Recent Studies & Research: Discussion & Implications

[Red Dog]

I really enjoy browsing PubMed and a number of other nutrition and diet related research databases and wanted a place to discuss some of the more interesting publications with others who share a similar interest. Instead of making a new thread for each interesting article (which I see has happened in the past), it would be nice to have a place to discuss new findings as they come down the pipe!

[I put this in the nutrition forum since many articles deal with aspects of human health in some respect, but training or exercise-specific research would be appropriate here as well. (Plus, the nutrition forum gets way more traffic than the exercise science forum .]

 

[Red Dog]

I found this one earlier this week:

The Effect of Pomegranate Juice Supplementation on Strength and Soreness after Eccentric Exercise (Trombold JR, Reinfeld AS, Casler JR, Coyle EF)

Source - Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.

The effect of pomegranate juice supplementation on strength and soreness after eccentric exercise. J Strength Cond Res 25(X): 000-000, 2011-The purpose of this study was to determine if pomegranate juice supplementation improved the recovery of skeletal muscle strength after eccentric exercise in subjects who routinely performed resistance training. Resistance trained men (n = 17) were randomized into a crossover design with either pomegranate juice or placebo. To produce delayed onset muscle soreness, the subjects performed 3 sets of 20 unilateral eccentric elbow flexion and 6 sets of 10 unilateral eccentric knee extension exercises. Maximal isometric elbow flexion and knee extension strength and muscle soreness measurements were made at baseline and 2, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 168 hours postexercise. Elbow flexion strength was significantly higher during the 2- to 168-hour period post-exercise with pomegranate juice compared with that of placebo (main treatment effect; p = 0.031). Elbow flexor muscle soreness was also significantly reduced with pomegranate juice compared with that of placebo (main treatment effect; p = 0.006) and at 48 and 72 hours post-exercise (p = 0.003 and p = 0.038, respectively). Isometric strength and muscle soreness in the knee extensors were not significantly different with pomegranate juice compared with those using placebo. Supplementation with pomegranate juice attenuates weakness and reduces soreness of the elbow flexor but not of knee extensor muscles. These results indicate a mild, acute ergogenic effect of pomegranate juice in the elbow flexor muscles of resistance trained individuals after eccentric exercise. (Original Source: Invalid Link Removed)


I thought this was a pretty interesting study that was published last week -- the abstract doesn't show when the pomegranate juice was ingested in relation to eccentric training or how much was administered. Nothing groundbreaking here but it's still intriguing enough for me to try and incorporate a few ounces post-workout -- why the hell not ya know.

 

[methodice]

Yeh why not. I guess if you aren't your Str should be higher. I wonder how much significant diff. Not to worry as it tastes good, is good for you, and relatively cheap. I hope their cocontrol was fructose and not just water though.

 

[soontobbeast]

What i would like to know is : which is more effective, pomegranate juice, or the extract i use which has 40% ellagic acid ( supposedly the good stuff?).

It's hard to tell, whether an ounce of juice would be better than 1g of PE.

 

[DAdams91982]

This.

There is so much more in pomegranate than the ellagic acid, so I am weary of the extracts.. but the catch is actual pomegranate juice is so freaking loaded with sugar.

Since I watch my sugar I am pretty much forced to utilize the extracts.

I personally utilize pom for lipid modulation and plaque clearing.

 

[soontobbeast]

This.

There is so much more in pomegranate than the ellagic acid, so I am weary of the extracts.. but the catch is actual pomegranate juice is so freaking loaded with sugar.

Since I watch my sugar I am pretty much forced to utilize the extracts.

I personally utilize pom for lipid modulation and plaque clearing.

And, there we are. i as well use 'pom' for the lipid/plaque/anti oxidant benefits. i guess bloodwork is the only way to find out if it's working.

but i also take bulk resveratrol,green tea extract, and NAC, so who knows.

 

[DAdams91982]

Not a bad mix there.

I personally have great numbers with response to lipids with total at 150 and HDL 67... this was after having elevated numbers with a terrible ratio.

Pom and Garlic are the only things I use for lipids and BP. Extremely cheap and quite effective it seems.

 

[soontobbeast]

i was high when i posted that, apparently.

not bulk resveratrol - bulk red wine extract.

damn

on another note, i read EGCG and NAC taken together cause synergy.

 

[Red Dog]

Yeh why not. I guess if you aren't your Str should be higher. I wonder how much significant diff. Not to worry as it tastes good, is good for you, and relatively cheap. I hope their cocontrol was fructose and not just water though.

Good call; I know it's an abstract and intended to summarize, but it always leaves out a few details I really want to know .

 

[Red Dog]

As you guys mentioned, I see the juice really is loaded with sugar -- 32g in 8oz! Maybe I'll give 4 oz a go (16g; 75 cal) at some point since the sugar content is a little more manageable. Since the abstract didn't indicate what amount they administered it's hard to say what's really necessary.

That's cool you guys use the extract though -- I think the anti-oxidant benefits overshadow the lipid/BP benefits as far as public knowledge is concerned. I bet if I asked 10 random people in a local gym to name an advantage to POM consumption, half would say anti-oxidant properties and half would ask what pomegranate does.

 

[DAdams91982]

That is because of marketing and the anti aging community loves anti-ox and the anti aging industry is going to hit something stupid like 251B by 2015.

The studies of pom show actual reversal of atherosclerosis, something the entire steroid utilizing community should be looking at.