The Most Effective Supplement

BY DAN MCCARTHY//HIGH PERFORMANCE CONSULTANT of usaswimming.org

Cheri Mah’s unexpected discovery during her initial research in 2002 at Stanford has taken root in professional and collegiate sports, forcing coaches and administrators to rethink their approach to helping their athlete’s recover. What athlete would not benefit from being sharper, having a more positive mood and possessing quicker reaction times? When she narrowed her study to find specific responses, she turned to the Stanford Men’s Basketball Team for a three-year study. Her published work suggests that when supplementing for five to seven weeks, the player’s specific skills improved as well. They ran faster, their three-point shooting improved by 9%, as did their free-throw shooting.

Did I mention it is free, organic, non-GMO and available to everyone? The supplement in question? More Sleep!

1. How will sleep affect your hormones

It decreases cortisol and increases IGF-1. Cortisol has a catabolic (muscle breakdown) effect on tissue and is associated with a decrease in anabolic (muscle growth) hormones like IGF-1 and GH. Thus reducing levels of cortisol is ideal for an athlete to achieve tissue growth and positive adaptations to exercise training. Playing many different roles in the body, cortisol can have a negative impact on sleep, mood, bone health, ligament health, cardiovascular health and athletic performance, potentially causing fatigue and inflammation. Its primary functions are to increase protein breakdown, inhibit glucose uptake and increase lipolysis (the breakdown of fats).

2. Sleep affects your respiratory exchange ratio (RER)

Low RER = Body Burns more fat (good) vs. increased RER = Body burns more carbohydrates & proteins (bad). The ratio between the amount of CO₂ produced and O₂ consumed in one breath (determined from comparing exhaled gasses to room air) is the respiratory exchange ratio (RER). In one breath, humans normally breathe in more molecules of oxygen (O₂) than they breathe out molecules of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Measuring this ratio can be used for estimating the respiratory quotient (RQ), an indicator of which fuel (carbohydrate or fat) is being metabolized to supply the body with energy.

3. Psychological Effects

• Brain works more efficiently
• Improves focus & attention
• Improves short terms memory
• Improves long term memory
• Improves decision making and planning skills
• Improves habit forming abilities and makes it easier to pick up new skills
• Improves ability to make better choices

More specifically, Mah’s study examined the concept of Sleep Extension. The players in the basketball study got their normal amount of sleep for two to four weeks. For the next five to seven weeks they added naps to their schedule and tried to get 10 hours of sleep each night. Scientists are now researching exactly why extra sleep seems to produce such improvements. Some interesting and useful investigations have turned up great insight for all athletes, including swimmers.

• The neural pathways of activities from the day’s practice are reinforced at night during sleep, but it seems as if the big benefits don’t begin occurring until seven hours of sleep.
• Teen athletes that regularly get eight or more hours of sleep each night are 68% less likely to get injured than those that regularly slept less than eight hours.
• Eliminating certain practices helps athletes get a better night sleep. On the list? Bright lights, iPads and lattes, to name a few. Dim the lights for a ½-hour before going to sleep to help create a more restful atmosphere; no blue-light emitting electronics in bed (the blue light tricks the brain into thinking it is daytime); and no caffeine or other stimulants after 4:00 PM.

The USOC, the NBA and the US Army have all invested money in sleep research and either changed or proposed changes to the way they do things, not only to help athletes and soldiers get quality rest, but to improve their performance when it counts.

TAKE SLEEP SERIOUSLY

IT INCREASES	IT DECREASES
Concentration	Mood changes
Attention	Stress
Decision Making	Anger
Creativity	Impulsiveness
Social Skills	Tendency to take drugs
Health

Can Nutrition Help Muscle Cramps?

By CHRIS ROSENBLOOM, PHD, RDN, CSSD of usaswimming.org

A young swimmer asked if there were any nutritional strategies that prevented muscle cramps.  If you have experienced the pain of an exercise-induced muscle cramp, you might just try anything to avoid another cramp.  Sucking on mustard packets from the local fast food joint to swallowing pickle juice have all been reported to be miracle cures for cramping. One report found that 25% of athletic trainers suggest pickle juice for immediate relief. Muscle cramps have plagued not only athletes, but those who do hard, physical work in hot and humid conditions, like coal miners. But, while cramps are not uncommon in active folks, the reason for cramping remains in question. There are generally two theories on cramping and neither theory has been proven beyond a doubt to be the cause.

