Straight Talk: Ending Supplement Confusion - By Clayton South

YES, THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE!

Athletes from every sport must consider how and where to spend their supplement dollars. Supplementation is critical to athletic success, and a sound, well structured supplementation plan can often mean the difference between meeting your goals, meeting them partially, or not meeting them at all.

The majority of athletes face financial limitation. Living the athletes lifestyle is expensive, and few athletes have access to unlimited cash reserves. Athletes are therefore forced by necessity to spend intelligently after careful consideration has been given to the options available to them on any given issue. Failing to spend crucial resources wisely can come at a cost to other lifestyle requirements.

Designing and implementing an intelligent and effective supplementation program is no easy task. An overwhelming volume of information is available to the athlete and consumer, and distillation of this body of information into a coherent plan of action can often be difficult. The task of simplification is madefurther difficult by aggressive and misleading marketing campaigns and biased magazine propaganda.

Though supplementation is critical to athletic success, not every athlete has unlimited income to spend on the newest ³revolutionary² supplement, or unlimited time to devote to becoming an expert on supplementation.

In the majority of cases, athletes and consumers want simple answers to simple questions what supplements are effective at enhancing my health and delivering results? What supplements are proven reliable and will deliver on the promises they make? These are questions to which every consumer deserves a coherent and straight answer.

Sadly, answers to these questions are almost never provided, and carnivorous marketers instead continue to obfuscate the truth and assault already bewildered consumers and athletes - often with more of the same financially driven half-baked half-truths that are responsible for the confusion in the first place. The approach of marketers and advertisers can leave athletes and consumers understandably disappointed. In the absence of the truth, what is the confused athlete to do?

This article will cut through the confusion created by marketers and advertisers, and will provide clear and sensible guidance on what supplements should be included in an effective supplement program geared for REAL results . If you are tired of wasting your money on ineffective supplements, and if you are tired of the "deluge of disappointment" sold to you by snake oil peddlers and deceitful marketers intent on getting your money by any means, read on. This article will ensure that you are never ripped off again, and will ensure that your supplement program delivers real results, each and every time.

Considerations

Dietary supplements should supplement - and not constitute - an appropriate nutrition regimen. When used correctly, and within the context of proper dietary and exercise protocols, dietary supplements can serve to enhance performance, elicit tremendous changes in body composition, and accelerate recovery from intense exercise.

Because each athlete will have unique needs as determined by genetics, sport and physical activity level, no "one size fits all" supplementation plan can exist or be developed. However, a specific supplementation plan appropriate to the athletes needs can be developed - only by first developing a generalized supplementation program that incorporates sound and proven nutritional supplements into a logical dosing protocol.

With this in mind, the following supplements are recommended for use as a basis for a generalized supplementation program that is efficacious to body composition and athletic performance.

1. Multi-Vitamin and Mineral Support Formula

Of first importance to the design of an effective supplementation plan is the selection of an appropriate multivitamin and mineral product. In the presence of vitamin and mineral deficiency, metabolic processes are interrupted, immune system function impaired, and athletic progress minimized.

Within this context, the athlete must select a vitamin and mineral product, bearing in mind any potential allergic reactions that could follow from product administration. This necessitates a close examination of the products micronutrient breakdown.

Allergic considerations aside, overall product quality must be considered. Several factors will determine product quality, namely: package quality, nutrient and mineral source [synthetic or natural], nutrient and mineral concentrations, the presence or absence of time released technology, and product price.

Although still a subject of debate, time released vitamin technology does make a considerable difference in product quality and efficacy. This is particularly true in the case of the water-soluble vitamins such as B-vitamins and ascorbic acid. These vitamins can not be stored by the body, and need frequent replenishment. Naturally, vitamin and mineral preparations with time released technology come with a higher price tag, but the additional cost is well worth the benefit of added convenience they bring.

2. Creatine Monohydrate

Derived from glycine, arginine and methionine, creatine monohydrate is an incredibly effective ergogenic aide.

Creatine monohydrate is produced endogenously by the pancreas, liver and kidneys. It is stored in muscle tissue as creatine phosphate, and helps to produce and circulate ­ ATP ­ the substance responsible for muscular contractions. Creatine monohydrate is pooled by the body, and exercise can deplete this pool.2 Although creatine monohydrate can be obtained from dietary sources, obtaining the amounts of creatine necessary for muscle building via diet is both impractical and economically prohibitive.

Creatine supplementation has been shown to increase total body weight, lean body mass, muscle strength cardiovascular ability / endurance brain function and overall athletic performance. Not only that, but creatine monohydrate is especially effective at increasing muscle torque and explosive strength, maintaining free testosterone levels, and preventing catabolism.

Common reports blame creatine monohydrate for a host of health problems including increased muscle cramping, greater risk of injury from sports, muscular dehydration, stomach upset, and cancer. Media sensationalism notwithstanding, creatine monohydrate supplementation has been shown to be a safe and effective method of improving performance and body composition.23 And, while the media has perpetuated these myths about creatine, research has demonstrated that no increase in muscle cramping, injury, dehydration or stomach upset was experienced by athletes using creatine.24 Not only that but, contrary to media reporting, science shows that creatine may prevent cancer!25

Creatine monohydrate has been used safely by championship athletes for nearly a decade, is safe to use long-term, and is a must-have supplement for any serious athlete looking for an edge.

