Or maybe both? In this vid I cover this controversial supplement and give science based advice.
Whey protein has become a staple nutritional supplement with both athletic populations requiring the highest possible quality protein to help recuperate from exercise, and those interested in the various health and disease fighting benefits of whey.
However, whey is a complex protein which leads to various questions regarding this biologically active protein. Some of this confusion has stemmed from the marketing efforts of various companies competing for sales in a very competitive market. Some of the confusion stems from a simple misunderstanding of the science of whey.
This Q&A will attempt to address some of the most common questions regarding whey as it applies to some of the major differences between types of whey, such as whey concentrates and whey isolates and other common sources of confusion. For in-depth information on whey and its many potential health benefits, read the “50 Shades Of Whey”
Q1:“What are the essential differences and advantages/disadvantages of each type of whey protein? Isolate, concentrates?”
Is good form during weight lifting essential to gaining muscle mass? Many think good form is an essential factor, but is it? The answer may surprise you!
Viagra and muscle? Does Viagra, or Cialis help build muscle? Athletes from body builders to football players to mountain climbers use these PDE inhibitor drugs. Why? In this vid I cover the facts behind their use.
Sildenafil Increases Muscle Protein Synthesis and Reduces Muscle Fatigue
Clinical and Translational Science
Volume 6, Issue 6, pages 463–468, December 2013
Abstract
Reductions in skeletal muscle function occur during the course of healthy aging as well as with bed rest or diverse diseases such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, and heart failure. However, there are no accepted pharmacologic therapies to improve impaired skeletal muscle function. Nitric oxide may influence skeletal muscle function through effects on excitation-contraction coupling, myofibrillar function, perfusion, and metabolism. Here we show that augmentation of nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate signaling by short-term daily administration of the phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor sildenafil increases protein synthesis, alters protein expression and nitrosylation, and reduces fatigue in human skeletal muscle. These findings suggest that phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors represent viable pharmacologic interventions to improve muscle function.
Exercise protects against heart disease in many ways. One important mechanism is by elevating HDL, a.k.a. the “good” cholesterol.[1] It is well established that high levels of HDL are protective against cardiovascular disease and the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) has emphasized increasing HDL levels to help reduce CHD risk. [2-4] However, not only HDL levels are important. Emerging research in showing that HDL quality and function is as important, if not more important for health promotion and prevention of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases…[5-7]
In a previous article “Fish Oil for Fat Loss” I outlined studies showing a potential fat loss effect of fish oil. Recently, a small meta-analysis including data from four studies [2-5], concluded :
“None of the studies reported a statistically significant effect of fish oil treatment relative to placebo. Further analysis showed no relationship between body weight change with intervention duration, or n-3 dosage, nor any funnel effect with study sample size. This analysis does not support the hypothesis that daily n-3 oil supplementation reduces body weight and BMI in the overweight and obese.”
First, drawing such a definitive conclusion based on data from only 4 studies, that are heterogeneous, is misleading. Second, the studies didn’t provide enough information to allow the meta-analysis to adjust for factors that might abrogate the fat loss effect of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, found in fatty fish and fish oil.
Growth Hormone (GH) supplements have been around forever, and have made a recent come back. Are they legit? Do they increase muscle mass or reduce body fat as claimed? I cover these supplements in this vid!
BTW, My books on the right column of this page cover GH supplements in depth if interested in more info ===>
If you’re following the health news, you know that vitamin D currently is in the media spotlight, and rightly so. Will Brink just did a great podcast “Vitamin D3 – scam or panacea?“, giving an overview on the importance vitamin D. In this article I will expand upon some key points taken up in the podcast, and back up the case with a solid reference list of recent studies on the topic. I will also present some revealing prevalence stats on vitamin D insufficiency, in order to convince you to get your blood levels checked to find out your vitamin D status.
Vitamin D is interesting for several reasons:
1. The role of vitamin D for health promotion has undergone a paradigm shift. While traditionally thought to only be important for development and maintenance of strong bones, an impressive body of scientific research has accumulated over the past decade, showing that adequate vitamin D levels are necessary to prevent many diseases, especially cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction, diabetes (both type-1 and type-2), the metabolic syndrome, chronic inflammation, cancer, osteoporosis (including falls and fractures), muscle weakness, cognitive dysfunction and mental illness, autoimmune diseases (e.g. multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis), infectious diseases, as well as infertility and adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes [1-24].
Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency is associated with all-cause mortality [1], and supplementation has been shown to decrease mortality rates [25, 26]. It has been estimated that doubling vitamin D levels in the general population (from 21 ng/mL to 44 ng/mL) would reduce vitamin D-related disease mortality rate by 20%, and increase life expectancy with about 2 years [27].
2. Insufficient levels of vitamin D also have direct implications for fitness enthusiasts and athletic performance, due to the importance of vitamin D for muscle function (I will cover this in much more dept in an upcoming article) [28-39].
3. In contrast to other vitamins, vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency is very common (more on that below).
4. The vitamin D requirement for health promotion and protection against the mentioned diseases and muscle dysfunction is much higher than the dietary recommendations (RDA) for bone health [4, 40-45].
Having heard about all the vitamin D benefits you might wonder what is the optimal vitamin D level? How low is too low and how high is too high? How much vitamin D does one have to consume to reap all the benefits? Let’s find out…
Creatine is one of the few dietary supplements that have a very solid scientific support for its efficacy in increasing strength, explosive performance and muscle mass. So the question in not whether it is effective, but rather how to supplement it to reap maximal effectiveness?
There are several theories on how to take creatine; some say your should load and then lower the dose, while others say you can get good results by a low dosage regimen without loading. Yet others say you should cycle the creatine and take breaks from it in between cycles. And then we have the issue of dosages and how to ingest it. In addition there is a lot of confusion about the myriad for creatine forms that claim to be superior over the golden standard creatine monohydrate. Are the new fancy creatine-super-duper formulations really worth their price? Let’s review it all here and see what the research is saying.
Part 1 of 3 on the deleterious effects of too much sitting
Are you struggling to lose that extra flab and all those nasty calories that seem to be glued to your waistline? Do you ever wonder why, despite your hard training and dieting, you still have those annoying love handles? Then maybe you should try to implement the NEAT way to fat loss…
