A new pilot study reveals that taking vitamin C may take the edge off of exercise. Paired with a drop in heart rate, researchers found that the perceived rate of exertion during exercise fell as vitamin C levels in the body rose.
Exhaustion following physical activity can be a hurdle for dieters trying to walk off excess weight. In the current study, obese subjects supplementing this antioxidant experienced less discomfort during physical activity after just four weeks.
Researchers from Arizona State University recruited 20 moderately obese, sedentary adults looking to lose weight. In conjunction with a low-fat, low-calorie diet, the participants took 500 mg of vitamin C or a placebo for four weeks. At baseline and at the final visit, researchers measured the subjects’ moods, perceived rate of exertion, and fat burning during a 60-minute bout of moderate-intensity exercise.
Exhaustion following physical activity can be a hurdle for dieters trying to walk off excess weight. In the current study, obese subjects supplementing this antioxidant experienced less discomfort during physical activity after just four weeks.
Researchers from Arizona State University recruited 20 moderately obese, sedentary adults looking to lose weight. In conjunction with a low-fat, low-calorie diet, the participants took 500 mg of vitamin C or a placebo for four weeks. At baseline and at the final visit, researchers measured the subjects’ moods, perceived rate of exertion, and fat burning during a 60-minute bout of moderate-intensity exercise.
Over the course of the trial, both groups lost between 8 and 10 pounds simply by cutting calories. While fat oxidation did not change between the vitamin C and control groups, the researchers saw a drop in heart rate of nearly 8 percent (about 11 beats per minute) and a 10 percent decrease in the perceived difficulty of exercise after vitamin C supplementation. Both heart rate and exertion increased marginally in the control group.
The authors explain that “heart rate is a contributing factor to perceived effort, the significant decrease in exercising heart rate noted for the vitamin C participants may have influenced the ratings of perceived exertion.”
The authors explain that “heart rate is a contributing factor to perceived effort, the significant decrease in exercising heart rate noted for the vitamin C participants may have influenced the ratings of perceived exertion.”
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Reference: Huck CJ, Johnston CS, Beezhold BL, and Swan PD. Vitamin C status and perception of effort during exercise in obese adults adhering toa calorie-reduced diet. Nutrition 2012;1-4. doi:10/1016/j.nut.2012.021
Read more about this study on Isagenix Health.
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