Nutritional Supplements Information |
Know Your Bodybuilding Supplement - L-Tyrosine
L-tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid that plays a role in the creation of protein. The body can make it from the amino acid phenylalanine but nutritional sources include animal meats, wheat, oatmeal and seafood. It performs a multitude of important roles in the body including the alleviation of depression, enhancement of thyroid efficiency, strengthening of the immune system, prevention of neurological degeneration and protection of the skin. Bodybuilders find it useful for several reasons: 1. It offsets the stress and fatigue associated with intensive training. 2. It helps in the retention of muscular protein. 3. It heightens mental alertness thus helping to offset mental fatigue. With any amino acid supplement overdosing can lead to weakness and nausea so care should be taken in applying small doses and increasing them gradually until an optimum level is reached. Bear in mind that many protein powders and other supplements are fortified with amino acids so check the labels carefully. The manufacturer's instructions should be followed in all instances. Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Advice to learn more about the issues covered in this article.
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3 Steps to Identify Supplements that Lack Scientific Evidence You read about a supplement that allegedly "Boosts your mood and motivation!" That sure sounds good so your surf over to the company's web site. The web site looks official--it's even got footnotes citing scientific journals. You're ready to purchase the supplement online until you ask yourself, "What if this supplement doesn't really possess any scientific evidence for its efficacy? How can I tell the difference between supplements with solid evidence for their reported benefits versus those lacking any scientific support?" Here are the 3 Steps to answer those questions: Step 1: Go to http://www.pubmed.org which is a National Library of Medicine (United States) web site where you can search for articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Why check PubMed? Because the National Library of Medicine carefully selects only high-quality journals that offer value to medical scientists around the world. Selection criteria are detailed on this web page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/jsel.html Step 2: Once on the PubMed web site, search for research articles using the generic (scientific) name of the supplement in question. Supplement manufacturers must list the scientific name for their supplement's ingredients on the label and in advertisements. Supplements often contain many ingredients but usually only a few provide the purported benefits. Those are the ingredients you want to evaluate--they are often the same ones the manufacturer highlights in advertisements. Step 3: This is the step some supplement companies don't want you to know. Before you click on the "Search" button at PubMed.org, limit your search to studies that utilize the right research methodology with the right population. The right research methodology is a randomized controlled trial (the double-blind, placebo control group design fits under this category) and the right population is human beings. Specifying human subjects is important because you want to know if the ingredients in a supplement have been shown to produce the advertised benefits in real live human beings--not just in rats pressing levers for food pellets or in a "case study" with one person. This is not to say that basic science research, which is often conducted initially with animals, is unimportant. On the contrary, such research usually serves as a crucial building block for subsequent clinical research with humans. But basic science research does not provide scientific evidence for a supplement's beneficial health effects on human beings. Only research with human subjects, using randomized controlled trials, can offer such evidence. On the PubMed.org search page, click on the "Limits" tab located under the "Search" box. You will see a number of drop-down menus. First click on the Publication Type menu and then select Randomized Controlled Trial. Next click on the drop-down menu labeled, Humans or Animals and click on Humans. An Example Morinda citrifolia is the scientific name for a popular ingredient in a nutritional supplement. First search on PubMed for Morinda citrifolia, without placing Limits on your search. How many results did you receive? The count was 69 at the time I wrote this article. Looks impressive, huh? But now search for Morinda citrifolia after first placing Limits on the search as described above, so that you receive only those studies which provide more definitive scientific evidence for the positive effects of Morinda citrifolia. How many journal articles did you find searching with the specified limits? I found 1. Thus, out of 69 articles found on PubMed.org, only one provides some evidence for Morinda citrifolia's beneficial effects. Are You Flushing Your Money Down The Toilet...Literally? 