Baking Soda & Beta Alanine Synergistically Promote Upper Body Power Output by 14%. Body Part, Dosage or Subject Specificity? What's Behind the Newly Found Synergism?

Finally, beta alanine passes the baton to sodium bicarbonate ;-)

The hypothesis that the combination of an "internal" (as in inside of the cell) and an external H+ buffer would be a perfect match is unquestionably straight forward. What was yet about as straight forward were the results of a study by Ducker et al. you've read about, here at the SuppVersity on March 28, 2013: While the combination looks perfect on paper, the real-world results were more than just disappointing. The additional beta alanine did not only fail to promote the ergogenic effects of baking soda (NaHCO3), it did in fact thwart them (learn more).

New study, new participants, new protocol, new results

Now, I am pretty sure Gabriel Tobias and his colleagues from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and the Nottingham Trent University in the UK, had not heard about the results Ducker et al. reported a couple of weeks ago, when they set out to test the effects of beta alanine (BA;  CarnoSyn(TM) 6.4 g/day for 28 days), sodium bicarbonate (SB aka baking soda, aka NaHCO3; 500 mg kg/day for 7 days) and the combination of both supplements on high-intensity performance, using an intermittent upper-body exercise as the performance assessment model in well-trained athletes.

The study at hand is yet by no means a duplicate of the Ducker study, and I guess I don't have to point out, that the subject characteristics 

Figure 1: Experimental design of the randomized placebo controlled study. 

• 40 non-vegetarian, non-smoking, well-trained, experienced judo (n=19) and jiu-jitsu (n=21) male competitors (age 26, body weight 77-80kg; training volume 340-410min per week) vs. team-sport athletes in the Ducker study

and, at least to a certain degree, the exercise protocol

• 4 bouts of a 30-s upper-body Wingate Test vs.lower body repeated sprint tests in the Ducker study

make it pretty attractive for the average muscle head whose sets usually don't last much longer than those 30s and who does (unfortunately) often neglect / 'undertrain' his legs in favor of his bis, chest and the rest of his upper body.

"And it does work!"

As you can see in the graphical outline of the experimental design in figure 1 the participants were randomly assigned to the individual study arms. While this eliminates cross-over effects of BA / SB residues, the sample size (N=10 per group) is pretty low and intra-personal comparisons are not possible.

Increase in total work (kj/100) compared to pre-supplementation levels, rate of perceived exertion and magnitude-based inferences for total work done in three of the four experimental groups (Tobias. 2013)

The effect size was yet still large enough to say with 100% certainty that the combination of BA + SB yields ergogenic benefits in terms of statistically, as well as practically relevant increases in total work-load during the upper body Wingate Test (BA and SB alone increased the total work done by +7 and 8 %, respectivel, together they achived an increase of +14%). The decrement in rate of perceived exertion was almost identical in all three groups treated with SB and/or BA (-11%), but reached statistical significance only in the BA + SB group.

Now the question remains. What makes the difference?

And what I mean by difference, here, is the difference between the Tobias and the Ducker study, of which Tobias, Benatti, Painelli and the others obviously weren't aware, when they wrote:

Figure 2: The effects of beta alanine (top) and baking soda (middle) "preloading" on mean power during exercise bout 1-4 add up (Tobias. 2013)

"To date, only two studies have examined the additive ergogenic effects of BA and SB. While neither the Sale et al. (2011) nor Bellinger et al. (2012) studies were able to detect a clear additive effect of the combined supplemen-tation (although Sale et al. 2010, 2011 did report 70 % probability of a meaningful effect), our data show that co-supplementation of BA and SB were more effective at increasing the total work done over the four bouts of exercise than these supplements taken individually. The main methodological difference between the present study
and those by Sale et al. (2011) and Bellinger et al. (2012) relate to the exercise protocol used to assess performance (i.e. upper-body high-intensity intermittent exercise in the current study vs. continuous single-bout high-intensity leg-exercises in previous studies (Sale et al.2011; Bellinger et al.2012), which may have accounted for the discrepant results. " (Tobias. 2013)  

Referring to studies by Hermansen (1972) and Belfry (2012), Tobias et al. further point out that there is in fact evidence that multiple bouts of supra-maximal exercise results in higher muscle acidosis than continuous supra-maximal exercises. And while this would apply to the Ducker stud, which did likewise use supra-maximal bouts, as well, previous studies by Robertson have clearly shown that

"arm exercises are more sensitive to performance improvements induced by increased buffering capacity (via sodium bicarbonate ingestion) than leg exercises, possibly because the former leads to greater blood H+ concentration" (Tobias. 2013)

Other confounding factors are training status and the familiarity with the type of exercise that's used during the testing procedure. Already super-compensated carnosine stores in highly trained athletes (this was suggested by Bellinger et al. in  2012, but would not be compatible with the results of the study at hand, where 8/9 athletes did respond to beta alanine),  and obviously different supplementation regimen.

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Sodium bicarbonate can also supercharge creatine (learn more)

Bottom line: The body part specificity, as well the higher average dosage of beta alanine and finally the chronic vs. acute NaHCO3 supplementation of the study at hand could well explain the initially mentioned differences between the Tobias and the Ducker study. Overall, the results Tobias et al. present in their most recent paper speak in favor of the initial hypothesis that the combination of BA + SB would constitute an ideal ergogenic that could help basically every athlete competing in a sport where H+ buildup can limit maximal exercise performance.

The range of athletes (cyclists, sprinters, team sports athletes competing in sports, where intermediate sprints matter, fitness junkies, body builders, etc.) who can benefit from supplementing with both 500mg/kg sodium bicarbonate and 6g time released beta alanine per day is actually high enough to combining them may be well worth a try for most of you - just don't expect instant gratification as with caffeine & co.

References:

• Belfry GR, Raymer GH, Marsh GD, Paterson DH, Thompson RT, Thomas SG. Muscle metabolic status and acid-base balance during 10-s work:5-s recovery intermittent and continuous exercise. J Appl Physiol. 2012; 113:410–417. 
• Bellinger PM, Howe ST, Shing CM, Fell JW The effect of combined b-alanine and NaHCO3 supplementation on cycling performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012; 44:1545–1551 
• Ducker KJ, Dawson B, Wallman KE. Effect of beta-alanine and sodium bicarbonate supplementation on repeated-sprint performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2013 Mar 21.
• Sale C, Saunders B, Harris RC. Effect of beta-alanine supplementation on muscle carnosine concentrations and exer-cise performance. Amino Acids. 2010; 39:321–333.
• Sale C, Saunders B, Hudson S, Wise JA, Harris RC, Sunderland CD. Effect of b-alanine plus sodium bicarbonate on high-intensity cycling capacity. Med Sci Sports Exerc.  2011; 43:1972–1978.
• Tobias G, Benatti FB, de Salles Painelli V, Roschel H, Gualano B, Sale C, Harris RC, Lancha AH Jr, Artioli GG. Additive effects of beta-alanine and sodium bicarbonate on upper-body intermittent performance. Amino Acids. 2013 Apr 18. [Epub ahead of print]

Citrulline as Substrate Switch. Galactose as Workout Fuel, Glycogen Repletion Not Urgent, 2x a Day 6x a Week = Too Much For Your Antioxidant System, Astaxanthin For IgA

Actually it's not the burn during the workout that matters, but I don't have to tell you that, do I? (pic i-am-beast.com)

What do you do with a whole host of interesting exercise-related nutrition news that are piling up in your archive, but are too good to be "burned" as short links with one sentence of text on the SuppVersity Facebook Wall?

Right! You compile all those news into a potpourri, attach the label "SuppVersity News Potpourri" to it and blow them out in a blogpost of their own. A post that covers the whole peri-workout window as well as the short-/long-term effects on exercise on your anti-oxidant and immune system.

Sounds good? Well, then go ahead...

• Immediate post-workout glycogen repletion in endurance athletes probably useless (Carlsohn. 2013) While the hormonal response and the long-term effects of running around with depleted glycogen levels are a totally different animal, the latest research from the University Outpatient Clinic Potsdam in Potsdam, Germany, clearly suggests that the immediate post-run glycogen-repletion with 1.5g/kg body weight of fast acting carbs per hour is useless...
  
  

  

  Do you remember my "Glycogen-free muscle growth" post(s) from 2011?

