Berry polyphenols: New ergogenic aids in sport and exercise?

Sports Nutrition and Ortho Congress

December 08-09, 2016 | Philadelphia, USA

Mark Willems

University of Chichester, UK

Keynote: J Sports Med Doping Stud

Abstract :

Berries are multi-ingredient functional foods with the anthocyanin content linked to health benefits by known anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity. Recently, certain berry products (e.g., New Zealand blackcurrant) have shown beneficial effects on cardiovascular, metabolic and physiological responses during and in recovery from exercise. Specific anthocyanin- containing foods and products seem to emerge as a new direction in sports nutrition research. Future work on multi-ingredient fruits and anthocyanin-containing products may provide justification for nutritional strategies used by athletes to enhance performance and aid recovery but also promises broader implications within the global world of sport and exercise.

Biography :

Mark Willems has completed his PhD in 1994 from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Since 2003, he has been working at the University of Chichester, UK. His current research interests focused on eccentric-contraction induced muscle injury, muscle fatigue and sports nutrition. He is on the Advisory Editorial Board of the European Journal of Applied Physiology, Editorial Board of the European Journal of Sport Science and the Journal of Sports Medicine. He is a Fellow of the European College of Sports Science.

Email: m.willems@chi.ac.uk