Supplement Performance By Anssi Manninen, MHS

Sports Supplement Update: Interview with Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. John Berardi Experts : Jeff Volek, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor, Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut John Berardi, PhD, CSCS, Science Link, Inc. The relatively poor regulation of sports supplements allows athletes and their

coaches to be the target of marketing campaigns based on pseudo-scientific claims and marketing hype rather than documented benefits. However, some supplements offer real advantages to the athlete. Some products work by producing a direct performance-enhancing effect (e.g., creatine, caffeine). Other products can be used by athletes to meet their nutritional goals and, as an indirect outcome, allow them to achieve optimal performance (e.g., meal replacement products). Furthermore, several herbal medicines may have therapeutic medicinal value applicable to athletes. Finally, some products may help to optimize body composition.

Muscular Development discussed the issue of sports supplementation with two leading experts, Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. John Berardi. Both have had experience with scientific research in sports nutrition and they also have a background in athletic training. Their answers to our questions follow.

What are the basic nutritional determinants of whether or not mus cle size

increases when one trains with weights? Dr. Volek : First and foremost you need to have adequate amino acids present to

provide the building block for protein synthesis. It’s the essential amino acids that are most important and leucine is one of the most important stimulators of protein synthesis. The concept of timing is also emerging as an important determinant of protein synthesis. Amino acids need to be present in the blood after a workout in order to promote a positive nitrogen balance. There’s at least one study indicating consuming essential amino acids before exercise stimulates protein synthesis [i.e., anabolism] more so than taking protein after a workout, presumably due to the greater blood flow and delivery of amino acids to the active muscles. The other main determinant is adequate energy. It’s difficult to maintain a positive nitrogen balance if you’re in a negative energy balance, even if protein intake is high. Large energy deficits adversely affect the hormonal environment like testosterone, IGF-I, cortisol and thyroid which biases metabolism toward catabolism rather than anabolism.

Dr. Berardi : When we're interested in increasing muscle mass, we’re basically saying that our muscles are too small and too weak for what we'd like them to be. So, in essence we've got a body that’s inferior to what we want it to be. In order to improve these muscles, we all know we need to hit the gym and train with weights.

So we hit the gym and this weight training, in many ways, destroys our muscles slowly. And that's a good thing as we're destroying our "inferior" muscles— all the time hoping to replace them with "superior" muscles— bigger, stronger muscles.

If we hit the gym and do some heavy, hard training, the chemical-mediated and force-mediated muscle damage we impose on our muscles forces the body to adapt so that in the future, the same type of work doesn’t cause the same magnitude of damage. And this is where nutrition comes in. Without enough calories, macronutrients and micronutrient support, the body breaks down yet doesn't have the energy to adapt properly. Repair and adaptation to muscle damage is an energy (calorie) costly process and requires micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) co-factors as well.

So, if you're training to get bigger and stronger it's important to constantly vary your training type. Remember, the body adapts quickly to the training style you're currently using so that the same training doesn't produce the same damage in the future— and you wan't damage as it's the damage that often makes the muscles bigger. It's also important to feed the body adequate calories, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and micronutrients so that all the muscle damage you're causing is being repaired.

How important are carbohydrate-protein drinks as aids to rapid r ecovery? Dr. Volek : Getting nutrients into your body after a workout is critical for recovery.

If nothing is consumed after exercise, protein balance is compromised and glycogen synthesis is negligible. Protein-carbohydrate drinks are great because they serve two purposes. The amino acids provide the precursors for building muscle proteins. However, increasing amino acids isn’t very anabolic without insulin. So the carbohydrates increase insulin, which drives the amino acids and glucose from the blood into skeletal muscle to stimulate protein synthesis and glycogen formation, respectively.

Dr. Berardi : As I did my PhD research on this very topic, I can say with confidence that rapidly digesting carbohydrate/protein drinks taken BOTH during (sipped) and after training are very important! Any athlete or weightlifter who wants to force adaptation to heavy training loads needs to be sipping a drink like this throughout intense training sessions and needs to slug one down after training sessions. Why? Because this type of drink provides energy and macronutrients critical to recovery and adaptation at the best time to stimulate recovery and adaptation— during and after training! Also, the hormonal response to such drinks is favorable for growth and repair.

