Efficacy and safety of a popular thermogenic drink after 28 days of ingestion.

Roberts, M. D., Dalbo, V. J., Hassell, S. E., Stout, J. R., & Kerksick, C. M. Efficacy and safety of a popular thermogenic drink after 28 days of ingestion. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2008, 5:19


Abstract
Background: We have recently demonstrated that consuming a thermogenic drink (TD) acutely
increases energy expenditure and serum markers of lipolysis in healthy, college-aged individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine if consuming TD over 28 days affects its acute thermogenic and lipolytic effects as well as body composition and clinical chemistry safety markers.

Methods: Sixty healthy, males (mean ± SE; 23 ± 1 years, 177 ± 2 cm, 81.7 ± 2.1 kg, 22.8 ± 1.4%
body fat; n = 30) and females (23 ± 1 years, 166 ± 2 cm, 62.1 ± 1.8 kg, 28.3 ± 1.4% body fat; n =
30) reported to the laboratory on day 0 (T1) for determination of body composition, resting
energy expenditure (REE) as well as glycerol and free fatty acid (FFA) levels before and after
ingesting either 336 ml of TD or a non-caloric, non-caffeinated placebo (PLA) drink. Following day 0, participants supplemented daily with 336 ml·day-1 of either TD or PLA and repeated identical testing procedures on day 28 (T2). Day 28 area under the curve (AUC) values were calculated for REE, FFA, and glycerol. Day 28 acute data and prolonged AUC comparisons between groups were analyzed using ANOVAs with repeated measures.

Results: Percent body fat (p = 0.02) and fat mass (p = 0.01) decreased in the TD group compared to the PLA group after 28 days. Day 28 FFA AUC values (p = 0.048) were greater in the TD group compared to the PLA group. There was no significant difference in day 28 REE AUC values (p = 0.30) or glycerol AUC values (p = 0.21), although a significant increase in REE values in the PLA group may have confounded these findings. There were no differences between groups concerning blood and clinical safety markers.

Conclusion: Within-group elevations in FFA and REE values in the TD group were still evident
following a 28-day supplementation period which may contribute to the observed decrements in
%BF. Further, prolonged TD supplementation did not alter the assessed clinical safety markers.
Future studies should examine the synergistic and independent effects of the active ingredients in addition to effects of longer ingestion periods of TD ingestion with or without exercise at
promoting and sustaining changes in body composition.


When I read articles with results like this two things come to my mind. 1) "Awesome, you can actually lose weight and look better with out doing much work!" 2) "Crap, now my clients are going to see this and think that this is all they have to do!" Which in turn leads to less money for me and the economy is bad enough man.

What concerns me the most here is that just like the article referenced these findings should be carefully considered as the present study only spanned 28 days and did not invoke dietary or exercise intervention. So we have no way of knowing if the TD did the work or if their diets and exercise manipulated the body's metabolism in order to get the results. Of course there are arguments against this by comparing pre post RBC's triglycerides etc, etc, but in essence we still don't know the external factors.

Another thing is that the media centers so much attention around aesthetics of a person's body and society has bought into it so hard that no body wants to exercise to be "more healthy" they all exercise to get that "perfect body." With these results you are telling people that they can throw out exercising ans still lose fat mass! These implications could possibly cause a huge catastrophic morbididty rate to increase over the years because if you simply lose fat mass without exercising you may not see the physiological benefits that result from consistent exercise such as increaesed RBC's, stronger cardiovascular system (heart), increased bone mineral density, muscle hypertrophy, etc, etc. This means that your body's ability to deliver oxygen to your muscles, pump blood easily, and prevent osteoporosis has not been improved. So can someone tell me why we would not want to exercise? I have the answer, because it is easier just to take a magic pill (drink) and see results. Its sad that we have been brainwashed into caring more about how we look now instead of the longevity of our health down the road. I wish it were easier for people to understand but just because you don't see or feel anything happening does not mean that your body is not getting healthier!!

