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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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15.08.2012 |
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Raisins for runners just as good as commercial sports food
Runners who want an energy boost when training or at a match can benefit more from a few small boxes of raisins than from expensive products available at the sports shop. Sports scientists at the University of California in Davis have good news for price-conscious – and health-conscious - runners.
Sports scientists at the University of California repeated the 2007 study, but now with runners instead of cyclists and with Clif Shot Bloks instead of a sports gel.
The researchers had 11 trained runners run for 3 x 80 minutes on a treadmill at 75% of their maximum oxygen intake. Immediately following this, the runners had to run 5 km as quickly as possible.
The raisins [Raisin] resulted in the fastest achievements during the 5-km run, but the difference with the times noted after taking Clif Shot Bloks [Chews] wasn't statistically significant. Both raisins and Clif Shot Bloks resulted in better achievements and a slightly higher heart rate [HR].
According to the researchers, after eating raisins, you burn more body fat and fewer carbohydrates than after eating Clif Shot Bloks.
During the 80-min run, the concentration of creatine kinase in the blood increased a tiny bit more after eating raisins than after eating the Clif Shot Bloks, which indicates muscle damage. The researchers have yet been unable to discover the cause of this. The subjects, however, didn't notice any difference. They reported having just as much muscle pain after the test with Clif Shot Bloks as after the test with raisins.
"Ingestion of a natural food product, raisins, had similar performance effects as a commercial sports product in chews and both products improved running time trial performance over water only", the researchers concluded.
This will certainly make their sponsor happy: the California Raisin Marketing Board.
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