A Supplement That Really Works?

Yea yea - I know.

I spend alot of real estate on this blog debunking many of the various “super” supplements that hit the marketplace. And I do firmly believe that we can get most of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional substances our bodies need from a well-balanced diet. Especially in our younger years. But as we get older, I do think that selective supplementation can benefit us. Both by supplementing falling levels of certain chemicals in the body due to aging processes, and by neutralizing the destructive results of aging related reactions.

Now new studies indicate that creatine, a substance produced in the body from the amino acids methionine, glycine and arginine, may help improve memory and brain functioning.

Creatine has been used in the muscle building community for years.  And as a muscle strength and muscle recovery enhancer, it really does work.

A natural body building supplement that works?  Wow, time to toss out the steroids.

The key to creatine’s effectiveness is that it is chemically linked to another substance in the body called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP, often called the “universal energy molecule”, is utilized by every cell in our bodies to fuel cellular growth and recovery processes.  ATP also reduces the impact of oxidative stress, a reaction that increases as we age, within the body.

A drop in ATP levels naturally occurs as we age and our cells deteriorate accordingly.  Low ATP levels are also linked to the onset of many diseases.

Preserving high ATP levels in the body is a key component of slowing down the aging process and maintaining high energy levels.

Taking powdered creatine mixed with water or juice supplements the body’s natural supply and will provide more energy to our cells.  More energy equals stronger muscles.  Stronger muscles equal bigger muscles when they are progressively worked in an effective exercise program.  More energy also means that as you break the muscles down in a workout, they are able to recover faster.

So, creatine: get bigger muscles, faster! But this is only if you are regularly working out in a resistance training program - i.e. weights, machines, etc.  A couch potato taking extra creatine probably won’t notice any effects at all.  His cells, especially the ones in his muscles, don’t need the extra energy cause there’s not much for them to do anyway.

But a new study out of Australia suggests that the energy producing effects of creatine can also benefit our brain functions, including memeory and mental clarity.  Kind of makes sense.  If creatine can improve energy levels in all cells, including our muscles and heart, then why wouldn’t improve the cells of the brain?

The results of the study indicate that levels of creatine in the brain directly relate to recognition memory capabilities, mental fatigue levels, and analytical decsion making skills.

So, creatine: get bigger muscles, faster, AND smarter!

And the best part?  Creatine is cheap.  You can find it in powdered form in most any health store for around $20 for a 2-3 month supply.  And don’t get suckered into buying “liquid” creatine.  Your friendly GNC clerk will tell you that liquid creatine reaches the cells faster and is more pure,  but studies have proven that the powdered form (mixed with juice or water) is actually far more effective.

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Oprah’s Miracle Fruit? The Truth About The Latest Super Supplement.

Lose weight with Dr. Oz’s miracle fruit!  Hollywood stars regain youth with acai!  Nature’s miracle in a bottle!

Okay, first, I love fresh acai fruit. I can’t find fresh acai berries anywhere here in Dallas, but it’s a staple at most of the smoothie/juice shops in Australia. Great morning pick-me-up snack. And really healthy. But miracle cure?

Remember how popular pomegranate juice was 2-3 years ago? How it was chockfull of healthy antioxidants and other anti-aging substances? Well, the pomegranate has been replaced as the latest super fruit of choice by the Brazilian fruit, the acai berry.

And it’s pronounced “Ah-Sigh-EE”.

These days you see ads for acai berry supplements all over the Internet. Free trial offers. Lose weight with acai!  Grow younger with acai!  Cleanse your colon with acai! Even Oprah has supposedly hawked the benefits of the acai berry.

Let’s get down to facts.

The acai berry is a very healthy fruit.  It is high in antioxidants and cholesterol lowering omega 3 and omega 9 fatty acids.  It is also high in fiber and has a low glycemic index, which means it doesn’t play havoc with your blood sugar, but rather supplies a steady source of raw energy.  All good stuff from one of nature’s healthiest fruits.

Bring on the hype.