The first theory is that cramps are related to dehydration and loss of the electrolyte, sodium, especially in hot and humid environments. That is where mustard and pickle juice come in…both are concentrated sources of sodium. One study compared pickle juice to sports drinks, but did not show that pickle juice elevated blood sodium levels quickly enough to relieve cramps, yet some athletes do report relief. Another problem with this theory is that cramps occur in cool weather conditions or while swimming in cooler water, so there is more to cramping than just hot weather conditions.  Lastly, not every athlete who cramps is dehydrated.

The second theory is that cramps are caused by an imbalance in nerve signals to muscles, sometimes called the neuromuscular theory. Cramps tend to occur more frequently at the end of competition or hard physical work when the muscle is tired. Rest and stretching the cramping muscle are the treatment options based on this theory.

So, where does that leave the cramping swimmer? It still makes sense to ensure good hydration and have adequate salt intake. While it may not be the sole cause of cramps, dehydration can affect performance, and severe dehydration can result in life threatening heat illness. Research with football and tennis players have found that those athletes who have a high sweat rate and high sodium losses in sweat (the “heavy and salty sweater”) are cramp-prone. So, try these tips and see if they help reduce cramps:

• Monitor your body weight by weighing before and after practice. If you lose more than 2% of your body weight (for example, a 150-pound swimmer who loses more than 3 pounds in a workout has lost over 2% of his body weight) try drinking about a liter (4 cups) of a sports drink 1 hour before your workout.
• Add about 1/3 teaspoon of salt to a liter of sports drink (shake well) to make your own endurance formula sports drink.
• Consume higher sodium foods or beverages in your pre-workout meal or snack; try chicken noodle or tomato soup, beef or turkey jerky, tomato juice, salted pretzels or baked chips.
• Drink sports drink during your workout; keep a sports bottle handy and drink a few swallows when you can.

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Chris Rosenbloom is a professor emerita of nutrition at Georgia State University and provides sports nutrition consulting services to athletes of all ages. She is the editor-in-chief of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Sports Nutrition Manual, 5th edition and editor-in-chief of an online Sports Nutrition Care Manual for health care professionals. She welcomes questions from swimmers, parents and coaches. Email her atchrisrosenbloom@gmail.com.

3 Nutrients Young Swimmers Shouldn’t Miss

BY JILL CASTLE, MS, RDN of USASWIMMING.ORG

Nutrition plays a key role in performance and recovery. But for the young swimmer, it also supports growth and development. While there are important nutrients for swimming, such carbohydrates and protein, there are also micronutrients that may be at risk for deficiency, like iron, calcium, and vitamin D.

Of course, any nutrient can fall short of needs if the diet is inadequate compared to the requirements. Deficiencies should always be addressed in the growing athlete.

Three nutrients – iron, calcium and vitamin D—stand out as high-risk nutrients for the young swimmer. One, because they are already known to be deficient in children and teens, in general, and two, because they may be harder for the growing athlete to get enough.  Here’s the lowdown on each nutrient, including recommended levels of intake, and food sources:

IRON

Iron carries and stores oxygen, which occurs at a higher level during periods of growth (read: childhood and adolescence). Female athletes, in particular, are at greater risk for this deficiency due to menses and exercise.

According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), 9% of 12-49 year-old women are iron-deficient. Swimmers who cut back on their eating or consume a vegetarian diet are at increased risk for iron deficiency.

Requirements:
4-8 year olds: 10 mg/day
9-13 year olds: 8 mg/day
14-18 year olds: 15 mg/day (females); 11 mg/day (males)

Iron comes from animal and plant sources, with animal sources being more efficiently absorbed in the body. The less efficient absorption of plant iron can be enhanced by vitamin C-containing foods like citrus fruit and juices.

Food Sources: beef, ground beef, dark meat turkey and chicken, canned light tuna in water, iron-fortified cereals, instant oatmeal, enriched bagels and breads, black beans, white beans, spinach and raisins

CALCIUM

Calcium is needed for normal bone development and strength, and is required for muscle contraction. All children and teens are at risk for calcium deficiency, but especially teens because they tend to eat and drink less dairy products as they age. Ironically, this is the time when they need calcium the most! Peak bone formation occurs in the teenage years and is completed in the early 20’s.

Requirements:
4-8 year olds: 1000 mg/day
9-13 year olds: 1300 mg/day
14-18 year olds: 1300 mg/day

Food sources: ready-to-eat cereals, calcium-fortified orange juice, cow’s milk, soymilk, yogurt, cheese, salmon, tofu, frozen yogurt, vanilla ice cream, cottage cheese, turnip greens, kale, Bok choy, broccoli, and white bread (calcium-fortified).

