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March 17, 2021BOOST Improves Your Energy, Performance, and Cognitive Function
There is always much hype when something new shows up. A safe choice would be to go for what is proven and effective. The same applies to supplements. There are a plethora of supplements on the market that promise great results. Unfortunately, most of them are ineffective, and some of them can be harmful to us. So, we need to be careful and scientifically test new products. For example, take a look at BOOST. It represents an interesting combination of a high caffeine dose (200 mg) combined with a hydrogen tablet and 1.5 gr of nitrosigine. In our opinion, this is a very innovative and interesting combination. This short article will show the science behind this supplement based on the evidence of each of the supplement components and the synergy they produce.
BOOST
BOOST is composed of 200 mg Caffeine + HRW tablet + 1.5 gr nitrosigine. Here we will explore each of these components in detail.
Caffeine
Caffeine is the most popular psychostimulant worldwide and is widely accepted by the general population and athletes. Around 90% of Аmericans consume caffeine in their regular diet.1 There are many anecdotal stories around this supplement. Some see caffeine as beneficial; others, as unhealthy. But the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Many studies have confirmed its effectiveness. Caffeine can boost the central nervous system. It acts as an adenosine antagonist, which is considered the primary ergogenic function of caffeine. Adenosine suppresses the physiological excitation of neurons primarily by inhibiting the release of excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain.2 Because of this, caffeine affects cognitive abilities and alertness.3 Caffeine has ergogenic boost effects on physical performance.4
The general recommendation is to consume caffeine 60 minutes before training in doses of 3–6 mg/kg.5 One interesting study investigated dose-response and exercise performance. Subjects ingested either 3, 6, or 9 mg/kg of caffeine 1 hour before exercise. Results showed that low-dose caffeine had greater positive effects on the participants’ physical strength during prolonged intermittent exercise and cognition compared to higher doses.6 So, for a person weighing 70 kg, the ideal dosage would be 210 mg of caffeine for best results.
Molecular Hydrogen
Formed about 3 minutes after the Big Bang, hydrogen is the simplest and the most abundant element in the universe. All the other chemical elements that we know today were made up of hydrogen.7 For a long time, we didn’t think of molecular hydrogen (H2) as having any specific function. How wrong we were! When an article from a group of Japanese scientists was published in Nature Medicine in 20078 describing the therapeutic effect of hydrogen as a novel antioxidant gas that selectively reduces cytotoxic oxygen species, more than 1000 research papers were published addressing H2’s potential benefits. Of course, we still don’t understand many things about H2. But we do know how it works.
There are several H2 mechanisms, but the most common is as an antioxidant. Naturally, humans, as a part of oxidative metabolism, produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Some ROS are good and necessary for normal functioning, but some are bad and can cause serious health problems. Our natural antioxidative system slows down as we get older. At each step in the oxidation process, there is higher excitation of ROS. Here is where H2 comes into the process. H2 initiates the chemical reactions within ROS and disintegrates them. H2 binds to those more harmful free radicals such as hydroxide radicals and superoxide anion. Because of this, H2 is considered a selective antioxidant agent.
A plethora of studies examined the effects of H2 therapy in both clinical medicine and sports medicine. Indirect evidence via monitoring and antioxidant defense results, and some biomarkers of oxidative stress, implied that H2 reduced oxidative stress in patients with potential metabolic syndrome,9 diabetes mellitus,10 mitochondrial and inflammatory myopathies,11 rheumatoid arthritis,1 and chronic hepatitis B.13 Also, there was evidence of H2 usage in sports medicine.14 Few articles examined the direct effect of recovery and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS),15,16 or sports-related injuries.17,18 H2 also acts as a potential buffer and has shown positive results as an enhancing performance agent (for more, see review19). However, one should be careful with excessive claims. Yes, H2 has many benefits, but there are many unknowns and many more questions to be answered.
H2 and Caffeine
There are anecdotal studies on the interaction of H2 and caffeine in the brain. One study examined the effects of H2and caffeine in two groups of sleep-deprived subjects. It is important to highlight that both groups had better results on the alertness test compared to control results.20 Interestingly, these two supplements affected different regions of the brain. H2 mostly improved orienting to sensory stimulation, while caffeine altered awareness and executive attention. One theory is that H2 might increase mitochondrial bioenergetics via the ghrelin- and non-ghrelin-related pathways,21 which could tackle impaired brain energy metabolism and improve cognitive performance.22 There is a need for further investigation, but we can assume with good reason that there is some synergetic effect of these two compounds on brain metabolism.
Drink HRW Tablets
There are several ways we can use H2. It can be supplied to the body in several ways: drinking H2 water, bathing in H2, infusion of H2-saline, and inhaling H2 gas. Interestingly, Japan, one of the pioneers in the development of H2, was the first country to register H2 as a clinical therapy. Individuals may think that the gas form of H2 is medicine, while H2-rich water is a fraud. This statement is wrong for several reasons. Hydrogen-rich water (HRW) is an innovative functional drink with many professed benefits for human health, including good intestinal viability and gut microbiota upregulation.23 The important question is how much H2 is in the water? There are products on the market that do not contain enough H2 to achieve their benefits. HRW tablets by HRW Natural Health Products, Inc. (New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada), deliver more hydrogen to your cells than any other product on the market. These tablets have been clinically shown to have health benefits ranging from enhanced alertness to liver fat reduction to improved aerobic fitness.20,24 And finally, ingesting HRW tablets is by far the easiest and most straightforward way to take H2.
