Each week in my Research Update, I distill the latest sports science research into practical insights to help you improve your training, performance, and recovery.
In this week's update:
- Antioxidants ease inflammation, but may hinder training adaptation
- The impact of energy drinks on sleep and dietary habits in athletes
- Carbohydrates won't help you build muscle on their own
Antioxidants Ease Recovery but May Hinder Adaptation
This review from the International Society of Sports Nutrition covers the evidence on antioxidant supplements and exercise. While antioxidants do help manage exercise-induced oxidative stress, high doses (especially of vitamins C and E) may blunt some of the training adaptations that make you fitter, particularly mitochondrial and endurance adaptation. Whole-food antioxidant intake is encouraged, but routine high-dose supplementation isn’t recommended for most athletes unless there’s a deficiency or extreme stress load.
My thoughts: The ISSN rarely publishes position stands, so when they do, they’re always worth reading. The takeaways align with what we’ve suspected for a while: be whole-food first when possible and be cautious with high-dose antioxidant pills. In the end, smart training and lifestyle habits will always matter more than trying to micromanage oxidative stress.
The Impact of Energy Drinks on Young Athletes
This study of 171 Icelandic 17–18-year-olds found that 57% reported consuming energy drinks, with consumers more likely to sleep six hours or less on school nights, especially if they drank them after 3:00 PM. Energy drink users also had poorer overall diets, eating fewer fruits and vegetables, as well as less dairy and fish, while consuming more soft drinks, coffee, and alcohol. Those drinking energy drinks were also more likely to exceed recommended caffeine limits for adolescents. Because the study was observational, it can’t prove cause and effect, but it shows a clear pattern linking energy drink use with shorter sleep and lower diet quality.
My thoughts: Sports drinks and energy drinks aren’t the same thing, but this is a useful reminder that caffeine-heavy drinks, especially later in the day, can meaningfully disrupt sleep. For young athletes in particular, sleep is one of the biggest performance multipliers available. If caffeine is crowding out sleep and whole-food nutrition, that’s a trade-off that rarely pays in the long run.
Carbs Won’t Help You Build Muscle on Their Own
This review examined whether carbohydrate intake influences muscle growth when paired with resistance training. Across the included studies, higher carbohydrate intake did not independently increase muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) when total protein and calories were adequate. In other words, as long as athletes consumed sufficient protein and energy, extra carbohydrates did not directly lead to greater muscle growth. Carbohydrates remain important for fueling training performance, but they are not a primary driver of muscle hypertrophy.
My thoughts: A pretty obvious outcome, but it’s good to have it confirmed. Carbohydrates fuel training performance, which indirectly supports muscle growth, but they’re not anabolic on their own. Protein and progressive overload still drive the real adaptation. It’s a reminder that carbs support the work, they don’t replace the fundamentals.
That’s all for this week.
If you learned something new and are curious to know more, head over to the Blonyx Blog or my growing list of weekly research summaries where I help you further improve your athletic performance by keeping you up to date on the latest findings from the world of sports science.
Train hard out there!
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