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It performs many useful functions in the body and has proved to be especially useful in treating herpes and cold sores. Lysine also increases the absorption of calcium so it may help to prevent and treat osteoporosis. Supplements and Vitamins - Can They Enhance Your Weight Loss Goals? Nutritional supplements can play a key role in the health of children and adults. Many people feel that they don't get enough vitamins and minerals through their daily intake of food and, therefore, turn to supplements to fill in the gaps. Dietary supplements come in a variety of sizes, potencies and, of course, health claims. Ephedra Ban Lifted April 14,2005 federal judge Tena Campbell of the federal district court in Salt Lake City Utah reversed the ban on ephedra. How to Know if You Need Vitamin Supplements Taking vitamin and mineral supplements is perhaps one of the most controversial issues regarding healthy living. The lack of vitamins in your diet can be unhealthy, but too many vitamins can also put your health in danger. So, how do you know if taking vitamin and mineral supplements is necessary for you? Ask yourself the following questions in order to determine if you may need vitamin supplementation for a healthier lifestyle: Vitamin A and C: How They Affect The Skin Benefits of using Vitamin A products: Discount Supplement Discount Supplement ? what is it? All-Natural HGH Releasers- Does Neugenisis Really Work? I began a quest to examine over 25 "leading products" in capsule, spray, or tablet form within the HGH field. Efficacy was examined, as well as product marketing approach, manufacturers reputation, and overall customer support and guidance. These were several areas of concentration throughout this review. I have found an unfortunate amount of "information" or "review" sites that fail to share actual valid or informative content on HGH, its importance, or role in the aging process. There seems to be many sites promoting their own products under the guise of certain "physician or nurse" type endorsers in an effort to claim legitimacy. Dietary Supplement Vitamin Dietary Supplement Vitamin - why is it important? The Secrets of Looking and Feeling Younger and HGH Supplements The mankind has never stopped searching for the scerets of youth ever since the dawn of intelligence. The tales date back to at least the time of the Alexander Romance in the West. In the East, the efforts of searching for permanent youth were recorded in the Huangdi Nei Jing (the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine) - the earliest medical classic in China, written 2000 years ago. Gerontology now reveals that the secrets of youth are the Human Growth Hormones (HGH) and the genes inside every man and woman's body. Vitamin Treatment Guide Vitamins and minerals play a major role in becoming healthy and remaining healthy. Weather your new to nutrition or you've been a health-o-condreact for years, you know how hard it is to find the right supplementation that fits your specific needs. Vitamin and Mineral Supplement Benefits Extensive research studies show that taking vitamin and mineral supplements can potentially improve your health, protect against disease and provide you with the energy you need to live a healthy life. Although each contribute differently to your needs, vitamins and minerals work together in order to give you a balanced amount of all the components needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here are some of the vitamins and minerals that are essential to your overall health and why they are important: Glyconutrients For You? Simply stated, the Greek word glyco refers to "sweet." Hence, a glyconutrient is a biochemical that contains a sugar molecule. The prefix "glyco" can be placed in front of a fat, protein or any molecule and suggests that a sugar is attached. Glycobiology is the study of the sugar portion of these proteins and fats. What Are Nutraceuticals and Why Are the Drug Companies Upset? If you break the word apart, Nutra has to do with nutrition, and Ceuticals has to do with drug companies ? pharmaceuticals. So what is the big deal? Nutraceuticals are god-given nutrients that are readily available for our good health, but drug companies want to make them illegal to buy and use ? unless they can sell them to increase their bank accounts. The Frightening But True Facts About Smoking If you think that smoking is a harmless little hobby and all the people harping on you to quit are overreactors, think again. Smoking is the number ONE preventable cause of premature death and morbidity in America. There is nothing more dangerous you can be doing to your health. And it isn't just bad for you, smoking around your kids can cause severe health complications down the road and cause serious damage while their lungs and other vital organs are developing. All of this information is well documented by the AMA, American Lung and Heart Associations, and the American Cancer Society. Know Your Bodybuilding Supplement - BCAAs BCAA stands for branched chain amino acids and is increasingly being recognized as an important supplement in the field of sports nutrition. In short the term refers to three essential amino acids - leucine, isoleucine and valine. A Mothers Fish Tale Sometimes I used to look at my son Shawn and ask: who is this little monster I gave birth to? Of course I did love him, but he was an absolute terror. If "terrible 2" had a dictionary definition, Shawn's picture would definately be there. |
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