I appreciate this article though because maybe by combining the drink WITH exercise and proper nutrition we as exercise physiologists and strength coaches can continue to promote longevity while our clients/athletes still SEE results and therefore will still be doing our part in making the world and its inhabitants a healthier place to live.

International Society of Sports Nutrition 6th Annual Conference and Expo

Register now! Go to www.theissn.org for more information!

GPLC improves performance!

An interesting study which shows that Glycine propionyl-L-carnitine produces enhanced anaerobic work capacity with reduced lactate accumulation in resistance trained males. http://www.jissn.com/content/6/1/9/abstract

The effect of glucosamine and/or chondroitin sulfate on the progression of knee osteoarthritis

Sawitzke AD, Shi H, Finco MF, Dunlop DD, Bingham CO 3rd, Harris CL, Singer NG, Bradley JD, Silver D, Jackson CG, Lane NE, Oddis CV, Wolfe F, Lisse J, Furst DE, Reda DJ, Moskowitz RW, Williams HJ, Clegg DO.

University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA. allen.sawitzke@hsc.utah.edu

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee causes significant morbidity and current medical treatment is limited to symptom relief, while therapies able to slow structural damage remain elusive. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate (CS), alone or in combination, as well as celecoxib and placebo on progressive loss of joint space width (JSW) in patients with knee OA. METHODS: A 24-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, conducted at 9 sites in the United States as part of the Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT), enrolled 572 patients with knee OA who satisfied radiographic criteria (Kellgren/Lawrence [K/L] grade 2 or grade 3 changes and JSW of at least 2 mm at baseline). Patients with primarily lateral compartment narrowing at any time point were excluded. Patients who had been randomized to 1 of the 5 groups in the GAIT continued to receive glucosamine 500 mg 3 times daily, CS 400 mg 3 times daily, the combination of glucosamine and CS, celecoxib 200 mg daily, or placebo over 24 months. The minimum medial tibiofemoral JSW was measured at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months. The primary outcome measure was the mean change in JSW from baseline. RESULTS: The mean JSW loss at 2 years in knees with OA in the placebo group, adjusted for design and clinical factors, was 0.166 mm. No statistically significant difference in mean JSW loss was observed in any treatment group compared with the placebo group. Treatment effects on K/L grade 2 knees, but not on K/L grade 3 knees, showed a trend toward improvement relative to the placebo group. The power of the study was diminished by the limited sample size, variance of JSW measurement, and a smaller than expected loss in JSW. CONCLUSION: At 2 years, no treatment achieved a predefined threshold of clinically important difference in JSW loss as compared with placebo. However, knees with K/L grade 2 radiographic OA appeared to have the greatest potential for modification by these treatments.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE SUBJECT...

I have been using a glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement on & off now for a few years. It seems like whenever I am on it, I have no pains in my joints at all. But when I am on it for a while and begin to think I don't need it anymore, I stop consumption, and soon enough, joint pains arise. So I am unsure whether or not it is by chance that I get joint injuries when I am off joint supplements. I have done a lot of research on this subject matter, and all of the research data is equivocal. But there are a few recent studies I noticed saying that joint supplementation is ineffective, like the article posted above. So maybe they should conduct a study testing for different markers than previously used. In conclusion, I will most likely continue to use my joint supplements at low dose, simply because of its sulfur content, as sulfur seems to have quite a few health benefits.

Posted by Kevin L. Jones

The effect of exhaustion exercise on thyroid hormones and testosterone levels of elite athletes receiving oral zinc.

Kilic M, Baltaci AK, Gunay M, Gökbel H, Okudan N, Cicioglu I.

School of Physical Education and Sports, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey. kmkilic@yahoo.com.tr

OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to investigate how exhaustion exercise affects thyroid hormones and testosterone levels in elite athletes who are supplemented with oral zinc sulfate for 4 weeks. 

METHODS: The study included 10 male wrestlers, who had been licensed wrestlers for at least 6 years. Mean age of the wrestlers who volunteered in the study was 18.70 +/- 2.4 years. All subjects were supplemented with oral zinc sulfate (3 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks in addition to their normal diet. Thyroid hormone and testosterone levels of all subjects were determined as resting and exhaustion before and after zinc supplementation. 

