Friday, September 30, 2011

Forskolin for Fat Loss by Jerry Brainum

   Supplements purported to promote fat loss are among the most popular sold today. The biggest-selling over-the-counter fat-loss supplements in recent years contained ephedra or ephedrine combined with caffeine. Ephedrine and caffeine promoted the release of catecholamines, such as norepinephrine, which help convert fat calories into heat. Ephedrine-based supplements also promoted thyroid hormone activity while helping to maintain lean mass. When used properly, ephedrine supplements worked well for most people, with a low incidence of side effects.

  Activating catecholamines, however, also stimulated the heart and slightly raised blood pressure. In a person not afflicted with cardiovascular disease, the changes were minor and produced no adverse effects. The most common side effect was similar to that of drinking a few cups of coffee. Prominent warnings on the labels of every bottle warned that the supplements were contraindicated for those with certain medical conditions, especially any cardiovascular problem.

  Despite the warnings, some people either overdosed on the substance or should not have taken ephedrine supplements in the first place. A few suffered side effects, though in many cases the cause-and-effect relationship between ephedrine use and the onset of symptoms was never definitively proved. That didn’t stop avaricious lawyers from filing countless lawsuits against companies selling ephedrine.

  The Food and Drug Administration eventually banned the sale of ephedrine in April 2004. A year later, however, a federal judge said that the ban had a weak scientific foundation and ruled against it. Still, don’t expect ephedrine or ephedra to return to the market. The legal sharks are still swimming, and the insurance rates for a company selling ephedrine would be enormous.

  Since ephedrine and ephedra were removed from the market, other substances have been touted for their alleged fat-loss-promoting effects. Some of them, such as green tea, Garcinia cambogia and yohimbe, offer legitimate fat-loss effects under certain conditions. Other natural substances, however, have been overlooked or perhaps not recognized for their fat-loss properties.

  One is forskolin, which is found naturally in a plant called coleus. The coleus, which grows in Nepal, India and Thailand—and on windowsills all over the United States—has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine to treat various ills, such as skin rashes, asthma, bronchitis and insomnia. The forskolin in the plant can activate cyclic AMP, which then initiates a cascade of biochemical events that result in everything from fat release to hormone release.

  Forskolin differs from ephedrine in that it doesn’t interact with beta-receptors in fat cells, so it has none of the stimulation effect associated with ephedrine. In effect, forskolin is a biochemical shortcut as far as fat release is concerned.

  Several studies have shown significant fat-loss effects with human subjects who took a forskolin-based supplement. Unfortunately, they were sponsored by the company that holds the forskolin use patent, Sabina Corporation. While such sponsorship may not negate the results of the studies, it does engender a degree of skepticism, since Sabina has much to gain financially from them.

  Some critics have noted that the mechanism through which forskolin works, activating cyclic AMP, can have far-reaching effects throughout the body. But toxicity studies have shown no serious side effects or any adverse changes in cardiovascular function. If anything, forskolin appears to offer beneficial effects by lowering blood pressure and increasing beneficial high-density lipoprotein, or HDL.

  The most recent study found an additional bonus.1 Thirty subjects were divided into a forskolin group and a placebo group. The study lasted 12 weeks. Those in the first group took a supplement containing 250 milligrams of 10 percent forskolin extract twice daily.

  Forskolin produced a significant improvement in fat loss compared to the placebo. But those in the forskolin group also showed a significant increase in levels of free testosterone, the active form of the hormone. Total T levels remained unchanged, but the elevated free-testosterone levels may be a bonus of using forskolin.

  Another possible ingredient for an effective OTC fat-loss supplement may be raspberry ketones, which are the compounds that impart the characteristic fruity odor and that new research shows exert a potent fat-loss effect.2 Raspberry ketones are already used as a fragrance in cosmetics and as a food flavoring agent, but scientists found that they structurally resemble capsaicin (from red peppers) and synephrine, found in the Chinese bitter orange.


  Both capsaicin and synephrine have thermogenic effects due to their stimulation of norepinephrine release. Synephrine is a major ingredient in many current fat-loss supplements and is touted as the replacement for ephedrine. Since raspberry ketones look a lot like those other compounds, scientists tested the fat-loss effects of raspberry ketone extract in animals.

  The experiments clearly showed that raspberry ketones prevented the onset of obesity in mice even when the animals were on a high-fat diet. Using a higher percentage of raspberry ketones (5 percent) prevented the increase in blood triglyceride, or fat, that occurs after you eat a high-fat meal. Raspberry ketones also prevented fat synthesis when rats were overfed fructose, a simple sugar linked to the current obesity epidemic. They appear to help prevent fat deposition—at least in rodents.

  Raspberry ketones differ from synephrine in that they enhance norepinephrine-induced fat loss not by activating hormone-sensitive lipase but by promoting the relocation of HSL from the cytosol of cells directly to fat deposits. They also enhance brown-adipose-tissue thermogenesis, though that is far more active in rodents than it is in humans.

  Another new study found that an ingredient in licorice, glycyrrhetinic acid, fosters the loss of subcutaneous fat, or fat just under the skin, when applied directly to the skin in a topical cream form.3 Glycyrrhetinic acid appears to work by inhibiting an enzyme that increases cortisol levels in bodyfat; increased cortisol promotes fat deposition. Another version of the same enzyme is promoted by glycyrrhetinic acid in other parts of the body, increasing cortisol levels and leading to a retention of sodium and a loss of potassium, which can result in rapid high blood pressure.

  The other form of the enzyme doesn’t exist in fat, however, and applying glycyrrhetinic acid as a cream to fat can block the effects of the enzyme that does, thus preventing cortisol and fat buildup. Blocking the enzyme also leads to localized fat loss, as the study showed. Eighteen women ages 20 to 33 were assigned to a group that used a glycyrrhetinic acid cream of 2.5 percent (80 milligrams) or to a group that used a placebo cream. Both groups rubbed the creams on one thigh for a month.

  At the end of the month measurements showed that the thighs of the women who’d used the active cream had lost subcutaneous fat. Only the top, or superficial, layer of fat was affected, however. That was good in a way, since it pointed to a lack of absorption into the internal organ system. The mineralocorticoid receptors that are linked to potassium loss and sodium retention don’t exist in subcutaneous fat, so no adverse effects occurred.

  None of the female subjects in this study were fat. The researchers think that the cream would produce more dramatic effects in those with heavier fat deposits. Obese people produce more of the cortisol-producing enzyme, which helps maintain and increase fat deposits.

  Licorice itself also produces estrogenlike and antiestrogen effects in different tissues of the body. But they’re from components of licorice that weren’t in the cream used in the study. Licorice blocks androgen synthesis at the level of the adrenal glands, which is more significant to women than men. But that enzyme doesn’t exist in fat either, which makes it a nonissue with the glycyrrhetinic acid cream.

