Showing posts with label first. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2016
Will Even Normal Testosterone Levels Increase Your Cancer Risk Recent Study Makes it Sound Like it At First Sight!
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| Dont fall for someone who overgeneralizes, misreports or -interprets study results to tell you that healthy mid-range testosterone levels were a major trigger of cancer development. |
You have no clue what I am talking about? Well, I am about to elaborate. You just have to stay with me for the rest of a comparatively long, but insightful (I promise) analysis of the study and related contemporary evidence.
If its not testosterone its usually meat thats blamed to increase your cancer risk.
Meat-Love: You May Eat Pork, too!
You Eat What You Feed!
Meat & Prostate Cancer?
Meat - Is cooking the problem
Meat Packaging = Problem?
Grass-Fed Pork? Is it Worth it?
Well, as I said, this is the mainstream interpretation. And interpretation anyone could identify as being fundamentally flawed by simply reading the abstract carefully. In fact, you dont even have to read the whole 268 words! It would suffice to read the end of the first line of the result section, where it says:
"For risk of early death after cancer, for men [...]" (Ørsted. 2014)Did you notice it? There is an "after cancer" in this sentence. This means, your risk of dying, if you develop cancer is increased, if [whatever follows]. Now, that which follows is ...
- if you are in the 2nd quartile, your risk will be increased by 30%,
- if you are in the 3rd quartile, your risk will be increased by 31%,
- if you are in the 4th quartile, your risk will be increased by 52% and
- if you are in the 5th quartile, your risk will be increased by 80%.
So testosterone is still bad, right? Yes, but anything that is "anabolic", i.e. promotes the growth of all cells in your body is "bad" for someone who has cancer. Guess what chemotherapy will to do your testosterone levels and the amount of other pro-anabolic factors in your body? It will wreak havoc on your testes (Wallace. 1997), reduce their size to that of dried raisins, increase your risk of gynecomastia and reduce your testosterone levels to exactly those 6-10 nmol/L (Whitehead. 1982) of which the previously cited study by Ørsted et al. found that they are associated with the least risk of dying from already existing cancer in your body.
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| Figure 1: If you look at a random assemble of the myriad of risk associations that have been established for low T, the results of the study at hand do no longer appear to be that frightening - right? |
But there is also an increase in cancer risk, no?
Yes, there is. According to the scientists it is (I quote) "1.07 (95% CI 0.98–1.18) and 1.06 (0.93–1.22) for men and women" if you compare say a man with 10nmol/L to a man with 20nmol/L. Now, as far as I can remember a 95% confidence interval, which is what you see in brackets, i.e. for men 0.98-1.18, defines the range in which the chance that the hypothesis that is tested, i.e. "testosterone influences the risk of prostate cancer" has a 5% chance of not being bullocks... ah, I mean statistical significant.
You really got to look closely: A statistically significant association between an increase in cancer risk for men was found only for oral cancer. Not for lung, prostate, colon, bladder, pancreas, stomach, blood (Leukemia), skin, oesophagus, kidney, larynx or liver. And while the increase in cancer risk for the highest vs. lowest quintile for oral cancer was high (60%), knowing that the same limitations, i.e. no adjustment for family history of cancer (which increases the risk by 160% | Garavello. 2008), diabetes (which is more than 2x more common in patients with diabetes | Ujpál. 2004), etc. (see list below), apply all results of this study, helps to put the "shocking" results into perspective and to read any upcoming media hype with the necessary calmness.