  ...at least with respect to the 5,000m running performance of the twelve recreational runners (4m/8w; 1.73 ± 0.11 m, 69.1 ± 13.4 kg). who were involved in Carlsohn et al.'s study.
  

  "Running time during 5,000-m time trials did not differ between bTT (1,305 ± 140 s), following CARB (1,276 ± 125 s) or PLA (1,285 ± 124 s, p= .85). There were no differences in RPE (bTT 18.3 ± 0.3, CARB 18.7 ± 0.3, PLA 18.8 ± 0.9; p= .48), bLa/min, PLA 187 ± 3 beats/min; p= .96).

  In view of these results it should actually not necessary to formulate a "bottom line", but alas...
  

  ---

  Bottom line: "[T]he rationale of recommending immediate carbohydrate intake following exhausting exercise to 5,000-m runners might be questioned" (Carlsohn. 2013). Please keep in mind though that not repleting your glycogen stores at all is not an option - the myth that's been partially busted by the study at hand is that you must do that as fast as possible to maintain maximal performance - not that you must do it at all. 

• "High" galactose foods ?

  Honey	3.10g
  Fermented yoghurt	1.30g
  Beets, canned, regular pack, solids and liquids	0.80g
  Celery, raw	0.66g
  Cherries, sweet, raw	0.59g
  Bockwurst, pork, veal, raw	0.48g
  Corn, sweet, yellow, canned, whole kernel, drained solids	0.36g
  Beans, navy, mature seeds, raw	0.34g
  Snacks, pretzels, hard, plain, salted	0.22g
  Spices, curry powder	0.21g
  Spices, mustard seed, yellow	0.20g
  Spices, paprika	0.19g
  Babyfood, fruit, plums with tapioca, without ascorbic acid, strained	0.19g
  Spices, ginger, ground	0.19g
  Spices, basil, dried	0.19g
  Kiwi fruit, (chinese gooseberries), fresh, raw	0.17g
  Cereals, oats, instant, fortified, plain, prepared with water (boiling water added or microwaved)	0.16g
  Cheese, mozzarella, whole milk	0.15g
  Spices, cloves, ground	0.15g
  Cheese, parmesan, grated	0.15g
  Spices, oregano, dried	0.15g
  Fast foods, cheeseburger; single, regular patty, with condiments	0.15g
  Plums, raw	0.14g
  Peas, green (includes baby and lesuer types), canned, drained soilds, unprepared	0.14g
  Cereals, oats, instant, fortified, plain, dry	0.13g
  Fish, fish portions and sticks, frozen, preheated	0.13g
  Figs, dried, uncooked	0.13g
  Babyfood, plums, bananas and rice, strained	0.12g
  Egg, whole, raw, fresh	0.11g
  Avocados, raw, all commercial varieties	0.10g
  Crackers, saltines	0.07g
  Snacks, tortilla chips	0.07g
  Egg, white, raw, fresh	0.07g
  Snacks, tortilla chips, nacho cheese	0.07g
  Peaches, raw	0.06g
  Melons, cantaloupe, raw	0.06g

  Galactose as alternative workout fuel (Duckworth. 2013) - A recent study from the Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK demonstrates that
  

  "ingesting a solution containing galactose before and during exercise can positively affect postexercise satiety and energy balance throughout the day, compared to a more readily available and widely consumed form of carbohydrate" (Duckworth. 2013)

  The scientists conclude that based on the observations they made, when they provided nine recreationally active eumenorrheic females (mean age 22y; weight 63.3kg) with either 45g galactose (GI~20) or glucose (GI~89) drinks prior to (300 ml) and at every 15 min during a low intensity steady state jog at 65% of their VO2Peak
  
  Note: I guess, it goes without saying that 45g of galactose this is more galactose than you can stomach from ingesting any "high galactose" foods; see table on the right, data in g/100g).
  The scientists measured the substrate oxidation, postexercise satiety and subsequent energy intake on three occasions (GLU, GAL, placebo) and found that
  • the plasma glucose levels were significantly greater throughout the exercise and in the rest period, when the subjects ingested the glucose drink,
  • there were no differences in carbohydrate oxidation, and
  • perceived hunger was significantly lower throughout the galactose compared to both the glucose and placebo trials
  What may yet be most significant for the average trainee trying to shed some weight is the difference in net energy balance, i.e. the difference between energetic costs of the workout, on the one hand, and the energy intake from the glucose / galactose supplement and the food intake during the post-exercise ad-libitum test lunch and the remainder of the day, which was negative only in the placebo and the galactose trial.

  ---

  Bottom line: If you want to shed some body fat and cannot go without an intra-workout beverage pick galactose over glucose, but do a "test run" before you try that in public - the monosaccharide is notorious for its socially not acceptable effects on the evaporations from your gastrointestinal tract ;-)

"Does the Usefulness of Vitamin E Supplementation Depend on Your Activity Level?" It is possible that only those benefit who are already overtaxing their system and will thus need additional protection (learn more)

• Exercise is stressing, but the long-term results are what's associated with improved antioxidant capacity (Lundström. 2013) The data Lundström et al. have collected in their recent 3-week trial involving fourteen 26-year-old volunteers who performed two "strenuous" (intensity targeted to 75% of VO2max) endurance training sessions per day (6 days a week) does in a way underline the validity of the hormesis hypothesis. Despite the fact that the increase in oxidative stress in response to the the allegedly hefty (for non professional athletes) two-sessions a-day, 6-days a week was not significant, the latter was facilitated / buffered by highly significant declines in the total plasma antioxidant capacity (AO).
  
  However, aside from the fact that the AO levels did not fully return to baseline after the subsequent 4-week recovery period, the most intriguing results of the study at hand is the highly significant negative (meaning "if A is high, B is low") correlation between fat-free mass and oxygen uptake, on the one hand, and oxidation stress, on the other.

  ---

  Bottom line: With both of the former, i.e. fat-free mass and oxygen uptake while you exercise, being hallmark features of physical fitness you cannot increase without working out, the balancing act, every trainee has to master is to find the exact i +1 load of stress that allows for adequate recovery and super-compensation in the time to the next workout / mesocycle.

• Low Immunoglobuli, high cortisol and health While there appears to be a general relation between suppressed sIgA and high cortisol levels, on the one hand, and ill-health effects on the other. The latter is not sports-specific (Volkmann. 2006), and elite athletes are, despite suppressed IgA levels capable of normal responses to novel oral vaccinations, "indicating that mucosal immune mechanisms are intact" (Gleeson. 2000).
  Astaxanthin supplementation can ameliorate minor sIgA dump in athletes (Baralic. 2013) Study shows, supplementation with 4mg/day of astaxanthin can ameliorate the decrease in sIgA (marker of immune health) in young soccer players following 2h of exercise.
  
  There are yet two things you have to consider, when you read studies like these:  (a) Scientific evidence of the significance of immunoglobolin measures is not fully conclusive, and (b) the changes placebo group were not even significant.

  ---

  Note: In view of the fact that "[t]he clinical significance of [immunoglobolin changes] in acquired immunity with acute exercise and training remains unknown" (Walsh. 2011), the scientists' conclusion that "astaxanthin supplementation might serve as a countermeasure to sIgA changes associated with continuous intense training", must be taken with some caution wrt to its real-world benefits. 

• Citrulline shifts substrate utilization towards carbs (Faure. 2013) With this last item in today's Exercise Science Potpourri, we are actually coming back to the an issue that has been in the SuppVersity news pretty regularly as of late: the amount fat / glucose you burn during a workout. I guess, I have made my personal perspective that fatty acid oxidation rates during exercise are hilariously overrated pretty clear. This does yet not stop me from pointing you towards the results of a soon-to-be-published study from the Université Paris Descartes the results of which would suggest that supplemental citrulline could work as a "fuel switch".
  
  

  

  Do you remember the December 2011 SuppVersity news on citrullines anti-catabolic effects (go back!)

   The significant downregulation of oxidative enzymes from the Krebs cycle and mitochondrial respiratory chain, the French scientists observed in a group of male Sprague-Dawley rats, when theyy re-fed them after a 12-week period of dietary restriction with a citrulline supplemented diet (+5g/kg chow and thus equivalent to what human studies have been using) compared to the standard chow with an iso-caloric mix on non-essential amino acids added) would at least suggest that "citrulline supplementatio [...] seems to induce a switch in muscle energy metabolism, from aerobia towards anaerobia" (Faure. 2011).
  
