Goal! English football giant backs high-dose omega-3 for recovery
There are three ‘Recharge’ juice drinks formulated at levels between 600 and 2000 mg of combined DHA and EPA marine-sourced omega-3s along with with Arla-supplied protein, amino acids, vitamin D and carbohydrates depending on the product.
Claims vary for each product but are closely matched to approved EU health claims for the various nutrients – eg using claims approved for protein and recovery and omega-3s for inflammation and cognitive protection.
The range - launched in late 2014 - is available exclusively via the Smartfish website in varying packages including €131 for a box containing 18 drinks of each type (€2.42 per drink).
Shabaaz Mughal, head of Medical and Sports Science a Tottenham Hotspur, said: “Recovery is just as important as any training session on the pitch and Smartfish will provide us with the best products to do that.”
The 2-season deal adds to existing alliances with Lisbon football club Benfica, five other Scandinavian football clubs, as well as Nordic skiing, speed skating and cross country national teams in Norway.
A study among football players with endurance and muscle soreness endpoints has been completed with Recharge products, presented at conference and sent for peer review publication by researchers at the University of Stirling in Scotland.
Smartfish co-founder Henrik Mathisen told us Recharge had been used by several players at the recent European football championships in France and that the firm would work with Tottenham’s performance leaders.
“There will be a tight cooperation with the team of nutritionists and physical trainers based on the training ground at Enfield, where Tottenham trains,” he said. “Smarfish is a development company and working in a close relationship with sports scientists at this level is of high value to us.”
Formulation breakdown
Tottenham - 3rd in the EPL last season - will use three Smartfish Recharge 200 ml juice-based products including Recharge Lipid+ with 1000 mg of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and 1000 mg of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) plus 5 g of Arla-supplied whey protein isolate (WPI) and 14 g of carbohydrate.
There is also an ‘omega-3’ product with 300 mg of EPA and 300 mg of DHA plus 5 micrograms (5 μg) of vitamin D, 3.5 g of WPI and 20.5 g of carbohydrate.
A ‘high protein’ version has 550 mg of each DHA and EPA, 15 g of WPI, 2 g of the amino acid leucine, 3 μg of vitamin D and 14 g of carbohydrates.
One of the products – ‘High Protein’ – makes the claim: “Smartfish Recharge High Protein is suitable for use after training or competition for improving the muscle recovery. People who train hard need more DHA and EPA fatty acids.”
“The whey protein and DHA/EPA fatty acids in Smartfish work in synergy and clinical studies suggests that the proteins have better effect on muscles in Smartfish with the DHA EPA than taken alone.”
The on-pack claim is: "For improved recovery after intense exercise."
For Recharge ‘Lipid+’ the claim is: “DHA and EPA may be beneficial for balancing inflammation conditions in the body.”
It also states EPA and DHA are recommended by bodies like the US National Hockey League (NHL) to reduce damage in the case of cranial damage.
The lower-dose ‘Recharge Omega 3’ is recommended for “younger athletes”.
The full range is registered with the batch-tested QC programme Informed Sport, owned by LGC.
Smartfish has a medical division with four omega-3 products targeting cachexia (Remune); malnutrition and undernutrition (Resolve and Nutrifriend 600 Fiber); cancer, immune and inflammatory diseases (Nutrifriend 1100).
Smartfish is one of the highest dose omega-3 products in the world and is achieved using emulsification technologies the company has been refining for about 10 years.
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A new NutraIngredients and European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) congress held in Frankfurt on November 28 the day before Health Ingredients Europe will place your business front and centre of the playing field be it in supplements, herbals, powders, mixes, drinks, bars or gels.
More information here.
