Dietary additives and their role in increase in physical working capacity

General characteristic, classification and recommendations about use of the dietary additives used in practice of sports preparation

Dietary additives to food (DD) iscomposition natural (or identical natural) biologically active agents intended for direct acceptance with food or introductions in structure of foodstuff for the purpose of enrichment of a diet separate food or biologically active agents and their complexes. They represent means of a vegetable, animal and mineral origin which improve sportswear, increase a physical force, endurance, concentration of attention and working capacity, working in an organism is softer, than medicines and having much less than by-effects. Thus, in sport it is about ergogenny influence of DD and need of their use as the supplementing or intermediate means between pharmacological medicines and ergogen.

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DD applied in modern sports practice are issued by foreign and domestic manufacturers. When using such additives it is necessary to consider that most of them is almost not studied within the commonly accepted rules of sports and medical researches (from thousands of registered dietary additives are approved, according to all requirements of sports medicine, only units). It is necessary to distinguish the Vansiton and Energomaks lines which proved from a positive side from domestic goods of sports food.

Researches of the last decades convincingly confirm that application of means of doping nature in case of superintensive physical activities is followed by the numerous side effects described by many authors. It became the reason of search of the new biologically active agents having tire-tread effect on various bodies in case of such loadings and also approaches to their combination with already known medicines influencing sports working capacity.

Such substances and compoundings (mono- and multicomponent) will most often be certified not as pharmacological medicines, and as dietary additives. They are developed and made by numerous firms (in the beginning — mainly American, and subsequently — and European, including Ukrainian). In recent years production of dietary additives of sports appointment grows at very high rates. So, from 1994 to 1998 production of such additives (in one million a dale. The USA) grew with 900 to 1420, and all 29 Ltd companies of dietary additives are presented at the market of this country. World leaders in production of sports DD are the USA, Germany, Italy, Russia, China.

In spite of the fact that make dietary additives of sports appointment mainly of the entity not of the pharmaceutical, but food industry (and it is more specific oriented to production of sports food), the advanced producers of sports food implemented the latest technologies developed by the leading pharmaceutical firms. First of all, it is the nanodisperse and micellar technologies providing the most effective transport of active components, and also their high bioavailability and efficiency of impact on certain fabrics and systems of an organism.

One more direction of researches is a search and matching of the combinations and mixes entering dietary additives for achievement of the greatest effect of each ingredient and receipt of effect of synergysm. One very successful combination — ZMA (zinc + magnesium acetate + B6 vitamin) made for the American producers multimillion profit and is in demand to this day.

As it was already specified, DD are intermediate between medicines and food. If to consider many DD from the point of view of the issued dosage forms (tablets, powders, capsules, syrups, extracts, infusions), they can be carried to medicines. But the fact that it is possible to purchase them not only in a drugstore, but also in specialized departments of shops forces to think that DD is at the same time food of a new sample and modern times. They are divided into two groups:

• Nutrition representing the substances necessary for an organism which are its main components — vitamins or their predecessors, macro - and minerals, polynonsaturated fatty acids, irreplaceable amino acids, mono - and the bioses, food fibers applied to correction of the chemical composition of food. Are made by Nutritsevtiki with use of food, but not pharmaceutical technologies. If to speak about the nutrition, specially intended for sports food, it is possible to give creatine as a typical example;
• Parapharmaceutics (parapharmaceutical medicines) to which biologically active agents having a certain pharmacological activity and which are applied to prevention, auxiliary therapy and maintenance of functional activity of separate systems of an organism belong. These are bioflavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, saponina, organic acids, essential oils, polysaccharides. Of course, DD of this group are similar to medicines. In production of such substances pharmaceutical technologies are already used.

If to speak about general differences of DD from food and drugs, it is necessary to allocate such moments.

Distinguishes from DD food:

content of elements necessary for the person in DD is strictly controlled, it is specified in instructions and leaves inserts and doesn't change in case of storage. If to speak about natural food, often we just don't know how many these or those useful substances contain in them. Besides, the amount of these substances can change considerably depending on terms or storage conditions;

the ratio of biologically active elements in DD is strictly calculated and brought into accord with requirements of an organism that can't be told, for example, about foodstuff.

At the same time differences of DD from drugs are:

• harmlessness of DD for an organism, overdose is impracticable, there are no side effects in comparison with synthetic drugs;
• slower, but more long, than at drugs, nature of impact;
• often higher appeal to the patient owing to bigger trust to natural products; use, generally with the preventive purpose, doesn't cancel drugs, but considerably reduces the number of their application.

It is necessary to recognize that the relation of doctors to DD is ambiguous owing to many objective reasons among of which the main is insufficient illumination of clinical efficiency of this group of nutrients which often on intensity of influence don't yield to pharmacological medicines. However, considering growth of medicamentous loading, increase in frequency of allergic and medicinal complications, DD are especially necessary for application for the people living in adverse conditions of the environment, in case of reduced resistance of an organism, in the presence of chronic diseases, and also to the persons working and a long time staying in extreme conditions. Athletes constitute special category of consumers for whom DD as in case of sports activities all listed negative factors of impact on an organism are often combined are necessary.

