2009 Studies & Research Blog

It’s well known that one of the key aspects to managing diabetes is making sure you keep your weight within a reasonable range.  Being over weight can not only lead to the development of diabetes, but it can also make managing it more difficult as well.

As many of those who are either at risk for diabetes or are concerned about the development of diabetes put themselves on a weight loss diet, many will have to utilize this calorie restriction intake for quite a lengthy period of time to get to their intended goal weight.

In addition to managing diabetes, long term calorie restriction has also been noted to be beneficial for increasing the lifespan so many individuals who do not even have a weight problem to start with are also adopting such a diet to hopefully enjoy those benefits.

Before doing so though, it’s important to bear in mind what long term calorie restriction does to insulin sensitivity.

In a study that was conducted out of the Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science and Center for Human Nutrition in Washington, researchers assed the effects of long-term calorie restriction on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity by measuring body composition, glucose and insulin responses to an oral glucose tolerance test, and serum adipokines in 28 volunteers who had been utilizing a calorie restricted diet for an average of 6.9 years (+/- 5.5).   The researchers also wanted to integrate the impact of exercise on the results of this study so they assessed those who were also performing endurance training while utilizing the calorie restriction (which is quite common again among those who are aiming to lose fat), with sedentary subjects eating the traditional western diet.

The results from the study indicated that those who were using the calorie restriction diets while exercising showed significant higher insulin sensitivity however also showed an exaggerated hyperglycaemic response to a glucose load.

What the take home message from this is then is that while calorie restriction is beneficial for losing weight and improving diabetes management from that sense, you need to be even more careful when do you have a higher carbohydrate meal because the impact on your blood glucose could be overly exaggerated compared to if you were not using a calorie restriction diet over the long term.

So keep this in mind.  Learning how your body responds to different diet protocols is important for not only feeling well but also managing disease conditions such as diabetes.

Holloszy, JO. (2009). Effect of long-term calorie restriction and endurance exercise on glucose tolerance, insulin action, and adipokine production.  Age (Dordr). Nov 11.

Any student-athlete, weekend warrior, or family man or woman with a penchant for fitness knows this simple fact - sometimes, exercise and a busy lifestyle don’t seem to mix.  Far from a match made in heaven, the pairing of seemingly endless obligations and the pursuit of fitness goals can make for a hectic schedule.  But out of this chaos is born a powerful tool - efficiency.  Whether you’re working out on lunch or employing supersets, finding ways to kill the proverbial two birds with one dumbbell is a great solution.

So if this concept of efficiency works in terms of training, shouldn’t it be applicable to supplementation as well?  In some cases, such as the use of Yohimbe, the answer is an emphatic "yes."  So what makes yohimbe efficient?  The fact that this one powerful supplement can have so many powerful effects that will help you reach your goals quicker than ever before.  But this isn’t some synthetic, so-called super-supplement.  Yohimbe is natural, derived from the bark of a tree.  Like many other plant-based compounds, Yohimbe has been shown in some studies to have antioxidant properties, meaning that it can help prevent against oxidative damage from free radicals.  This is particularly relevant to active individuals, as exercise does lead to increases in free radicals.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Research has also shown Yohimbe to be a powerful weapon in one’s fat loss arsenal, as it can "lower the respiratory quotient during and following exercise, thus promoting fat loss," but without excessive elevation of heart rate or blood pressure, unlike some other fat-burning products.  Scientific study has also indicated that Yohimbe may also have synergistic effects with other fat loss supplements and could improve the fat-burning response in resistant individuals, such as the elderly (1).

Futhermore, Yohimbe also acts as a vasodilator, or a compound that expands blood vessels.  This means it can reduce the likelihood of high blood pressure and improve the delivery of nutrients to working muscles, as well as facilitate easier removal of waste products, such as lactic acid.  As a result, you’ll be able to get more sets done in less time with improved recovery and power through HIIT sessions with relative ease.

And Yohimbe’s effects aren’t just limited to the gym; Yohimbe has also been shown to have potent effects on libido, and the vasodilating properties have been shown to improve sexual function (2).

As you can see, Yohimbe is a hard-working, efficient supplement, addressing a broad spectrum of physical demands and improving many aspects of one’s life.  So if you’re all about efficiency, why not add a supplement to your arsenal that will complement your efforts?

