PHOSPHATE
SALTS
(Sodium Phosphate and Potassium Phosphate)
Scientific Name:
Sodium Phosphate and Potassium Phosphate
Type of Nutrient:
Mineral salt of Phosphorus (essential nutrient)
History:
Popular with European athletes
Used as an ergogenic aid for over 60 years
German soldiers reportedly used them in World War I
to relieve fatigue
How Supplied:
Crystalline Salt
Natural Source:
Cod, Beef, Milk, Yoghurt, Chicken, Rice, Bread
(PHOSPHORUS)
Used
for:
Lactic Acid buffer.
Increasing 2,3-DPG (2,3 - diphosphoglycerate), the
enzyme that unloads oxygen into muscle.
Improving production and use of glycogen for fuel.
Improving both Endurance and Anaerobic performance.
Cost Effectiveness:
* * * * *
Safety:
Potassium Phosphate - Excellent
Sodium Phosphate - Good (used extensively in the meat
and baking industries)
Excess of Phosphorus excreted in urine.
PRECAUTIONS:
EXCESSES OF PHOSPHORUS COMBINED WITH LOW LEVELS OF
DIETARY CALCIUM MAY CONTRIBUTE TO A CALCIUM DEFICIENCY.
ENSURE ADEQUATE CALCIUM IN DIET.
PHOSPHORUS
- AN ESSENTIAL MINERAL
In
both endurance and anaerobic exercise, a lot of muscle
phosphate is lost into the blood (Kreider RB, et al Med Sci
Sports Exer 1990;22:250-255.
DALE G, et al Brit Med J 1987;294:939.
McCully K, et al Muscle and Nerve 1988;11:212-216).
Resting
levels of blood phosphate are increased with regular
exercise, indicating that the body responds to exercise by
increasing its overall level of phosphate, and that training
increases phosphate needs.
(Ljinghall S et al Acta Medica Scand 1987;221:83-93).
When
phosphate levels are low, performance in marathon runners is
usually down. (Colgan
M Optimum Sports Nutrition 1993 p291).
Your
body cannot manufacture phosphorus.
It is an essential mineral you must obtain from your
diet. In your
body it is present as phosphate salts.
Although phosphates are added to many foods and the
daily intake in Australia is greater than the Recommended
Daily Allowance, recent studies have shown pathologically
low levels of blood phosphate in some athletes after
endurance events (Dale G et al Brit Med J 1987;294-939).
So even our high food intake of phosphate may be
insufficient to supply the demands of
intense training.
Most fit and healthy athletes show resting phosphate
levels at the top end of the normal medical range.
But this range was conceived for sedentary people.
Does it cover optimal performance levels for
athletes?
LACTIC
ACID BUFFERS BOOST
PERFORMANCE
Research
has indicated that phosphate salts can boost performance in
track athletes in events ranging in distance from the 100
metre sprint to the 26 mile marathon.
To be effective over this wide range, the phosphate
salts would have to have the potential to improve energy
production in all three human energy systems - the ATP-CP,
lactic acid, and oxygen systems - which they do.
Relative
to the ATP-CP energy system, phosphates form high energy
bonds when attached to the organic compounds adenosine (ATP)
and creatine (CP). There
is evidence that supplemented phosphate improves the
production and use of glycogen for fuel through its
incorporation into numerous enzymes in energy production (Chasiotis
D Med Sci Sports Exer 1988;20:545-550).
Phosphates are necessary for optimal functioning of
several B Vitamins, such as B1 (thiamine), which is involved
in aerobic energy production from carbohydrates and fats.
Sodium and potassium phosphate serve as buffers in
the body and may function similarly to alkaline salts in
improving the lactic acid energy system.
Recently, Dr Richard Kreider and his colleagues at
Old Dominion University, Virginia have, in repeated studies
of phosphate supplementation, demonstrated it to buffer
lactic acid (Kreider RB, et al. Med Sci Sports Exer
1990;22:250-255. Miller
GW, et al Med Sci Sports Exer 1991;23:535).
Studies
from various laboratories have repeatedly shown that
phosphate supplementation raises blood levels of 2,3 - diphosphoglycerate (2,3 - DPG), the enzyme that
deposits oxygen from haemoglobin into muscle cells (Farber
M, et al. J Lab Clin Med 1984;104:166-175.
CADE R et al. Med Sci Sports Exer 1984;16:263-268.
STEWART I, McNAUGHTON L Res Quart 1990;61:80-84).
