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Performance Enhancing Chocolate

New Nutritional Options for Increasing Muscular and Cognitive Performance

von Dr Johannes F. Coy

Besides conventional training, it is possible for an athlete to significantly enhance muscular and cognitive performance through targeted nutrition. Nutrition plays two import roles in athlete performance: On the one hand, it allows for the delivery of sufficient amounts of energy to the body (substrate). On the other hand, nutrition supplies the body with the essential substances required for energy release and the maintenance of cell and body functions.
Essential substances such as vitamins and minerals as well as essential fatty acids and essential amino acids are necessary for performing the general functions of the cells and are thereby also a prerequisite for exploiting energy from substrates. In principle, there are two ways in which a cell releases energy: aerobically and anaerobically. While aerobic energy release by mitochondria through the process of oxidative phosphorylation requires oxygen, anaerobic energy release (fermentation) is possible even in conditions when oxygen is absent. The independence of energy release from oxygen via fermentation is attended at very low efficiency since most of the energy cannot be used from the substrates and are thusly given as lactic acid (lactate) in the blood. Considering the whole body, the energy present in lactate is not lost since other tissues like the myocardial muscle use them as substrate during aerobic energy release. Therefore lactate serves as a substrate for the interorgan exchange of energy, whereby the metabolic burden is distributed within the body depending on presence of oxygen. Aside from the amount of lactate used by other organs for aerobic energy release, this is also used for new synthesis of glucose in the liver, whereby the liver allows the skeletal muscle to increase its performance. Even though the amount of released energy in relation to the amount of substrate is considerably smaller than that of aerobic energy release, fermentation is able to provide yet another significant advantage. Unlike energy release using oxidative phosphorylation, with which even the optimal working mitochondria always lead to the creation of radicals due to the generation of energy rich electrons during the process of oxidative phosphorylation, fermentation (substrate chain phosphorylation) does not generate any free radicals. With this, aerobic energy release proves itself a highly efficient form of energy release, while at the same time inducing radical stress and cell damage, thereby allowing the initiation of inflammation. Radical production and subsequently triggered cell damage is especially high when the mitochondria exhibit dysfunctions. The mitochondrial functions can be optimized in mitochondrial membranes’ functionality in regard to structure and fluidity together with the support of fatty acid oxidation and citric acid cycle (i.e. through alpha lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, glutathione, L-carnitine, vitamin B1, B2, Niacin, pantothenic acid, magnesium) as well as with the support of the electron transport chain (i.e. through iron, copper, manganese, selenium, coenzyme Q10). At the same time, it is important to avoid radical stress and cell damage by the neutralization of created radicals with the help of highly efficient antioxidants (i.e. gamma and delta tocotrienol) and to inhibit inflammation (i.e. delta tocotrienol). An increasingly important meaning has been found in such findings, which induce the new creation of mitochondria (biogenesis) through polyphenols as well as the targeted replacement of defective mitochondria (mitophaghy).

Enhancing Muscular Endurance

It can be demonstrated in studies that the polyphenol quercetin present in pomegranate and grape seed can induce the generation of new mitochondria in muscle and brain cells, thereby increasing muscular endurance performance without training. This clearly demonstrates that the performance of aerobic energy release is not only determined by the presence of sufficient substrate and oxygen, but is also heavily dependent on the functionality and biogenesis of the mitochondria. Owing to the dual application possibilities of glucose in regard to aerobic as well as anaerobic energy release, carbohydrates and substrates transformable into carbohydrates like glucogenic amino acids present a frequently used energy source for athletes. Although glucose presents a quick and dually applicable energy source, nutrition with a high content of glucose and glucose derivatives (e.g. starch) leads to restrictions on an athlete’s performance. There are several factors responsible for inducing this negative effect. That is, since carbohydrates such as glucose or starches (foods with high glycemic indexes) can lead to a sharp elevation in blood sugar levels, the chemical characteristics of the glucose molecule will inevitably lead to a reaction with the hemoglobin molecules in the red blood cells. The initially reversible binding of the glucose molecules then leads to an irreversible reaction with hemoglobin, thereby reducing the hemoglobin oxygen transport capability. The chemical modification of the hemoglobin (glycation) is detectable in laboratory tests in the form of the HbA1c value. Even in the case of a large amount of available substrates for energy in the form of sufficiently high blood glucose concentration and intracellular glucose concentrations, hemoglobin with a limited ability to transport oxygen due to glycation with glucose (HbA1c > 5), less oxygen can be transported to the location of the energy release. Therefore a muscle cell must convert glucose into lactate using the anaerobic energy release (fermentation). This leads to the acidification of the tissue and blood and a further reduced blood oxygen transport capacity. The glycation of the hemoglobin leads to a decrease in the threshold of the switch from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism. This means the muscle cells start earlier with anaerobic metabolism, through which the performance capability in the load range is reduced. Besides a depletion of oxygen supply in the muscles’ cells, foods with a high glycemic index can lead to insulin resistance. This reduces the transfer of the glucose substrate from the blood compartment into the cells, thereby reducing the ability to release energy in muscle cells, but also in cells responsible for cognitive function. Particularly in sports requiring a significant amount of cognitive responsibilities, this earlier transfer to an anaerobic metabolism leads to a loss in concentration and further mental deficits. Studies have recently demonstrated that sugars with a lower glycemic index provide cells with substrates in a significantly better and longer-term fashion than glucose or glucose derivatives such as starch. This increases muscular as well as cognitive performance.

Reasonable Strategies

A strategy for implementing these positive effects concerning muscular and cognitive skills can be achieved through the application of glucose derivatives such as isomaltulose in one’s nutrition. Due to the delayed digestion of this disaccharide consisting of glucose and fructose, glucose molecules are released over a long period thereby avoiding a quick and strong increase in blood sugar. Through this the glycation of the hemoglobin molecule is diminished, thereby creating an increased oxygen transport capacity. Studies have shown that isomaltulose, unlike matodextrin (hydrolyzed starch), actually enhances muscular performance in regard to endurance and speed. Isomaltulose has further positive effects on cognitive abilities as insulin related hypoglycemia is avoided while energy allocation from fat becomes easier. A further benefit can be found in the application of monosaccharides with a low glycemic index such as galactose. Galactose is able to provide a stabilized energy supply and also detoxifies harmful metabolites, such as ammoniac, through the creation of amino acids. Although fructose represents a low glycemic monosaccharide, negative metabolic effects in the liver and other organs restrict the use of fructose. A further, yet unused possibility for increasing muscular and cognitive performance skills can be found in the vitamin E subfamily tocotrienol. Recent studies have shown that gamma tocotrienol significantly increases muscular as well as cognitive performance capabilities. To combine the different modules for increasing the muscular and cognitive performance and to translate this into a food component, chocolate as an enjoyment food has been chosen as a basis, since it already contains performance-enhancing components such as polyphenols.

Until very recently, chocolate products either contained saccharose (sucrose) concomitant with their associated negative effects or sugars that have been displaced by sugaralcohols, which cannot be used, thereby not delivering a positive contribution to energy supply. Through the application of galactose and isomaltulose as sugar sources, a chocolate product has been implemented which sugar components are completely and constantly transferred into energy without resulting in a fast and drastic increase in blood sugar levels, thereby counteracting a glycation of hemoglobin. The favorable polyphenols already present in chocolate can be complimented by new types of crispies which are also rich in polyphenols from pomegranate and grape seeds. Through this mitochondria biogenesis can be induced. By adding high concentrated vitamin E in the form of performance enhancing tocotrienols, it is now possible to combine enjoyment and increased muscular and cognitive performance thanks to this new type of chocolate bar.

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