Strict vegetarians do not eat fish. Fish is the primary dietary source of essential fatty acids, which are important for brain functions including positive moods states. These facts caused researchers from Arizona State University to wonder whether vegetarians might suffer from compromised mood states compared to omnivores. They sought to answer this question in a recent study in which they had 138 Seventh Day Adventists fill out standardized scientific questionnaires to assess mood state. They also had 78 omnivores fill out the same questionnaire. To their surprise, they found that vegetarians reported significantly lower negative mood states than omnivores despite consuming substantially less essential fatty acids. Interesting. One wonders what else it is about the vegetarian diet or about the choice to be a vegetarian that elevates mood.

Citrulline malate had become a popular nutritional supplement among athletes due to purported beneficial effects on aerobic performance. One possible mechanism for this effect is the prevention of arginine depletion during prolonged exercise. The amino acid arginine plays an important role in nitric oxide release, and nitric oxide in turn help dilate the blood vessels and increase blood flow to working muscles. In a new study, Spanish researchers studied the effects of citrulline malate supplementation on the metabolism of amino acids, including arginine, during cycling exercise. They found that citrulline malate did indeed significantly increase the use of amino acids, and especially the branched chain amino acids, which include arginine, during exercise compared to placebo. This increase was also associated with an increase in metabolites of amino acid breakdown, including nitrite, which indicates the possibility of higher nitric oxide levels.

Okay, okay! We get it! Chocolate milk is an effective post-exercise recovery drink! No need to beat a dead horse! The latest blow to the dead horse of proof that drinking chocolate milk promotes muscle recovery after exercise comes out of James Madison University. Researchers compared the effects of chocolate milk and a high-carb drink of equal calories on various markers of recovery in college soccer players after training on four consecutive days. There were no difference between the two drinks in their effects on muscle soreness or performance tests. However, after four days, creatine kinase levels (CK is a marker of muscle damage) were lower in chocolate milk drinkers. The authors of the study, which was published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, concluded, “Future studies should investigate if the attenuated CK levels observed with chocolate milk have functional significance during more demanding periods of training.” Oh, no! More chocolate milk studies!

Science has firmly established as fact that consuming carbohydrates during strenuous endurance exercise enhances performance. Recently some scientists have explored the idea that habitually withholding carbohydrate during training might enhance certain physiological adaptations to training and thereby ultimately improve race performance. Research on this question has so far provided little support for it. Some scientists think it more likely that habitually consuming carbohydrate during training might ultimately result in better race performance by allowing athletes to perform at a higher level in each session. Researchers from the Australian Institute of Sport recently put this conjecture to the test. The divided a pool of trained cyclists and triathletes into separate groups and had each of them go through a 28-day block of training, with one group consuming carbs during every workout and the other group abstaining from carbohydrate intake during workouts. Performance was measured before and at the end of the training block in a cycling time trial. The researchers found that performance improved equally–7 percent on average–in both groups despite greater increases in carbohydrate-burning capacity in the carb group. So it appears that the benefits of training with carbs are counterbalanced by those of training without. One wonders if there might be an additive effect associated with mixing carb-fueled and non-carb-fueled workouts in training.

A new Heart Foundation review of more than 100 past studies argues that solid evidence of a significant effect of coffee, wine, and chocolate consumption on heart disease risk and risk factors is lacking. Just how beneficial these products really are is certainly an unanswered question, but as this review points out, there’s no doubt that, however beneficial they are, the level of benefit is currently overhyped. It’s obvious why. First, the media see a great story in any study that identifies health benefits in products we love, so the media have overhyped the science. Secondly, the wine, coffee, and chocolate industries have much to gain from giving consumers another reason to consume their products with a guiltless conscience. And finally, we the consumers are all too ready to receive what we want to hear. Be this as it may, no one in his right mind really thinks that gobbling chocolate, being sedentary, and avoiding vegetables is a recipe for a long life. And no matter how the evidence shakes out, I think we will find that a little coffee, chocolate and wine better than none.

