Can Protein Supplementation Assist with Fat Loss?

In keeping with several of my previous posts about dietary supplements for weight loss/fitness, here’s a guest post from Thomas Noonan about protein supplementation for fat loss:

Can Protein Supplementation Assist with Fat Loss?

by Thomas Noonan

When the topic of a high protein diet for fat loss comes up, most think of the Atkins diet, which involves cutting carbohydrates from your diet in order to lose fat.  While diets like these do work for rapid fat loss, most people end up gaining all the fat back faster than they lost it.  Another downside of the high-protein and low carb diet is that carbs are an essential basic nutrient that we need to be healthy.  Completely removing carbs isn’t the best way to go.

However, supplementing your diet with protein can prove to be tremendously beneficial to your fat loss effort.  This is how it works:

• Consuming 20-30 grams of protein after a workout involving weight training (lifting weights) will help you build a little bit of muscle.  Don’t worry about getting “too bulky”.  Nobody has that problem, and if you do get “too bulky”, just reduce the weight that you lift.

• The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn when exercising, lifting weights, walking around, sitting and even sleeping.

• The more calories that you burn, the more you can eat without gaining additional fat.  If you keep your diet consistent and simply increase your muscle mass, you will successfully be burning extra fat.

• As a bonus, drinking a low-calorie or diet protein shake can help fill you up and reduce your food cravings after a workout.

There are a few things to keep in mind when trying to find a weight-loss protein shake.

• If your goal is to burn fat, there are many protein shakes designed for your particular need.  Make sure you get something that is low calorie (under 100 calories per 20g of protein), and low in fat and carbs.  There are tons of “weight gainer” protein shakes, and be sure to read the nutrition labels and stay away from the high calorie ones.  For help finding the right protein for you, check some Protein Supplement Reviews.

• Don’t drink too many shakes throughout the day.  Be sure to drink one after exercising, and possibly before bed.  Try to avoid snacking on protein shakes throughout the day.

This strategy (building muscle to promote fat loss) isn’t for everyone, and won’t exactly make the pounds fly off.  The scale is a poor measurement tool for this strategy, since it is very likely that you will gain weight before losing weight.  Just stay consistent and your body will eventually transform.

Related posts:

CLA/Creatine/Whey Protein–effects on resistance training?

No whey dude… It really works to build mass?

CLA/Creatine/Whey Protein–effects on resistance training?

Creatine (C) and whey protein (P)are already two very common dietary supplements used by athletes who engage in resistance training.  Studies suggest that both supplements are effective for increasing lean body mass during resistance training.  A recent Canadian study explored the combined effects of not only creatine and whey protein, but also in combination with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) during a 5 week study [Cornish et al, 2009].

Dosage: CCP (6 g/d CLA + 9 g/d C + 36 g/d P)

Results:

CCP group resulted in statistically significant increases in:

• bench press (16.2%)
• leg press (13.1%)
• lean tissue mass (2.4%)

CONCLUSION: Combining C, CLA, and P was beneficial for increasing strength and lean-tissue mass during heavy resistance training.

Reference:

Cornish SM, Candow DG, Jantz NT, Chilibeck PD, Little JP, Forbes S, Abeysekara S, Zello GA.  Conjugated linoleic acid combined with creatine monohydrate and whey protein supplementation during strength training.  Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2009 Feb;19(1):79-96.

Slow Cow–Calm down and improve your concentration?

Leveraging a twist on the appearance of the energy drink, Red Bull, a Canadian company is marketing a new ‘anti-energy’ drink called Slow Cow Drink.  The design features two cows juxtaposed face down on the ground. Lino Fleury and his team spent just over a year and half creating a drink that’s creating a new market niche which goes against the grain of the already enormous and competitive energy drink market.  5 Hour Energy, 6 hour power… where does it end?  24 Hours of Insomnia (TM)?  36 Hours of Psychosis(TM)?  Lino Fleury, perhaps, is hoping that the energy drink ‘hour’ war ends with Slow Cow Drink(TM).

If they overcome potential litigation from Red Bull over the likeness of their product appearance, leveraging the popularity of Red Bull’s brand awareness could potentially be a brilliant marketing strategy.  At the very least, it’s certainly drawing some attention to their new product.  As a newly dubbed, ‘anti-energy’ drink, Slow Cow is touted as improving both concentration as well as relaxation.

Unlike energy drinks which often include Caffeine and Taurine along with various other combinations, the key ingredient in Slow Cow is L-theanine, an amino acid, found in tea.  L-theanine is believed to increase levels of GABA production in the brain.  GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter.  It  also promotes alpha wave production in the brain (Nobra et al, 2008).  Alpha waves are found in EEGs during periods of waking relaxation.  A recent study by Parnell et al (2008) found that L-theanine when combined with caffeine are actually beneficial for improving performance on cognitively demanding tasks.

