2009 Studies & Research Blog

One of the many benefits of grape seed extract is its ability to modulate estrogen biosynthesis. It achieves this capability via inhibiting a specific enzyme referred to as aromatase.  Aromatase is an enzyme responsible for converting androgen substrates to estrogen.

The high levels of procyanidin dimers, especially the B dimers, found in grape seed extracts have been shown to be potent inhibitors of aromatase. Since aromatase is highly expressed in breast cancer tissue compared with normal breast tissue, data from both in vitro and in vivo studies suggest that grape seed extracts can act as chemopreventive agents against breast cancer by suppressing in situ estrogen biosynthesis.

Reference:

Eng ET, Ye J, Williams D, Phung S, Moore RE, Young MK, Gruntmanis U, Braunstein G, Chen S.Suppression of estrogen biosynthesis by procyanidin dimers in red wine and grape seeds. Cancer Res. 2003 Dec 1;63(23):8516-22.

It has been well established that supplementation with green tea extracts induce favorable changes in both human and animal metabolic parameters. Available research suggests that Green tea extracts can:

• Reduce lipogenesis 1
• Exert antioxidant activity 2
• Lower cholesterol and up regulate the hepatic LDL receptor 3
• Prevent memory regression 4

And just when you think that’s all there is to green tea extract supplementation, a new study conducted by researchers at The University of Birmingham (UK) adds yet another finding to the aforementioned list.

Venables et al. from the Human performance laboratory at The University of Birmingham assessed the effects of a green tea extract on 2 parameters in healthy young men:

1. fat oxidation during moderate intensity (cycling at 60% VO2 max)
2. Insulin sensitivity after a glucose tolerance test.

At the end of the trial, the researchers observed that fat oxidation was 17% higher after ingestion of green tea extract than after ingestion of placebo during moderate intensity exercise. Concurrently, the contribution of fat oxidation to total energy expenditure was significantly higher albeit by a similar percentage than that of the placebo.

Finally, they observed an increase of 13% in insulin sensitivity after ingesting green tea extract.

1- Wolfram S, Wang Y, Thielecke F. Anti-obesity effects of green tea: from bedside to bench. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2006 Feb;50(2):176-87. Review

5- Venables MC, Hulston CJ, Cox HR, Jeukendrup AE. Green tea extract ingestion, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):778-84.

Diabetes is a condition that is affecting the lives of more and more people these days.  Whether it’s due to hereditary factors, lack of physical activity, or the fact that around every corner there’s a fast food restaurant in plain site, people are getting heavier - and for the vast majority, this isn’t muscle gain.

Unfortunately, a great many of these individuals who indulge on a daily basis in foods that are not nutritionally sound or who forgo physical activity for other sedentary activities, are not giving a great deal of thought to what’s happening on their insides. Yes, they gain weight and can see this. That often will spur a change in lifestyle, but by then, it may be too late.  Diabetes is a serious condition that should not be looked at lightly.

Whether you already are diabetic or worry you may be at a high risk, studies have shown that diets comprised of approximately 20% carbohydrates seem to optimize the control you have over the condition and improve symptoms.

In a study conducted by Joensson and Nielsen (2008), obese patients were fed either a diet of 20% carbohydrates or a more mixed diet, consisting of the typical 55-60% recommendation.

This 20% carb diet showed not only superior bodyweight and glycemic control over a 6 month period, but in a follow-up done 44 months later, it was seen that of the 23 eating 20% carbs, two had suffered a cardiovascular event, while out of the other group, 4 out of the 6 suffered an event.  This further demonstrates that long-term reduced carbohydrate diets are likely the best way to go when trying to manage diabetes, especially among the overweight.

Reference:

Joensson EA & Nielsen JV. Low-carbohdrate diet in type 2 diabetes: stable improvement of bodyweight and glycemic control during 44 months follow-up. Nutr. & Metabolism. 2008. 5;14.

