Health
Many dieters use branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in the form of supplements(leucine, isoleucine, valine) to help maintain muscle mass during weight loss and reduce appetite. However, this could be a mistake.
Scientists at Duke University have shown that overweight people break down BCAAs faster than lean people and that these amino acids tend to promote insulin resistance (poor blood sugar regulation). In one study, rats placed on a high-fat diet and given BCAAs reduced body weight and the amount of food consumed, but at the same time promoted insulin resistance.
Supplementation with BCAAs might promote weight loss and reduce appetite, but it might also promote insulin resistance and type II diabetes, which means you might be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
(Cell Metabolism, 9: 311-326, 2009)
Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid (which sometimes has to be supplied through food) that is popular with bodybuilders because it stimulates the release of growth hormone and nitric oxide production. Growth hormone promotes muscle hypertrophy and stimulates metabolism, while nitric oxide increases blood flow. Arginine could also lower blood pressure by improving endothelial function.
A Polish study of men suffering from mild hypertension (high blood pressure) found that four weeks of arginine supplementation (6 to 12 grams per day) lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 2 to 6 points (1 to 3 percent). The supplement likely works by improving the health of the cell lining of the arteries (endothelium) and increasing the capacity of these cells to release nitric oxide.
L-arginine could be a good supplement for bodybuilders and other weight-training athletes because it improves blood flow to muscles, lowers blood pressure and increases growth hormone levels.
(Medicine Science Monitor, 16: CR266-271, 2010)
The reader may already know something about D-aspartic acid before. For those who have never heard of D-aspartic acid, I would like to give you a brief overview. D-aspartic acid is the enantiomer of the amino acid L-aspartic acid found in food. Basically, this means that D-aspartic acid is the mirror image of L-aspartic acid. D-aspartic acid occurs naturally in the body of animals and is produced by the enzyme D-asparagine racemase from L-aspartic acid supplied in the diet. D-aspartic acid is known to be found in the highest concentrations in neuroendocrine tissues such as the pituitary gland, pineal gland and testicles.
Recent studies have shown that D-aspartic acid acts as a specific neurotransmitter in specialized parts of the nervous system involved in hormone production. D-aspartic acid has been shown to stimulate the release of LH and growth hormones by the pituitary gland. It has also been shown to have a direct stimulating effect on testosterone production in the testicles.
I have been studying D-aspartic acid for about 10 years and theorized long ago that it has the potential to increase testosterone levels in humans. I have also been experimenting with this product on athletes for the last few years (more on this below). During this period, I filed a patent for the use of D-aspartic acid to increase testosterone levels in humans.
Until October 27 of last year, nothing had ever been published showing that oral administration of D-aspartic acid increased testosterone production in humans. On that date, a study was published in Italy (Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2009, 7:120) that clearly shows that oral administration of D-aspartic acid increases testosterone levels in humans and lends credibility to my claims made in the patent application.
The Italian study showed that doses of about 3 grams resulted in an increase in testosterone levels and this increase peaked on the twelfth day (the last day of the study) with a value 43 percent higher than on day 0. LH levels were also slightly increased. The study used 23 men as subjects, all but 3 of whom showed a significant increase in testosterone levels. In addition, testosterone levels were still significantly elevated three days after discontinuation of D-aspartic acid. The results of this study strongly suggest that the amino acid accumulates in the target tissue and the concentration slowly decreases after cessation of use.
As I mentioned earlier, I had experimented with this amino acid myself on athletes (and myself) a few years before this study was published. However, there were a few differences between my experiments and the Italian study in the way it was used.
First of all, my estimate of an active dosage was significantly higher. I based my dosages on extrapolations from studies conducted with animals. By this I mean that I started with a dosage that was used in a study that showed an effect in hormone evaluation in animals. Using this dosage, I did some rough calculations and estimates to arrive at what I thought was an effective dosage for humans.
For example, in a study conducted with sheep, a D-aspartic acid dosage of 44.4 mg per kilogram of body weight was used and in a rat study, 133 mg per kilogram of body weight was used. Unfortunately, these doses were administered as injections (no animal studies using oral D-aspartic acid had been published at the time), so I had to estimate what the oral bioavailability might be relative to injections. In addition, I had to perform calculations using something called the body surface area (BSA) normalization method to make adjustments for specific differences in active dosing between humans, sheep and rats.
I arrived at a serving of 10 to 20 grams of D-aspartic acid per day. Keep in mind that I was trying to determine a dosage that had a realistic chance of being effective - I was in no way trying to determine the minimum effective dosage or the exact dosage for optimal results.
Another difference between my use of the amino acid and that of the Italians is that I was not using the actual D-aspartic acid. At the time, D-aspartic acid was simply not available at an affordable price, which is why I used DL-aspartic acid. DL is also known as racemic and is basically a mixture of 50 percent of the D-isomer and 50 percent of the L-isomer. This form was much cheaper and to get to the desired dosage, I simply used double the amount of what I would have used with pure D-aspartic acid.
