The Study
(–)-Epicatechin Supplementation Inhibits Aerobic Adaptations to Cycling Exercise in Humans
This study watched two groups of people who did the same bike training for a month — one took a supplement and one took a fake pill. It can show if the supplement group changed differently than the other group, but it can't prove the supplement caused those differences because we don’t know for sure how people were picked for each group.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested if a chemical from dark chocolate helps people get fitter when they bike for 4 weeks.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 545 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though the supplement came from chocolate and sounded healthy, it actually blocked key fitness improvements from exercise.
- 2The chocolate chemical (–)-epicatechin (200 mg/day) did not help.
- 3People taking it did not improve their oxygen use (VO2) or muscle energy factories (SDH), while those on placebo did.
- 4Both groups got better at short bursts of power.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Frontiers in Nutrition
Year
2018
Authors
Neil A. Schwarz, Zachary J. Blahnik, Srihari Prahadeeswaran, Sarah K. McKinley-Barnard, S. Holden, Andy Waldhelm
Related Content
Claims (5)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Taking a supplement called epicatechin while doing four weeks of cycling doesn’t seem to change a muscle protein that controls growth — at least in regular gym-goers.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.