A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study recently published examined the effect of supplementation with Quercitin on performance during exercise (June 2009). Quercitin (a potent antioxidant and flavonoid that can be found in onions and garlic) was found to enhance the performance of treatment subjects during prolonged exercise.
The subjects were healthy but untrained in physical activity, and received 500mg of Quercitin twice per day for 7 days. The authors concluded that supplementation enhanced aerobic capacity while delaying fatigue during prolonged exercise, but also extrapolated the results to implicate beneficial results in overall health promotion and disease prevention (1. Davis MJ, Carlstedt CJ, Chen S, et al. The dietary flavonoid quercetin increases VO2max and endurance capacity. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism [epub ahead of print June 24, 2009].
Last month, I wrote about energy drinks consumed by the public to help increase their energy throughout the day. I alluded to the use of herbs like adrenal adaptogens such as Licorice root extract and Ashwaganda or Siberian ginseng as excellent alternatives to these energy drinks that contain a lot of sugar. From the study above, Quercitin might also be a good consideration especially when starting a new exercise regimen.
Essentially, it’s about supporting an increase in oxygenation of your tissues for optimizing your health. Tissue oxygenation promotes a reduction in lactic acid accumulation post-exertion (hence reduced muscle aches and pain), but also helps to maintain a relatively alkaline tissue environment (this has implications in the prevention of cancer). Furthermore, increased oxygenation of tissues helps to promote prolonged exercise tolerance and increased muscle regeneration post exertion.
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