Sodium bicarbonate supplementation in resistance exercise performance, perceived exertion and blood lactate concentration

Aim: The aim was to evaluate the effect of sodium bicarbonate supplementation (NaHCO3) in repetition performance, perceived exertion and blood lactate concentration. Methods: Fourteen trained men (25.14 ± 3.5 years; 85.83 ± 10.18 kg; 1.78 ± 0.06 m; 26.88 ± 3.17 kg/m2) realized two upper-body resistance exercise sessions consisting of 15-RM load and 1 minute of the interval, combining bicarbonate supplementation (BS) or Placebo conditions. Results: After the ANOVA analysis, no difference was found on the total number of repetitions during the session on both BS and Placebo condition (p = 0.11). However, a greater number of total of repetitions on the machine chest fly exercise for BS vs. Placebo condition (p = 0.04) was observed. The perceived exertion increased regardless of the supplementation condition (p < 0.0001). Additionally, for the blood lactate was observed significant increases in BS vs. Placebo condition in the post verification (p = 0.013), corroborated for a bigger area under the curve (AUC) on the BS compared to Placebo (p = 0.026) condition. Conclusion: In conclusion, sodium bicarbonate supplementation was not able to improve performance during a resistance exercise session, except for the single-joint exercise performed with high values of perceived exertion, not altering the perceived exertion, and blood lactate between protocols.(AU)

Ethanol Intake during Lactation Alters Milk Nutrient Composition and Growth and Mineral Status of Rat Pups

Lactating Wistar rats were fed a liquid diet containing either ethanol [ethanol-fed group (EFG)] or an isocaloric amount of carbohydrate [pair-fed group (PFG)] from day 1 postpartum up to day 14 of lactation, to investigate micro/macronutrient milk composition and the mineral status of pups. EFG presented a reduction of daily milk production and milk composition was significantly higher in protein and lower in carbohydrate, while the lipid content was similar to that of PFG. When compared to PFG, the milk of EFG had a decreased proportion of C22:6 n-3 fatty acid and an increase in medium-chain fatty acids and of several minerals. Pups of EFG showed reduced growth and a lower concentration of Cu and Sr in plasma and lower concentrations of Ca, P and Cl, and higher concentrations of Cd in the brain. We conclude that maternal EtOH intake greatly impairs lactational performance and modifies the mineral status of pups.