  Now, I did already point out that this is not necessarily a bad thing, but they cannot - as you may speculate now - explain the beneficial effects the original NO-supplement ingredient l-arginine on blood glucose management (learn more), because Faure et al. were able to show that "citrulline action is not direct and is not related to arginine" (Faure. 2013).

  

  Figure 1: Activity of enzymes involved in the oxidation of fatty acids; data expressed relative to baseline levels  on ad-libitum diet (Faure. 2013)

  Against that background another effect that was brought about by the high citrulline diet could yet be even more of a major metabolic disadvantage: The increase in metabolically highly glucoes guzzling unflexible type-IIb fibers (see figure 1; learn more), which has been associated with low / non-existent adiponectin levels by Krause et al. (2008).

  ---

  We have to be careful though, with respect to the interpretation and potential implications of these results. Why? Well, there are actually countless reasons: (a) Human beings are no rodents and normal rodents are no athletes, (b) the potential impact of a higher baseline protein intake or the absence of the calorie restriction before the supplementation period (c) different short (study at hand = 1 week) vs. long-term effects, (d) the possible (beneficial ?) involvement of mTOR, which has been shown to be activated by citrulline in previous trials (cf. SuppVersity Dec 28, 2011 and/or Le Plénier. 2011) (e) the fact that some athletes may benefit from the same shift towards glucose and the relative increase in type IIb fibers (not bodybuilders, though!) (f) ... I could go on with this list, but I guess you will see that there is no reason to panic.
  
  Take the Faure study as further evidence for our lack of understanding of the the complex effects and interplay of nutritional and supplemental amino acids on our health and don't forget to come back to the SuppVersity if you want to keep up with the "state of the art" ;-)

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That's it for today! I hope you enjoyed the "ride" and stay tuned for future exercise, nutrition and health science potpourris - write-ups of which I believe they are a necessary and interesting intermediate between the mini-items on Facebook (don't forget to head over there and check out today's 9+ news items) and the elaborate "regular" SuppVersity articles.

References:

• Baralic I, Đorđević B, Đuričić I, Šobajić S, Stanković I, Dikić N (2013). Salivary IgA response to astaxanthin supplementation in young soccer players. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 72, E7.
• Carlsohn A, Heydenreich J, Engel T, Kratzenstein S, Mayer F. Does immediate carbohydrate intake following glycogen-depleting exercise affect next day’s 5000 m time trial performance? International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.  2013; 23(S1 -S15).
• Duckworth LC, Backhouse SH, Stevenson EJ, O’Hara JP. Effect of galactose ingestion before and during exercise on substrate oxidation and subsequent energy intake in females. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.  2013; 23(S1 -S15).
• Le Plénier, S., Walrand, S., Noirt, R., Cynober, L., Moinard, C., Effects of leucine and  citrulline versus non-essential amino acids on muscle protein synthesis in fasted rat: a common activation pathway? Amino Acids. 2011.
• Krause MP, Liu Y, Vu V, Chan L, Xu A, Riddell MC, Sweeney G, Hawke TJ.Adiponectin is expressed by skeletal muscle fibers and influences muscle phenotype and function. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2008 Jul;295(1):C203-12. 
• Stuart CA, McCurry MP, Marino A, South MA, Howell ME, Layne AS, Ramsey MW, Stone MH. Slow-Twitch Fiber Proportion in Skeletal Muscle Correlates with Insulin. Responsiveness. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Mar 20. 
• Volkmann ER, Weekes NY. Basal SIgA and cortisol levels predict stress-related health outcomes. Stress and Health. 2006; 22: 11–23. 
• Walsh NP, Gleeson M, Shephard RJ, Gleeson M, Woods JA, Bishop NC, Fleshner M, Green C, Pedersen BK, Hoffman-Goetz L, Rogers CJ, Northoff H, Abbasi A, Simon P. Position statement. Part one: Immune function and exercise. Exerc Immunol Rev. 2011;17:6-63. Review.

Diet + Exercise + Kitchen Sink Fat Burner Promote Weight Loss in Two-Months Study on Overweight Adults. Additional 2kg Fat Loss - Are Ozzy's Raspberries to "Blame"?

No this is not Liza Oz after taking Mehmet's beloved RK supplements ;-)

The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition is one of the few "major" scientific journals, where scientists can actually publish those studies, "healthy freaks" (no, not "health freaks", but people who are still healthy and thus freaks ;-) like us are interested in. Studies such as the one Hector L Lopez and his colleagues conducted; studies that investigate the effects and effectiveness of dietary supplements such as Prograde Metabolism (TM), a proprietary blend "fat burner" containing your usual blend of B-vitamins, chromium, caffeine, citrus aurantium, ginger, garlic, capsaicin, l-theanine and piper nigrum... ah, and of course as the #1 ingredient on the label Raspberry-K(TM).

Too much blubber? "Grab the rasp and berry it off!" Ah, well...

Hold on, another of those "proprietary blend studies"? Can we even trust the data? Allegedly, the authors Lopez and Ziegenfuss have worked for raw material suppliers, nutraceutical and dietary supplement companies in the past and openly declare that in the paper at hand, but guess how many of the authors of studies on medications have worked for the pharma industry and were / are still involved in the development of the respective drugs? If we really started to question the results of each and every study on the basis of the mere assumption that it was a product pimp job, we would probably have to discard 95% of the currently available research. Just remember: In 99.9% of the cases it's the conclusions and interpretations that can be problematic, and not the data, itself.

If we take a closer look at the ingredient profile of "METABO", we notice that Dr. Oz's beloved raspberry ketones are right on the top of the ingredient list of the 1,000mg proprietary blend single 2-cap serving of the product contains. With caffeine and a 10% synephrine extract from citrus aurantium, which are usually dosed at around 200mg and 100-150mg (to deliver 10-15mg of synephrine as part of the Advantra-Z formula; cf. Seifert. 2006), respectivley, being the #2 and #3 on that list, we can safely assume that the maximal amount of Razberi K in a single serving of the supplement is 600mg.... that's actually quite nice, because that's so little that we do not even have to use a calculator to know that this is hilariously underdosed compared to what the rodents in the heavily cited anti-obesity (I repeat: anti-obesity, not weight loss) trials by Morimoto et al. reaceived as part of their regular chow (1-2% of the whole chow was nothing but pure raspberry ketones; cf. Morimoto. 2005)

Figure 1: Body weight, fat mass, lean mass and waist circumference after 4 and 8 weeks of dieting + exercise + supplement / placebo (Lopez. 2013)

In the end, that's yet good news. Firstly, we can safely assume that this is way too little to induce any of the anti-androgenic effects Ogawa et al. observed in their 2010 in-vitro study (Ogawa. 2010).

And secondly, the low dose of raspberry ketones left some room for the other ingredients, of which you can see in the data I plotted in figure 1 that they were very well capable of promoting the weight loss success of the 70 "obese but otherwise healthy subjects" in the Lopez study.

Effects? Yes! Effects due to raspberries? Questionable.

There is no debating that the combination of multiple "thermogenic", appetite suppressing and anti-oxidant / insulin sensitizing weight loss adjuvants in METABO did promote the loss of fat mass over what the diet + exercise progra alone could achieve. The former, i.e. the diet, had by the way been designed by a "state-licensed, registered dietitian" to provide three meals and two snacks per day (the latter are obviously useless; cf. Whybrow. 2007) and a total energy intake that would deliver approximately 500 kilocalories per day less from a 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 30% fat diet than the subjects actually "required" (dietary requirements that were calculated with the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation and an activity factor of 1.2; learn more).

This dietary regimen was accompanied by an 8-week workout regimen of which I would usually write that it was "surprisingly sound". In view of the fact that the study, appeared in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition and not Obesity or JAMA it is yet only "sound" and not surprising that the subjects had to work out three times per week for 60 minutes of which not a single minute was wasted on steady state cardio in the non-existing fat-burning zone. Instead, they performed a...

It sure sounds ufair, but women have a harder time shedding fat. Against that background it's all the more important for the average "I don't eat meat" lady to get her share of fat burning protein - after all a reasonable amount of protein speed fat loss in both sexes (learn more).

• 10 minute warm-up (i.e. walking, light jogging, or biking),

• 30 minutes of circuit training (upper and lower body each session, which consisted of a combination of 
• mountain climbers, squat thrusts, 
• jumping jacks, squat kickouts, walking lunges, 
• push-ups, dips, 
• resistance band elbow flexion, extension and 
• shoulder presses, 

• additional 10 minutes abdominals/core work, and 

• a subsequent 10 minutes cool down/stretching

Against that background it is however "surprising" that the fat loss in the placebo group was pretty pathetic (~115g per week), after all the participants had more than enough (32.6kg) of fat to lose.

