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This dose of beta-glucans makes athletes fitter and stronger
Five years ago, we wrote about an animal study in which beta-glucan supplementation increased the endurance of mice. In humans, beta-glucans have the same effect, we read in Metabolites.
Study
Chinese researchers from the Shanghai University of Sport divided 27 professional table tennis players into 2 groups. One group consumed a placebo every day for 4 weeks, while the players in the other group consumed 2 grams of beta-glucans every day during that period.
The researchers used a product in powder form. The test subjects took a glass with 250 milliliters of water twice a day, in which they had dissolved 1 gram of beta-glucans.
Results
After the supplementation period, muscle strength in the hands had increased by 5-8 percent in the experimental group, according to the first table below. Click on it for a larger version.
Supplementing with beta-glucans also increased the body's ability to absorb oxygen. In the experimental group, VO2max - an important predictor of endurance - increased by 4 percent.
Mechanism
In the blood of the subjects in the experimental group, the concentration of metabolites released during the biosynthesis and breakdown of creatine had increased. Apparently, supplementation with beta-glucans stimulates creatine metabolism.
You may be wondering if this suggests that beta-glucan supplementation works even better when combined with creatine, but the researchers don't address this question.
How do you get 2 grams of beta-glucans?
The researchers are not very communicative about the type of beta-glucans they used. Did they come from oat or barley? From yeast? From mushrooms? We don't know.
There are supplements on the market that contain half a gram of barley beta-glucan per capsule. 4 of those capsules deliver the dose you need.
An alternative to supplements are edible mushrooms. 250 grams of fresh white belly button mushrooms contain 2 grams of beta-glucans. If you think that's a lot, you can also take shiitake. Because shiitake contains twice as much beta-glucans as mushrooms, you 'only' need 125 grams of fresh shiitake to get 2 grams of beta-glucans.
Source:
Metabolites. 2022 Oct 18;12(10):988.
More:
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Yeast beta-glucans ease symptoms of virus infection 16.03.2020
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Less fatigue, a better immune system yet training hard - thanks to beta-glucans 03.03.2020
Animal study: oatmeal fibre protects athletes against viruses 16.11.2011
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