EAT TO GROW :Milk, Estrogen, IGF-1 and Insulin by Jerry Brainum

Many years ago I had a discussion with a man who went on to win multiple Mr. Olympia titles. When I asked him about drinking milk, he told me that he always removed all dairy foods from his diet prior
to a contest, explaining that milk was “rich in estrogens.” Estrogens are associated with fat deposition just under the skin, which obscures muscular definition. In addition, estrogen retains water, blunting hard-earned muscularity. You may recall the scene in the film “Pumping Iron” where Arnold Schwarzenegger is asked about drinking milk. He responds by stating that “milk is for babies.”

But does milk actually contain active hormones, particularly estrogen?

Like testosterone, estrogen is a steroid hormone and is rapidly degraded in the liver when taken orally. Unless, of course, the structure of the hormone has been manipulated to block the first-pass liver metabolism—as is the case with synthetic oral versions of testosterone, a.k.a. anabolic steroids. Examples of orally active estrogens include birth control pills for women and other forms of estrogen that treat menopause symptoms. According to a recent study, however, commercial milk products contain active estrogen metabolites.

Estrogen is a potent cancer agent, and some studies show that a higher intake of milk products may be linked to ovarian and other cancers in women and possibly prostate cancer in men. That’s highly debatable among researchers, however, and definitive answers are not on the record. On the other hand, milk and dairy products supply 60 to 70 percent of the total estrogen intake in food. In recent years the amount of estrogens in milk have increased because of certain dairy-farming practices. Most milk now comes from cows far into the late stages of pregnancy, when estrogen concentration in the milk peaks. One study found that milk from a cow late in pregnancy contained 33 times more estrone sulfate than milk obtained from a nonpregnant cow.

The study analyzed the estrogen metabolite content in whole milk, skim and 2 percent fat milk and buttermilk. Buttermilk, whole milk and 2 percent fat milk contained significant levels of biologically active estrogen metabolites. Skim milk contained the least, buttermilk the most. Researchers also tested soy milk and found no estrogen metabolites. Not only was skim milk lowest in estrogen metabolites, but 98 percent of the estrogen it did contain was in the conjugated, or less active, form. Buttermilk contained the most highly active form of estrogen metabolites.

The authors note that while estrogen metabolites in these milk products are much fewer than what are found in estrogen-based drugs, we don’t yet know their long-term effect. The study also mentioned that milk contains progesterone, another type of hormone found in higher concentrations in women.

Other studies suggest that milk contains insulinlike growth factor 1, considered the active anabolic component of growth hormone. Two variants of IGF-1 are required for muscle repair and growth. Trouble is, IGF-1 also encourages rapid cell division and prevents the self-destruction of cells, both of which can be dangerous in regard to cancer. The big controversy about milk is the practice of giving recombinant IGF-1 to cows to increase their milk production. Some say that milk from those cows contains higher than normal levels of IGF-1, which is detectable after pasteurization and homogenization. In addition, bovine and human IGF-1 share the same amino acid sequences, which means that the bovine version can interact with human IGF-1 cell receptors.

Critics contend that since IGF-1 is an amino acid–based hormone, it’s largely degraded in the gut. On the other hand, adults who drink a lot of milk have an average 10 to 20 percent increase in circulating IGF-1.

How can IGF-1 survive the formidable digestive barrier? The major protein in milk, casein, contains a protease inhibitor that may shield IGF-1 from degradation. Milk intake also increases the ratio of free-to-bound IGF-1, which increases the activity of IGF-1 but also speeds its breakdown.


While the link between IGF-1 and milk is hardly definitive, the one between milk and insulin is more realistic. Although milk has a low-glycemic-index number (about 15 to 30), milk and milk-based foods paradoxically have a high insulin-stimulating effect, possibly because of certain protein fractions found in milk. All dairy products, with the exception of hard cheese, have potent insulin-boosting effects. Adding 200 milliliters of milk to a low-glycemic-index meal increases the insulin response by 300 percent.

