Recently, the press came up with the sensational story of the spectacular increase of sports performance through the use of admitted ketones.

Immediately the question raised if this could also be meaningful for use in sports performance of pigeon racing?

Here’s my analysis:

Ketones are remarkably efficient supplements for top athletes in case of firm performance. (up to 15% more power!) It is all about BHB (beta-Hydroxybutyrate) a body’s energetic emergency fuel, especially for the brain (according to the list of banned substances no doping!), which the body produces from fats as a result of extreme performance and/or fasting when carbs (glycogen) are entirely consumed.

The controversial product is called HVMN and is only available in the USA.

The producer has patented this substance very cleverly and thus owns the exclusive distribution.

However, parallel sales channels towards Europe would exist. https://hvmn.com/blog/exogenous-ketones/beta-hydroxybutyrate-or-bhb-all-you-need-to-know

In practice, they are suitable for very heavy sports (cyclists) and should ideally be combined with special (starvation) diets. In time, their use “might” even have all kinds of favourable properties, but Flemish professors doubt this.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5902005/

We are asking ourselves whether the attitude of the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) is not ambiguous in this respect?
Although it concerns a body’s nutrient created in extreme cases.
What is the difference with the banned blood doping, where one injects its blood cells with its enriched blood (e.g. when staying at extreme heights)??

In the scientific literature, we have not found any fundamental research regarding the release of ketones in exhaustion scenarios of birds and certainly not about possible effects of ketones on sports performance of pigeons.

Ketones take effect in the human body 20 minutes after intake and need to be administered three times a day as they are consumed quickly. If we assume that they work in pigeons, this can only be done outside the races, and they can contribute little to a performance that takes place several hours to days after the intake.

What is more, why would 15% extra energy from fat-purified ketones (a type of carbohydrate) still benefit when the pigeon can extract 342% more power from fats than from carbohydrates, without having to be in extreme hunger mode? (See fig. 2 below)

The pigeon complements its energy battery, in a comfortable and unseen way in nature, with ATP (adenosine triphosphate). This occurs exceptionally efficiently via sugar metabolism, lipid metabolism and protein metabolism. Pigeons have two types of muscles, namely the red ones for very prolonged action and white ones for short and fast efforts.

Complimentary they extract in an extremely fast way ATP from the creatine phosphate present in the white muscles for the reflexes (however, maximum up to 10 seconds: takeoff, landing, guiding, etc.).

The efficiency of their entire mobility machine in the field of ATP-production varies according to whether there is much (aerobic) or little (anaerobic) oxygen available.

The pigeon can also convert all these energy sources (whose value on the packaging is usually expressed in calories) very smoothly at all times to send the final product, ATP, to its muscle battery.

Finally, let’s not forget that the ketones, like most butyrate derivatives, have a horrible taste…

Conclusion
Comed keeps a close eye on these mechanisms.
Don’t get carried away in all sorts of hypes.
Like no other company in the pigeon sector, Comed is permanently committed to the health of the pigeons and optimizing their performance.

You administer Comed products during the season:

1. Because of their beneficial effect on immunity and resistance and thus play a role in preventing disease due to increased risks inherent to the game:

These risks are:

-The pressure for basketing,
-The stress due to the widowhood,
-The stress caused by the natural set,
-Enriched food, but without which one cannot compete for the prices!

This includes the extra proteins and extra calcium both resulting from the breeding as well as from the races.

1. For the sake of releasing the force to deliver performance based on:

-The urge (Grit) and
-The available energy.

The Comed products developed based on these criteria are Compound, Myobol, Load Caps and Load Pull, Tempo 60, Roni, Hemoglobal, Stopmite, Lysocur Forte.

They influence directly or indirectly these biochemical and physiological processes.

This is also the reason why users of Comed products also remark effect after a few days.

Comedol and Curol: Suppliers of ATP, especially for the red muscles.

Load Caps or Load Pull: Extra ATP for the larger distances.

Masses of carbohydrates (starch) are present In the cereals; thus, they do not have to be added additionally.

Myobol for massive flights to combine with Hydracom Recup and -Amino to ensure good muscle-growth.

Compound against fatigue (Krebs cycle).

Tempo 60 desire to fly, grit.

Roni neutralization of the loss of the protective acid function caused by enriched nutrition.

Hemoglobal contains iron for the production of haemoglobin responsible for the oxygen uptake.