So, the scientists are 95% sure that a 2x higher testosterone level will be associated with a 2% decrease and 18% increase in... does this ring a bell? Yeah, thats not exactly a reliable prediction considering the fact that the researchers adjusted for smoking status, cumulative smoking, body mass index, alcohol consumption, level of education, and level of income for men and women, but "forgot" to adjust for...- family history of cancer, which is one of the, if not the main correlate of your risk of developing various cancer, such as prostate cancer (1000% increase, no typo | Steinberg. 1990), colon cancer (up to 59% risk increase depending on the region | Slattery. 1994) or breast cancer (145% risk increase with first-degree relative having breast cancer | Slattery. 1993)
- diabetes, which has been found to be associated with a 60% increase in colorectal cancer risk in patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes 10+ years ago (La Vecchia. 1997), a
- the level of visceral fat, where high levels (relative to total body fat) are associated with 850% increased risk of breast cancer (Schapira. 1994) and up to 1000% increased prostate cancer risk (Hafe. 2004)
- low sleep duration and quality, which has been associated with an increased risk of developing almost every form of cancer you can think of (Blask. 2009), including 60% increased breast cancer risk for women working the "graveyard shift" (Davis. 2001)
A general word on the androgen hypothesis of cancer: "Data from all published prospective studies on circulating level of total and free testosterone do not support the hypothesis that high levels of circulating androgens are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer," says a 2006 review by Jean-Pierre Raynaud and goes on "[... a] study on a large prospective cohort of 10,049 men, contributes to the gathering evidence that the long standing “androgen hypothesis” of increasing risk with increasing androgen levels can be rejected, suggesting instead that high levels within the reference range of androgens, estrogens and adrenal androgens decrease aggressive prostate cancer risk. Indeed, high-grade prostate cancer has been associated with low plasma level of testosterone." (Raynaud. 2006) Or, as Morgentaler put it: "there is not now—nor has there ever been—a scientific basis for the belief that T causes pCA to grow" (Morgentaler. 2006)
Bottom line: Never freak out about the results of a single study. Specifically, if you have only read about it in "second" or "third hand" information sources like science magazines, blogs or the mainstream media. Testosterone is a welcome scapegoat, because it distracts us so nicely from the real culprits: Genetic disposition, and most importantly diabetes, being fat (not just overweight) and leading an overal pro-carcinogenic lifestyle as 90% of the inhabitants of the Western Obesity Belt (USA, Europe & Co) do. I mean, if we accepted that the latter were to blame (i.e. everything except genetics), this would mean that each of us would have to do something against it and "doing something" is is not exactly popular. Specifically, if "it" includes working out, eating healthy, practicing sleep hygiene and all those nasty thinks that are totally against our drive to make everything as "convenient" as possible.
Ah, and did I actually mention that I have repeatedly written about studies that show that normal and even high normal testosterone levels are not associated with an increased cancer risk - not even for the prostate (Stattin. 2004; Morgentaler. 2006; Roddam. 2008)? No? Well, now you know it, anyway ;-) | Comment on Facebook!
Ah, and did I actually mention that I have repeatedly written about studies that show that normal and even high normal testosterone levels are not associated with an increased cancer risk - not even for the prostate (Stattin. 2004; Morgentaler. 2006; Roddam. 2008)? No? Well, now you know it, anyway ;-) | Comment on Facebook!
- Araujo, Andre B., et al. "Endogenous testosterone and mortality in men: a systematic review and meta-analysis." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 96.10 (2011): 3007-3019.
- Blask, David E. "Melatonin, sleep disturbance and cancer risk." Sleep medicine reviews 13.4 (2009): 257-264.
- Davis, Scott, Dana K. Mirick, and Richard G. Stevens. "Night shift work, light at night, and risk of breast cancer." Journal of the national cancer institute 93.20 (2001): 1557-1562.
- Garavello, Werner, et al. "Family history and the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer." International journal of cancer 122.8 (2008): 1827-1831.
- Hafe, Pedro, et al. "Visceral fat accumulation as a risk factor for prostate cancer." Obesity research 12.12 (2004): 1930-1935.
- La Vecchia, Carlo, et al. "Diabetes mellitus and colorectal cancer risk." Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 6.12 (1997): 1007-1010.
- Morgentaler, Abraham. "Testosterone and prostate cancer: an historical perspective on a modern myth." european urology 50.5 (2006): 935-939.
