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Supplements: Hype, Claims and Fact!
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by Jack A. Medina, M.A.
Roy E. Vartabedian, Dr.P.H., M.P.H.
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February 16, 2006 |
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This Newsletter is Part 1 of a 2-part report.
Almost daily I get a question or two concerning one
or more of the supplements being hyped today. There are
over 2,500 on the market, which makes it difficult to
know about all of them. |
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Check Out the Research!
Be smart, before trying any supplement
ask this question: "Where is the
third-party, randomized, double-blind,
crossover, peer-reviewed, published research
to support the claims being made?" If they
won’t supply you with it then don’t waste
your money on testimonials, hype and false
claims. You could be endangering your
health! |
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Creatine
We'll start by looking at the most
popular of the currently hyped supplements:
creatine.
Meat, poultry, and fish provide rich
sources of creatine. Because the animal
kingdom contains the richest creatine-containing
foods, vegetarians have a distinct
disadvantage in obtaining ready sources of
creatine.
Creatine supplements, sold as creatine
monohydrate, come as a powder, tablet,
capsule, and stabilized liquid. Currently,
an athlete can supplement with creatine in
international competition because governing
bodies (including the International Olympic
Committee) do not consider creatine an
illegal substance – yet!
Creatine received notoriety as an
ergogenic (muscle growth) aid when used by
British sprinters and hurdlers in the 1992
Barcelona Olympic Games. Creatine levels at
the recommended level exert ergogenic
effects in short-duration, high-intensity
exercise (5-10% improvement) without
producing harmful side effects. However,
there is a possible association between
creatine supplementation and cramping in
multiple muscle areas during competition or
lengthy practice by football players and
other athletes. Gastrointestinal tract
disturbances such as nausea, indigestion,
and difficulty absorbing food have also been
linked to creatine ingestion.
Oral supplements of creatine monohydrate
(20-25 g per day) significantly increase
muscle creatine and performance in high
intensity, particularly repeated intense
muscular effort. This effect does not vary
between vegetarians or meat eaters.
For division I football players, creatine
supplementation with resistance training
increased body mass, lean body mass,
cellular hydration, and muscular strength
and performance. However, creatine
supplementation does NOT improve exercise
performance that requires a high level of
aerobic energy. It also has little effect on
isometric (static) muscular strength or
dynamic force measured during a brief single
movement. |
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The Risks
Limited research exists about potential
dangers of creatine supplementation in
healthy individuals, particularly the effect
on cardiac muscle and kidney function. As a
nutritional supplement, creatine requires
less stringent regulations governing its
manufacturing standards, purity, and
reporting of adverse side effects than if
classified as a drug.
Not all research reports positive results
from standard creatine supplementation. For
example, no effects on exercise performance,
fatigue resistance, and recovery appeared
for untrained subjects performing a single
15-second bout of sprint cycling, sport
specific physical activities such as
swimming, cycling, and running. |
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The Next Creatine: Ribose
Ribose has emerged as a competitor to
creatine as a supplement to increase power
and replenish high energy compounds after
intense exercise. The diet provides small
amounts through ripe fruits and vegetables.
Because of its role in energy metabolism,
ribose ingestion has been promoted as a
means to quickly restore the body’s limited
amount of ATP. However, only limited
research exists to assess this potential for
ribose. Initial research has demonstrated no
ergogenic effects of ribose supplementation
in healthy untrained or trained groups. |
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Warning!
When dealing with supplements be aware
that there are NO restrictions on what
manufacturers can claim. There might be
ingredients in the supplement that are not
on the label or ingredients listed on the
label that are not in the supplement at all.
You take the risk of ingesting something
that may have harmful side effects or can
lead to losing eligibility because of an
illegal drug used in the supplement without
your knowledge. Why take the risk?
Check Out Jack Medina's
Books--Click Here
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My Advice
The very best advice is to eat lots of
fresh-raw fruits and vegetables (9-13
servings per day), athletes need to eat 13
servings of fresh-raw fruits & vegetables
every day, along with a good balanced diet.
I personally recommend the
Nutripoints Program for Optimal Nutrition.
Then you can bridge the gap between your
current nutrition level and optimal
nutrition by adding Juice Plus+®
to your nutrition program; the “most
scientifically documented whole food-based
nutritional concentrate” in history.
Check Out My Latest
Recommendations--Click Here
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Next month in Part 2 on Supplements, we will cover 7
other commonly promoted and used supplements available
on the the market today. See you then! Yours for
Fitness and Health,
Jack A. Medina, M.A.
Roy E. Vartabedian, Dr.P.H., M.P.H.
Designs for Fitness
phone: 541-474-2454 or 1-866-204-8786 Toll Free
Order Line
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