Dissertação de Mestrado Nutrição Humana e Metabolismo 2024 Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa

ABSTRACT Introduction: Strenuous exercises training is commonly performed to develop muscle strength, power, and endurance for performance maximization. As a result, exhaustive exercises can produce exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD). Symptoms of EIMD could be ameliorated with appropriated recovery interventions after strenuous exercise sessions. Several studies have reported the efficacy of a large number of foods and extracts supplements in the reduction of EIDM symptoms compared to the placebo, including pomegranate, bilberry, cacao, beetroot, and blueberry. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to examine the effects of food or concerted food on indices of muscle damage and physical performance measures following muscle-damaging exercise protocols. Material and Methods: The studies were included by following the PICO criteria; (1) Population: healthy male and female human adults; (2) Intervention: consumption of whole food as supplements that consisted of food or concentrated (e.g., chocolate, milk); (3) Comparison: the acute responses were compared between FOOD and PLA conditions at ≤ 24, 48h, and 72h; (4) Outcome: the acute responses that may include blood biomarkers of indirect muscle damage, inflammation, and oxidative stress. The Cochrane’s risk of bias tool was used to critically appraise each study. Results: Thirty-two studies were included; 22 had a parallel, and 10 had a cross over design. A total of 768 participants (males and females) were included in the systematic review. Of the 768 participants, 195 were semi-professional athletes (25.4%), 93 athletes (12.1%), 460 (59.9%) were recreationally trained, and 20 were untrained (2.6%). Consumption of foods and concentrates accelerated recovery of DOMS immediately post-exercise conditions at ≤ 24, 48h, and 72h. Compared to the PLA condition, the FOOD condition the studies exhibited significantly lower levels of indirect muscle damage markers, inflammatory markers, and oxidative stress, whilst antioxidant capacity was significantly increased at post- exercise. The results of the studies showed that consuming foods and concentrates accelerated recovery of muscle function while reducing muscle soreness in humans. Conclusion: This systematic review suggests that consumption of foods (i.e., cocoa, milk), juices, and concentrates provides practitioners and athletes with a low risk, food-first approach for enhancing recovery in scenarios where optimising rapid recovery is key. These findings demonstrate that whole food could be used as recovery strategies from strenuous exercise sessions