Weight-Loss Products

Defends Weight-Loss Products Against Academic Attack

Several supplement industry representatives responded to the recent editorial published in the British Medical Journal, which stated that supplements that promote weight loss are part of the “latest misinformed campaign.” Many CEOs and vice presidents of supplement companies responded with peer-reviewed research studies validating their supplements as effective for weight loss when used in conjunction with diet and exercise. For example:

CLA

A meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (large collection of studies) reported that the dietary supplement CLA resulted in moderate weight loss. The authors concluded, “CLA does have a beneficial effect on human body composition. Although this effect is modest, it could be important if accumulated over time, especially in an environment where continuous, gradual weight gain is the norm in the adult population.”

Whigham LD, Watras AC, Schoeller DA. Efficacy of conjugated linoleic acid for reducing fat mass: a meta-analysis in humans. Am J Clin Nutr, 2007 May;85(5):1203-11.

Whey Protein

A study published this year in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism reported that subjects taking dietary whey protein (Prolibra) lost significantly more body fat and showed a greater preservation of lean muscle, compared to subjects consuming a placebo beverage. Subjects taking Prolibra lost 6.1 percent of their body fat mass and experienced a 5 percent reduction of body fat mass— which has been shown to reduce the risk of obesity-related disease. The results of the study concluded that adding a whey protein shake can have practical significance for controlling weight gain.

Frestedt JL, Zenk JL, Kuskowski MA, Ward LS, Bastian ED. A whey protein supplement increases fat loss and spares lean muscle in obese subjects: a randomized human clinical study. Nutr Metab, (Lond). 2008 Mar 27;5:8. SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY DEFENDS WEIGHT-LOSS PRODUCTS AGAINST ACADEMIC ATTACK “Of the hundreds of products on sale, only appropriately-delivered diets and exercise, orlistat, sibutramine, and bariatric surgery are safe, efficacious and cost-effective.The remainder should not be marketed until we have evidence for their effectiveness and safety.” ~Dr. Michael Lean, chairman, Department of Human Nutrition, University of Glasgow.

Pine Nut Oil

A recent study published in the Journal of Lipids and Health and Disease reported that “Pine Nut Oil Extract Boosts Appetite Suppressor Hormones Up To 60 Percent For 4 Hours.” The study concluded that pine nut extract can reduce obesity by reducing appetite-stimulating hormones in women.

The study examined 18 overweight subjects who received 3 grams of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) nuts or 3 grams of placebo (olive oil) in combination with a light breakfast. The appetite sensation ‘prospective food intake’ was 36 percent lower after pine nut extract consumption relative to placebo. Additionally, the appetite-suppressing hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) was reduced by 60 percent. The study suggests that Korean pine nuts may work as an appetite-suppressant through an increasing effect on satiety hormones and a reduced prospective food intake.

Pasman WJ, Heimerikx J, Rubingh CM, van den Berg R, O’Shea M, Gambelli L, Hendriks HF, Einerhand AW, Scott C, Keizer HG, Mennen LI. The effect of Korean pine nut oil on in vitro CCK release, on appetite sensations and on gut hormones in postmenopausal overweight women. Lipids Health Dis, 2008 Mar 20;7:10. The obesity epidemic is growing. Not only are adults fatter than ever before, but our children are plagued with health problems. To report that diets and exercise, orlistat, sibutramine, and bariatric surgery are the only reliable methods to lose weight is clearly wrong. Diet and exercise has resulted in minimal success for stopping the obesity epidemic. Adding certain supplements can work synergistically to enhance weight loss.

A study recently published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism reported that the only two FDA-approved drugs for weight loss (sibutramine and orlistat) have mild weight-loss effects, and the drugs have limited use for treating the chronic disease of obesity. The FDA drugs are not without side effects. The report stated that sibutramine is associated with increased blood pressure, whereas orlistat is associated with gastrointestinal problems and small deficiencies in fat-soluble vitamins.

Weight-loss products such as whey protein, CLA and pine nut extract are extremely safe and beneficial to our health and wellness. The products also contain potent antioxidants, which are nutrients in our food that can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body. Health problems such as heart disease, macular degeneration, diabetes and cancer are expedited by oxidative damage. Antioxidants also enhance our immune system and lower the risk of infection. Why put an unnatural pharmacological agent into your body when peer-reviewed studies have validated certain products to work?

Before purchasing a supplement, spend some time researching the product and then decide which products fit your needs.

Ultimate in nutrition

Stacking anabolic agents such as testosterone and GH has long been known to increase strength and muscle mass, compared to using each compound separately. For example, GH works synergistically with other anabolic hormones, such as IGF-1 and testosterone. Research with various muscle-wasting disorders has shown that a combination of GH and testosterone, or GH plus IGF-1, works better than if each is used separately.1, 2, 3 Here are a few studies demonstrating the synergistic effects of stacking anabolic agents as opposed to using each separately:

• Researchers compared the effect of GH alone or GH plus testosterone treatment. While GH increased IGF-1 levels, co-administration of GH and testosterone induced an even greater rise in IGF-1 levels.4

• Researchers examined the effect of GH alone, or GH plus testosterone, on protein synthesis. GH

increased protein synthesis by itself, but a combination of GH and testosterone had an even greater effect on increasing protein synthesis.

• When the effect of GH– or a combination of GH and testosterone–on lean muscle mass and fat mass was compared, a combination of GH and testosterone resulted in superior increases in lean muscle mass and reduced fat mass, compared to GH or testosterone alone. The effect of GH and testosterone on lean body mass appeared additive, suggesting that both GH and testosterone are synergistic, yet increase muscle hypertrophy through different mechanisms.

It’s obvious that stacking anabolic agents can produce synergistic effects in muscle anabolism. Could stacking supplements do similar things for you? It will produce some pretty amazing things.

The Ultimate Mass Stack: CLA, Creatine and Whey Protein

Researchers from Canada examined the effect of supplement stacking on size and strength in healthy young participants. Subjects were assigned to one of three groups:

1. Creatine, CLA, Whey Protein (six grams per day of CLA, nine grams per day of creatine, 36 grams per day of whey protein). The CLA was composed of approximately 36 percent each of the cis-9, trans-11, and trans-10, cis-12 isoforms, of which the trans-10, cis-12 isoform is considered the most biologically active for affecting body composition.

2. Creatine and Protein (nine grams per day of creatine, 36 grams per day of whey protein, six grams per day of placebo sunflower oil).

3. Protein only (45 grams per day of whey protein, 6 grams per day of placebo).

All participants followed the same high-volume, heavy-load, periodized, free-weight strength-training program for five weeks. At the end of five weeks, the most important results of this study

were that bench-press and leg-press strength and lean-tissue mass increased more in the group consuming all three supplements (CLA, creatine and protein) than in the other groups combined (i.e., consuming creatine and protein or only protein).

So how is CLA enhancing the anabolic actions of creatine and protein? One mechanism whereby CLA might favorably influence skeletal muscle is a downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor, a known catabolic signaling agent, decreases with CLA supplementation.

Higher concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha can signal apoptosis and result in loss of skeletal muscle. Other studies have found that CLA has strong anti-catabolic actions and reduces muscle tissue breakdown.

In summary, these results indicate that in welltrained young adults who do high-volume strength training, the addition of CLA to creatine and protein results in enhanced strength and lean tissue mass. Creatine combined with protein was more effective than protein alone for increasing lean tissue mass.

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