The new health supplement

It is common for athletes from any discipline to ask about sports supplements (vitamins, proteins,...) that help them get fitter or help them beat their personal bests. But the worldwide Pandemic and the interest in finding a possible cure has led to discussions about new health supplementation.

Illness is a summary of what you eat, what you drink, what you think, what you breathe, but most importantly: What you don't eliminate!

There are some supplements that have been mentioned during this Covid-19 pandemic period, which seem to help overcome or prevent this infection. This could mean that from now on, new health supplementation will have a foundation where the immune system plays a more prominent role than protein, BCAAs, creatine... However, achieving a balance of all these supplements is highly recommended. And that a professional should guide on how and when to take this or other supplementation.

Micronutrition: supplementation for health

Currently, a new term in supplementation is gaining special relevance: Micronutrition. Micronutrition consists of maintaining health and treating different pathologies through supplementation with vitamins and micronutrients normally found in the body and in food. Micronutrition restores the chemical balance of the body through nutritional supplementation with: vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids. Micronutrition is dedicated to restoring the chemical balance within the body, achieving nutritional balance to prevent and treat diseases.

Melatonin:

Many of you will have heard about melatonin. In the last two years, several pharmaceutical laboratories have developed a supplement or medicine (health registration) based on melatonin. Melatonin is a neurohormone present in all living organisms, whose concentration varies according to the day-night cycle and helps with sleep. It is synthesized from serotonin and melanin, and plays key roles in circadian physiology. In addition, it has antioxidant properties, improves the immune system, and, at low doses, affects glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Some medications, such as NSAIDs, beta-blockers, or contraceptives, can reduce its levels.

Vitamin D:

Vitamin D plays a very important role among health supplements. More and more publications support its importance. In the field of sports, it has a dual function: first, the health of the athlete, both professional and amateur. Secondly, it seems to be increasingly relevant to athlete performance.

Studies on Vitamin D deficiency in athletes:

If we look at studies on athletes, we find studies that show vitamin D deficiency in athletes, especially in winter or in countries with little sun, with implications for performance (Magge et al, 2013) and subsequent studies confirm these results, such as the one carried out at the High Performance Center of Sant Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona). With 408 elite athletes, with an average age of 22.8 years and a total of 34 different sports modalities, it was found that only 18% had optimal vitamin D levels. This deficiency predominates in indoor sports compared to outdoor sports. This deficiency was observed in 87% of athletes, even in summer (Valtueña, 2014). Previous studies

Vitamin D deficiency is a significant problem as it can negatively affect physical performance and recovery. At the same time, the scientific community has found that optimal vitamin D levels would improve aspects such as strength, power, endurance, or aerobic capacity. Different publications link vitamin D with muscle strength, the proportion and diameter of type 2 muscle fibers, neuromuscular coordination, and cardiovascular adaptation to physical exercise (Koundourakis, 2014; Owens, 2018; Todd, 2015).

Vitamin D has a very important and complex relationship with the immune system. Adequate levels of this vitamin help strengthen the immune system and ensure that immune cells communicate and function correctly. On the other hand, vitamin D has been shown to decrease respiratory infection and at present has been relevant in Covid-19 infection.

Vitamin C

Who hasn't heard of Vitamin C? I think everyone has. This vitamin is a powerful antioxidant, water-soluble with high reducing power. It acts as a cofactor for numerous enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of collagen, carnitine, and some neurotransmitters. It is an essential vitamin since humans cannot synthesize it. The function of this vitamin lies in its reducing capacity for a large number of biochemical reactions.

• Vitamin C donates electrons to 8 enzymes: three in collagen hydroxylation, two in carnitine biosynthesis, and another three in hormone and amino acid biosynthesis.
• It intervenes in the synthesis of nervous system hormones (dopamine,...).
• It has a cardiovascular protective action.
• It acts at the level of lymphocytes, activating neutrophils.

There is abundant scientific literature linking vitamin C with the treatment against various viruses (Jariwalla RJ) such as the influenza virus, avian flu (Ely JT), herpes virus (Byun SH), or the Zika virus (Gonzalez MJ). In critically ill COVID-19 patients, several complementary pharmacological interventions with immunomodulatory action have been studied, such as macrolides, corticosteroids, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, sirolimus, statins, and vitamin C (Arabi YM). Several clinical studies are currently underway with intravenously administered vitamin C for the treatment of COVID-19 (clinical trial: NCT04264533, NCT04323514).

Zinc:

Zinc is a mineral that is present in numerous metabolic processes. It is a catalyst for approximately 2000 enzymes, encompassing all 6 classes (hydrolase, transferase, oxidoreductase, ligase, lyase, and isomerase). Therefore, zinc is biologically essential for many cellular processes, including growth and development, such as DNA synthesis and RNA transcription (Overbeck S). Up to 63% of zinc is found in muscle or bone and 20% in the skin, with the rest widely distributed in varying concentrations in different body tissues.

Zinc deficiency causes thymic atrophy, lymphopenia, and incorrect lymphocyte responses (Shankar AH). Zinc contributes to antibody formation (Wang Y). Patients with upper respiratory infections can shorten the duration and severity of symptoms with high doses of vitamin C and increased zinc intake at the onset of symptoms (Maggini S). Zinc together with selenium reduces the frequency and severity of respiratory infections (Girodon F).

Quercetin:

Quercetin is a water-soluble natural pigment belonging to flavonoids, found in plant foods such as onion, apple, green and black tea, red wine,... A study carried out by the University of California on elite cyclists observed improved performance after ingesting quercetin for 6 months. According to researchers, its anti-inflammatory effect would justify that the studied athletes showed a notable improvement in the last 5 km.

Recent studies indicate that quercetin could prevent the entry of the virus into cells, blocking the ACE2 receptor (Smith). More studies will be needed to confirm this action and determine its mechanism.

Other supplements: Glutamine

Other supplements on the rise now are: Glutamine, this amino acid is of great importance for the immune system and at the intestinal level, our second brain. Alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetylcysteine... are adaptogens that will gain more relevance every day, we will talk about them later in our blog.