  The authors suggest that glycyrrhetinic acid creams may be useful for people who want to reduce excessive fat in a specific location, such as the thighs or abdomen. The cream also offers some obvious bodybuilding benefits for those who experience difficulty in removing fat in isolated areas, such as the thighs and lower abs. You’d still need to diet and exercise to burn the deeper-lying, or visceral, fat deposits, but a glycyrrhetinic acid–based cream might be useful for precontest purposes.

Clenbuterol: Dangerous


Even at Low Doses


  Clenbuterol is a beta-2 adrenergic agonist, which means that it interacts with adrenergic beta-2 receptors. In plain English, clenbuterol mimics the effects of catecholamines, such as epinephrine and norepinephrine. Those hormones dilate bronchial tubes. Clenbuterol also dilates them, explaining its primary use to treat asthma.

  Although clenbuterol is available in other countries, such as Mexico, under various trade names, it was never approved for use in the United States and isn’t likely to be in the future. The lack of interest by American drug companies is related to clenbuterol’s long half life in the body. Unlike other beta-2 agonists used to treat asthma, which degrade in about six hours, clenbuterol takes nearly two days to fully degrade. That considerably increases the chances of side effects. What’s more, clenbuterol isn’t superior to other available drugs for treating asthma.

  Bodybuilders and other athletes became interested in clenbuterol after research showed that it promotes a gain in muscle mass and a loss of bodyfat in various animals. In their enthusiasm over those findings, however, most athletes and “drug gurus” failed to read the small print: The animals were given doses that would kill a human.

  Despite that considerable problem, clenbuterol quickly gained a reputation as a muscle-building fat-loss drug. Users soon realized that its active life could be measured in just a few weeks. The beta-2 receptors that clen interacts with were extremely sensitive and shut down after about a month. When that happened, clen did little or nothing.

  As the research continued, some disturbing facts emerged. Case reports pointed to clen as being the probable cause of such adverse effects as tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), heart attack and even kidney failure in athletes who abused it. Clen may have played a major role in the death of a popular pro bodybuilder a few years ago. That bodybuilder, who died from heart failure, was known to have injected large doses.

  Other animal studies showed that clen and aerobic exercise were a bad combination, since clen seemed to interfere with aerobic endurance. Some animals had sudden heart failure when given clen and then forced to exercise. Autopsies of the animals found an abundance of collagen in their hearts, pointing to production of scar tissue, which in the heart is a signal of failure.

  While much of the damage clenbuterol causes is ascribed to using large doses, a recent study that used rats as subjects found that even in low doses it promotes cellular death in both the heart and slow-twitch muscles.4 The implication is that there’s no such thing as a safe dose. Since the drug doesn’t promote muscle size increase in people and works only short-term for fat loss, you can safely conclude that there’s no rational health reason for any athlete to use it.

References

1 Godard, M.P., et al. (2005). Body composition and hormonal adaptations associated with forskolin consumption in overweight and obese males. Med Sci Sports Exer. 37:S39.

2 Morimoto, C., et al. (2005). Anti-obese action of raspberry ketone. Life Sci. 77:194-204.

3 Armanini, D., et al. (2005) Glycyrrhetinic acid, the active principle of licorice, can reduce the thickness of subcutaneous thigh fat through topical application. Steroids. (2005). 70:538-42.

4 Burniston, J., et al. (2005). B-2 adrenergic receptor stimulation in vivo induces apoptosis in the rat heart and soleus muscle. J App Physio. 98:1379-86.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.

 


Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

Saturday, September 24, 2011

A cure for cellulite? by Jerry Brainum

Cellulite remains a hot topic of controversy among those who research body fat.Some say that cellulite is just ordinary fat deposits that peek through connective tissue. Others, noting that men rarely get cellulite, say that it's a women's distinct combination of anatomy and hormones that makes them fall prey to cellulite. Indeed, 80 to 90 percent of all women will eventually show the usual "orange peel" fat pattern, especially on their thighs and buttocks. As it worsens, the orange peel appearance may give way to a "cottage cheese" appearance. This progression usually is associated with age and an increase in local fat deposits,combined with a weakening of the connective tissue that keeps the fat in place.
      Cellulite is more common in women because of the structure of the connective tissue that holds fat in place.While the connective tissue under men's skin is in a criss-cross pattern similar to a net, in women, the pattern is vertical, which permits the underlying fat to bulge. That means cellulite.Although greater levels of body fat predispose women to having cellulite, it can also occur in thinner women. This is because the body fat in the upper thighs and buttocks has a preponderance of alpha adrenergic receptors on the fat cells. This has the effect of causing local fat cells to retain fat, rather then readily release it. Most women can attest that the fat in the upper thighs and butt is usually the hardest to get rid of. But this stubborn fat also predisposes to cellulite formation, depending on such factors as how thin a woman's skin is in this area, and also the strength of the connective tissue that overlies that fat.Women have thinner connective tissue overlying fat deposits than men, which makes them more prone to cellulite, even relatively thin women.The higher estrogen in women's bodies are also tends to increase local fat deposits under the skin. This makes women's skin softer than men's, but also makes the women more prone to getting cellulite. It's not just estrogen, either that's the problem. other hormones also play a role, including thyroid hormone. An excess in norepinephrine has also been implicated in cellulite onset, since this hormone tends to stimulate alpha adrenergic fat cell receptors when in excess.This is something for women to consider if they overdose on many of the "fat burner" supplements, most of which work by promoting norepinephrine release.
       Cellulite shows up more in women past 40 because of a loss of flexibility of the connective tissue that holds fat in place. When that happens, the fat begins to bulge through the connective tissue.The connective tissue actually tightens, producing the dimpled skin appearance.Thinner women will get cellulite because of thinner overlying skin coupled with unusually tight connective tissue.If the connective tissue remains flexible, however, cellulite won't occur, even with greater amounts of fat in the area.
        The desire of women to lose cellulite has engendered a huge industry of various nostrums touted to cause the disappearance of the dreaded orange peel appearance.In truth, however, these so-called cures provide a maximum of 25-50% temporary improvement in the appearance of cellulite. Most work by causing a local irritation in the skin that leads to a short-term smoothing out of cellulite because of skin swelling. If you stop using the creams, the cellulite returns.  Liposuction would appear to be the ideal solution for treating cellulite, but in fact makes the condition worse. While liposuction removes local fat deposits, it does nothing to relieve the problems of connective tissue and localized fluid retention that play major roles in cellulite onset. So with the fat removed by liposuction, the dimples become even more noticeable.
     In a new study, researchers from Brazil discussed a technique that they say has eased cellulite in many women, and which they have developed over a 10-year period.Their technique is based on a theory that a major cause of cellulite is poor localized lymph circulation. The lymph fluid accumulates in women's upper thighs and butt, pushing the fat through the inflexible connective tissue.Their treatment involves 1 1/2 hours a day of a combination of manual and mechanical lymph drainage, and cervical stimulation, which they say also helps the body to more effectively circulate lymph fluid. The study showed that 10 sessions over a 2-week period of 14 women, ages 14 to 36, effectively eliminated all signs of cellulite in the women. None of the women were obese, and none suffered from edema, or localized water retention. They study authors claim that "the worse the cellulite, the better the results." They also say that the results are long lasting, as long as treated women don't add a lot of body fat.
       Time will tell just how effective this treatment is. What we know now is that all other alleged cellulite treatments are just palliative; they merely disguise, rather than eliminate cellulite. But in the meantime, many women are spending a lot of money on these temporary "cures" that don't really work. One other recent treatment has also been suggested. Viagra, when applied as a topical cream, also seems to blunt the appearance of cellulite. It's supposed to work by easing the tightening of connective tissue that produces the dimples in cellulite. I would suggest that any woman who contemplates using this topical Viagra technique  take care to avoid rubbing against their husbands or boyfriends. The penalties for doing so could be stiff.

