tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44472491235196583472024-03-16T08:08:59.659+01:00SuppVersity - Nutrition and Exercise Science for EveryoneWhere BRO- and PRO-Science Unite in the Spirit of True WisdomAdel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-88696174029061126292017-11-09T04:42:00.000+01:002017-11-09T04:50:28.814+01:0016 Little Known Plants + Phytocompounds to Control(!) Your Cortisol Levels | Plus: A Dozen Better-Known Alternatives
Don't forget: Cortisol is no stressor, it's released to help us cope w/ stress.
While I have repeatedly emphasized that the notion of cortisol as the "muscle-catabolic stress hormone" you have to "keep as low as possible" is fundamentally flawed, there are reasons why you may want to control your cortisol levels within what would be considered the circadian normal zone, i.e. high(er) levels ofAdel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-4495343286780432492017-01-23T04:08:00.000+01:002017-01-23T04:09:59.105+01:00Overlooked and Hushed Up?! The 10-20% Performance Gain From Short-Term Glucocorticoid ('Dex', 'Pred' & Co) Use
Even though their efficacy is still doubted by some doping researchers, the existing evidence leaves little doubt that glucocorticoid doping is as prevalent and efficient as it is risky (Duclos. 2010).
If you have read my "all about cortisol"-article from 2013, you belong to the handpicked elite of fitness enthusiasts, who understand that the glucocorticoid and/or its natural, i.e. cortisone, Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-11891713854140251312016-10-07T07:22:00.000+02:002016-10-07T07:22:21.460+02:00Overtrained or in the Zone? Tests & Analyses of Samples of Athletes' Saliva Shall Help Determine Objective Criteria
Could something as simple as a saliva test tell you if you or your clients are overtraining? I mean, common sense would dictate that cortisol, free T and IL-6 should tell us something.
Salivary testosterone, cortisol, and interleukin-6, those are the three parameters Travis Anderson and colleagues had on their list of candidates when they conducted their latest study at the University of Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-33534835371916935762016-10-03T04:00:00.000+02:002016-10-15T11:56:04.272+02:00Licorice Flavonoid Oil - More Muscle, Less Fat in 16-Week RCT W/ Human Subjects W/ Only 300 mg of LFO per Day
I know this will disappoint you, but as of now, it seems as if licorice would help you burn the invisible visceral fat, only. That's healthy(-ier) than subcutaneous fat loss, but probably not how you get from lean 15% to ripped 5% body fat.
In the fitness industry, licorice doesn't have a good reputation. While many report astonishing benefits of licorice extract when they recover from Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-16341923649504178332016-09-17T05:48:00.000+02:002017-11-09T02:57:05.414+01:00Take Control of Your Cortisol Levels - Use These 5x Stress-Modulating Diet, Lifestyle & Supplementation Rules Wisely
Always remember: You want to control cortisol, not eradicate it if you want to melt away your belly fat, beat your personal bests and feel just great!
As a SuppVersity reader, you belong to the chosen few who know that cortisol is not the villain as which it is stigmatized in the fitness industry (obviously to sell supplements | learn more). Rather than being "bad" or "good", cortisol, a Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-40541264097693483772016-07-13T05:25:00.000+02:002016-07-13T07:28:00.549+02:00Excessive Cardio & Testosterone: The free T / Cortisol Ratio Revisited | Plus: Why Even a 72% Decrease in fT/C May be Less Significant for Your Gains Than You Thought It'd Be
Cardio - Only "too much" can hurt you.
Let me get this straight: this is not an anti-cardio article. There's not just little, there's rather absolutely no doubt that a sane amount of endurance training is nothing but healthy for us, but done in excess, especially "running has been demonstrated to provide a large physiological stress to the body, resulting in large neuroendocrine system Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-41357409056872660032016-02-13T04:54:00.000+01:002016-02-13T05:09:17.926+01:00HMB for Every, Not Just Strength Athletes? Lower Body Fat, Improved VO2, Muscle, Testosterone in 2x12 Week Study
Lean muscle for athletes? HMB could help, irrespective of exercise type - by increasing strength, lean mass and VO2. In the study at hand, all three increased and that is / was in highly trained athletes.
You've read all articles about HMB at the SuppVersity? In that case you will be aware that HMB has hitherto been perceived rather as a strength / bodybuilding than an endurance supplement. Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-68873910795236244932015-10-29T16:12:00.000+01:002015-12-27T08:08:16.965+01:00Cardio After Weights! Doing Resistance Before Endurance Training Has More Beneficial Effects on Leptin, Cortisol, Testosterone and Body Composition in Young Men
I can almost guarantee that the results of this study are not sex-specific. Ladies, pick up the weights fater you hit the treadmill, stairmaster, elliptical or other torture instrument you like to use!
It has been a while since the last study on exercise order (cardio or weights first) has been published. Now, scientists from the University of Kurdistan have conducted another study to Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-27513553806730494632015-10-21T13:53:00.000+02:002015-10-21T13:59:24.686+02:00Low Grade Metabolic Acidosis May Eat Away Your Bones and Blow Up Your Belly Via Empowering Glucocorticoids!
