Welcome to Supplements articles category.

You can find informaion on Supplements articles and news.

Flax seed omega 3 is not only a rich source of important vitamins and minerals, but also an essential omega 3 fatty acid known by the name ALA or alpha linolenic acid. Flax seed oil contains almost 55% of ALA, higher than most other families of plant oils, including soybean and canola.

ALA found in flax seed omega 3 supplements is broken down into DHA and EPA in the body to be utilized by the bloodstream. These fatty acids, also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids, then become active in the prevention of coronary heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, diabetes, and many other serious problems.

The Western diet is seriously deficient in omega 3 fatty acids. Because of this reason, every one of us must consume dietary supplements rich in flax seed omega 3. Various diseases can be controlled by ALA, DHA and EPA like skin problems, inflammatory conditions and digestive disorders.

Heart problems can be prevented and cured with the help of flax seed oil. Omega 3 fats found in flax seeds control bad cholesterol levels in the body and also maintain blood pressure at a stable level. People who eat fish or consume flax seeds or their oil regularly are at reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other problems related to the heart.

Triglyceride levels in the body are reduced by these fats by increasing and controlling metabolic activities of body cells. In addition to that, flax seed omega 3 also helps in the prevention and treatment of cardiac arrhythmia, in which the heart and pulse rate become difficult to control. No other treatment is so effective as these supplements cause absolutely no side effects and are also easy to digest.

DHA and EPA are also helpful in killing cancer and tumor cells, and patients undergoing chemotherapy are strongly advised to increase their intake of omega 3 fats through diet and nutritional supplements available on the market. These supplements help in controlling the pain and also lessen the side effects of heavy medication taken during chemotherapy.

Fish oil and flax seed oil have a significant role to play in the sustenance of our immune system. Recently it has been found that ALA is useful for bodybuilders and those who want to gain weight. Skin problems like acne, red bumps and pock marks can be prevented by eating foods rich in omega 3 fats.

Natural omega 3 supplements are very beneficial for health as they are required for the prevention of many diseases. They are good for overweight and obese people. They serve to reduce triglyceride and bad cholesterol levels in the body, thereby preventing coronary heart disease and other problems related to the heart.

Natural omega 3 supplements are available on the market in the form of over the counter medicines. They can be consumed by people belonging to all age groups as they don’t cause any side effects. They are made with all natural and pure substances and are therefore very effective for promoting long-term health.

Omega 3 supplements like fish oil capsules contain two essential fatty acids DHA and EPA. These fatty acids provide many health benefits including reduction of inflammation throughout the body, relief in skin problems like acne, controlling high blood pressure and high cholesterol and preventing degenerative diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

DHA is a very important fat which is required for the growth and development of the brain and the nervous system. It controls nerve transmission and also acts as a protector of cell membranes. Along with EPA it ensures that nutrients are received by all cells of the body and that fluidity is maintained inside all cells.

In addition to these benefits, DHA and EPA also prevent internal blood clotting and perform many other small functions of the body. These are polyunsaturated fats and are absorbed by the bloodstream in the presence of various enzymes and vitamin E.

Natural omega 3 supplements help to prevent depression, anxiety and many other psychological problems. They should be given to people who suffer from these conditions instead of using heavy medication, sleeping pills and other drugs. These supplements are light and easy to digest.

Liquid omega 3 supplements are also available on the market that are excellent to be used by children and elderly people. They help to prevent hyperactivity in growing children and cure memory loss in elderly people. Furthermore, conditions like arthritis and cystitis can also be controlled with the help of good quality omega 3 supplements or fish oil capsules available out there.

However, you should be careful in choosing your omega 3 supplement product. Not all products are high quality and therefore only pharmaceutical grade fish oil should be used. This grade of oil is free from impurities and does not cause any adverse health conditions.

You surely have heard a lot about Hoodia Gordonii Plus as one of the most effective weight loss pills today. It is now even more popular as it is shown through famous talk shows on television, and it is all over the Internet.

It probably makes you wonder: is Hoodia Gordonii really that effective? Does Hoodia Gordonii really have what it takes to help you shed off those extra pounds naturally?

Obviously, Hoodia is very much unlike many of the weight loss remedies you may have taken before. Hoodia is all natural, is safe to take and of course, highly effective. Hoodia supplements are a natural appetite suppressant. It prevent you from feeling those pangs of hunger, such that you will surely eat less. What’s more, you can enjoy all these advantages without unwanted side effects which can be present in most other weight loss remedies.