At this point you might be wondering exactly what type of drink you should look for. Well, a good recovery drink should contain rapidly digesting carbs (glucose/maltodextrin) and protein (hydrolyzed whey). The best example of such a drink is Biotest Surge.

[Editor´s Note: Studies indicate that hydrolyzed (pre-digested) proteins containing mostly di- and tripeptides are absorbed more rapidly than free form amino acids and much more rapidly than intact proteins.]

What do you think of the following “muscle building” supplements: ZMA,

GAKIC, HMB, Tribulus terrestris? Dr. Volek : I’m not so sure ZMA will do much to build muscle in someone with

adequate zinc status. One study reported that strenuous physical exercise caused significant increases in the loss of zinc in the urine. Zinc is involved in several thousand chemical reactions in the body; however of particular interest to men is that zinc is involved in normal production of testosterone. In fact, studies have shown that even small deficiencies in zinc can lead to reductions in testosterone and that supplementing with zinc may bring levels back to normal. Tribulus terrestris is a T-booster. Research indicates that the active protodioscins in Tribulus terrestris can [increase] T levels, but the research is limited. HMB has been studied in several studies and there’s some indication it may prevent protein breakdown and therefore promote muscle building

[Editor´s Note: A recent meta-analysis indicates that HMB supplementation (three grams per day) results in a net increase in lean mass gain of 0.28 percent/week. J Appl Physiol, 2003 Feb;94(2):651-9. To my knowledge, ProSource´s Androtest is the only Tribulus terrestris product standardized for 40 percent to 48 percent protodioscins.]

Dr. Berardi : My best response to this type of question is to simply list the supplements each of my clients and athletes are on. If the supplement isn't on this list, I don't think it's critical: 1) milk protein blends, 2) protein-carbohydrate recovery drinks, 3) fish oil, 4) micronized creatine monohydrate, 5) Greens+[a blend of antioxidants, enzymes, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals]. That's it. Ninety-five percent of my athletes take only these five supplements.

And make no mistake, as I´m the director of sports nutrition for five Olympic teams, two professional sports teams and countless individual athletes in nearly every sport— including bodybuilding, fitness and figure— this list isn't basic or primitive. Nor am I holding out on you. These five supplements, when coupled with a total nutritional program rich in high micronutrient density foods, are all that most of my athletes really need.

Sure, maybe five percent of my athletes are on a few additional nutritional supplements— but these aren't to give them some sort of "edge." Rather, if one of my athletes is taking anything else, it's likely that we're trying to work around some error of metabolism or some problem such as under-recovery.

Can vitamin supplementation improve the performance?

Dr. Volek : I highly recommend a multivitamin supplement at RDA [recommended dietary allowance] levels to provide a foundation and serve as an insurance policy to ensure all essential micronutrients are met. Beyond that, there may be some value in taking specific vitamins at higher doses. For example, vitamin E [800 International Units (IU) per day] has been shown to reduce the free radical response to resistance exercise. Chromium [200 to 600 micrograms per day] may also assist in managing glucose levels and increasing insulin sensitivity, especially in those with glucose intolerance. The vitamin-like substance carnitine may augment fat burning and speed recovery by reducing the biochemical stress response to exercise.

[Editor’s Note: A recent study reported that L-carnitine L-tartarate supplementation is effective in assisting recovery from high-repetition squat exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 2002 Feb;282(2):E474-82.]

Dr. Berardi : Vitamins and minerals can only improve performance IF the athlete is already deficient in a specific vitamin or mineral. If not, then additional vitamins and minerals aren't directly related to improved performance or muscle growth.

So how do you make sure you're not deficient? Well, the best way to ensure you're not deficient is to eat a varied diet, supplementing with the five things I discussed above. I know, I know, the ”varied diet thing again.” Object all you want, but check this out— in my years of working with athletes, unless there's an error of metabolism, none of the athletes who eat as I recommend have ever shown a vitamin or mineral deficiency. If you're unclear as to what I suggest, visit my website at www.johnberardi.com and learn more.

