How Acid Buffers In Sports Supplements Reduce Lactic Acid

World-class endurance athletes and their trainers are constantly seeking new ways to improve performance and endurance without running afoul of the organizations that monitor their sport or sacrificing their health. At such an elite level, improvements measured by fractions of a second can be quite significant so triathletes and other types of endurance athletes examine every aspect of diet, training, sleep patterns and other factors to gain a competitive edge. Thanks to innovative research on how our bodies manufacture lactic acid and process it, endurance athletes and their trainers now have a much better understanding of how to prepare for elite competitions.

Best of all, their decisions are based on hard scientific evidence instead of anecdotal evidence and supposition. Over the last several years, several sports supplements have been developed to help prevent lactic acid buildup in muscle tissue during intense exercise by including compounds that act as lactic acid buffers. This overview of how lactic acid buffers help reduce lactic acid buildup from impairing performance and endurance during intense workouts has been demonstrated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.

How Lactic Acid is Produced and Processed by the Human Body

When the muscle cells in an endurance athlete’s body need fuel, they convert glycogen or glucose into lactic acid. Next, each muscle cell’s mitochondria, the power plant of a cell, burns lactic acid for fuel. Specific types of proteins called “transporter proteins” expedite the delivery of lactic acid, also called lactate, to each cell’s mitochondria through a network of tiny tubes throughout the cell. Through proper training, an endurance athlete like a triathlete can gradually improve the rate at which lactic acid is burned for fuel in their body so it doesn’t accumulate in their muscle tissue and impair performance, endurance, and cause them to “hit the wall.”

How Lactic Acid Buffers Work

Buffers are substances that help prevent any solution, such as blood or the fluid in muscle tissue, from undergoing a change in pH when introducing an acid, such as lactic acid, or alkali. In order to illustrate how lactic acid buffers work and help an end
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urance athlete stay competitive, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of the human body.

The lungs and kidneys work together to maintain a pH of 7.4 in blood by altering the components of naturally occurring buffers. If the blood’s pH becomes too acid or alkali with pH’s as low as 7.0 or as high as 7.8, the body’s buffers can no longer compensate for the extreme conditions and systems begin to fail one after the other. There are four major buffering systems in the human body:

Biocarbonate buffers found in the blood’s plasma correct the equilibrium shift that occurs when a surplus of lactic acid in muscle tissue creates an abundance of excess hydrogen ions.

Hemoglobin in red blood cells acts as a buffer to byproducts and other threats to the pH balance in blood. For instance, when glucose is broken down into fuel by muscle cells and converted to lactic acid, the byproducts created are carbon dioxide and excess hydrogen ions.

Phosphate buffers are essential for buffering the pH of fluid in cells and are especially important for buffering urine in the kidneys.

Protein buffers also buffer the effects of excess hydrogen ions created when glucose converts in lactic acid. Protein buffers primarily buffer the pH of fluid inside cells.

Lactic Acid Buffers such as Magnesium and Potassium

Many sports supplements include magnesium and potassium in their formulas because these two substances, along with a lesser amount of sodium, help regulate fluids in cells, especially muscle cells, and help equalize or buffer the blood’s pH. Potassium levels maintained in a ratio of 5:1 to sodium help regulate water retention in our bodies and prevent too much potassium from voiding as waste in urine. Potassium protects against kidney damage, strokes and high blood pressure.

Only within the last two decades has magnesium’s importance in maintaining proper pH and overall health been understood. Research has found that magnesium is essential for facilitating the storage of potassium in our bodies. Without magnesium, the human body cannot store potassium. When triathletes and other endurance athletes take sports supplements that contain recommended dosages of potassium and magnesium, the amount of sodium removed from the body increases, as does the amount of excess fluids. These minerals are not only essential to proper health and balance, they also facilitate the body’s ability to buffer and quickly process the lactic acid created during strenuous exercise.

Whether you’re an elite endurance athlete or a weekend warrior, taking a sports supplement with lactic acid buffers such as potassium and magnesium is not only a good way to gain a competitive edge, it is also essential for overall health!

