Deep ocean minerals could aid exercise recovery in middle-aged men, study finds

09 Mar 2018 --- Deep ocean minerals may possess promise for use in exercise supplementation for middle-aged men, a study has found. The study, published in Frontiers of Physiology, found that deep ocean minerals (DOM) had a significant effect on the cerebral hemoglobin levels of middle-aged men during and post-exercise.

Previous studies have investigated the effect of DOM on muscle power output and vascular function, with positive findings. The study hypothesized that DOM supplementation could improve cerebral hemodynamic responses during and post, high-intensity exercise in young and middle-aged men.

The study used 12 young men and nine middle-aged men. They treated the men with either DOM or Placebo supplemental drinks before, during and after exercise. The cerebral hemodynamic response in the men was measured during intense cycling at 75 percent VO2max. 

The protocol for establishing VO2max consisted of a four-minute warm-up, before beginning cycling at 100 W. The workload was increased incrementally by 25 W every three minutes until the participants could not continue to pedal despite constant verbal encouragement. 

The cycling time to total exhaustion at 75 percent VO2max and the total hemoglobin levels during exercise and post-exercise of the two groups were compared, and the data analyzed.

Age-specific findings
The findings indicated that the cycling time to exhaustion at 75 percent VO2 max were similar in both the DOM and placebo trials for the young and middle-aged men.

However, it was found that DOM had an elevating effect on the cerebral hemoglobin levels of both groups of men, but the level was significantly higher for the middle-aged group. 

Furthermore, reduced systemic inflammation post-exercise was found amongst the middle-aged men who had ingested DOM.

The data, therefore, suggest that minerals and trace elements from deep oceans possess great promise in developing supplements to increase the cerebral hemodynamic response against a physical challenge and during post-exercise recovery for middle-aged men.

DOM used comprised desalinated minerals from 618 meters below the earth surfaces. The study described Dom as taken from the West Pacific Ocean, and provided by Pacific Deep Ocean Biotech (Taipei, Taiwan). DOM is defined by minerals and trace elements collected from ocean water 200 meters below the earth's surface where sunlight is barely permeable. More than 70 minerals and trace elements existing in the ocean water have been documented. The DOM was filtered by a micro-filter (removal of microorganisms) and an ultra-filter (removal of any macromolecules and viruses) before use.

by Laxmi Haigh