Nutraceutical Industry and Sports Nutrition

The role of food in total health care is not something new to mankind. The use of food to maintain man's health is as natural as day and night. More than 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates, considered as the father of medicine, said, "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." It is this principle that eventually led to the explosion of the nutraceutical industry.

The nutraceutical industry is concerned with nutraceuticals, that is, “ food or part of a food that offers medical and/or health benefits including prevention or treatment of disease.”

All therapeutic areas such as anti arthritic, cold and cough, pain killers, digestion, sleeping disorders, blood pressure, cholesterol, prevention of certain cancers, osteoporosis, depression and diabetes are covered by nutraceuticals.

Products range from herbal dietary supplements, actual food components in dosage form such as capsules or tablets to beverages fortified with vitamins and genetically engineered designer foods, functional foods, processed foods such as cereal, soup and beverages.

Functional foods, the most popular term among consumers are modifieds food or food ingredients that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients it contains.

Nutraceuticals is widely popular in the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe and has garnered $80 billion dollars in revenues. The demand for nutraceuticals has been growing worldwide due to consumer awareness of the links of diet and disease, aging population, rising health care cost and innovations in food technology and nutrition.

Sports and Food

In the last decade, sports and fitness nutrition has emerged as one large distinct category in the nutraceutical industry. Three main products contributed to the market’s dramatic 2004 growth:

• low carbohydrate products - which grew by as much as 154%

• sports energy beverages - which grew by 18%;

• sports supplements - which grew by 6%.

Now, the $2 billion-worth sports nutrition industry has moved away from the plain-tasting protein powders into a bigger pool of choices for customers. Available in almost any drug stores or supermarkets are energy bars, meal replacement products, protein powders, individual items (e.g., creatine, L-carnitine), amino acids, herbs, prohormones (hormone precursors); vitamins; minerals; and combination products. Because of this the sports nutrition nutraceutical industry is considered a 'niche' market and an offshoot of the mainstream food industry.

Competition factors for the Sports Nutrition Market

Product/brand differentiation

Because of greater saturation and competition in the marketplace sports nutrition products look alike and sound the same. Maintaining a brand that stands apart from the rest is difficult but a thing to strive for.

Research-substantiated claims.

Consumers’ ability to make intelligent choices should never be underestimated. People place more faith endorsements by university professors and doctors and claims backed by independent research than by endorsements by celebrities.

Core products and strategies

A good strategy now is to focus development of core products or integrating with large food and pharmaceutical concerns (e.g., Powerbar, BalanceBar).

E-commerce

For small companies that cannot or will not rely on strong distribution relationships, e-commerce is an increasingly attractive option.

Basis for marketing strategy

The factors for competition stated above have been gleaned from researches of what consumers are willing to pay for. Overall, customers want:

Something New

Retailers and consumers clamor for "new," whether it means new forms of delivery (gels, effervescent tablets, functional beverages), new applications of or combinations with existing products, or all-natural sports nutrition products that are free of artificial ingredients and solvents.

Excellent Tasting All-natural products

Consumers are also looking for products that taste good and are easy to take. Taste is a major feature that can either make or break a product. The hunt is on for manufacturers to come up with better and new flavors.

High quality and safe products

Regulatory agencies exist to protect the consumers. It is the responsibility of product manufacturers to undertake sound research and prove the efficacy and safety of their nutraceutical products. Products that are based on false or misleading marketing should be and are banned and condemned.

Through product sales and advances in research and development, the Sports Nutrition Nutraceutical Industry is now validating what was proven, early on, by the fitness and nutrition pioneers -- sports nutrition products provide easier access to a healthier way of performing and living.

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All About Endurance Sports Nutrition

Endurance sports nutrition gives you a nutrition advice that is just jampacked with very useful details, together with sets of customized eating plans specifically regarding sports, to ensure that the food that you choose will keep you going on before, during and after various competitions.

A remarkable and very well-known author, Suzanne Girard Eberle, MS, RD, tells those who are concerned of her background as a registered dietician who has her specialty on sports nutrition. She also admits that she knows much and much about endurance sports nutrition because she, herself, is an elite endurance athlete. So she can tell you how endurance sports nutrtion works, or what is not supposed to be done regarding endurance sports nutrition, in actual training and situations that involve racing.

