Endurance in a Pill?

Sounds fishy, right? Understandably, you should be skeptical of any “boost endurance” claims as either illegal or unproven –unless they can be backed up with solid scientific evidence in human endurance athletes. In that category of “proven” (and legal) there are three main herbal options to consider: Cordyceps, Rhodiola and Eurycoma.

Each of these strange-sounding natural ingredients falls within a category of herbs called “adaptogens”-so named for their ancient usage in helping the body to “adapt” to various stressors. Training for triathlons certainly counts as a predominant source of stress for readers of TriHive.

Cordyceps is a Tibetan mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for “lung protection” and to balance the “Qi”–the fundamental “energy of life.” A number of Chinese clinical studies, primarily in patients with fatigue, showed that cordyceps-treated patients reported significant improvements in their level of fatigue and benefits on measures of memory, cognitive capacity and sex drive. Patients with respiratory diseases also reported feeling physically stronger.

In the US-based clinical studies, cordyceps-treated subjects show significant improvements in their level of fatigue (Cooper et al. 1999), oxygen uptake (Talbott et al. 2002), and endurance exercise performance (Nicodemus et al. 2001). One human study (Zhu et al. 1998) suggests that the increased libido reported in elderly subjects may be due to an increase in DHEA levels from low back to normal ranges.

Rhodiola is a Himalayan root that was (and still is) used by the Sherpa people to “adapt” to the stress of living and working at high-altitudes. Even today, Sherpa climbers chew on rhodiola for an energy and endurance boost when helping mountaineers scale Mt. Everest.

Rhodiola is typically considered to be an “adaptogen” (like ginseng) and is believed to invigorate the body and mind to increase resistance to a multitude of stresses. Standardized extracts of rhodiola have been shown to reduce feelings of general fatigue (Darbinyan et al. 2000).

One mechanism for rhodiola’s anti-fatigue effects is an enhancement of oxygen efficiency (Ha et al. 2002)–with subjects living at high altitude (5,380 meters) showing a beneficial effect of rhodiola supplementation on blood oxygen levels.

Belgian researchers have shown an effect of rhodiola on time to exhaustion, VO2 peak and pulmonary ventilation during endurance exercise in healthy young adults (DeBock 2004). Russian researchers have also shown a “pronounced anti-fatigue effect” of a single dose of rhodiola in young adults (Shevtsov 2003). A study at the University of Utah found a trend for decreased levels of serum lipid peroxides following rhodiola supplementation in subjects exposed to the hypoxia of simulated high altitude–suggesting that rhodiola may decrease free radical formation during hypoxic exposure (Wing 2003).

Eurycoma is a root, often called “Tongkat ali” and Malaysian ginseng, that is used as a traditional remedy in South East Asia (Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam) to help individuals “adapt” to the reduced energy, mood, and libido that often comes with age (after age 30 for most of us).

Eurycoma contains a group of small peptides that are referred to as “eurypeptides” and are known to have effects in improving energy status and sex drive in both men and women. The testosterone “boosting” effects of eurycoma appears to not have anything to do with “stimulating” testosterone synthesis, but rather in increasing the release rate of “free” testosterone from its binding

In this way, eurycoma is not so much a testosterone “booster” but rather a “maintainer” of normal testosterone levels (SHBG levels are known to increase with aging and may contribute to the age-related fall in serum free testosterone). This would make eurycoma particularly beneficial for individuals with sub-normal testosterone levels, including those who are dieting for weight loss, middle-aged individuals (testosterone drops after age 30) and intensely training athletes who may be at risk for overtraining.

One study of eurycoma supplementation in male and female endurance athletes (mountain bikers, presented at the International Society of Sports Nutrition, ISSN, Annual Scientific Meeting in 2006) and another in male and female dieters (moderately overweight subjects, presented at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, NASSO, in 2006) found 50-100mg of eurycoma to maintain normal testosterone levels in the supplemented dieters (compared to a typical drop in testosterone among non-supplemented dieters) and the supplemented mountain bikers (compared to a typical drop in non-supplemented “over-trained” riders).

For a dieter, it would be expected for cortisol (a stress hormone) to rise and testosterone (an anabolic hormone) to drop following several weeks of dieting. This change in hormone balance (cortisol up and testosterone down) is an important cause of the familiar “plateau” that many dieters hit (when weight loss stops) after 6-8 weeks on a weight loss regimen. By maintaining normal testosterone levels, a dieter could expect to also maintain their muscle mass and metabolic rate (versus a drop in both subsequent to lower testosterone levels) – and thus continue to lose weight without plateauing.

