At long last, a way for the Atkins set to get the benefit of carbohydrates! According to a new study, just rinsing your mouth with a carb solution can increase athletic performance! From the New York Times:
It has to be real carbohydrates, though; the scientists used a solution of water and a flavorless starch derivative called maltodextrin. Artificial sweeteners have no effect.
I think this is a pretty neat discovery, but only in the sense that I think it's neat when you make your own volcano with vinegar and baking soda. Neat? Again, yes. Useful? Not so much. It's a clever trick, but ultimately, getting those carbs in your system will be far more beneficial and there are plenty of ways of doing that without causing the aforementioned cramps. Gels and small sips of a sports beverage, for example. Experts agree with me (of course). From the article:
Is rinsing worthwhile for most athletes? Scott J. Montain, an exercise researcher at the Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, thinks not. The effect is real, he said, but added, “Endurance competitors are better off just consuming the .” That way they get real fuel, instead of “sipping and then spitting out expensive, sticky spit.”
Furthermore, I'm fairly certain that this study will be twisted around by the media so that an army of Cosmo-readin', anorexic, 500-calorie-a-day aerobisizers will pick up the habit as another way of having one foot on the StairMaster and another foot in the grave.
So either ask your local 24-Hour Fitness to install spittoons, or stop wearing your good Reeboks to the gym.
I saw a similar study a couple months ago; here's the abstract:
ReplyDeleteBrain Res. 2010 Apr 10.
Carbohydrate in the mouth immediately facilitates motor output.
Gant N, Stinear CM, Byblow WD.
Exercise Metabolism Laboratory, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Abstract
The presence of carbohydrate in the mouth can immediately improve physical performance. How this occurs is not well understood. Here we used transcranial magnetic stimulation of primary motor cortex (M1) to investigate the effects of non-sweet carbohydrate on corticomotor excitability and voluntary force production. In Experiment 1, 16 participants performed a fatiguing isometric elbow flexion exercise for 30 minutes, and MEPs were recorded from the biceps brachii during maximal voluntary force (MVF) produced every two minutes. After 11 minutes participants drank a carbohydrate solution (CHO) or an energy-free placebo solution (PLA), in a double-blind, cross-over protocol. MEP amplitude increased by 30%, and MVF increased by 2%, immediately after carbohydrate ingestion. There was no relationship between the facilitation of MEP amplitude and plasma glucose or magnitude of fatigue. In a control experiment, 17 participants alternately mouth-rinsed CHO and PLA, in a randomized, double-blind protocol. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from right first dorsal interosseous at rest or during isometric contraction. MEP amplitude increased by 9% with CHO, when the muscle was voluntarily activated. In both experiments, there were no effects on silent period duration, indicating that MEP facilitation was not due to reduced inhibition within M1. This is the first demonstration that carbohydrate in the mouth immediately increases the excitability of the corticomotor pathway, prior to its ingestion. Afference from oral receptors is integrated with descending motor output, perhaps via nuclei in the brainstem. This novel form of sensorimotor integration facilitates corticomotor output to both fatigued and fresh muscle.
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Looks to me as though it only works for high-intensity exercise lasting less than an hour, which we know is not enough to deplete glycogen stores. So why waste energy rinsing and spitting (not to mention getting yourself or the person behind you disgustingly sticky) if it's not really necessary? Sure, it might help a bit, but not worth it in my book.
/michm
P.S. Hmmm . . . now that I think about it, maybe that would be a good strategy: spit your sugary carbohydrate drink so it flies right in the face of your opponent as s/he sneaks up from behind . . .
ReplyDeleteTee hee! :)
/michm
Okay, that's just plain mean . . .
Mean perhaps, but they're headbutting now in the Tour de France, so spitting doesn't seem all that bad.
ReplyDeleteOh, now you've gone and opened a can of worms! Guess I'm just in a really judgmental mood today. First they throw out Renshaw for the headbutting incident (looking at the slow mo', personally, I think Dean was at fault on that one and Renshaw was protecting himself; however, Renshaw was definitely in the wrong for not keeping his line and cutting off Farrar -- IMO, they both (Renshaw and Dean) should have been relegated to the back of the pack, but kicked out?). Now it's Schleck being a crybaby. It's not like his "mechanical" was unavoidable -- he miscalculated his shifting and dropped his chain, for crying out loud. And then, in his panic he had to try to get it back on not once, but twice before he was able to get going again. Stuff happens. Was Contador supposed to say, "Oh, so sorry you messed up . . . I'll just wait here while you try to get things right." It's a competition.
ReplyDeleteAll right, I'm done now. Just wait, "karma" will probably give me a flat or two next time I'm out on the bike.
/michm
Anorexics have already been using the spit technique for a long time, so I don't think this study is really going to be revolutionary as far as that's concerned...
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean for that to come off like I was offended and/or a jerk! :)
ReplyDeleteWhoa, I read Cosmo and I resent that comment. I'll continue to swallow, thanks. :)
ReplyDelete