Dieting alone "fails", the supplement "works" - what's more surprising

Now, the first thing that comes to mind, whenever a diet fails, is a bogey called "non-adherence". With the supervised and controlled exercise protocol and the official data on the energy and nutrient intake not showing significant inter-group differences, it is however difficult to pin the success / failure of the groups exclusively on non-compliance. The consistently higher food cravings in the placebo group do yet put another questionmark behing behind the accuracy of the already notoriously unreliable self-reported food intakes.

Figure 2: Cravings for energy, sweets, fatty fast food, fat in general, carbs and healthy foods in the subjects in the placebo and MTEABO group (Lopez. 2013)

According to the latter, the subjects in the placebo group consumed almost the same amount of energy, which does not appear totally unlikely in view of the fact that the cravings in the placebo group were so real that they even started to crave "healthy foods" (figure 2, orange) - a tell-tale sign that diters are seriously hungry and don't just want to satisfy their food-cravings.

Significant fat loss without significant health benefits? Surprisingly, the measured markers of glucose and lipid metabolism, namely total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, cholesterol/HDL ratio and TAG did not show significant improvements in any of the groups. There was however "a strong trend (p < 0.07) for TAG concentrations to decrease more in the  METABO group (-15.9%) compared to the placebo group (-2.6%)" (Lopez. 2013) and a significant decrease in leptin that was likewise observed exclusively in the supplement group.

Since hunger is associated with increased ghrelin levels and those have only recently been confirmed as a significant correlate and potential cause for weight loss interventions to fail (Liu. 2013), it may in the end not even matter, whether the subjects gave in to their cravings and "cheated" or whether they starved and their bodies simply stopped shedding body fat - the net result would have been identical in both conditions and if a single agent or the synergy of all of the ingredients in METABO was responsible for the satiety effect the weight loss advantage would in fact have been brought by the dietary supplement.

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If you clicked on the links that redirect you to the overviews of SuppVersity articles on capsaicin, piperine, citrus aurantium etc. you will have realized that many of them were also on my list of PPAR-gamma antagonists (learn more).

Bottom line: The most likely explanation for the beneficial effects Lopez et al. observed as a result of 2,000mg of the proprietary blend are thus the...

1. fat loss benefits (I initially wanted to write "effects", but that's probably an exaggeration) of ingredients such as caffeine (Greenway. 2001), capsaicin (Snitkner. 2009), citrus aurantium (Bent. 2004; Stohs. 2012), ginger (Mahmoud. 2013), piperine, and / or 
2. satiety effects of caffeine (Westerterp-Plantenga. 2005a), capsaicin (Westerterp-Plantenga. 2005b), ginger (Mansour. 2012), ...

... I guess you see the picture that's emerging here. It is, as the scientists point out, "the combination of ingredients with potentially complementary and interactive mechanisms of action" (Lopez. 2013) which does the trick.

Against that background it is pretty useless to single out any of the ingredients, but if we wanted to do just that, it would certainly be the raspberry ketones which are the least-proven weight-loss adjuvant in Prograde Metabolism - an ingredient celebrated as the goto fat burner by the uneducated mainstream and an ingredient without any scientific backup from human studies. So, if I had to answer the gonzo rhetoric question in the title of this article in a binary = yes/no fashion, the most likely answer would be "no!" ;-)

References:

• Bent S, Padula A, Neuhaus J. Safety and efficacy of citrus aurantium for weight loss. Am J Cardiol. 2004 Nov 15;94(10):1359-61.
• Greenway FL. The safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical and herbal caffeine and ephedrine use as a weight loss agent. Obes Rev. 2001 Aug;2(3):199-211.
• Ogawa Y, Akamatsu M, Hotta Y, Hosoda A, Tamura H. Effect of essential oils, such as raspberry ketone and its derivatives, on antiandrogenic activity based on in vitro reporter gene assay. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2010 Apr 1;20(7):2111-4.
• Lopez HL, Ziegenfuss TN, Hofheins JE, Habowski SM, Arent SM, Weir JP, Ferrando AA. Eight weeks of supplementation with a multi-ingredient weight loss product enhances body composition, reduces hip and waist girth, and increases energy levels in overweight men and women. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2013; 10(22).
• Mahmoud RH, Elnour WA. Comparative evaluation of the efficacy of ginger and orlistat on obesity management, pancreatic lipase and liver peroxisomal catalase enzyme in male albino rats. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2013 Jan;17(1):75-83. 
• Mansour MS, Ni YM, Roberts AL, Kelleman M, Roychoudhury A, St-Onge MP. Ginger consumption enhances the thermic effect of food and promotes feelings of satiety without affecting metabolic and hormonal parameters in overweight men: a pilot study. Metabolism. 2012 Oct;61(10):1347-52.
• Morimoto C, Satoh Y, Hara M, Inoue S, Tsujita T, Okuda H. Anti-obese action of raspberry ketone. Life Sci. 2005 May 27;77(2):194-204.
• Snitker S, Fujishima Y, Shen H, Ott S, Pi-Sunyer X, Furuhata Y, Sato H, Takahashi M. Effects of novel capsinoid treatment on fatness and energy metabolism in humans: possible pharmacogenetic implications. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jan;89(1):45-50. 
• Stohs SJ, Preuss HG, Shara M. A review of the human clinical studies involving Citrus aurantium (bitter orange) extract and its primary protoalkaloid p-synephrine. Int J Med Sci. 2012;9(7):527-38. Epub 2012 Aug 29.
• Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Lejeune MP, Kovacs EM. Body weight loss and weight maintenance in relation to habitual caffeine intake and green tea supplementation. Obes Res. 2005a Jul;13(7):1195-204.
• Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Smeets A, Lejeune MP. Sensory and gastrointestinal satiety effects of capsaicin on food intake. Int J Obes (Lond). 2005b Jun;29(6):682-8.
• Whybrow S, Mayer C, Kirk TR, Mazlan N, Stubbs RJ. Effects of two weeks' mandatory snack consumption on energy intake and energy balance. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Mar;15(3):673-85.

True Or False: Glutamine For Glycogen Repletion. Enzymes Instead of NSAID. Drumming Burns More Kcal Than Jogging

Ever wondered how the "Modern-Day Samurai" of the Drummers of Japan keep in shape? Today's installment of True or False holds the answer to this and other questions ;-)

True or false? That's the title of this no longer new series at the Suppversity and it is the question I want to answer after you read the following three statements: (1) "You can use glutamine instead of carbs to replete your glycogen stores", (2) "The only ones who benefit from the use of enterically coated and purportedly systemically acting enzymes are the the manufacturers of respective supplements" and (3) "Drumming burns about as much energy as fast jogging"... hmm, I see you're scratching your head!?

Well, the unwritten rules of the game require that you make your prediction before you read the following paragraphs. So, true or false?

You can use glutamine instead of carbs to replete your glycogen stores

True. There is yet one big caveat. The gluconeogenic pathway, i.e. the transformation process of glutamine to glucose, delivers the lion's share of its end product directly to liver (Meijer. 1992). Therefore glutamine is rather an adjunct (to feed the liver) than a true carbohydrate alternative.

And what about Sustamine(R) & co? Whether the use of allegedly superior glutamine dipeptides like alanyl glutamine does provide an additional edge remains questionable. Aside from a slightly more pronounced increase in muscle glutamine with chronic Ala-Glu supplementation (Rogero. 2006), there is little evidence for theoretical and almost no evidence for real-world advantages of combining our bodies favorite gluconeogenic amino acids, glutamine and alanine into a dipeptide. A detailed analysis of the available literature, would yet be a topic for another installment of True or False - if you want that, suggest "Alanyl-glutamine is well worth the extra bucks", as a topic for a future installment in the comment area ;-)

What is yet worth mentioning is that the combination of carbohydrates and glutamine has been shown to actively promote the storage of skeletal muscle glycogen (Bowtell JL. 1999). Slightly superior effects than for l-glutamine alone have yet been observed by Hall et al. who supplied the participants of their study with 0.8g/kg glucose and iso-caloric amounts of whey or wheat hydrosolates (wheat is naturally high in glutamine; Hall. 1998).