Phosphate is a far safer but effective alternative to
erythropoietin (EPO) - the real heart stopper.
Slightly recapping, all three energy systems, ATP-CP,
Lactic Acid and Oxygen are improved.
To what extent the following studies will indicate.
DRAMATIC
IMPROVEMENTS IN POWER AND ENDURANCE
WITH
LACTIC ACID BUFFERS
WITH
LESS PERCEIVED EFFORT
Dr
Robert Cade and his group at the Department of Medicine of
the University of Florida in 1984 ran a well controlled
study (double blind, placebo, crossover design).
Ten highly trained distance runners consumed either 1
gram of sodium phosphate four times daily or a placebo for
three days. They
then ran them on a treadmill to exhaustion.
During the phosphate loading trial, lactic acid
levels were lower, 2,3 -DPG levels were higher, VO2 max
increased by 6-12%, and subjects ran 3-9 minutes longer.
(Cade R, et al Med Sci Sports Exer 1984;16:263-268).
Other
research findings from the Florida physiology laboratory
suggest that phosphate salts will reduce the perceived
psychological stress as measured by RPE (Rating of Perceived
Exertion), of riding a bicycle for 3 hours at 75 to 80
percent VO2 max. Physiological
measurements during this study suggested that increases in
2,3 DPG improved the release of oxygen from the Red Blood
Cells and thus reduced the workload of the heart.
The findings from the Florida laboratory strongly
support an ergogenic effect of phosphate salts, and the lead
investigator in these studies has been quoted as saying that
‘phosphate salts do allow for better performance’.
Closer to home, Dr Ian Stewart and his colleagues at the Tasmanian
Institute of Technology did a study of highly trained
cyclists, giving them 3.6 grams of sodium phosphate a day or
a placebo, for three days before a maximum effort on the
ergometer bicycle. Results
showed that phosphate loading reduced lactic acid
accumulation, increased 2,3 - DPG production during
exercise, increased VO2 max by 11%, and increased time to
exhaustion by 20% (Stewart I, McNaughton L Res Quart
1990;61:80-84).
One
of the most recent and best studies (KREIDER RB, et al Int J
Sports Nutr 1992;2:20-47) which tested both anaerobic and
endurance exercise gave trained cyclists 4 grams of sodium
phosphate per day or a placebo, for 3 days prior to a
maximal exercise test and a 40km time trial on the ergometer
bicycle.
During
the anaerobic phosphate trials, maximal power output
increased by 17%. As
Dr Michael Colgin points out in his excellent book OPTIMUM
SPORTS NUTRITION, that’s the equivalent to adding 51 lbs
to a 300 lb maximum bench press!
During the aerobic phosphate trials, time for the
40km ride was reduced by 3.5 minutes.
That’s big. Despite
some contrasting findings in other studies, there is no
doubt in my mind that phosphate works big time.
I have personally confirmed similar results on a
female olympic level sprinter over 400 and 800 metre
distances.
MY
PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS
The
regimen practised by the researchers at the University of
Florida has proved to be successful with no adverse effects
in the subjects being reported.
The
dosage was:
1 gram sodium phosphate
4 x per day (ie
4g per day)
Mix
with water
eg 1g Breakfast
or
fruit juice
1g Lunch
1g Tea
1g Supper
For
3-4 days prior to competition
The
last dose may be 2 to 3 hours prior to the event
The
event can be either endurance (eg Triathalon) or anaerobic
(eg game of squash, weight training) since phosphate loading
works for both endurance or anaerobic exercise.
A bodybuilder may benefit from daily use of phosphate salt in addition to a calcium supplement and a
combination of low, med and high rep training.
Sodium
phosphate has been used in most studies but potassium
phosphate works too.
With the high level of sodium added to our food and
the big losses of potassium in food processing, potassium
phosphate would be a lot healthier.
But don’t use calcium phosphate.
Two studies that have tried calcium phosphate found
no effect at all (Bradel D, et al J Appl Physio
1988;65:1821-1826. MANNIX
E, et al Med Sci Sports Exer 1990;22:341-347).
Click
here to buy sodium phosphate lactic acid buffer.
Ironpower
has combined sodium
bicarbonate, creatine
monohydrate and potassium
phosphate into a super lactic acid buffering
formula called PowerStack. Click
here to read more on PowerStack.
P.S. If anyone tells you that phosphate doesn’t work, just
acknowledge their comment, and keep your edge a secret.