RESULTS: Resting TT3, TT4, FT3, FT4 and TSH levels of subjects were higher than the parameters measured after exhaustion exercise before zinc supplementation (p<0.05).>

CONCLUSION: Findings of our study demonstrate that exhaustion exercise led to a significant inhibition of both thyroid hormones and testosterone concentrations, but that 4-week zinc supplementation prevented this inhibition in wrestlers. In conclusion, physiological doses of zinc administration may benefit performance.

MY TAKE:  This is a two year old study but I was interested in researching Zinc because it is believed to be important is many things from preventing premature aging of the skin, helping the healing processes, reducing duration and severity of cold symptoms, to prostate function.  ZMA is commonly taken in hopes of increasing testosterone and sleep but this study used only 3g/day of zinc sulfate and showed that it improved thyroid hormones and testosterone concentrations which are important to all people but especially athletes and those who train.

Plant based dietary supplement increases urinary pH

John M Berardi¹, Alan C Logan² and A Venket Rao³

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2008, 5:20doi:10.1186/1550-2783-5-20

Abstract

Background

Research has demonstrated that the net acid load of the typical Western diet has the potential to influence many aspects of human health, including osteoporosis risk/progression; obesity; cardiovascular disease risk/progression; and overall well-being. As urinary pH provides a reliable surrogate measure for dietary acid load, this study examined whether a plant-based dietary supplement, one marketed to increase alkalinity, impacts urinary pH as advertised.

Methods

Using pH test strips, the urinary pH of 34 healthy men and women (33.9 +/- 1.57 y, 79.3 +/- 3.1 kg) was measured for seven days to establish a baseline urinary pH without supplementation. After this initial baseline period, urinary pH was measured for an additional 14 days while participants ingested the plant-based nutritional supplement. At the end of the investigation, pH values at baseline and during the treatment period were compared to determine the efficacy of the supplement.

Results

Mean urinary pH statistically increased (p = 0.03) with the plant-based dietary supplement. Mean urinary pH was 6.07 +/- 0.04 during the baseline period and increased to 6.21 +/- 0.03 during the first week of treatment and to 6.27 +/- 0.06 during the second week of treatment.

Conclusion

Supplementation with a plant-based dietary product for at least seven days increases urinary pH, potentially increasing the alkalinity of the body.

MY TAKE:  Acidosis can not only destroy bone integrity and other health aspects but it can worsen your recovery and performance from exercise (which produces a metabolic acidosis).  Maintaining a healthy diet rich in vegetables and fruit can improve body composition and performance.  So even while strongmen and heavy weight powerlifters scoff at fruits and veggies because they need extra calories, they could actually be hurting themselves in doing so.  And they might actually need way more because they eat so much.  A plant-based supplement could be an easy alternative to consuming Fs & Vs all day long to enhancing gains in athletes and normal active people alike.  Although, it should not be their sole form and can not necessarily be substituted for whole fresh veggies and fruits.

Glycine propionyl-L-carnitine produces enhanced anaerobic work capacity with reduced lactate accumulation in resistance trained males

Patrick L Jacobs , Erica R Goldstein , Will Blackburn , Ishan Orem  and John J Hughes

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2009, 6:9doi:10.1186/1550-2783-6-9

Abstract (provisional)

Background

Recent research has indicated that short term administration of glycine propionyl-L-carnitine (GPLC) significantly elevates levels of nitric oxide metabolites at rest and in response to reactive hyperaemia. However, no scientific evidence exists that suggests such supplementation enhances exercise performance in healthy, trained individuals. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of GPLC on the performance of repeated high intensity stationary cycle sprints with limited recovery periods in resistance trained male subjects.

Methods

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design, twenty-four male resistance trained subjects (25.2 +/- 3.6 years) participated in two test sessions separated by one week. Testing was performed 90 minutes following oral ingestion of either 4.5 grams GPLC or 4.5 grams cellulose (PL), in randomized order. The exercise testing protocol consisted of five 10-second Wingate cycle sprints separated by 1-minute active recovery periods. Peak (PP) and mean values (MP) of sprint power output and percent decrement of power (DEC) were determined per bout and standardized relative to body mass. Heart rate (HR) and blood lactate (LAC) were measured prior to, during and following the five sprint bouts.

