Antioxidant and Vitamin D Supplements for Athletes: Sense or Nonsense? – Research Review

The idea that dietary supplements can improve athletic performance is popular among athletes. The use of antioxidant supplements is widespread among endurance athletes because of evidence that free radicals contribute to muscle fatigue during prolonged exercise. Furthermore, interest in vitamin D supplementation is increasing in response to studies indicating that vitamin D deficiency exists in athletic populations. This review explores the rationale for supplementation with both antioxidants and vitamin D and discusses the evidence to support and deny the benefits of these dietary supplements. The issue of whether athletes should use antioxidant supplements remains highly controversial. Nonetheless, at present there is limited scientific evidence to recommend antioxidant supplements to athletes or other physically active individuals. Therefore, athletes should consult with their health care professional and/or nutritionist when considering antioxidant supplementation. The issue of whether athletes should supplement with vitamin D is also controversial. While arguments for and against vitamin D supplementation exist, additional research is required to determine whether vitamin D supplementation is beneficial to athletes. Nevertheless, based upon the growing evidence that many athletic populations are vitamin D deficient or insufficient, it is recommended that athletes monitor their serum vitamin D concentration and consult with their health care professional and/or nutritionist to determine if they would derive health benefits from vitamin D supplementation.

Actions Not Words

This is sort of a conceptual followup to the Because We Let Them series (along with Because We Let Them: Addendum). I’ll try to keep it short and to the point, to give you a break after the last monster series. Also, it gives me the option to better explain something that I fear may have been taken out of context in Because We Let Them: Part 4 when I talked about doing the wrong thing for seemingly the wrong reason (which I’ll address through a comment that was left on the article).

Methods of Endurance Training: 2011 Season Wrap-Up

So having looked at the absolute disaster that was the 2011 Northshore Inline Marathon and subsequently survived my final hour bike ride at UT Austin, it’s time to put the 2011 season to rest with a year-end wrap up, look back, and post season analysis along with some general plans going forwards.

Methods of Endurance Training: 2011 Northshore Inline Marathon

I was seriously tempted to title this in the Why the US Sucks at Olympic lifting nomenclature to make people think that that series wasn’t over but it is (I might do a short addendum, not sure yet). But among all of the other reasons I wanted to finish the mega-series on Friday one was that it was time to move back to self-indulgent prattling about my inline racing, primarily my final race of the season along with an end of season wrap up. Today I’ll talk in overview of what I did following the Tour of Chicago leading into my final race (I was actually travelling the day I posted the final part of the OL’ing series) the Northshore Inline Marathon along with a race report.

Why the US Sucks at Olympic Lifting: OL’ing Part 10

But in that way, OL’ing is not terribly different than a lot of marginalized sports in this country that exist under literally identical conditions of few athletes, no access, etc. And yet in some we succeed brilliantly; in others we medal sporadically (even one of our rowers won in Beijing and that sport is as niche as it gets). Clearly if all the problems with OL’ing were related to the issues of the last two days it would cut universally across all niche sports and it does not. There must be other factors at play and that’s the topic of today.

Why the US Sucks at Olympic Lifting: Ol’ing Part 9

Picking up directly from where I left off yesterday in Why the US Sucks at Olympic Lifting: OL’ing Part 8, I want to start by looking at another place OL’ing this country has a huge problem in terms of getting people (especially our large underclass of potentially amazing power athletes) into it. Again, I’ll point out exceptions and look at proposed solutions and I’m still leaving out two specific names and one specific group as recent developments in the sport that at least have the potential to change things going forwards. Back into the fray.

Why the US Sucks at Olympic Lifting: OL’ing Part 8

And that’s led us to where we are today and, in essence, this part of the series is sort of the ‘punchline’ to all of this (the part that everybody wish I’d started with) although I won’t stop here because I want to address not only some recent developments but other things that might change the situation (if it’s changeable at all). And while some of what I’m going to write will probably have been ‘obvious’ to everyone from the start, hopefully you’ll see that not all of it. And why I spent 5 weeks getting to this point.

Why the US Sucks at Olympic Lifting: OL’ing Part 7

Make no mistake that a lot was going on and I can’t possibly cover everything. I’d point folks to Bud Charniga’s 6 part series again for a truly comprehensive look at what was going on in the sport both in America and elsewhere, I’ll just try to hit some high points. And the following isn’t meant to be in any sort of order of importance (or even necessarily chronological order tho I’ll try to sequence it right), this was all sort of developing at the same time.

Why the US Sucks at Olympic Lifting: OL’ing Part 6

The big issue, however was one of timing with roughly 98% of our medals being won in this very narrow time frame between 1948 and 1960 and almost nothing since then (we have a handful of medals literally along with the two women’s medals in 2000). I finish by asking the question of what was going on during that time frame that allowed us to be so dominant along with wondering what in the hell happened.

Why the US Sucks at Olympic Lifting: OL’ing Part 5

I mean, there are a ton of marginalized Olympic sports in country, sports that nobody cares about, nobody knows about and that we don’t really produce results in. And either I just don’t see it being bitched about (because I’m not on, I don’t know, ping pong forums) or it’s just not something that folks in these other sports care about. So why is this issue so damn important to Olympic lifters in this country? Well, you’re about to find out.