaptation. The effect of vitamin D is pleiotropic and it shows activity towards all body systems. According to the recommendations for the Polish population, the supplementation dose in the months of September-April should be 800-2000 IU/d and depend on the type of complexion and the level of adipose tissue. In the case of deficiencies and dark skin complexion in athletes, supplementation with higher doses is recommended, even up to 4000 IU/d.
- Omega-3 fatty acids are compounds that are talked about a lot, mainly in the context of health - they have anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerotic and anti-arrhythmic effects. Their proper supply can improve cognitive functions, reduce the risk of brain damage, but also... reduce pain and improve regeneration after physical exercise! (including by reducing the aforementioned DOMS). The most frequently tested and recommended dose is about 2g/day.
- Probiotics – according to the latest reports, they are mainly useful for minimizing the risk of gastrointestinal disorders, which often occur both during intense physical exercise and due to travel resulting in a change in the microbiome. Probiotic supplementation may also contribute to reducing the frequency, severity and duration of URTI. At the moment, it is impossible to make clear recommendations as to the dose and strain of probiotics that should be taken by athletes – we need more research.
- Gelatin combined with vitamin C/collagen – very cheap and safe supplementation, however… Not fully confirmed (studies are conducted mainly on very small groups of people, and the results are often based on subjective feelings). This is one of the “surer” and safer treatments leading to increased synthesis of endogenous collagen, and therefore useful especially during injury or increased training load. It is worth remembering that the supply of gelatin (currently 15g is considered to be the optimal portion, however, 5g doses are also successfully used in studies), enriched with vitamin C (50mg - a small dose, a little paprika or a glass of juice is enough) should take place approx. 1 hour before the planned effort – such a treatment will increase the blood supply to the joint tissue and deliver a larger amount of amino acids that create collagen to its surroundings.
In terms of collagen hydrolysate – recommended doses are approximately 10g/day.
- Tart cherry juice/puree - Taking the supplement may help improve sleep quality, and also have anti-inflammatory effects (although studies on athletes are inconclusive) and reduce muscle soreness (DOMS). Although sleep studies are conducted mainly on slightly older people (over 50), they document an increase in sleep time and improved sleep quality.
Recommended doses are 8-12 ounces (236-354ml), and in the case of concentrate 29.5ml (you can easily round it up to 30ml ;-) ) for 4-5 days before a sports event or 2-3 days after it, in order to maximize regeneration. If your goal is to improve the quality of sleep - using a dose of 250ml of juice 2* during the day is a good idea.
As I always like to emphasize – proper diet, training, hydration and sleep hygiene are the basis of everything. Sleeping for 3 hours with the light on you cannot count on improving your regeneration, however, if all of the above aspects are ensured and you make every effort not to “harm” yourself in your regeneration – the supplements discussed in the above article, although often used for a slightly different purpose ( creatine is a perfect example here), can be used to accelerate the recovery processes after murderous training.
Literature:
https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/full/10.1123/ijsnem.2017-0340
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5790847/pdf/40279_2017_Article_841.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5990871/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27852613
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28901958
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5109721/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30058460
Paweł Szewczyk - Master of Dietetics specializing in sports nutrition. Dietician of Polish National Team and European Champions. Participant and speaker at trainings, conferences and seminars throughout the country. Lecturer at the State Medical Higher Vocational School in Opole and the Institute of Psychodietetics in Wrocław. On a daily basis, he deals with professional counseling in the field of nutrition and supplementation, publishes scientifically and popularly, and trains athletes and dieticians.
Author of the blog: szewczykpassion.wordpress.com
More information in the education and experience tab https://szewczykpassion.wordpress.com/wyksztalcenie/
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