In practice of sports preparation dietary additives can be useful in the following situations:

• for optimization of proteins activity at the expense of carbohydrates and fats. Rising of anaerobic energy is reached by means of polymers of a glucose, Inosin, products of beekeeping, vitamin B, Vitamin B12 cyanocobalamin injection. Rising of aerobic energy is reached by use of a L-carnitine, acetyl - L - a carnitine, a coenzyme of Ql0, oktakonazol, adaptogens;
• for correction of caloric content of a diet in different types of sport (power products, sports drinks, macro - and trace substances, water and other components);
• for change of body weight as towards augmentation (creatine, it is lame pikolinat, glycine, asparagine, ornithine, skim milk, amino acids, glutamin, creatine monohydrate, Inosinum, etc.), and towards depression (L-carnitine, bromelain, r-gidroksi-r-metilbutirat, highly qualitative drinks replacing a delivery with the balanced contents micro and macrocells, albuminous drinks with the low content of fat, chrome pikolinat, choline, inositol, methionine, etc.). At the same time the optimum level of weight is reached without depression of physical efficiency of athletes;
• for a regulation of body weight of the athlete due to purposeful decrease of amount of fat which existence is proved by anthropometric measurements, but not waters (a L-arginine, a L-ornithine, the RNA complex, etc.);
• for replacement therapy at a functional failure of amino acids and proteins (including immunoglobulins, components of a complement, transport proteins, actin and myosin, hormones of peptide structure and other important albuminous biomacromolecules);
• for acceleration of process of restoration after extreme exercise and mental stresses;
• for correction of free radical oxidation in the athlete's organism for maintenance of working capacity at optimum level (vitamins C, E, A, natural R-Carotinum, a selenium, vegetable Phenolum the containing antioxidants, bioflavonoids, hydrobionts and others).

In case of purpose of DD, as well as medicines, it is necessary to consider sports specialization and qualification, the period (stage) of sports preparation, level of physical activities, individual sensitivity, gender and age of the athlete.

When using dietary additives it is necessary to remember that most of them are almost not studied within the commonly accepted rules of sports and medical researches (only the few from tens of thousands of DD registered in the world are completely approved according to all requirements of sports medicine and pharmacological standards).

Therefore in case of appointment of this group of means it is reasonable to talk about the specific DD recommended based on positive results of the bench testing which are carried out by the rules stated in chapter 1 of this book, and proved in practice of sports preparation. Such it is necessary to distinguish DD of the Vansiton and Energomaks lines which showed high ergogenny effect from domestic goods and therefore enjoying deserved popularity at athletes.

Some DD contain the forbidden (doping) substances amphetamines, anabolic steroids, diuretics, etc., and not always availability of such components is officially declared by the producer and it is specified on the label. With respect thereto recently cases of the international "doping scandals" with athletes of high qualification accepting such DD and trying to prove the non-participation in conscious acceptance of dopes, but most often, unfortunately, unsuccessfully became frequent. From this it follows that availability of the conclusion about the actual efficiency of DD and the anti-doping certificate for each specific series of medicine is absolutely necessary condition in order that the doctor could recommend it and apply the athlete. Doctors, trainers, sports functionaries and athletes shall remember it.

Everything DD of a sports orientation can be divided on mono - and multicomponent. Identification of a role of various connections in a metabolism and energy when performing loadings of various character and in the course of restoration after them allowed specialists in sports food to develop in the beginning various monocomponent additives which effect is most easily controlled and regulated by a ratio "dose/effect". The comparative characteristic of some monocomponent dietary additives to sports food is presented in table 2.26.

However single components as a part of monoadditives most often don't provide high degree of the necessary effect in this connection they should be combined for mutual addition and strengthening of action (synergysm). The final effect reached at the same time forms "vector" of action of the corresponding multicomponent DD. Use of various, but well balanced structures acting on one vector provides comparable degree of final effect.

For example, accumulation of muscle bulk can be reached due to use of amino-acid complexes, hydrolyzates of various whites (egg, soy, whey, light meat of a turkey), anabolic factors and hormones. Each of these directions of effect of dietary additives will also define a peculiar vector of application (the summary characteristic is presented in tab. 2.27).

For complex DD manifestation of several vectors of action is noted, as a rule, that creates a range of their biological activity. The analysis of application shows that dietary additives to sports food can render both rather narrow, and broadest action on an organism. DD of Universal, Pro Lab, BSN, "Biomedica Foscama", EAS, San, TwinLab, MuscIeTech, Optimum Nutrition can be carried to number of the most universal.

In Russia the leader of high-quality products acknowledged the Factory of Health line (Moscow), DD of this line showed presence of the expressed ergogenny effect and increase of fitness at athletes of different specializations. In Ukraine in a scope of DD of sports appointment the Vansiton lines are in the lead (producer LLC Delmas (Kiev) and "Energomaks" (LLC Biotek, Kiev).

Now it is considered that products of BSN are the least counterfeited. On a ratio price/quality the most optimum DD of this firm are THERMONEX, NO-Xplode, CELL-MASS, SYNTHA-6, TRUE-MASS, LDP Lean Dessert Protein.

Doctors, trainers and athletes shall require the documents which are confirming officially the actual efficiency of DD, the anti-doping certificate, the certificate of conformity and other allowing documents according to the legislation of Ukraine. Further characteristics of some DD which aren't containing doping components which efficiency of application in sport is scientifically proved are provided.