Effects of protein-carbohydrate vs. carbohydrate alone supplementation on immune inflammation markers in endurance athletes: a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The impact of ingesting carbohydrates alone or combined with proteins to support exercise immune adaptation in endurance athletes is scarcely investigated. The present study compares the effect of ingesting a combined protein-carbohydrate supplement vs. a carbohydrate-only supplement post-workout on immune inflammation markers following a 10 week periodized endurance training program in well-trained athletes. METHODS: Twenty-five men completed the study after being randomly assigned to one of the following intervention groups: combined protein-carbohydrate (PRO-CHO n = 12, 31 ± 9 years, [Formula: see text]O2peak 61.0 ± 5.6 ml.kg-1.min-1) or non-protein isoenergetic carbohydrate (CHO, n = 13, 33 ± 8 years, [Formula: see text]O2peak 60.6 ± 6.9 ml.kg-1.min-1). Treatment consisted of ingesting 24 g of assigned supplement, mixed with 250 ml of orange juice, once a day for 10 weeks immediately post-workout (or before breakfast on non-training days). Measurements were conducted pre- and post-intervention on total leukocytes, leukocyte subsets (i.e., neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes), and platelets. The inflammatory status was assessed by the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and the systemic-immune inflammation index (SII). RESULTS: Post-intervention, significant increases were observed for CHO group only for the three inflammatory markers: NLR (p = 0.050, d = 0.58), PLR (p = 0.041, d = 0.60), and SII (p = 0.004, d = 0.81) but not for PRO-CHO (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ingesting a post-workout protein-carbohydrate combined beverage promoted a more favourable immune status than carbohydrate-only ingestion by attenuating cellular inflammation over a 10 week training period in endurance male athletes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov with the following ID: NCT02954367. The study was registered by 3 November 2016.

Intake of Animal Protein Blend Plus Carbohydrate Improves Body Composition With no Impact on Performance in Endurance Athletes.

The impact of animal protein blend supplements in endurance athletes is scarcely researched. The authors investigated the effect of ingesting an admixture providing orange juice and protein (PRO) from beef and whey versus carbohydrate alone on body composition and performance over a 10-week training period in male endurance athletes. Participants were randomly assigned to a protein (CHO + PRO, n = 15) or a nonprotein isoenergetic carbohydrate (CHO, n = 15) group. Twenty grams of supplement mixed with orange juice was ingested postworkout or before breakfast on nontraining days. Measurements were performed pre- and postintervention on body composition (by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), peak oxygen consumption (V˙O2peak), and maximal aerobic speed. Twenty-five participants (CHO + PRO, n = 12; CHO, n = 13) completed the study. Only the CHO + PRO group significantly (p < .05) reduced whole-body fat (mean ± SD) (-1.02 ± 0.6 kg), total trunk fat (-0.81 ± 0.9 kg), and increased total lower body lean mass (+0.52 ± 0.7 kg), showing close to statistically significant increases of whole-body lean mass (+0.57 ± 0.8 kg, p = .055). Both groups reduced (p < .05) visceral fat (CHO + PRO, -0.03 ± 0.1 kg; CHO, -0.03 ± 0.5 kg) and improved the speed at maximal aerobic speed (CHO + PRO, +0.56 ± 0.5 km/hr; CHO, +0.35 ± 0.5 km/hr). Although consuming animal protein blend mixed with orange juice over 10 weeks helped to reduce fat mass and to increase lean mass, no additional performance benefits in endurance runners were observed.