Ironically, many “negative” factors may aid bodybuilding. For example, increased IGF-1 may have some anabolic impact. The increased insulin speeds the entry of amino acids into muscle for added muscle protein synthesis and exerts an anticatabolic effect in muscle. I suspect that the potent insulin release is there for a reason, as milk is the primary food for the most rapid period of human growth and amino acid uptake is integral to it. Insulin also helps regenerate depleted muscle glycogen. In fact, studies show that drinking milk after a workout leads to more efficient recovery than most commercial sports drinks do. Nor can you escape the fact that milk contains whey, the highest-biological-value protein, as well as other active peptides that emerging research shows may provide enormous health benefits.

If you’re still concerned about estrogen and other hormone effects of milk, you can get most of the benefits of milk from a blend of casein and whey milk proteins, which give you most of the health factors contained in milk, minus the hormone activity. Whey does, however, bring on insulin release and possibly IGF-1 activity. Also, if you believe that drinking milk will smooth you out before a contest because of its estrogen content, consider that the average man produces 136,000 nanograms of estrogen each day, far more than you’d get from drinking several gallons of milk.

Farlow, D.W., et al. (2009). Quantitative measurement of endogenous estrogen metabolites, risk factors for development of breast cancer, in commercial milk products by LC-MS/MS. J Chromto B. 877(13):1327-1334.



©,2015 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

 

                            Please share this article on facebook

 

 

EAT TO GROW : Is Protein Timing Overplayed? by Jerry Brainum

Several studies have pointed to the importance of protein timing—taking in protein or amino acids close to a workout—which is thought to diminish excessive muscle protein breakdown during training. The increased blood flow that results from training may boost amino acid entry into muscle. One study

of older men who got a supplement of 10 grams of protein, seven grams of carbohydrate and three grams of fat found that when it was taken immediately after training, that combination resulted in significant muscle gains. Those who took the same supplement two hours after the workout got no apparent benefits.

In another study younger men, aged 21 to 24, got 40 grams of whey protein isolate and 43 grams of glucose either just before and after training or in the morning and evening. Those who took the supplement close to the workouts experienced far more gains in muscle size and strength than the others.

These studies featured either untrained or recreational subjects. A new study featured college football players and powerlifters. Although the authors suggest that this makes their findings more relevant to experienced weight trainers, football players and powerlifters don’t train the same way bodybuilders do. In any case, the researchers set out to determine whether there is any advantage to taking a protein supplement before and after workouts compared to other times in relation to size and strength gains. .

Please share this article on facebook

The study lasted for 10 weeks and involved 33 men divided into two groups, with one group taking a protein supplement in the morning and evening, and the other group taking it just before and immediately after training. Another seven men, acting as a control group, didn’t use any protein supplements. The subjects were tested for changes in strength, power and body composition. All three groups showed improvements in one-rep-maximum bench press and squat strength after 10 weeks, but there were no significant differences between the groups. None showed any changes in body mass or percentage of bodyfat.

Based on those findings, the authors suggest that taking in more protein than the required 1.6 grams per kilogram of bodyweight doesn’t yield additional muscle gains, regardless of when you get the protein. They did note, however, that the subjects met the requirements for protein intake suggested for strength athletes and also underscored the idea that strength athletes benefit from getting more protein. The supplement they used was low in carbohydrate. Combining protein with carbohydrate leads to an increased insulin release, which in turn leads to greater amino acid uptake into muscle and provides an anticatabolic effect. The subjects also took in fewer than the optimal number of daily calories, which would limit muscle size gains to an extent.

In a study published in a different journal, the same authors tested the effects of a protein supplement on exercise recovery and found that taking one before and after training enhanced recovery for 24 and 48 hours after the workout. While the researchers didn’t find any notable changes in hormone status, they did note that a measure of exercise-induced muscle damage decreased in those on the supplement but not in those getting the placebo. That, they suggest, may have resulted from an anticatabolic effect of the supplement related to upgraded muscle protein synthesis.

Another study tested whether taking a combination of essential amino acids and carbohydrate prior to a weight-training workout would boost muscle protein synthesis afterward. Twenty-two young, healthy subjects were observed before, during and two hours after a leg-training workout. One group fasted before the workout, while the other group got essential amino acids and carbs one hour prior to training. Those in the amino-and-carb group showed an immediate rise in muscle protein synthesis, which dropped to resting level during the workout and remained unchanged an hour after it. Those in the fasting group showed a drop in muscle protein synthesis during the workout, followed by a rise an hour later. By the two-hour post-training mark, both groups showed a 50 percent increase in muscle protein synthesis.