SOURCES:

1. McCarty, Mark F. Pre-exercise administration of yohimbine may enhance the efficacy of exercise training as a fat loss strategy by boosting lipolysis. Medical Hypothesis, 2002; 58(6): 491-495.

2. Hollander, Eric; McCarley, Allison. Yohimbine treatment of sexual side effects induced by serotonin reuptake blockers. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 1992; 53(6): 207-209.

While you will always get some people who are heavily involved in their weight training thinking they need extreme volumes of protein to build muscle mass, there are other people who still struggle to get in the minimums.  Many have heard that they require one gram per pound of body weight and shun this off as being too high because they have read that the Dietary Reference Intake recommendations are set much lower at 0.66 to 0.8 kg/day.  

For the average 150 pound person, this works out to a measly 45 to 55 grams per day.  They take that as their guide though because it’s backed by the ‘DRI’.

Recently a review was conducted by the research institute in Toronto in conjunction with the Food and Nutritional Sciences department of the University of Alberta to assess the validity of this information.

The researchers noted that traditionally the total protein requirements in adult humans were based using nitrogen balance using a single linear regression analysis.  These researchers however re-analyzed the existing nitrogen balance studies using a two-phase linear regression analysis instead and obtained from their findings a safe protein requirement of between 0.91 and 0.99 grams per kilogram per day.  

The researchers stated that the two-phase linear regression analysis is considered to be more appropriate of a measure when applies to humans and also developed an alternative method for assessing protein requirements by using the amino acid oxidation technique.

From this technique they arrived at safe reference intakes of 0.93 to 1.2 grams per kilogram per day, which as you can clearly see are much higher than the previous recommendations.

So from this we can conclude that before you set your protein intakes to the standard DRI, you may want to rethink that.  There is certainly no harm in bringing them higher and in almost all cases, you will see positive benefits from doing so. With the wide variety of protein-based supplements available today, there is no reason to not meet your protein requirements and maximize your ability to build lean muscle tissue.

Reference:
Ball, RO. Et al. (2009). Evidence that protein requirements have been significantly underestimated. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. Oct 16.

f you spend enough time around the world of fitness, nutrition, and supplementation, you’ll realize that absolutely nothing is ever written in stone. Despite the fact that something may be accepted as fact one day, debate may rage over the concept the next. Some of this is due to the fact that the activities and interests of athletes and average consumers vary widely from era to era. This contributes to alterations in the way diets and supplements are recommended and used. In addition, different activities may necessitate new combinations of techniques and supplements, which often produce unexpected results.

Another reason for the fluctuations in the fitness world is the fact that even though many techniques and recommendations are considered to be "established," studies in this field are all relatively new. Intense scientific scrutiny of exercise science, physiology and supplementation are recent phenomena in the grand scheme of human history. So even if a substance or technique has "proven" effects, a newer study may emerge and offer completely different results. That doesn’t discount the earlier research, though; it just indicates how quickly the fitness world can evolve.

Of course, not every new study debunks an old one, and not every recommendation will be refuted at some point. Some new research confirms what is already known, adding an extra degree of legitimacy to supplement claims. And some studies may even find new, unexpected benefits and uses for nutrients and supplements. In some cases, this kind of research can take a supplement that was thought to be merely moderately useful and elevate it into a veritable "super-supplement" in many people’s minds. If the new uses of a supplement aren’t widely known, though, it effectively becomes a secret weapon for those in the know.

Take, for example, melatonin. Up until this year, melatonin was known solely as a superb sleep aid and calming agent. However, two major studies have indicated that isn’t all this supplement can do. The first study indicated that melatonin could be useful in gaining mass or leaning out, as taking melatonin before a cardiovascular training session increased growth hormone release (1). While GH is widely known to aid in anabolism, it also induces muscles to burn fat, making it effective in two fronts in the war against an average physique.

And if that’s not enough to make melatonin a staple in your regimen, consider this. Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant, and a study found that supplementation of melatonin led to a reduction in the aging of brain cells. Usually, the functioning of the mitochondria (energy production units) of cells decreases with age. However, melatonin supplementation helped to reduce the rate of degeneration (2).