The resource that is said to be the most comprehensive of its kind, is the prescriptive book that the said endurance athlete, slash dietician, wrote. It includes tried and true advice and suggestions from different endurance athletes who are at the top of their sports.

But if you would really like to know from the best persons to talk to when it comes to endurance sports nutrition, there are various websites that you could log on to to be able to contact, or if not contact, at least ask a few questions to world-class athletes.

You can avail Karen Smyers’s, a triathlete, assistance about endurance sports nutrition. She is a triathlete, so she knows things about endurance thrice more than what others do.

Another is the marathon runner Keith Brantly. Running is not as easy as it sounds, but running is, in fact, the easy part. It is the enduring the pain that grows in your legs that is not.

You can also try to have your questions answered by the world-known marathon swimmer Tobie Smith. Endurance sports nutrition in swimming is very very difficult because there are two kinds of pressures that you face, pressure under the water and atmospheric pressure.

And last, but certainly not the least, is the cyclist Kerry Ryan. It is almost the same as running, with the movement of the legs and the endurance of the pain that grow in your legs.

However, you have to be a master of balance to be able to pull cycling off. All of these world-class athletes will happily and obligingly share their knowledge, and with absolute right because of their many years of training and competing against the world’s best.

There are many kinds of sports where endurance sports nutrition can help you maximize your performance. Endurance sports nutrition can help you a great deal in running. As mentioned above, running is the easy part, it is enduring the pain that is constantly present in your lower extremeties that you need to endure.

In triathlons, you have to take note of enduring three stages of sports. So endurance sports nutrition is definetely handy if you want to be able to move on to the next stage and not faint in one of the first stages.

The endurance in swimming is not like any other. Why? It is because, like told before, there are two kinds of pressure that you need to think about. There is, first, the pressure that you experience under the water, plus the atmospheric water. So whether you put your face under water or you turn your head out of the water to breathe in some air, the cramps and the pain caused by the pressure should be endured.

In rowing, it is all about upper body strength. Yes, it also involves coordination with your teammates and most of all mind and arm coordination, but if you are weak with your upper body, then rowing is not the thing for you. Your hands will probably suffer bruises from your firm grips on the oars, but you arms are the ones that should have high endurance. Endurance sports nutrition can definitely help you survive the boat ride.

Cycling, like mentioned, is not that much different from running. Your legs also experience the most pain, and you have to endure the pain that is constant on your lower extremities. But this time, there is also the balance to think of. And for those who have a hard time balancing, enduring cycling is very hard. So this is where endurance sports nutrition comes in.

Endurance sports nutrition can definitely make you a better athlete, if you cannot endure whatever it is that you are doing, how can you perform well? So if you are thinking that sports is all about performance, you are wrong for without endurance, you can never perform a certain sport well.

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American Sports Nutrition

The Americans usually dominate sporting events. They appear bigger, stronger and have longer resistance. They say that the secret is through their hard work and training. But their real secret is their diet that gives them that strong physique.

Their diet and nutritional intake is different compared to us. So what is in this american style of sports nutrition? I will elaborate some of their diet and nutritional technique for you to have more strength and energy as you play your game.

Do you want to enhance your performance and increase lean muscle? Try the creatine that is commonly found in American sports nutrition.

This will give you more energy to work out longer and harder that will help you get maximum results. Creatine can also help you recover quickly. This supplement will work for any athlete who does weight lifting and any other quick burst of activity like sprinting. You may be able to do more before you hit fatigue point.

Your body converts this unique powder into adenosine triphosphate, which is the energy of our cells, and stores it into the mitichondria of each muscle cell giving it reserved energy. Every muscle contraction is fueled by atp, so we can do more because of the stored atp. This can enhance your performance and lean muscle gain.

This product is 100% pure pharmaceutical grade creatinh monohydrate. You should at least take 1000 grams per dosage. Creatine does not contain any additive and filters. This chemical is found naturally in many foods so it is practically safe. And it will also not affect hormonal levels.

Whether your goal is for maximum athletic performance, increased lean muscle or prolonged endurance, creatine is the answer for you. It also has cardio protective qualities. Creatine from American sports nutrition is the best way to supplement a healthy diet and active lifestyle.