Results

Significant main effects (p < p =" 0.09)">

Conclusions

These findings indicate that short-term oral supplementation of GPLC can enhance peak power production in resistance trained males with significantly less LAC accumulation.

MY TAKE:   GPLC was originally developed for heart patients but it seems now that it can be beneficial to anaerobic athletes.  With all those so-call "NO" products out there that don't really work its exciting to see this new supplement and the promise it shows.  Having participated in this study myself, even though I didn't know what when I was taking GPLC or the placebo I could feel the effects and new it when I took the GPLC. After the study I began to use the product during weight lifting session and got tremendous pumps especially in my arms and for some reason my lats. My recovery time seemed to be much better as well.  But this study was done using repeated wingate's of 10 sec and I am not a cyclist but it obviously was able to be applied to the weight room.  This supplement could be a nice alternate to illegal and unhealthy drugs for bodybuilding such as insulin, which is very dangerous to use, as well as enhancing athletic performance.

Milk: the new sports drink? A Review

Roy, B. Milk: the new sports drink? A Review.
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2008, 5:15

Abstract:
There has been growing interest in the potential use of bovine milk as an exercise beverage, especially during recovery from resistance training and endurance sports. Based on the limited research, milk appears to be an effective post-resistance exercise beverage that results in favourable acute alterations in protein metabolism. Milk consumption acutely increases muscle protein synthesis, leading to an improved net muscle protein balance. Furthermore, when post-exercise milk consumption is combined with resistance training (12 weeks minimum), greater increases in muscle hypertrophy and lean mass have been observed. Although research with milk is limited, there is some evidence to suggest that milk may be an effective post-exercise beverage for endurance activities. Low-fat milk has been shown to be as effective, if not more effective, than commercially available sports drinks as a rehydration beverage. Milk represents a more nutrient dense beverage choice for individuals who partake in strength and endurance activities, compared to traditional sports drinks. Bovine low-fat fluid milk is a safe and effective post exercise beverage for most individuals, except for those who are lactose intolerant. Further research is warranted to better delineate the possible applications and efficacy of bovine milk in the field of sports nutrition.

I've often snickered at all the advertised sports drinks that are available in all the different flavors and claims that they are the superior recovery drink. Consumers often pay close to $2-3 dollars for a 20 oz sport drink and then gawk at when prices for dairy products shoot through the roof. The most often justification I hear for buying the pricey sports drinks is that they are designed to enhance recovery so the consumer needs to drink it in order to get better at their sport. In high school, our coach always told us to drink a glass of chocolate milk after the workout and a lot of us players didn't believe too much in what he said but knowing what I know now I wish I had taken his words into consideration because in the long run I could've saved a lot of money up till now.


Elliot et al. investigated the influence of consuming differing
milk beverages on the protein metabolic response following
an acute bout of resistance exercise this study did
not determine what contributed to the change in net balance
(change in synthesis, change in breakdown, or both),
however, the evidence did show that protein metabolism
was enhanced with a single bolus intake of milk after the
resistance exercise. (Roy)

Given the amount of studies that have been recently conducted on the effectiveness of increased muscle protein synthesis it should have been obvious for years that milk would most likely be one of the best recovery shakes especially when mixed with a sweetener such as chocolate, and who doesn't enjoy a tall glass of chocolate milk? (Don't answer if you don't) I was told once that the estimated breakdown of whey protein is about 4 hours and casein 8 hours therefore if you were to take a cup of chocolate milk (or just regular milk) it would help prevent your body from going into catabolism as quickly as it would and then if you take some more after the work out and get a meal in you with in an hour then you basically have set yourself up to stop catabolism in its tracks. Of course this is all theoretical, and has not been proven with out a doubt at least this up to this point.

Overall it seems as though mom has been right all these years after all. Maybe we should stop being led by the hand to believe that all these magical drinks and supplements are going to lead us to vicotry when in fact some of the best nutrients have been in our fridge for all our lives.