So, as with any newly discovered “super” food, what is the first thing the nutritional supplement makers do?  They set up what are often questionable manufacturing processes to extract and bottle acai berries in juice, pill, and powder forms.  They slap some colorful labels on these bottles with names like AcaiBurn, The Brazilian Miracle, and Acai Essence Deluxe. And then they embark on a massive marketing campaign that revolves around hyped testimonials, exaggerated science, and suck-you-in free trial offers designed to prey upon our miracle cure mentality.

All of a sudden you saw ads on Facebook, Google, and all the major news media web sites advertising product web sites called  Oprah-best-acai.com , OprahsAmazingDiet.com, DrOzMiracle.com, rachaelray.drozdiet-acaiberry.com and others with totally misleading names.

Yep, anyone can buy an Internet domain with someone else’s name in it.

The typical pitch is, we’ll send you a free month’s supply.  You just give us your credit card number to pay for shipping and handling.  But if you look at the really small print, you’ll see you’re signing up for an never-ending supply of the supplement, which they will bill you for every one or three months.  They keep shipping, you keep paying.

And apparently, it’s been very difficult to get them to stop shipping.  There have been thousands of complaints against these companies, many of which operate overseas in such hotbeds of corporate activity as Tunisia, Vietnam, and Majorca.  Even when you try to cancel, they keep shipping and you keep paying.

Many people have had to cancel their credit card just to halt the billings.

You can find out more about the CSPI warning here.

Look, acai is just the latest super food fad.  Acai is a great tasting and very healthy fruit, but let’s put things in perspective.

Acai juice does contain healthy levels of antioxidants.  But, recent studies show that, even in juice form, it contains lower levels of healthy antioxidants than Concord grape juice, blueberry juice, and black cherry juice.  It does contain higher levels of antioxidants than apple, orange, or cranberry juices.  And the fatty berry that is the acai does also contain healthy levels of omega fatty acids.

So, again, acai is a healthy fruit.  It tastes great, especially when mixed with nuts.  Trick is, due to it’s native Brazilian rain forest growing environment and challenges in packaging, it’s hard to find acai berries in raw fruit form here in the States.

You can find juices and juice concentrates, which are the next best thing.  But you do still lose some of the benefits in the juice extraction process.

Then you have the pills and powders.  I have yet to find a food of any type that can be packaged in pill or powder form and retain any significant percentage of its nutritional content.  So, take that under consideration the next time you see one of those blinking “Oprah Lost 50lbs With Acai In A Bottle!” ads.

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We’re Not Kids Anymore - Blog Carnival

Welcome to the June 16, 2009 We’re Not Kids Anymore Blog Carnival.

As usual, this edition presents a selection articles from across the health, nutrition, and fitness blogosphere.

Enjoy.

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Eight Foods For A Healthier Sex Life

That old Dean Martin classic:

When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That’s amore
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine
That’s amore

The concept of food and drink as aphrodisiacs has been around for hundreds of years.  Romans eating grapes.  The French and their wines.  Americans and our cheeseburgers. 

Well, the smell of sizzling burgers on the grill does do it for me.

And to that point, studies have shown that sometimes just the aroma of certain foods can trigger feelings of amore.  Or at least good old fashioned lust.

Here are eight foods that have been known to help create some kaboom in the bedroom, some spark in the dark, and some heat beneath the sheet.

Red Wine

The vino, when sipped in moderation, provides healthy antioxidants and other substances that keep the arteries open and blood flowing to, um, the places it needs to be.

Celery

Raw celery contains the male hormone androsterone, which can act as a pheromone to trigger attraction in women.  So, pack a few sticks in your pajamas. When you eat them, the pheromones are released from your sweat glands.

Celery also has mood elevation effects in women.  So, share.

Dark Chocolate

Studies have shown that women who eat dark chocolate have healthier sex lives.  I’m assuming by healthier, they mean more often and better.

Dark chocolate contains chemicals linked to feelings of relaxation, intoxication, and pleasure.  In addition, it contains high concentrations of phenylethylamine, which has been found to trigger feelings associated with falling in love.

