Here’s a post for those competitive athletes who are always striving to improve their performance and want to keep their food fuel natural. Instead of cramming your body with processed runner’s energy aids, why not fuel yourself with cranberry extract? Research from Concordia University has shown that cranberries are a viable food fuel alternative for runners.
Cranberries can help runners boost speed, lower blood lactate, and improve oxygen levels with daily extract consumption. Researchers Francis Parenteau and Andreas Bergdahl published their findings in the journal Physical Activity and Nutrition. Here’s what you need to know.
Cranberries are a healthier alternative to processed aids
In a series of trials involving trained distance runners, the researchers found that ingesting a cranberry supplement for 28 consecutive days led to noticeable improvements in both performance and muscle fatigue following 1,500-meter time trials. Re-oxygenation rates were faster, and running speeds improved by 1.5 percent.
“When it comes to elite athletes, any advantage can make the difference between finishing fifth or on the podium,” says Andreas Bergdahl, an associate professor in the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology and the paper’s senior author.
The researchers recruited 14 high-level runners from Concordia’s varsity track and field team and two Montreal running clubs. These runners perform at least five hours of endurance training a week.
The effects of different energy systems
The athletes ran two time trials over three separate visits, one a 1,500-meter, the other a 400-meter. The first visit was used as a baseline.
They were given a single large dose of cranberry extract two hours before running. The athletes were then instructed to consume a small dose of cranberry extract daily for 28 days, after which they repeated the runs for a third time.
“We selected these distances to test the effects the cranberry extract had on different energy systems,” says Francis Parenteau, a PhD candidate and the paper’s lead author. “The 400-meter is shorter and of higher intensity and involves the anaerobic system. The 1,500-meter uses the aerobic system, but is shorter than what the athletes usually run. Since they do not train to run that distance, we were able to isolate training effects as a variable.”
Measuring key indicators for performance
Besides their running time, the researchers measured their post-exercise blood lactate, a marker for potential muscle fatigue and lack of oxygen. They also attached a portable near-infrared spectroscopy device to the runners. It measured muscle oxygenation levels before, during and after their runs.
Following data analysis, the researchers found that 28 days of cranberry extract consumption demonstrated a trend toward increased speed in the 1,500-metre time trial but not in the 400-metre.
However, they noted that lactate buildup was reduced following the 400-metre but not the 1,500-metre compared to baseline.
The data also indicated that the cranberry extract promoted better oxygen extraction by the muscle, improved lactate clearance and slower muscle deoxygenation.
A runner’s new best friend
Cranberries are extraordinarily rich in polyphenols. This is a natural compound with antioxidant properties. These characteristics help protect the body from the harmful effects of free radical molecules produced by strenuous exercise.
“The beauty of this is that it is all natural,” says Bergdahl. “It is an ergogenic aid, meaning that it is performance-enhancing, but it is not an anabolic steroid. Athletes can get this important boost in their performance just by consuming more cranberries.”
Main photo credit: Didier De Villiers on Instagram @devildidier for @mindsetmovement_
References
Read the cited paper: “Cranberry supplementation improves physiological markers of performance in trained runners.”
Cranberries provide runners with an all-natural boost, according to new Concordia research – Concordia University
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