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…
If you are following the anti-aging media news, you’ve heard about the alleged benefits of calorie restriction (also known as food restriction or diet restriction). Studies in numerous species have demonstrated that reduction of calories 30-50% below ad libitum levels of a nutritious diet slows the aging process, increases lifespan, reduces the incidence and delays the onset of age-related diseases, improves stress resistance, and decelerates functional decline.
In a previous article http://www.brinkzone.com/general-health/calorie-restriction-vs-the-bodybuilding-lifestyle/ Will pointed out that practicing calorie restriction counters the bodybuilding lifestyle. Here I will explain that it not only counters the bodybuilding lifestyle, but also is makes it impossible to implement and reap the benefits of other healthy lifestyle habits, and in addition brings along several pitfalls and negative health consequences in humans.
While animal studies can and do shed light on what’s going on at mechanistic level, we have to be very careful and resist the temptation to extrapolate results from animal experiments to humans. Here I will make the case for that we can age gracefully and successfully and increase our health span and “youngevity” without having to starve ourselves for life.
ARNOLD CLASSIC 2013 Expo Highlights!
Here’s my vid from “The Arnold” as it’s referred to. Each year I try and focus on something a little different so people can get the real flavor of the show and its diversity of events.
I think this year it has a good selection people may not expect to see at The Arnold, plus my usual ‘favorite’ topics to video… 
It’s not often I come across a new piece of training equipment that makes me say “I wanna try that!.” Most of what I see for “new” training equipment is either a rehashed concept, or more a novelty.
The Slayer Barbell is a new design that has merit, so I decided to get my hands on one and try it. I also left it at my gym for other members to use, and it’s quickly become one of the most popular training tools in the gym. Below is a vid I made with a few friends using the Slayer.
Although the “bread and butter” of this bar is arm training, one can do a surprising number of effective exercises with it in a very small footprint as well as a few specialty exercises, such as bridges. See an example of whole body training I did with fitness model Kelly HERE.
As with any training tool, it’s a tool in the tool box. Not going to change your life and make you “a mass monster in 20 days and give you a body of a God” or any such nonsense, but I think it makes a great addition to a home gym or commercial set up. There’s more that can be done with this bar then my simple vids shows.
The manufacturer is currently giving away a copy of my book The Sports Supplement Bible FREE with any purchase of a Slayer Bar for the month of February, so if you’ve been thinking of trying one, you’ll have my book to read! Hit HERE if interested
PS, they liked my video so much they asked permission to use it on their site, so you’ll see the above vid their too 
The Facts on Waxy Maize, Vitargo, and other carb sources
As found on Muscular Development Magazine
© 2009 – 2012
A few years back a bunch of studies supported the concept that both the timing and type of carbohydrate athletes used could have positive effects – for both aerobic and anaerobic oriented athletes. Since then there has been a rush to find the “best” pre and post workout carb source. As is typical for the bodybuilding/fitness industry, a new “miracle” carb source burst onto the market almost monthly promising muscle growth second only to an Anadrol* enema, but I digress… The point being, there’s been a great deal of information, misinformation, and down right disinformation, regarding these “amazing miracle anabolic” carb sources. The pinnacle of which, is Waxy Maize Starch (WMS), but before we get to that, let’s back up a second to recap why the focus on these carb sources.