3. L-Glutamine

L-glutamine is an essential excitatory amino acid and is the most abundant amino acid in the body. Glutamine comprises sixty percent of the bodies free amino acid pool, and is used in a myriad of physiological processes. L-glutamine is both anabolic and anti-catabolic.

Glutamine's anabolism is a function of its ability as a growth hormone precursor to stimulate the pituitary gland ­ an endocrine gland ­ and increase levels of circulatory growth hormone. Growth hormone is both anabolic and lipolytic. Persons supplementing with glutamine commonly report marked decreases in body fat percentage, increases of strength and feelings of well being, accompanied by increases in vascularity and muscle density.

Glutamine's ability to prevent catabolism ­ muscle loss ­ is a function of its ability to prevent gluconeogensis and maintain nitrogen balance. Gluconeogensis - the manufacture of glucose from muscle tissue amino acids - occurs as a response to energy deficit or amino acid deficiency. The body has a free amino acid pool, and this pool is often depleted by exercise - through the conversion amino acids [primarily glutamine] into glucose.26 When the free amino acid pool has been depleted one is susceptible to neoglucogenesis in the presence of an amino acid shortage. Under these metabolic conditions, glucagon is released by the pancreas and metabolically expensive muscle tissue is harvested for the amino acids required for glucose manufacture.

Gluconeogenesis can greatly hinder central nervous system and immune function, impede athletic performance and muscular functionality, and leave one unnecessarily susceptible to preventable injury, illness or disease. Research has demonstrated that glutamine supplementation prior to and immediately following exercise is efficacious and can serve to prevent neoglucogenesis and catabolism by maintaining the free amino acid pool.

As an anabolic and lipolytic dietary supplement, glutamine is extremely effective at promoting muscular repair and immune system recovery. The lipolysis that results from glutamine supplementation will influence growth hormone levels and alter the testosterone to estrogen ratio. An alteration of this kind in the hormonal relationship will increase anabolism and further accelerate muscular growth and repair. Increased growth hormone levels will also slow the aging process, thereby preventing a decline in the bodyıs natural ability to self-heal. This will extend the life of the athletes career.

Athletes should supplement with glutamine because diet alone can not supply the amounts of this critical amino acid necessary for peak athletic performance or recovery.

4. Branched Chain Amino Acids

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Of the twenty amino acids that synthesize proteins, eight are classified as "essential"­ meaning that they can not be produced endogenously and must therefore be acquired from external sources. Of the eight essential amino acids, leucine, isoleucine and valine are known as ³branched chain² amino acids, or BCAA's. Branch chained amino acids differ from essential or non-essential amino acids because BCAA's are concentrated heavily in muscle tissue.

Some amino acids convert ­ through decarboxylation - into biological amines ­ related chemical molecules that serve to influence hormone profile. Through this process and the chain of metabolic consequences that follow, BCAA's can increase protein synthesis, cause body fat loss, preserve glycogen, spare glutamine loss from exercise, prevent catabolism, increase stamina and endurance and enhance feeling of well being. Consequently, branched-chain amino acid supplementation can vastly enhance endurance performance.

Amino acids also assist in the maintenance of nitrogen balance ­ a balance necessary for healthy immune function and optimal performance. By preventing gluconeogenesis, branch chain amino acids prevent muscle protein breakdown during exercise and enhance post exercise recovery.

5. Whey Protein Isolate

Whey protein isolate is, gram for gram, one of the highest quality proteins on Earth. While other types of protein exist, whey protein isolate is the only protein that has been shown to rapidly increase amino acid profile and increase protein synthesis.

The BCAA content of whey protein is also superior to that of other proteins. Though casein protein is better than whey at preventing muscle breakdown, the amino acid profile of whey protein promotes an increase in insulin levels and a decrease in glucagon. This means that whey protein reduces muscle destroying hormones and creates a muscle building environment that turns protein into new muscle tissue.Like creatine monohydrate, whey protein has been shown to demonstrate anti-cancer properties and improve mental function. But that's not all.

Research has demonstrated that whey protein can have favorable effects on body composition by causing fat loss through its impact on the thyroid.

The digestion rate for whey protein is greater than that of other proteins. This means that whey protein can be used not only for muscular repair but also for maintaining the amino acid pool that is critical to providing the body with energy during exercise. This affords to the athlete protection against catabolism ­ the tearing down of muscle tissue.

On the whole, whey protein isolates are digested more easily than whey protein concentrates. For this reason whey protein isolates pre, during and post game are an ideal choice to provide the body with the materials necessary to promote muscle growth and recovery.

Closing Thoughts

Designing and implementing an intelligent and effective supplementation program is no easy task. An overwhelming volume of information is available to the athlete and consumer, and distillation of this body of information into a coherent plan of action can often be difficult.

When used within the context of proper nutrition and exercise protocols, dietary supplements can serve to enhance performance, elicit tremendous changes in body composition, and accelerate recovery from intense exercise.

The unique needs of each athlete will necessitate the development of a tailored supplementation program suitable to that athlete. Development of a specialized supplementation plan of this kind can happen only after a generalized supplementation program has been created, with scientifically proven efficacious supplements as its basis.

By making the scientifically proven supplements listed here the basis of a generalized supplementation plan, you can develop a supplementation plan suited to your needs ­ a plan that will consistently deliver results EVERY time you use a supplement, or spend your money.

Clayton South is a bodybuilding expert, consumer advocate and regular contributor to bodybuilders.com. He has over 80 bodybuilding and fitness publications to his credit.

To contact Clayton South, e-mail him at claytonsouth@bodybuilders.com