The active ingredient responsible for Hoodia’s appetite reductant ability is the P57 molecule. Your next question might be: how is P57 able to suppress hunger? Well, this wonderful compound can act on the area of the brain which controls the feeling of fullness.

P57 in Hoodia has the naturally ability to trigger nerves to send signals into the brain making it believe that you are already full. Whether or not you have, you will not feel the appetite to eat more. This way, you might not only help you stop gaining weight. You can also shed off those unwanted pounds. All these benefits without any side effects.

Thousands of people who have tried this product have enjoyed the various benefits offered by Hoodia. You can read various testimonials coming from these happy Hoodia users who have slimmed down like they wanted.

On the other hand, there are also a number of people who say that this weight loss supplement is just a scam. They claim that they have taken Hoodia as advised, but they never lose a pound. How can you resolve these two conflicting testimonies?

Before anything else, you should know that the Hoodia Gordonii herb is a rare plant. Considering the high demand today, most Hoodia manufacturers simply can’t keep up. As a matter of fact, as much as 80% of the Hoodia Gordonii products available today are not the real, authentic one. These versions are mostly adulterated versions, these have been diluted and combined with a bunch of other ingredients.

Unfortunately, these watered down formulations don’t produce any any positive effect. Chances are, those who believe that Hoodia is a scam supplement have not taken the real, pure version. It most likely has very little P57 to even make a difference.

Going back to the original question. Is Hoodia really effective? Without a doubt, yes, Hoodia is a very promising weight loss product. You can have the ideal body you want with Hoodia just as long as it is taken in its 100% pure, unadulterated version.

Who hasn’t heard about Hoodia Gordonii Plus? Hoodia is one of the most sought after weight loss supplements. As a matter of, in the Internet alone, there are almost a million searches about Hoodia every month!

It is easy to see why companies supplying Hoodia have sprouted in the recent years. Unfortunately, considering the scarcity of the Hoodia herb, not many suppliers provide the real Hoodia. A wide majority of the supplements being sold in the Internet are fake. These fake supplements are usually adulterated versions. Worse, they can be added with other additives which might be more harmful than helpful.

With all the suppliers out there, how can you know beforehand whether you are taking a real Hoodia Gordonii Plus supplement or one of the fake ones? How can you make sure that you will get the results you want? Below is a guide to help you in determining a real supplement from a scam.

Find out if the company has a valid contact information. You need to make sure that the company selling the product actually exists and operates.

Find out if the supplier has a certificate of authenticity from a reliable testing company. You should know that the supplement has pure ingredients as it claims it does.

Check whether the company is authorized by the CITES (Convention of Internation Trade in Endangered Species). The company should licensed to export the Hoodia herb and use it without threatening their survival.

Make sure that the supplement is taken from pure Hoodia Gordonii from South Africa. It should mention the molecule called P57 as its active ingredient. This molecule has been determined to be the ingredient which is responsible for the effectiveness of Hoodia weight loss supplement.

Do not be blinded by misleading free trials or attractive offers. A lot of suppliers out there provide very attractive offers to persuade you into buying their supplement. Moreover, try not to be easily fooled by testimonials that sound way too good to be true. Claims should all be backed up with enough evidence.

Find out if the company can provide you with some guarantee. A legitimate supplier will have a policy you can fall back to just in case their item is not authentic. See to it that the Hoodia supplement is not adulterated and doesn’t contain empty additives such as ephedra, ephedrine or mua hang.

Choosing from the hundreds of Hoodia Gordonii supplements out there can be an difficult decision. lose weight naturally is to buy the right supplement. Keeping these guidelines when deciding and doing your own research will definitely make a difference.

There’s good news on the cholesterol front, which is only fitting since September is Cholesterol Awareness Month. A new study has found that many more people than previously thought, including women and the elderly, can benefit from cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins. The study of 20,000 adults, conducted at Oxford University in England and presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Anaheim, California, in June 2002, concluded that statins can help people with diabetes, plaque buildup or a history of heart disease–no matter how low their cholesterol.

On the alternative-medicine front, researchers have found that a tree extract Hindu healers have used for 3,000 years has been found to help reduce cholesterol. A favorite of Ayurvedic practitioners, the extract, called guglipid, comes from the guggal, a small tree that grows in India. Although guglipid has been authorized for use by medical doctors in India since 1987, there has been little scientific support for its use in traditional Western medicine. Now researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, whose findings are published in the April 2, 2002 issue of Science, say the extract blocks a key receptor in the body that manages the process by which cholesterol is converted to bile. When this conversion takes place too quickly, the body is unable to rid itself of cholesterol, which builds up, increasing the risks of heart disease.