Nitrosigine
There may not be as many scientific studies for Nitrosigine as hydrogen and caffeine. Still, we should certainly not neglect its function. Nitrosigine was first designed as a dietary supplement for bone mineral density disorders. Today it can be found in many pre-workout supplements. After a single dose, Nitrosigine increases arginine blood levels within 30 minutes and blood levels of silicon for up to 1.5 hours.25 It is more effective than Arginine, which has been considered the number one pre-workout drink for a long time. It is also confirmed that Nitrosigine significantly affects pre-workout energy levels and decreases biomarkers of muscle damage after exercise and during the recovery period.26 In all previous studies, it has been shown that 1.5 gr of Nitrosigine is an optimal dose.
Summary
In this short article, we have described what each of the BOOST components does. The most important thing to note is the appropriate dosages of each ingredient that guarantee an increase in concentration and energy for training. Also, if you need to improve concentration to prepare for an exam, BOOST is the ideal drink for you. There is something that makes this product unique, and that is an H2. This ingredient will not only reduce inflammation but also affect better focus during training. This is a novel approach. It will be interesting to see if these supplements combined with caffeine and Nitrosigine can produce some potentially undiscovered benefits for exercise performance, cognitive performance, and concentration in future studies. So far, there have been no contraindications, so boost yourself with BOOST!
References
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2. Dunwiddie, T.V., & Masino, S.A. (2001). The role and regulation of adenosine in the central nervous system. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 24, 31–55.
3. Cagle, S. and Song, S. 2019. Does caffeine reliably enhance cognitive function? Evidence-Based Practice, 22(5), 24.
4. Hogervorst, E.E.F., Bandelow, S., Schmitt, J., Jentjens, R.O.Y., Oliveira, M., Allgrove, J., Carter, T., and Gleeson, M. 2008. Caffeine improves physical and cognitive performance during exhaustive exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 40(10), 1841–1851.
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9. Kajiyama, S., Hasegawa, G., Asano, M., Hosoda, H., Fukui, M., Nakamura, N., Kitawaki, J., Imai, S., Nakano, K., Ohta, M., and Adachi, T. 2008. Supplementation of hydrogen-rich water improves lipid and glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. Nutrition Research, 28(3), 137–143.
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15. Todorovic, N., Javorac, D., Stajer, V., and Ostojic, S.M. 2020. The effects of supersaturated hydrogen-rich water bathing on biomarkers of muscular damage and soreness perception in young men subjected to high-intensity eccentric exercise. Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020.
16. Kawamura, T., Gando Y., Takahashi, M., Hara, R., Suzuki, K., and Muraoka, I. 2016. Effects of hydrogen bathing on exercise-induced oxidative stress and delayed-onset muscle soreness. Japanese Journal of Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine, 65,(3), 297–305.
17. Javorac, D., Stajer, V., and Ostojic, S. 2020. Case report: Acute hydrotherapy with super-saturated hydrogen-rich water for ankle sprain in a professional athlete. F1000Research, 9.
18. Javorac, D., Stajer, V., Ratgeber, L., Olah, A., Betlehem, J., Acs, P., Vukomanovic, B., and Ostojic, S.M. 2020. Hydrotherapy with hydrogen-rich water compared with RICE protocol following acute ankle sprain in professional athletes: A randomized non-inferiority pilot trial. Research in Sports Medicine, 1–9.
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20. Zanini, D., Stajer, V., and Ostojic, S.M. 2020. Hydrogen vs. caffeine for improved alertness in sleep-deprived humans. Neurophysiology, 52(1), 67–72.
21. Ostojic, S.M., 2017. Does H2 alter mitochondrial bioenergetics via GHS-R1α activation? Theranostics, 7(5), 1330.
22. Ma, W., Song, J., Wang, H., Shi, F., Zhou, N., Jiang, J., Xu, Y., Zhang, L., Yang, L., and Zhou, M. 2019. Chronic paradoxical sleep deprivation-induced depression-like behavior, energy metabolism, and microbial changes in rats. Life sciences, 225, 88–97.
23. Ostojic, S.M. 2021. Hydrogen-rich water as a modulator of gut microbiota? Journal of Functional Foods, 78, 104360.
24. Korovljev, D., Stajer, V., Ostojic, J., LeBaron, T.W., and Ostojic, S.M. 2019. Hydrogen-rich water reduces liver fat accumulation and improves liver enzyme profiles in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A randomized controlled pilot trial. Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology, 43(6), 688–693.
25. Kalman, D.S., Feldman, S., Samson, A., and Krieger, D.R. 2015. A clinical evaluation to determine the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of an inositol-stabilized arginine silicate dietary supplement in healthy adult males. Clinical Pharmacology: Advances and Applications, 7, 103.
26. Rood-Ojalvo, S., Sandler, D., Veledar, E., and Komorowski, J. 2015. The benefits of inositol-stabilized arginine silicate as a workout ingredient. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12(1), 1–2.