Well-trained professional and recreational athletes utilize various supplements that claim to enhance exercise and athletic performance, with creatine and caffeine among the more researched supplements being commonly used as ergogenic nutritional aids.
Supplementation with essential amino acids (EAAs) could potentially enhance exercise and athletic performance – provided it supplements, rather than replaces, an existing diet containing sufficient EAAs.
Protein
Protein is an essential macronutrient that supports nearly every aspect of bodily functioning, from muscle growth and repair to brain health and immune support. Furthermore, protein can also play an essential role in athletic performance by strengthening both strength and stamina.
Studies utilizing time to exhaustion protocols have demonstrated that protein supplementation can produce statistically significant improvements in performance (25, 28-30). Higher doses of whey protein were found to have more beneficial results on high intensity running and power generating capacity tests (31-32).
Whenever selecting a protein powder for exercise recovery or training purposes, it’s wise to opt for one certified by an independent organization such as NSF International. This ensures that its contents match what’s stated on its label while not including ingredients that could cause digestive issues like bloating, gas or diarrhoea; such ingredients could include vegetable gums, thickeners, artificial sweeteners and indigestible fibre.
Creatine
Creatine is one of the best-researched and effective nutritional ergogenic aids. It’s well known to increase anaerobic energy capacity by increasing intramuscular phosphocreatine (PCr) stores, accelerating ATP resynthesis and optimizing performance during short duration, high intensity exercise.
Grindstaff and investigators [73] supplemented 18 male and female junior competitive swimmers, age 13-16 years, with either creatine or placebo for nine days during training sessions and observed that swim times increased significantly after taking creatine during their first race; moreover, those taking creatine also covered more distance when swimming overall.
Creatine may help enhance strength gains when combined with resistance training programs, according to Lehmkul and colleagues’ study comparing creatine monohydrate supplementation vs placebo on back squat strength of female collegiate athletes. Supplementing with creatine led to greater strength gains than placebo; however, to maximize results it’s essential that creatine ingestion remains consistent over its initial loading phase (two to seven days); then follow with maintenance dosage of 5 g per day thereafter.
Caffeine
No matter when athletes consume caffeine – be it coffee in the morning, chocolate at lunch, energy drinks before practice or an energy bar between practices – almost all do. Caffeine is one of the world’s most widely used stimulants and can be found in numerous drinks, foods and supplements including protein powders, tea bags and cold and flu medicines.
Caffeine affects not only the brain, but also muscle performance, heart rate and fat metabolism. Once consumed it quickly enters the bloodstream reaching peak concentrations within an hour of ingestion.
Like some performance-enhancing drugs, caffeine is not banned by the NCAA and may be consumed in normal amounts (less than 15 ug/ml urine). Athletes must know their caffeine tolerance levels, the most efficient method for administering it and when and why its usage would be most beneficial to them.
Glutamine
Glutamine is an essential amino acid for both protein synthesis and immune function, serving as a nitrogen donor that increases protein production and speeds muscle recovery. Furthermore, glutamine stimulates neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), an immune response against bacteria. Furthermore, glutamine also increases superoxide generation through NADPH oxidase activity within neutrophils.
Supplementation with glutamine has been shown to decrease during periods of intense exercise or stress, thereby helping reduce muscle loss and speed recovery, as well as supporting immune function during times of prolonged physical stress or illness.
Glutamine can be found in many food sources such as meats, dairy products, beans and certain vegetables. Supplementation is generally safe for most healthy adults; however, those with serious medical conditions or taking certain medications should seek advice from their healthcare provider prior to beginning. Glutamine dipeptides like l-glycyl l-glutamine and l-arginyl l-glutamine have been studied extensively as potential healing aids in critically ill patients.