VITAMIN D

Vitamin D partners with calcium to build bones. It has also been identified in the prevention of cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease and infectious disease. Sunlight activates vitamin D in the skin, but sunscreen, cloud cover, dark-colored skin, and other factors may limit its effectiveness as a source of vitamin D.

Requirements:
All kids and teens need 600 IU/day.

It’s not easy to meet vitamin D requirements because there are few foods that are rich sources of this nutrient, and the obvious foods like dairy products aren’t always consumed in the needed amounts (6 cups of milk equals 600 IU vitamin D). The combination of vitamin D-rich foods and sunshine are key to making sure the swimmer gets enough. For swimmers who practice indoors, getting adequate vitamin D from food (or a supplement) is critical.

Food sources: sockeye salmon, smoked salmon, canned tuna, vitamin D-fortified orange juice, milk, soymilk, rice drink, cooked pork, fortified ready-to-eat cereals, mushrooms, Canadian bacon, and eggs.

Iron, calcium and vitamin D are essential to the growing swimmer’s health and wellness, not to mention his athletic performance. Keep these three nutrients top of mind and you may avoid some significant roadblocks to training along the way.

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Jill Castle, MS, RDN is a childhood nutrition expert and co-author of Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School (www.fearlessfeeding.com). She is the creator of Just The Right Byte (www.justtherightbyte.com), and is working on her next book, entitled Eat Like a Champion: Performance Nutrition for Your Young Athlete. She lives with her husband and four children in New Canaan, CT.

3 Healthy Ways To Boost Your Energy

by Megan Fischer-Colbrie of bridgeathletic.com

Navigating the world of supplements can be daunting. It’s important to remember that you can maintain higher energy levels with a few simple changes to your daily habits. Let’s take a moment to discuss what you can do right now to boost your energy throughout the day.

In today’s sports world, it seems like there are endless options for energy-boosting products and few ways to distinguish which ones may actually help. Athletes need to pay special attention to the source of these products to ensure they are not tainted with harmful ingredients or packaged in factories that may also produce banned substances. Navigating the world of supplements can be daunting. It’s important to remember that you can maintain higher energy levels with a few simple changes to your daily habits. Let’s take a moment to discuss what you can do right now to boost your energy throughout the day.

1. Drink Water.

It’s so simple a solution we often neglect it. In fact, your body is pretty good at telling you when you’re dehydrated, but we often ignore the impulse. Dehydration can manifest itself in more than just thirst. You may feel fatigued, dizzy, irritable, unable to focus, and even hungry. When you deny your body water, it sends a hunger signal to your brain. This drives you to eat as a secondary, albeit inefficient, way of obtaining water contained within food. The next time you’re feeling tired and in need of a snack, reach for your water bottle first. You’d be surprised how often you may simply be dehydrated when your energy levels are dipping.

2. Electrolytes.

For the athletes who are great at drinking water consistently throughout the day, remember that good hydration and energy maintenance also comes from replacing lost electrolytes. Sweating during workouts leads to a loss of salt from your body. Hydrating with water can help replace some fluid, but it can also further dilute your salt concentration within the body. This sodium is critical for regulating normal body processes. In addition to water, you can incorporate an electrolyte beverage into your daily routine. This can be maximally effective during or after workouts.

3. Caffeine, Naps, and a Good Night’s Sleep.

The conversation around caffeine and sports continues to grow. I encourage you to think about your caffeine intake and sleep in a more integrated way. As an elite athlete with heavy training, you are guaranteed to be exhausted at multiple times throughout your season. If you choose to drink tea, coffee, or energy drinks regularly, try to keep a sleep log. While caffeine has been shown to improve performance during competition (see my post on Caffeine and Sports Performance), it can also become a bad habit for athletes whose energy levels dip often during the day. Your habit can become a “band-aid” solution, masking the underlying problem of insufficient sleep and perhaps poor recovery methods. Taking a sleep log will help you visualize how much sleep you are actually getting each night and how consistent you are with your bedtime. Caffeine cannot replace the positive effects of sleep even though it temporarily stimulates your mind by inhibiting drowsiness. For the long-term solution you are looking for, consistent sleep is the ultimate answer.

Like any habit, it may take a few weeks for these tips to become part of your routine. Your training and performance will improve as you begin to maintain more energy throughout the day. Trust your body and the simple tools at your disposal to help you stay energized and ready to train.

Discover more healthy ways to boost your energy by checking out this post on how to accelerate your recovery.