By: SJames

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

P. S. Davis writes articles to help Endurance Athletes protect their career. She is published at www.xendurance.com and applauds their support of marathon and Olympic athletes.

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A Child’s Self Image
 by: Sue DeFiore

With all the focus on weight today it is not surprising that children are starting to look at their bodies at earlier ages. Children as young as 7 years of age are asking parents about their bodies. Where are they getting it from? Well, I would imagine television, magazines and the internet are some of the places. However, as we were all children once, it is also coming from other children. I can still remember well kids making fun of other children. While I never participated in it, I was a recipient of it, so I know how it feels. While mine wasn’t weight related, it still hurts. From what I am seeing and reading it is even nastier and more prevalent in our schools today.

So, what do you say to your child when they ask you if you think they are overweight, fat, or whatever adjective was used by another child when taunting them. As hard as it is, you will need to convey to your child that everyone is different. How we look and grow will depend on how we take care of our bodies. Explain to them how body types are dependent upon family, eating habits and physical activity. Also be sure to tell them that they are and will be growing and changing until their teens. If you have pictures of yourself or others in childhood and then adulthood show them those pictures to give them an idea of changes that occur.

Please be sure to talk to your child and do so carefully and seriously about this. It is very very important that your child realize he must eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, to take his/her vitamins and to drink their milk. Don’t just ignore this discussion. Children are growing up faster and faster today and becoming aware much earlier in life of their body image. How children and adults view themselves is one of the classic signs of anorexia and other eating disorders.

If you feel you are not qualified to handle their questions, please consult a professional to do so.

Copyright 2005, DeFiore Enterprises

About The Author

Sue DeFiore

Introducing Keep Kids Fit: A How To Guide For Setting Up And Running Your Own Business In One Year Or Less! Solutions for parents who want healthy children in body and mind! Our motto, “Eat Healthy, Live Healthy, Help Keep Kids Fit” Keep Kids Fit asks the question: Do You Want To Help Foster A Healthy Lifestyle For Your Child! If you answered yes, then visit our web blog at: http://hbsblogs.typepad.com/keepkidsfit/ and visit our website today at: http://www.keepkidsfit.com

suedefiore@sbcglobal.net

Owning and caring for a dog can greatly improve our own health and mental well-being. According to recent studies, dogs may be man’s best friend in even more ways than we previously thought. Dogs provide companionship, a reason to exercise daily and they are thought to buffer us from stress. How can we possibly repay our pet for such wonderful benefits? Our responsibility to our four-legged companion is to make sure they are well looked after and receive the nutrients and dog vitamins they need, particularly as they get older.

Older dogs need a balanced food formulation for their changing metabolism. A healthy dog’s diet should include the following:

  • Protein to help maintain muscle mass
  • Healthy grains providing carbohydrates which are the source of sustained energy and vitality
  • Antioxidants including Vitamin E and beta-carotene which will boost our dog’s metabolism
  • Glucosamine which is essential for healthy joints and hips
  • Fish oils, for a healthy skin and a shining coat which indicate good overall health
  • Fiber such as beet-pulp to maintain intestinal health. Fiber is also essential to enable dogs to absorb essential nutrients

Whatever type of food you choose for your dog, how can you be sure that they are receiving these essentials in sufficient quantities, particularly smaller dogs which eat small meals? Dog vitamins are available in easy-to-take tablet form in varying doses according to the size and weight of your dog. They help ensure that your dog receives the essential vitamins his body needs for a healthy lifestyle well into old age. Choose tablets with a tasty chicken taste and they can easily be given as a healthy treat.

Good health for our faithful companion begins when he is young and energetic and will pay off as he gets older. Using dog vitamins for every age of a dog’s life is important, but for a senior dog, vitamins are crucial. Providing the best diet with a balance of key nutrients and a vitamin supplement means you are doing everything you can to repay your dog for the enhanced quality of life they give you.

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You can get all your pet supplements and vitamins to help your pet lead a healthy lifestyle at HealthyChoicePets.com

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