Godoy J, et al. Treatment of cellulite based on the hypothesis of a novel physiopathology.Clin Cosmet, Investig Dermatol 2011;4: 55-59.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.
 

Have you been ripped off by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com

 
 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com



Thursday, September 22, 2011

A Losing Proposition (The Biggest Loser) by Jerry Brainum

The twelfth season of the television reality series, The Biggest Loser (TBL) just commenced on September 20. For those not familar with this program, the show features groups of obese people who compete with each other to see who loses the most weight. There is no apparent concern for the specific type of weight lost, just how much weight is lost. Initial baseline weights are taken of the contestants, then they are weighed weekly. Those that don't meet a certain criteria are voted off the show. The contestants receive lectures about exercise and diet, but the pressure is still on to lose the most weight. They are told to follow a diet that contains a protein/carbohydrate/fat ratio of 30:45:25, and are also told to never go below 70% of their resting daily energy expenditure. In actuality, judging by the degree of weight-loss shown by past contestants, this advice is rarely, if ever, followed.
      Consider some of the records set by TBL contestants.Michael Vontrolla lost 264 pounds during the three month season run of TBL. He started out weighing 526 pounds, what doctors call "morbidly obese." Another contestant, Moses Kinkiini, holds the record for the most weight lost in a week: 41 pounds. He also lost 100 pounds in 6 weeks, also a record. In contrast, most scientists who study obesity say that you should never attempt to lose more than 2 pounds a week. The human body is capable of burning about 3 pounds of fat a week, and any more than this would consist not only of fat, but also water and muscle. Losing 41 pounds in a week would guarantee a major loss of lean mass, including muscle, which is very unhealthy.
       To lose the weight, the contestants exercise daily for up to 6 hours, averaging 3 1/2 hours daily. For someone who is out of shape, this amount of exercise constitutes gross overtraining, and could cause rapid health deterioration.The contestants are all required to sign wavers indicating that they are in good health and are physically prepared to compete in the TBL. Yet, on a spinoff show called The Biggest Loser: Second Chances, the intial show featured a one mile all-out run that led to hospitalization of two of the contestants.The show has been criticized for its espousal of super rapid weight loss. For one, the faster weight is lost, the greater the chance that it will come back and then some. Oprah Winfrey experienced this years ago, when she dropped 57 pounds on a low calorie diet that involved ingesting only a drink. She gained all the lost weight back, and got even heavier.
      The same fate has befallen many of the TBL contestants.Losing fat too rapidly doesn't allow the brain to adjust appetite.As a consequence, it takes a superhuman level of effort to keep the weight off. Exercising strenuously when you aren't prepared for it can cause heart damage, heart rhythm disturbances, and a dangerous pattern of electrolyte imbalance that can add to the heart problems, and possibly even cause sudden death. Many of the TBL contestants admitted to not eating any food at all, and also not drinking any fluids in order to lose weight. The winner of the first season TBL later said that he urinated blood because of his sparse eating and drinking habits. He later regained all the weight back that he had lost, except for 10 pounds. A female contestant regained 31 pounds 2 weeks after the show ended.
     Despite these rather poor statistics, the official physician on the show, Rob Huizenga, who was also once the team doctor for the Los Angeles Rams football team, recently published a study in which he tried to make a case that  procedures used on TBL can actually improve certain indices of health. It's true that when you lose substantial amounts of fat, overall body inflammation drops, as does insulin levels, blood glucose, and several cardiac risk factors. The risk for diabetes also declines with weight loss. In the study, measures of the thickness and elasticity of the carotid artery in the neck were taken of several TBL contestants before and and the end of the 3-month season of the show. The results show beneficial changes in the carotid artery, suggesting an improvement in cardiovascular disease risk. Resting insulin levels dropped to less than half of baseline measurement.Total cholesterol declined by an average of 15%,Blood triglycerides dropped by 52%. But other measurements weren't so favorable. Levels of lipoprotein(a) , a risk factor for CVD, rose by 73%. Levels of sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) increased a whopping 94%. SHBG ties up sex hormones, including testosterone, in the blood, making it less available to cells. The study offers no explantation for these adverse measures, but suggests that the benefical effects induced by TBL regime would offset these measures, which they would not.
      Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of TBL is that fat people who watch the show will get the idea that,"If they can do it, so can I." They will then embark on extreme exercise and diet measures that in the long run will not only prove futile, but may even prove deadly.
Ahmadi, N et al. Effects of intense exercise and moderate caloric restriction on cardiovascular risk factors and inflammation.Am J Med 2011: in press.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.


Have you been ripped off by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com

 
 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Steroids on the brain:Fit to Be Tried by Jerry Brainum

In a fit of incomprehensible anger, a 16-year-old boy kills his 14-year-old girlfriend. The youthful killer has no prior record of either criminal activity or violence. In another incident a muscular man goes into an irrational fit, using his fists and a metal bar to attack the drivers of three other cars, thinking that they are the cause of a traffic delay. In a meaningless display of bravado, another man drives his car straight into a tree. The connection between those incidents is that the perpetrators were all taking anabolic steroid drugs.


Anabolic steroids are often in the news, mainly because of an apparently wide usage of so-called designer steroids, which until recently couldn’t be detected by the usual tests. Steroid use seems to explain in many people’s minds the often out-of-control personality characteristics of professional athletes. Whenever an athlete throws a temper tantrum, people suggest that “the steroids make him crazy.” The supposed psychological effects of steroids are known in the popular parlance as “’roid rage.”

The concept of ’roid rage is fueled by popular media and even physicians. The basis is simple: Men have higher levels of testosterone than women, which explains why men are naturally more aggressive. Others like to point out that women never start wars; only men do (an observation obviously made by those who’ve never gone through a divorce).

Anabolic steroids weren’t always linked to increased aggression. In the 1940s, not long after testosterone was discovered, it was suggested as an effective treatment for depression in men. In fact, a common symptom of hypogonadism, or low testosterone levels in men, is severe depression.