During training, muscle protein synthesis is repressed through the increased expression of a protein called AMPK, an energy sensor in muscle that encourages the use of fuels such as fat. Taking the amino acid-and-carb combo before training prevented the usual drop in muscle protein synthesis that occurs during exercise, but it didn’t stimulate it either during or after exercise. AMPK counts were similar in both groups. On the other hand, the post-training rise in muscle protein synthesis was delayed by an hour in the amino group. That may owe something to the rise in muscle protein synthesis right after the supplement was taken and may have resulted in a small refractory effect after the workout. Based on those findings, the authors suggest that it is more effective to take a supplement containing amino acids and carbs following a workout than before it.

www.appliedmetabolics.com

References

Hoffman, J.R., et al. (2009). Effect of protein-supplement timing on strength, power and body composition changes in resistance-trained men. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 19:172-85.

Hoffman, J.R., et al. (2009). Effect of a proprietary protein supplement on recovery indices following resistance exercise in strength/power athletes. Amino Acids. In press.

Fujita, S., et al. (2009). Essential amino acid and carbohydrate ingestion prior to resistance exercise does not enhance postexercise muscle protein synthesis. J Appl Physiol. In press.


©,2015 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

 

                            Please share this article on facebook

 

 

Nutrients That Can Increase GH by Jerry Brainum

Human growth hormone is considered one of the three major anabolic hormones in the body, with the other two being testosterone and insulin. GH is of special interest to bodybuilders and athletes for
several reasons.

The first is its reputed anabolic property. GH aids in nitrogen retention and also helps to transport animo acids into muscle for use in muscle protein synthesis.GH has also engendered a reputation for speeding bodyfat loss, since it promotes the sparing of carbohydrates, while at the same time fostering the use of stored fat as an energy source.

Over the years it has become apparent that GH is not as anabolic in actual practice as it appears to be on paper. In fact, most studies suggest that GH doesn’t offer any anabolic benefits to healthy young athletes who are still able to secrete GH at a normal rate. Conversely, GH production drops by 15 percent for each decade of life past age 30, and many older people show unmistakable GH deficiencies. When they’re given supplemental GH injections, they respond by making definite gains in muscle mass, along with a significant reduction in bodyfat stores.

The fact that GH may not be as anabolic in younger people as was originally thought hasn’t lowered its popularity among athletes and bodybuilders, many of whom have added insulin to their anabolic regimens. While the primary purpose of insulin is to treat diabetes, it also has some anabolic effects. In relation to muscle, it exerts mainly a permissive effect in that it prevents excessive muscle breakdown while promoting amino acid uptake into muscle. Some studies show that insulin can convert from being mainly anticatabolic in muscle to anabolic if a large amount of amino acids are also present.

Bodybuilders use insulin because it appears to be synergistic when combined with anabolic steroids and GH. A major side effect of GH is hyperglycemia, or elevated blood glucose. It’s tempered by simultaneous use of insulin, which also adds to the GH’s anticatabolic effect.

Let’s face it: Using drug forms of insulin and GH, as well as anabolic steroids, is not without risk. One obvious effect of this drug triumvirate is an enlarged, or bloated, abdomen. In recent years the odd appearance of some professional bodybuilders, who display both deep abdominal muscle definition and, when they’re not flexed, bloated abdomens, has been blamed on the combination of insulin and GH. Many other side effects are possible, depending how much and how long the drugs are used.

Natural bodybuilders, in their efforts to add muscle and lose bodyfat, look for ways to boost their various anabolic hormones without taking drugs. The most potent nutrients known to boost GH are amino acids, with arginine and ornithine leading the way, although several others can also do it to a lesser degree. Testing of the branched-chain amino acids showed that leucine and valine boosted GH by 10 percent, but the third BCAA, isoleucine, had no effect.

The idea of using arginine as a GH-booster is controversial, since most studies show that the usual oral dose for that purpose is not effective. Arginine is effective when administered intravenously—at doses of 30 grams. In fact, that route is so effective, it’s often used as a test to determine whether patients are deficient in GH. Giving intravenous arginine leads to an average 800 to 2,200 percent increase in GH above baseline, or resting, levels.

