Air Force tests protein pilots, commandos

A friend who was a para rescue in the Air Force pointed this out to me. Link as usual is at the bottom of the post.

Air Force tests protein for pilots, commandos
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By Daniel Lovering, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH ? Air Force Col. Breck Lebegue was browsing the commissary shelves at a U.S. air base in Kyrgyzstan three years ago when he spotted a product he thought could have combat potential: muscle-building protein powder.
The powder, packaged in large bottles and designed to be mixed into drinks, was already popular among military recruits deployed to the Central Asian nation, a staging area for the conflict in nearby Afghanistan.

But the Air Force had no guidelines for its use, according to Lebegue, now chief of aerospace medicine at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Such supplements, he believed, might prove as fortifying for battle-weary pilots and commandos as they were thought to be for athletes.

"So I proposed a research project that would be very small and narrow to identify a particular substance" that might strengthen and invigorate troops hiking at high elevations while weighed down by heavy packs, or pilots flying long missions, he said.

Lebegue settled on whey protein, a product derived from cow's milk during the cheese-making process and made by Pittsburgh-based GNC Corp., which has 105 stores at U.S. military bases.

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He began the study at Brooks City-Base in San Antonio, Texas, asking volunteers to stay awake overnight and perform physical tests ? running, push-ups, crunches, bench presses ? similar to those required of special forces personnel.

GNC provided the powder, which includes the amino acid leucine, and helped design the study, but had no role in the research.

The initial study faltered because of a lack of volunteers, and Lebegue eventually transferred from the base. But a fresh study was launched recently, according to Maj. Thomas Walker, who is currently leading the project.

Volunteers are given physical examinations before undergoing physical and cognitive tests, Walker said. Researchers study body composition and draw blood to determine how the supplement helps build muscle, he said.

Besides the value of supplemental protein in muscle growth, researchers think amino acids such as leucine may decrease the amount of the chemical seratonin in a person's central nervous system, theoretically reducing fatigue, Walker said.

The participants are given the protein powder or a placebo over a period of eight weeks. About four volunteers are tested weekly, and their diet and exercise patterns are monitored after they begin taking the protein powder. They are checked after four weeks and given a second battery of tests after eight weeks, he said.

Researchers expect to study between 70 and 80 people between the ages of 19 and 44 by the end of the year and issue a report early next year, he said. Depending on the results, Walker said he hopes to publish the findings in a peer-reviewed journal. The volunteers so far have come from the ranks of the military, though civilians are permitted to join the study.

"We're pretty confident we'll see a difference in the protein group and the placebo group," he said. "We're also hoping to see a cognitive difference as well."

The study comes as the military increasingly emphasizes so-called human performance optimization through better physical training regimens, acclimatization techniques and nutritional and pharmacological supplements, according to Walker.

"We certainly want our pilots to be physically strong as well as cognitive," he said, adding that the Air Force's relatively little known ground troops also could gain from the supplement. "If we can make them physically stronger, everyone benefits."

The Air Force's special operations personnel ? including commandos known as pararescuemen and combat controllers ? were foremost in the minds of scientists who planned the protein study.

Those troops, Walker said, may be required to parachute into enemy territory in Afghanistan and take over an airfield before directing bombers and fighters into the area, "even though they haven't slept in 48 hours."

"The physical and mental stress on those guys is the biggest reason we're searching for stuff that can help them," he said.

Since the start of the war on terror, demand for special forces ? which was already high ? "has gone through the roof," he said. The protein study is part of a larger push to reduce the attrition rate of candidates training for the elite units.

"It's very hard to become one of those guys," he said. "If we get more guys through the pipeline without decreasing the standards, of course, then we have more people to do that job, which is important."

The powder is among several nutritional supplements the Air Force has tested or plans to test. It recently studied the herb Rhodiola rosea, also known as roseroot, and is due to evaluate the supplement citrulline malate.

The Air Force isn't the only branch of the military experimenting with protein supplements. The Army, which has been developing nutritionally rich foods for years, has considered adding more protein to its troops' diet.

Soldiers already may carry nutritional products such as HooAH! Energy Bars, a drink known as ERGO ? Energy Rich, Glucose Optimized Drink ? or caffeine-packed "Stay Alert" chewing gum.

The Army's Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, Mass., has been evaluating drinks rich in carbohydrates and protein, similar to those used by athletes.

"We're looking at adding more protein through these drinks, and we're trying to decide what type of protein to put in them," said Scott Montain, a research physiologist at the facility. "It appears they're better able to maintain their muscle mass."

Marion Nestle, a nutrition expert and professor at New York University, said there is some evidence that "having a little bit of extra protein is helpful" for elite athletes and "people working really, really hard."

But most American diets, she said, have twice the amount of proteins needed by people. At high elevations, however, people lose their sense of thirst and hunger and "you just can't get in enough calories and water," Nestle said.

"Under those circumstances, and those circumstances only, it's worth a try," she said. People taking such supplements at sea level will merely say they feel better, demonstrating the placebo effect, according to Nestle.

Leaders of the Air Force study, who are not affiliated with the protein powder's manufacturer, say they would make recommendations about broader use of the supplement within their ranks if it proves beneficial.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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