For an endurance athlete, the same rise in cortisol and drop in testosterone is an early signal of overtraining – a syndrome characterized by reduced performance, increased injury rates, suppressed immune system activity, increased appetite, moodiness, and weight gain. Obviously, maintaining normal testosterone levels could prevent some of these overtraining symptoms as well as help the athlete to recover faster/better from daily training bouts.

Summary

No amount of any herb is going to take you from the couch to the podium without your dedication to proper training and nutrition. However, if you’re already doing what you can in terms of diet and exercise, then adding a daily supplement to enhance the effects of your tri-training might serve as a “biochemical tune up” for your body and help you reach the next level of performance.

Dosage ranges to consider are as follows (per dose – with up to 2-3 doses daily, depending on stress and training levels):

• Cordyceps = 500-1,000mg

• Rhodiola = 150-300mg

• Eurycoma = 25-50mg

About the Author: Shawn Talbott holds a MS in exercise science (UMass) and a PhD in nutritional biochemistry (Rutgers) and competes in Iron-distance triathlons. He is Editor in Chief of SupplementWatch (www.supplementwatch.com) and Chief Scientific Officer for Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition (www.wickedfastsportsnutrition.com). Dr. Talbott has conducted research studies on each of the herbs mentioned in this article and includes them in his daily training regimen.

References

For a full set of references on each herb, please visit SupplementWatch at www.supplementwatch.com or TriHive at www.trihive.com

1. Ang HH, Cheang HS. Studies on the anxiolytic activity of Eurycoma longifolia Jack roots in mice. Jpn J Pharmacol. 1999 Apr;79(4):497-500.

2. Colson SN, Wyatt FB, Johnston DL, Autrey LD, FitzGerald YL, Earnest CP. Cordyceps sinensis- and Rhodiola rosea-based supplementation in male cyclists and its effect on muscle tissue oxygen saturation. J Strength Cond Res. 2005 May;19(2):358-63.

3. Cooper C, Zhu J, et al. Elevated VO2max in frail elderly subjects. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999;31:S174.

4. Darbinyan V, Kteyan A, Panossian A, Gabrielian E, Wikman G, Wagner H. Rhodiola rosea in stress induced fatigue–a double blind cross-over study of a standardized extract SHR-5 with a repeated low-dose regimen on the mental performance of healthy physicians during night duty. Phytomedicine. 2000 Oct;7(5):365-71.

5. De Bock K, Eijnde BO, Ramaekers M, Hespel P. Acute Rhodiola rosea intake can improve endurance exercise performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2004 Jun;14(3):298-307.

6. Ha Z, Zhu Y, Zhang X, Cui J, Zhang S, Ma Y, Wang W, Jian X. The effect of rhodiola and acetazolamide on the sleep architecture and blood oxygen saturation in men living at high altitude. Zhonghua Jie He He Hu Xi Za Zhi. 2002 Sep;25(9):527-30.

7. Nicodemus K, Hagan D, Zhu J. Supplementation with cordyceps fermentation product enhanced exercise performance and fat oxidation in athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc.2001;33:S164.

8. Shevtsov VA, Zholus BI, Shervarly VI, Vol’skij VB, Korovin YP, Khristich MP, Roslyakova NA, Wikman G. A randomized trial of two different doses of a SHR-5 Rhodiola rosea extract versus placebo and control of capacity for mental work. Phytomedicine. 2003 Mar;10(2-3):95-105.

9. Talbott SM, Zhu JS, Rippe JM. Coryceps enhances endurance in sedentary individuals. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2001;33.

10. Walker TB, Robergs RA. Does Rhodiola rosea possess ergogenic properties?Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2006 Jun;16(3):305-15.

11. Wing SL, Askew EW, Luetkemeier MJ, Ryujin DT, Kamimori GH, Grissom CK. Lack of effect of Rhodiola or oxygenated water supplementation on hypoxemia and oxidative stress. Wilderness Environ Med. 2003 Spring;14(1):9-16.

12. Xu KJ, Zhang SF, Li QX. Preventive and treatment effect of composite Rhodiolae on acute lung injury in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension during extracorporeal circulation. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2003 Sep;23(9):648-50.

13. Zhu JS et al. Improved bioenergy status in animals. J Altern Complement Med. 2001;7:231-240.

14. Zhu JS, Halpern GM, Jones K. The scientific rediscovery of an ancient Chinese herbal medicine: Cordyceps sinensis: part I. J Altern Complement Med. 1998 Fall;4(3):289-303.

Popularity: 18% [?]