The way we eat and live is not just obesogenic it is also acidogenic... or is the former just a consequence of the latter?
I've written about the nasty effects of low grade metabolic acidosis which include calcium loss and brittle bones, nitrogen / protein loss and decreased protein synthesis, impaired growth hormone and IGF-1 production and more in a 2013 SuppVersity Science Round-Up&Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-12162557313949625262015-07-21T16:05:00.000+02:002015-07-22T06:05:34.266+02:00Overreaching A Promising, But Tricky Training Strategy - Here's How it Rewards Pains & Effort With 5% Higher Peak Power Gains After 12 Workout vs. Training W/ Adequ. Rest
No rest(-day) allowed - at least during the short (!) overreaching phase you will be training through the pain & fatigue if you are determined to succeed.
You've read about the difference between the catabolic, anti-adaptive effects of overtraining and overreaching before, but do you actually know what it takes to overreach not train? In a recent study from Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-3151929099021914452015-06-18T12:24:00.000+02:002015-06-19T05:26:10.392+02:00Training in Hypoxia Makes You Stronger, Bigger & Leaner | Short Rest Doubles Energy Expenditure During & After Ex. | C+E + NSAID + Whey + Cold Water for "Instant" Recovery
The less you rest, the more you burn.
If you're looking for the latest exercise science news, look no further! In today's installment of the short news you will learn about the effects of different rest intervals on the acute metabolic effects of "battling the rope", the effects of 5-week resistance training in hypoxia on the hormonal response to exercise and muscle strength and exercise Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-36707445117412210892015-04-02T11:57:00.001+02:002015-04-02T12:00:20.933+02:00Endurance (Over-)Training - Are Even 25 Minutes Too Much for Us to Handle or is the Decrease in DHEA and Increase in Cortisol in Response to 3 Workouts / Week Irrelevant?
Can 25 minutes thrice per week really be "too much" cardio for young, healthy women or is DHEA/CORTISOL another bogus marker of overtraining? Find out in today's SuppVersity article.
If you've read the articles in the SuppVersity Athlete's Triad Series you will know that "cardio" training, and here specifically doing hours of high intensity cardio workouts will put you at a higher risk ofAdel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-88991092035606000332015-02-12T15:33:00.000+01:002015-02-12T15:33:30.672+01:00Increased Testosterone, Lower Cortisol Within 5-8 Days of Creatine Supplementation - Plus: Many Creatine Products Contain Creatinine & Other Impurities You Don't Want
Ok, I have to admit, eating, socializing, and sleeping may be more important, but I guess creatine monohydrate supplementation ranks 5th in the "things you got to do to get stronger and more muscular" algorithm ;-)
I know, acute hormonal changes in response to resistance training don't matter..., well at least as long as you compare one individual to another! If you take a look at Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-47729921342694355342014-11-20T15:37:00.000+01:002014-11-22T06:03:28.521+01:00The Acute & 24h Effects of 3 Types of High Intensity Circuit Training on Testosterone & Cortisol in Young Trained Men.
It's obviously to have the 24h effects on testosterone and cortisol than only those measured after the workout , but can we make solid conclusions based on the additional data?
In spite of the fact that the acute testosterone and cortisol response to exercise appears to have little direct effects on the overall training outcome (Schoenfeld. 2013), acute increase in cortisol and reductions in Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-53693739475310972652014-09-04T16:07:00.003+02:002019-03-04T03:22:37.458+01:00Creatine Loading Induces Reductions in Cortisol Levels at Rest & Post-Workout, As Well As Improvements in Glucose Management in Swimmers During High-Intensity Training
If you are already taking creatine today's SuppVersity article is just a reminder to make sure not to run out. If you are not, the anti-glucocorticoid effects of creatine are another reason to start.
It has been a while since the last SuppVersity creatine article saw the light of the day (read previous ones). No wonder. I mean, we already know everything about the "nitrogenous organic acid Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-51386341916812055052014-07-25T13:52:00.000+02:002014-10-20T18:59:50.674+02:00Caffeine & Cholorogenic Acid - Anti-Obesity Agents from Your Coffee Mug? Human Study Reveals Cortisol Lowering Effects, Mouse Study Confirms Anti-Obesity Effects
Ever since the Vinson study showed that green coffee bean extracts can help overweight women lose weight, green coffee is sexier than roasted one.
Only weeks after Vinson et al. were able to show that "Green Coffee Bean Extract Helps Pre-Obese Men and Women Shed 16lbs in 22 Weeks" (read more), green coffee bean supplements began to swamp the market - a great financial success for the Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-49084479621772699072014-03-12T18:00:00.001+01:002014-03-13T05:06:01.832+01:00Lack of Cortisol characteristic for young obesity patients. Plus: Self-Esteem Changes During Puberty Would Actually Increase Diurnal Cortisol Production
Cortisol is not your enemy. In fact, cortisol is one of the few hormones you really need to survive.
