This is the fourth in a series of six articles to discuss the major classes of dietary supplements (vitamins; minerals; amino acids; herbs or botanicals; metabolites, constituents/extracts, or combinations). The major focus is on efficacy of such dietary supplements to enhance exercise or sport performance.

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Human Motor Control Laboratory, Burke Medical Research Institute, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, White Plains, NY, USA, 2 Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA, 3 School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University,...

Today’s athletes are seeking new ways to boost their performance. One increasingly popular method of performance enhancement among athletes involves improving and sharpening sports vision. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) Provide a basic definition of various aspects of sports vision; (2) Discuss the well-known vision booster lutein and outline lesser-known nutrients for sports vision enhan...

F or the first time, we can now obtain a cheap and non-invasive genetic test, which tells us not if we have a disease or whether we are related to our parents, but what kind of sports we are likely to be good at. For AUD$110, the Australian company Genetic Technologies will test a cheek swab for the R577X variant of the ACTN3 gene. This gene normally produces the protein a-actinin-3, which help...

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the hydration states prior to different sporting events (training sessions, friendly and official matches) in elite female soccer players and relate that to the importance that the player attached to the hydration state as a determinant of sports performance. The hydration state of 17 female elite soccer players (age: 21.5 ± 3 years; body mass: 62 ± 6 kg...

The ergogenic effects of caffeine on performance are well documented. These effects are more evident in endurance and short-duration, sustained-effort events than in interactive or stop-go sports. Experimentally-induced placebo effects of caffeine on sports performance have also been observed in a number of recent studies. In the present paper it is argued that, given the nature of the sports i...

A prototype system for monitoring, transmitting and processing performance data in sports for the purpose of providing feedback has been developed. During training, athletes are equipped with a mobile device and wireless sensors using the ANT protocol in order to acquire biomechanical, physiological and other sports specific parameters. The measured data is buffered locally and forwarded via th...

Significant criticisms have emerged on the way that collective behaviours in team sports have been traditionally evaluated. A major recommendation has been for future research and practice to focus on the interpersonal relationships developed between team players during performance. Most research has typically investigated team game performance in subunits (attack or defence), rather than consi...

INTRODUCTION Athletes—and lots of non-athletes—gulp vitamin pills in tremendous quantities, but most experts tell us that only a small number of athletes will notice any benefit of vitamin supplements on their health or sport performance. Is it O.K. to take vitamin supplements as an insurance policy, in case your diet does not supply sufficient vitamins? Can bad things happen if you take too ma...