Many athletes take energy boost and sports recovery products with synthetic chemicals, caffeine and sugar that give a short term kick. These products can cause energy crashes, lethargy, fatigue and side effects such as jitteriness, increased heart rate, dehydration, dependence and other health issues.
If you are an athlete looking to find your best self, 100% natural VB-8 is for you!
BLACKCURRANT SCIENCE
In recent years, there has been a remarkable focus on harnessing the power of natural plant based materials to optimize physical performance, accelerate exercise recovery and support overall well-being.
Blackcurrants have high concentrations of anthocyanins, a purple coloured pigment with a plethora of health benefits. Interest in the health properties and benefits of blackcurrants for athletes and active individuals started more than10 years ago.
Blackcurrant anthocyanins (BCA) have outstanding antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
New Zealand blackcurrants have between 336 and 850mg BCA per 100ml of juice compared with non-New Zealand blackcurrants with a BCA content ranging from 170 to 310 mg/100 ml [1]. This means New Zealand blackcurrants have up to 5 times more BCA than blackcurrants that grow elsewhere else in the world.
Clinical studies show that consumption of BCA prior to exercise promotes recovery from exercise-induced oxidative stress symptoms such as fatigue, memory loss, brain fog, muscle and joint pain and headaches. The effective pre-exercise BCA dose is 105 to 210 mg [2] .
Two scoops (14g) of VITAL BURST provides 230 mg of BCA.
CLINICAL RESEARCH
Clinical research shows that BCA consumption prior to sports activity has the following incredible exercise performance and recovery benefits.
- Reduced muscle damage and inflammation while performing high-intensity eccentric contractions during activities such as weightlifting, jump training, downhill running, resistance training, soccer and basketball [3].
- Improved sport climbing performance with higher hang time with total climbing time significantly improved (+23%) [4].
- Reduced soreness and faster exercise-induced muscle damage recovery (within 24 and 48 hours) after strenuous isokinetic resistance exercise such as leg extensions and curls, squats, dumbbell curls, push-ups, rowing and stationary cycling [5].
- A 2.4% increase in 16.1 km cycling time trial performance [6].
- Improved high-intensity intermittent running performance where total running distance and distance during sprints were increased by 10.6% and 10.8% respectively [7].
- Fat oxidation was increased by 27% during 120 minutes of moderate intensity cycling [8].
REFERENCES
[1] Redha, A. et al. (2024) “Blackcurrants: A Nutrient-Rich Source for the Development of Functional Foods for Improved Athletic Performance.” Food Reviews International, 40(1), 135-157.
[2] Braakhuis, A. J. et al. (2020), The effect of New Zealand blackcurrant on sport performance and related biomarkers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 17(1), 25.
[3] Hutchison, A. T. et al. (2016), Black Currant Nectar Reduces Muscle Damage and Inflammation Following a Bout of High-Intensity Eccentric Contractions. Journal of Dietary Supplements, 13(1), 1–15
[4] Potter, J. A. et al. (2020), Effects of New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract on Sport Climbing Performance, European Journal of Applied Physiology, 120(1), 67–75.
[5] Hunt, J. E. A. et al. (2021) Consumption of New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract Improves Recovery from Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Non-Resistance Trained Men and Women: A Double-Blind Randomised Trial, Nutrients, 13(8), 8.
[6] Cook, M. D. et al. (2015), New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract Improves Cycling Performance and Fat Oxidation in Cyclists, European Journal of Applied Physiology, 115(11), 2357–2365
[7] Perkins, I. C. et al. (2015), New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract Improves High-Intensity Intermittent Running, International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 25(5), 487–493.
[8] Strauss, J. A. (2018) New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract Enhances Fat Oxidation During Prolonged Cycling in Endurance-Trained Females, European Journal of Applied Physiology, 118(6), 1265–1272.