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Rhodiola/Cordyceps-Based Herbal Supplement Promotes Endurance Training-Improved Body Composition But Not Oxidative Stress and Metabolic Biomarkers: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Study.
Liao, YH, Chao, YC, Sim, BY, Lin, HM, Chen, MT, Chen, CY
Nutrients. 2019;11(10)
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Physical inactivity has negative health consequences. Such consequences include muscle loss, weight gain, low-grade inflammation, oxidative stress and increased disease risk for metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The development of such chronic metabolic disorders often starts at a much younger age, long before it manifests as clinical disease decades later. Endurance exercise is one way to reduce the development and progression of metabolic disease. In addition, the herb Rhodiola crenulata (RC) and fungus Cordyceps sinensis (CS) have shown to bear benefits on metabolic disease parameters. Both have long been used in Chinese medicine for their health-promoting, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This study sought to assess whether the benefits of regular endurance training can be futher enhanced with the supplementation of RC and CS. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled 14 young sedentary adults who received an 8-week endurance training program. They also received either supplements or a placebo. Measurements and markers of body composition, oxidative stress and metabolic function were obtained before and after the intervention. The results found no difference in blood fats and oxidative stress markers between groups. In fact endurance training alone improved endurance capacity and glycemic control, but again with no particular difference between control and intervention. However, the supplementation group showed improvement in body composition with reduced body fat and increased muscle mass compared to the control group. Larger studies are needed to strengthen the results.
Abstract
Rhodiola crenulata (R) and Cordyceps sinensis (C) are commonly used herbs that promote health in traditional Chinese medicine. These two herbs have also been shown to exhibit anti-inflammation and antioxidant functions. Regular endurance training reveals potent endurance capacity, body composition improvement, and metabolic-related biomarker benefits. However, it is not known whether the combination of Rhodiola crenulata and Cordyceps sinensis (RC) supplementation during endurance training provides additive health benefits. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 8-week endurance training plus RC supplementation on body composition, oxidative stress, and metabolic biomarkers in young sedentary adults. METHODS Fourteen young sedentary adults (8M/6F) participated in this double-blind randomized controlled study. Participants were assigned to exercise training with placebo groups (PLA, n = 7, 4M/3F; age: 21.4 ± 0.4 years) and exercise training with the RC group (RC, 20 mg/kg/day; n = 7, 4M/3F; age: 21.7 ± 0.4 years). Both groups received identical exercise training for eight weeks. The body composition, circulating oxidative stress, and blood metabolic biomarkers were measured before and after the 8-week intervention. RESULTS Improvement in body composition profiles were significantly greater in the RC group (body weight: p = 0.044, BMI: p = 0.003, upper extremity fat mass: p = 0.032, lower extremity muscle mass: p = 0.029, trunk fat mass: p = 0.011) compared to the PLA group after training. The blood lipid profile and systemic oxidative stress makers (thiobarbituric reactive substanceand total antioxidant capacity) did not differ between groups. Although endurance training markedly improved endurance capacity and glycemic control ability (i.e., fast blood glucose, insulin, and HOMA index), there were no differences in these variables between treatments. CONCLUSIONS In this preliminary investigation, we demonstrated that an 8-week RC supplementation (20 mg/kg/day) faintly enhanced endurance training-induced positive adaptations in body composition in young sedentary individuals, whereas the blood lipid profile and systemic oxidative stress states were not altered after such intervention.
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The association of diabetes-related self-care activities with perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue: a cross-sectional study.
Zhao, FF, Suhonen, R, Katajisto, J, Leino-Kilpi, H
Patient preference and adherence. 2018;12:1677-1686
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Diabetes treatments rely on the individual’s ability to perform diabetes-related self-care activities (DRSCA), which involves tasks such as medication adherence, regulating diet, physical activity, blood glucose monitoring and foot care, however it appears that many individuals do not perform one or all of these tasks. Reasons why have been investigated, but remain insufficient. In this cross-sectional study of 248 individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) DRSCA was investigated in relation to stress, anxiety, and fatigue. The results showed that there was evidence of mid-level performance of DRSCA activities and performing DRSCA activities was likely to reduce stress levels but was not related to anxiety or fatigue. Individuals who had T2D for more than 5 years and women were more likely to have anxiety. Interestingly in contradiction to previous studies, support from outside sources did not affect levels of stress, anxiety and fatigue. It was concluded that improving the level of DRSCA may reduce stress. The fact that the performance of DRSCA was not related to anxiety may be because these activities impose restrictions on patients’ lives. This study could be used by healthcare professionals to understand that the performance of DRSCA may reduce stress levels, however as this study was an observational study, direct causal relationships are hard to determine.
Abstract
PURPOSE Many people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) do not sustain sufficient diabetes-related self-care activities (DRSCA) in their daily lives. To provide additional information about the positive influence of DRSCA, this study was conducted to examine whether DRSCA were associated with reduced perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue among people with T2DM and to explore the level of DRSCA, perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue and their association with background information. PATIENTS AND METHODS This study was a cross-sectional survey including 251 participants aged 18 years and older recruited from two hospitals in the eastern part of China. The study utilized self-report questionnaires that consisted of background information, DRSCA, perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to explore the association of DRSCA with perceived stress, anxiety, and fatigue while adjusting for background information. RESULTS The results indicated that the level of self-care activities, stress, and fatigue was around middle level. The prevalence of anxiety was 19%. A high level of DRSCA was likely to reduce perceived stress but was not linked to anxiety and fatigue. Women were more susceptible to stress and anxiety, and people who had diabetes for >5 years were more likely to have anxiety. The background information included diabetes duration, standardized diabetes education, and high social support, all of which are factors that may influence DRSCA. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that improving the level of DRSCA might effectively reduce perceived stress. The potential benefits of DRSCA can provide both motivational and evaluative data for self-care programs. In addition, the findings show that DRSCA were not linked to anxiety and fatigue, which implies that their positive influence on anxiety and fatigue may be offset by the load of frequent DRSCA. It is suggested that helping patients to make tailored plans to integrate DRSCA into their daily lives is needed. Meanwhile, in the background information, it is suggested that standardized diabetes education and high social support can benefit DRSCA; in improving psychological health, more attention should be paid to women and patients with diabetes duration <5 years.