Increased game frequency period crossing Ramadan intermittent fasting decreases fat mass, sleep duration, and recovery in male professional basketball players.

Background: Increased basketball game frequency may affect athlete performances, especially during Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF). The objective of the present investigation was to assess the impacts of increased game frequency periods crossing the RIF on body composition, sleep habits, indices of well-being, recovery state, and dietary intake in professional male basketball players. Methods: Twenty-eight professional basketball players participated in this study and were divided into increased-games-frequency (INCR) or normal-games-frequency (NORM) groups. INCR trained four times and completed two games per week, whereas NORM completed only one game per week. During the first and fourth weeks of RIF, the following variables were assessed: internal load (weekly session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE), heartrate (HR)), dietary intake, body composition, sleep quality (PSQI survey), well-being indices questionnaire (sleep, fatigue, stress, delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS)), and recovery state with the Total Quality Recovery (TQR) questionnaire. Results: The internal load significantly increased after 4 weeks of RIF in INCR compared to NORM (p < 0.001). Significant decrease of TQR, sleep duration, and a significant increase of DOMS only for INCR (26.93%, p < 0.001, ES = 0.48, small; 33.83%, p < 0.001, ES = 0.40, small; 161.17%, p < 0.001, ES = 0.32, small; respectively). Significant group × time interaction was observed for body mass (p = 0.006, ES = 0.46, small) and body fat percentage (p = 0.025, ES = 0.33, small), with INCR having a greater decrease in all these values. Conclusion: Increased game frequency period crossing RIF decreases fat mass, sleep duration, and recovery in professional basketball players, which may consequently affect performance and health.

Quercetin in Sports and Exercise: A review.

This paper systematically reviews the latest evidence regarding Quercetin's (Q) effect following exercise performance, aerobic and anaerobic exercise, muscle-damaging bouts and highlights blood biomarkers associated with muscle damage and recovery. Google Scholar, Web of Science, and MedLine (PubMed) searches were conducted through July-December 2021. Peer-reviewed studies that investigated Q as a single ingredient or in combination with other ingredients at dosages of 500 mg - 3000 mg, ranging from 15 min-to-1 h prior to exercise bout or chronic dose (7 days - 8 weeks) of consumption were included. A total of 34 studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. Key results include significant performance improvements in the following: VO2max (n = 2), time to exhaustion (n = 4 articles), fatigue decrement (n = 1 article), muscle damage (n = 3 articles), strength, torque velocity, and neuromuscular performance (n = 3 articles), redox potential (n = 1 article), repeated sprint performance and oxygen extraction (n = 1). Q also caused a change in systemic biomarkers: decrease in creatine kinase (n = 2), c-reactive protein (n = 4), lactate dehydrogenase (n = 4), inflammatory markers (n = 3), lipid peroxidation (n = 3) in aerobic and anaerobic performance. Varied findings exist regarding the efficacy of Q supplementation on exercise performance and recovery outcomes. The source of Q, training status of subjects, and exercise protocol performed may contribute to the effectiveness of Q as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, or ergogenic agent in exercise.

Gastrointestinal Hormones, Morphological Characteristics, and Physical Performance in Elite Soccer Players.

PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between gastrointestinal hormones (leptin, glucagon-like peptide-1), ghrelin, cholecystokinin, peptide YY, morphological characteristics, and physical performances in elite soccer players. METHODS: Q2 Twenty-two elite male soccer players (age = 23.1 [2.7] y, height = 177.0 [0.1] cm, weight = 70.2 [2.9] kg, body mass index = 22.1 [1.8] kg/m2) completed 3-day food records each week during the 5-week training period. Blood samples were drawn after an overnight fast before and after preseason training to assess gastrointestinal hormones (leptin, glucagon-like peptide-1, ghrelin, cholecystokinin, and peptide YY). Continuous analysis of the training load was used during the training period. Preintervention and postintervention tests assessed jumping (countermovement jump), sprinting (10, 20, and 30 m), and endurance fitness (the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 [YYIRT1]) levels. RESULTS: Preseason training decreased body mass index (P = .001; effect size [ES] = 0.183) and body fat percentage (P = .001; ES = 0.516). There were increases in countermovement jump (P = .032; ES = 0.215), 20- (P = .016; ES = 0.195) and 30-m sprints (P = .001; ES = 0.188), and YYIRT1 performance (P = .001; ES = 0.9). Levels of cholecystokinin, peptide YY, and ghrelin did not change during preseason training, although changes in leptin (P = .001; ES = 0.41) and glucagon-like peptide-1 levels (P = .039; ES = 0.606) were recorded. Leptinemia correlated with anthropometric parameters (body mass index, r = .77, P = .001; percentage of body fat,r = .67, P = .006) and the total distance covered during the YYIRT1 (r = -.54; P = .03). CONCLUSION: Changes in morphological parameters and physical performance in elite-level male soccer players are related to variations in selected gastrointestinal hormones.