Figure 1: Relative increase in muscle glycogen after the workout (Hall. 1998)

As the data in figure 1 goes to show you, both, whey and wheat hydrolysate shoveled an allegedly non-significantly greater amount of glycogen into the skeletal muscle of eight well-trained male cyclists in the course of the 3h recovery phase after a combined HIT glycogen depletion + HIIT workout - an effect that was probably facilitated by the ~2x higher increase in insulin.

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Bottom line: I guess, no one of you will want to miss on the protein anabolic effects of a whey protein after your workout, right? Against that background the replacement of the latter with glutamine is not really an option. The existing increases in glycogen synthesis due to glutamine are thus practically irrelevant, since you will achieve just the same (if not superior) results with a complete protein source.

Systemic enzyme therapy is only beneficial for the manufacturers of respective supplements

Not necessarily. While the available literature is scarce and in large parts either official sponsored or suspiciously focused on certain products, the results would suggest that enzyme complexes such as Mucos Pharma's Phlogenzym, an enteric-coated formula that contains pancreatin (100mg), trypsin (24mg), chymotrypsin (1mg), bromelain (45mg), papain (40mg) and rutin (50mg) is on par if not superior to low-dose pharmacological therapies with NSAIDs (e.g. 2x50mg of diclofenac; cf. Tilwe. 2001).

Figure 2: Relative improvements in pain and joint tenderness and swelling after seven weeks on enzymes vs. conventional NSAID treatment in fifty 40-75year old subjects (Tilwe. 2001)

Similar results have been reported by Akhtar et al. and Singer, Singer and Oberleitner in 2004 and 2001, respectively. Contrary to Tilwe et al., Singer and his Austrian colleagues also observed that the beneficial effects of Phlogenzym lasted for three weeks after the therapy was ceased. The effects of the diclofenac control (identical dosing as in Tilwe, 2001), on the other hand, wore off immediately after the 63 patients in the Singer study stopped taking the drug.

No cheap alternatives? Scientific evidence for the efficacy of alternative non-enterically-coated enzyme preparations for the treatment of osteoarthritis & co is totally lacking. There are however some generic preparations which should have very similar effects. Selazym N, for example, has a similar ingredient profile, added selenium and costs less than 50% of the "original" (~$43 per month).

Despite the fact that the data in figure 2 would suggest that Phlogenzym should be the treatment of choice, the patients and physicians ranked diclofenac slightly higher on the efficacy and tolerability scale. Moreover, the authors of a Cocrane Review on the issue point out that

"In spite of the large number of publications in this area, there are few randomized controlled trials. Furthermore, most trials comparing two or more NSAIDs suffer from substantial design errors [...] Had studies employed appropriate doses of comparator drug, most would have been sufficiently powerful to detect clinically important differences in efficacy." (Watson. 2000; review awaiting update)

In view of the negative side effects of NSAIDs, it still appears as if the "natural" enzyme therapy would be the preferred first choice for everyone with osteoarthritic pain. If that does not work out, you can still resort to the classic NSAID-based therapy regimen.

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Bottom line: Despite promising results in some studies, the fact that larger scale studies investigating the effects of Phlogenzyme on lateral ankle ligament injury (Kerkhoffs. 2004) could not confirm previously observed benefits in studies conducted by Hollmann et al. (1998) and Van Dijk (1994) support the notion that the ~$95 a month "on" Phlogenzyme at the respective effective dose of 6 tabs per day would cost you (estimate based on current price of €72.50 here in Germany) are wise-spent only if you suffer from chronic pain. Healthy physical culturists, on the other hand, should rather spend their money on other stuff.

Drumming burns about as much energy as fast jogging

It's about time for spring cleaning anyway: So if you are not into drumming, even cleaning can easily "burn" 1/4 of the calories you'd be expending on a jog/run + it has to be done, anyways (Puyau. 2004)

True! You know I am no advocate of calorie counting - not with respect to the energy content of foods and even less as far as the amount of energy you burn during a workout is concerned. If we do yet assume, ... just hypothetically obviously, that you want to burn as much energy as possible within the next 60 minutes, you would be ill-advised to go for a light jog if you got a drum kit in your basement.

As a soon-to-be-published paper from the UK shows, the estimated energy expenditure of a drummer during a live concert performance amounts to 623±168 kcal/h (8.1±2.2 METs). This is at least on par with a very paced jog.

And if you also take into account that the subjects of the study achieved peak heart rates of 186±16 bpm and 78.7±8.3% of their cycle ergometer peak oxygen uptake, the drums do probably even have an edge over a regular jog as far as their conditioning effects are concerned (De La Rue. 2013).

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Bottom line: The scientists are absolutely right, when they write that "Rock/pop drumming should be considered as a viable alternative to more traditional forms of physical activity." And guess what, drumming is by far not the only largely underestimated "sportive activity" - other much more common activities, like my very own bike rides to the job, for example (learn more in the last installment of the Science Round Up) will likewise effect your general fitness level, energy expenditure and body composition - and that in a much more sustainable way than the "beat-me up" workouts of the average "It's quitting time!" gymbro.

And what's more, it's the regular, not the extraordinary energy expenditure that can cut your risk of biting the dust prematurely by almost 70%. According to a 2006 paper from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), for example, spending an additional 287kcal/day on "free-living activity" (that's 27min of drumming) can reduce the mortality risk of elderly individuals by -32% (Manini. 2006)!

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As unfortunate as this may sound, but that's it already! Trust me, I do enjoy these "True or False" sessions about as much as you (hopefully) do, but one thing of which I know that it's true even without having to apply the sniff-test is that you'd not be waiting for the next installment to be published that eagerly, if I put out 10 of these items every day ;-) So be patient and enjoy the rest of your weekend - there are going to be more truths revealed and myths to be busted in the future.

References:

• Akhtar NM, Naseer R, Farooqi AZ, Aziz W, Nazir M. Oral enzyme combination versus diclofenac in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee--a double-blind prospective randomized study. Clin Rheumatol. 2004 Oct;23(5):410-5. 
• Bowtell JL, Gelly K, Jackman ML, Patel A, Simeoni M, Rennie MJ. Effect of oral glutamine on whole body carbohydrate storage during recovery from exhaustive exercise. J Appl Physiol. 1999 Jun;86(6):1770-7.
• De La Rue SE, Draper SB, Potter CR, Smith MS. Energy Expenditure in Rock/Pop Drumming. Int J Sports Med. 2013 Apr 4. [Epub ahead of print]
• Hollmann W. Efficacy and safety of hydrolytic enzymes and rutin in patients with distortions of the ankle joint. Clinical study report MU-694411, Idv-Datenanalyse und Versuchsplanung Gauting, 1998.
• Kerkhoffs GM, Struijs PA, de Wit C, et al. A double blind, randomised, parallel group study on the effi cacy and safety of treating acute lateral ankle sprain with oral hydrolytic enzymes. Br J Sports Med 2004;38:431.
• Manini TM, Everhart JE, Patel KV, Schoeller DA, Colbert LH, Visser M, Tylavsky F, Bauer DC, Goodpaster BH, Harris TB. Daily activity energy expenditure and mortality among older adults. JAMA. 2006 Jul 12;296(2):171-9. 
• Meijer AJ, Baquet A, Gustafson L, van Woerkom GM, Hue L. Mechanism of activation of liver glycogen synthase by swelling. J Biol Chem. 1992 Mar 25;267(9):5823-8.
• Puyau MR, Adolph AL, Vohra FA, Zakeri I, Butte NF. Prediction of activity energy expenditure using accelerometers in children. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Sep;36(9):1625-31.
• Rogero MM, Tirapegui J, Pedrosa RG, Castro IA, Pires IS. Effect of alanyl-glutamine supplementation on plasma and tissue glutamine concentrations in rats submitted to exhaustive exercise. Nutrition. 2006 May;22(5):564-71.
• Singer F, Singer C, Oberleitner H. Phlogenzym versus diclofenac in the treatment of activated osteoarthritis of the knee. A double blind prospective randomized study. Int J Immunotherapy 2001;XVII:135–41.
• Tilwe GH, Beria S, Turakhia NH, Daftary GV, Schiess W. Efficacy and tolerability of oral enzyme therapy as compared to diclofenac in active osteoarthrosis of knee joint: an open randomized controlled clinical trial. J Assoc Physicians India. 2001 Jun;49:617-21.
• Van Dijk CN. A double blind comparative study on the efficacy of MU-410 vs. placebo in patients with acute disruption of the anterior fi bulotalar ligament. Study Nr. 4903XV, Amsterdam, 1994.
• Watson MC, Brookes ST, Kirwan JR, Faulkner A. Non-aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for osteoarthritis of the knee. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(2):CD000142.