Several studies now have shown that competitive cyclists have abnormally low bone mineral density. The leading hypothesis to explain this phenomenon has been that the energy demands of training and racing don’t allow bone tissue to be formed as quickly as it is broken down (a natural process). It doesn’t help that cycling is a non-weight-bearing activity, as weight-bearing activities are known to increase BMD.

The results of a new study from the University of Missouri suggest that the leading hypothesis is correct, and offer hope of a simple fix. The authors of the study measured bone turnover, energy intake and energy use in cyclists throughout a six-day stage race. They found that cyclists who matched their bodies’ energy use with food energy intake maintain a healthy balance between bone formation and bone breakdown. Only those cyclists who took in fewer calories than they needed showed evidence of a bone formation deficit. Here’s another reason for cyclists to make sure they stay well fueled throughout training and racing.

Brian Wansink of Cornell University has made a career of proving that humans cannot resist the temptation of food and that therefore the best way to avoid overeating is to avoid temptation. For example, he did that famous study showing that people ate a lot more soup without thinking they did when fed from secretly self-refilling soup bowls. Now Wansink’s at it again with a new study whose results suggest that people eat more when they place serving dishes on the same table they eat from. In the study, Wansink had subjects eat the same foods in two different circumstances. In one circumstance they served themselves from dishes that sat in front of them on a table and then ate at that table. In a second circumstance they served themselves at a counter and then took their plates to a table where they ate without the temptation of additional food in front of them. In both circumstances the subjects were instructed to eat as much or as little as they liked. Guess what? Women ate 20 percent less and men 29 percent less when they served themselves at a counter and ate at a table without serving dishes on it. That’s a handy little tip for you!

Endurance athletes commonly use sports drinks and carbohydrate gels interchangeably to get the carbohydrate they need to maximize performance in workouts and races. But are the two types of ergogenic aids equally effective? Researchers from the University of Birmingham sought to answer this question in a recent study. Eight trained cyclists were asked to ride stationary bikes at a fixed moderate intensity for three hours on three occasions. During one ride they consumed carbohydrate gels plus water at a rate sufficient to provide 1.8 grams of carbohydrate per minute. During a second ride they consumed a sports drink also at a rate sufficient to supply 1.8 g of carbs per minute. And during a third ride the subjects drank water at a rate that equaled the fluid intake during the other two rides. The researchers found that the carbs supplied by the gels and drink were oxidized at the same rate and with equal efficiency. Thus they concluded that the two types of ergogenic aids can be used interchangeably. The study was published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Running a marathon beats the heck out of the body. Even walking down a short flight of stairs the next day is difficult. But researchers from England’s Northumbria University have found something that might help: drinking cherry juice before the marathon. Tart cherries are especially rich in antioxidants that can limit the amount of muscle damage that free radicals cause during prolonged running and limit inflammation afterwards. Twenty runners were asked to consume either cherry juice or placebo for five days before running the London Marathon. Measurements of muscle damage, muscle strength, inflammation and soreness were recorded before and after the race. The researchers found that inflammation and oxidative stress were lower after the marathon in the cherry juice group than in the placebo group. Members of the cherry juice group also recovered their strength faster. The findings were published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports.

While hot weather conditions increase the likelihood of dehydration during exercise by increasing sweat rate, it is also possible to become dehydrated in cool conditions. Scientists from the Army Research Institute recently studied the relative effects of dehydration on aerobic exercise performance at a variety of environmental temperatures. Subjects performed 15-minute cycling time trials following 30-minute warm-ups at four different environmental temperatures: 10 degrees Celcius, 20 degrees, 30 degrees, and 40 degrees. Those exercising at each temperature level did so on two occasions: once when fully hydrated and once when 4 percent dehydrated. The rearchers found that dehydration reduced performance by 3 percent at 10 degrees, 5 percent at 20 degrees, 12 percent at 30 degrees, and 23 percent at 40 degrees. Of course heat itself reduces aerobic performance, but this study showed that, independent of this effect, heat also increases the performance cost of being dehydrated. The lesson is that the hotter the weather is, the more important it is to stay as well hydrated as possible.