References:

Nobre AC, Rao A, Owen GN. L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17 Suppl 1:167-8.Owen GN,

Parnell H, De Bruin EA, Rycroft JA. The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. Nutr Neurosci. 2008 Aug;11(4):193-8.

For more information, visit: Slow Cow Drink.

Probiotics for anxiety/depression?

Okay, if you haven’t heard all the fanfare for probiotics from watching TV commercials, visiting your local grocery store, or even reading my blog posts, then you might be asking yourself, what are probiotics?  As I’ve previously posted, probiotics are essentially dietary supplements or functional foods that contain potentially beneficial bacteria or yeast.

Research suggests that probiotics may have beneficial effects at preventing traveler’s diarrhea, treating allergic rhinitis, and reducing gastrointestinal symptoms.  Recently, Canadian researchers from Toronto, published a study in the journal, Gut Pathogens, on the effects of probiotic cultures on the emotional symptoms in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Rao et al, 2009).  Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a complex illness with no clearly understood etiology or specific cause.  Emotional symptoms of CFS are most commonly of an anxiety nature.

Patients with CFS in this study were randomized to receive 24 billion colony forming units of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) or placebo daily for 2 months.  Researchers found a signiciant rise in both Lactobacillus casei as well as bifidobacteria in the stools of the intervention group.  Additionally, the researchers found a significant decline in anxiety symptoms (Beck Anxiety Inventory) in those taking LcS (p=0.01).

• In patients with CFS, supplementation with Lactobacillus casei strain Shirtoa for 2 months, resulted in statisically signicant reduction in anxiety symptoms.

Reference:

Rao AV, Bested AC, Beaulne TM, Katzman MA, Iorio C, Berardi JM, Logan AC.  A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of a probiotic in emotional symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.  Gut Pathog. 2009 Mar 19;1(1):6.

Miracle treatment for cardiovascular disease?

Is there a miracle treatment for reducing cardiovascular disease?  Perhaps the title of this blog post is someone disingenuous, but the intent on grabbing your attention is not…  To clarify, I am not one to suggest that there is a ‘natural’ miracle cure for any type of disease.  However, with that being said, there are plenty of things that we can do to improve our health including the use of dietary changes, exercise, and some dietary supplements as well.

Though dietary fiber may not exactly be a ‘miracle cure,’ the results of a recent study suggest that increasing dietary fiber intake from natural sources is associated with a reduction in classical as well as novel cardiovascular risk factors in a high risk cohort.

For some basics about dietary fiber click the following text–  Dietary Fiber Cheat Sheet.

Study results:

Increasing dietary fiber intake from natural sources resulted in statistically significant reductions in the following:

• Body waist circumference (Yup, the old ‘love handles.’)
• Blood pressure
• Fasting glucose
• Total Cholesterol
• C-reactive protein

Well, given that dietary fiber from natural sources is so beneficial to our health, why don’t we choose to eat more of it???  New guidelines suggest that men should consume 38g per day while women should consume 25g.

Reference:

Estruch R, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Corella D, Basora-Gallisá J, Ruiz-Gutierrez V, Covas MI, Fiol M, Gómez-Gracia E, Lopez-Sabater MC, Escoda R, Pena MA, Diez-Espino J, Lahoz C, Lapetra J, Saez G, Ros E. Effects of dietary fiber intake on risk factors for cardiovascular disease in subjects at high risk.  J Epidemiol Community Health. 2009 Mar 15.

Does Beta-alanine improve athletic performance?

Beta-alanine is a naturally occurring amino acid that has some potential benefits to athletes as it is involved as a rate-limiting precursor of carnosine and has been accepted has an effective physiological hydrogen ion (H+) buffer.  In contrast, beta-alanine is not involved as a precursor of proteins.  Carnosine is  often used in ‘anti-aging’ supplements.

One recent study (Smith et al, 2009), found that high intensity interval training (HIIT) was effective and efficient in inducing significant aerobic improvements.  The study authors concluded that beta-alanine supplementation may further enhance HIIT training by improving both endurance performance and lean body mass.   The dose of beta-alanine in this particular study was 6 g per day for the first 3 weeks, then followed by 3g per day for the following three weeks.

An additional study (Hoffman et al, 2008) found that beta-alanine supplementation increased training volume and reduced subjective feelings of fatigue in college football players.  The dosage of beta-alanine in this study was 4.5g per day.

[At high doses, beta-alanine can cause side effects including paraesthesias or a sensation of "pins and needles" in your limbs.]

References:

Smith AE, Walter AA, Graef JL, Kendall KL, Moon JR, Lockwood CM, Fukuda DH, Beck TW, Cramer JT, Stout JR. Effects of beta-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training on endurance performance and body composition in men; a double-blind trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2009 Feb 11;6:5.

Hoffman JR, Ratamess NA, Faigenbaum AD, Ross R, Kang J, Stout JR, Wise JA. Short-duration beta-alanine supplementation increases training volume and reduces subjective feelings of fatigue in college football players. Nutr Res. 2008 Jan;28(1):31-5.