Size Does Matter! Mucuna Counters Estrogenic Assaults & Doubles Testosterone. High Hair Cortisol, CVD & Diabetes. Catabolic Laziness. Health & Obesity = Incompatible

While it may be debatable, whether and in which contexts size really matters, 20% of the women in a Dutch study state that they length of the best part of their partner was "important" (Franken.. 2002)

While the debate whether or not "size matters" is probably never going to end, researchers from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico have now found that your male offspring could "fall short" if they are exposed to phthalates during pregnancy. For their study, the scientists had collected urine samples of 174 mothers-to-be and analyzed them for phthalate residues. Bustamante-Montes et al. did then correlate the phthalate content of the urine of those mothers who gave birth to male newborns (N=73) to their sons' best parts and found that "prenatal exposure to mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate exposure was associated with a reduced distance from the anus to anterior base of the penis (-0.2 mm/µg), reduced penile width (-0.04 mm/µg) and a reduced stretched penis length (-0.2 mm/µg).

Now, this SuppVersity Figure of the Week certainly sounds pretty funny, but if we go by the maximal phthalate levels in the study at hand, the boys with the highest exposure had a 36% "disadvantage" compared to Joe... ah well, maybe rather Juan Average ;-)

Enough of the saucy science! Let's get to the "serious" stuff!

I have, just as about every week compiled a colorful potpourri of news, but contrary to the last weeks, I am trying to keep things short and simple. I mean "short news" should be short and not shortened versions of the full articles you're served over the rest of the week, right?

• Will the correlation between heart disease and diabetes risk and cortisol in scalp hair also hold for you? While it seems unlikely that the figures would be identical you can bet that highly elevated hair cortisol and thus chronically elevated systemic cortisol levels are a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes irrespective of a person's age.
  Cortisol in scalp hair provide a pretty accurate image of heart disease and diabetes risk -- If you are trying to elucidate the diabetes risk of your grandma or grandpa a blood-draw may not even be necessary. According to the results of a soon-to-be-published study from the Netherlands, all you'd have to to is go to their bathroom and grab a hair from the brush or comb.
  
  If the cortisol level in the hair is high (>30.6 pg/mg hair), chances your grandparents' heart and pancreas are probably not in the best shape. With a +170% increased risk of cardiovascular disease and +220% increased risk to suffer from / develop type II diabetes, the correlations Manenschijn et al. observed underline the profound negative effects of chronically elevated cortisol levels (Manenschijn. 2013). 

• The anti-catabolic effects of laziness -- At least in the elderly it takes no more than 2 weeks of reduced physical activity to reduce the already inferior (compared to young individuals) rates of myofibrillar protein synthesis.
  
  

  

  Katsu may be beneficial for people who don't tolerate hard workouts (learn more), but in a TV chair, it won't work - regardless of your age!

  Leigh Breen and his colleagues from the McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) report in their latest paper that a 75% reduction in daily step count does not only hamper the postprandial insulin sensitivity (-43%) of healthy older adults (72±1 yr), it also increases the levels of TNF-α and CRP by ∼12 and 25%, the total amount of trunk fat by 7% and decreases the lean leg mass by ~4% and the postprandial muscle protein synthesis by a whopping 26% - somehow this reminds me of the good old saying "If you don't use it, you lose it!"

• Healthy but obese? Not really... it's just a question of time until the ugly blubber will make you sick -- You know that I could go off the deep end, whenever I see headlines like "being fat is healthy" or "being fat does not mean that you are sick". A recent paper by a group of Spanish researchers does now clearly indicate that media messages like these are downright dangerous (Soriguer. 2013).
  
  The analysis of data from the Pizarra Study a large scale epidemiological study involving 1051 individuals representative of general population were whose health and body composition was evaluated in ~5 year intervals clearly shows that being "healthy but obese" is just an intermediate state which is associated with a 720% increased risk of developing diabetes within the next 11 years. 

• Mucuna pruriens protects male fertility against estrogenic assaults & restores testosterone levels  -- I an interesting rodent experiment researchers from the Division of Endocrinology at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Drug Research Institute were able to show that oral supplementation with 300 mg/kg mucuna pruriens or 20 mg/kg BW of l-dopa (Singh. 2013). With the latter being the equivalent of the l-dopa content of Indian mucuna pruriens it is particularly interesting to see that only mucuna, but not l-dopa went far beyond restoring the testosterone levels after 2 weeks on an endocrine disrupting dose of 3mg/kg ethinyl estradiol - it almost tripled them!
  

  

  Figure 1: Testosterone, FSH and LH levels 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks into recovery; data expressed relative to non-estradiol-treated healthy control (Singh. 2013)

  According to the scientists the beneficial effects on sperm quality, LH, FSH and testosterone were brought about or at least accompanied by reductions in ROS level, the restoration of mitochondrial membrane potential, a normalization of apoptotic processes and an overall increase in the number of germ cells.
  
  If we assume the effects translate to human beings, a daily dose of 3-4g of mucuna (while this is the HED of the dose used in the study, but probably you'd need lower doses - after all you don't take estrogen, do you?) could protect you against the constant assault of environmental estrogens and come particularly handy, when you "messed up" your endocrine system with other compounds ;-)

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That's it for today! It's Saturday and time to celebrate that spring is finally there. So after you've checked out the latest SuppVersity Facebook News you better switch off the computer and enjoy whatever spring activities you like best... ;-)

References:

• Breen L, Stokes KA, Churchward-Venne TA, Moore DR, Baker SK, Smith K, Atherton PJ, Phillips SM. Two weeks of reduced activity decreases leg lean mass and induces 'anabolic resistance' of myofibrillar protein synthesis in healthy elderly. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Apr 15. [Epub ahead of print]
• Francken AB, van de Wiel HB, van Driel MF, Weijmar Schultz WC. What importance do women attribute to the size of the penis? Eur Urol. 2002 Nov;42(5):426-31.
• Bustamante-Montes LP, Hernandez-Valero MA,  Flores-Pimentel D, Garcıa-Fabila M, Amaya-Chavez A, Barr DB, Borja-Aburto VH. Prenatal exposure to phthalates is associated with decreased anogenital distance and penile size in male newborns. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. April 2013 [Epub ahead of print]
• Manenschijn L, Schaap L, van Schoor NM, van der Pas S, Peeters GM, Lips P, Koper JW, van Rossum EF. High Long-Term Cortisol Levels, Measured in Scalp Hair, Are Associated With a History of Cardiovascular Disease. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Apr 17. [Epub ahead of print]
• Singh AP, Sarkar S, Tripathi M, Rajender S. Mucuna pruriens and its major constituent L-DOPA recover spermatogenic loss by combating ROS, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis. PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e54655. 
• Soriguer F, Gutiérrez-Repiso C, Rubio-Martín E, García-Fuentes E, Cruz Almaraz M, Colomo N, Esteva de Antonio I, Ruiz de Adana MS, Chaves FJ, Morcillo S, Valdés S, Rojo-Martínez G. Metabolically healthy but obese, a matter of time? Findings from the prospective Pizarra study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Apr 4. [Epub ahead of print]
   

Science Round-Up 2nds: Intra-/Post Workout Stims, Carbs & Protein and Their Effects on Performance, Hydration, GH, Cortisol, Testosterone & Fatty Acid Oxidation

As mentioned on yesterday's show, small 100kcal packets are as much of a problem as large dinner plates and XXL meals (data based on Coelho do Vale. 2008)

I want to start today's Seconds with a question: How did you like that Carl and I did not rush through the news-lineup as it was the case in previous episodes, but simply took our time to discuss the topics in depth an breadth, yesterday?

Personally, I believe that this is much better than the accumulation of "buzzword" the show had become in the previous weeks due to my "study hunter and gatherer" drive - or, in other words, the mere mass of studies I wanted to pack into the show and Carl's desperate effort to cover them all.

Would you agree? And what other changes / improvements would you like to see in the future? We are open for constructive criticism. You can't improve your game without it.

Let's get to what did not fit into the show, then...