Ginger

Fresh ginger root acts as a stimulant to the circulatory system.  Another food to help get the blood flowing.

Vanilla

As mentioned, men become stimulated more from the aromas of certain foods than from the actual eating of it.  Studies show that men are turned on by smells that remind them of the security and pleasures of childhood.  Guess vanilla brings back fond memories of cake and ice cream.

Somehow, I don’t think the smell of grandma’s Noxcema cream has the same effect.

Oysters

Yes, the myth is really true.  Oysters contain high concentrations of zinc, which is required for testosterone production.  Pumpkin seeds and pine nuts are other good sources of zinc.

In addition, recent studies have found that there are two amino acids found in mussels, oysters, and clams that can induce a rush of sex hormones in the human body.

Be sure to chew them thoroughly to maximize the release of these amorous aminos.

Asparagus

The green stalks contain large amounts of folate, which is necessary for histamine production.  Healthy histamine levels are necessary for reaching, um, the sexual finish line.

But don’t go overboard or you’ll be putting out an aroma that only flies will find seductive.

Granola

Granola contains the amino acid L-Arginine, which improves circulation.  Studies show that healthy levels of L-Arginine improve sexual performance in men.

So, before you start thinking of little blue pills, try taking a trip to the grocery store and loading up on these all-natural performance boosters.

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Barack Tells Congress To Get Off Their Pork-Filled Butts

Barack Obama is apparently not happy with the progress, or lack thereof, that his Legislative Glee Club is making on putting together a health care reform proposal. So, in true “Yes, we can!” form, he has decided to roll up his sleeves and write the thing himself. Well, when he gets back from France anyway.

According to the Associated Press: “The White House, backing away from President Barack Obama’s ‘it’s-all-on-the-table’ approach initially advocated, prepared to get louder and more involved in the details of a health care overhaul that officials once were content to leave to Congress, administration officials said Saturday.”

This certainly explains why Obama has backed off on his campaign promise not to tax health care benefits. Remember when he blasted John McCain for even suggesting that taxing employer paid health coverage payments was a viable option? I think his comment was something to the effect that the last thing the American worker needed was increased taxes.  In the interest of getting some form of reform through before what’s left of his political capital washes away in a sea of spending, he’s leaving all the options open.

So, for those who haven’t been keeping up, let’s see where the health care debate is right now. It’s important to understand the plan options that are being thrown around, especially since the President is bound and determined to have a plan finalized and approved by the end of the year. This means he will need to get something rolling on Capitol Hill before Congress goes off to Summer camp.

To review the issues:

Health care costs: Wayyy too high
Health care quality: Wayyy too low
Americans without health care: 46,000,000
Estimated cost to expand health care coverage to include them: $1.2 trillion greenbacks (over a ten year period)

Do we need reform?  Definitely.  I think most people on both sides of the political fence would agree that our health care system is bloated and broken.  The debate rages around the measures that need to be taken to fix it.

The two primary points of contention?

One, should health care coverage be mandatory for all Americans? Why make insurance coverage mandatory?  Why should I care if you have insurance coverage or not?  Because if you don’t have coverage and get hospitalized, you may not be able to pay your medical costs.  You will default on them and they will be passed on to me in the form of taxes and/or an increase in my medical coverage premiums.  So coverage for all reduces costs for all.

Obama was against this during the campaign.  It was a Hillary rallying cry that Barack opposed in favor of a more incremental approach where coverage would first be mandatory for children only.  I believe his opposition was more of a pragmatic “there’s no way we could make this happen immediately” than a disagreement over an ultimate goal.

Well, now he appears to be open to this requirement, which is being promoted by Democratics and some Republicans in both sides of the house, being made a part of the initial bill.  Again remember, goal number one for Obama is to get a health care reform bill passed this year.  Therefore, compromise where necessary.  He does mandate that a “hardship” exclusion be a part of the bill which would exempt certain people unable to afford the cost of coverage.  What constitutes a “hardship” is an open question.