Over the past 20 years, however, the medical pendulum has swung: Testosterone is a drug that induces severe mental disturbances in users. Among the symptoms associated with anabolic steroid use are irritability, aggression, euphoria, grandiose beliefs, hyperactivity and reckless or dangerous behavior. In those who have such mental conditions as depression, psychosis or mania, using steroids either makes the conditions worse or makes them apparent.

Not all the research indicts testosterone or other anabolic steroids. In several studies giving testosterone to men had no effect on any aspect of behavior. Other studies have shown that the angriest of men had lower-than-normal testosterone levels. Then there’s the self-fulfilling-prophecy effect: If you think something will happen, it often will. Doctors who prescribe antidepressants often don’t tell male patients that a side effect of such drugs is impotence. The fear is that putting the suggestion in the patient’s head will yield the side effect.

No one would deny that anabolic steroids have potent effects on muscle. But you have to wonder just how much of the gains experienced by those who use them accrue from a strong belief in the drugs, which may lead to harder training, better nutrition and other factors that result in real muscle gains. The same is true for the mental effects of steroids: Those who think they’re supposed to act crazy while on the drugs often do, then use the drugs as an excuse for their bad behavior. Yet not every athlete who takes steroids shows aggressive tendencies. Much depends on the inherent personality of the user. Angry people may get angrier while taking large doses of anabolic steroids. In fact, the medical literature notes that the higher the doses, the greater the chance of psychological symptoms.

The minimal level of testosterone thought to produce adverse psychological effects is 1,000 milligrams a week, an amount that greatly exceeds the dosages suggested for testosterone-replacement therapy. Symptoms that manifest often abate shortly after the drugs are withdrawn, although they can last up to a month afterward.

Several case studies in the medical literature suggest that steroids are hard not only on users but also on those closest to the users, such as family, wives or girlfriends. Although outright psychosis is rare, irritability is common. Things that would normally not upset you bring on what could be mildly called an overcompensation effect. Some athletes on steroids have beaten their wives or girlfriends to the extent of sending them to the hospital.

Some research links cases of homicide, suicide and other causes of death to steroids. One study examining the cause of death in 34 steroid users found that 11 had killed themselves, nine were homicide victims and 12 died accidentally. The conclusion of the study was that anabolic steroid abusers were at higher risk because of impulsive and aggressive behavior or increased depression.1


Steroids affects brain function. Experiments have demonstrated that anabolic steroids, when given to adolescent rats, lead to a decrease in receptors in the brain for GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter. That substance, which is synthesized from amino acids, calms the brain. In fact, most prescription sleeping pills work by interacting with the GABA receptor, and if the receptor malfunctions, mania and delusional thinking, as well as loss of control, can result.

GABA functions in a section of the brain called the amygdala, the site of emotional response and anger expression. It’s not difficult to see how inhibiting GABA could lead to increased aggression and anger.

Anabolic steroids also adversely affect the density of neurons that express serotonin, a brain chemical associated with sleep and feelings of relaxation. Before it was unjustly banned several years ago, the amino acid L-tryptophan was often used as a sleep and relaxation aid. It worked because it was the direct precursor of serotonin synthesis in the brain. Although tryptophan was banned for several years, follow-up research showed that tryptophan itself was never the cause of any health problems in those who had ingested the amino acid. In fact, the cause was a processing impurity incorporated into tryptophan by a Japanese company. As such, tryptophane has quietly re-entered the commercial supplement market.

A lack of serotonin activity would make someone feel not only jumpy and on edge but also depressed. Many antidepressants, such as Prozac, work by interacting with serotonin in the brain. It’s possible that for a person with tendencies toward depression, using steroids may make the feelings worse. The suicides related to steroid use likely occurred through that mechanism.

Testosterone is known to increase a hormone synthesized in the posterior pituitary gland. Vasopressin, or anti-diuretic hormone (ADH), mainly helps the body retain water and maintain vital blood fluid volume. In excess, however, ADH is associated with increased aggressive behavior, dominance and memory. ADH has a correlation with serotonin: When serotonin is low and ADH is high, increased aggression occurs. Since testosterone increases ADH while lowering serotonin, the possible aggression-producing effects are clear. The increased water retention observed in those who inject testosterone also represents an increase in ADH.

Some suggest that you can become psychologically addicted to steroids, especially if you’re taking large doses. Addiction requires a withdrawal syndrome, a set of symptoms that occur when drug use ceases. Popular movies have depicted what happens when drugs such as heroin are withdrawn, with junkies experiencing excruciating mental and physical effects.

Some studies suggest a withdrawal syndrome likewise exists with anabolic steroids. The symptoms include depression; anhedonia, or an inability to feel joy or happiness; fatigue; impaired concentration; and, in some cases, thoughts of suicide. The feelings can become so overwhelming that the user promptly goes back on the drugs. In other cases the notion that all the muscle gains made while on the drugs are dissipating rapidly leads to a return to the drugs. Most of the addictive effects are more associated with the oral or 17-alpha ankylated versions of the drugs.

Anabolic steroids have been characterized as gateway drugs, in the sense that using them often leads to use of other, more immediately dangerous drugs. Why that’s so is hard to say, although the mental euphoria induced by steroids may induce some to experiment with other drugs that have no anabolic properties.

Although not often discussed, some well-known bodybuilders have indeed become hooked on hard-line drugs. Some started with a drug called Nubain, which was characterized as nonaddictive. The original rationale for using Nubain was that it provided an antistress effect during intense training and dulled pain to the extent that it enabled harder training in the gym. But Nubain turned out to be not so innocent. Although no one died from using it, many users went on to drugs such as heroin. The recent death of a former national champion bodybuilder was linked to his heroin use. He started with Nubain.

So, do anabolic steroids actually cause ’roid rage? In a small percentage of users they amplify what’s already there. That is, an angry person may get even angrier when using large doses of steroids. Most who use the suggested steroid cycles that feature large doses of several drugs experience greater irritability because of the chemical changes induced in the brain. The key to how a person acts while on steroids relates to the higher brain centers, which determine intellectual functions and rationality. Some people can maintain control and not engage in antisocial behavior, such as beating people up, crashing cars voluntarily or throwing insane public temper tantrums.


For those unable to tap into their higher intellectual centers, the drugs represent a serious mental-health risk. Such people could represent a danger to themselves, their families and society. The ultimate solution for those who say that using steroids drove them to commit negative acts is to either reduce intake of the drugs or, better yet, get off them completely.

The interaction of testosterone with serotonin suggests that increasing serotonin levels in the brain may help blunt aggressive tendencies while on steroids. Since the amino acid, L-tryptophan is directly converted into serotonin in the brain, ingesting L-tryptophan supplements may help offset some steroid-induced mental symptoms. Another OTC supplement called L-5-hydroxy tryptophan, derived from a type of bean,, is an even more direct precursor of serotonin than tryptophan is. Taking at least 300 milligrams a day while on steroids may help. One company is also selling a natural GABA derivative that appears to be able to cross the blood-brain barrier and exert calming effects. That, too, may offer benefits for those experiencing increased aggression while on steroids.