The I.V. route works because of not only the greater arginine uptake but also the insulin that’s secreted due to the presence of that much arginine. The lowered blood glucose that results leads to the GH release, as GH opposes low blood glucose. Attempting to take 30 grams of arginine orally would lead to rapid nausea and likely vomiting. Arginase enzymes located in the liver and intestine would degrade most of the ingested high-dose arginine, so you would be left nauseated but without a significant GH release.

Ornithine is a metabolite of arginine that plays a major role in helping the body produce urea, the major nitrogen waste product of protein metabolism. That’s an important function, since without significant urea production, ammonia would build up in the body, leading to toxic consequences. Ornithine is said to be about twice as effective as arginine in stimulating a GH release, although that isn’t saying much when you consider that oral arginine is not too effective for that purpose. As with arginine, the studies that have examined ornithine’s GH-releasing effects have shown mixed results. One study did turn up a significant GH effect from ornithine with an oral dose of 170 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight, but the dose led to gastrointestinal distress in more than half of the subjects. Both arginine and ornithine taste awful, so that may have played a role.

Some have suggested that experienced bodybuilders who train intensely have already reached their maximum GH release, so using a supplement purported to boost it would be like trying to add more water to a glass filled with water. A recent study seemed to confirm that.¹ Ten young men, average age 22, who had never lifted weights got either 0.1 grams of ornithine per kilogram of bodyweight or a placebo. Their blood was drawn and tested for GH both before and after they performed biceps curls using a weight equal to 60 percent of maximum, which is fairly light.

Although ornithine is said to peak in the blood within an hour, the subjects in this study had high blood levels—500 percent above baseline-—two hours after they took it. Those using the ornithine also had GH levels that were 200 percent higher than the placebo group 30 minutes after exercise. Again, however, most published studies of experienced trainees show little or no response from oral supplementation with amino acids, unless they’re taking large doses, which often leads to extreme nausea. It may be similar to what occurs with other supplements, such as HMB, amino acids like ornithine and arginine—it may work more effectively for beginners than advanced trainees.

Another recent study examined whether other nutrients besides aminos can affect GH release.² It featured a two-part design. The first involved 108 men and women, while the second used 12 men. Both groups initially were tested to determine basal, or resting, GH, as well as body responses. The ages of the subjects in the first part ranged from 18 to 55, while those in the second part ranged from 18 to 60.

Part one found several nutrient associations with GH release, including vitamin C, dietary fiber and two saturated fatty acids. All appeared to promote GH release. Substances that blocked GH included dietary cholesterol and trans fats. Vitamins D and E and omega-3 fatty acids were not associated with peak GH release. All other carbs, amino acids and fatty acids were also not linked to GH release. Low levels of insulinlike growth factor 1, which is a product of GH, were linked to age and bodyfat but higher levels were associated with dietary fiber intake. No other nutrients were shown to affect IGF-1, although higher levels are associated with protein intake.

In the second part of the study that featured 12 men, one type of saturated fatty acid decreased the amount of time GH existed in the blood while another seemed to interfere with nighttime release of GH, which normally peaks at night. The one nutrient that showed the greatest relationship to GH release was vitamin C. The question is why.

Vitamin C is well-known as an antioxidant, but it also works with various enzymes in the body. One example is that vitamin C is required as a co-factor for enzymes that synthesize L-carnitine from amino acids in the body. Vitamin C also plays an important role in the production of collagen, a primary protein in connective tissue. In relation to GH, vitamin C acts as a co-factor in the activity of an enzyme called peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase, or PAM, which activates various neuropeptides, or brain proteins.

It  turns out that PAM exists in great amounts in both the hypothalamus of the brain, where growth-hormone-releasing hormone is produced, and the pituitary gland, where GH is produced. The thought is that vitamin C, through its actions on PAM, activates growth-hormone-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus, which then triggers the release of GH from the pituitary gland.

So should you take in massive doses of vitamin C to promote GH release? That would not be feasible, since blood levels of C peak after an oral dose of only 200 milligrams. Although the Recommended Dietary Allowance of vitamin C is 75 milligrams a day for women and 90 milligrams for men, in this study 44 percent of the 108 part-one subjects did not meet even those levels. The thing to keep in mind about these findings regarding vitamin C and GH release is that it optimizes normal release of GH.

