Sports drinks improve endurance...
Sports drinks containing protein appeared to improve endurance
among cyclists compared to those drinking a carbohydrate-only beverage
in a new study.
It is not clear whether the effects were merely a result of additional
calories from the protein or because of specific protein-mediated
mechanisms.
However the findings give some early indications of potential benefits
of adding proteins to sports drinks.
The study of 15 male cyclists compared Accelerade, a sports drink
containing carbohydrates and whey protein marketed by US-based PacificHealth
Laboratories, with a carbohydrate-only drink, similar to many products
on the market today.
The researchers based at James Madison University in Virginia,
US asked cyclists to pedal to the point of exhaustion while replenishing
with either the protein-added or carb-only drink every 15 minutes.
The athletes performed a second, more demanding ride the next day.
One to two weeks later, they went through the process again, this
time with the other drink.
Writing in the journal Medicine in Science and Sports Exercise,
the researchers report that the men lasted 29 per cent longer during
the first test and 40 per cent longer during the second test when
they drank the protein-containing drink.
There were also signs of less exercise-induced muscle damage, according
to the researchers. After the exercise tests, the cyclists' blood
levels of creatine phosphokinase — an enzyme released from
muscles under stress — were lower when they consumed protein
during the workout.
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Reference
Saunders MJ, Kane MD, Todd MK. (2004). Effects of a carbohydrate-protein
beverage on cycling endurance and muscle damage. Medicine
and Science in Sports and Exercise, 36, 1233-1238
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