Fish oil is particularly effective for modulating aggressive tendencies. Fish oil, or omega-3 fatty acids, interacts with serotonin receptors in the brain to help tame aggression. Various studies have shown that those with low brain levels of omega-3 fats are often depressed and have increased aggression. A good dose for people who are taking steroids is five to 10 grams of fish oil a day. The liquid form of the supplement is preferable, since you’d need to take far too many capsules to reach that dose range.

References

1 Thiblin, I., et al. (2000). Causes and manner of death among users of anabolic steroids. J Forensic Sci. 45:16-23.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.


Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Fill ’Er Up : Fenugreek for more muscle-glycogen uptake by Jerry Brainum

Muscle glycogen is the primary fuel powering anaerobic exercise, such as weight training, and it’s partially depleted during exercise. To promote muscle recovery and repair following exercise, it’s vital to restore depleted muscle glycogen levels. There are various ways of doing that, including the intake of carbohydrates, especially simple, or high-glycemic-index carbs, following a workout. Since glycogen is nothing more than a complex, branched-chain form of carbohydrate, it makes sense to get your carbs after a workout to replenish muscle glycogen. Simple carbs promote a greater release of insulin, which, in turn, activates the primary enzyme required for muscle glycogen synthesis, glycogen synthase.


Research shows that adding protein to postworkout carbs works even better than carbs alone because amino acids in protein boost insulin release. Some studies show that the added calories, not the protein, do that, but scientists hotly debate that.

Single amino acids have also been identified as promoting the glycogen-repletion process. Arginine may help make glucose available for muscle glycogen synthesis, but other studies dispute that. Glutamine may help replenish glycogen because of its role in gluconeogenesis, the process of converting noncarbohydrate sources, such as amino acids, into glucose in the liver.

Fenugreek seeds contain high levels of 4-hydroxyisoleucine, an amino acid not found in animal proteins. It mimics the effects of insulin in a high-carb environment. Specifically, 4-HL directly stimulates activity in the beta cells of the pancreas, the site of insulin synthesis and release. A recent study examined the effects of combining a high-carb intake and 4-HL on muscle glycogen replenishment.1

Trained cyclists who’d fasted overnight did a 90-minute glycogen-depleting ride on exercise cycles. They then got either high-dose glucose alone or glucose combined with 4-HL. The combination of high-dose glucose (1.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight) and 4-HL (two milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight) led to 63 percent greater muscle-glycogen replenishment than glucose alone did. There was no change in circulating levels of insulin, which pointed to an independent effect of the 4-HL alone.

The implication is that using some type of 4-HL supplement would greatly accelerate muscle glycogen synthesis, and since it doesn’t affect insulin levels, there’s less chance of carb spillover into bodyfat synthesis. In any case, however, nearly all carbs you take in following a workout go directly into muscle and liver glycogen synthesis; energy sources are the body’s primary concern.

1 Ruby, R.C., et al. (2005). The addition of fenugreek extract to glucose feeding increases muscle glycogen resynthesis after exercise. Amino Acids. 28:71-76.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.


Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Creatine and liver fat by Jerry Brainum

Creatine is not only one of the most popular sports supplements, but a rash of new studies shows that it also offers some potent health benefits. This isn't surprising, when you consider the pivotal role that  creatine plays in energy metabolism reactions in the body. But creatine also participates in some health protective effects not necessarily related to energy metabolism. A recent example of this is a new animal study, involving rats who were fed two diets. One diet contained 35% fat content, while the other featured a 71% fat content. A third diet served as a control, and all the diets were liquid. With one of the diets, creatine was added at a dose of 1% of the weight of the rats.The type of creatine used in the study was creatine monohydrate, which is the most common form used by athletes and bodybuilders.
    As expected the high fat (71%) diet induced fatty liver, elevated liver triglycerides, and an increase in oxidation in the liver.The high fat diet also lowered levels of s-adenosylmethionine or SAMi, a protective methylating substance in the liver that also participates in creatine synthesis.All of these negative effects, however, were totally blocked when creatine was added to the high fat diet of the rats. Creatine also normalized several fat oxidation pathways in the liver through interaction with genes.
    This was a rat study, so there is as yet no evidence that similar effects would occur in humans. But since cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver have reached epidemic proportions lately, it would be worth it for someone to produce a study examining whether human subjects diagnosed with fatty liver can be helped by using creatine, and also establishing the effective dose in humans for this purpose. Fatty liver is a serious problem, since it's a percursor for both liver failure and liver cancer.
Deminice, R, et al. Creatine supplementation prevents the accumulation of fat in the livers of rats fed a high-fat diet.J nutr 2011: in press.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited. 
 

 Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

Friday, September 16, 2011

Fat by Pollution: How Environmental Toxins May Be Making You Fat—and What You Can Do About It by Jerry Brainum

Losing excess bodyfat appears to be a straightforward process, involving correcting an out-of-balance energy equation. Superfluous fat represents an excess of stored energy, and if you have too much fat, that means you haven’t balanced your physical activity with your daily calorie intake. Since we know from the laws of physics that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, the basis of all fat-loss diets is to take in fewer calories than you burn through physical activity. That’s what taps into your fat stores.


If losing fat is just a matter of eating less and exercising more, why are Americans fatter than ever? Look at the plethora of foods targeted at dieters, such as lowfat and low-carbohydrate products. Some scientists suggest that an upsurge in processed-foods intake is the enemy in the weight-loss battle. They point to two particular elements: trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, which increase shelf life and lower manufacturers’ processing costs.

The molecular structure of trans fats is manipulated to a form that is unnatural for the human body. The body handles such fats as if they were saturated fat, which is linked to cardiovascular disease, but they’re even worse for you. Saturated fat doesn’t lower the protective cholesterol carrier in the blood called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), but trans fat does, making it even more potent than saturated fat in promoting cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The production of high-fructose corn syrup starts off with a natural sugar, fructose. Adding glucose produces a rapidly absorbed simple sugar that wreaks havoc in the body by causing an outpouring of insulin. That leads to a dramatic rise in blood triglycerides, or fat, which act as a substrate for increased low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. When LDL oxidizes in the blood, it promotes atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

The evidence for the fat-promoting effects of trans fats and HFCS is so extensive that many people avoid such processed junk. Still, they either have trouble losing bodyfat or seem to rapidly gain it. Others successfully lose fat through strict dieting and exercise only to see it return. In cases like that a loss of muscle through excessive calorie restriction or lack of weight-training exercise is often to blame. A loss of lean tissue, or muscle, practically guarantees fat regain, since muscle is what maintains the resting metabolic rate.

There’s no shortage of explanations for why so many people are fat. One theory suggests that obesity is an infectious viral disease.1 According to that hypothesis, at least six known pathogens stimulate obesity in animals. Canine distemper virus causes serious disease in dogs but makes mice fat. A virus found in chickens, Rous-associated virus-7, leads to fat chickens if the birds become exposed. A Borna disease virus will fatten a rat, as will scrapie agents. At least two viruses, SMAM-1 and Ad-36, are thought to promote obesity in humans. Sound convincing? The trouble is, no one can explain how those infectious agents promote obesity.