Editor’s note: Jerry Brainum has been an exercise and nutrition researcher and journalist for more than 35 years. He’s worked with pro bodybuilders as well as many Olympic and professional athletes. To get his new e-book, Natural Anabolics—Nutrients, Compounds and Supplements That Can Accelerate Muscle Growth Without Drugs, visit www.JerryBrainum.com.   IM

 ¹ Demura, S., et al. (2010). The effect of L-ornithine hydrochloride ingestion on human growth hormone secretion after strength training. Adv Biosci Biotechno.1:7-11. ² Denny-Brown, S., et al. (2012). The association of macro and micronutrient intake with growth hormone secretion.Growth Hormone and IGF Res. 22(3-4):102-7

©,2015 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

 

  Please share this article with your friends on facebook

Hormonal Wars Review by Jerry Brainum

While you may not be aware of it, a struggle for biochemical domination is occurring within you. The victor of this war ultimately determines whether you make muscular gains or lose muscle and even get fat. The two combating armies are collectively called anabolic and catabolic hormones. The most familiar of them from a bodybuilding perspective are testosterone (anabolic), growth hormone (anabolic), insulin (anabolic) and cortisol (catabolic).

Anabolic refers to the metabolic building processes. The actions of anabolic hormones involve either an increase in muscle protein synthesis or a decreased breakdown of muscle protein. Increased breakdown of muscle is the chief characteristic of catabolic reactions. You would think that since cortisol, the body's primary catabolic hormone, is so outnumbered by the anabolic forces, it would be more or less an ineffectual player in the hormonal battle between anabolic and catabolic reactions, but that isn't the case.

Since cortisol, a product of the adrenal gland cortex, is a primary stress hormone, it's activated by any type of stress the higher brain centers that govern its release perceive. Since stress is ubiquitous, the body is constantly secreting cortisol, with peaks in the early morning hours and a low during the initial stages of deep sleep.

While cortisol has gotten a bad reputation among bodybuilders due to its potent catabolic activity and tendency to promote bodyfat accretion, the fact remains that it's also essential to life. During stress reactions it's the first line of defense in, among other functions, maintaining energy levels and blood pressure. While such reactions can be lifesaving under certain circumstances, when you're resting or after you exercise, the results are hardly desirable. They include muscle loss, mineral excretion, sodium retention and other enemies of the bodybuilding progress.

For natural bodybuilders, meaning people who eschew all forms of pharmaceutical bodybuilding assistance, controlling cortisol is vital for muscle gains. Note the use of the word controlling. You don't want to totally eliminate cortisol activity in your body, as that would be a life-threatening condition.

The key is to control the catabolic reactions induced by cortisol while emphasizing the anabolic processes that promote increased muscle growth. You do that by upping your body's production of the endogenous anabolic hormones mentioned above by both following a sensible training program and using certain specific nutritional substances and diet techniques.
Let's get one thing straight, however. No natural food or supplement can match the power of drugs such as anabolic steroids. Such steroids promote muscle gains through two primary mechanisms: 1) increased muscle protein synthesis and 2) decreased catabolic reactions in muscle. The first mechanism involves a genetic alteration of certain protein synthesizing enzymes that simply can't be duplicated by any known food supplement; however, the second process, anticatabolism, can be manipulated without drugs.

Research concerning the mechanisms of anabolic steroids shows that most of their effects come from their anticatabolic activity. The upgraded protein synthesis is relatively ephemeral, lasting only a few weeks at best. After that it's all anticatabolic, as the steroids somehow counteract the actions of cortisol in muscle.

Exactly how they accomplish this anticatabolic activity is still subject to debate. While some people say that steroids block cellular cortisol receptors in a manner similar to the way another drug, Nolvadex, blocks estrogen cell receptors, that doesn't add up. For one thing, muscle tissue contains at least 50 times more cortisol receptors than androgen receptors, the receptors anabolic steroids interact with. A more plausible explanation is that such steroids can interfere with cortisol activity in muscle, most likely at the gene level.

How Cortisol Breaks Down Muscle

Understanding cortisol's catabolic activity in muscle provides some insight into the way certain food supplements may help spare muscle by inhibiting it. Cortisol is known to reduce body protein stores in all tissues except for the liver. It does that through several mechanisms, including a reduction in the synthesis of cellular RNA, which is essential for protein synthesis. Since anabolic steroids promote muscle protein synthesis by increasing RNA, cortisol has exactly the opposite effect.