Taurine in sports and exercise.

BACKGROUND: Taurine has become a popular supplement among athletes attempting to improve performance. While the effectiveness of taurine as an ergogenic aid remains controversial, this paper summarizes the current evidence regarding the efficacy of taurine in aerobic and anaerobic performance, metabolic stress, muscle soreness, and recovery. METHODS: Google Scholar, Web of Science, and MedLine (PubMed) searches were conducted through September 2020. Peer-reviewed studies that investigated taurine as a single ingredient at dosages of < 1 g - 6 g, ranging from 10 to 15 min-to-2 h prior to exercise bout or chronic dose (7 days- 8 weeks) of consumption were included. Articles were excluded if taurine was not the primary or only ingredient in a supplement or food source, not published in peer-reviewed journals, if participants were older than 50 years, articles published before 1999, animal studies, or included participants with health issues. A total of 19 studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. RESULTS: Key results include improvements in the following: VO2max, time to exhaustion (TTE; n = 5 articles), 3 or 4 km time-trial (n = 2 articles), anaerobic performance (n = 7 articles), muscle damage (n = 3 articles), peak power (n = 2 articles), recovery (n = 1 article). Taurine also caused a change in metabolites: decrease in lactate, creatine kinase, phosphorus, inflammatory markers, and improved glycolytic/fat oxidation markers (n = 5 articles). Taurine dosing appears to be effective at ~ 1-3 g/day acutely across a span of 6-15 days (1-3 h before an activity) which may improve aerobic performance (TTE), anaerobic performance (strength, power), recovery (DOMS), and a decrease in metabolic markers (creatine kinase, lactate, inorganic phosphate). CONCLUSIONS: Limited and varied findings prohibit definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of taurine on aerobic and anaerobic performance and metabolic outcomes. There are mixed findings for the effect of taurine consumption on improving recovery from training bouts and/or mitigating muscle damage. The timing of taurine ingestion as well as the type of exercise protocol performed may contribute to the effectiveness of taurine as an ergogenic aid. More investigations are needed to better understand the potential effects of taurine supplementation on aerobic and anaerobic performance, muscle damage, metabolic stress, and recovery.

Double belt structure of discoidal high density lipoproteins: molecular basis for size heterogeneity.

We recently proposed an all-atom model for apolipoprotein (apo) A-I in discoidal high-density lipoprotein in which two monomers form stacked antiparallel helical rings rotationally aligned by interhelical salt-bridges. The model can be derived a priori from the geometry of a planar bilayer disc that constrains the hydrophobic face of a continuous amphipathic alpha helix in lipid-associated apoA-I to a plane inside of an alpha-helical torus. This constrains each apoA-I monomer to a novel conformation, that of a slightly unwound, curved, planar amphipathic alpha 11/3 helix (three turns per 11 residues). Using non-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, we show that dimyristoylphosphocholine discs containing two apoA-I form five distinct particles with maximal Stokes diameters of 98 A (R2-1), 106 A (R2-2), 110 A (R2-3), 114 A (R2-4) and 120 A (R2-5). Further, we show that the Stokes diameters of R2-1 and R2-2 are independent of the N-terminal 43 residues (the flexible domain) of apoA-I, while the flexible domain is necessary and sufficient for the formation of the three larger complexes. On the basis of these results, the conformation of apoA-I on the R2-2 disc can be modeled accurately as an amphipathic helical double belt extending the full length of the lipid-associating domain with N and C-terminal ends in direct contact. The smallest of the discs, R2-1, models as the R2-2 conformation with an antiparallel 15-18 residue pairwise segment of helixes hinged off the disc edge. The conformations of full-length apoA-I on the flexible domain-dependent discs (R2-3, R2-4 and R2-5) model as the R2-2 conformation extended on the disc edge by one, two or three of the 11-residue tandem amphipathic helical repeats (termed G1, G2 and G3), respectively, contained within the flexible domain. Although we consider these results to favor the double belt model, the topographically very similar hairpin-belt model cannot be ruled out entirely.