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Call them pre-performance tweaks, athlete hacks, or just plain smart. In an effort to extrude every last bit of performance from their bodies, Olympians are likely to ingest some strange-sounding
Beetroot juice, bicarbonate of soda, and caffeine may sound like the ingredients for a particularly colorful science-fair project, but sports physiology experts say these competition-legal supplements may significantly improve an athlete's performance.
"A one-percent difference in performance is something that will separate the guy who wins the 100 meter gold medal from the guy who comes last in the race," said Michael Gleeson, an exercise biochemist at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, U.K.
Caffeine is one supplement that many non-athletes rely on every day. Although athletes' use was once subject to limits under antidoping rules, it is no longer a regulated substance. The athletes are seeking many of the same benefits that the rest of us gain from a cup of coffee.
Beyond the benefits that most people recognize, such as increased alertness, "[Caffeine] also improves a lot of other physiological parameters, so a lot of people take it," said Keith Baar, an exercise physiologist at the University of California, Davis.
"There's no real reason why athletes wouldn't be taking caffeine," said Gleeson. "The dose that's needed to improve performance through a central brain stimulant effect is fairly low."
One limit to performance in many events that last longer than a minute, but usually less than 10, is the build-up of lactic acid in muscles. When intense exercise
Some Olympians will take bicarbonate -- better known as baking soda -- to counteract this process. In theory, having
Bicarbonate is used by those athletes that can abide its often significant effects on the digestive system. Once it reaches the stomach, bicarbonate produces carbon dioxide, which can cause flatulence, bloating and other unpleasant, potentially performance-impairing side effects.
"If an athlete can actually physically tolerate taking that supplement without too much gastrointestinal problems then it may well improve their performance," said Gleeson.
But recent scientific studies suggest that it might not actually work as well as was indicated in early studies, said Baar.
Juicing a beet provides a deeply colored liquid rich in chemicals called nitrates, and promises to provide multiple sources of assistance to athletes, both physiological and psychological. Nitrates are also found in other vegetables such as Swiss chard and roots.
Studies have shown that beetroot juice alone can improve performance by 2-3 percent in events lasting 20-30 minutes, said Baar.
"[F]or events lasting more than a minute and lasting up to several hours, it's a potentially performance- enhancing supplement," said Gleeson. "It essentially will improve endurance exercise performance by making you more efficient in the use of oxygen."
"Efficiency is one of the key things that's going to distinguish between a winner and just somebody who's there to compete," said Baar.
Beetroot juice also has an additional, instantly recognizable effect that could have a significant psychological impact. The vegetable's natural color can add unfamiliar hues to athletes' waste products.
"You're going to pee purple, you're going to poo purple," said Baar. "There's nothing quite as good for a placebo as seeing, 'Oh yeah, I'm taking the beetroot, there it is, everything is working really well.'"
In some cases, a supplement's physiological effect of might not be the most critical part of its contribution to an athlete's performance. Believing that something improves performance, whether it is a preparation ritual, or a supplement, might offer its own performance-enhancing effect.
This is one reason why it's so difficult to analyze the true effects of many supplements. A 2-3 percent difference would likely be easily recognized in a scientific experiment, but a lesser improvement might not, Gleeson indicated. Olympic medals are often decided by substantially smaller margins.
Athletes take many other supplements, both in training and in competition. But a winning performance does not prove that an intervention works.
"One of the many problems in this field, this whole area, is that to scientifically prove that something improves performance is very difficult to do for anything that might only have a relatively small effect," said Gleeson.
This story originally appeared on InsideScience.org.
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I can not drink any of the "flavor enhancing" bottled water because of this.
One of the points that the article missed is that "legal" performance-enhancing substances as well as many medical treatments, such as linaments and massage oils are intended to mask the presence of illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
That is reason that bike racing is considered the second most corrupt sport in the world (with NASCAR racing being an unchallenged #1.) But the Olympics are heading right down the Lance Armstrong doping path. The Olympics Committee once again voted down the rule that allows retroactive doping testing --- the thing that not only caught Lance Armstrong, but also the previous six Tour d'France winners. Since the urine and blood is frozen and kept "until exausted" the doping examiners use old frozen specimens to test new doping tests. What they find is that a huge percentage of Olympic athletes are doping but using substances and techniques that are not detectable at the time, but are detectable as tests improve.
There should be an immediate retroactive ban on all doping. If someone catches you doping twenty years later, you still have to give back your medals and your name is replaced in the record books. Fair is fair. But right now we have a system that rewards high tech cheaters and punished those who compete honestly. How is that fair?
What's even more Interesting is that the article rehashes that old lactic acid myth.
http://running.competitor.com/2010/01/training/the-lactic-acid-myths_7938/2
It's more a competition to see which brew gives the most boost.
I'm surprised that the athletes are taking caffiene for performance. A mixture of dark leafy greens, such as kale, romain lettuce and barley grass, provides just as quick a high as caffiene while improving the body function over all. I never drink coffee because it acts more like an energy drug and doesn't add to overall performance. In fact, it makes you dehydrated.
My guess is they aren't drinking a cup of coffee to get their caffeine. A pill like NoDoze or similar would do the trick. Eating a bunch of food before certain competitions might result in vomiting. My guess is whatever substances they take, they are taking them in as concentrated a form as possible. If Beets have the most of what they are looking for in a food, then that is what they will use so they don't overload their systems with other stuff they don't want be it food weight, or what not.
You don't eat the greens, you juice them.
It is surprising some of the things that athletes will put into their bodies because they think it will give them an edge. I think most of the benefit is psychological, but if it works for them they might as well take advantage of it.
@journal,
The whole hydration thing is pretty much based on myth. There is no scientific support for the really stupid admonition to drink 8 10-oz glasses of water a day. The body's requirement for liquids are far less than that and include liquids from food. Coffee (and tea) are indeed very slight diuretics, but the effect in incedibly slight. Drinking 100ml of coffee is equivalent to drinking 99ml of water, the effect is so slight.
So, it is not necessary to drink all that water, or to lie about how much you drink to your physicians. And coffee and tea are so very slightly diuretic that there is still a net gain in hydration that is very slose to water.
Why don't they just take steroids? It worked for the East German women in the Olympics!
I can tell you firsthand that this is true. I work at one of the Olympic urine centers where athletes come prior to races to have their urine expressed effortlessly for them so that unneeded urine does not pose a problem during their events. More often the urine I express is of a subtle lavender or bittersweet hue. Really beautiful, actually - I've kept some for use in one of my art projects. I hope to write a book about this some day.
OMG!! For the first time I have been rendered speechless...I would'nt even know where to begin on the lunacy of your post. I do know one thing....this will be told to my co-workers for some laughs come tomorrow morning.
If the Olympics is just a test of whether you drank beetroot juice the morning before the competition, then the whole thing is pointless.
Anaerobic respiration anyone?