- Raynaud, Jean-Pierre. "Prostate cancer risk in testosterone-treated men." The Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology 102.1 (2006): 261-266.
- Roddam, Andrew W., et al. "Endogenous sex hormones and prostate cancer: a collaborative analysis of 18 prospective studies." Journal of the National Cancer Institute 100.3 (2008): 170-183.
- Slattery, Martha L., and Richard A. Kerber. "A comprehensive evaluation of family history and breast cancer risk: the Utah Population Database." Jama 270.13 (1993): 1563-1568.
- Slattery, Martha L., and Richard A. Kerber. "Family history of cancer and colon cancer risk: the Utah Population Database." Journal of the National Cancer Institute 86.21 (1994): 1618-1626.
- Schapira, David V., et al. "Visceral obesity and breast cancer risk." Cancer 74.2 (1994): 632-639.
- Shores, Molly M., et al. "Low serum testosterone and mortality in male veterans." Archives of internal medicine 166.15 (2006): 1660-1665.
- Stattin, Pär, et al. "High levels of circulating testosterone are not associated with increased prostate cancer risk: a pooled prospective study." International journal of cancer 108.3 (2004): 418-424.
- Steinberg, G. D., Carter, B. S., Beaty, T. H., Childs, B. and Walsh, P. C. (1990), Family history and the risk of prostate cancer. Prostate, 17: 337–347. doi: 10.1002/pros.2990170409
- Tsai, Henry K., et al. "Androgen deprivation therapy for localized prostate cancer and the risk of cardiovascular mortality." Journal of the National Cancer Institute 99.20 (2007): 1516-1524.
- Ujpál, Márta, et al. "Diabetes and Oral Tumors in Hungary Epidemiological correlations." Diabetes care 27.3 (2004): 770-774.
- Wallace, Euan M., et al. "Effects of chemotherapy-induced testicular damage on inhibin, gonadotropin, and testosterone secretion: a prospective longitudinal study." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 82.9 (1997): 3111-3115.
- Whitehead, E., et al. "The effects of Hodgkins disease and combination chemotherapy on gonadal function in the adult male." Cancer 49.3 (1982): 418-422.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Performance Enhancing Gut Microbes First Study to Show Having The Right Gut Bugs Doubles Exercise Endurance
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| Yogurt & Co are good for athletes. But is this due to the bacteria? |
In said study which is still available only as an accepted manuscript, Hsu et al. investigated the association of intestinal bacteria and exercise performance in specific pathogen-free (SPF), germ-free (GF), and Bacteroides fragilis (BF) gnotobiotic mice (animals in which only certain known strains of bacteria and other microorganisms are present).
You can learn more about the gut & your health at the SuppVersity
Bugs Dictate What You Crave
Sweeteners & Your Gut
Foods, Not Ma- cros for the Gut
Lactulose For Gut & Health
Probiotics Dont Cut Body Fat
The Macrobiotic MaPi2.0 Diet
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| Figure 1: Time to exhaustion during exercise test and body composition of the miceaccording to the make-up of their gut microbiome; data expressed relative to group means (Hsu. 2014) |
Do we have human data, as well? No, we dont have human data thats comparable to the one presented in the study at hand, but we do have evidence of beneficial (ergogenic) effects of probiotics and prebiotics in human "athletes". Examples? Well, the oral administration of the probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum VRI-003 and mucosal immunity in endurance athletes (Cox. 2010). Improved oxidative status in athletes during intense exercise training (Martarelli. 2011). Reduced risk of infection (Gleeson. 2011; West. 2011). And if thats not enough, what about keeping on top of your game by preventing and managing travellers’ diarrhoea (Tillett. 2006)!
