Sapienter Si Sincere

13/11/2025

BITTER ORANGE: Recent Research

👉The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of ephedra in weight-loss supplements in 2004. Ephedra depresses appetite, increases metabolic rate and helps the average person lose about 15 pounds per year (about the same as FDA-approved prescription drugs such as and Xenical). Supplement makers have been searching frantically for ephedra substitutes. Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) is thought to promote weight loss and is included in many weight-control supplements. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins 👨‍🔬University School of Medicine in Baltimore summarized the research on bitter orange. In animal studies, bitter orange promoted lipolysis (fat release from fat cells) and caused fat loss without decreasing muscle mass. Studies in humans, while promising, have been short-term and used small sample sizes. Bitter orange appears to decrease appetite, increase metabolic rate and has few side effects in humans.
👀(Obesity Reviews, 7: 79-88)

13/11/2025

WHEY PROTEIN Cuts
Liver Fat Production and Speeds Muscle Fat Use

👉Combining low caloric intake, increased protein intake and exercise preserves muscle mass and cuts fat. Whey protein is particularly effective for decreasing appetite and promoting weight loss. High protein meals suppress appetite by maintaining steady levels of blood sugar. The body breaks down proteins into amino acids, which the liver can convert to blood sugar in a process called gluconeogenesis. Protein acts like timed-released blood sugar pills to prevent hunger and maintain energy levels.
Japanese researchers- in a study on rats-found that whey protein, but not casein, had a direct effect on fat metabolism. 🐀Rats fed whey protein showed decreased fatty acid synthesis in the liver, but increased fat use in muscle.
These effects were similar in rats that exercised, but were not fed any protein supplement.
Whey protein supplements, particularly when accompanied by exercise, reduce fat production in the liver and promote fat use for fuel in the muscles.
👀(Nutrition 21: 1052-1058)

12/11/2025

Magnesium + Creatine Boosts Muscle Strength and Size

👉People who drink soft water often don't take in enough magnesium. The critical mineral is essential for energy reactions it cells that help you lift weights, run, jump and throw. Low magnesium intake is also associated with osteoporosis, heart disease :
Alzheimer's disease, abnormal🫀 heart rhythms, asthma, attention deficit disorder, stroke and chronic fatigue. Researchers fro Western Washington 👨‍🔬University showed that supplementing magnesium with creatine resulted in increased quad strength a body water. The study shows the importance of magnesium for athletes involved in intense exercise. You can take all the cre supplements you want, but they won't improve performance unless you have magnesium available to get the reactions going
👀(Metabolism 52: 1136-1140)

12/11/2025

11/11/2025

L-Arginine Supplements
Increase Thermogenesis

👉Thermogenesis is the process of increasing heat production in tissues. It's critical for maintaining a stable weight, adapting to cold environments (cold acclimatization) and maintaining body temperature in hibernating animals. Serbian researchers found that 🐀rats fed L-arginine supplements showed increased levels of brown adipose tissue and uncoupling proteins, both of which increased thermogenic or heat-producing capacity of the tissues. Brown fat is a highly thermogenic tissue that isn't very significant in humans. The arginine promoted brown fat buildup and the formation of uncoupling proteins- both of which triggered thermogenesis. Humans have little brown fat, but have the ability to make uncoupling proteins and generate heat. L-citrulline is more effective than arginine for raising blood arginine levels!
👀(J Exp Biol, 208: 4263-4271)

11/11/2025

07/11/2025

WHEY PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS
Cut Fat and Increase Insulin Sensitivity

👉Obesity and insulin resistance are two mammoth health problems facing industrialized countries because they increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and premature death.
More than 60 percent of Americans are overweight. Insulin resistance, once a problem in middle-aged and older adults, is occurring in school-age children at an alarming rate. The large "baby boom" generation is reaching retirement age- a time when degenerative diseases are most common. Soaring medical costs for these preventable health problems threaten to place an economic anchor on the national economy. Physical inactivity and the American diet- high in calories, red meat, saturated and trans fats and simple sugars, and low in calcium and fiber- are the main causes of these health problems. Scientists are seeking simple ways to reduce calorie intake and reduce insulin resistance. Australian researchers found that rats placed on a diet high in whey protein had less abdominal and overall fat and lower food intake than animals fed a high-fat meat diet. The study showed that a high-protein diet helped the animals lose fat and that whey protein was superior to meat protein in reducing weight gain and increasing insulin sensitivity. If this study applies to humans, a good weight-loss strategy might be to have a whey protein shake in the morning and late afternoon. The liver would use the amino acids from the protein to maintain blood sugar (a process called gluconeogenesis) and prevent hunger.
👀(J Nutr 134: 1454-1458)

