Doing four weeks of regular cycling boosts your body's natural antioxidants, whether or not you take a 200 mg daily supplement called (–)-epicatechin. The exercise, not the pill, is what makes the difference.

45

Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

45

Community contributions welcome

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(–)-Epicatechin Supplementation Inhibits Aerobic Adaptations to Cycling Exercise in Humans

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2018

The study found that four weeks of cycling increased the body’s antioxidant levels, whether people took the supplement or not, which means the exercise—not the pill—was responsible.

Contradicting (0)

0

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

(–)-Epicatechin Supplementation Inhibits Aerobic Adaptations to Cycling Exercise in Humans

Score: 45

DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2018.00132

Similar Assertions

If you're a regular exerciser doing cycling, taking a supplement called (–)-epicatechin every day might actually stop you from getting fitter, while people taking a fake pill (placebo) do get fitter over 4 weeks.

45

0

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Taking 200 mg of a compound called (–)-epicatechin every day for a month doesn’t help boost short-burst cycling performance more than a placebo in regular exercisers.

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If you're a regular exerciser doing cycling, taking 200 mg of a compound called epicatechin every day might stop your muscles from building up a key energy-related protein that usually goes up with training—while people on a fake pill actually see an increase.

45

0

72%