As any SuppVersity veteran would expect, the germ-free mice were leaner than the rest of the pack. At the same time, the "sterile" mice did yet also have a lower liver, muscle, brown adipose, and epididymal fat pad weight than the SPF and BF mice. |
| Figure 2: Selected markers of antioxidant status in serum and liver; expr. rel. to group means (Hsu. 2014) |
Pre- instead of probiotics: Personally, I believe that prebiotics, i.e. substances that promote the growth of the "right" bacteria are more promising agents than probiotics ("live" bacteria). Studies have shown that prebiotic at dosages above 2.5 g, which is far higher than that occurring in natural foods, increases the abundance of lactic acid and butyrate-producing bacteria. In that, galacto-oligo- saccharides (GOS) and fructo-oligo- saccharides (FOS), are the prebiotics with the most positive outcomes.
So what are the practical implications, then? As the authors emphasize, "[t]his is the first study to show that the intestinal microflora plays an important role in exercise performance." The way the microbial make-up regulates the antioxidant enzyme defense system is yet not in line with the observed reduction in physical fatigue Hsu et al. observed in the study at hand.As West points out in a 2012 mini-review as part of the BJSM "A–Z of nutritional supplements" series, the "potential benefits of supplementation with prebiotics on athletic performance are most likely indirect: they may be associated with the maintenance of gut health and perhaps a reduced risk of some illnesses which might enhance the athlete’s ability to train and compete." (West in DiMarco. 2012). Altering GI microbiota through the use of prebiotics may yet also favourably influence host metabolism. Athletes who are dieting, for example, will benefit from the reduction in appetite increase in gut peptide concentration in response to thec consumption of 16 g per day of FOS (Cani. 2009).
In view of the fact that the general assumption is that " intensive and sustained exercise training and high-level competition generate large amounts of free radicals that likely exceed the buffering capacity of the biological system, leaving athletes susceptible to oxidative stress", you would expect the Bacteriodes fragilis mice to perform the worst.
On the other hand, the mice harboring Bacteroides fragilis are significantly more muscular than the lightweight germfree mice... well, we could continue this discussion forever, but eventually the one result that may have a practical implication is the increased performance after mono-colonization in the germ-free mice. If nothing else, this result which happens to be the first evidence of performance enhancing effects of having a gut microbiome, would imply that you better recolonize your gut as soon as possible after a course of antibiotics. How the various different microbial status might regulate performance, on the other hand, will have to be elucidated in future studies - human (!) studies, that is | Comment on Facebook!
- Bäckhed, Fredrik, et al. "Mechanisms underlying the resistance to diet-induced obesity in germ-free mice." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104.3 (2007): 979-984.
- Cani, Patrice D., et al. "Gut microbiota fermentation of prebiotics increases satietogenic and incretin gut peptide production with consequences for appetite sensation and glucose response after a meal." The American journal of clinical nutrition 90.5 (2009): 1236-1243.
- Cox, Amanda J., et al. "Oral administration of the probiotic Lactobacillus fermentum VRI-003 and mucosal immunity in endurance athletes." British Journal of Sports Medicine 44.4 (2010): 222-226.
- DiMarco, N. M., et al. "A–Z of nutritional supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and ergogenic aids for health and performance—Part 30." British journal of sports medicine 46.4 (2012): 299-300.
- Gleeson, Michael, et al. "Daily probiotics (Lactobacillus casei Shirota) reduction of infection incidence in athletes." (2011).
- Hsu et al. "Effect of Intestinal Microbiota on Exercise Performance in Mice." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000644 | Publish Ahead of Print.
- Martarelli, Daniele, et al. "Effect of a probiotic intake on oxidant and antioxidant parameters in plasma of athletes during intense exercise training." Current microbiology 62.6 (2011): 1689-1696.
- West, Nicholas P., et al. "Lactobacillus fermentum (PCC®) supplementation and gastrointestinal and respiratory-tract illness symptoms: a randomised control trial in athletes." Nutrition journal 10.1 (2011): 30.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Bloggers! Never Think of Earning at First
Blogging is being a popular source of earning. Bloggers who started their blogging career more than 5 or 6 years ago, are now in very good position. In that time competition was not so hard. As a result, the old sites are now very popular. And the overall ranking of those sites are very well.