As these studies show, melatonin is nothing short of a super supplement. With a diverse array of advantages, there’s really no reason not to be using it.

SOURCES:

1. Meeking, DR, et al. Exercise-induced GH secretion is enhanced by the oral ingestion of melatonin in healthy adult male subjects. European Journal of Endocrinology, 1999; 141(1): 22-26

2. Carretero, Miguel, et al. Long-term melatonin administration protects brain mitochondria from aging. Journal of Pineal Research, 2009; 47(2): 192-200

Performing physical training on a regular basis is one of the best ways to go about losing body fat and improving your overall health including the metabolic rate that is seen in the body.  There has been a number of research studies conducted that demonstrate that those who are performing sprint interval sessions show greater metabolic boosts compared with those who are doing straight cardio workouts, often making this the choice of workout for many.

Before jumping strictly on the interval bandwagon however, you may want to consider a few of the benefits you’ll see from aerobic training as well.

Recently researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch assessed what impact lower intensity cardio training had on the fatty acid utilization of trained and untrained men.

They recorded whole body lipid kinetics, looking at the rates of glycerol and free fatty acid appearance in the plasma as well as lipid oxidation through indirect calorimetery before, during, and after exercise was completed.

The results of the study indicated that the lipolytic response to 4 hours of exercise was similar in both trained and untrained men, however the mean triglyceride oxidation was greater during exercise in the trained subjects compared to the untrained group.

It was also seen that during recovery, glycerol and FFA Ra values were decreased more rapidly in trained men, showing that those who were already endurance trained show a greater reliance on fat as fuel during low-intensity exercise and also, their lipid kinetics return to baseline more rapidly in trained men than in untrained subjects.

From this research then we can conclude that endurance training does help the body get better at utilizing fatty acids as fuel and you will see enhanced glycogen sparing during lower intensity exercise, which can potentially come in helpful for those who are involved in both endurance and strength and power activity.

Reference:
Coyle, EF, Klein, S. & Wolfe, RR. (1994). Fat metabolism during low-intensity exercise in endurance-trained and untrained men.  Am J Physiology. Dec;267(6 Pt 1): E934-40.

With so many advances in the supplement industry, one could argue that there now exists a greater opportunity to be in optimal health than ever before.  With antioxidants, precision-designed meal replacement shakes and bars, and an overall cultural focus on fitness, our society seems to have everything it needs to achieve high levels of athletic performance and great health.  Of course, there is a slight drawback in the focus on newer, cutting edge supplements - forgetting about old, reliable ones.

While no one is going to argue against the importance of something like protein in a strength athlete’s goals, concentrating on all of the ‘extras’ may overshadow the basics, such as a multivitamin.  What people don’t realize, though, is that even with all of their other supplements, multivitamins are still needed; these seemingly simple pills form the foundation for overall health.

But with (supposedly) healthier food, including organic vegetables and free-range meat, can’t people just get all of the nutrients they need from their diet?  You might like to think so, but that’s not the case.  What many people don’t realize is that cooking actually leeches nutrients from food, reducing their vitamin and mineral content significantly.  And the extent of the damage may be surprising - one study found that after boiling, spinach retained just 49 percent of its folate content, while broccoli retained just 44 percent (1).  These statistics are even more discouraging when one considers boiling is considered to be one of the lowest-risk cooking methods in terms of nutrient loss, due to the lack of extreme heat or long cooking times.

Of course, it’s always easier to obtain nutrients from your diet if you’re on a bulk, as you’ve got a large calorie budget in which to include healthy foods.  But for those who are cutting, downing a few bananas and potatoes each day really isn’t an option.  In these cases, a calorie-free multivitamin is a veritable lifesaver, as B vitamins can provide much needed energy and a mineral such as chromium can aid in the metabolism of foods.

So while multivitamins may not be as flashy as other supplements, they are every bit as important, and perhaps moreso.  In addition, multivitamins can actually help consumers save money by freeing them from the need to purchase a truckfull of produce each day.

SOURCE:

1. McKillop, Derek J., et al. The effect of different cooking methods on folate retention in various foods that are amongst the major contributors to folate intake in the UK diet. British Journal of Nutrition, 2002; 88:681-688