Whitt KN, Ward SC, Deniz K, Liu L, Odin JA, Qin L Seminars in Liver Disease. 2008 May;28(2):226-31.Cholestatic liver injury associated with whey protein and creatine supplements. Semin Liver Dis. 2008 May;28(2):226-31

"We present a case of acute cholestatic liver injury associated with the combination of whey protein and creatine supplements. The difficulty of diagnosing drug-induced liver injury is emphasized. The patient is a healthy, 27-year-old man who presented with painless jaundice. He had no occupational exposures to solvents, was not taking prescription medications, and did not use recreational drugs or alcohol. He was an enthusiastic weight-lifter and had been taking creatine for 8 to 9 months and whey protein supplements for 4 weeks prior to the development of symptoms. Laboratory tests revealed elevated total bilirubin (54.7 mg/dL) and alkaline phosphatase (436 U/L), minimally elevated transaminases, and a creatinine of 3.1 mg/dL.

Serologic work-up was negative for viral hepatitis and autoimmune liver disease, and Wilson’s disease was ruled out. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatogram was unremarkable, but a liver biopsy showed marked cholestasis with ductular proliferation. He had dramatic clinical improvement with intravenous fluids and discontinuation of the nutritional supplements. In patients with acute liver injury, clinicians should inquire about dietary supplement usage and consider immediate discontinuation of all unnecessary products. We describe a case of profound jaundice related to a commonly used and reportedly safe combination of such supplements”

As many of you may or may not know, there are relatively new adverse reaction reporting protocols in place for dietary supplements which began December 2006. Essentially, this serves as a collection house for health care professionals and consumers to report negative experiences with dietary supplements. Politics aside, this has been put in place to protect consumers and to hopefully root out dangerous or mislabeled dietary supplements.

Now if you read the abstract above, you are probably wondering how could creatine or whey protein cause cholestatic liver injury? The fact of the matter is, supplemental creatine would only raise creatinine to a significant degree and not the other clinical markers (1,2). So should we point the finger at whey protein for elevating the questionable clinical markers since creatine most likely did not?

In reality, whey protein has actually proven to have a positive impact on the liver in many clinical studies (3-5)  often lowering the same parameters including bile duct proliferation (3). The same can be said for casein protein and whey hydrolysates (3,5) but that is a moot point. Regardless, we are still left with the question of what could have potentially caused this man’s cholestatic liver injury?

One use of terminology that I found rather intriguing in this citation was the term “enthusiastic weight lifter” and also the time frame in which he began using “whey supplements.” Now I may be going out on a limb here, but perhaps instead of starting whey protein four weeks prior to his ailment, could there be a possibility he was taking some form of oral steroid? It’s not like anyone hasn’t done a four week cycle of oral steroids before and had elevated hepatic liver values right? Either way, it is a definite possibility that an “enthusiastic weightlifter” might turn to steroids to increase their strength and muscle mass. There is no doubt about that.

Let’s think about this for second. Have oral steroids over cause cholestatic liver injury? Have oral steroids ever been attributed to elevated bilirubin that can cause Jaundice? Have they been attributed to raising liver enzymes such as the ones noted in the case study? The answer quite succinctly is yes (7-13). For detailed description of how this occurs please read A Closer Look at Steroid Liver Toxicity by M. Fischer. Now what is absolutely disturbing regarding our case study is that they did not even think or have the wherewithal to investigate this possibility. Instead, they based their conclusions on the patient’s testimonial regarding creatine and whey protein instead checking for an elevated T/E ratio or serum testosterone levels.

Jaundice Is A Yellowing Of The Skin, Sclera & Mucous Membranes.

Now what is more alarming? The fact that these hepatologists do not even know how some of the most widely consumed dietary sport supplements effect the organ which they specialize in? On the flipside, is it even worse the board of reviewers who accepted this case study for publication didn’t think to question their results either? Perhaps the stark possibility this case study might be presented one day as justification to remove access to proven ergogenic aides? We could speculate all day what a travesty this is, but the fact remains this misinformation is still out there. Even the safest of supplements are sure to be scrutinized under false pretenses.

