Fact: As exercise is an essential part of managing diabetes, some misconceptions you and your patients should know.
Can you answer these four questions?
Does fasting enhance endurance and athletic performance?
Some experts propound that working out while fasting boosts lipolysis in adipose and stimulates peripheral fat oxidation, leading to fat utilization and weight loss. However, according to the authors of a review article published in the Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, claims that fasting enhances endurance is likely dubious: "The effects of fasting on physical performance indicators also remain unclear...we recommend that endurance athletes should avoid high-intensity training while fasting."
Do active cool-downs prevent injury and promote physiological and psychological recovery? Although no consensus definition exists, active cool-down (also known as active recovery or warm-down) refers to a low- moderate-intensity movement or exercise, which usually takes between 5 and 15 minutes, done within 1 hour of training or athletic competition.
The overall value of an active cool-down, however, is unsupported by research. According to the authors of a review article published in Sports Medicine: "Most evidence indicates that active cool-downs do not significantly reduce muscle soreness, or improve the recovery of indirect markers of muscle damage, neuromuscular contractile properties, musculotendinous stiffness, range of motion, systemic hormonal concentrations, or measures of psychological recovery. It can also interfere with muscle glycogen resynthesis."
Can different types of running shoes prevent different injuries?
There are many types of running shoes, with each purported to serve a different purpose: stability shoes for runners whose feet overpronate excessively, or turn inwards, when they hit the ground; motion-control shoes for those with flat feet who also overpronate; neutral shoes for runners with high arches who don't over- or under pronate.
You might think that different types of shoes would help prevent injury. However, research fails to support this claim. In a prospective study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers examined the effects of different types of shoes on the incidence of outpatient foot injuries in Air Force recruits during Basic Military Training (BMT). After compensating for covariates, including smoking, fitness, prior injury, physical activity, menstrual history, and demographics, they found that shoe type did not affect injury risk.
Can consuming carbs and proteins at specified times around your workouts enhance muscle build?
Nutrient timing involves consuming mostly carbohydrates and protein during and around a bout of exercise to enhance aspects of body composition, such as muscle building.
According to the authors of a review article published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition , the rationale behind nutrient timing is based on the supposition that exercising while fasting increases protein breakdown, resulting in a net negative amino-acid balance. Eating immediately before or after strength training, then, would promote muscle protein synthesis and decrease proteolysis, switching the body from a net catabolic to a net anabolic state. This change could conceivably increase muscle mass over time. Nevertheless, the authors question the efficacy of nutrient timing. Instead, based on practical observations and empiric results, the researchers tentatively suggested that consuming "high-quality protein dosed at 0.4–0.5 g/kg of LBM [lean body mass] at both pre- and post-exercise is a simple, relatively fail-safe general guideline that reflects the current evidence showing a maximal acute anabolic effect of 20–40 g." | 