How do you feel about thermogenic fat loss supplements? Dr. Volek : Ephedrine is an adrenergic agonist, that is it interacts with and

activates specific adrenergic receptors that sit on many different types of cells including fat cells, nerve cells, vascular cells, cells in the central nervous system that control appetite, etc. This is how ephedrine affects such diverse processes like increasing fat breakdown, thermogenesis, nervousness, heart rate, blood pressure, dilation of bronchial muscles and satiation to name a few. Ephedrine combined with caffeine consistently results in greater weight loss compared to placebo. Ephedrine/caffeine also appears to result in a preferential loss of fat mass and preservation of lean tissue. The greater weight loss is due in part to increased thermogenesis [production of heat] and decreased food intake. In fact, as much as 80 percent of the action of ephedrine/caffeine on weight loss may be due to appetite suppression and 20 percent increased metabolic rate.

Synephrine is a naturally occurring alkaloid found in the fruit of a plant called Citrus aurantium. It has a structure similar to ephedrine and chemically acts on cells through adrenergic receptors. Unlike ephedrine, synephrine is believed to act specifically on beta-3 adrenergic receptors and maybe alpha-1 receptors, [which promote fat breakdown]. In contrast, ephedrine additionally acts on beta-1 and beta-2 adrenergic receptors, which stimulate the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Thus, synephrine is promoted to offer the same stimulant effects as ephedrine [increased metabolic rate, decreased appetite, improved energy levels] without the adverse side effects. One study examined the effectiveness of synephrine in combination with caffeine and St. John’s wort versus placebo in overweight men and women following a weight loss program that involved a low-fat reduced calorie diet [1,800 calories per day] and regular exercise [three days per week]. Compared to the placebo group, subjects in the synephrine group lost more bodyweight and body fat and increased metabolic rate after just six weeks.

There have been a large number of studies showing the health-promoting effects of green tea including reductions in body fat. The bioactive ingredient in green tea is believed to be EGCG [epigallocatechin gallate], which was shown to increase fat oxidation [burning] and reduce the amount of fat gain in a dose-dependent manner in rats.

Other studies show greater fat loss in humans. After 12 weeks, men who took green tea [containing 690 milligrams catechins per day], had a two-fold greater weight loss and fat loss. Additionally, this study also assessed both subcutaneous and visceral fat in the abdominal region using computed tomography imaging. Compared to placebo, green tea had a dramatic four-fold greater effect on reductions in subcutaneous and visceral fat in the abdomen. Thus green tea may target fat loss in the mid-section. Unlike

other common weight loss agents that stimulate sympathetic hormone release and therefore tend to raise heart rate and blood pressure [e.g., ephedra], green tea works through a completely different mechanisms. The catechins in green tea have been shown to inhibit the enzyme that breaks down norepinephrine [noradrenaline] so that its biological effects [e.g., increased metabolic rate, increased fat breakdown, etc.] are prolonged. Green tea may also act to reduce food intake and inhibit the main enzymes involved in fat storage. The effective doses are not known for sure, but the studies showing beneficial effects in humans used 270 milligrams EGCG divided into three equal doses of 90 milligrams at breakfast, lunch and dinner. In fact, one recent study actually showed that supplements were better than tea. Another recent study found that ingesting supplements containing green tea catechins in the fasted state without food led to greater bioavailability compared to ingesting them with food.

Dr. Berardi : My own regular readers probably know too well that I often warn against long-term use of “stimulants” or fat loss supplements. The reason for this is the fact that not only can they present some degree of acute cardiovascular risk (this risk is probably minimal for those with no congenital, genetic or environmentally induced heart problems), but also they can actually make it more difficult to control your body composition in the long run.

The problem is this— artificial metabolic stimulation— can cause a rebound-type effect when coming off a supplement, leading to a reduced metabolic rate once the supplement is no longer in the picture. Therefore you get lean when you’re on the supplement, but as soon as you go off, it becomes nearly impossible to preserve your lean condition.

Since the nutritional advice I give alone (without stimulants) has assisted many individuals in their quest to get lean, I feel relatively confident that these products aren’t essential for fat loss. But there’s no question they speed up the process, do help some fatloss-resistant individuals reach their short-term goals (although long-term goal achievement can be affected because of what I suggested above) and may be necessary in the last few weeks before an event like a bodybuilding competition. As with most other things, it all depends on your goals.