Category: Sports Science

monitoring, nutrition, performance, Sports Science, supplements

New recommendations for dietary intake of Vitamin D and Calcium

Most Americans and Canadians up to age 70 need no more than 600 international units (IUs) of vitamin D per day to maintain health, and those 71 and older may need as much as 800 IUs, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The amount of calcium needed ranges, based on age, from 700 to 1,300 milligrams per day, according to the report, which updates the nutritional reference values known as Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for these interrelated nutrients.

The report’s recommendations take into account nearly 1,000 published studies. A large amount of evidence, which formed the basis of the new intake values, confirms the roles of calcium and vitamin D in promoting skeletal growth and maintenance and the amounts needed to avoid poor bone health. The current evidence in fact seems to suggest the need for increasing Vitamin D levels not only in the elderly, but also in athletic populations. In fact, young athletes and dancers have been recently identified to present vitamin D insufficiency, despite the fact they live in a sunny country, suggesting that screening and increase Vitamin D intake is necessary to avoid health problems.

The committee that wrote the report also reviewed hundreds of studies and reports on other possible health effects of vitamin D. While these studies point to possibilities that suggest potential benefits of Vitamin D supplementation, they have yielded conflicting and mixed results. Rigorous trials that yield consistent results are vital for reaching conclusions, as past experiences have shown. Vitamin E, for example, was believed to protect against heart disease before further studies disproved it.

Adequate Vitamin D levels seem to be important in athletes (in particular female athletes) as a serum 25(OH)D concentration of >or=32 and preferably >or=40 ng.mL(-1) can reduce the risk for conditions such as stress fracture, total body inflammation, infectious illness, and impaired muscle function.

A part from supplementation, outdoor training time (during peak sunlight) is important and can influence Vitamin D levels.

Something else to think about, in particular in athletes training and competing indoor and in athletes leaving in “dark” countries.

Sports Science

2010 is coming to an end: Thank you!

New Picture (5)

This blog started for fun as a way to write about various aspects of sports science and possibly to provide freely accessible information for coaches and sports scientists around the World in a simple format and possibly using multimedia.

I personally think that this is something that scientists in academia should also do in order to reach a wider audience and also allow practitioners which cannot access scientific journals to read about their work. This experiment has been so far rewarding.

This year the blog received 18,128 visits from 130 countries. More than double the amount of the visits received last year!

Thank you for visiting this blog and thank you for the time you take to ready what I write. I will do my best to continue in 2011 and hopefully provide some useful content!

In the meantime, I wish you all a great 2011!

biochemistry, doping, Sports Science

2011 WADA prohibited list is now online

The Prohibited List (List) was first published in 1963 under the leadership of the International Olympic Committee. Since 2004, as mandated by the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), WADA is responsible for the preparation and publication of the List. It is an International Standard identifying substances and methods prohibited in-competition, out-of-competition and in particular sports. For a link to the list, click on the WADA logo.

Substances and methods are classified by categories (e.g., steroids, stimulants, gene doping) and the list is updated every year and it is valid for a calendar year. The agreed process for the annual consideration of the List includes three meetings (see timeline below) of WADA’s List Expert Group with a draft discussion List being published and circulated for consultation in June, following the second meeting.*
At its third meeting in September, the List Expert Group, following consideration of the submissions received from the consultation process, recommends the new List to the Health, Medical and Research Committee which in turn makes recommendations to WADA’s Executive Committee. The Executive Committee finalizes the List at its September meeting.
The use of any prohibited substance by an athlete for medical reasons is still possible by virtue of a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

Few interesting modifications are:

1) To reflect the growing number of substances developed to stimulate erythropoeisis, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-stabilizers have been added as an example.

2) Intra-muscular use of Platelet-Derived Preparations (PRP) has been removed from the Prohibited List.

3) Desmopressin has been added as an example of masking agent.

4) Methods that consist of sequentially withdrawing, manipulating and reinfusing whole blood into the circulation have been added to this category.

5) Methylhexaneamine has been transferred to the list of specified stimulants (it seems to be a popular choice these days…)

6) At the request of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) and due to changes introduced in the format of the competition, alcohol is no longer prohibited in Modern Pentathlon for disciplines involving shooting.

7) It is clarified that, in addition to Bobsleigh, beta-blockers are also prohibited in Skeleton, which are both governed by the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT).

8) At the request of the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), gymnastics has been removed from this category.