Aurora, Colorado (Ivanhoe Newswires) – They are the elite of the elite. Top athletes from around the world have gathered in Paris to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games.
Unlike many of us who just spend a few days in the gym, these athletes put their lives on the line for their sport. But what can researchers learn from Olympians that can help us all live healthier, longer lives?
“You can't understand imperfection without first understanding perfection, and elite athletes embody perfection when it comes to their bodies and how they function,” said Dr. Travis Nemcoff, a biochemist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Nemkov hopes that by studying the metabolic performance of elite athletes, he can create more personalized ways to treat everyone from cancer patients to people trying to lose weight.
“We have now identified and defined these molecular signatures in the blood of elite athletes, which can serve as a benchmark for comparison with diseased patient populations and help restore them to health,” Nemkov said.
The researchers took blood samples from world-class cyclists during training and races and measured thousands of metabolic products using a technique called metabolomics.
“You can see how macronutrients like fats, amino acids and carbohydrates are being processed,” Nemkov said.
Studies have shown that cancer patients who exercise respond better to and recover from chemotherapy, and Nemkov thinks what he's learning now can help patients know which types of exercise will be most beneficial.
“You can use this to personalize how athletes train. You can use this to personalize sedentary people who want to become athletes. You can even personalize their diet,” he added.
In addition to providing metabolic status, Nemkov believes this data could potentially help predict a patient's risk for diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer and Alzheimer's.
Contributors to this news report include producer Marcia Lewis, videographer Matt Goldschmidt and editor Roque Correa.
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