Study design and supplementation protocol
allergies
ADVERSE EVENTS, ALLERGIES
The randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, counterbalanced crossover design of the study consisted of five visits (see Study design: visits.Following a screening visit to determine eligibility, participants completed a baseline familiarization session and were subsequently stratified by sex and randomized into either of the two groups: UPF for S1 and PL for S2 (UPF/PL) or PL for S1 and UPF for S2 (PL/UPF). Participants were expected to consume one capsule in the morning and one capsule in the evening with food during supplementation periods. If a dose was accidentally missed, participants were instructed “to consume the missed dose as soon as possible” or “to consume two doses at their next regularly scheduled dosing.” Participants consumed their first dose in front of a lab research member and were monitored for 15 min for any potential adverse events (i.e. allergies), and they consumed their final dose the mornings of their testing sessions (T1/T2) to prevent any premature washout of either supplement prior to the testing sessions.The 2-week supplementation period was followed by the HIE testing session (T1). After the first HIE testing session, a 1-week washout phase occurred where no supplement was consumed. Throughout the interim and washout periods, participants were instructed to not alter physical activity levels or diet, and daily supplement consumption was monitored via the online electronic data collection software Medrio (San Francisco, CA, USA). After this, participants attended a crossover visit to receive the first capsule of the second supplement (S2). This was followed by 2 weeks of S2 supplementation that concluded with the second HIE testing session (T2). There was ±1 day allowed for each testing phase to accommodate participant schedules. In addition to each study visit, participants were expected to complete a daily Supplement and Health Diary (SHD) that collected routine times of supplement consumption and monitored any supplement or health changes throughout the duration of the study. SHDs were reviewed daily for completion (see Supplementation flow.