Another one would be the American sports nutrition whey protein. It is a high quality, lactose free and predigested protein. This nutritional supplement is a great natural source of high potency essential amino acids.

If you want an increase in muscle strength, do it with American whey. The ion-exchanged whey protein in this supplement is the most preferred and bio-available for your body. This means your body can utilize the supplementation of American whey better than other types of protein.

American whey protein is also low on calories, tastes great, and mixes easily with rice, milk and water. It also comes in a variety of delicious flavors.

There are many more diets out there like the American sports nutrition that offers protein as the main component of their nutritional diet. Examples of these are the American whey creamy vanilla extreme, American whey double dutch chocolate, and the American whey wild berry.

They just differ in the dosage as you take them but practically the same results. Some of them require a lot of quantities for the supplement to work. And it also has to be taken in regularly if possible you should follow the diet everyday.

You may have noticed in the American sports nutrition’s that the main nutrient they are focused on are proteins.

So what is in proteins that make it so vital in the nutrition of Americans? Proteins are the main body builder nutrient. Protein focuses on the production of muscle cells. Protein also participates in muscle contraction or the movement of muscles.

If you want to have bigger, leaner and stronger muscles, there should be a massive intake of proteins before and after your training. That is why protein is so important not only to athletes but also to normal people as well. Protein also contributes to the height of a person.

If you want to be as tall as the Americans, you have to have a lot of protein in your diet or at least use the supplements that American sports nutrition offer.

We must remember that it is not about the nutrition we get but it is about how we get it and when we get it. There are optimal times where the nutrients we get will enhance our performance and boost our nutritional level. American sports nutrition targets these optimal times in order for our body to get the most out of it and help us be healthy and build up our muscles.

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Heat stroke prevention: An important factor in Japanese sports nutrition

The continuing development of sports nutrition is not only rampant in the United States but also in other parts of the world. Sports nutrition in also of great importance is Japan.

Here are some developments related to Japanese sports nutrition, specifically on heat stroke prevention, from the web site of Otsuka Pharmaceutical.

1. Pocari Sweat Junior Sports Clinic

The Japan Amateur Sports Association hosted the said sports clinic for the promotion of sports nutrition to children in the country. The sports clinic was held in 11 venues, and Otsuka invited star athletes as guest instructors. Seminars are provided for the attendees, with topics such as the importance of fluid intake and ways for the prevention of heat stroke.

2. Detective Konan on heat stroke

Japanese children were in for a special treat when the Japanese Association of School health delivered educational videos to elementary schools featuring popular cartoon character Detective Konan.

In the video, Konan discusses ways to prevent the occurrence of heat stroke. Posters related to the topic were also given out to the schools. The Konan videos have been utilized as instructional material for Japanese sports nutrition around campuses, particularly on guidance and health activities.

3. National Junior High School General Athletics Meet

The sporting event, which was geared towards junior high students, was celebrated in Hokkaido under the sponsorship of the Nippon Junior High School Physical Culture Association together with other organizations.

Otsuka took advantage of the gathering to promote the significance of heat stroke prevention. Electrolyte beverages were given out to attendees so that they could play sports under the hot weather.

4. Otsuka Academy Public School Seminar

With the goal of spreading our information about the importance of Japanese sports nutrition, the Otsuka Academy Public School Seminar opened for elementary and junior high pupils.

Topics included are the latest news on dietary and nutrition habits, and the state of the body during growth spurts. Pamphlets and videos were used by specialists to promote the significance of fluid retention during strenuous activities. The activity aroused encouraging reaction from the subjects.

5. Strategies to Prevent Heat Stroke in Daily Life

Otsuka produced a video with that title to educate people working in extremely hot surroundings regarding the prevention of heat stroke.

The video was edited by the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association, and was given out to businesses all over the country. The video expounds on the importance of daily hydration, and the right amount of periods to be given to employees for exercise, rest and work. Several events have already featured the video, including the evening seminars held by the Japan Society for Occupational Health.