The net result of the spending more time on each and every of the single items, or, to say it in the spirit of yesterday's show, a bit more mindfulness was obviously a much larger amount of Seconds for you to devour today. So, let's not waste any time and get right down to business:

• Is 200mg of caffeine the optimum!?A 2008 study by Beavan et al., which involved 24 professional rugby players who were randomly assigned to receive 0, 200, 400 or 800mg of caffeine 1h before performing a standardized resistance training protocol (Beavan. 2008), found that contrary to what bro-science has been suggesting for years, the ingestion of the high amounts of caffeine (800mg) lead to a profound drop in the testosterone-to-cortisol ratio, while the lower doses of 200mg and 400mg of caffeine only blunted the performance hampering decline of cortisol half-way into the workout, while increasing the testosterone levels by 15%
  Caffeine or pseudoephedrine for performance enhancement? As far as improving you game is concerned, a recent study from the School of Sports Science at the department of Exercise and Health of the University of Western Australia was able to show that you are only wasting your time an money, if you are trying to up your cycling-time trial and thus probably every other HIT performance by ingesting the purported CNS stimulant pseudoephedrine (not to be confused with the "real deal"; cf Spence. 2013).
  
  Contrary to the comparatively low amount of 200mg caffeine, which allowed the 10 well-trained cyclists and triathletes who participated in the study improve their TT times in trial 2 of 3, all of which were performed on th same day, by statistically significant 57s, the ingestion of the WADA banned substance pseudoephedrine at a dosage of 180g would have cost them their license for nothing.

  ---

  Bottom line: Spare yourselves pseudoephedrine and other nasal/sinus decongestant belonging to the the class of phenethylamines and amphetamines (e.g. geranium). Even if others worked (for 1,3-dimethylamine this has never been proven in isolation), the long(er)-term detrimental effects they'll have on your central nervous system really isn't worth it.

• Protein-enhanced Gatorade ain't worth your money -- If you are no ultra-endurance runner or at least marathon runner, you don't need, because you don't benefit intra-workout carbohydrate + electrolyte + protein (CEP) drinks for hydration.
  
  The results of a recent study from the Chinese University of Hong Kong show: A CEP solution containing 42g/L carbohydrate, 21g/L whey protein and 15.3 mmol/L sodium and 2.3 mmol/L potassium does not show "extra benefits for the maintenance of hydration status during 60 min cycling" (Sun. 2013)

• Carbohydrate + protein drinks maximizes GH response to exercise -- Now that you know that it's not worth to guzzle on carbohydrate + electrolyte + protein drinks during a workout for hydration purposes, I guess I should tell you that doing the same (w/out the electrolytes, though), may still provide an athletic / anabolic edge. After all, another recently published study that was conducted at the School of Sport at the Department of Exercise and Health Sciences of the Loughborough University in Leicestershire, U.K (Betts.  2013) shows that the ingestion of a carbohydrate + protein mixture (CHO+PRO: 0.8 g sucrose per kg bod weight per hour + 0.3 g/kg/h whey protein isolate) in the 4h recovery period between two exhaustive treadmill runs at the same intensity augmented the growth hormone response by 60%(!) compared to the ingestion carbohydrate only (0.8 or 1.1g of sucrose /kg per hour).
  

  

  Figure 1: Growth hormone (GH) and cortisol response to 2nd bout of exhaustive treadmill running with either 0.8 or 1.1g of sucrose /kg per hour (CHO, CHO-CHO) or  0.8 g/kg/h sucrose per kg bod weight per hour + 0.3 g/kg/h whey protein isolate (CHO+PRO; cf.

  As the data in figure 1 goes to show you this increase in GH was accompanied by a 23% reduction in cortisol. With both, GH and cortisol being released in response to the depletion of muscle glycogen and impeding low blood glucose levels (Galbo. 1977), you could thus argue that protein (probably by its glucagon promting effects; cf. Claessens. 2008) programs the "anabolic glucose procurement plan".
  

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  Bottom line: Yet another reason for the often touted, yet tried and proven "Bananas + whey" = WIN! And that's not true wrt to the protein anabolic response after a workout, but also in view of the "anabolic" or I should probably say generally more favorable way of glucose procurement during subsequent workouts.

• 

  No, no and no! The ingestion of carbs before a HIIT workout will only increase, not blunt the fatty acid oxidation in the post-workout period.

  Pre-workout carb ingestion does not blunt, but promote fatty acid oxidation after the workout -- In as much as this result may go against common bro-science that you must never consume any carbs before your workout if you are trying to lose body fat, it is actually in line with what I have been preaching before. The beneficial effects of AMPK come with the depletion of ATP and the rise in ADP (~used ATP), not with the constantly depleted ATP stores of a no-carbohydrate + protein only starvation diet. Or put more simply - a constant over-expression of AMPK negates all the benefits of it's cyclic up and down (cf. "The mTOR/AMPK Seesaw"; read more)
  
  While the scientists from the Department of Nutrition & Metabolism at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences of the University of Surrey in Guildford, UK, did not observe statistically significant improvements in fatty oxidation due to the small study size (10 healthy untrained females; age 18–22 yr; BMI 22kg/m²), the pronounced decrease in RQ after 8-10x 60 second cycling bouts at 95 % VO2peak separated by 90 seconds recovery at 50 watts in 9 out of 10 participants (see figure 2) does speak itself: "In women, consuming carbohydrate before exercise may potentially be more beneficial for fat oxidation than consuming carbohydrate post-exercise" (Honnor. 2013).
  

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  Bottom line: The results of the study at hand, which stand in line with previous research by Fuchs et al. who presented their research in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society one year before, re-emphasis the fallacious over-reliance of high fatty oxidation rates during a workout. The max. 60-90min in which you may burn slightly more fat, are simply negligible compared to the much longer post-workout period, where the ingestion of 59 g CHO before a HIIT workout did not blunt but promote fatty acid oxidation.

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Believe it or not, but that's it for today! If you are hungry for more, I suggest you either go to the SuppVersity Facebook Wall or listen to Casual Friday later today... actually, I found Gabriel's name, i.e.  "The Alisa Profumo Show", for the Friday edition of Super Human Radio show quite fitting ;-)

References:

• Beaven CM, Hopkins WG, Hansen KT, Wood MR, Cronin JB, Lowe TE. Dose effect of caffeine on testosterone and cortisol responses to resistance exercise. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2008
  Apr;18(2):131-41.
• Betts JA, Stokes KA, Toone RJ, Williams C. Growth Hormone Responses to Consecutive Exercise Bouts with Ingestion of Carbohydrate plus Protein. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2013 April. 
• Claessens M, Saris WH, van Baak MA. Glucagon and insulin responses after ingestion of different amounts of intact and hydrolysed proteins. Br J Nutr. 2008 Jul;100(1):61-9.
• Coelho do Vale R, Pieters R, Zeelenberg. Flying under the Radar: Perverse Package Size Effects on Consumption Self‐Regulation. Journal of Consumer Research. 2008; 35(3):380-39.
• Fuchs, A. & Young, H. Investigation into gender differences in the effects of feeding around exercise on exercise performance, energy expenditure and substrate utilisation. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2011; 70 (OCE6), E380.
• Galbo H, Richter EA, Hilsted J, Holst JJ, Christensen NJ, Henriksson J. Hormonal regulation during prolonged exercise. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1977;301:72-80. Review.
• Honnor M, Herdsman M, Collins AL.The effect of food timing on fat oxidation during exercise and resting recovery. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2012; 71 (OCE3), E236 
• Spence A, Sim M, Landers G, Peeling P. A Comparison of Caffeine versus Pseudoephedrine on Cycling Time-Trial Performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2013 Apr 9. 
• Sun, F; Li, L; O’Reilly, J; Wong, SH. Effect of carbohydrate-electrolyte-protein solution on hydration. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2013; 23: S1-S15

Adelfo Cerame's Beach Ready Program: A Blueprint to Shed The Winterfat in Time. Sample Workout + Diet Guide

The beach season is almost at the ready... what about you?

It's another of those "every other Thursdays" and after realizing that even after months of the same routine not everyone out there has gotten that these are the days, when Wheelchair IFBB Pro Adelfo Cerame is doing the lion's share of the work here at the SuppVersity and I (=Adel) am just editing the stuff Adelfo shot me via email earlier today. I write an introduction (the words you are are reading just now) and add a short preview on what you can expect from the thursdaily 1PM (ET) Science Round Up on the Super Human Radio Network (listen live!) and hit the "publish" button.