“Scientists in the United States are only starting to look at [guglipid] now,” says Kanu Patel, who practices Ayurvedic medicine in England, to the BBC, “but we have known this for years.”

Q: What can I take for pre-workout energy?
Advertisement

A: A cup of coffee can enhance your alertness and make for a more productive workout. However, some guys find that the amount of caffeine in coffee can make them jittery. In that case, you may want to switch to green tea. It has a lower dose of caffeine than coffee plus loads of antioxidants. If you don’t like caffeine at all, there are a few supplements on the market that may offer similar benefits without causing jitters:

Thiamine di (2-methyl-propionate) disulfide. Several studies report that thiamine may help improve mental focus and muscle endurance during intense exercise.

L-Tyrosine. This amino acid helps make the neurotransmitters that contribute to your body’s ability to develop speed and power, It may also help you activate more muscle during lifts.

“There’s always going to be stress,” says Ellen Cutler, DC, founder of BioSet Clinic and Institute in Mill Valley, CA, “but it doesn’t have to rain your life.” If you maintain a strong, healthy body, you’re much better equipped to deal with whatever circumstances arise. And that means eating right, digesting your food properly and getting regular exercise.

Cortisol and adrenaline, the “fight-or-flight” hormones designed to help us deal with danger, kick in when we’re stressed. In an attempt to utilize all the body’s resources to deal with the “danger” (lions and tigers long ago, rush-hour traffic today), these hormones inhibit the production of digestive juices and deplete essential nutrients–just when we need all the nutritional support we can get.

A simple way to shore up against this vicious circle, says Cutler, is to take five supplements to replenish key substances in the body that are affected by stress: vitamin C, B complex, calcium, magnesium and digestive enzymes. These work together to counteract the overload that difficult situations put on our bodies.

Vitamin C: 1

When the adrenal glands overproduce cortisol and adrenaline in response to stress, the glands eventually become exhausted–and you feel the same way. Cravings for sweet or salty snacks, or for coffee or other stimulant beverages, may be a side effect.

“Adrenals respond to vitamin C,” says Cutler. In essence, the vitamin feeds these glands and enables them to function more optimally despite extra demands.

B complex: 2

“A B vitamin deficiency makes you less able to deal with stress,” says Cutler. Also, sugar, which we’re more likely to reach for under stress, depletes the B vitamins.

Vitamin B 1 (thiamine) supports immunity, which helps the body tolerate stress. But all the B complex vitamins are essential for metabolizing carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The B vitamins also help maintain muscle tone in the digestive tract and keep the nervous system functioning well.

Calcium and magnesium: 3&4

“Elevated levels of cortisol deplete calcium and magnesium,” says Cutler; a lack of these minerals can accentuate the symptoms of stress. Anxiety is one of the manifestations of calcium deficiency, and we need magnesium to regulate levels of calcium and to produce energy.

Digestive enzymes: 5

“Stress impacts absorption of nutrients,” says Cutler, and digestive enzymes aid that process. She recommends eating raw organic foods when possible, because heat can destroy the natural enzymes in food. Cutler also suggests taking digestive enzymes as a supplement. “They break down food so that nutrients can be delivered to cells, and they’re anti-inflammatory,” says Cutler. Different enzymes target different types of food, so it’s important to take a combination.

Also, chewing food well, rather than wolfing it, allows our salivary enzymes to begin the digestive process, instead of placing the entire burden on your stomach.

To increase strength and size, you need calories. Too many calories–and too many carbs at the wrong time–will boost mass, but a lot of it will be the kind of mass you don’t want.

The secret to this diet program is carb and calorie manipulation–cycling carbs and calories, as well as protein and fat, to give you the energy you need when you need it. For instance, when reps are higher (10 and above), you need more carbs and calories to fuel those workouts. When reps are lower and weights are heavier, you don’t need carbs to fuel your muscles. During those phases, carbs and calories come down a notch, but protein and healthy fats are bumped up to keep you growing.

The sample diets provided are perfect for a 180-pound bodybuilder and will even work well for a 160- to 200-pound trainer. If you’re lighter or heavier than this range, adjust the diet accordingly based on macronutrient recommendations laid out in each phase.

