Vitamin E and athletic performance.

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Vitamin E has a long history of interest in sports, with recent research focusing on its antioxidant role.
• Animal studies show vitamin E deficiency reduces endurance, highlighting its importance for athletic performance.
• Research suggests vitamin E's antioxidant properties may improve aerobic power at altitude.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between vitamin E supplementation and athletic performance.
• To investigate vitamin E's effects on muscle damage, immune function, and blood viscosity in athletes.
• To determine if exceeding the recommended daily intake (RDI) of vitamin E offers additional benefits.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on vitamin E and athletic performance.
• Analysis of studies investigating vitamin E's impact on aerobic power at varying altitudes.
• Examination of research on vitamin E's effects on muscle damage markers and physiological factors in athletes.

Main Results:

• Vitamin E deficiency is linked to reduced athletic endurance.
• Supplementation may enhance aerobic power at medium to high altitudes.
• Evidence suggests vitamin E supplementation can reduce muscle damage indicators post-exercise, even at the RDI.

Conclusions:

• Vitamin E deficiency unequivocally impairs athletic performance.
• Supplementing vitamin E beyond the RDI might offer advantages for intensely training athletes, especially at altitude.
• Further research is needed to confirm benefits of supra-RDI vitamin E supplementation on immune function and blood viscosity.