The reason why I brought your attention to this particular case study is that it really illustrates just how ill-informed and prejudiced the established medical community can be against dietary supplements like creatine and whey protein. It is my hope that many of the myths regarding supplementation are dispelled so the tide of ignorance that is quite prevalent among some medical researchers doesn’t catch the watchful eye of Uncle Sam anymore then they already have. It’s up to every one of you to help secure your rights to freedom of choice before those choices are taken away from you.

To encourage awareness I will be contacting the authors of the study for a rebuttal. Stay tuned.

1. Robinson TM, Sewell DA, Casey A, Steenge G, Greenhaff PL. Dietary creatine supplementation does not affect some haematological indices, or indices of muscle damage and hepatic and renal function. Br J Sports Med. 2000 Aug;34(4):284-8.

Do you enjoy video games? Sure, we all do. But don’t you wish you could contribute to society as a whole while you’re playing those time-killers? Well now you can. With fold.it you can contribute to important scientific research in protein folding.

What Is Protein Folding?

Protein folding is the process in which a polypeptide, or amino-acid chain, folds itself into a functional 3-dimensional structure. A straight chain of amino acids can’t really do all that much. But if that chain is collapsed in upon itself, it becomes a functional protein. Studying protein folding could help us better understand certain diseases and eventually create possible cures.

Fold.It

A great deal of study already goes on trying to find out the precise way an amino acid folds itself into a protein. There are a number of projects that use idle CPU time on personal computers to work through millions of different folding possibilities. While that is an important part of the research, the folks at Fold.It believe a more intuitive approach would be more beneficial.

The human mind is already designed to tackle 3-dimensional problem solving. Which is exactly what protein folding is. So they’ve turned folding into an online game. You are given a 3-dimensional representation of a protein that has been improperly folded. By twisting and turning the chain into different color coded shapes you slowly work your way to a functional protein.

Like a 21st Century version of the Rubix Cube, Fold.It is surprisingly addictive. You check out more about the game, and register for a free account at Fold.It

Hi everyone,

Carl Juneau here. I’ll let you know more about me in the biography snippet at the end of this post, but hopefully I’ll be a regular contributor to this blog.

To begin I thought I’d review an older research paper on flexibility training and everyone’s favorite exercise: the bench press (1).

In this study, 18 Australian powerlifters (26 years old, 205 lbs, 7 years of training experience, and bench press 1 RM=288 lbs, on average) were divided in two groups. Both performed their usual twice-a-week bench press training sessions, but one of them (the stretching group) added 10 to 15 minutes of stretching of the pectorals and the front shoulder muscle (anterior deltoideus) at the end of every session.

Eight weeks later, the 1 RM of the stretching group improved by 16 lbs (a 5.4 % statistically significant increase), whereas the 1 RM of the control (non stretching) group improved by only 1.5 lbs (a negligible, non statistically significant improvement).

A 5.4 % increase in bench press maximum strength in experienced lifters in such a short (8 weeks) time frame is surprising and would certainly be welcome by most readers of this blog.

A basic chest stretch is illustrated in Complete Chest Training by Richard Choueiri (near the bottom). Another effective stretch I recommend is benching with a light weight (just the bar, for example) slowly and all the way down until the bar touches your chest (if you don’t normally). Two slow sets of 15 repetitions at a 2-down, 2 seconds pause, 2-up tempo with 30 seconds between sets should work for starters. Google chest stretch for more ideas.

Straight Arm Chest Stretch

Two warnings: stretching (especially static stretching) before the workout is a bad idea, since some research indicates that it reduces performances for the remainder of the workout (2). I recommend you stretch at the end of your workouts, just like the lifters of this study.

