I. Two experimental groups, each of thirteen boarding schoolboys, were given either 400 mg a-tocopheryl acetate or placeboes daily in addition to their normal diet during training in swimming and various athletic activities over a period of 6 weeks. Evaluation of the experimental treatments was made from tests of anthropometric status, cardiorespiratory efficiency and motor fitness and performance, which were administered at the beginning and end of the experimental period.2. Whereas training significantly improved physiological function and performance in bothRelationships between diet and athletic performance were studied, or accepted without study, long before nutrition became a science. Often, these relationships have been based on practical considerations and were merely the outcome of common sense. Some of the relationships proposed, however, have been largely imaginary and rooted in the particular fads of athletes or their trainers. Such rituals have led sportsmen to contemplate the possibility of supercharging the body by the provision of a diet containing an unusual abundance of those nutrients which have either a direct or an indirect effect on muscular performance. It has been hoped thereby to raise the athletic performance above that possible on a standard diet.Vitamin E has for long attracted especial interest in this direction for three main reasons.First, in many species of animal its deficiency causes the muscles to become dystrophic. It is tempting, therefore, to assume that when the muscles are under severe stress their demand for vitamin E may be increased and may not be satisfied by the amounts supplied in a normal diet. Not that a deficiency of the vitamin would cause dystrophy, but it could result in lower muscular performance than would be possible if the intake of vitamin E were greater.Secondly, there is convincing evidence that in experimental animals the resistance to hypoxia and hyperoxia can be affected by the vitamin E status (Hove, Hickman & Harris, 1945; Taylor, 1953). This finding may be correlated with the ability of the * Present address :
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.