Blueberries Boost Trail Running Performance in Just 7 Days 🫐
More polyphenol power.
Seven Days of Highbush Blueberry Supplementation Improves Trail Running Performance in Experienced Runners Without Elevating Physiological or Perceptual Stress Markers
Study Details
This new study examined whether 7-days of freeze-dried highbush blueberry supplementation could improve…
⏱️ performance
🫀 physiological responses
🔋 recovery
…from a 22.2 km simulated trail race in nine experienced runners 🔍
Here are the key findings ⬇️
Key Findings
🫐 Blueberry supplementation significantly improved 22.2 km trail-running performance compared with placebo
⏱️ Race completion time was significantly faster following blueberry supplementation
🫀 Faster performance occurred without an increase in average race heart rate
😮💨 RPE for both the legs and lungs were also unchanged despite the faster running performance
📉 Supine heart rate was lower following the blueberry condition
😴 Feelings of tiredness were lower with blueberry supplementation
🫁 Assessment of lung airflow were higher following blueberry supplementation, suggesting a favourable pulmonary response
⤴️ Drop-jump height declined 24 hours after the race with placebo but was preserved following blueberry supplementation
(suggesting that blueberries may have helped maintain explosive neuromuscular function during recovery)
Conclusion
Short-term blueberry supplementation may provide a practical food-based strategy for improving trail-running performance while supporting recovery from demanding downhill running ✅
Add this to the data on tart cherries and blackcurrant extract, it certainly does make a compelling case for polyphenols.
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42521198/
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