Not only increasing body carbohydrate (CHO) stores before exercise but also suppressing CHO oxidation during exercise is important for improving endurance performance. We tested the hypothesis that intensive high-fat ingestion in the early stage of recovery from exercise training (ET) for 2 d would suppress CHO oxidation during exercise by increasing whole body lipolysis and/or fat oxidation. In a randomized crossover design, on days 1 and 2, six male subjects performed cycle ET at 50% peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak) for 60-90 min, and consumed a control diet (CON: 1,224 kcal, 55% carbohydrate, 30% fat) or the same diet supplemented with high fat (HF: 1.974 kcal, 34% carbohydrate, 56% fat) 1 h after ET. with the diet other than post-ET similar in both trials. On day 3, subjects performed cycle exercise at 65% VO2 peak until exhaustion. Exercise time to exhaustion was longer in the HE trial than in the CON trial (CON: 48.9 +/- 6.7 vs. HF: 55.8 +/- 7.7 min, p<0.05). In the HE trial, total fat oxidation until exhaustion was higher, accompanied by higher post-exercise plasma glycerol concentration, than in the CON trial (CON: 213 54 vs. HF: 286 +/- 63 kcal, p<0.05), whereas total carbohydrate oxidation until exhaustion was not different between trials. These results suggest that intensive high-fat ingestion in the early stage of recovery from ET for a few days until the day before exercise was an effective means of eliciting a CHO-sparing effect during exercise by enhancing fat metabolism.

Endurance training and ingestion of green tea extract (GTE), composed mainly of tea catechins (TC), are well known to enhance fat metabolism. However, their synergistic effects remain to be fully elucidated. We tested the hypothesis that endurance training supplemented with GTE would further accelerate whole-body fat utilization during exercise, compared with training alone, in humans. Twelve healthy male subjects [peak oxygen consumption ((V) over dotO(2peak)), 50.7 +/- 1.3 (SEM) mL/kg/min] were divided into two groups: GTE and placebo (PLA) groups. Subjects in both groups performed a cycle ergometer exercise at 60% of (V) over dotO(2peak) for 60 min/day, 3 days/week, and daily ingested 572.8 or 0 mg TC in GTE and PLA groups for 10 weeks, respectively. Before and after training, respiratory gas exchange was measured during 90-min exercise at pre-training similar to 55% of (V) over dotO(2peak). After training, the average respiratory exchange ratio during exercise remained unchanged in the PLA group (post-training: 0.834 +/- 0.008 vs pre-training: 0.841 +/- 0.004), whereas it was lower in the GTE group (post-training: 0.816 +/- 0.006 vs pre-training: 0.844 +/- 0.005, P<0.05). These results suggest that habitual GTE ingestion, in combination with moderate-intense exercise, was beneficial to increase the proportion of whole-body fat utilization during exercise.

Okazaki K, Ichinose T, Mitono H, Chen M, Masuki S, Endoh H, Hayase H, Doi T, Nose H. Impact of protein and carbohydrate supplementation on plasma volume expansion and thermoregulatory adaptation by aerobic training in older men. J Appl Physiol 107: 725-733, 2009. First published July 16, 2009; doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.91265.2008.-We examined whether protein-carbohydrate (CHO) supplementation immediately after exercise each day during aerobic training facilitated plasma volume (PV) expansion and thermoregulatory and cardiovascular adaptations in older men. Fourteen moderately active older men [68 +/- 5 (SD) yr] were divided into two groups so as to have no significant differences in anthropometric measures, PV, and peak oxygen consumption rate ((V) over dotO(2peak)). Each group was provided with a mixture of protein and CHO (3.2 kcal, 0.18 g protein/kg body wt, Pro-CHO, n = 7) or a non-protein and low-calorie placebo (0.5 kcal, 0 g protein/kg body wt, CNT, n = 7) immediately after cycling exercise (60-75% (V) over dotO(2peak), 60 min/day, 3 days/wk) each day for 8 wk at similar to 19 degrees C ambient temperature (T(a)) and similar to 43% relative humidity (RH). Before and after training, we measured PV, cardiac stroke volume (SV), and esophageal temperature (T(es)) during 20-min exercise at 60% of pretraining (V) over dotO(2peak) at 30 degrees C T(a) and 50% RH. Moreover, we determined the sensitivity of the chest sweat rate (Delta SR/Delta T(es)) and forearm vascular conductance (Delta FVC/Delta T(es)) in response to increased Tes during exercise. After training, PV increased by similar to 6% in Pro-CHO (P < 0.001), with an similar to 10% increase in SV during exercise (P < 0.001), but not in CNT (P > 0.07). Delta FVC/Delta T(es) increased by 80% and Delta SR/Delta T(es) by 18% in Pro-CHO (both P < 0.01) but not in CNT (P > 0.07). Moreover, we found a significant interactive effect of group X training on PV, SV, and Delta FVC/Delta T(es) (all P < 0.02) but with no significant effect of group (P > 0.4), suggesting that the supplement enhanced these responses to aerobic training. Thus postexercise protein-CHO supplementation during training caused PV expansion and facilitated thermoregulatory and cardiovascular adaptations, possibly providing a new training regimen for older men.