Also, lifters in the stretch group probably increased their bench press because their chest flexibility improved (13.1 % more range of motion at the shoulder joint, on average). Naturally flexible trainees might not benefit as much from stretching. If you’re already very flexible (skinny people tend to) your time may be better invested in more work sets or just plain rest.

References
1. Wilson GJ et al. Stretch shorten cycle performance enhancement through flexibility training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1992 Jan;24(1):116-23.
2. Nelson AG et al. Inhibition of maximal voluntary isokinetic torque production following stretching is velocity-specific. J Strength Cond Res. 2001 May; 15(2): 241-6.

***

If you’re still reading, chances are, you want to know more about me. I (really) am passionate about weightlifting, and I enjoy reading (mostly on leadership and personal development), studying (currently at the Ph.D in Health Promotion), and spending quality time with friends.

I also run a website dedicated to helping people get six pack abs. Right now you can get the free introductory “Six Pack Success” course ($97 value) and a free beginner abdominal training program, complete with pictures and exercise descriptions ($67 value) by signing up for my newsletter at www.sixpackabsexercises.com.

Besides water being necessary for survival, drinking water cuts hunger and creates a feeling of fullness. Furthermore, consuming water also has the benefit of increasing metabolic rate and burning more calories.

Researchers have found that consuming 500mL of water increased the subjects’ resting metabolic rate by 25 percent and that means an extra 20 calories for 60 minutes. Water increases calorie burning by diluting the blood going to the liver and by turning on the SNS (sympathetic nervous system). The cells in the body have very sensitive methods for regulating fluids in the blood and intra- and inter- cellular fluid. Intake of water activated this system and this increases the expenditure of energy.

    It is important to note however, that drinking too much water can cause hyponatremia (sodium concentration falling below a required amount) and this can be dangerous. The study, though interesting, is not an indication that consuming excessive amounts of water is either recommended or effective in weight control. That’s not to say, however, that water consumption isn’t important in a healthy lifestyle as we all know.

SOURCE: Journal Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism, 92: 3334-3337, 2007.

A recent study on ten healthy male subjects comparing protein synthesis rates during resistance type exercise was recently completed.  Just prior to exercise and every 15 minutes throughout the training session, subjects ingested a protein hydrolysate, combined with carbohydrate, or carbohydrates alone. It was found that, the protein hydrolysate+carbohydrates lowered whole-body protein breakdown (catabolism) greater than carbohydrate only and increased muscle protein synthesis (anabolism) rates, greater than carbohydrates alone.

GYM RAT RELEVANCE: This study was actually done on HEALTHY humans, which is somewhat rare in supplement research, where all too often studies are done on unhealthy/inactive subjects. Additionally the two concoctions and their impact on protein synthesis and degradation,  was actually being looked at DURING exercise, further increasing the relevance of this studies results to gym goers looking for the optimal concoction to sip on during workouts.

On the contrary, this study only looked at acute effects, so without a longer term study, it’s difficult to know how great of significance these changes will bring about in lean body mass (LBM) changes in the long run. It also would have been nice had they compared the protein hydrolysate alone to the carbohydrate alone(controlling for equal calories). As always, more research is needed and this is a just a  small peace of a large puzzle in nutrient timing science. Hopefully it will pave the way, for other researcher to build on and perform longer studies with more variables.

In conclusion: The outcome of this study showed, ingesting a protein hydrolysate with carbohydrates, during exercise, appears to be more effective than carbohydrate alone, for increasing whole-body and muscle protein synthesis, as well as decreasing muscle breakdown

Beelen M, Koopman R, Gijsen AP, Vanderevt H, Kies AK, Saris WH, van Loon LJ. Protein co-ingestion stimulates muscle protein synthesis during resistance type exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2008 [Epub ahead of print]

The Studies & Research Blog is your resource for updated information regarding fitness, including training, nutrition, supplementation and much more! Check back often as more information will be added almost every day!