Cortisol is a problem. However, just as it is the case with insulin, it's not the fact that your body produces it that's problematic. It's the fact that it tends to so in copious amounts and chronically, simply at the wrong time or - believe it or not - not at all / enough. All that, i.e. Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-53293337158982259742014-02-03T18:02:00.001+01:002014-02-03T18:02:34.625+01:00More BFR Lovin': Can the Cortisol + GH Response to Blood Flow Restriction Explain the Strength Gains We're Seeing?
"Cuffed up and ready to grow"? Yes, but STRONGER, but not necessarily bigger - that's at least what the latest research seems to suggest. Research that's bringing us back to the influence of exercise induced changes in growth hormone, cortisol and co, we all love so much ;-)
If you've read my article "Strength ⇧ | Size ⇩ - That's the Result of 7 Weeks With Three Additional Sets of Blood Flow Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-37034024081090927622014-01-30T16:58:00.001+01:002014-01-31T06:04:08.090+01:00A Relaxing, Cortisol Reducing, Testosterone Manipulating Cup of Roiboos Tea, Anyone? Plus: From Herpes, Over Liver-Toxicity to Cancer - Things Rooibos Can Do For You!
"Decallerate" your life - drink tea!?
I am starting to think that I may have totally underestimated Roiboos tea... I mean, tea without my beloved caffeine? That cannot be good for anything, can it? Well, it looks like it can!
After a couple of database searches, I did eventually have to realize that the most recent study by Schloms et al. is only the tip of an ice-, or rather "paper-berg" Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-5505836951453273972014-01-12T15:37:00.000+01:002014-07-17T08:27:42.363+02:00Exercise Threesome: Heart Protective Effects of Lifelong Weight Training ✰ Cortisol Doping in High Intensity Sports ✰ Lifelong Exercise Normalizes CVD Risk of T2D Patients
Which of these news do you find more dubious? The fact that weight training is good for the heart or that cortisol doping can make the difference between victory and defeat in high intensity sports?
It's Sunday and I am still trying to figure out, if Sunday or Saturday is the day with the least visitors here at the SuppVersity. I am not sure what exactly you are doing on the weekend, but I Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-41676293741969978022014-01-09T16:29:00.001+01:002015-01-22T18:40:47.129+01:00True or False - High or Low Protein Intakes Have Profound Influence on Testosterone, SHBG, Estrogen, Cortisol & Co?
We are what we eat! Acknowledged, but does this also go for your hormones and different in protein intakes? Let's have another look at the contemporarily available research to figure that out.
In recent study in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism a group of researchers from the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta reports:Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-31523190447920328362013-09-13T17:03:00.005+02:002022-06-29T10:38:39.589+02:00SuppVersity Science Round-Up Seconds: All About DHEA. Plus: In Practice - Supplementation Benefits & Dosages?
A lack of libido appears - if at all - treatable w/ DHEA only in peri-menopausal women (Maggi. 2013; Pucchino. 2013); there are however a lot of other things DHEA can do for you.
The power of electricity made it possible. Yesterday's show went really smoothly, but despite the fact that I really tried hard to cover all the most interesting topics, there was simply too much for a 1h show. That Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-45139662693722109642013-07-18T17:01:00.000+02:002014-02-13T05:58:34.576+01:00Eight Meals Instead of Three Keep Leptin & Insulin Stable and Shift the Nigh-Time Leptin Peak Towards the Early Morning - Impressive? Well, What is That Good For, Then?
All at once, in three or eight equal portions? That is the question... well, I guess these days no one would even dare saying that you should eat all the three "meals" in the middle column individually in order to make it to the 8 meals a day line, but in 2004, when this study was published things, were still a little different. For good reason?
It has become very quiet in the "eat as many Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-69837117487867892012013-06-03T16:42:00.001+02:002013-06-03T16:42:15.613+02:00Beyond Testosterone: 200mg/day of Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma Longifolia) for Stress Management & Improved Mood!?
It does not always take a pill to effectively manage your stress levels. Don't forget to take your well-deserved timeouts - from work and workouts and use a hot bath to "pre-regenerate" (learn more)
While "long jack" as it is also called is probably best known for its testosterone boosting effects (learn more about Tongkat Ali aka "Ali's Stick") and one of the staple ingredient in the Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4447249123519658347.post-67331396932689667422013-04-29T18:07:00.000+02:002013-04-29T19:24:54.121+02:00Dietary Zinc & Copper Improve Glucose & Lipid Metabolism. High Cortisol Amplitudes Counter Belly Fat. Hypoxic Hearts Love Creatine + Ribose. Apples Counter Cancer & Obesity
I guess this is about as close as we have hitherto gotten to understand why we got fat. Wrt to the hilarious pace at which we got fat and are still getting fatter, we are much better informed though.
After you've learned about the general importance of exercise for your health and a couple of tweaks that may or, as in the case of sugary "energy drink", may not help you maximize the benefits Adel Moussahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11282066708304898697noreply@blogger.com