6. Heat Stroke Prevention Research Team

Otsuka Pharmaceuticals is providing support for the activities of the said research effort of the Japan Amateur Sports Association to heighten the level of people's awareness on the hazards on heat stroke and how to prevent it while engaging in sports or other strenuous activities.

The Otsuka Saga Nutraceuticals Research Institute is an enthusiastic partner of JASA in the production and distribution of educational materials regarding heat stroke prevention.

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The Best Sports Nutrition A Day Or Hours Before An Endurance Sports Competition

What is the best sports nutrition for an athlete? There is no definitive answer to this. No athlete has the same need. It all depends on the physique of an athlete and the kind of sports that he or she is into.

So, if you are contemplating on joining an endurance sports competition, the best sports nutrition for you is the nutritional table fit for an athlete that expects long hours of vigorous physical activity and mental alertness even when tired.

Endurance sports test the physical and mental fortitude of an athlete; if you are not well fed for this kind of competition, it would be better for you if you would back off from the competition.

Best Sports Nutrition for Endurance Sports Athletes

- Best sports nutrition a day before the event

Do not overwork yourself on the day before the event. It would be wise if you would only do stretching and a few kilometers of jogging, eat protein rich food, hydrate yourself (a lot!) and rest for the rest of the evening because you need to get up early, as early as four hours before the game.

The best sports nutrition in endurance sports is hydration. You should be hydrating yourself even a week before the game. This is to keep your body cleansed, fueled and watered for the coming event.

If you only hydrate yourself on the day of the event, you won't hold too much water. Most of the liquid that you intake will only seep out through sweat. So, if you want to go to the game in full tank, drink lots of water beforehand.

Another best sports nutrition tip that you must learn by heart is to eat food rich in protein, to keep your muscles in shape, and carbohydrates so that your glycogen stores would be at their best. You can hydrate yourself well with sports drink that contains minerals to balance your electrolytes level.

- Best sports nutrition hours before the event

Eat a meal before you run. This is the best sports nutrition advice that you should keep in mind. You need glucose to keep your blood sugar in normal levels. Glucose fuels the brain and the muscles during an activity.

If you lack glucose in your body, you cannot think properly because your brain does not have enough fuel that it needs. Worse, you might faint even before the race begins of hypoglycemia.

Having enough stores of glucose in your body will keep you alert and going even for long hours of physical activity. So, don't forget to eat a light to moderate meal before you race.

Long hours of running, swimming and bicycling will definitely deplete your glycogen stores in your liver. So, a carbohydrate rich meal will be your best choice of pre-race meal. It can quickly restore your reserves of glycogen in your liver and put the fulcrum back to normal. You can bring with you carbohydrates bar which you can munch while running, and drain it down with water or sports drink.

According to health experts, best sports nutrition tip to get the carbohydrate you need is to eat food that you know won't make your stomach upset. Stress can induce diarrhea. Add up food that your digestive system hates and you will see yourself sitting on the throne while your competitors have started running after hearing the gun fire.

When to eat your pre-race meal? The sports nutrition experts recommend one to four hours before the assembly time and then nibble 50 grams of carbohydrate every hour before the game starts.

Instant oatmeal, bananas, low fat milk and energy bars are good sources of carbohydrates. Always follow a meal with water or sports drink. Never drink soda or caffeinated beverages because they will work of you as diuretics. According to the best sports nutrition magazines in the country, caffeine drains the body of fluid.

Add up salty foods to your meal. Salt will help you retain more water in your body.

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Buying Sports Nutrition Supplements On Discount

Sport nutrition supplements are gaining much popularity nowadays because of their many benefits that have been realized by a lot of people. People have come to appreciate the fact that exercise needs to be backed up by a good diet, otherwise, it will be useless and good performance may not be expected.

Due to this growing popularity, a lot of companies or even sites in the World Wide Web actually offer the sport nutrition supplements at a discounted price. This, in fact, makes the product increasingly affordable for most people. Thus, more and more people are able to avail of the many benefits of taking in supplements in addition to normal food intake and exercise.

Not all types of food are able to provide the essential nutrients needed by the body. Likewise, there are instances wherein the person himself has limitations when it comes to the type of food he eats. Some simply cannot take in everything.

When engaged in any type of sport or any form of strenuous activity, the more the body is prone to diseases. This is so because the body is exposed to too much stress, and without proper nutrition, the body simply cannot cope well with them.

