Does Creatine Monohydrate Improve Anaerobic Performance?

Creatine - Enhanced Performance for Athletes?

It’s been a little while since my last post on this blog.  I thought that I would blow the dust off this blog and start writing posts again.  When it comes to dietary supplements, there’s no question that their use is popular among athletes.  Both Olympic and professional athletes seem to share an esurient desire to find a competitive edge in their respective sports.  For some, they make the unfortunate and dangerous decisions to cheat by using illegal, performance-enhancing, drugs which can have deadly consequences.   yet others, opt for safer alternatives with common choices including energy drinks/bars, protein powders, and creatine monohydrate.

What effect does creatine monohydrate have on competitive swimmers (anaerobic enhancement?)

Twitter feed barely alive?

My Twitter Feed

At much time and consideration, I’ve finally caved in and added a twitter feed.  Right now, it looks like it’s barely alive, but I might need a second opinion.  I realize that I am a little late to the party in terms of joining the twitter fad.  For anyone who might be interested, my twitter feed is as follows:

Jarret Morrow
Cheers.

Red Yeast Rice revisited for lowering cholesterol.

Red Yeast Rice

Red yeast rice is an increasingly popular dietary supplement which is used by people who have elevated cholesterol levels.  In fact, in 2006, American consmers spent $17 million dollars on this dietary supplement.  It has been used as an herbal medication in China for centuries.

Statins or HMG-CoA reducatase inhibitors are currently the most effective lipid-lowering medications for the prevention of coronary artery disease.  Though they are generally well-tolerated, they can be associated with side effects including:  elevated hepatic or liver enzyme levels, gastrointestinal symptoms, and statin-associated myalgias which include both muscle pain and weakness.  Myositis which includes elevated creatine phosphokinase levels (CPK) and rhabdomyolysis (rapid break down of skeletal muscle tissue) are more rare, but are serious complictions of therapy. Statin-associated myalgias are dose related and typically do occur without myosistis.

As no definitive treatment for statin-associated myalgia (SAM)currently exists, many patients adopt alterative strategies including red yeast rice.  Though now more controversial, some patients with SAM have benefited from supplementing with coenzyme Q10.  Like statin type medication, red yeast rice contains lovastatin (monocolin k) that may inhibit HMG-CoA reducatase and lower cholesterol levels.

A recent study (Becker et al, 2009) evaluated the effectiveness and tolerability of red yeast rice to treat dyslipidemia in patients who cannot tolerate statins.

Intervention:

Patients were assigned by random allocation software to receive red yeast rice, 1800 mg (31 patients), or placebo (31patients) twice daily for 24 weeks. All patients were concomitantly enrolled in a 12-week therapeutic lifestyle change program.

Results:

• LDL cholesterol reduction of 1.11 mmol/l (43 mg/dl) at week 12.
• Levels of HDL choleterol (good cholesterol), liver enzymes, CPK, and pain severity did not differ between the red yeast rice group and placebo at weeks 12 or 24.

Conclusions:

Red yeast rice and therapeutic lifestyle change decrease LDL cholesterol level without increasing CPK or pain levels and may be a treatment option for dyslipidemic patients who cannot tolerate statin therapy.

Side effects:

Two (7%) of 29 patients in the red yeast rice group developed persistent intolerable myalgias and discontinued treatment. Their CPK levels were within normal limits.  Two other patients discontinued red yeast rice, 1 because of dizziness and 1 because of loose stools. All 4 patients remained in the study and completed the study protocol.  One of 30 patients in the placebo group developed persistent intolerable myalgias and discontinued treatment but completed the study protocol.

ATP III Classification of LDL, Total, and HDL Cholesterol (mg/dL)

LDL Cholesterol – Primary Target of Therapy

• <100 Optimal
• 100-129 Near optimal/above optimal
• 130-159 Borderline high
• 160-189 High
• >190 Very high

Total Cholesterol

• <200 Desirable
• 200-239 Borderline high
• >240 High

HDL Cholesterol (good cholesterol)

• <40 Low
• >60 High

Reference:

Becker DJ, Gordon RY, Halbert SC, French B, Morris PB, Rader DJ.  Red yeast rice for dyslipidemia in statin-intolerant patients: a randomized trial.  Ann Intern Med. 2009 Jun 16;150(12):830-9, W147-9.

Can Protein Supplementation Assist with Fat Loss?

In keeping with several of my previous posts about dietary supplements for weight loss/fitness, here’s a guest post from Thomas Noonan about protein supplementation for fat loss:

AllMax Nutrition Isoflex

Can Protein Supplementation Assist with Fat Loss?

by Thomas Noonan

When the topic of a high protein diet for fat loss comes up, most think of the Atkins diet, which involves cutting carbohydrates from your diet in order to lose fat.  While diets like these do work for rapid fat loss, most people end up gaining all the fat back faster than they lost it.  Another downside of the high-protein and low carb diet is that carbs are an essential basic nutrient that we need to be healthy.  Completely removing carbs isn’t the best way to go.

However, supplementing your diet with protein can prove to be tremendously beneficial to your fat loss effort.  This is how it works:

• Consuming 20-30 grams of protein after a workout involving weight training (lifting weights) will help you build a little bit of muscle.  Don’t worry about getting “too bulky”.  Nobody has that problem, and if you do get “too bulky”, just reduce the weight that you lift.

• The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn when exercising, lifting weights, walking around, sitting and even sleeping.

• The more calories that you burn, the more you can eat without gaining additional fat.  If you keep your diet consistent and simply increase your muscle mass, you will successfully be burning extra fat.

• As a bonus, drinking a low-calorie or diet protein shake can help fill you up and reduce your food cravings after a workout.

There are a few things to keep in mind when trying to find a weight-loss protein shake.

• If your goal is to burn fat, there are many protein shakes designed for your particular need.  Make sure you get something that is low calorie (under 100 calories per 20g of protein), and low in fat and carbs.  There are tons of “weight gainer” protein shakes, and be sure to read the nutrition labels and stay away from the high calorie ones.  For help finding the right protein for you, check some Protein Supplement Reviews.

• Don’t drink too many shakes throughout the day.  Be sure to drink one after exercising, and possibly before bed.  Try to avoid snacking on protein shakes throughout the day.

This strategy (building muscle to promote fat loss) isn’t for everyone, and won’t exactly make the pounds fly off.  The scale is a poor measurement tool for this strategy, since it is very likely that you will gain weight before losing weight.  Just stay consistent and your body will eventually transform.

Related posts:

CLA/Creatine/Whey Protein–effects on resistance training?

No whey dude… It really works to build mass?

CLA/Creatine/Whey Protein–effects on resistance training?

Creatine (C) and whey protein (P)are already two very common dietary supplements used by athletes who engage in resistance training.  Studies suggest that both supplements are effective for increasing lean body mass during resistance training.  A recent Canadian study explored the combined effects of not only creatine and whey protein, but also in combination with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) during a 5 week study [Cornish et al, 2009].

Dosage: CCP (6 g/d CLA + 9 g/d C + 36 g/d P)

Results:

CCP group resulted in statistically significant increases in:

• bench press (16.2%)
• leg press (13.1%)
• lean tissue mass (2.4%)

CONCLUSION: Combining C, CLA, and P was beneficial for increasing strength and lean-tissue mass during heavy resistance training.

Reference:

Cornish SM, Candow DG, Jantz NT, Chilibeck PD, Little JP, Forbes S, Abeysekara S, Zello GA.  Conjugated linoleic acid combined with creatine monohydrate and whey protein supplementation during strength training.  Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2009 Feb;19(1):79-96.

Slow Cow–Calm down and improve your concentration?

Leveraging a twist on the appearance of the energy drink, Red Bull, a Canadian company is marketing a new ‘anti-energy’ drink called Slow Cow Drink.  The design features two cows juxtaposed face down on the ground. Lino Fleury and his team spent just over a year and half creating a drink that’s creating a new market niche which goes against the grain of the already enormous and competitive energy drink market.  5 Hour Energy, 6 hour power… where does it end?  24 Hours of Insomnia (TM)?  36 Hours of Psychosis(TM)?  Lino Fleury, perhaps, is hoping that the energy drink ‘hour’ war ends with Slow Cow Drink(TM).

If they overcome potential litigation from Red Bull over the likeness of their product appearance, leveraging the popularity of Red Bull’s brand awareness could potentially be a brilliant marketing strategy.  At the very least, it’s certainly drawing some attention to their new product.  As a newly dubbed, ‘anti-energy’ drink, Slow Cow is touted as improving both concentration as well as relaxation.

Unlike energy drinks which often include Caffeine and Taurine along with various other combinations, the key ingredient in Slow Cow is L-theanine, an amino acid, found in tea.  L-theanine is believed to increase levels of GABA production in the brain.  GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter.  It  also promotes alpha wave production in the brain (Nobra et al, 2008).  Alpha waves are found in EEGs during periods of waking relaxation.  A recent study by Parnell et al (2008) found that L-theanine when combined with caffeine are actually beneficial for improving performance on cognitively demanding tasks.

References:

Nobre AC, Rao A, Owen GN. L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17 Suppl 1:167-8.Owen GN,

Parnell H, De Bruin EA, Rycroft JA. The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. Nutr Neurosci. 2008 Aug;11(4):193-8.

For more information, visit: Slow Cow Drink.

Probiotics for anxiety/depression?

Okay, if you haven’t heard all the fanfare for probiotics from watching TV commercials, visiting your local grocery store, or even reading my blog posts, then you might be asking yourself, what are probiotics?  As I’ve previously posted, probiotics are essentially dietary supplements or functional foods that contain potentially beneficial bacteria or yeast.

Research suggests that probiotics may have beneficial effects at preventing traveler’s diarrhea, treating allergic rhinitis, and reducing gastrointestinal symptoms.  Recently, Canadian researchers from Toronto, published a study in the journal, Gut Pathogens, on the effects of probiotic cultures on the emotional symptoms in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Rao et al, 2009).  Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a complex illness with no clearly understood etiology or specific cause.  Emotional symptoms of CFS are most commonly of an anxiety nature.

Patients with CFS in this study were randomized to receive 24 billion colony forming units of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) or placebo daily for 2 months.  Researchers found a signiciant rise in both Lactobacillus casei as well as bifidobacteria in the stools of the intervention group.  Additionally, the researchers found a significant decline in anxiety symptoms (Beck Anxiety Inventory) in those taking LcS (p=0.01).

• In patients with CFS, supplementation with Lactobacillus casei strain Shirtoa for 2 months, resulted in statisically signicant reduction in anxiety symptoms.

Reference:

Rao AV, Bested AC, Beaulne TM, Katzman MA, Iorio C, Berardi JM, Logan AC.  A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of a probiotic in emotional symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.  Gut Pathog. 2009 Mar 19;1(1):6.

Miracle treatment for cardiovascular disease?

Is there a miracle treatment for reducing cardiovascular disease?  Perhaps the title of this blog post is someone disingenuous, but the intent on grabbing your attention is not…  To clarify, I am not one to suggest that there is a ‘natural’ miracle cure for any type of disease.  However, with that being said, there are plenty of things that we can do to improve our health including the use of dietary changes, exercise, and some dietary supplements as well.

Though dietary fiber may not exactly be a ‘miracle cure,’ the results of a recent study suggest that increasing dietary fiber intake from natural sources is associated with a reduction in classical as well as novel cardiovascular risk factors in a high risk cohort.

For some basics about dietary fiber click the following text–  Dietary Fiber Cheat Sheet.

Study results:

Increasing dietary fiber intake from natural sources resulted in statistically significant reductions in the following:

• Body waist circumference (Yup, the old ‘love handles.’)
• Blood pressure
• Fasting glucose
• Total Cholesterol
• C-reactive protein

Well, given that dietary fiber from natural sources is so beneficial to our health, why don’t we choose to eat more of it???  New guidelines suggest that men should consume 38g per day while women should consume 25g.

Reference:

Estruch R, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Corella D, Basora-Gallisá J, Ruiz-Gutierrez V, Covas MI, Fiol M, Gómez-Gracia E, Lopez-Sabater MC, Escoda R, Pena MA, Diez-Espino J, Lahoz C, Lapetra J, Saez G, Ros E. Effects of dietary fiber intake on risk factors for cardiovascular disease in subjects at high risk.  J Epidemiol Community Health. 2009 Mar 15.