Adelfo Cerame's Beach Ready Program: A Blueprint to Shed The Winterfat in Time

Summer is just around the corner, and I’m positive that the majority of you will be preparing those beach bodies within the next couple of months. So while you guys and gals are trying to get lean and mean and shredded for the summer, I will be fighting the inevitable and doing the opposite. Lol!

Adelfo's current off-season form is probably better than the 2beach body" of most of the posers on Jersey Shore ;-)

So I thought it would be a good idea to share my thoughts and opinions on how you can set up a sensible training and nutrition regimen to get you ready for those upcoming hot summer nights!

I. Training - Keep it simple. 

There really is no need to over-analyze or overthink your training routine, just because you are now "cutting". "K.I.S.S." (=keep it stupidly simple) the tried and proven:

Focus on core/compound exercises such as your bench, squats, dead lifts, and horizontal rows like a bent-over BB row and maybe 2-3 other exercises to supplement those core exercises depending on the focal point on that day.

Here’s a sensible training regimen I’ve put together that’s simple and straightforward. It has a sensible volume (no more than 5-6 exercise), but is condensed enough to be challenging and help you maintain your muscles while your diet is taking care of the midriff bulge you can't seriously want to be carrying along the shore:

As you can see you will be kicking your training week off with two "volume workout" and follow them up with workout 3 and 4, both of which have a strength focus.

It goes without saying that adequate rest is imperatively needed before and in-between the 5x5 strength day - after all, you're going to be doing some heavy lifting on those days.

Do you do (additional) cardio? If you have been following my posts here at the SuppVersity for quite some time, now, you will be aware that I am not a fan of cardio.

With cardio more ain't more. If you do too much you can actually hamper not promote your progress (learn more)

Especially the notion that you can "run away" from dietary mistakes, or "outtrain a crappy diet" as Adel likes to call it is simply hilarious and will inevitably lead to failure. In other words, you should actually be able to answer the cardio question, yourself.

With cardio for fat loss, doing less is more. Therefore you'll do the least amount that will allow you to make continuous progress towards your beach body goal. Reevaluate your progress on a weekly basis and decide whether it is really necessary to up your cardio volume.

I would start with 0-1 cardio sessions per week and just make adjustments depending on your progress week by week. (Weight, food intake…) but don’t run yourself to the dirt neither.

How much weight so you pick? Since we’re trying to K.I.S.S. the chubbiness goodbey, you're simply going by how you feel: Pick a weight heavy enough that you can bang out the given reps yet challenging enough… So how do we do that?

• high volume days - pick a weight heavy enough that you probably will have 2-3 reps left in the tank - obviously after you've completed the number of prescribed reps
• strength days: pick a weight heavy enough that you probably will have 1 more rep left in the tank or will be able to exactly do just the given rep range.

In a way, it is like using an RPE scale (learn more) - with a lot more leeway, though and without the constant revision of RPE-numbers from workout to workout or even exercise to exercise.

A brief note to those looking for detailed diet + training counseling: Adelfo also offers coaching services via email. You know that he happily answers all general questions in the comments, here at the SuppVersity, but I guess you will also understand that he cannot write an individual training plan for everyone who asks politely. So, if you want more than just "rules of thumbs" and "general guidelines", reach out to him via Facebook.

Why does the routine look like that?

I’ve become a real fan of high volume/strength training splits nowadays, and in my opinion they can be very beneficial whenever you are trying to improve your body composition while maintaining or even building your baseline strength and muscular endurance. To put it in simpler terms, you need to be strong in order for your body to handle the workload and in turn your body will have to compensate for the increased workload by building new muscle tissue, so it kind of makes sense to me that by combining a hypertrophy style training regimen with a strength split you can get the best of both worlds.

A typical BB style workout combined with a simple strength training protocol like 5x5 is a pretty simple model/split to follow. It's self explanatory and you don't have to put much thought into it. Just pick a heavy weight that you can lift for the prescribed 5 sets of 5 reps (5x5), and when that load begins to feel "light", you increase the weight - it's as simple as that, but guess what: It's about as effective ;-)

Again this workout is not set in stone, you can make tweaks as you see fit but this is just to give you an idea of how simple it can be to structure a training regimen for yourself without have to over analyze and out think yourself

II. Diet - Nutritional guidelines to lose fat not just weight

You can lose weight on just about any type of diet just as long as you are in a negative energy balance. However, if you are trying to lose fat, not just weight, want to maintain/build muscle and keep your gym performance and overall energy levels up, a sensible macronutrient composition is key.

The latter entails that you get adequate amounts of protein, adequate amounts of fats and adequate amounts of carbohydrates in your diet and top that off with a reasonable amount of fiber. It stands to reason that this won't work, if you don't track your macronutrient & fiber intake and keep an eye on the micronutrients.

A. Determine your overall calorie intake for the dieting phase

Firstly, you will have to find identify your baseline energy requirements. This is best done by logging your food intake for 1-2 weeks and subtract ~20% from that to determine initial caloric intake for this cutting phase. Alternatively, you can use the following rule of thumb as a basic guideline to estimate your starting energy requirements: Multiply your body weight in lbs 9-12 kcal. If you’re already fairly lean it’s fine to just use your overall body weight. If you are on the heavier or obese end of the scale, you'd want to get as close to your lean body mass as possible

While you are dieting your goal should always be to keep the maximal caloric intake that allows you to achieve a slow and gradual weight loss of around 1 lb./ week if you are a man and .5-1 pound/ week if you are a women. Don't beat yourself up if you don’t lose that pound on a given week and by don't make any drastic changes – remember everyone's body is different and we have to allow our bodies to adjust and adapt. That this process takes one week for some, while two or even three for others is only natural.

What else do you have to take into account? A brief summary of the most important things to keep in mind as far as your actual diet composition is concerned:

(1) prioritize protein and fiber over carbs and fats

(2) eat at least 2-3 servings of veggies/ day, and at least 1-2 servings of fruits/day

(3) eat a variety of whole “nutrient dense” foods and limit your intake energy dense, but non-nutritive foods

(4) use an 80/20 ratio of whole to processed "fun/cheat" foods

Don't forget: Deviating from these rules ain't a good idea, but it's even worse to give up, once you've fallen off the wagon. You can take it for granted that it's going to happen. It's part of the game and as long as you get back on track asap, it won't break your neck ;-)

B. Set a baseline protein intake - ca. 0.8-1g /lbs lean body mass
You will have to consume roughly 1g of protein per 1lbs lean body weight. Again, if you are fairly lean, it does not really matter if you use your total body weight, but if you are still on the heavier side of the divide, try to estimate your lean mass or you will end up consuming way too much protein.

C. Set a baseline fat intake - ca. 0.3-0.5g /lbs lean body mass

If you’re on the higher BF% or on the heavier or obese end of the scale you'll probably benefit more of a high to moderate fat intake with low(ish) carbs (never go below 50g, though; more around the 100-150ish range). If you've already come a long way or have never had any real weight problems, though, low carb is not the way to go for you and you'd better go with a high(er) carbohydrate intake while keeping the fats on the low(er) to moderate end.

D. Fill the rest of your macros up with carbs 

Your daily carbohyrate intake can now easily be calculate by dividing the rest of your energy intake, i.e. total energy (A) minus protein intake (B x 4kcal) minus fat intake (C x 9kcal), by four, which is the kcal-content of 1g of carbohydrates. If you've calculated a 2,400kcal baseline energy intake for your "beach body diet", have a baseline protein intake of 200g and a baseline fat intake of 60g, this means that you have 2,400kcal -200g x 4kcal - 60g x 9kcal = 1080kcal, or 265g of carbs "left"

E. Make sure to get your dietary fiber

Actually you are almost done, now. The only thing that's left to consider is a baseline fiber intake of 35-50g/ day for men and 25-50g/ day for women.

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That's it: If you have never been counting your macros it may appear complicated, but if you compare this protocol to the complicated prescriptions of other "diets", you will see that you it's actually pretty easy. After you've done the math, the "only" thing you still got to do is being patient and consistent. As long as you do that, allow your body to adjust and adapt and don't pull the trigger to make adjustments too quickly, when all it would have taken was another week of consistent dieting, you will achieve your goal - and if you don't get to the "ridiculously ripped" zone this summer, you still have the next year to make further improvements ;-)