This is where the problem arose. Both D-aspartic acid and DL-aspartic acid are coarse and sticky sour tasting powders. They do not dissolve in liquid and few athletes are willing to choke down 20 to 40 grams of acidic sand-like powder per day. And even if they do get it down, there is still the possibility of unpleasant digestive problems.
So I did a sufficient amount of research and found a clever way to derivatize the product. I found a way to make what is called a calcium chelate of the amino acid. This allowed me to increase the solubility in water from 1 gram per 200 ml of water to 1 gram per 5 ml of water. This is an increase in solubility by more than a factor of 40, which is quite amazing. What is even more amazing about this chelate is the fact that it remains stable over a wider pH range. Once converted to the calcium chelate, the amino acid became much more user-friendly.
At this point, I was able to get people to try this amino acid on a more consistent basis. With the exception of a few bodybuilders, most of the athletes taking this product were clean (steroid free) and the subjective feedback was very positive. Blood testosterone levels increased significantly and for many users the required recovery time decreased.
Today, D-aspartic acid is available at a relatively affordable price. And the publication of the Italian study has let the cat out of the bag. I have therefore decided to make the calcium chelate product available to the general public. It will come in the form of an apple-flavored liquid that contains 4.5 grams of D-aspartic acid per 30 ml. You should be looking for it - it should be available in supplement stores by the time this article is published.
That's it for this month, guys.
Addendum
I recently tested a sample of D-Aspartic Acid from China and found that it contained the much cheaper L-Aspartic Acid. I suspect this may be an issue as the only way to distinguish the two different isomers is to perform an optical rotation using a polarimeter. If you are part of a company that wants to buy D-aspartic acid, you should make sure that you get an independent analysis that includes optical rotation data.
Vitamin A (e.g. as retinol & retinal) plays an important role in maintaining the health
of your eyes, as well as your skin, teeth, bones and mucous membranes, including your respiratory tract.
This important vitamin also improves your resistance to infections and
supports growth. It is also involved in the repair of body tissues, including
muscle growth.
Now, new studies have shown that vitamin A has a direct impact on energy production
in the body.
In the said study, scientists examined cultures of both human and
mouse cells with specific genetic alterations in the chemical pathway involved in the
energy development of mitochondria (the powerhouses of cells). The
researchers allowed the cells to grow - once with and once without vitamin A.
The result: retinol, the main component of vitamin A, is essential (vital) for
the metabolic capacity of the mitochondria. This vitamin also acts as a nutrient sensor
for energy production in the cells. However, if too much or too little vitamin A
is present, the mitochondria do not function properly; they cause devastating damage to
the organs.
So you should not overdo it!
Megadoses of vitamin A can be very harmful. High doses lead to
fractures in the hip in older men and women. There is also a risk that
pregnant women will suffer miscarriages. If you regularly take 25,000 International Units
(IU) of vitamin A per day for several months, it develops a toxic effect. Since
vitamin A mainly accumulates in the liver, this eventually leads to
liver disease.
One of the reasons for this is that vitamin A is fat-soluble; - therefore the body cannot simply
flush it out - unlike water-soluble vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins are simply flushed out when
overdosed.
The body can produce vitamin A on its own from carotenoids, especially beta-carotene.
Beta-carotene is found in orange, red and green vegetables, as well as in fruit.
Beta-carotene is the precursor of vitamin A. It is basically "inactive vitamin A". The good thing about it
is that if the body's own vitamin A levels are too low, the body then converts it into active
vitamin A.
The recommended daily allowance (RDA) suggests that men should be in the region of 3,000 IU
of vitamin A per day. For women, the standard is 2,330 IU of vitamin A. The safe
upper limit for men and women is 10,000 IU of vitamin A. To increase absorption
you should take vitamin A together with a teaspoon of oil.
Good sources of vitamin A are
- general liver foods (e.g. liver sausage, beef liver)
- egg yolk
- carrots
- sweet potato
A vitamin D deficiency apparently determines whether we develop diabetes or not.
According to a new study by a team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh,
vitamin D deficiency in obese children leads to diabetes, among other things.
In the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism" it was written that both
obese Caucasian and African-American children who suffered from a vitamin D deficiency
tended to develop diabetes. However, Caucasian children tend to store body fat viscerally (i.e.
in the abdominal cavity), while African-American children tend to store body fat
subcutaneously (i.e. in the subcutaneous fatty tissue).
With visceral body fat, the probability of developing diabetes is much higher than
with subcutaneous body fat.
According to the researchers, diabetes has become increasingly common in recent years,
because of a vitamin D deficiency. This mainly affects the younger generation.
Silvia Arslanian, who led the study, said:
"Vitamin D deficiency is very common in American youth. There is also explicit
evidence that low vitamin D levels in adults play a major role in increasing
rates of type 2 diabetes."
The study examined 237 adolescents aged 8-18. After vitamin D levels
and body fat measurements were taken, it was found that
those with the lowest vitamin D levels had the highest body fat percentage.
However, Caucasian youth are much more at risk of developing diabetes as they store the
body fat viscerally, as previously mentioned.
Arslanian believes that if more children are screened for vitamin D deficiency,
it will be much easier to combat any diabetes that may develop.
Source:
- Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