Cortisol mobilizes amino acids from muscle for transport to the liver, where they undergo a process called gluconeogenesis that results in increased glucose production. While this is vital for a rapid source of energy during severe stress, it also results in muscle breakdown. Insulin opposes cortisol in the action, but high stress activity promotes cortisol domination over insulin.

Recent studies show that consuming carbohydrates and protein immediately following a workout both increases insulin release and potently blunts cortisol. The dosage of carbs required for this effect is one gram per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of bodyweight taken immediately after training and again one hour later. In addition, including at least 50 grams of protein helps maximize insulin release.

Cortisol appears to promote the synthesis of a protein-degrading substance called ubiquitin that rapidly breaks down muscle. Interestingly, a drug called clenbuterol that's favored by some bodybuilders may work by inhibiting ubiquitin synthesis in muscle, thereby exerting an anticatabolic effect. Other hormones, such as growth hormone and insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1), appear to inhibit the ubiquitin system as well.

Cortisol also works by stimulating the exit of the amino acid glutamine from muscle. When that occurs, rapid muscle catabolism follows. Several studies show that taking supplemental glutamine may block much of the catabolic effects of cortisol in muscle. The problem is, many of the studies that show an anticatabolic effect of glutamine used intravenous solutions containing a stable dipeptide—up to 40 grams of glutamine in a complex with another amino acid, alanine.

If you attempted to take that quantity of glutamine orally, most of it would not reach your blood or muscle. Intestinal cells, which are replaced about every three days as they slough off during the process of food movement through the gut, use glutamine as fuel. When you take it orally, about 85 percent of a dose of glutamine goes to the intestinal cells. Even if it were somehow to survive the intestinal hijacking, the liver has enzymes just waiting to degrade the rest of it.
Nevertheless, a study conducted about two years ago showed that as little as two grams of oral glutamine significantly increased growth hormone release. That alone would give you an anticatabolic effect, since growth hormone opposes the actions of cortisol in muscle. In fact, studies indicate that decreasing cortisol release in the body results in an upgraded growth hormone response.

Some preliminary studies show that vitamin C may also inhibit the catabolic actions of cortisol; however, the evidence is not particularly impressive. More likely, substances like branched-chain amino acids and even dietary fat are the nutritional cortisol inhibitors.

A new study reported at the 1997 meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine found that one of the branched-chain amino acids, leucine, successfully reduced the catabolic effects of cortisol in rat muscle without affecting muscle glutamine levels. That's interesting because past studies showed that BCAAs work by either increasing muscle glutamine synthesis or preventing its release under the influence of cortisol.

Another study, reported at the Experimental Biology 97 meeting in New Orleans, examined the effects of dietary fats on plasma hormones in runners. The study compared three levels of fat composition in the diets of the runners: 17 percent, 32 percent and 41 percent. The results showed that the 32 percent fat diet significantly reduced cortisol levels in the runners compared to the 17 percent fat diet. Under the 42 percent, or high-fat, diet, cortisol levels increased only marginally. The diet lowest in fat produced the highest cortisol levels.

The authors of this study suggest that higher fat diets may help eliminate some of the excess cortisol release through an upgraded prostaglandin synthesis. Prostaglandins are hormonelike substances made from dietary fat that, among other actions, influence hormonal secretions. They were recently popularized by the best-selling diet book Enter the Zone, by Barry Sears.

Another possible explanation for the way a high-fat diet dilutes cortisol involves increased testosterone production. Testosterone has an inverse relationship to cortisol; that is, when testosterone is elevated in the blood, cortisol is depressed and vice versa. When testosterone is elevated, anabolic muscle reactions occur.

Natural bodybuilders seeking to key in to the anticatabolic effects of testosterone without using synthetic versions, such as anabolic steroids, often resort to purported testosterone precursors. These over-the-counter products fall into a gray area of legality due to the Food Supplement Act of 1994. Consequently, they are freely available and legal, at least for now.