A more plausible theory is that many forms of obesity are related to common toxins that humans are frequently exposed to. Most people are unaware that their bodies harbor countless potentially toxic chemicals. Tens of thousands of such chemicals exist as dyes, pigments, medicines, flavorings, perfumes, plastics, resins and rubber-processing chemicals. Humans get pesticide residue, preservatives and additives in food and water and inhale polluted indoor and outdoor air. Some toxins are absorbed through the skin. The important point is that nearly all such chemicals are fat-soluble, meaning that they’re stored in bodyfat.

Organochlorines, DDT, lindane, organophosphates, carbamate, polychlorinated biphenyl, phthalate, bisphenol A, cadmium and lead, as well as various solvents, are all linked to weight gain because they inhibit activity in the body’s hormonal systems. One animal study showed that the pesticide dieldrin doubled the bodyfat levels of treated mice. Another pesticide led to significant fat gain in mice that ate 50 percent less food!

Toxins cause fat gain by interfering with the activity of hormones involved in body composition and fat oxidation—for example, catecholamines such as epinephrine and norepinephrine, which exert thermogenic effects in stored fat. The chemicals also prevent the conversion of relatively inactive T4 thyroid hormone to the five times more active T3 form, which lowers resting metabolic rate.


Some toxins exert hormonelike effects. Various plastics mimic the effects of estrogen, and excess estrogen is linked to breast and uterine cancer in women. Excess estrogen in men results in increased water retention, increased bodyfat, and gynecomastia, or male breasts. Some studies show that the toxins short-circuit the testosterone synthesis system, leading to lowered testosterone levels. The same is true for growth hormone. The lowering of both those anabolic hormones means less muscle gains for bodybuilders and other athletes.

The toxins reduce training intensity and even the desire to exercise by lowering the levels of such brain neurotransmitters as dopamine and norepinephrine, which stimulate the brain. Toxins also promote direct damage to both nerves and muscle. Net effects: changes in appetite, food metabolism and the desire to exercise.

One system particularly hit hard by toxins stored in fat is the sympathetic nervous system. The SNS is especially involved in fat mobilization through the actions of the catecholamine hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine, which exert a thermogenic action in fat, leading to a loss of energy as heat, and promote fat oxidation in concert with thyroid and other hormones. When animals are exposed to the various toxins, their excretion of catecholamines increases by 50 percent.

Several drugs promote weight gain. Antidepressants, which happen to be the most prescribed in the world, promote weight gain by affecting brain chemicals that control appetite. Prozac was so powerful that it was suggested as a weight-gain stimulant.

Pesticides stored in fat promote fat gain by interfering with oxidative enzymes in muscle—the same enzymes that burn fat in muscle. By inhibiting their activity, toxins blunt fat burning during exercise. A recent study confirmed that toxins negatively affect thermogenesis in humans.2 At the cellular level they block the activity of mitochondria, the portion of the cell where a process called beta-oxidation burns fat.

Another recent study found a significant increase in plasma pollutant levels in obese men and women who lost weight through dieting.3 It led to a decrease in resting insulin levels in the men but not in the women. Typically, a decrease in resting insulin levels would be considered favorable, but this study found an interference with normal insulin metabolism. One little-known effect of insulin is that it potently suppresses appetite after meals, and interfering with it may promote increased hunger and excessive eating.

Plasma pollutants may interfere with normal metabolism of long-chain fatty acids. They block the actions of enzymes that convert linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid, into arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is the main precursor of a series of hormonelike chemicals synthesized in the body that are collectively known as eicosanoids. While many eicosanoids mediate inflammation in the body, others are essential to both health and muscle—for example prostaglandin F2A, a potent promoter of muscle growth. Arachidonic acid is also involved in testosterone synthesis, and plasma pollutants may interfere with that. The estrogenlike structure of many plastic pollutants, meanwhile, lowers testosterone levels.

Plasma pollutants may explain a frequently encountered problem during fat-loss diets: the dieting plateau. What happens here is that after a few weeks on a decreased-calorie diet, fat and weight loss suddenly stop. The plateau is often attributed to a lowering of the active thyroid hormone, T3, and its conversion into a metabolically inactive form called reverse T3. The usual explanation is that the body perceives a loss of mass and interprets it as a starvation alert. So the body protects itself by lowering metabolism and thus preventing the catabolism, or breakdown, of lean muscle tissue: Production of reverse T3 increases, metabolism drops, and weight loss ceases.

Fat loss brings on a dramatic release of plasma toxins stored in fat. Since they blunt thyroid output and prevent effective SNS hormone activity, it seems reasonable that perhaps the plateau may actually result from the toxin release. The question then becomes what to do to offset the effects of toxin release.


The first thing to do is to avoid becoming fat altogether, since the fatter you are, the more toxins you store in your body. Lean people ingest toxins, but studies show that they release them from their bodies far faster than obese people do. Lean athletes have the lowest levels of stored toxins in their bodies,4 clearly a reflection of their lower bodyfat levels.

If you have a lot of bodyfat, it’s prudent not to attempt to lose more than two pounds a week. Losing weight too rapidly will increase plasma pollutant levels and may interfere with fat loss and oxidation during exercise.

The frequent admonition to increase water intake during dieting serves two purposes: It staves off dehydration and flushes released toxins, which become water soluble in the liver. Make sure, however, that you drink pure water. Drinking water laden with toxins will only add to the problem.

Some evidence shows that fiber speeds the elimination of accumulated toxins released during fat loss. Soluble fiber, found in such foods as oatmeal, beans and fruits, is especially effective because it directly binds to toxins and shunts them toward the exit.

Make sure to include detoxifying nutrients in your diet: the B-complex group of vitamins, such antioxidants as vitamins E and C and selenium and all essential minerals. Nutrients that increase glutathione levels in the body may help the liver detoxify plasma pollutants. Nutritional precursors of glutathione include N-acetyl cysteine, lipoic acid and whey protein supplements.

A primary function of the liver is detoxification. All drugs are degraded by liver enzymes, including hormones, and the liver converts fat-soluble plasma pollutants released from stored bodyfat into water-soluble waste that goes to the kidneys for excretion.

Various nutrients support the liver’s detoxification system. These include the B-complex vitamins; sulfur-containing amino acids, such as cysteine and taurine; and various elements found in fruits and vegetables, such as the ellagic acid found in grapes, strawberries and pomegranates. Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage, contain natural liver-enzyme stimulants such as sulforaphane. Eating foods like that while dieting will diminish the toxic effects of plasma pollutants by promoting their rapid degradation in the liver.

Since plasma pollutants interfere with the metabolism of essential fats, you need to balance intake of both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. That means you need supplements such as flaxseed and fish oil blends. Supplemental amino acids that are precursors of body chemicals blocked by plasma pollutants may also help. Examples include L-tyrosine, the precursor of catecholamine hormones.

