Archive for June, 2010

Olympic gold? A new effect of caffeine boosts performance

New research shows increased muscle performance in sub-maximal activities, which in humans can range from everyday activities to running a marathon.

With no current regulations in place, the scientists from Coventry University believe their findings may have implications for the use of caffeine in sport to improve performance.

The scientists present their work at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Prague on Wednesday 30th June 2010.

“A very high dosage of caffeine, most likely achieved via tablets, powder or a concentrated liquid, is feasible and might prove attractive to a number of athletes wishing to improve their athletic performance”, explains lead researcher, Dr Rob James.
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Dark Chocolate Lowers Blood Pressure, Research Finds

ScienceDaily (June 28, 2010) – For people with hypertension, eating dark chocolate can significantly reduce blood pressure. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine combined the results of 15 studies into the effects of flavanols, the compounds in chocolate which cause dilation of blood vessels, on blood pressure.

Researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia, to conduct the analysis. She said, “Flavanols have been shown to increase the formation of endothelial nitric oxide, which promotes vasodilation and consequently may lower blood pressure. There have, however, been conflicting results as to the real-life effects of eating chocolate. We’ve found that consumption can significantly, albeit modestly, reduce blood pressure for people with high blood pressure but not for people with normal blood pressure.”
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Speed in a ‘Natural’ Supplement, Class Claims
By CHRIS FRY

PATERSON, N.J. (CN) – Nutrex advertises its dietary supplements as “all natural,” but uses drugs in them, including an amphetamine, which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, according to a class action in Passaic County Court.

The class sued Nutrex Research, its president and founder Jeffrey A. McCarrell, and its vice president and co-founder Jens Ingenohl, all of Oviedo, Fla.

The two men “formulated the product,” and sell them as “Lipo-6 Hers,” “Lipo-6 Black” and “Ignite,” according to the complaint.
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Well-defined quantity of antioxidants in diet can improve insulin resistance

A diet rich in natural antioxidants improves insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant obese adults and enhances the effect of the insulin-sensitizing drug metformin, a preliminary study from Italy finds. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego. “The beneficial effects of antioxidants are known, but we have revealed for the first time one of their biological bases of action—improving hormonal action in obese subjects with the metabolic syndrome,” said principal author Antonio Mancini, MD, an endocrinology researcher at Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome.

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic risk factors for developing diabetes, heart disease and stroke. People with this syndrome cannot efficiently use insulin, the hormone that regulates glucose (sugar) in the blood.
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Resveratrol Increases Satiety, Metabolism

BRUNOY, France—Resveratrol increased satiety and metabolism, causing a reduced weight gain in non-human primates in a recent study (BMC Physiol. 2010 Jun 22;10(1):11). Researchers found the red-wine compound caused lemurs to gain less weight during their seasonal fattening period.

Resveratrol, a natural polyphenolic compound, has been shown to protect rodents against high-fat-diet induced diabetes by boosting energy metabolism. However, until now, the effects of resveratrol’s effects on metabolism had not been studied in non-human primates.
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Resveratrol May Enhance Memory

RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif.– A recent study showed that consuming resveratrol, a key antioxidant found in chocolate and red wine, might be a memory-booster. The study was conducted using a particular form of resveratrol called resVida which is available in the gourmet chocolate bar, The WineTime Bar.

While the new research tested the abilities of elderly mice, the results, say experts, may equally apply to aging baby boomers. In the study the mice were put through a variety of tests after four weeks of supplementation with resveratrol. Researchers headed by Hasan Mohajeri of DSM Nutritional Products concluded resVida significantly improved memory and learning skills in the aged mice. Researchers also found in vitro exposure to resVida significantly protected brain cell function.
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Scientists discover how red wine and green tea polyphenols stop prostate cancer

(NaturalNews) – A major new discovery just reported in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) journal could be a major advance in the treatment of prostate cancer. Not only have the phytonutrients in red wine and green tea been found to halt prostate cancer growth, a team of French and Japanese scientists are reporting they know exactly why this occurs.

