The effects of vitamin E and training on physiological function and athletic performance in adolescent swimmers

Abstract

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 :

Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation to Athletes

“…Most of the studies that have examined vitamin E supplements and performance have used relatively large supplements, 400 mg alpha tocopherol or more per day, for several weeks. No significant improvements in maximal oxygen uptake (141,158), swimming performance (85,139,140), postexercise plasma lactate (85,141), or muscular strength and endurance (139,140,141) were found in vitamin E supplemented subjects compared to subjects receiving placebos. There appears to be some benefit to using vitamin E in hypoxic environments such as mountain climbing at high altitudes (up to 8,000 m).…”

Mitohormesis: Promoting Health and Lifespan by Increased Levels of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)

“…An indirect clue was already given in 1971 with an antioxidant, namely vitamin E, causing unfavorable effects on the endurance performance of swimmers (Sharman et al 1971). Since then, a bulk of studies (in most cases inadvertently) proved the hypothesis that ROS are required for the health-promoting effects of physical activity, causing an increase in antioxidant defense mechanisms and with this, prolong health span and mean lifespan (Crawford and Davies 1994, Davies 1986, Kim et al 1996, Marzatico et al 1997, Balakrishnan and Anuradha 1998, Ji et al 2006, Powers and Lennon 1999, Niess et al 1999, Hollander et al 2001, Higuchi et al 1985, Gomez-Cabrera et al 2008b, Quintanilha 1984, Vincent et al 1999, Boveris and Navarro 2008.…”

A comparison of physical efficiency between Indian physical education and medical students.

“…These include measurements of response to various types of physical activity, Bengetsson (1956), Boas (1931), Bowen (1904), Gallagher (1944), Kraus and Prudden (1954) and Schneider (1920), endurance tests, Cogswell, Henderson et al (1946), ability to perform the prescribed physical feats, Le Blance (1957), and the evaluation of rate of recovery after exercise, Boas (1931), Gallagher (1944), Joseph (1974) and Sharman, Down et al (1976). It is well known that in normal individuals, working within their aerobic capacities, a linear relationship exists between the amount of work performed and oxygen consumption, cardiac output and pulse rate.…”