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Background: Vitamin D plays pleiotropic roles in the body and hence, changes in its metabolism and distribution during starvation could play an important role in the adaptive response to famine. We aimed to identify the responses of some vitamin D metabolites to 8 d of fasting and exercise. Methods: A repeated-measures design was implemented, in which 14 male volunteers fasted for 8 d and performed an exercise test before and after fasting. Serum samples were collected on day 1 after night fasting and after 8 d of complete food restriction, before and 1 h and 3 h after exercise. Results: After 8 d of fasting, compared with baseline values, serum 24,25(OH)2D3 and 3-epi-25(OH)D3 levels significantly increased, those of 25(OH)D3 and 1,25(OH)2D3 were unaffected, and those of 25(OH)D2 decreased. Exercise on the first day of fasting induced an increase in serum 3-epi-25(OH)D3 levels, while exercise performed after 8 d of fasting induced an increase in 25(OH)D3, 24,25(OH)2D3, 25(OH)D2, and 3-epi-25(OH)D3 levels. Conclusion: Increases in 24,25(OH)2D3 and 3-epi-25(OH)D3 levels imply that fasting stimulates vitamin D metabolism. The effects of exercise on serum vitamin D metabolites, which are most pronounced after fasting and in subjects with serum 25(OH)D3 above 25 ng/mL, support the notion that fasting and exercise augment vitamin D metabolism.

Sprint interval training (SIT) is a concept that has been shown to enhance aerobic-anaerobic training adaptations and induce larger effects in hypoxia. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 4 weeks of SIT with 15 or 30 s in hypoxia on aerobic, anaerobic performance and critical power (CP). A total of 32 male team players were divided into four groups: SIT with 15 s at FiO2: 0.209 (15 N), FiO2: 0.135 (15 H), SIT with 30 s at FiO2: 0.209 (30 N), and FiO2: 0.135 (30 H). VO2max did not significantly increase, however time-to-exhaustion (TTE) was found to be significantly longer in the post test compared to pre test (p = 0.001) with no difference between groups (p = 0.86). Mean power (MPw.kg) after repeated wingate tests was significantly higher compared to pre training in all groups (p = 0.001) with no difference between groups (p = 0.66). Similarly, CP was increased in all groups with 4 weeks of SIT (p = 0.001) with no difference between groups (p = 0.82). This study showed that 4 weeks of SIT with 15 and 30 s sprint bouts in normoxia or hypoxia did not increased VO2max in trained athletes. However, anerobic performance and CP can be increased with 4 weeks of SIT both in normoxia or hypoxia with 15 or 30 s of sprint durations.

Background. The somatic features of the athletes’ bodies partially determine their sporting level and are conditioned to a large extent by the state of nutrition. Objective. The aim of this paper is to present nutritional status and its correlation with the somatic determinants of training athletes and physical education students. Material and methods. This study involved 12 weightlifting players (subgroup-WL), 15 soccer players (subgroup-SP), 12 table tennis players (subgroup-TT) and 12 female students of physical education (subgroup-C). In all subjects, the age and somatic variables were recorded and the daily intake of energy, water, proteins, fats and carbohydrates was determined by 24-h dietary recalls. Results. Although the analysis of variance did not show significant differences in somatic variables and nutrition data, post hoc analysis showed significant differences between some subgroups in terms of age, BMI, fat content (BF), fat-free mass (FFM) and the amount of water, protein and carbohydrates consumed during the day. It was also shown that somatic variables correlated with relatively expressed amounts of energy, proteins and carbohydrates consumed in individual subgroups, as well as in the whole group formed from all subgroups of studied women. In addition, there were significant correlations between somatic variables and the total amount of water consumed in the whole group and the total amount of protein consumed in subgroup C (p

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in most countries in the world. In Poland, after cardiovascular disease, cancer is the leading cause of death, and the number of malignant tumors has more than doubled in the last three decades. Increased cancer mortality in the immediate future is expected to be mainly associated with lung cancer caused by smoking (both sexes), colorectal cancer (both sexes), breast cancer in women, and prostate cancer in men. It is estimated that 20 to 30% of all malignant tumors are diet-dependent, in which cases the cancer-inducing factors are the nutritional components of the food and the ‘hygiene’ of eating. Research by the Institute of Food and Nutrition in Warsaw indicates that an important factor in the prevention of cancer is also the individual’s state of awareness concerning diet. It is emphasized that running nutritional education programs, especially for children and adolescents, may help to limit the occurrence of diet-dependent cancers in Poland over the next few decades. The aim of this review is to assist the promulgation of knowledge about the importance of a high-quality diet in the prevention of cancer. The need for such knowledge is indicated by the upward trend in the incidence of these types of disease in Poland.

The objective of this research was to determine whether chronic (average 3.58 &plusmn, 1.56 years) deliberate adherence to low carbohydrate diets (LCDs) is associated with selected markers of metabolism, risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD), body mass and physical performance in apparently healthy middle-aged men (n = 12). The control group comprised age, body mass and height matched men using mixed diets (MDs). The diets used were registered for 7 days and analyzed in terms of the energy, carbohydrate, fat and protein contents. It was found that the diets used were isoenergetic, yet varied considerably in carbohydrate and fat content. The LCDs significantly intensified the ketogenesis process, increased resting blood total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and heart rate, (HR) and decreased respiratory exchange ratio (RER) in relation to MD subjects. An exercise trial revealed significant impairment of exercise in subjects following the LCDs. The results showed that in the case where the subjects of two investigated groups did not differ in their somatic variables, long-term adherence to the LCDs was associated with substantially reduced exercise performance in apparently healthy subjects, along with an association with a small unfavorable effect on their lipid profile.

Summary A brief Valsalva manoeuvre, lasting 2–3 s, performed by young healthy men during strength exercise reduces transmural pressure acting on intrathoracic arteries. In this study, we sought to verify this finding in older men. Twenty normotensive, prehypertensive and moderately hypertensive otherwise healthy men 46–69 years old performed knee extensions combined with inspiration or with brief Valsalva manoeuvre performed at 10, 20 and 40 mmHg mouth pressure. Same respiratory manoeuvres were also performed at rest. Non-invasively measured blood pressure, knee angle, respiratory airflow and mouth pressure were continuously registered. In comparison to inspiration, estimated transmural pressure acting on thoracic arteries changed slightly and insignificantly during brief Valsalva manoeuvre at 10 and 20 mmHg mouth pressure. At 40 mmHg mouth pressure, transmural pressure declined at rest (−8·8 ± 11·4 mmHg) and during knee extension (−12·1 ± 11·9 mmHg). This decline ensued, as peak systolic pressure increase caused by this manoeuvre, was distinctly

The types of physical exertion undertaken by weightlifters and race walkers markedly differ. This difference should also be reflected in their respective diets.The aim of the study was to investigate and assess the diets of professional weightlifters and race walkers, along with a comparison to the diets of those students studying physical education (PE). Materials and Methods. Subjects were respectively 12 weightlifters, 12 race walkers and 12 physical education students whose body composition and nutrition were determined by weighing the foods that were both eaten and drunk.The study groups showed body differences, which may have arisen through dietary differences. Higher calorie diets were observed for race walkers according to body mass whilst weightlifters showed no difference with the other groups. Dietary intakes of protein, fat, and carbohydrates were however inappropriate for all groups. Vitamin and mineral intakes in weightlifters and students were within tolerable limits, but the rather aggressive taking of supplements by race walkers resulted in standard/recommended consumption levels being greatly exceeded in some cases.The diets of the study groups of weightlifters and race walkers need to be corrected.nutrition in sport, weightlifting, race walking, food supplementation.