Okazaki K, Hayase H, Ichinose T, Mitono H, Doi T, Nose H. Protein and carbohydrate supplementation after exercise increases plasma volume and albumin content in older and young men. J Appl Physiol 107: 770-779, 2009. First published July 9, 2009; doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.91264.2008.-This study examined whether increased plasma volume (PV) and albumin content (Alb(cont)) in plasma for 23 h after exercise were attenuated in older subjects compared with in young adult subjects, and if this attenuation abated by supplementation with protein and carbohydrate (CHO) immediately after exercise. Eight moderately active older (similar to 68 yr) and 8 young (similar to 21 yr) men performed two trials: control (CNT) and Pro-CHO in which subjects consumed placebo (0.5 kcal, 0 g protein, 0.5 mg Na(+) in 3.2 ml total fluid volume/kg body wt) or protein and CHO mixture (3.2 kcal, 0.18 g protein, 0.5 mg Na(+) in 3.2 ml total fluid volume/kg body wt) supplementations, respectively, immediately after high-intensity interval exercise for 72 min [ 8 sets of 4 min at 70-80% peak oxygen consumption rate ((V) over dotO(2peak)) intermitted by 5 min at 20% (V) over dotO(2peak)]. PV, Albcont, and plasma globulin content (Glb(cont)) were measured before exercise, at the end of exercise, every hour from the 1st to the 5th hour after exercise, and at the 23rd hour after exercise. From 12 h before the start to the end of experiment, food intake was controlled to the age-matched recommended dietary allowances. We found that during the first 4 h after exercise in CNT, Albcont recovered less in the older than the young group by similar to 0.04 g/kg (P < 0.05), while it generally recovered more with Pro-CHO than CNT by similar to 0.09 and similar to 0.04 g/kg in the young and older group, respectively, accompanied by a greater increase in PV by similar to 1 and similar to 2 ml/kg, respectively, during the 23 h after exercise (P < 0.05). Glbcont remained constant throughout the experiment in both trials for both age groups. Thus the attenuated responses of Albcont and PV after exercise in older subjects were restored by protein and CHO supplementation immediately after exercise, similarly to young subjects.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether the antiobesity effects of tea catechins (TCs) are associated with the expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in brown adipose tissue (BAT). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-fat (HF; 35% fat) diet for 5 weeks, then divided into four groups and fed an HF, HF with 0.5% TC (HFTC), normal-fat (NF; 5% fat) or NF with 0.5% TC (NFTC) diet for 8 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, perirenal and epididymal white adipose tissues (WATs) and interscapular BAT were isolated. The NFTC group had significantly lower perirenal WAT weights than the NF group (NF: 12.7 +/- 0.53 g; NFTC: 10.2 +/- 0.43 g; P <.01), but the HF and HFTC groups did not differ significantly. TC intake had no effects on epididymal WAT weights. The NFTC and HFTC groups had significantly lower BAT weights than the NF and HF groups, respectively. The NFTC group had significantly higher UCP1 mRNA levels in BAT than the NF group (NF: 0.35 +/- 0.02; NFTC: 0.60 +/- 0.11; P <.05), but the HF and HFTC groups did not differ significantly. Thus, TC intake in the context of the NF diet reduced perirenal WAT weight and up-regulated UCP1 mRNA expression in BAT. These results suggest that the suppressive effect of TC on body fat accumulation is associated with UCP1 expression in BAT. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.