Themain reasons for taking daily dietary supplements are tomaintain good health, to improve homeostasis, and to create conditions\r\nfor reducing the risk of disease. Due to growing market demand, the search for effective, nontoxic, natural compounds with\r\nantioxidant and ergogenic properties has increasingly become amatter of interest. This paper describes how a specific combination\r\nof fungal supplements can help improve the performance of endurance athletes.We report the effects of a brief 3-month trial of two\r\nfungal supplements, Ganoderma lucidum and Cordyceps sinensis (3 capsules of O. sinensis and 2 capsules of G. lucidum per day), in\r\n7 healthy male volunteers, aged between 30 and 40 years, who are all amateur cyclists that participate in ââ?¬Å?Gran Fondoââ?¬Â cycling races.\r\nThis trial investigated the effects of fungal supplements on the level of physical fitness of the athletes by monitoring and comparing\r\nthe following biomarkers just before and after physical exertion: the testosterone/cortisol ratio in the saliva and oxidative stress\r\n(DPPH free radical scavenging activity). A decrease of more than 30% in the testosterone/cortisol ratio after race compared to\r\nbefore race was considered as a risk factor for nonfunctional overreaching (NFO) or the overtraining syndrome (OTS). The results\r\nshow that, after 3 months of supplementation, the testosterone/cortisol ratio changed in a statistically significant manner, thereby\r\nprotecting the athletes from NFO and OTS. Antioxidant activity was measured by quantifying the scavenging ability of the human\r\nserumon the synthetic free radical DPPH. After 3months of fungal supplementation, the data demonstrate an increased scavenger\r\ncapacity of free radicals in the athletesââ?¬â?¢ serum after the race, thereby protecting the athletes from oxidative stress.
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