The Best Supplement for Runner Recovery

Many articles recently have discussed the immune supporting benefits of vitamin D. But did you know there are also studies suggesting it supports muscle recovery too? There are vitamin D receptors on most cells of the body. So inadequate levels can affect many systems.

There is disagreement on the ideal level of vitamin D. And, this week, we have a study suggesting that there may be benefits to supplementation even if blood levels are already high. In this case, "high" means above the 20 mg/ml level recommended by the Institute of Medicine, or the 30 mg/ml recommended by the Endocrine Society.

Vitamin D Enhances Running Recovery

New Study: The effect of vitamin D supplementation on serum total 25(OH) levels and biochemical markers of skeletal muscles in runners

Eccentric muscle contraction is when tension is applied to a muscle as it lengthens. This occurs when walking down stairs or running downhill. Eccentric exercises increase the chance of muscle injury and delayed onset muscle soreness.

Vitamin D is involved with muscles. A deficiency has been found to increase the risk of muscle myopathy, weakness, and fatigue. One goal of further research is to find ways to help muscle cells amplify recovery mechanisms. This study looked at the effect of vitamin D supplements on biomarkers of inflammation and injury.

Twenty four male ultramarathon runners received a placebo or 1,000 IU vitamin D twice a day for 3 weeks. All had blood vitamin D levels above the recommended 30 mg/ml. The participants completed a standard treadmill test. Then they performed a 30-minute downhill run test, as the eccentric exercise.

The supplement group experienced an increase in blood vitamin D levels by about 5 ng/ml, though the group still averaged less than 50 ng/ml. They also experienced a drop in muscle damage indicators, troponin and creatine kinase at rest. Their troponin was lower immediately after exercise. And their creatine kinase was lower 24 hours post exercise.

Perhaps most notable, there was a significant negative association between vitamin D blood levels and myoglobulin and troponin levels 24 hours after exercise. This suggests that, when vitamin D blood levels were brought to a higher level, the skeletal muscles were quicker to heal.

The researchers concluded, "Three weeks of supplementation had a beneficial effect on certain parameters of skeletal muscle function." And "lower serum levels of biomarkers of skeletal muscle damage and vitamin D status improvement might, in turn, have significantly decreased the individual recovery time from eccentric exercise."

Combine B Vitamins for Cognitive Enhancement

New Study: Effects of Folic Acid and Vitamin B12, Alone and in Combination on Cognitive Function and Inflammatory Factors in the Elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Single-blind Experimental Design

This study sought to determine whether folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements can help improve cognitive performance. The thought is that these vitamins are associated with reducing inflammation. And inflammation is suspected to impair cognitive function.

The study involved 240 people with mild cognitive impairment. They took nothing, folic acid alone (400 micrograms), vitamin B12 alone (25 micrograms), or folic acid (400 micrograms) plus vitamin B12 (25 micrograms) for 6 months.

After 6 months, the group that took both folic acid and vitamin B12 experienced greater improvements in serum folate and vitamin B12. They also had a greater reduction in the inflammatory markers homocysteine, IL-6, TNF-α, and MCP-1.

The group with the combined supplement also showed improvement in full scale IQ, verbal IQ, information, and digit span scores. These results suggest memory benefits.

The combination of folic acid and vitamin B12 was significantly superior to either folic acid or vitamin B12 alone.

Similar Caffeine Effects for All CYP1A2 Genotypes

New Study: CYP1A2 genotype and acute effects of caffeine on resistance exercise, jumping, and sprinting performance

This study examined the influence of the CYP1A2 gene on the outcomes of 3 mg/kg of bodyweight caffeine intake. The researchers looked specifically at resistance exercise, jumping, and cycling in resistance-trained men.

Among the 22 men, thirteen carried two A alleles and nine carried at least one C allele, suspected to slow the rate of caffeine metabolism. They had each participated in resistance training for at least six months. Daily use of caffeine was not noted.

Participants completed the resistance exercises an hour after taking a placebo. They also completed the exercises after taking 3 mg caffeine per kg bodyweight. The trials were spaced a week apart. The participants were asked to refrain from caffeine after 6 pm the day prior to the testing.

The benefits of caffeine was seen in improvements to movement velocity, power output, number of repetitions until muscle failure, and jump height. The authors found no significant differences in the effects of caffeine between the two genotype groups.

The researchers mentioned that the differences between genotypes might only become apparent at higher doses of caffeine. They also acknowledged a potential weakness in their study. They combined the AC/CC genotypes together because only ~10% of the population is thought to have the CC genotype.

Thrivous Tenacity

Thrivous develops Tenacity Arthroprotector to enhance joint and bone function for better aging. Each serving provides a clinical dose of vitamin D, along with other science-backed geroprotector nutrients. As indicated in our clinical study review this week, Tenacity may also help improve recovery after exercise.

Thrivous also develops Clarity for sustained cognitive enhancement, as well as Surge for acute cognitive and performance enhancement. Respectively, they provide clinical doses of B vitamin complex and caffeine, among other effective nootropics.

All Thrivous supplements pass through multiple rounds of rigorous quality control. Suppliers check the identity, potency, and safety of each ingredient. Manufacturing and third-parties test each ingredient and their combination again, to double- and and triple-check all of the test results. And Thrivous publishes all test results openly and prominently on each product webpage.

Tenacity, Clarity, and Surge are available to purchase on the Thrivous website. Get yours today!