Sugarettes

I recently received a copy of the book, Sugarettes, by Dr. Scott Olson, ND in the mail. From the title, Sugarettes, I myself was instantly intrigued about the content of the book itself. A portmanteau is when you combine two different words and their meanings to form a new word. Sugarettes is a therefore a portmanteau of the words ’sugar’ and ‘cigarettes.’ From Dr. Olson’s Youtube video, it confirms that the title is suggestive of sugar as being both potentially addictive as well as unhealthy or dangerous much in the same way as cigarettes are to us.

In the first part of the book, Dr. Olson makes two compelling arguments–one that sugar is potentially addictive and secondly that it has adverse health consequences. However, the book itself is more than a discourse on the health effects of sugar consumption. Even in that regard, the book could be heralded as a sentinel book or a wake up call for most of us.

If you suffer from obesity, diabetes, or other related ailments, Sugarettes is an important book to read. Even for people seeking to improve or maintain their health or current body weight, it is still an important book to read. The final part of Sugarettes proposes a new food pyramid which questions the conventional wisdom of our current food pyramid. To find out more about Dr. Olson’s new food pyramid and for information on how to safely navigate your way through “carboland” you will have to order Sugarettes from Amazon.

Do fish oil supplements contain organic pollutants?

Fish oil supplements are currently experiencing a wave of increasing popularity among consumers.  Fish oil supplements contain essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) including both Omega 3 Fatty Acids as well as Omega 6 Fatty Acids.  Omega 3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids that mammals are unable to produce while omega 6 fatty acids are found in fish as well as other sources.

Are you or a loved one currently taking a fish oil product?

Do you know that some fish oil supplements may actually do more harm than good?

If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to one or both of these questions, continue reading to find out what you need to know BEFORE you start taking a fish oil supplement.

Why are so many people starting to supplement their diets with fish oil?

Recent studies suggest that omega 3 fatty acids may confer potential health benefits including improving vascular health, reducing cardiovascular disease risk, reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, as well as reducing incidence of diabetes.

• Improve vascular health
• Reduce cardiovascular disease risk
• Reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
• Reduce incidence of diabetes

Are there reasons to be concerned about contaminants?

However, despite these health benefits, consumers have to ensure that the fish oil that they consume does not contain contaminants including mercury.  The results of a recent Canadian study also suggests that there are concerns that some fish oil supplements may contain polychorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) and organochlorine pesticides (Rawn et al, 2009).  Both polychorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides are lipophilic which means that they have an affinity towards lipids or fats and are able to dissolve in them–this is one reason for the concern for these compounds being found in fish oil supplements.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of organic compounds that were used in pesticides, flame retardants, paints, pesticides and more–then banned in the 70’s due to adverse health effects associated with their use.   To date, there continue to be several areas that have persistent pollution with PCBs including the Great Lakes.  Though they are no longer produced in the United States, PCBs are still found in the environment.  Adverse health effects linked to PCB exposure include skin conditions such as chloracne, lowered immune response, and possible cancers of the liver and biliary tract in humans among other concerns.

Is there cause for concern?

In this Canadian study which involved a sample of commercially available fish oil products that are marketed in Canada–all of the samples analyzed were found to contain detectable residues of both organochlorine pesticides and PCBs. Highest levels of PCBs were found in shark oil samples while the lowest PCB levels were found in mixed fish oil samples (anchovy, mackerel, and sardine).  This particular study found that seal oil consumption would result in the higher organocholorine pesticide consumption than other types of fish oil.

Total PCB intakes ranged between 0.896 ng/d (0.285 ng/d marker PCBs) and 15700 ng/d (7620 ng/d marker PCBs), in a supplement containing anchovy, mackerel, and sardines and a shark oil supplement, respectively. The seal oil supplement resulted in the next highest intake estimate (1560 ng/d). In comparison, consumption of a single 150 g meal of farmed salmon with an average PCB concentration of 17.5 ng/g would result in exposure to 2630 ng PCBs.

What can you to minimize your exposure to these toxins?

There are two things that you can do as a consumer of both fish oil products as well as fish.  First, try to avoid eating farmed Salmon, for example, as studies suggested that they contain higher levels of these persistent organic pollutants.  Secondly, if you’re going to take a fish oil supplement, ensure that your supplement has been 3rd party tested–specifically to conform to the International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS).

• Avoid consuming farmed salmon.

• Ensure that any fish oil product that you buy is 3rd party tested specifically to adhere to International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS).  Nutrasource Diagnostics is a company affiliated with the University Of Guelph that performs this type of testing.

Reference:

Rawn DF, Breakell K, Verigin V, Nicolidakis H, Sit D, Feeley M. Persistent organic pollutants in fish oil supplements on the canadian market: polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine insecticides. J Food Sci. 2009 Jan;74(1):T14-9.