In today’s society, it’s difficult to avoid pollutants. The best way to avoid health problems linked to their accumulation in the body is to exercise and stay lean, and try to eat as clean as possible.

References

1 Dhurandhar, N.V. (2001). Infectobesity: Obesity of infectious origin. J Nutr. 131:2794S-2797S.

2 Trembley, A., et al. (2004). Thermogenesis and weight loss in obese individuals: A primary association with organochlorine pollution. Int J Obes Rel Metab Disord. 28:936-939.

3 Imbeault, P., et al. (2002). Increase in plasma pollutant levels in response to weight loss is associated with the reduction of fasting insulin levels in men but not in women. Metabolism. 51:482-486.

4 Pelletier, C., et al. (2002). Plasma organochlorine concentrations in endurance athletes and obese individuals. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 34:1971S.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.



Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Fast Food, Faster Death? : Heating oil to frying temperatures produces toxic chemicals by Jerry Brainum

Next time you happen to visit a fast-food joint, check out the frying section. That crackling grease can’t be good for you, despite the banners noting that the hot oils contain “no saturated fat.” A new study shows that the heated oils contain something far worse than saturated fat.


The study results were presented at the 2005 American Oil Chemists’ Society meeting in Salt Lake City by researchers from the University of Minnesota. They found that when highly unsaturated vegetable oils are heated at frying temperature—about 365 degrees Fahrenheit—for as little as 30 minutes, a highly toxic compound forms in the oil: HNE, or 4-hydroxy-trans-2-nonenal. The chemical is produced when soy, sunflower and corn oils are heated. Heating soy produces three additional toxic compounds.

The toxins are highly reactive with the body’s proteins and nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA. HNE results from the oxidation of linoleic acid. Several reports have linked the chemical to various diseases, including atherosclerosis, stroke, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and liver abnormalities.

Repeatedly heating an oil—that’s what happens in fast-food joints—increases the content of HNE. No wonder Morgan Spurlock, who lived on fast food for a month and then documented it in the film “Super Size Me,” experienced such a rapid health decline. The stuff is so bad that you should avoid it at all times, even during so-called junk food days. It’s not just junk food; it’s death food.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Exercise and Cancer Answers by Jerry Brainum

Prostate cancer is the number-two killer of men, just after lung cancer. Several studies have shown that exercise appears to offer preventive effects against the disease. Most studies attribute that to a decrease in testosterone induced by exercise (usually endurance training). Although the finding is still controversial, testosterone is in fact linked to prostate cancer. Some scientists believe that testosterone itself isn’t the villain but rather dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the testosterone by-product linked to acne and male pattern baldness.


A recent study has identified another mechanism.1 Researchers found that exercise enhances the function of a gene in the body called P53, which is known to “kill” cancer cells by arresting the growth of tumors and promoting their suicide, a process called apoptosis. When the blood serum after exercise was analyzed, apoptosis in prostate cancer cells increased by 371 percent, and P53 protein increased by 100 percent. Thus, exercise can help prevent prostate cancer by upgrading the body’s innate defense system against tumor formation.

1 Pak-Shan, L., et al. (2004). Exercise alters the IGF axis in vivo and increases P53 protein in prostate tumor cells in vitro. J App Physiol. 96:450-54.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The worst supplement of the decade by Jerry Brainum

In terms of efficacy, the best supplement of the decade is creatine. In terms of efficacy, the worst supplement of the decade was creatine. No, that was not a typo. Creatine monohydrate, the original creatine supplement, works for 80% of those who use it. Creatine ethyl ester works for zero percent of those who use it. Critics at this point may protest that statement, using as evidence the many positive feedback remarks made about creatine ethyl ester on many of the Internet forums and web sites. I have one word in response: placebo. If you believe something will work, it appears to do just that. But the substance in question is working more through your brain than anywhere else.
      I chose creatine ethyl ester (CEE) as the worst supplement for a number of reasons. Foremost among these is simply the fact that it's useless garbage. It provides no ergogenic effects, as does creatine monohydrate. And even worse, CEE is considerably more expensive compared to creatine monohydrate (CM).I have to admit that I was suspicious of CEE from the start. The hyperbolic ads announcing this "new and improved" form of creatine made such claims as "400% better than creatine monohydrate." My first thought on reading a statement such as that is,"Who says so?" In other words, where's the published study that directly compared CEE to CM, finding that CEE is 400% better? There was never any reference provided for claims like that. In fact, the references weren't provided because there weren't any. The 400% figure was made up.
     When CEE was first introduced to the commercial market, I looked up the patent application for the product, which was  held by a group from Nebraska. According to the patent application, CEE was vastly superior to CM because it contained an alcohol group in its structure that allowed it to pass through fatty membranes. That led to another claim about CEE: that it had the ability to bypass the creatine transport protein in muscle, the usual limiting factor for creatine uptake into muscle. But this was never actually shown. The mechanism was entirely theoretical, just as was the 400% better than CM claim.
      As CEE became more popular, a number of studies began to appear that examined precisely what happened to CEE when ingested. Even the patent application had mentioned that CEE was subject to the actions of esterase enzymes in the intestines, which would cleave off the ester portion of CEE. That would leave you with just free creatine. This means that the now free creatine would still have to travel in the blood to the muscle, and be subjected to the actions of the creatine transport protein. The implications of this were that CEE was just another supplement gimmick. But the worse was yet to come.
      Additional studies actually compared CM to CEE. What these studies found was that within 30 minutes after oral ingestion, CEE was converted into the major waste product of creatine metabolism, creatinine. Creatinine has no ergogenic benefit. This means that neither did CEE, since it was largely broken down rapidly into creatinine after oral ingestion. But I soon found out that this wasn't recent news. CEE wasn't new at all. It was initially produced back in 1926. A 1955 study examined the properties of CEE, and concluded that since it largely converted into creatinine, it was both useless and unstable. So the guys who took out the use patent on CEE knew that it was junk all along. They figured they could dupe the greedy supplement companies into selling it anyway, and that's precisely what happened.
    A number of other studies have since been published in which CEE was provided to athletes engaged in weight-training. As expected, the results were nil. CEE did  nothing at all to boost training progress, unlike plain, old creatine monohydrate, which worked well for most people. A recent study even documented how one man was suspected of having kidney failure because of his use of CEE. A basic test for renal function is creatinine levels. These levels normally stay within a certain range, and don't waver much. But if you're producing much larger amounts of creatinine than normal, as would be the case if you used CEE, the test could point to kidney failure. The article was warning physicians not to jump to conclusions if they see elevated creatinine levels in young, apparently healthy people. In many cases, it's just the CEE they are ingesting that's producing the high creatinine levels.
     Dishonorable mentions go to several other products that don't work. Kre-alklyn is a brand name of a creatine supplement that combines creatine with baking soda. It's based on the notion that creatine is largely degraded in the harsh acidic environment of the stomach. That notion is utter nonsense. Creatine is 99% absorbable, and only about 1-2% is degraded by stomach acid.Similarly to CEE, when tested against CM, Kre-alkyn proved grossly inferior, breaking down into creatinine shortly after ingestion. It's useless junk. Ribose was thought to boost ATP levels. In fact, it doesn't do a thing. Another total waste of money. My advice about new and "revolutionary"supplements is to do some research before you buy such products. Look beyond the hyperbole and investigate whether the claims made about products have any real proof to back them up, such as published research. And most importantly, never rely on the anecdotal evidence such as "Well, it worked for me!" That is no guarantee  that any product will work for you, too, and most of the people that rave about these supplements online either have a financial interest in the product, or are associated with those that do. Their testimonial "evidence is completely worthless, about as worthless as the products they are pushing on you.