The trick is that to make health care coverage mandatory, alot of work will have to be done to clean up the existing medical system to reduce the waste and inefficencies that have resulted in the upward spiral in treatment costs.  Reduce treatment costs and presumably you reduce the cost of providing coverage for them.

There also would need to be a clear understanding of what mandatory coverage includes?  Presumably some baseline for the minimum accepted coverage levels would be defined.  But again, until there is reform in the medical treatment system that reduces waste and costs, trying to enforce mandatory coverage is putting the cart before the horse.

The other main point of contention in the battle to put a health care reform bill together is whether the bill should include the formation of a government-run public insurer agency.  This agency would serve to, theoretically, provide a low-cost alternative to the private insurance that is typically subsidized by employers.  This would not be a totally new role for the government, as it already does such a *great* job running Medicare and Medicaid.

There are obvious reasons why most Republicans and many of the moderate Democrats are against this.  It’s anti-business.  A government managed health insurer would have the leverage to force doctors, hospitals, big pharma, and other players in the game of medicine, to cut costs.  A good thing, right?  Usually.

But what has happened with Medicare, is that all the government cost cutting has led to a significant reduction in the quality of medical care for those who are covered.

The health insurance industry, with the backing of the pharm companies, is lobbying really hard against the formation of a government-run public insurer agency.  This is purely in their best interest.  They don’t want to be in competition with the government.  From a cost standpoint, it’s a war they will not win.  Not when the government can strong arm the medical field into cutting costs and even subsidize coverage costs with taxes.  Definitely an unlevel playing field.

Health insurers are fighting back.  They state that “a public plan won’t be needed if reformers successfully expand coverage to the uninsured through mandated insurance and guaranteed issuance of policies, find ways to control medical costs, prohibit exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and provide subsidies to help people afford coverage.”

So, it would appear that due to Obama’s pushing, health care reform is coming.   At this point it really seems to boil down to a race between the existing insurer industry and the government to create a proposal that is palatable to the populace.

I really have little faith that the insurers can band together and create a package that will force them to clean up their own act by reducing costs, expand coverage to the uninsured, and upgrade the quality of care provided.  Especially when they’re up against a current administration and Congress that has shown a willingness, and even an enthusiasm, for throwing buckets and buckets of money at a problem.

We’ll get a public health insurance agency of some type.  And we’ll be paying through the nose for it.

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Body Weight Workout Benefits

In my previous life, I used to travel quite a bit. I’d be living out of hotel rooms 3-4 days a week and it was usually a different city every time. In other words, aside from getting to become intimately familiar with the DFW airport, I was always having to adjust to being in a different place. This meant finding places to get a decently healthy meal and trying to find a local gym or health club so I could maintain some semblance of a workout schedule.

After awhile I just got tired of hunting down a reasonably close fitness center and paying astronomical guest fees just to get access to what was typically a low quality gym with inferior and often broken down equipment.

I decided to forego the weekly gym hunts and instead focus on developing a body weight workout routine that could be done in a hotel room, or even better, somewhere outside. But I also wanted some variety that would give me some exercise choices beyond simple push-ups, body squats, and crunches.

So, I did some homework.

And what I discovered, is that being a gym rat and focused on workout routines around machine movements and isolated free weight exercises does not at all prepare you for a full body weight workout.  Using isolated and restricted ranges of motion in resistance training is great for building strength in specific muscles, but does very little for improving strength and endurance in real world motions.

And that’s where the typical health club workout falls short.  So much focus is put on working muscles in isolation, that developing real world strength is neglected.

What is “real world” strength?

Real world strength is what it takes to perform in sports like gymnastics and wrestling, or full body activities such as combat or moving furniture.  These activities don’t rely on specific muscles.  Instead they require the coordinated use of groups of muscles to accomplish a goal.  They require body awareness in that, for example, to successfully carry one end of a heavy couch up a flight of stairs, you must know exactly what each contributing muscle is doing at any given time.

It’s knowing to shift the weight when rounding corners in a narrow stairway turn.  It’s bending your knees to brace for that final lift over the banister.  It’s coordinating virtually every major muscle in your body to get that couch up the steps.