07/11/2025

Creatine Doesn’t Impair Temperature Regulation During
Exercise

👉Creatine monohydrate is extremely popular with bodybuilders and power athletes, and is one of the most researched supplements on the market. More than 1,000 studies have been conducted, which have shown that creatine is a top supplement for exercise performance.
An enduring urban legend is that creatine causes muscle cramps and impairs temperature regulation, particularly during exercise in the heat. With no evidence, some sports organizations have urged athletes not to use creatine because of possible dangers associated with its use. The recommendations are not justified for male athletes, but we know little about the effects of creatine in women.
Plymouth State University scientists found no gender differences in core temperature, skin temperature, or cardiovascular response to 30 minutes of exercise on a stationary bike following seven days of creatine supplementation (20 grams per day)
This is another study showing that creatine supplementation is safe.
👀(J Athletic Train 39: 50-55)

06/11/2025

Composition for Bodybuilders

👉Like almost all athletes, bodybuilders divide the year into competitive and non-competitive periods.
They need plenty of calories and protein to promote muscle growth during non-competitive building phases.
During the pre-competition phase (six to 12 weeks before a contest), athletes strive to lose fat and maintain muscle mass. The optimal diet composition during all times of the year should be 55 to 60 percent carbohydrates, 25 to 30 percent protein and 15 to 20 percent fat, with reduced calorie intake prior to competition. Many bodybuilders follow a low-carbohydrate diet during the pre-competition phase, which is incorrect.
Athletes must train intensely to maintain muscle mass and cut fat. The body requires carbs to exercise above 65 percent of maximum effort. Carbohydrate intake should be high enough to fuel intense training.
Athletes who follow an Atkins-type diet (low in carbs and high in protein and fat) may lose weight rapidly, but can't train as hard. Also, simple sugars (with protein) are essential for recovery from intense workouts, so have simple and complex carbohydrates in your diet.
👀(Sports Med 34: 317-327)

06/11/2025

Creatine + Exercise Strengthens the Heart

👉The ability of the heart to pump 🩸blood - called cardiac output- is one of the most important markers of physical fitness. Endurance training increases the amount of blood the heart pumps during each beat by increasing the filling of the heart, the strength of the heart muscle, and the size of the pumping chamber. Creatine monohydrate increases creatine phosphate (CP) levels in skeletal and heart muscle. CP provides energy for contraction and making new protein. Creatine is the most popular supplement in the world for increasing many types of athletic performance. Physicians have also found that the supplement is useful in treating many diseases, including heart failure. University of South Carolina scientists found that the combination of training and creatine supplements improved heart function in rats. Treatments made the rat hearts more economical so they could produce more force with less effort. Also, the treated rat hearts showed a greater ability to make new protein. This was another study showing the remarkable versatility of this powerful food supplement.
👀(Eur J Appl Physiol, 89: 26-33)

05/11/2025

Creatine Improves Carb Metabolism
Only With Exercise

👉Lack of exercise and diets high in simple sugars and saturated fats cause insulin resistance. This is a serious health problem linked to heart 🫀attack, stroke, hardening of the arteries, abdominal obesity, diabetes, lack of energy, poor sexual performance, impaired wound healing, and 🩸blood-clotting problems. After a meal, blood sugar increases and is reduced by storing it in skeletal muscle as glycogen - a series of blood sugar molecules linked together.
Glycogen is very important for exercise performance and determines, in part, your energy level during the day. Problems disposing of 🩸blood sugar cause serious health problems. Two measures of how well you handle carbohydrates is your ability to store glycogen in muscles and muscle lévels. of a chemical called GLUT-4 that moves sugar from the blood into the muscle. Danish scientists found that creatine monohydrate supplements increased muscle GLUT-4 levels and glycogen storage capacit only when combined with exercise training.
The study also showed that creatine supplementation worked best when taken: with protein.
👀(J Appl Physiol, 94: 1910-1916)

05/11/2025

Whey + Creatine Builds
MUSCLE AND STRENGTH

👉The two most important discoveries in sports nutrition in the past 25 years have been that taking creatine monohydrate and taking protein supplements before or after weight training speeds strength gains and muscle growth. These techniques work, are legal and safe, and should be part of the training program of all weight-trained athletes. Australian scientists may have taken these findings to the next level.
They found that giving whey protein plus creatine boosted strength and muscle mass more than taking supplements containing creatine plus carbs, whey protein alone, or creatine alone. Creatine and whey supplements improve gains by different mechanisms, so it should come as no surprise that putting them together might have an additive effect. A good practice is to take a creatine-whey protein supplement about 30-60 minutes before working out. Do this consistently and you should make faster gains.
👀(American Physiological Society meeting, San Diego)