On rest days, regardless of the phase, drop the postworkout meal and eat the preworkout meal as a snack.

PHASE ONE

WEEKS 1-4

PREP AND GROW

In this phase, your muscle fibers are going to be looking for stored muscle glycogen to fuel them as the rest periods between sets drop. To make sure your muscles are stocked, you need to get in plenty of carbs–up to 2 1/2 grams (g) per pound of bodyweight per day, or about 50% of your total calories per day. In most meals, reach for slow-digesting slow-burning carbs, such as whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes, fruit, pasta and oatmeal. These provide long-lasting fuel and don’t lead to fat gain. After workouts, reach for faster-digesting carbs, such as white bread or rice cakes. These will spike insulin right after training, helping to drive those carbs (by then, in the digested form of glucose), amino acids and creatine (see the program supplement section) into your muscles, and also acting as an anabolic hormone that helps to turn on muscle protein synthesis to help your muscles grow.

Carb intake is high in this phase, so you must minimize dietary fat. Shoot for about 15% or less of total calories per day from dietary fat by choosing low-fat meats, such as turkey and chicken breast, as well as low-fat dairy products. Still, take in enough protein by aiming for more than 1 g per pound of bodyweight per day, or about 35% of daily calories from protein.

PHASE TWO

WEEKS 5-8

FIVES AND TENS

In this phase, during the first half of each week and on your rest days, you won’t need as many carbs. Five reps per set means you are relying on stored ATP and creatine phosphate in muscle cells for energy, and you won’t need stored muscle glycogen for these workouts, as you will during the 10×10 workouts. To limit your gains to lean mass, rely on lower carbs during these days–about 25% of your total calories or about 1 g per pound of bodyweight per day–to help you stay lean and get large. Of course, when carbs drop, protein must increase, so during this phase, protein makes up about 45% of total calories, or about 2 g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.

Fat intake will also have to increase to make sure you are getting enough total calories to maintain muscle recovery. Here, it’s up to 30% of total calories, with the majority coming from healthy fat sources, such as nuts and avocados–which supply monounsaturated fats–and from fatty fish, such as salmon, which provide essential polyunsaturated fats. These fats get burned for fuel, unlike saturated fats that get stored in your midsection.

During the 10×10 training days, stock your muscles with glycogen. That burn you’ll feel from the workouts is a result of byproducts from lactic-acid production in your muscles. The muscles become acidic and feel as if they’re burning. Lactic acid is produced when glucose is burned as fuel for muscles; the glucose comes mainly from its stored form–known as glycogen–in muscles.

Since you kept the calories and carbs a bit lower on the other days of the week, you can afford to bump up your calories to more than 3,600 per day, or more than 20 calories per pound of bodyweight. You’ll also increase your carbs to about 55% of total calories or more than 2 1/2 g per pound of bodyweight. Protein drops to about 30% of total calories in this phase, but you’re still shooting for more than a gram per pound.

PHASE THREE

WEEKS 9-12

THE 6X6 SEGMENT

This diet is very similar to the one in the 5×5 training days in phase two. Since you are training with low-rep sets, you won’t need much in the form of carbohydrates during this phase. Here, carbs are again down to about 25% of your total calories, protein is back up to 45%, and fat is around 30% of total daily calories.

SUPPLEMENTS

The supplements for this program are designed to boost both muscle growth and strength, as well as help with recovery.

WHEY PROTEIN is rich in branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)–leucine, isoleucine and valine–which are essential for muscle growth because they turn on the process of protein synthesis and supply the amino acid building blocks for making muscle protein.

It’s 30 minutes until your next workout. Quick, what should you take to ensure high-performance energy levels, monstrous strength and ample supplies of nutrients to kick-start muscle growth processes?

We stumped some of you, didn’t we? Plenty of bodybuilders start bashing the weights after hitting a fast-food drive-through, after wolfing down a protein bar or even while running on empty. Most guys simply don’t give a lot of consideration to their nutritional attack–even guys who will spend hours meticulously planning out exercises, sets and reps are often guilty of putting zero thought into the food and supplements that will actually fuel their training session.

That’s a mistake, and one you can put an end to right here. We’ve mapped out the nine top supplements for bodybuilders in preworkout mode, along with the best carb foods for stoking your body’s growth and energy furnace. Use this as your guide, and you’ll have improved power, energy levels, endurance and focus next time you train.

