Diet, Supplementation and Nutritional Habits of Climbers in High Mountain Conditions.

Appropriate nutritional preparation for a high-mountain expedition can contribute to the prevention of nutritional deficiencies affecting the deterioration of health and performance. The aim of the study was to analyze the dietary habits, supplementation and nutritional value of diets of high mountain climbers. The study group consisted of 28 men (average age 33.12 ± 5.96 years), taking part in summer mountaineering expeditions at an altitude above 3000 m above sea level, lasting at least 3 weeks. Food groups consumed with low frequency during the expedition include vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk and milk products, butter and cream, fish and meat. The energy demand of the study participants was 4559.5 ± 425 kcal, and the energy supply was 2776.8 ± 878 kcal. The participants provided 79.6 ± 18.5 g of protein (1.1 ± 0.3 g protein/kg bw), 374.0 ± 164.5 g of carbohydrates (5.3 ± 2.5 g/kg bw) and 110.7 ± 31.7 g of fat (1.6 ± 0.5 g/kg bw) in the diet. The climbers' diet was low in calories, the protein supply was too low, and the fat supply was too high. There is a need to develop nutritional and supplementation recommendations that would serve as guidelines for climbers, improving their well-being and exercise capacity in severe high-mountain conditions, which would take their individual taste preferences into account.

Advances in Management of Fournier's Gangrene by Coupling Intensive Hospital Treatment With Innovative Post-discharge Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Rehabilitation: A Case Report.

Fournier's gangrene (FG) is a rare form of necrotizing soft tissue infection characterized by an acute, aggressive, and rapidly progressive course. In this case report, we describe advanced therapy combining critical care, surgery, pharmacotherapy, extended biochemical/cellular blood diagnostics, and post-discharge hyperbaric oxygen therapy rehabilitation. Such an intervention resulted in survival and improved health status and quality of life of the patient with FG and septic shock.

Hematological Adaptations to Post-Exercise Sauna Bathing With No Fluid Intake: A Randomized Cross-Over Study.

Purpose: Sauna bathing is recommended to improve the sports training process, yet empirical evidence confirming its effectiveness is still inconclusive. We examined the effects of post-exercise sauna bathing on hematological adaptations and exercise capacity in healthy men. Methods: Thirteen physical education students participated in randomized cross-over study: two, 4-week interventions, with 10-week washout. The interventions involved 3 times per week 60-min stationary cycling either with 30-min of post-exercise sauna bathing (89 ± 3°C, 10 ± 2% RH) or without; no fluid was ingested during both exercise and sauna sessions. Before and after both interventions, participants were tested for total hemoglobin mass (tHb-mass), intravascular volumes, erythropoietin, ferritin, red blood cell parameters with reticulocyte fractions, along with maximal/peak and submaximal variables in a graded exercise test (GXT). Results: Regardless of intervention type, tHb-mass increased (p = .014) whereas ferritin concentration decreased (p = .027); however, changes in tHb-mass were within the range of typical error (<1.8%). Absolute and relative values of maximal power and power at gas exchange threshold, as well as peak oxygen uptake (all p < .010), also increased irrespective of intervention type. Conclusions: The use of post-exercise sauna bathing with fluid intake restrictions does not provide any additional benefits in tested variables over endurance training alone. Thus, further evidence is required before recommendations to utilize this post-exercise conditioning strategy are deemed valid.

Energy expenditure for massage therapists during performing selected classical massage techniques.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study is to evaluate the intensity of the effort and energy expenditure in the course of performing selected classical massage techniques and to assess the workload of a massage therapist during a work shift. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirteen massage therapists (age: 21.9±1.9 years old, body mass index: 24.5±2.8 kg×m-2, maximal oxygen consumption × body mass-1 (VO2max×BM-1): 42.3±7 ml×kg-1×min-1) were involved in the study. The stress test consisted in performing selected classical massage techniques in the following order: stroking, kneading, shaking, beating, rubbing and direct vibration, during which the cardio-respiratory responses and the subjective rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were assessed. Intensity of exercise during each massage technique was expressed as % VO2max, % maximal heart rate (HRmax) and % heart rate reserve (HRR). During each massage technique, net energy expenditure (EE) and energy cost of work using metabolic equivalent of task (MET) were determined. RESULTS: The intensity of exercise was 47.2±6.2% as expressed in terms of % VO2max, and 74.7±3.2% as expressed in terms of % HRmax, while it was 47.8±1.7% on average when expressed in terms of % HRR during the whole procedure. While performing the classical massage, the average EE and MET were 5.6±0.9 kcal×min-1 and 5.6±0.2, respectively. The average RPE calculated for the entire procedure was 12.1±1.4. During the performance of a classical massage technique for a single treatment during the study, the average total EE was 176.5±29.6 kcal, resulting in an energy expenditure of 336.2±56.4 kcal×h-1. In the case of the classical massage technique, rubbing was the highest intensity exercise for the masseur who performed the massage (%VO2max = 57.4±13.1%, HRmax = 79.6±7.7%, HRR = 58.5±13.1%, MET = 6.7±1.1, EE = 7.1±1.4 kcal×min-1, RPE = 13.4±1.3). CONCLUSIONS: In the objective assessment, physical exercise while performing a single classical massage is characterized by hard work. The technique of classical massage during which the masseur performs the highest exercise intensity is rubbing. According to the classification of work intensity based on energy expenditure, the masseur's work is considered heavy during the whole work shift. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(5):677-684.

