DSM Team Up in Nutrition With Dutch Olympic Team

08/08/07 One year before the Olympics in China, DSM and the Dutch Olympic Committee/Dutch Sports Federation (NOC*NSF) are presenting two innovations in the field of sports nutrition. PeptoPro powder and a special grade of Lafti for sportspeople will be made available to the Dutch Olympic team in the run-up to and during the Olympics. The Lafti grade has even been developed exclusively for the Dutch athletes. The two products are the first in a series of diverse innovations that DSM is developing for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 in close collaboration with the Dutch athletes and NOC*NSF. These innovations are part of the Olympic Innovation Program, about which DSM and NOC*NSF will be communicating on several occasions in the run-up to the Olympics.

The latest product that DSM has been developing in collaboration with NOC*NSF is a special grade of Lafti probiotics for sportspeople. The Lafti probiotics range developed by DSM uniquely combines several lactic acid bacterial strains whose probiotic properties have been scientifically proven. This innovation should help the Olympic athletes to boost their natural resistance and maintain a well-balanced intestinal flora. The innovation is a response to concrete requests from Dutch athletes. Top athletes are often prone to develop intestinal complaints and a weakened immune system, particularly in extreme weather conditions such as in China. These physical complaints can have an adverse effect on their performance.

Together with NOC*NSF DSM has started a test program for Olympic athletes who are suffering or have suffered from complaints relating to their intestinal tract or their immune system. DSM is currently providing this select group of athletes with Lafti probiotics. The initial responses are positive. Over the next few months it will be decided to which athletes Lafti will be made available in the run-up to and during the Olympics in China.

PeptoPro powder is the latest form of PeptoPro, a casein hydrolysate (a protein cut into fragments) that ensures a better endurance and a quick recovery after an intense training effort. Following the successful launch of the PeptoPro drink during the Athens Olympics in 2004, DSM has worked hard to further improve the product. These efforts have resulted in the present powder form with a strongly improved stability. In addition, the product’s taste (which is often an issue in casein hydrolysates) has been improved further. Athletes can use the powder to prepare the sports drink at the place and time at which they need it. Many of them had expressed this wish. The powder is the solution to the problems associated with the transport of ready-made packs of PeptoPro that athletes and their support staff used to have. Moreover, cold storage (which, in the case of the liquid product form, would be an absolute requirement during the summer period in China) is no longer necessary.

PeptoPro has two functions; in the first place, it promotes the transport of sugars into muscle tissue, where they are converted into glycogen, which is an important energy store for the muscles. Secondly, it stimulates the synthesis of muscle protein after heavy exercise. Rens Blom, pole-vault world champion: ‘By using PeptoPro I have been able to intensify my training program. My muscles recover more quickly and my energy level during the day is a lot higher. In this way PeptoPro was a very big help to me in winning the world championship, and it is now helping me in the run-up to the Olympics. And this PeptoPro powder is a very welcome improvement.’

Tjeerd de Vries, sports physiologist for NOC*NSF, confirms that it is absolutely essential for athletes to use the right sports nutrition during the Olympics in China: ‘Dehydration can cause an athlete to fail, destroying in one day what has been built up through years of training.’ Wellbalanced nutrition is therefore a very important part of an athlete’s preparations for the event. ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail’, says Tjeerd. The conditions in Beijing will be very tough – apart from the hot conditions that are to be expected, the high humidity will be a major challenge to the athletes. As one of the Dutch athletes said during a recent preparatory training period in China: ‘It’s like cycling through syrup.’

Following this official kick-off to the ‘Road to Beijing’ program, DSM and NOC*NSF will jointly be presenting further innovations in the field of nutrition and materials on several occasions during the pre-Olympic year.