New research suggests using the supplement resveratrol (RSV) does not enhance the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
RSV has often been recommended as an exercise aid to enhance performance but a recent study suggests the supplement may actually harm the body's response to training, Queen's University reported.
"The easiest way to experience the benefits of physical activity is to be physically active," said Queen's researcher Brendon Gurd. "The efficacy of RSV at improving metabolic and cardiovascular functions is not as profound as was once thought."
Resveratrol can be found naturally in the skin of red grapes, and is often believed to be behind the health benefits associated with the Mediterranean diet.
To make their findings the researchers looked at 16 participants who engaged in less than three hours of aerobic exercise per week at the time of enrollment and were asked to perform HIIT three times per week for four weeks. Over the course of the study the participants regularly received either does of RSV or a placebo. The study's findings suggest RSV supplementation may actually decrease the effects of exercise alone. The placebo group even showed an increase in some of the benefits of physical activity when compared with the group taking RSV.
"The results we saw suggest that concurrent exercise training and RSV supplementation may alter the body's normal training response induced by low-volume HIIT," Gurd said. "The data set we recorded during this study clearly demonstrates that RSV supplementation doesn't augment training, but may impair the affect it has on the body."
Results observed by the team question the ability of RSV to act as an exercise-enhancing supplement and highlight the need for further research. This research was published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition
