Triathlon trend

Citation

(2009), "Triathlon trend", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 39 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2009.01739aab.030

Triathlon trend

Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 39, Issue 1

Anyone who has seen the photos of Jennifer Lopez taking part in a exhausting triathlon just seven months after the birth of her twins Max and Emme cannot fail to be impressed.

Triathlon is reportedly one of today’s fastest-growing sports. The first triathlon event was held in the US in 1974. Then in 2000 it became an official Olympic sport at the Sydney games. Today, thousands of people take part in triathlons all over the world. But in the long-term events like the triathlon can put athletes at greater risk of developing osteoarthritis, a disease caused by wear and tear of the joints.

Leading sportspeople, including triathlon champions Dave Scott, who has won the Iron Man world triathlon championship no less than six times, and Chrissie Wellington, the first British athlete to win the Iron Man world triathlon championship in Hawaii, 2007, protect their joints against the damage all that training and competing causes by taking a natural supplement containing glucosamine, an amino sugar made naturally in the body from glucose, glucosamine makes up 50 per cent of the lubricant found within the synovial fluid the fluid that surrounds your joints so it is involved in protecting against joint wear and tear. It helps your body make collagen and maintain healthy connective tissues, all of which is needed for rebuilding and repairing cartilage. Indeed, studies show that glucosamine may slow the progress of osteoarthritis as well as build new cartilage.