Articles

The subject of protein consumption, especially from animal sources, always stirs up public controversy and heated scientific debate. Athletes think about muscle and performance. Vegetarians are often concerned about kidney and liver damage, cancer risk and osteoporosis.

Whey protein isolate (WPI) was first introduced into the North American health food marketplace in the late 1980s, and then became really popular in the early 1990s. Although athletes popularized it, whey protein was first isolated and used for medicinal purposes in Germany, France, Switzerland and England, where research scientists discovered its remarkable healing and restorative properties.

Although it's assumed by countless individuals that they get "everything" they need from food alone without supplements, no study has ever confirmed this notion, at least with respect to standards needed to achieve optimum health and prevent the premature degeneration of the mind and body, or prevent the disability we all can see in the geriatric population.

Don’t be intimidated by the technical terminology. HMB (beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate) is a water-soluble metabolite produced in everyone’s body from the essential amino acid leucine. Leucine is a branched-chain amino acid, possessing undeniable value in the context of muscle function and athletic performance.

In 1830 a Dutch chemist named Mulder published the first studies on nitrogen-containing compounds derived from egg white, silk, blood and gelatin. He named these substances "protein" and wrote "It is without doubt the most important component of living matter and without it, life would not be possible."

Chances are you’ve already heard something about creatine. Perhaps you’ve seen it displayed on a vitamin shelf, advertised in a magazine or featured on a TV show like 20/20. But what exactly is creatine and where does it come from? Is it safe?

Before I comment on androstenedione and its controversy in sport and bodybuilding, let’s start first with how to pronounce it. Stedman’s Medical Dictionary (26th Edition) lists it as follows: an-dro-stene-di-one (an-dro-steen-die-own) an androgenic steroid of weaker biological potency than testosterone; secreted by the testis, ovary and adrenal cortex.

Health-related physical fitness consists of optimizing muscle strength, muscle endurance, joint flexibility, aerobic capacity and body composition. These five components can be measured and compared to standards that not only reflect ideal form and function. The outcome of a complete fitness assessment can also determine risk of morbidity and mortality.

"Positive health requires a knowledge of man's primary constitution and of the powers of various foods, both those natural and those resulting from human skill. But eating alone is not enough for health. There must be exercise of which the effects must likewise be known. If there is any deficiency in food or excercise, the body will fall sick." ~ Hippocrates - 5th Century BC