But the time and trend have been changed a lot. There could be millions of new sites at present. And every day, many new bloggers are opening sites in Blogger or WordPress. And its really funny that, most of them think of earning before writing a single post! In reality, earning is not that easy. :(
If you wanna earn through blogging, you have to be patient, creative and excellent in writing. You have to differentiate your contents from those of competitors. You have to create superior value. Your contents should be attractive and helpful for the readers.
Never Think of Earning at the Beginning!
Ive been started blogging just at the end of 2011. And now my position is not bad at all. Ive been familiar to the new bloggers. Even some of them copy contents from Marks PC Solution.
Many of them chat with me. They ask for blogging tips. Usually they ask a silly question -
How can I earn through blogging?
Or, How to make money from blog?
Or, Can I earn from my blog?
Another common question is -
How can I increase my blog visitor?
And my answer is always same -
- First you have to write unique and useful contents for the visitors
- Then try to grow and retain the visitors
- Finally you will get a lot of opportunities to earn money
Whats Wrong with the Intention to Earn Money at First?
Thats a good question. And Ive logical answer to this question -
- If you think of earning before writing contents, your creativity will die which is essential in blogging.
- If you wanna earn just from the beginning, most probably you will fail. And thus you will be disappointed which may lead to the termination of your blogging career.
- Consider blogging as pastime. Love and enjoy it. Never take it as your primary job. Whenever you think blogging as your work, it will make you bore.
Then how do you Start?
Now come to the point. After opening a new site, you have to start as below -
- Visit popular blogs and websites
- Read the posts and try to follow their styles
- Try to find a way to differentiate your style from those of others
- Then start writing, spend time on your site
Remember, if you wanna earn from blogging, the first thing you have to do -
Forget about earning - simply write posts just for the target visitors
You shouldnt even think about earning methods. Wait at least 01 year before you go for the earning. If you try to make money, you will be disappointed within few months.
What Google Says -
Google has some advices for the bloggers. You should follow these -
- Write for the visitors, not for the search engines
- Create unique and useful contents for the users
- Write easy-to-read text
- Avoid copying contents from others
- Create backlinks in proper way
- Write as much text as possible (but no unnecessary discussion)
This is a very short list. But I think, if you follow these tips, you should be fine. Additionally you can also follow these writing guidelines . . .
Stay with Marks PC Solution to get more interesting IT topics!
Monday, February 29, 2016
First Human Study to Confirm That Repleting Low Vitamin C Levels W 1g Vitamin C Boosts Aerobic Performance
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| The study at hand used plain ascorbic acid, no quack supplements with "advanced vitamin C". |
Learn more about hormesis and potential neg. effects of antioxidants at the SuppVersity
Is Vitamin E Good for the Sedentary Slob, Only?
NAC Impairs Anabolic Effects of Exercise
Vitamin C + E Hamper Gains in the Elderly
C+E Useless or Detrimental for Healthy People
Vitamin C and Glucose Management?
Antiox. & Health Benefits Dont Correlate
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| Figure 1: Overview of the study design (Paschalis. 2014) |
An overview of the study design is shown in Fig. 1. All measurements were performed between 08:00 and 11:00 h after overnight fasting. Initially, to examine whether rest ing blood vitamin C concentration affects aerobic perfor mance, VO2max was assessed (using incremental cycling test to volitional exhaustion) and was compared in both the low and the high vitamin C groups (Monark, Vansbro, Swe den). More specifially, the protocol started with a 50 W load at 50 rpm and increased by 10 W every 2 min until volitional fatigue. The test was terminated when three of the following four criteria VO2max were met: (1) volitional fatigue, (2) a lower than 2 mL/kg/min increase in VO2 despite an increase in workload, (3) a respiratory exchange ratio greater than or equal to 1.10, and (4) heart rate within 10 bpm of the predicted maximal heart rate (220–age). Res piratory gas variables were measured using a metabolic cart (Quark b2, Cosmed, Italy), which was calibrated before each test using standard gases of known concentration. The VO 2max assessment was used as a reference value to cal culate the workload at the relative intensity of each subject and ensured that all subjects would cycle at similar relative intensity during the following aerobic exercise sessions.After the baseline testing had been done, the subjects within both the low and the high vitamin C groups received either placebo (3x333mg of lactose) or vitamin C supplementation (3x333mg of vitamin C), in a double-blind randomized crossover fashion (see Figure 1).