#1 WHEY PROTEIN

First on your list is supplying your body with critical amino acids needed not only as building blocks for muscle growth, but for energy during training. If your body uses the amino acids from whey protein, it won’t have to break down existing muscle protein to get aminos for fuel, which obviously could compromise your muscle size.

THE RESEARCH SAYS Drinking a whey protein shake immediately before you lift is even better for stimulating muscle growth than waiting until after the workout is over. Taking in a small amount of whey protein (without carbs) before you do cardio may also help you burn more fat when you exercise.

TIMING AND DOSAGE Having a whey protein before exercise is your best bet, as it is a quick-digesting protein, which means your body will get the aminos it needs, fast. Go with 20 grams (g) of whey protein isolate, hydrolysate or concentrate along with 30-50 g of carbs within 30 minutes of your workout.

#2 ARGININE

This amino acid is the main ingredient in almost every nitric oxide (NO) boosting product available. Arginine is readily converted in the body to NO.

THE RESEARCH SAYS Nitric oxide dilates blood vessels, which helps get more blood flow to working muscles. Enhancing blood flow to muscles right before a workout helps to deliver more nutrients, such as amino acids from whey protein, glucose and fats, and the anabolic hormones that rise during training, such as testosterone, growth hormone and insulinlike growth factor-I (IGF-I). Greater blood flow also means more water delivery to exercising muscles; since a muscle pump is essentially a result of muscle cells filling up with water from blood, more water supplied to the muscles results in a greater muscle pump.

TIMING AND DOSAGE No matter whether the product you take supplies L-arginine, arginine alpha-ketoglutarate, arginine ketoisocaproate, arginine malate or arginine ethyl ester, go with 3-5 g about 30-60 minutes before workouts. For maximal effect, on nontraining days take a dose in the morning and before bedtime.

#3 CARNOSINE

Carnosine is an amino acid supplement that is actually a dipeptide–two amino acids (beta-alanine and histidine) bound together. You can supplement with either carnosine or with beta-alanine and histidine for the same effects–greater muscle strength and endurance. That’s because, in muscle fibers, beta-alanine and histidine are combined to form carnosine.

THE RESEARCH SAYS Muscle fibers that have the highest levels of carnosine can produce the greatest amount of force and can produce the greatest amount of force and can contract for longer periods. Studies of athletes show that it is possible to increase muscle levels of carnosine by more than 80% with supplementation, but it can forestall fatigue. In the gym, this means you can get more reps with a given weight before reaching failure, or lift more weight for a certain amount of reps. Carnosine appears to work by buffering the byproducts that build up in muscles during exercise–those byproducts eventually cause muscles to fatigue. Carnosine also has been found to provide antioxidant properties, meaning it scavenges free radicals that could damage muscle cells; this protection helps muscle recovery.

TIMING AND DOSAGE Take 1-1 1/2 g of carnosine 30-60 minutes before workouts.

#4 CARNITINE

The supplement carnitine is considered an amino acid, but it’s not typical. It’s actually made from the amino acids lysine and methionine; vitamins C, B3 and B6; and iron. Carnitine is important for fat metabolism, as it is involved in carrying fat into the machinery in muscle, heart and brain cells, known as mitochondria, that burn it for fuel. Taking carnitine before workouts prompts your body to use more fat during the session.

THE RESEARCH SAYS University of Connecticut researchers have been integral in discovering carnitine’s importance to bodybuilders. One of their studies suggests that carnitine, like arginine, enhances blood flow to exercising muscles. However, the mechanism is likely different from arginine, which indicates that taking both supplements can offer additive benefits (i.e., it would be more valuable to take both of them rather than just one or the other). A more recent study from UConn suggests that carnitine enhances the number of androgen receptors in muscle cells responsible for binding testosterone in the muscle and initiating its effects on muscle growth and strength.

Who would have thought that a little echinacea could jeopardize an Olympic career? A survey of dietary supplements by a commission of the International Olympic Committee found banned performance-enhancers in 40 of 200 dietary supplements tested, none of which were listed on the label.

In response, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), a regulatory board of the United States Olympic Committee, warned athletes to avoid all dietary supplements because of what it called “lax governmental regulation and uneven manufacturing processes.” According to the USADA, their drug-testing labs can detect banned substances–such as steroids and their precursors, and performance-enhancers like ephedra, ma huang and guarana–in much smaller traces than tests used by the Food and Drug Administration. The USADA maintains that until the purity of supplements can be proven, athletes who choose to take them do so at their own risk.