Yesterday we told you about the 11th conference of the Mapei Sport Research Center, titled "Training, Recovery and Performance: New Methodological Approaches". Trainers, doctors, and active athletes in the sports world confronted each other in front of students, sector technicians, and passionate enthusiasts who were able to experience a morning rich with qualified presentations.

Among these, we were struck by the presentation by Dr. Luca Mondazzi, a specialist in Sports Dietology and Nutrition from the Varese center, who explained how Omega 3 in athletes are important for health, training, and performance, also referring to the latest research conducted by the Enervit Team that demonstrated how the integration of maltodextrins and fructose in a 2:1 ratio, in a quantity of 80 grams per hour of activity, can reduce post-exercise inflammation.

Dr. Mondazzi, what do we mean when we talk about Omega 3?

"Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA and docosahexaenoic acid or DHA), extensively tested in sports for their many potential favorable effects. In particular, researchers' interest focuses on these areas: support for exercise adaptation and sports performance; support for nervous tissue structure and function; anti-inflammatory activity on the airway mucosa; prevention of exercise-induced injuries to locomotor system structures and support for their repair processes once damaged; prevention of cardiac damage from strenuous exercise and prevention of cardiac arrhythmias; control of inflammation and tissue damage to muscle tissue and delayed onset muscle soreness".

So it's beneficial for athletes at any level to take them?

"Certainly, if we consider that an athlete is also a person interested in promoting their own health. Indeed, there is strong consensus that adequate omega-3 intake through food and/or dietary supplements has favorable repercussions on health status, particularly, but not only, on cardiovascular risk. When we move from health effects to strictly sports-related effects, things change a bit. Although there are valid evidence from basic sciences that omega-3 has significant potential in sports, and the already available literature is quite rich, overall the results obtained 'in vivo' and 'on the field' have not been very consistent, although to varying degrees from one specific application to another. However, in some areas, the evidence of effectiveness of long-chain omega-3 dietary supplementation is already quite promising. In particular, the well-documented anti-inflammatory activity of omega-3 is effective in controlling exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, a problem affecting a large part of athletes. And there's more..."

We're all ears.

"The same anti-inflammatory activity is effective in preventing the perpetuation of cerebral inflammation and the consequent secondary damage following head trauma, typical of many sports disciplines. Finally, a very interesting research insight is the evidence that omega-3 can improve exercise economy, that is, the efficiency with which chemical energy released from food is transformed into muscular work".

When, how much, and how to integrate them into our diet?

"Again, if we consider health effects and, in particular, cardiovascular risk, there is a defined body content value of omega-3 to be achieved through food and, if necessary, through the use of dietary supplements for the part not obtainable from food. A quantitative orientation is also proposable, although not particularly consolidated, when seeking effects on exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, cerebral trauma, and exercise economy. On the contrary, we do not yet have clear ideas about which body omega-3 content values might correspond to one or another of the further potential 'sports' effects. While waiting to understand better, however, it is rational to reach the levels useful for health, which are substantially higher than those usually found in athletes, both amateur and elite, who do not specifically 'work' on these intakes".

To delve deeper into the omega-3 and sports theme, read the position of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in the dedicated article on the Enervit Team Magazine at www.enervit.com.