The effect of sauna bathing on lipid profile in young, physically active, male subjects.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate effects of Finnish sauna bathing on lipid profile in healthy, young men. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixteen male subjects (20-23 years) were subjected to 10 sauna bathing sessions in a Finnish sauna every 1 or 2 days. The mean sauna temperature was 90±2°C, while humidity was 5-16%. Each session consisted of three 15-minute parts and a 2-minute cool-down between them. The following measurements were taken before and after the sauna sessions: body mass, heart rate, body skinfold thickness. The percentage fat content and then, the lean body mass were calculated. Total cholesterol, triacylglycerols, lipoprotein cholesterol LDL and HDL were measured in blood samples. RESULTS: A statistically significant decrease of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol was observed during 3 weeks of sauna treatment and in the week afterwards. A significant decline in triacylglycerols was found directly after the 1st and 24 h directly after the 10th sauna session. After the 10th sauna session the level of HDL cholesterol remained slightly increased, but this change was not statistically significant. A decrease in blood plasma volume was found directly after the 1st and the last sauna bathing session due to perspiration. An adaptive increase in blood plasma volume was also found after the series of 10 sauna sessions. CONCLUSIONS: Ten complete sauna bathing sessions in a Finnish sauna caused a reduction in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol fraction levels during the sessions and a gradual return of these levels to the initial level during the 1st and the 2nd week after the experiment. A small, statistically insignificant increase in HDL-C level and a transient decline in triacylglycerols were observed after those sauna sessions. The positive effect of sauna on lipid profile is similar to the effect that can be obtained through a moderate-intensity physical exercise.

Disturbances in pro-oxidant-antioxidant balance after passive body overheating and after exercise in elevated ambient temperatures in athletes and untrained men.

The aim of the study was to investigate pro-oxidant-antioxidant balance in two series of examinations with two types of stressors (exogenous heat and the combined exogenous and endogenous heat) in trained and untrained men. The exogenous stressor was provided by Finnish sauna session, whereas the combined stressor was represented by the exercise in elevated ambient temperature. The men from the two groups performed the physical exercise on a cycle ergometer with the load of 53 ± 2% maximal oxygen uptake at the temperature of 33 ± 1 °C and relative humidity of 70% until their rectal temperature rose by 1.2 °C. After a month from completion of the exercise test the subjects participated in a sauna bathing session with the temperature of 96 ± 2 °C, and relative humidity of 16 ± 5%. 15-minutes heating and 2-minute cool-down in a shower with the temperature of 20 °C was repeated until rectal temperature rose by 1.2 °C compared to the initial value. During both series of tests rectal temperature was measured at 5-minute intervals. Before both series of tests and after them body mass was measured and blood samples were taken for biochemical tests. Serum total protein, serum concentration of lipid peroxidation products and serum antioxidants were determined. The athletes were characterized by higher level of antioxidant status and lower concentration of lipid peroxidation products. Physical exercise at elevated ambient temperature caused lower changes in oxidative stress indices compared to sauna bathing. Sauna induced a shift in pro-oxidant-antioxidant balance towards oxidation, which was observed less intensively in the athletes compared to the untrained men. This leads to the conclusion that physical exercise increases tolerance to elevated ambient temperature and oxidative stress.

Effect of a single finnish sauna session on white blood cell profile and cortisol levels in athletes and non-athletes.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Finnish sauna bathing on a white blood cell profile, cortisol levels and selected physiological indices in athletes and non-athletes. The study evaluated 9 trained middle-distance runners and 9 male non-athletes. The subjects from both groups participated in 15-minute sauna sessions until their core temperature rose by 1.2°C (mean temperature in the sauna room was 96° ± 2°C; relative humidity was 15 ± 3%) with a 2 minute cool down with water at a temperature of 19-20°C. Body mass was measured before and after the session and blood samples were taken for tests. Rectal temperature was monitored at five-minute intervals during the whole session. Serum total protein, haematological indices and cortisol levels were determined. Sauna bathing caused higher body mass loss and plasma volume in the athletes compared to the group of non-athletes. After the sauna session, an increased number of white blood cells, lymphocyte, neutrophil and basophil counts was reported in the white blood cell profile. Higher increments in leukocyte and monocyte after the sauna bathing session were recorded in the group of athletes compared to untrained subjects. The obtained results indicated that sauna bathing stimulated the immune system to a higher degree in the group of athletes compared to the untrained subjects.

Changes in the lipid profile of blood serum in women taking sauna baths of various duration.

OBJECTIVES: There is little information on lipid metabolism after sauna treatment in the literature. The present research is aimed to determine the influence of sauna baths on fat metabolism in young women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty healthy, eumenhorreic, female volunteers (19-21 yr old) were exposed to Finnish sauna bath seven times every second day. In group I (n = 10) each time the sauna treatment lasted 30 min, whereas in group II (n = 10) 40 min with 5-minute break to cool down. Body mass, heart rate and blood pressure were measured before and after sauna bath. Rectal temperature was monitored during stay in sauna room. Prior to the sauna bath and during its last two minutes the minute oxygen uptake and the level of CO2 exhalation were analyzed in the exhaled air, and the respiratory quotient RQ was calculated. In the blood samples collected before the sauna bath and immediately afterwards hematocrit, hemoglobin, and lipid profile--total lipids, free fatty acids, total free fatty acids, triacylglycerols, total cholesterol (TC), high density lipids (HDL), low density lipids (LDL) were analyzed. RESULTS: Rectal temperature was lower in the last sauna bath than in the first one. Losses of plasma were greater during the seventh bath than during the first one. Acceleration of the metabolism of lipids occurs after every sauna bath. A reduced level of TC and LDLC and a raised level of HDL was observed after repeated sauna baths. CONCLUSION: After 2 weeks of repeated sauna session some changes in total cholesterol and concentration of LDLC were observed, while concentration of HDLC increased after 7th sauna bath in group I. Those kinds of changes may be good prognoses of ischemic heart disease prevention, but further research on the influence of sauna on fat metabolism is needed.