Creatine supplementation on cognitive performance following exercise in female Muay Thai athletes

BACKGROUND: Creatine supplementation has some beneficial effects on cognitive processing in healthy adults, including athletes; however the effects on cognitive function following exhaustive exercise in athletes is unknown. Therefore, the purpose was to determine the effects of 28 days of creatine supplementation on tasks of cognitive performance immediately following exhaustive exercise in Muay Thai female athletes compared to placebo. METHODS: Using a repeated measures, double-blind, placebo controlled design, 26 female Muay Thai athletes (age: 26 ± 5 years; body mass: 65.1 ± 6.6 kg; height: 162 ± 5 cm; training experience: 2.6 ± 0.6 years) were randomized to supplement with creatine monohydrate (3 g/day) or placebo (maltodextrin) for 28 days. Prior to and following supplementation, measures of cognitive performance were assessed (visual and auditory reaction time, corsi block test, visual forward digit span, and Erikson Flanker Task) immediately after exercise. RESULTS: There was a time main effect for auditory reaction time (p = 0.035), with no differences between groups. There was a trend for an interaction effect for visual reaction time (p = 0.067), visual go-no-go reaction time (p = 0.087), and Erikson Flanker task (p = 0.06), with exploratory post hoc tests revealing improvements over time in the creatine group (p \u3c 0.05) with no changes in the PLA group (p \u3e 0.05). CONCLUSION: Twenty-eight days of creatine supplementation appeared to have a small but positive effect on cognitive performance following exhaustive exercise in female Muay Thai athletes. Future research using a larger dose over a longer duration is warranted

Effects of Icelandic yogurt consumption and resistance training in healthy untrained older males

Due to the important roles of resistance training and protein consumption in the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia, we assessed the efficacy of post-exercise Icelandic yogurt consumption on lean mass, strength, and skeletal muscle regulatory factors in healthy untrained older males. Thirty healthy untrained older males (age = 68 ± 4 yr) were randomly assigned to Icelandic yogurt (IR; n =15, 18 g of protein) or an iso-energetic placebo (PR; n =15, 0 g protein) immediately following resistance training (3x/week) for eight weeks. Before and after training, lean mass, strength, and skeletal muscle regulatory factors (insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1], transforming growth factor-beta 1 [TGF-β1], growth differentiation factor 15 [GDF15], Activin A, myostatin [MST], and follistatin [FST]) were assessed. There were group x time interactions (p < 0.05) for body mass (IR: Δ 1, PR: Δ 0.7 kg), body mass index (IR: Δ 0.3, PR: Δ 0.2 kg∙m-2), lean mass (IR: Δ 1.3, PR: Δ 0.6 kg), bench press (IR: Δ 4, PR: 2.3 kg), leg press (IR: Δ 4.2, PR: Δ 2.5 kg), IGF-1 (IR: Δ 0.5, Δ PR: 0.1 ng∙mL-1), TGF-β (IR: Δ -0.2, PR: Δ -0.1 ng∙mL-1), GDF15 (IR: Δ -10.3, PR: Δ -4.8 pg∙mL-1), Activin A (IR: Δ -9.8, PR: Δ -2.9 pg∙mL-1), MST (IR: Δ -0.1, PR: Δ -0.04 ng∙mL-1), and FST (IR: Δ 0.09, PR: Δ 0.03 ng∙mL-1), with Icelandic yogurt consumption resulting in greater changes compared to placebo. The addition of Icelandic yogurt consumption to a resistance training program improved lean mass, strength, and altered skeletal muscle regulatory factors in healthy untrained older males compared to placebo. Therefore, Icelandic yogurt as a nutrient-dense source and cost-effective supplement enhances muscular gains mediated by resistance training and consequently may be used as a strategy for the prevention of sarcopenia

Timing of ergogenic aids and micronutrients on muscle and exercise performance

The timing of macronutrient ingestion in relation to exercise is a purported strategy to augment muscle accretion, muscle and athletic performance, and recovery. To date, the majority of macronutrient nutrient timing research has focused on carbohydrate and protein intake. However, emerging research suggests that the strategic ingestion of various ergogenic aids and micronutrients may also have beneficial effects. Therefore, the purpose of this narrative review is to critically evaluate and summarize the available literature examining the timing of ergogenic aids (caffeine, creatine, nitrates, sodium bicarbonate, beta-alanine) and micronutrients (iron, calcium) on muscle adaptations and exercise performance. In summary, preliminary data is available to indicate the timing of caffeine, nitrates, and creatine monohydrate may impact outcomes such as exercise performance, strength gains and other exercise training adaptations. Furthermore, data is available to suggest that timing the administration of beta-alanine and sodium bicarbonate may help to minimize known untoward adverse events while maintaining potential ergogenic outcomes. Finally, limited data indicates that timed ingestion of calcium and iron may help with the uptake and metabolism of these nutrients. While encouraging, much more research is needed to better understand how timed administration of these nutrients and others may impact performance, health, or other exercise training outcomes

