FOXNews.com: Olympians taking supplements with strange side effects

FOXNews.com FOX News Network - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Olympians taking supplements with strange side effects Jul 26th 2012, 21:06 In an effort to up their game before the Olympics, athletes are likely to consume a number of strange supplements as a part of their diet – some of which may even turn their urine pink or purple, Inside Science reported. Among other supplements, Olympians may turn to beetroot juice, bicarbonate of soda and caffeine, which are all competition-legal, to improve their performance.   While caffeine was once regulated under anti-doping rules, the restrictions were eventually lifted.  As for many of us, even a low dose of caffeine can help improve alertness and "also improves a lot of other physiological parameters," Keith Barr, an exercise physiologist, told Inside Science. Bicarbonate, or baking soda, meanwhile helps athletes improve their endurance by preventing the build-up of lactic acid in the muscles.  Theoretically, bicarbonate buffers the hydrogen ions in lactic acid, slowing down build-up in the muscles and preventing the 'burn' many athletes feel during intense exercise.  One down side of bicarbonate is that it can cause digestive problems such as flatulence and bloating once it reaches the stomach. Finally, beetroot juice appears to have many physiological and psychological benefits, Inside Science reported.  According to studies, beetroot juice alone may improve performance by 2 to 3 percent in events lasting 20 to 30 minutes. "[F]or events lasting more than a minute and lasting up to several hours, it's a potentially performance- enhancing supplement," Michael Gleeson, an exercise biochemist at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, U.K., told Inside Science. "It essentially will improve endurance exercise performance by making you more efficient in the use of oxygen." Beetroot juice also has the highly visible effect of turning users' urine purple. Click for more from Inside Science.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions