Are bodybuilding supplements necessary?

Currently, there is a variety of bodybuilding supplements. The ingredients of these supplements include protein, creatine, s-hydroxy-s methyl butyrate (HMB), amino acids, etc. They are claimed to be able to increase muscle and add strength.

 

However, it was found that if bodybuilders intake excessive amount of protein, it will not help increase muscle. Instead, the excessive protein will be converted into body fat.

 

According to the guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine, the daily protein intake of an adult athlete is 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight. But the label of some of these supplements indicates that it could provide 50 grams of protein per serving. And so, if an athlete follows the recommendation of daily intake of 3 servings, it will mean 150 (50x3) grams of protein are taken in daily.

 

This amount has exceeded an athlete of a weight of 70 kg daily maximum requirement of protein 119 (1.7x70) grams and it does not include protein intake from other foods.

 

Although during endurance and weight training, it is quite common to intake the amount of protein higher than the recommendation, a number of nutritionists pointed out that this will have no effect on muscle growth. On the contrary, this excessive protein will be converted into energy. If this cannot be consumed, the excess energy will become fat stored in the body.

 

In addition, for those who have kidney problem, especially the aging people, the excessive intake of protein will make the situation worsen and will also increase the loss of calcium through urine excretion.

 

As bodybuilding supplements contain creatine, it has many side effects including convulsions, nausea, diarrhea and significant weight gaining, which may affect the performance of some sports. Thus one should consult medical personnel and sports coach for advice.

 

Besides, a study by the Consumer Federation of America in 2010 found that some supplements contained heavy metals. Three servings daily of these supplements may exceed the limit set by the United States Pharmacopeia. Further, the International Olympic Committee found that 14.8% of the samples collected in Europe and the United States contained at least one hormone or its metabolites.

 

A nutritionist concluded, within 30 minutes after resistance training, eating carbohydrates and protein foods can add strength and provide protein for muscle growth. And even under high-intensity training, as long as the diet taken is in line with the principle of balanced nutrition, it is usually not necessary to take supplements to increase muscle.

My Way

And now, the end is here
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and ev'ry highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way...

Yes, it was my way.

Diabetes - Obesity - Sugar

Global diabetes prevalence has more than doubled over the last three decades. Nearly 1 in 10 adults worldwide are now affected by diabetes.

In the past, it was thought that type 2 diabetes are due to “metabolic syndrome” – the cluster of metabolic perturbations that includes dyslipidemia, hypertension, and insulin resistance. And obesity is the strongest risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

However, it was found that about 20% of obese individuals appear to have normal insulin regulation and normal metabolic indices (no indication of diabetes), while up to 40% of normal weight people in some populations manifest aspects of the “metabolic syndrome”.

In the meantime, several countries with high diabetes prevalence rates have low obesity rates, and vice versa. High diabetes yet low obesity prevalence are also observed in countries with different ethnic compositions.

Trends in diabetes and obesity are dyssynchronous within some nations. For example, while Sri Lanka’s diabetes prevalence rate rose from 3% in the year 2000 to 11% in 2010, its obesity rate remained at 0.1% during that time period. Conversely, diabetes prevalence in New Zealand declined from 8% in 2000 to 5% in 2010 while obesity rates in the country rose from 23% to 34% during that decade.

And so it appears that there is no strong direct relationship between diabetes and obesity. 

PLOS ONE, an international online publication, published a study, found that every 150 kcal/person/day increase in sugar availability (about one can of soda/day) was associated with increased diabetes prevalence by 1.1%.

The impact of sugar on diabetes was independent of sedentary behavior and alcohol use and the effect was modified but not confounded by obesity or overweight. At the same time, the duration and degree of sugar exposure correlated significantly with diabetes prevalence in a dose-dependent manner while declines in sugar exposure correlated with significant subsequent declines in diabetes rates independently of other socioeconomic, dietary and obesity prevalence changes. Differences in sugar availability statistically explain variations in diabetes prevalence rates at a population level that are not explained by physical activity, overweight or obesity.

The method they used is the econometric models of repeated cross-sectional data on diabetes and nutritional components of food from 175 countries.

Cistanche - Desert Ginseng

Cistanche is grown in western Inner Mongolia and the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang. It is called the "Desert ginseng”. This is because it contains alkaloids, has hormone-like effect to enhance our immune system, help fight against diseases and is laxative. And so it can be used to help patients at a later cancer stage to regulate the body.

Studies found that it can promote the secretion of salivary glands of mice, proliferation of cells, as well as with coagulation, hemostasis and other functions.

Cistanche deserticola is the primary source of cistanche. With increased consumption of cistanche, the population of the species has decreased and its area of distribution has shrunk in size.
 

Is high blood pressure really harmful to health?

According to World Health Organization, high blood pressure (also known as raised blood pressure or hypertension) can lead to heart attack, stroke and other serious health problems.

 

However, it is not very accurate to measure a person’s blood pressure. It depends on, for example, season of a year, time of a day, left hand or right hand used and of course, a person’s emotion at the time of measurement. A phenomenon so-called “White Coat Hypertension" may also occur when a person sees a staff wearing a white robe in the hospital, his or her blood pressure would automatically rise higher than the normal of 140/90 mmHg.

 

Several studies found that high blood pressure does not increase the chance of stroke or mortality. It even has a protective effect on the elderly. From 840 elderly patients who participated in the EWPHEuropean Working Party on Hypertension in the Elderly) trial, it was found that there was no evidence of high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke.

 

The reason why blood pressure rises is the result of self-regulation in human body. In the elderly, there is reduced elasticity in blood vessel and it is comparatively narrower. And so the increase in blood pressure helps increase blood flow to body organs and tissues. In Japan, a study found that taking anti-hypertensive drugs would even worsen the case for dementia patients.

 

In addition, the hardening of the arteries is to enhance the protection of blood vessel from vascular pressure so as to prevent bursting. The hardening of the arteries occurs only in the peripheral blood vessels in the heart and not in the myocardial blood vessel which is tightly surrounded by the muscle.

 

The largest antihypertensive trial and the second largest lipid-lowering trial in North America, ALLHAT, with a total of 42,418 patients enrolled between February 23, 1994 and January 31, 1998. found that diuretics were better than ACEI and CCB (the two new blood pressure lowering drugs) in the prevention of coronary heart disease and with fewer side effects. But the prices of the new drugs were 200 times more expensive.