In search of the ultimate athletic performance

THE VERDICT | All cultures have energy food remedies; which ones actually work?

With bars and beverages that promise to enhance your athletic prowess taking up ever greater chunks of retail real estate, it would be easy to mistake energy foods as a modern phenomenon.

But the belief that consuming special foods can enhance performance can be traced throughout much of human history. And some traditions are a bit better grounded in science than others.

During medieval and Renaissance times, it was believed that a person could gain the attributes of a substance by eating it, says Ken Albala, food historian and author of Eating Right in the Renaissance.

And so boiled meat (or muscle) was the preferred food for athletes and warriors.

While the Greeks believed beef was hard for the average person to digest, they also thought athletes and gladiators had exceptionally strong ''digestive fire.''

Gladiators also consumed large amounts of barley porridge, which was thought to provide energy and fat to protect them from injury. Their primary energy drink was wine, believed to boost confidence and courage.

Verdict: Protein can help build muscle, and carbohydrates (barley) consumed before competition can improve endurance. But the folks from this era probably indulged excessively.

And while wine might provide ''liquid courage,'' it also impairs muscle re-synthesis and the body's ability to recover post-competition, says Jennifer Sacheck, assistant professor of nutrition at Tufts' Friedman School of Nutrition.

Many Asian energy foods are broths and soups simmered with meats or seafood, vegetables and medicinal herbs, says Li Xu, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine at Southwest Acupuncture College in Albuquerque, N.M.

Marathon runners drink soup simmered with a whole turtle. Sumo wrestlers consume vast quantities of chankonabe, a Japanese stew made with chicken, fried fish, tofu, vegetables, mushrooms, noodles and rice.

Herbs believed to strengthen resistance to stress traditionally have been simmered into soups, teas and rice dishes.

Chinese and American ginseng, as well as the caterpillar fungus cordyceps, have been popular among athletes and royalty for centuries. Reishi and shiitake mushrooms, lycium berries, jujube dates, astragalus and codonopsis roots also have consumed as energy foods.

Verdict: While broths and soups provide easily digested nutrients, modern research on many medicinal herbs is limited, as is understanding of how they might work.

According to ayurvedic traditions (India's traditional medicine system), athletes are believed have a fiery constitution. And so cooling, easily digested, nourishing foods and herbs are used to increase their strength and stamina, says Hilary Garivaltis, dean of the Kripalu School of Ayurveda in Stockbridge, Mass.

An athlete's diet may focus on egg whites, wheat, almonds, saffron-infused almond milk, lemon water, milk infused with ashwagandha, an herb believed to improve the ability of the body and mind to cope with stress.

Almonds, milk and saffron are believed to build internal strength, or ''ojas.''

Verdict: Partly because of lactose intolerance issues, athletes in many other cultures avoid dairy, consider it to be too congesting. Also, Sacheck says the protein and fat in some dairy products can be slow to digest, making them poor choices before competition. But eggs and wheat are good sources of protein and carbohydrates. Though ashwagandha has a long history of use in Indian medicine, clinical research on it is slim.

Today's energy drinks have many ancestors. During the 1800s in the American South, ginseng-infused corn liquor was a popular beverage drunk as a shot. And an Atlanta druggist created Pemberton's French Wine Coca, an energy beverage containing wine, cocaine and kola nut (caffeine). During Prohibition, the wine was replaced with a sweet syrup and the drink was reborn as Coca-Cola.

More recently the beverage industry has exploded with high-caffeine energy drinks such as Red Bull and electrolyte -laced beverages such as Gatorade and Vitamin Water. This style of drink often sports vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, amino acids, caffeine, herbs and antioxidants.

Modern energy bars also have a long lineage. Native Americans made pemmican, dehydrated cakes of jerky-like meat, fat and wild berries. They provided large amounts of fat and protein for long-term energy.

Verdict: Sports drinks and energy bars may provide fast energy, nutrients and electrolytes, and provide a boost from caffeine or other ingredients. But experts say they generally aren't critical for sports nutrition and may contain unnecessary calories, sugar and sodium. Electrolytes are mainly important for athletes who may compete for more than an hour at a time, or in very hot conditions, says Sacheck.

The nutritional needs of athletes depend on the type of activity they perform, says Sacheck.

Easily digested carbohydrates in the form of bagels or pasta provide quick energy to fuel athletes such as swimmers and runners who perform for more than a couple of minutes and need it for endurance. Before competition, these athletes should avoid protein, fat or anything that might slow digestion.

Weightlifters require more protein during training, often in the form of eggs and whey, but also meat and soy. This helps with muscle synthesis and repair. During competition they perform for only short bursts and don't need the sorts of carbohydrates endurance athletes do.

AP