©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.
 

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 


Thursday, September 8, 2011

Anabolic steroids and other PEDs: the other side of the coin by Jerry Brainum

It's hard to imagine any drugs that are more demonized than anabolic steroids.Their portrayal in the popular media in relation to athletic usage has led the public to think that steroids have no legitimate medical usage. That they are, in fact, just a way for cheating athletes to break the rules. A corollary to this type of thinking is that athletes actually enjoy using steroids and other performance enhancing drugs (PED), but nothing could be further from the truth.Athletes use them simply because other athletes use them to boost athletic performance. Using the drugs is just a way of staying in the game. Most physicians and scientists condemn the use of steroids and PEDS for anything other than medical usage.But there are lone voices in the wilderness that beg to differ with this prevailing attitude.
     Perhaps foremost among them is Norman Fost, M.D. Fost is a true Ivy league man, having obtained a bachelor's degree from Princeton; a Masters in public health from Harvard; and his medical degree from Yale Medical School.Fost is professor of pediatrics and bioethics, and also the director of the program in Medical Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been named "one of the best doctors in America" by U.S News and World Report.Unlike his medical peers, Fost has taken a stand in defense of steroid and PED usage in sports. What follows are his comments about this topic, to which I will add my own opinions.
1) Steroids result in unfair competition: Fost notes that while steroids undoubtedly enhance athletic performance, his argument here is: so what? If athletic enhancement is unfair, then we should ban coaching and training, which also aid athletic enhancement. He cites the hypocrisy of the 1988 Olympic games, where sprinter Ben Johnson was pilloried after it was discovered that he had failed a drug test for the steroid, Winstrol-V. Janet Evans, an American swimmer at the games who was allowed to keep her gold medal, bragged about how her greasy swimsuit played a key role in her victory. Johnson slipped into obscurity after the games, while Evans remained popular.
2) Steroids are coercive: if your opponents use them, then you have to: Fost notes that no one in American sports is forced to use steroids, so there is no actual coercion. It's more of a high risk opportunity, he says.I would disagree with Dr.Fost on this point. Given equal genetic proclivity to sport excellence, if one athlete uses steroids, and the other doesn't, the drug user will always win. So in that sense, PEDs in sports are a bit coercive.
3) Steroids are life-threatening: Steroid use is often linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other disease.The problem here is the lack of cause and effect evidence. Even in cases where high dose steroid users died, it's often difficult to point to a definitive role played by steroids alone. More often, other confounding factors are present, such as various poor health habits, or use of more directly dangerous drugs, such as cocaine or amphetamines.I've often written in my articles that from a bodybuilding perspective, diuretics are far more immediately dangerous compared to steroids. You can die from diuretic overuse in less than an hour. No one in history ever died that fast from steroid usage. If the decision to ban steroids from sport was based entirely on life threatening circumstances, then that would mandate the banning of sports such as boxing, race car driving, and mixed-martial arts.
4) Steroid are unnatural, and undermine the essence of sport: Fost notes that all sports are merely games invented by humans, with arbitrary rules that are constantly changing.Athletes have resorted to "unnatural" aids since time immemorial. Springy shoes, bamboo poles, greasy swimsuits or other special suits designed to reduce water drag. Even using such natural techniques as carbohydrate loading isn't really natural. Since training at high altitude is known to boost hemoglobin levels in the blood, which is similar to what blood doping does, shouldn't that also be banned?
5) Steroids undermine the integrity of records: The classic example here is Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds, both of whom broke the baseball home run record while using steroids. Because of this, some say that their records should be recorded with an asterisk next to them.But Fost notes that there are other reasons why baseball records continue to fall. Fences are shorter;the pitching mound is lower;the balls themselves have more bounce, and so on. In additon, you can't get away from the fact that only McGwire and Bonds broke the records. Other players could have, and probably did use the same drugs as they did, so why did only those men break the records?
6) Fan will lose interest: The 1990 Mr.Olympia contest remains the only drug-tested year for that contest. Officials told me off the record that testing for steroids proved disastrous, since the physiques that year showed a significant drop in muscle mass and quality. The fear was that hard-core bodybuilding fans would lose interest if pro contests went "natural" with extensive drug testing. Hence, no drug testing. The widespread use of steroids and other drugs in bodybuilding is one of the reasons why bodybuilding was never in serious consideration for Olympic games participation, contrary to the frequent statements of Ben Weider.
     The bottom line is that Fost thinks that as adults, the decision to use steroids and other PEDs should be left up to the individual, not some self-serving paternalistic "governing body." Steroids are drugs, and they are not innocuous. Whether they harm health is based on such factors as time and dosage.Since their use in sports is so widespread anyway, it would probably be better to make them legal in sport, and carefully monitor athletes for side effects or any other problems related to the drugs.

©,2013 Jerry Brainum. Any reprinting in any type of media, including electronic and foreign is expressly prohibited.

Have you been ripped off  by supplement makers whose products don’t work as advertised? Want to know the truth about them? Check out Jerry Brainum's book Natural Anabolics, available at JerryBrainum.com.

 

The Applied Ergogenics blog is a collection of articles written and published by Jerry Brainum over the past 20 years. These articles have appeared in Muscle and Fitness, Ironman, and other magazines. Many of the posts on the blog are original articles, having appeared here for the first time. For Jerry’s most recent articles, which are far more in depth than anything that appears on this blog site, please subscribe to his Applied Metabolics Newsletter, at www.appliedmetabolics.com. This newsletter, which is more correctly referred to as a monthly e-book, since its average length is 35 to 40 pages, contains the latest findings about nutrition, exercise science, fat-loss, anti-aging, ergogenic aids, food supplements, and other topics. For 33 cents a day you get the benefit of Jerry’s 53 years of writing and intense study of all matters pertaining to fitness,health, bodybuilding, and disease prevention.

 

See Jerry's book at  http://www.jerrybrainum.com

 

Want more evidence-based information on exercise science, nutrition and food supplements, ergogenic aids, and anti-aging research? Check out Applied Metabolics Newsletter at www.appliedmetabolics.com

 

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