You don’t get that type of exercise while sitting on a bench doing bicep curls, or even laying on your back doing dumbell presses.

Body weight exercises take weights and stabilizing benches and chairs out of the picture.  Effective body weight workouts require the coordination of multiple major muscle groups of the body.

In order to perform body weight exercises such as one-legged squats, handstand push-ups, and bridges, you have to be focused on every part of your body.

Working with weights and machines in the gym is great for focusing on specific muscle groups, one at a time.  But body weight workouts focus on the entire body and more effectively develop strength and coordination across the core.  These are the types of exercises that will develop the strength, coordination, and endurance involved in our everyday activities such as throwing a ball, swinging a golf club, or helping a friend move a couch up a flight of stairs.

I started working with body weight exercises because of my travel schedule.  But even now that I don’t travel and have full access to my health club, I still make body weight workouts a key part of my routine.  It has improved my flexibility, overall strength, and especially my mad skillz at wrestling with a rambunctious three year old.

Want to learn more about body weight workouts?  You can get fit and build muscle with body weight workouts..

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Before You Pop That Vitamin In Your Mouth…

Interesting study results coming out of Germany.

A group of scientists in Hamburg have determined that athletes that take vitamins after a cardio workout may be reversing the primary benefits of their exercise efforts. Specifically, taking in supplemental doses of the antioxidant vitamins C and E soon after an exercise session appears to hamper a critical byproduct of exercise - the body’s natural ability to improve energy regulation.

How?

First a little refresher in body chemistry.

Intense cardio activity enhances the body’s sensitivity to the hormone insulin. This allows the body to more efficiently govern cellular use of sugar as an energy source. In other words, as you are pumping the pedals or cranking on the treadmill, the body adapts to the pace and becomes better at managing sugar levels in the blood to keep the energy flowing.

This ability to manage glucose levels in the blood is one of the more critical functions in the body.  In fact, Type 2 diabetes actually develops when the body becomes less sensitive to insulin levels and thus unable to effectively manage blood sugar levels.

Now, a quick lesson in antioxidants and free radicals.

Antioxidants occur naturally in the body and serve to neutralize the destructive “free radicals” that are responsible for, among other things, the external cellular damage associated with premature aging, sun damage, and muscle tone deterioration. These free radicals are a byproduct of our metabolism and thus are produced in larger quantities during periods of intense exercise when our metabolism is working at accelerated levels.

Antioxidants good, free radicals bad, right? Not entirely.

Turns out that scientists now believe that these oxygen free radicals, in addition to the destructive cellular reactions they generate, also increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Again, the more sensitive the body is to insulin levels in the blood, the better it can manage blood sugar - i.e. energy levels. Type 2 diabetes is a disease directly linked with a body that is unable to manage these sugar levels due to a lack of insulin sensitivity.

Antioxidants destroy free radicals. So, free radicals good, antioxidants bad? Nope. It’s all about balance. In a perfect world, an optimally performing body should maintain a healthy balance between free radical and antioxidant levels.

What we are learning, is that taking in antioxidant supplements right after exercise will offset that balance by over-neutralizing the free radicals produced by cardio exertion before they can work to benefit our blood sugar management system.

In addition, by throwing an excess of artificial antioxidants into the body, we are potentially weakening the body’s own ability to naturally produce them. This leads to a weakening of the exercise induced free radical defense system, which depends on naturally produced antioxidants.

Dr Michael Ristow and colleagues from the University of Jena in Germany wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: “We find that antioxidant supplements prevent the induction of molecular regulators of insulin sensitivity and endogenous antioxidant defence by physical exercise.”

Now, I do firmly believe that there is a place for antioxidants in a supplement regimen. Especially as we get older and our body begins to lose the cellular war between antioxidants and the age accelerating free radicals.

But this latest study does contribute to the increasingly compelling argument that vitamins and supplements can have complex, yet to be discovered, and potentially damaging effects on the body.

Something to remember when you grab that bottle of mega-dose nutritional vitamin or supplement formula.

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We’re Not Kids Anymore Blog Carnival - 6/1/09

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