Exercise and functional foods

Appropriate nutrition is an essential prerequisite for effective improvement of athletic performance, conditioning, recovery from fatigue after exercise, and avoidance of injury. Nutritional supplements containing carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals have been widely used in various sporting fields to provide a boost to the recommended daily allowance. In addition, several natural food components have been found to show physiological effects, and some of them are considered to be useful for promoting exercise performance or for prevention of injury. However, these foods should only be used when there is clear scientific evidence and with understanding of the physiological changes caused by exercise. This article describes various "functional foods" that have been reported to be effective for improving exercise performance or health promotion, along with the relevant physiological changes that occur during exercise

Substantial elevation of interleukin-6 concentration in peritendinous tissue, in contrast to muscle, following prolonged exercise in humans

Plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentration has been shown to increase with exercise and various cell types and tissues have been suggested to be responsible for this increase. At present no studies have measured the interstitial concentration of IL-6 in skeletal muscle and connective tissue. The present study represents the first attempt to simultaneously measure IL-6 in plasma, skeletal muscle and peritendinous connective tissue in response to prolonged exercise. Six healthy well-trained volunteers completed a 36 km run (flat, 12 km h−1). IL-6 was measured before, 2 h post-exercise and 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h post-exercise in both the medial gastrocnemius muscle (not measured at rest due to risk of disabling the subsequent exercise, and 24 h and 72 h post-exercise) and the peritendinous tissue around the Achilles tendon using microdialysis catheters with a high molecular mass cut-off value (3000 kDa). The plasma concentration of IL-6 was measured simultaneously, and in addition every hour during the exercise, by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The plasma concentration of IL-6 was found to increase throughout the exercise, reaching peak values immediately after completion of the run (50-fold increase). Using the microdialysis technique, the interstitial concentration of IL-6 was found to increase dramatically from 0 ± 0 pg ml−1 to 3618 ± 1239 pg ml−1 in the peritendinous tissue in the hours following the exercise. The pattern of changes was similar in plasma and peritendinous tissue, although approximately 100-fold higher in the latter. For comparison the interstitial muscle concentration was found to be 465 ± 176 pg ml−1 when measured 2 h post-exercise and 223 ± 113 pg ml−1 and 198 ± 96 pg ml−1 48 h and 96 h post-exercise, respectively. The present study demonstrates that the connective tissue around the human Achilles tendon produces significant amounts of IL-6 in response to prolonged physical activity, which might contribute to the exercise-induced increase in IL-6 found in plasma

Interleukin-6 release from the human brain during prolonged exercise

Interleukin (IL)-6 is a pleiotropic cytokine, which has a variety of physiological roles including functions within the central nervous system. Circulating IL-6 increases markedly during exercise, partly due to the release of IL-6 from the contracting skeletal muscles, and exercise-induced IL-6 may be linked with central fatigue, which is enhanced by hyperthermia. Exercise-induced IL-6 may also stimulate hepatic glycogenolysis, which is important during prolonged and repeated exercise. Thus, in a randomised order and separated by 60 min of rest, eight young male subjects completed two 60 min exercise bouts: one bout with a normal (38 °C) and the other with an elevated (39.5 °C) core temperature. The cerebral IL-6 response was determined on the basis of internal jugular venous to arterial IL-6 differences and global cerebral blood flow. There was no net release or uptake of IL-6 in the brain at rest or after 15 min of exercise, but a small release of IL-6 was observed after 60 min of exercise in the first bout (0.06 ± 0.03 ng min−1). This release of IL-6 from the brain was five-fold greater at the end of the second bout (0.30 ± 0.08 ng min−1; P < 0.05) with no separate influence of hyperthermia. In conclusion, IL-6 is released from the brain during prolonged exercise in humans and it appears that the duration of the exercise rather than the increase in body temperature dictates the cerebral IL-6 response