The Science of Usain Bolt

Carbs make you lose your mind?

Of course if this report was saying the opposite the paleo world would be criticising it because it relies on food survey questionnaires  which are notoriously dodgy.  Be that as it may, this indicates that diets higher in protein and fat fare better in preventing cognitive decline....Who knows, it is all correlation and questionnaires, but is very interesting:

Researchers tracked 1,230 people ages 70 to 89 who provided information on what they ate during the previous year. At that time, their cognitive function was evaluated by an expert panel of physicians, nurses and neuropsychologists. Of those participants, only the roughly 940 who showed no signs of cognitive impairment were asked to return for follow-up evaluations of their cognitive function. About four years into the study, 200 of those 940 were beginning to show mild cognitive impairment, problems with memory, language, thinking and judgment that are greater than normal age-related changes.
Those who reported the highest carbohydrate intake at the beginning of the study were 1.9 times likelier to develop mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest intake of carbohydrates. Participants with the highest sugar intake were 1.5 times likelier to experience mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest levels. 

But those whose diets were highest in fat — compared to the lowest — were 42 percent less likely to face cognitive impairment, and those who had the highest intake of protein had a reduced risk of 21 percent. 

When total fat and protein intake were taken into account, people with the highest carbohydrate intake were 3.6 times likelier to develop mild cognitive impairment.

The study is discussed here:

Eating Lots of Carbs, Sugar May Raise Risk of Cognitive Impairment, Mayo Clinic Study Finds

Protein, little and often?

The debate on this one seems to go on and on.

Here is a new study which recommends moderate protein every 3 hours rather than something less frequent.

We conclude that the pattern of ingested protein, and not only the total daily amount, can impact whole-body protein metabolism. Individuals aiming to maximize NB would likely benefit from repeated ingestion of moderate amounts of protein (~20g) at regular intervals (~3h) throughout the day.

Daytime pattern of post-exercise protein intake affects whole-body protein turnover in resistance-trained males

The whole paper is available to read, so it will be interesting to go through it and see what they are really saying.

Another Sunday morning

I am finding it harder sometimes to keep finding things to post here.

I am no scientist or expert and I hope you realise this.  If you want a good analysis of the science and the new studies, check out Suppversity or Chris Beardsley's site.

There is so much information out there now on blogs and we are all so often searching for the new and the novelty.  The basics are what really matter and they are not actually that complicated.  I've been guilty of this myself, always looking for the secret knowledge.  I've come full circle in many ways with respect to diet for example.  The whole paleo thing has gone mental and I have found success basically in an old fashioned sensible diet - as Lyle McDonald recommends.  There is some tracking of calories and macros but with simple rules it is not too hard.

Not sure what I am getting at here!

Oh well, I am still getting into the hills on a nice autumn day....which is what matters.

Sleep....makes you an optimistic problem solver

Sleep is magic and good sleep is even better:

It helps you solve tough problems

It makes you optimistic  (or perhaps the optimistic are able to sleep?)

Fasted Training? Exercise with low glycogen to be a better fuel burner

This is a very interesting one!  Exercise in a depleted state seems to look like it could lead to more mitochondria in the muscle and therefore more capacity to burn fuel and create energy and movement.....  So one up for fasted training?

Exercise with low glycogen increases PGC-1α gene expression in human skeletal muscle.

Recent studies suggest that carbohydrate restriction can improve the training-induced adaptation of muscle oxidative capacity. However, the importance of low muscle glycogen on the molecular signaling of mitochondrial biogenesis remains unclear. Here, we compare the effects of exercise with low (LG) and normal (NG) glycogen on different molecular factors involved in the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis. Ten highly trained cyclists (VO(2max) 65 ± 1 ml/kg/min, W (max) 387 ± 8 W) exercised for 60 min at approximately 64 % VO(2max) with either low [166 ± 21 mmol/kg dry weight (dw)] or normal (478 ± 33 mmol/kg dw) muscle glycogen levels achieved by prior exercise/diet intervention. Muscle biopsies were taken before, and 3 h after, exercise. The mRNA of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1 was enhanced to a greater extent when exercise was performed with low compared with normal glycogen levels (8.1-fold vs. 2.5-fold increase). Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isozyme 4 mRNA were increased after LG (1.3- and 114-fold increase, respectively), but not after NG. Phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases and acetyl-CoA carboxylase was not changed 3 h post-exercise. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production and glutathione oxidative status tended to be reduced 3 h post-exercise. We conclude that exercise with low glycogen levels amplifies the expression of the major genetic marker for mitochondrial biogenesis in highly trained cyclists. The results suggest that low glycogen exercise may be beneficial for improving muscle oxidative capacity.

We have all had DOMS...

An interesting study here....while DOMS might be due to damage to a particular muscle, in the brain it looks like the pain is mapped all over the body....

Central Projection of Pain Arising from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) in Human Subjects

Using event-related fMRI, the temporal evolution of brain activity during the subacute pain state DOMS was mapped in the human brain. We located strongest and widespread pain-related activations in the primary motor and sensory cortex that affected the area somatotopically related to the thigh and also adjacent areas reminiscent of the transient cortical remodelling described in chronic pain states, such as CRPS or phantom limb pain. Further pain-related activation was located in the SMA, IPL, STG, bilaterally in the insula and the cingulate cortex. Activation in the cerebellum was most widespread when pain from DOMS occurred in combination with limb movement. Our study demonstrated that defined stimulation or repeated contraction of a DOMS-affected painful muscle can evoke strong and reproducible increases in BOLD signal; therefore pain from DOMS provides an effective, non-invasive model to study the central processing of inflammatory muscle pain

Very interesting stuff.  I wonder what signals the pain is sending....protecting more than just the inflamed muscles.....