Whole Foods and Athletic Performance
FORUM B
Ginger, rich in shogaols and gingerols, collectively known as rhizomes, has been extensively used in the treatment of various diseases and as dietary spices. The rhizome in ginger is composed of approximately 5 to 8 percent of resinous matter, 1 to 2 percent of volatile oils, mucilage, and starch, thus its health-promoting perspective. Scientists, however, have associated ginger as a perfect whole food for athletes wishing to boost their athletic performance on and off the field. During intense exercise, the skeletal contraction muscles lead to the production of free radicals, which in the long-term leads to muscle soreness and destruction of cellular compounds due to oxidation. As a result, research has associated dietary ginger as being useful in reducing soreness in muscles and its effectiveness in performing exercises while also acting as an antioxidant agent. Specifically, ginger gingerols contain bioactive molecules that increase the metabolism of energy, reduced rates of lipogenesis and shown antioxidant activity (Mashhadi et al., 2013). Therefore, dietary ginger is an excellent food for athletes, specifically those involved in activities involving excessive use of muscles, increasing the likelihood of oxidation like taekwondo.
The research paper based its insights from a study conducted on a group of sixty participants. The participants were women ranging from 13 to 25 years, healthy and well trained, and later placed into three groups. Depending on the group, they were placed (placebo, cinnamon, or ginger), they received equivalent grams daily for six weeks (Mashhadi et al., 2013). Exercise performance, body composition, and human malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were assessed before and after the study and comparisons made among the groups. Results indicated increased exercise performance, minimal decrease in MDA, and changes in a skin fold and a significant increase in BMI for the group that ingested ginger compared to the other groups. Generally, the study considered ginger more beneficial to athletes as per the results.
As the study focused on the beginning, coinciding with the onset of the competitions, and ending during the recovery phase, there exist some gaps like lowering oxidative stress. As such, the results of the study are not consistent with previous studies. However, conducting the study alongside cinnamon made the study strong. Therefore, the study identifies the significance of dietary garlic to athletes by exposing its antioxidant properties alongside exercise performance and body composition.
References
Mashhadi, N. S., Ghiasvand, R., Hariri, M., Askari, G., Feizi, A., Darvishi, L., … & Barani, A. (2013). Effect of ginger and cinnamon intake on oxidative stress and exercise performance and body composition in Iranian female athletes. International journal of preventive medicine, 4(Suppl 1), S31.