Acute prolonged exercise reduces moderately oxidized LDL in healthy men

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Cardiovascular Health

Background:

• Oxidized LDL is a key factor in atherosclerosis.
• Exercise is known to impact lipid profiles and oxidative stress.
• The specific effects of prolonged, low-intensity exercise on oxidized LDL and antioxidant status require further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a 2-day, low-intensity walking exercise on circulating oxidized LDL.
• To assess changes in lipid profiles, antioxidant concentrations, and antioxidant potential.
• To determine if carbohydrate ingestion during exercise modifies these effects.

Main Methods:

• Healthy, well-trained men performed a 2-day walking exercise (6h+6h) twice.
• Interventions included water with either carbohydrate (CHO) or placebo (PLA).
• Measurements included serum lipids, oxidized LDL, antioxidants (alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, beta-carotene, ubiquinol-10), and antioxidant potential (S-TRAP, LDL-TRAP).

Main Results:

• Oxidized LDL decreased by 25% in the PLA trial (p=0.001).
• Serum triglycerides decreased by 22% (p=0.001), LDL cholesterol by 14% (p=0.045), and total cholesterol by 3% (p=0.017).
• HDL cholesterol increased by 9% (p=0.001), and serum antioxidant potential increased by 22% (p=0.018).
• Gamma-tocopherol decreased by 20% (p=0.049), while other antioxidants remained unchanged.
• Results were similar between CHO and PLA trials.

Conclusions:

• Prolonged, low-intensity exercise effectively reduces circulating oxidized LDL in healthy trained men.
• This exercise modality enhances serum antioxidant potential concurrently.
• Carbohydrate ingestion during such exercise does not significantly influence these observed benefits.