Effects Of A Nutritive Administration Of Carbohydrates And Protein By Food On Skeletal Muscle Inflammation And Damage After Acute Endurance Exercise

Abstract

: Scientific Background: Protein ingestion has been recently described to enhance the effects of carbohydrate drinks on skeletal muscle recovery. The aim of this study was to investigate the beneficial effects of a co-ingestion of carbohydrate and protein by food in amateur sportsmen. METHODS: 16 male subjects performed a 10km run at 80% of individual ANS. Immediately after exercise subjects ingest either nothing (control), carbohydrates by eating white bread, or a combination of carbohydrates and protein by eating white bread and a sour milk cheese. Blood samples were taken at different time points. Serum glucose, serum insulin, serum creatine kinase (CK) and the serum levels of IL6, IL 10, MIF and TNF alpha were determined. RESULTS: Blood glucose was increased by endurance exercise. Blood glucose levels decreased rapidly after exercise, here the strongest decrease could be observed in the bread/cheese group. Food uptake results in strong increase of serum insulin not differing between bread and bread/cheese. CK serum levels as a marker for skeletal muscle damage strongly increased 24h after exercise in the control and bread group but not in the bread cheese group. Exercise resulted in an increase of serum IL 6 and MIF which was reduced in the bread/cheese group. Serum IL 10 was increased by bread/cheese ingestion. TNF alpha serum concentration was decreased by exercise. This decrease was antagonized by bread/cheese ingestion. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that uptake of a combination of protein and carbohydrate by food immediately after endurance exercise effect’s physiological responses like blood glucose levels of the individual’s and antagonize the induction of serum CK, a marker of skeletal muscle damage. Moreover this nutritive carbohydrate/protein uptake seems to influence the inflammatory response of the skeletal muscle indicated by reduced concentrations of proinflammatory markers and an increase of anti-inflammatory markers.