The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) gave a positive safety assessment of stevia in early 2010. Then in July this year, EU member state experts at the month’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) meeting backed the EC proposal to authorise stevia.

As a leading force in development and marketing of nutraceuticals and sports nutrition Priva Pharma will start producing Stevia sweetend products immediately.

“We are working with the best Stevia producers for years now to create the perfect taste using Stevia as the sweetener”

Creating a good taste with Stevia has been a challenge but with our development team working close with both targetgroup and producers worked out.

The Swiss organisation said, “a very small number may enhance performance for some athletes” but did not go into specifics about what those supplements might be. Earlier advice from the IOC had warned athletes off food supplements as groups like the US Anti-Doping Agency do.

It said supplements must be, “used in accordance with current evidence under the guidance of a well-informed professional.”

“Athletes contemplating the use of supplements and sports foods should consider their efficacy, their cost, the risk to health and performance, and the potential for a positive doping test. Supplement use in young athletes should be discouraged, and the focus should be on consuming a nutrient-rich, well-chosen diet to allow for growth while maintaining a healthy body composition.”

The Olympic body added that supplementation does not compensate for, “poor food choices and an inadequate diet”.

“…but supplements that provide essential nutrients may be a short-term option when food intake or food choices are restricted due to travel or other factors.”

Vitamin D was singled out as being necessary where there was a lack of sunshine.

“Athletes should be particularly aware of their needs for calcium, iron and Vitamin D, but the use of large amounts of some micronutrients may be harmful.”

Protein and carbohydrates

The ability of protein to boost long-term gain and repair of muscle after exercise was mentioned along with carbohydrates to assist performance.

“Ingestion of even small amounts of carbohydrate during exercise can enhance cognitive and physical performance in competition lasting one hour,” the IOC wrote in the guidance that can be found here.

“During high-intensity training, particularly of long duration, athletes should aim to achieve carbohydrate intakes that meet the needs of their training programs and also adequately replace carbohydrate stores during recovery between training sessions and competitions.”

Athletes also required more protein than non-athletes, the IOC wrote, with an emphasis on both during and post-training consumption.

“Foods or snacks that contain high-quality proteins should be consumed regularly throughout the day as part of the day’s total protein intake, and in particular soon after exercise, in quantities sufficient to maximise the synthesis of proteins, to aid in long-term maintenance or gain of muscle and bone and in the repair of damaged tissues.”

“Ingestion of foods or drinks providing 15-25 g of such protein after each training session will maximise the synthesis of proteins that underpins these goals.”

The importance of sodium and fluid replenishment was also emphasised by the IOC.

The protein advice was welcomed by industry insiders.

“The importance of consuming high quality protein at strategic points in the day has emerged since the last IOC Consensus Statement in 2003, and is now being recognised as key to athletic performance, alongside hydration and energy,” she said.

“The new Consensus will form the basis for nutritional guidance to athletes in the run up to London 2012 and this is great news for the whey protein industry, particularly as the IOC experts go further than EFSA in recognising that not all proteins are equal, and recommending that athletes consume those of high quality. This would include whey protein as it has one of the highest biological values.”

Source: Nutraingredients

The study is ‘unique’ for showing a gradual benefit of added whey protein – Dr Greg Miller, DRI

The study is ‘unique’ for showing a gradual benefit of added whey protein – Dr Greg Miller, DRI

Fifty-six grams of whey protein per day for six months were associated with a two percent reduction in body weight, compared to a group consuming an equal amount of calories from carbohydrates, according to findings published in the Journal of Nutrition.

The study, funded by USDA and the US Whey Protein Research Consortium (USWPRC), found that the whey protein supplement was associated with a reduction in levels of a hormone called ghrelin, which is reported to serve as a hunger signal and may boost food intake.

“In this study in which energy restriction was not part of the intervention, changes in body weight and composition were small but nevertheless suggest that habitual consumption of supplemental protein may result in improved body composition and incremental, but ultimately significant, weight loss,” wrote the USDA researchers.

“These data suggest that supplemental dietary protein may reduce the risk of unhealthy weight gain observed in many populations (i.e. 500 to 1000 grams per year).”

Health claim?

The study’s findings were welcomed by Suzane Leser, nutrition manager for Lifestyle Ingredients at European whey supplier Volac as “strong evidence to support the benefits of whey protein for weight management”. Volac is a member of the USWPRC.

“The design meets EFSA scientific requirements to support health claims on this area, according to the latest draft guidance,” added Leser.

“In Europe, [this pre-competitive consortium research] has the potential to support future applications for health claims as it tackles EFSA concerns resulting from the rulings.

“The careful methodology applied to this study tested the long-term effect of whey protein specifically on appetite ratings and subsequent energy intake. It also demonstrates the most obvious health benefit of reducing body weight, which is the concomitant reduction in body fat mass, particularly abdominal fat,” she added.

Unique study

Gregory Miller, PhD, president of the Dairy Research Institute (DRI), also welcomed the study as adding to the “growing body of research showing a benefit of higher protein diets, and whey protein in particular, on weight management and body composition,”

“While a majority of the previously published work has shown this benefit with concurrent energy restriction or routine exercise, this study is unique in demonstrating the gradual benefit of added whey protein without these other lifestyle changes.

“Certainly, to elicit significant changes in body weight over the short term requires exercise or diet adjustments. However, this study provides early evidence that whey protein may play a significant role in weight management over the long term,” added Dr Miller.

Study details

The USDA researchers recruited 73 overweight and obese adults and randomly assigned them to receive two 200-calorie beverages a day, consisting of 28g of whey or soy protein plus carbohydrate or carbohydrate alone per serving for 23 weeks. No other instructions were provided about diet.

At the end of the study, the researchers report that the whey protein group’s body weight was approximately 4 pounds lower than the carbohydrate group, and their body fat was 5 pounds less than the carbohydrate group.

In addition, a one inch reduction in waist size was reported in the whey group, compared to the carbohydrate and soy protein groups.

“Although there were differences in food intake between males and females, the effects of the intervention were consistent between males and females,” wrote the researchers.

“Short-term weight loss requires energy restriction and higher protein diets may assist in this acute weight reduction; however, protein supplementation, particularly WP, in overweight and obese individuals may assist in long-term maintenance of body weight without energy restriction.”

Source: The Journal of Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.3945/​jn.111.139840
“Whey Protein but Not Soy Protein Supplementation Alters Body Weight and Composition in Free-Living Overweight and Obese Adults”
Authors: D.J. Baer, K.S. Stote, D.R. Paul, G.K. Harris, W.V. Rumpler, B.A. Clevidence

Source: nutraingredients By Stephen Daniells