This is why, although exercise has been known to be very good for the body, people who constantly exercise without proper nutrition still get sick. This makes them wonder sometimes but that is how it really works. The body needs the proper nutrients to be fueled up further.

The existence, then, of discounted sport nutrition supplements should make healthy living more feasible for most people. There should be no excuses anymore as a lot of companies do their best to make their products reach a bigger market.

However, research still remains to be an essential factor. No matter how discounted a sport nutrition supplement is, one should still look into how it will happen his body as a whole.

Awareness of the current condition will help one identify better which sport nutrition supplement to take in. Discounts are of great value, but one should not take for granted the benefits of the sport nutrition supplement itself. One must take note that their purpose is to fill in the gaps and not cause further trouble to the body.

Discounts on sport nutrition supplements are sometimes based on the expiration date of the product. In many cases, those whose price falls really low have very near expiration dates.

While these may still be consumed before the indicated date, one must make sure that he does not take them in anymore as soon as the date has lapsed. Doing so may be very harmful to the body.

Proper information gathering is key here. One must not take for granted the nutritional value of the sport nutrition supplement for the sake of the discounted price.

Health is still far more important over money. Although the intention of these discounts is to make more people use sport nutrition supplements, one must still look at their significance to the body. Different people have different needs so if a certain supplement worked for another person, it does not guarantee similar results to another.

Discounts in sport nutrition supplements are great offers since these are usually expensive. However, in any purchasing decision, the major criterion must be what the body really needs.

One might be taking in too much of a certain supplement because they are cheap even though they are not really needed since they already are taking in those nutrients through the food they eat. Self-evaluation and awareness should remain as the first crucial steps.

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American Sports Nutrition: Providing health and fitness for everybody

Since more and more people are getting interested in becoming world-class athletes, and the area of sports is one of the most lucrative and popular forms of entertainment and recreation, the study of sports nutrition has developed steadily. Consumable products and instructional materials are being released in the market endlessly in order to help athletes and ordinary people with ample interest in physical fitness achieve their personal goals.

In this respect, American sports nutrition has indeed made very useful discoveries on how to make the human body function to its outmost potential.

Here are some studies and opinions created by some of the most respected health and fitness experts around.

According to a press release from the IDEA Health & Fitness Association, the best kind of nutrition is only based on the type of food one eats, but also, the time that a certain food was consumed. Research states that the food that athletes take in on all stages of a training session, may it be prior, during or afterwards, will make a considerable impact on their athletic prowess and recovery.

The highlights of the press release include:

-The practice of right timing for taking in nutrients also benefits ordinary exercisers, and not only athletes

-The consumption of nutrients in ideal combinations at the most optimal of frequencies will result in the enhancement of athletic performance and the recovery of the body. It also improves the composition and strength of muscles.

-Obesity can be battled by simply upping the amount of calcium that one consumes everyday.

-The right combination of protein and carbohydrates will result in improved workout and training performance.

Another important discovery made in American sports nutrition deals with the possibility of high protein diets to bring about dehydration in most people, even professional sportsmen.

Citing a study from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, graduate student William Forrest Martin reported on the effect of high protein on five athletes who were made to consume various amounts in the span of four weeks. The researchers stressed that when one takes in high amounts of protein in their body, the amount of fluid intake should also be raised considerably.

Aside from hydration, people who drink less water are prone to catching other health problems, such as heat illnesses. Minimal decrease of water in the body will have a negative effect on certain bodily functions.

The importance and strategies for the recovery of the body after strenuous activity has also been discussed in relation to American sports nutrition.

A good recovery enables one to be well-prepared for the next physical activity. What are the goals in body recovery? they are:

-Replacement of the storage of liver glycogen and muscle in the body.

-Regaining of all those electrolytes and fluids that went down with the sweat.

-Rejuvenation of the body from the damage brought about by exercise.

It is best to consume foods rich in carbohydrates while the body recovers from the activity.

Other tips for quick recovery include:

-Take snacks for within an hour maximum if the next activity is less than 8 hours.

-For people with poor appetite, juice and sports drinks can provide carbs and fluids necessary for recovery.

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