Antioxidants known as polyphenols in red wine and green tea produce a combined effect that disrupts an important cell signaling pathway necessary for prostate cancer to thrive. The result? The natural wine and tea components appear to stop or slow the initiation, promotion, and progression of prostate cancer.
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Both Coffee And Tea Can Be Enjoyed In Moderation For Heart Benefits

Coffee and tea drinkers may not need to worry about indulging – high and moderate consumption of tea and moderate coffee consumption are linked with reduced heart disease, according to a study published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers in The Netherlands found: Drinking more than six cups of tea per day was associated with a 36 percent lower risk of heart disease compared to those who drank less than one cup of tea per day. Drinking three to six cups of tea per day was associated with a 45 percent reduced risk of death from heart disease, compared to consumption of less than one cup per day.
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Athletes Should Supplement, Eat for Activity

Athletes in particular need to pay attention to how they fuel their bodies with supplements and diet, and should tailor nutrition for their specific activity, according to an article by Wina Sturgeon in the Kansas City Star.

Sturgeon, the editor of the online magazine Adventure Sports Weekly, said all athletes are different and their diets usually need something different than what non-active person eats. She said it is good to to think of the body as “a payoff machine,” that needs specific nutrients at specific times for specific results.

For long, endurance activities, such as running a marathon, she said an athlete should spend the week before eating a lot of carbohydrates to train the muscles to store them better. However, she said carbs in the form of sugar won’t cut it. For endurance, the body needs carbs that are stored for a long time and that burn slowly. She suggested a pasta dinner the night before a race, and advised against candy bars.
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BCAA’s Boost Protein Synthesis in Muscles

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) can increase the body’s skeletal muscle growth in combination with resistance exercise, according to a new study (Acta Physiol (Oxf). ePub 2010 May 28. DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-1708.2010.02151.x). Researchers from the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences sought to distinguish between the influence of resistance exercise and BCAA on key enzymes involved in the regulation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle. Nine healthy adults received either a mixture of BCAAs or flavored water before performing unilateral resistance exercise on two separate occasions. Muscle biopsies were taken from both resting and exercising muscle before, immediately after and one hour after exercise.
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Mediterranean-Style Diet Improves Heart Function, Twin Study Shows

ScienceDaily (June 16, 2010) – A study of twins shows that even with genes that put them at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, eating a Mediterranean-style diet can improve heart function, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

Using data from the Emory Twins Heart Study, researchers found that men eating a Mediterranean-style diet had greater heart rate variability (HRV) than those eating a Western-type diet. Heart rate variabilityrefers to variation in the time interval between heart beats during everyday life — reduced HRV is a risk factor for coronary artery disease and sudden death.
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Green Tea Helps Heart

STILLWATER, Okla.—Drinking green tea or supplementing with the extract every day may improve heart health in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome, according to an Oklahoma State University study (doi:10.1016/j.nut.2010.01.015). The study, which was published in Nutrition, found green tea and its extract significantly reduced plasma serum amyloid alpha, an independent cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor.

Green tea (Camellia sinensis) has shown to exert cardioprotective benefits in observational studies. The objective of this clinical trial was to assess the effects of green tea on features of metabolic syndrome and inflammation in obese subjects.
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Avoid the post-exercise sauna
by Matt Cahill

For some people there is nothing more relaxing than a hot sauna after lifting weights, but some new research coming out of the University of Montana is suggesting that this may not be the best time for it.

Post-exercise is one of the best times to eat as you have set up pretty much the perfect portioning – almost all the calories you consume will go towards the muscle. For years magazine articles and advertisements have pushed this as the ‘window of opportunity’ and to some degree they are right. That said, ultimately total calorie intake will determine what happens to your body in the long-run, even if you don’t take advantage of this ‘window’.
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Health Canada warns about supplements
CBC News

Canada’s health watchdog is warning about several dietary supplements that could be harmful to consumers.

Comecoo contains undeclared phenolphthalein and subutramine which could cause health problems in consumers.Comecoo contains undeclared phenolphthalein and subutramine which could cause health problems in consumers. (Health Canada)Three are weight loss products manufactured in Hong Kong. The other is an American supplement called Vita Breath.

The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. first issued warnings about Vita Breath in early May after levels of lead 10,000 times higher than maximum recommended levels were found in the product.
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The Evolution of Women’s Bodybuilding & What Lies Ahead
by Joe Pietaro

There are certain parallels with men’s and women’s bodybuilding. To make it simple, let’s concentrate on the pinnacle of each sport – the Olympia stage. The first Mr. Olympia contest was held back in 1965 and was not even a fraction of the hyped-up weekend event it is today.

Fifteen years later, the women had a contest of their own which was originally titled Miss Olympia. Rachel McLish earned the title in that inaugural show, which had graduated from the earlier bikini contests from yesteryear. The Texas brunette remained at the top of the sport, finishing as the runner-up to Kike Elomaa in 1981 and regaining her crown the following year.
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