Caffeine and marathon running

Sports Med. 1985 May-Jun;2(3):165-74.Links
Caffeine and endurance performance.

Powers SK, Dodd S.
The belief among athletes that caffeine is an ergogenic aid is common, and several governing bodies of sport have barred use of the drug during competition. At the cellular level, caffeine has been implicated to affect the translocation of calcium in muscle, promote an increase in cellular levels of cyclic AMP and cause a blockade of adenosine receptors in the central nervous system. The general systemic effect of caffeine is to cause central nervous system arousal, mobilisation of free fatty acids and other metabolites, and possibly enhance the contractile status of muscle. At present, the scientific community remains divided as to whether caffeine ingestion will indeed produce an ergogenic effect upon sport performance. Some evidence suggests that caffeine may improve performance in events relying upon strength and power; however, the lack of in vivo research in humans makes it difficult to form firm conclusions. In addition, reports concerning caffeine's effect on VO2max and performance during incremental exercise are not in agreement. On the other hand, recent studies suggest that caffeine might indeed have ergogenic potential in endurance events (e.g. marathon running). It is hypothesised that the mechanism behind these findings is related to the increased availability of free fatty acids for muscle metabolism which has a glycogen-sparing effect.

The Berrones Analysis:

In the FAU laboratory about a week ago, particularly that of Room 408, there was a photo shoot with the winner of the A1A marathon. The woman is going to be on the cover of Inside Triathlete, apparently a premier magazine for athletes of this kind. I asked her if she supplemented with caffeine; then I asked her what her best marathon time was. She told me 3:15:00 and no.

I thought the data was clearly in about caffeine and its effects on improving aerobic performance. The article that I posted here was investigated nearly 25 years ago. The authors list that there is contradictory evidence surrounding the efficacy of caffeine and its effects on aerobic performance. I think looking at an article of this kind, and then comparing it to what we have figured out in the interim is an interesting exercise. Numerous studies have listed the benefits, i.e., increased time to exhaustion, decrease RPE, glycogen-sparing due to FFA mobilization, etc. Needless to say, the woman said she would "look into it"... Hopefully she doesn't look for "it" in a magazine.

Effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate and creatine monohydrate supplementation on the aerobic and anaerobic capacity of highly trained athletes.

O'Connor DM, Crowe MJ.

Institute of Sport and Exercise Science, James Cook University, Australia.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 6 wks oral supplementation of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) and a mixture of HMB and creatine monohydrate (HMBCr) on aerobic and anaerobic capacity in highly trained athletes. It was hypothesised that HMB and HMBCr would have positive effects on aerobic and anaerobic power. METHODS: A prospective study involving a repeated measures design was utilised where subjects underwent testing prior to, and immediately after, a 6 wks supplementation period. Elite, male rugby league players (n=27) were divided into 3 groups, a control group (n=6), a HMB group (3 g/d; n=10) and a HMBCr group (3 g/d HMB + 3 g/d Cr; n=11). Testing involved a multistage fitness test to determine aerobic power and a 60 sec maximal cycle test to determine anaerobic capacity. Peak power, total work and peak lactate levels were measured in the anaerobic cycle test. RESULTS: Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed no effect of HMB or HMBCr on any of the measured parameters in comparison to the control group. CONCLUSION: Aerobic and anaerobic ability of highly trained male athletes is unaffected by 6 wks oral supplementation with HMB or a combination of HMB and creatine monohydrate.

My thoughts... The key phrase in this study is "highly trained athletes". I recently did a ton of research on the effects of creatine on highly trained athletes, and it seems that they do not benefit as much as recreational athletes would. For most studies, researchers use "weekend athletes", and an occasional collegiate athlete, but never any professional athletes (or as far as i know, I've never seen a study done on pro sports players). So my guess is that maybe the body can become more efficient in using its energy systems, such as the phosphocreatine system, and over time, be able to use them to their maximum potential without having to introduce exogenous supplementation.

Posted by KEVIN JONES