Under the terms of the agreement, the players will also receive vitamin and mineral profiling to allow BetterYou to create a personalised supplementation plan for each player.
“We’re immensely proud to be supporting a local team who are at the top of their game,” said Andrew Thomas, founder and managing director of BetterYou.
“It’s fascinating to see how building our transdermal magnesium and oral vitamin spray products into their daily routine, can impact on the players athletic performance, recovery and even quality of sleep.”
Transdermally delivering magnesium to improve athletic performance is an approach that has yielded positive feedback from endurance and power-based sportsmen and women.
Magnesium appears to be absorbed through the skin five times faster than tablets. The mineral gets taken in through the pores and directly into the blood vessels and muscles.
This relatively new approach of transdermal delivery could represent a viable option for athletes who suffer digestive side effects with the oral tablet versions.
“By building a performance and recovery routine using our magnesium bath flakes, body sprays, gel and lotion, the players are able to easily absorb high amounts of this vital mineral through the skin without experiencing the laxative effect which is often associated with high dosage oral supplementation,” added Thomas.
‘Scientifically not yet proven form’
Recent studies appear to back up the effectiveness of transdermal magnesium. Writing in the journal Nutrients, a German research team highlighted the effectiveness of oral therapeutic or preventive magnesium supplementation.
“An adequate magnesium supply is important for healthy pregnancy and lactation, as well as in patients with diabetes and prediabetes,” they said.
“Magnesium supplementation is also useful when taking drugs such as diuretics and proton pump inhibitors. Based on the current studies it is extremely alarming if a successful treatment of magnesium fails by propagation of transdermal magnesium.”
Despite the positive opinion the team did point out that transdermal administration was “scientifically not yet proven form of magnesium application” and thus could not recommend its application.
As part of the deal, Barnsley-based BetterYou are also supplementing the players with vitamins D, K2 (MK-7) and B12, in an oral spray form.
This, the rugby team said, was for convenience negating the need to take tablets with food or water and overcoming absorption problems in the digestive system.
Very much like transdermal magnesium, research has shown that vitamin absorption via an oral spray is 2.5 times more effective than vitamin capsules.
World Club Challenge
“It’s important that the guys recover properly after games and training to ensure they can perform at their best,” said Dr Jason Davidson, head of athletic performance at Leeds Rhinos.
“BetterYou Magnesium is an essential part of the team’s recovery and performance preparations. It helps them relieve muscle tension, increases their strength, and supports energy production.
“Our partnership with BetterYou has allowed us to get an in-depth understanding of each players’ nutrient requirements, helping us to tailor their vitamin and mineral supplementation to ensure they are in peak condition.”
The first stop for BetterYou will be supporting the first team on their trip to the 2018 World Club Challenge in Melbourne next month.
They’ll be providing sleep packs to help with the players’ jet lag and to boost energy levels during the trip.
Sports and supplements
Partnerships between nutrition companies and sports teams have gained momentum over the last few years as the link between nutrient deficiencies and athletic performance becomes clearer.
Last year Pro Athlete Supplementation (PAS) sealed a sponsorship deal with the Wales Deaf Rugby Union, in which the UK-based sports nutrition firm would supply the Welsh national deaf rugby team with discounted supplements, energy drinks, water bottles and training vests.
PAS were also chosen as the official supplier of its ‘Real Deal’ protein bars, Excel Gels, its electrolyte drink with added BCAAs and Pro Zero Cola for the British and Irish Lions’ 2017 tour to New Zealand.
The nutrition specialists, based in Wales, are already suppliers to the Welsh Rugby Union, the Football Association of Wales and 2016's English Premier League Champions Leicester City football club.
The English Premier league has seen its fair share of deals with Everton football club renewing its partnership with The Protein Works (TPW), who agreed to supply personalised nutritional bars and protein shakes for the 2017/18 season.
Not to be out done London-based Tottenham Hotspur teamed up with Smartfish to supply high-dose omega-3 products for player recovery back in 2016.
The Norwegian firm’s ‘Recharge’ juice drinks are formulated at levels between 600 and 2000 mg of combined DHA and EPA marine-sourced omega-3s along with with Arla-supplied protein, amino acids, vitamin D and carbohydrates.