Effects of Dietary Protein on Body Composition in Exercising Individuals

Protein is an important component of a healthy diet and appears to be integral to enhancing training adaptations in exercising individuals. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide an evidence-based assessment of the current literature examining increases in dietary protein intake above the recommended dietary allowance (RDA: 0.8 g/kg/d) in conjunction with chronic exercise on body composition (i.e., muscle, fat and bone). We also highlight acute and chronic pre-sleep protein studies as well as the influence of exercise timing on body composition. Overall, a high-protein diet appears to increase muscle accretion and fat loss and may have beneficial effects on bone when combined with exercise. Pre-sleep protein is a viable strategy to help achieve total daily protein goals. Importantly, there appears to be no deleterious effects from a high-protein diet on muscle, fat or bone in exercising individuals

Medium-chain triglycerides may improve memory in non-demented older adults: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

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Medium-chain triglycerides may improve memory in non-demented older adults: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Background: Ketosis has been exploited for its neuroprotective impact and treatment of neurological conditions via ketone production. Exogenous medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) supplementation may induce nutritional ketosis. The aim of this systematic review is to explore the effects of MCTs on memory function in older adults without cognitive impairment. Methods: A systematic literature search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science was employed from inception until April 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, investigating the impact of MCT oils on components of memory. Risk of bias (RoB2) tool was utilized for quality assessment. Results: Six trials were included for qualitative synthesis, in which two studies examined the effect of MCTs through a ketogenic meal. MCT supplementation compared to controls was associated with improved indices of memory function in 4 out of 6 studies, particularly working memory. A meta-analysis was not employed due to the low number of studies, therefore, a true effect measure of MCT supplementation was not explored. Conclusions: MCT supplementation may enhance working memory in non-demented older adults. These effects may be more prominent in individuals with lower baseline scores, from short and long-term supplementation. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings in terms of optimal dose and MCTs composition, which may protect from memory decline during aging

Strategic Ingestion of High-Protein Dairy Milk during a Resistance Training Program Increases Lean Mass, Strength, and Power in Trained Young Males

Background: We evaluated the effects of high-protein dairy milk ingestion on changes in body composition, strength, power, and skeletal muscle regulatory markers following 6 weeks of resistance training in trained young males. Methods: Thirty resistance-trained young males (age: 27 ± 3 years; training experience: 15 ± 2 months) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: high-protein dairy milk (both whey and casein) + resistance training (MR; n = 15) or isoenergetic carbohydrate (maltodextrin 9%) + resistance training (PR; n = 15). Milk and placebo were ingested immediately post-exercise (250 mL; 30 g protein) and 30 min before sleep (250 mL; 30 g protein). Before and after 6 weeks of linear periodized resistance training (4 times/week), body composition (bioelectrical impedance), strength, power, and serum levels of skeletal muscle regulatory markers (insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), growth hormone, testosterone, cortisol, follistatin, myostatin, and follistatin–myostatin ratio) were assessed. Results: The MR group experienced a significantly higher (p 0.05) increase in lean mass, strength, and power (upper- and lower-body) than the PR group. Further, IGF-1, growth hormone, testosterone, follistatin, and follistatin–myostatin ratio were significantly increased, while cortisol and myostatin significantly decreased in the MR group than the PR group (p 0.05). Conclusions: The strategic ingestion of high-protein dairy milk (post-exercise and pre-sleep) during 6 weeks of resistance training augmented lean mass, strength, power, and altered serum concentrations of skeletal muscle regulatory markers in trained young males compared to placebo

The effects of creatine supplementation combined with resistance training on regional measures of muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

The purpose of this paper was to carry out a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that examined the combined effects of resistance training (RT) and creatine supplementation on regional changes in muscle mass with direct imaging measures of hypertrophy. Moreover, we performed regression analyses to determine the potential influence of covariates. We included trials of at least 6 weeks in duration that examined the combined effects of creatine supplementation and RT on site-specific direct measures of hypertrophy (magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], computed tomography [CT] or ultrasound) in healthy adults. A total of 44 outcomes were analyzed across 10 studies that met inclusion criteria. Univariate analysis of all standardized outcomes showed a pooled mean estimate of 0.11 (95% Credible Interval [CrI]: -0.02 to 0.25) providing evidence of a very small effect favoring creatine supplementation when combined with RT, compared to RT and placebo. Multivariate analyses found similar small benefits for the combination of creatine supplementation and RT on changes in upper and lower body muscle thickness (0.10-0.16 cm). Analyses of moderating effects indicated a small superior benefit for creatine supplementation on younger compared to older adults (0.17 [95% CrI: -0.09 to 0.45]). In conclusion, results suggest that creatine supplementation combined with RT promotes a small increase in direct measures of skeletal muscle hypertrophy in both the upper and lower body