Carbohydrate Mouth Rinse Solution - Essay Sample

Introduction

Majority of the people regard carbohydrates as a fuel metabolism substrate when one is exercising. It has also shown that the carbohydrates increase the capacity of one to improve endurance. When one participates in prolonged exercises, the intake of carbohydrates can help in the maintenance of the levels of the concentration of plasma hence preventing hypoglycemia. During a landmark study of carbohydrates by a group of researchers, it was discovered that a mouth rinse of simple carbohydrates resulted in similar performance gains to ingestion. The mouth rinse was done without ingesting the carbohydrate. This gave indirect evidence to the central effect. It is proposed that the performance improvement was due to the detection of the carbohydrates by receptors that are found in the oral cavity and they usually assist the afferent neural signals to deliver information into the brain. This particular area is of interest for this study because several researches that done on the carbohydrate mouth rinse effects have given different findings. Most of them report performance enhancement, but t others do not (Carter 2005). This sports science study, therefore, aims at ending the debate by coming up with conclusive findings.

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Research Problem

There have been conflicting findings on the carbohydrate issues that arise from the mouth rinse solution on athletes. Based in the details obtained from various researches, it can be noted that the carbohydrate mouth rinse solution tends to have similar effects to the ingested one. However, some studies show that other studies show that there is performance improvement but not the same as when it is ingested (Chambers 2009). Therefore, this study aims at gathering evidence that will bridge the two different findings.

Research Hypothesis and Purpose

This study assumes that carbohydrates improve the performance of athletes. However, what is not known is whether both the ingested carbohydrates and the mouth rise solution have the same effects. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to find out whether the mouth rise carbohydrates has the same effected as the ingested one on athletes.

Discussion of the Previous Theory and Research

Carter et al. (2004) performed a study which depicted a simple mouth rinse with carbohydrates without any ingestion has the same effects as when the carbohydrates are ingested. Since that period several studies have been conducted through the results have not been unanimous. This study will, therefore, examine several of these articles to find out their influence on the body and the practical applications to the athletes. Since 1980s several studies have shown that the intake of carbohydrates more especially by those who are involved in prolonged exercises improves their performance. Jeukendrup (2011) argues that it is not only during the pronged exercises that the carbohydrates improve the performance but also during short exercises. He posits that a study conducted on a group of cyclists on the effects on carbohydrates after cycling for some time and getting fatigued showed that there was a performance improvement after ingesting carbohydrates.

In a study which was conducted as a follow up to the experiment conducted by Jeukendrup and Carter Rollo and colleagues (2010) repeated the same experiment on the cyclists on that this time they used the carbohydrate mouth rinse solution which was not swallowed. The type of carbohydrates which was used during this experiment was the one which was not sweet and was tasteless. There was the standardization of the rising protocol and the subjects were made to rinse their mouth for a period of 5 seconds with the solution and they would later expectorate it into a container. The findings showed that there was a remarkable improvement on the cyclists who rinsed their mouths with the carbohydrate solution. The intensity and magnitude of the effects on the subjects were the same as the one which was realized in the previous experiments where the carbohydrates were ingested. (Fares & Kayser 2011). The placebo did not have any effects.

Key Points

• The carbohydrates which are taken during the endurance exercises are known to delay fatigue
• Most studies show that carbohydrate mouth rinse has the same effects as the ingested carbohydrates.

References

Burke, L.M., J.A. Hawley, S.H. Wong, and A.E. Jeukendrup 2011. Carbohydrates for trainingand competition. J. Sports Sci. 29: S17-27.

Carter, J., Jeukendrup, A.E. and Jones, D.A., 2005. The effect of sweetness on the efficacy of carbohydrate supplementation during exercise in the heat. Canadian journal of applied physiology, 30(4), pp.379-391.

Carter, J.M., A.E. Jeukendrup, C.H. Mann, and D.A. Jones 2004a. The effect of glucose infusion on glucose kinetics during a 1-h time trial. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 36:1543-1550.

Chambers, E.S., M.W. Bridge, and D.A. Jones 2009. Carbohydrate sensing in the humanmouth: Effects on exercise performance and brain activity. J. Physiol. 587:1779-1794.

Chong, E., K.J. Guelfi, P.A. Fournier 2011. Effect of a carbohydrate mouth rinse on maximal sprint performance in competitive male cyclists. J. Sci. Med. Sport 14:162-167.

Fares, E.J. and Kayser, B., 2011. Carbohydrate mouth rinse effects on exercise capacity in pre-and postprandial States. Journal of nutrition and metabolism, 2011.