Stopmite against parasites that cause anaemia, which reduces oxygen uptake.

Also, take advantage of the race packages at sale now.

Herman Dillen is meanwhile 94 years old and each month, he invariably drives from Lanaken to Hoeselt for a cup of coffee and a chat about “the old days”.

I could still crawl under the kitchen table, when Herman and his colleague Thomas Peeters (father of veterinarian Norbert) from As, both representatives of Versele, came to visit us because my dad Dries Jorissen was one of the first dealers in Limburg for the fodder of the renowned company from Deinze.

After my graduation as a pharmacist, he occasionally took me to his good friends in Germany, where he had marketed the pigeon fodder for Versele.

Herman felt like a fish in the water in Germany and he was very much appreciated.

He had (and still has) a clear and powerful voice and the business conversations usually ended up with a glass of “Lager” where the friendship was celebrated many times with loud German Folk songs …

After the reunification of Germany, the first pigeon fair took place in Kassel and we also drove in that direction.

I was immediately impressed by the enormous interests that were at stake in the International Pigeon sport.

Discussion topics were e.g. the feed, the lofts, transportation, clocks, etc… and some great Belgian brands of pigeon products (Fabry, Colombine, De Reiger Colman…).

In addition, I became acquainted with the emerging phenomenon of opportunistic herbal quacks, who sold stories to the good-faith fanciers, the one even more doubtful than the other.

There was/will be benefited from the ignorant lover with a lack of knowledge of things and his illusionary urge to always win.

Comed was then just present on the Belgian market with products such as “Edele olie” (Precious oil), Tempo 60 and Cometose…

The following year the company launched itself on the German market in the belief that our expertise and scientific basis could make up for a lot.

And then the ball started rolling…

Herman was also the founder of the idea to get a pigeon village off the ground in Belgium, where fanciers from all over the world could buy a house with a loft, to participate in the Belgian competition.

Together with the late Pros Roosen, we prospected many possible locations (even Bokrijk was a possibility) for our ambitious plan of 100 of such houses.

Finally, it was not a pigeon village but the World Pigeon Center (opened in 1999 together with Jos Thoné) a one loft race with the challenge, participation in the entire Belgian league…

Unfortunately, this project did not come off the ground, as some of the essential issues were overlooked. We were not yet sufficiently familiar with the given.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose…

Meanwhile, son Philippe successfully gave the WPC a new destination as Office centre, Congress and banquet hall.

Furthermore, within a few months, it will form a unit together with the adjacent building that COMED is furnishing as new production hall.

Our production capacity requires a thorough adjustment of the original space in the buildings, especially in the height.

In its research history, Comed developed many different products and in its 46th anniversary continues to constantly refine and modify its range of products. Each for their own target group.

We believe that this is a strong and stable basis for the future of our company.

The advantage is that through our range we have an arsenal of possibilities, to tackle almost every health problem that the fanciers have to deal with, adequately, naturally and safely, without the use of antibiotics.

Setting up a helpdesk for our customers is the next goal to give expert and quick advice or to respond questions.

Under the influence of European regulations, the Government makes a clear difference between nutrition (supplements) and medicines for pigeons.

They don’t want medical properties to be attributed to nutritional supplements.

Even though certain nutritional supplements are undeniably preventive and curative against most dreaded pathogens (coccidiosis, E. coli, Salmonella, herpes, etc.), however, the Government prohibits any mention of this on labelling or advertising…

The FASFC has therefore issued an “indicative” list of words as being allowed to explain the functioning of foodstuffs without therefore being a strict directive.

Names of organs may not be used, although the word “bowel Conditioner” (which Comed introduces on the market) is not a problem.

The Pigeon sport is an outstanding environment for bacteria, fungi and viruses, for which medicines are developed and one forgets the alternative solutions that Mother Nature can also provide.

From its inception, Comed has focused on this “grey zone” to specialise in a positive and serious way in this kind of complex natural methods.

In fact, these resources are therefore also called “nutraceuticals“, which are foods that sometimes have clear curative potential.

It is not a simple discipline, but it does offer an opportunity to tackle the over-consumption of antibiotics.

A team of four pharmacists is on hand to provide you expert advice on this form of treatment, namely health through the diet.

A care system with Comed products does not have to be complicated at all…

You can start with 2 products and expand them at your own insight and budget.

Don’t hesitate to contact us or give us a personal visit.

The coffee is ready…