One example of a reputed testosterone precursor is the adrenal hormone DHEA, which is produced in the pathway that begins with cholesterol and results in testosterone. That's could be a problem, however, as DHEA, in some instances, may take divergent pathways, winding up as either an undesirable by-product of testosterone metabolism called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or, even worse, estrogen. DHT is linked to male pattern baldness, prostate enlargement and acne, while estrogen, in males, leads to gynecomastia, increased fat deposition under the skin and water retention.
Those over age 40 will probably get the most benefit from DHEA. At that point in people's lives DHEA synthesis generally undergoes a precipitous drop, in which case conservative doses of 50 milligrams a day may take the desirable testosterone pathway by converting to the immediate precursor to testosterone, androstenedione.
Recently, androstenedione itself became available as an oral supplement. Some studies show that a liver enzyme can convert androstenedione directly into testosterone, which can increase plasma testosterone levels up to 300 percent over baseline for about two hours; however, it can also be converted by another enzyme, aromatase, into estrogen. In addition, no one has figured out how long an oral supplement of androstenedione continues to remain effective—assuming that it is effective for testosterone-raising purposes.
Still another over-the-counter hormone that has been suggested as a cortisol blocker is melatonin, a hormone synthesized in the pineal gland of the brain from the amino acid tryptophan. While melatonin is undoubtedly an effective soporific, meaning it puts you to sleep, several studies show it has a negligible effect on cortisol release.

Tribestan is a trade name for an herbal-derived supplement imported from Bulgaria. Virtually all the studies on this enigmatic substance were done in the former Eastern-bloc countries and India, so until recently, it was ignored in Western countries. Tribestan allegedly works by increasing the response of luteinizing hormone in the pituitary gland, which controls testosterone synthesis in the Leydig cells of the testes. The main problem with Tribestan is getting it and getting it at a good price.

Of the available cortisol-inhibiting supplements, the most controversial is a fatlike substance called phosphatidylserine (PS). PS is found naturally in the body, where it's incorporated into cell membranes. Studies show that it increases cognition, or brain function, in older people and may preserve optimal brain function in younger people. As for its effect on cortisol, two published studies show it blunts ACTH release by the pituitary gland. That would decrease cortisol because ACTH travels in the blood to the adrenal glands, where it dictates cortisol release.
The apparent effective dosage of PS for this purpose is 800 milligrams a day. Since the average single pill dose of PS is 100 milligrams, that would entail taking a minimal eight capsules a day. In contrast, the effective dose for so-called smart drug purposes is only 300 milligrams a day. The controversy about PS involves the dearth of studies attesting to its cortisol-blocking actions and the source of the substance itself.

Many of the studies showing the efficacy of PS used a form derived from bovine sources, including the two exercise studies that indicated a decreased cortisol response. Unfortunately, bovine-derived sources strike fear in many people because of an association with the so-called mad cow disease, which is usually fatal. While there is absolutely no evidence linking bovine-derived supplements with the onset of that disease, most of the PS sold today is derived from soybeans.

Some people, especially those at companies that still sell the bovine variety, say soy-derived PS is different due to its slightly varied fatty acid configuration. Animal studies show, however, that the soy version is just as effective as the bovine version in terms of brain-boosting activity. The real question is, Does PS actually have any anticatabolic effects in hard-training natural bodybuilders?

A study that's looking at this question is now under way at California State University, Chico. The results may show once and for all if PS does have value for those interested in promoting bodybuilding progress in a safe, effective and natural manner.

Powerful New Research on Phosphatidylserine

Professor Thomas Fahey of California State University, Chico, recently concluded a study that established the ability of soy-based phosphatidylserine, or PS, to reduce blood cortisol during and after bodybuilding-type workouts. This builds on prior research suggesting PS lowers cortisol produced as a result of endurance exercise. Compared to the placebo group, lifters taking in 800 milligrams of PS exhibited the following effects:

1) Markedly reduced perceived exertion

2) Largely unaltered testosterone levels

3) Blood cortisol reductions of 25 percent   

Based on this and prior studies, it can now be said that PS inhibits exercise-induced cortisol production for both weight-training and endurance athletes, a veritable boon to drug-free bodybuilders whose main barrier to faster hypertrophy is the catabolism caused by high cortisol levels. This underscores the fact that PS supplements such as Muscle-Link's Cort-Bloc should be a supplement staple of all mass-seeking bodybuilders. —Steve Holman, IRONMAN Editor in Chief

Please share this article on facebook

©,2017 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

 

                            Please share this article on facebook