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| Figure 2: Changes in VO2max (left) and redox status (right) in subjects according to initial vitamin C status before and after vitamin C supplementation for 30 days (Paschalis. 2014). |
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| Illustration of the relationship between radicals and antioxidants in the determination of redox balance. An increase in radicals or antioxidants results in a disturbance in redox balance (Powers. 2004). |
Moreover, exogenous antioxidants obtained in the diet cooperate with endogenous antioxidants to form a supportive network of cellular protection against radical-mediated oxidative stress. In regard to exogenous antioxidants, a varied diet of fruits and vegetables is a sensible means of obtaining a balance of exogenous antioxidants. In contrast, because of the risk of negative consequences, consuming megadoses of antioxidants via supplements is not recommended" (Powers. 2014 | my emphases).
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| Figure 3: Effects of 500mg vitamin C per day on selected parameters in a 4 week chronic exercise + diet supplementation in obese men and women (Huck. 2013) |
This results of stands in contrast to the study at hand, but in line with previous results of studies in athletes, where only more or less irrelevant reductions of the acute inflammatory response to exercise were observed (Nieman. 2000; Peters. 2001; Tauler. 2002). A response of which you as a SuppVersity reader know that it is an essential part of the signalling cascade that triggers the adaptational response to. If we eventually get back to the Paschalis study, it would thus appear that athletes who are usually consuming more than enough vitamin C in their diets and are not at particular risk of developing low serum vitamin C levels would see similar results as the "high vitamin C" subjects in the Paschalis study, i.e. none - even worse, in view of the potential negative effects on the training induced adaptations that could not become visible in the study at hand, because there was no exercise protocol involved, it could even harm their progress.
Bottom line: Just like the researchers had expected, they found higher resting levels of oxidative stress and decreased exercise performance in the individuals with low baseline values of vitamin C compared to those with high vitamin C values.
Since the provision of 1g of vitamin C oxidative stress, it is thus not surprising that there was a concomitant increase in exercise performance. What is "surprising", though, is that the latter was "marginally" and clearly "non-signifiant." Furthermore, it was observed only in those individuals with a poor initial vitamin C status. In that, it is a novel finding that you do not need to suffer from hypovitaminosis C (<23µmol/L) or vitamin C deficiency to be derive acute benefit from vitamin C supplementation as regards to redox status and physical performance. Previous studies which combined the provision if vitamin C with chronic exercise training, however, indicate that the ingestion of anti-oxidants can blunt the intra-cellular adaptive responses to exercise (Paulsen. 2014) - an effect that obviously couldnt be confirmed or negated in the study at hand, because it lacks a chronic exercise component | Comment on Facebook!
References: |
| Figure 3: Rel. changes in PGC-1? in cytosolfractions in the vitamin C and E group and the placebo group of a randomized controlled antioxidant + exercise study by Paulsen et al. (2014) - find out what boosts PGC-1? | here. |
- Close, G. L., and M. J. Jackson. "Antioxidants and exercise: a tale of the complexities of relating signalling processes to physiological function?." The Journal of physiology 592.8 (2014): 1721-1722.
- Huck, Corey J., et al. "Vitamin C status and perception of effort during exercise in obese adults adhering to a calorie-reduced diet." Nutrition 29.1 (2013): 42-45.
- Nieman, David C., et al. "Influence of vitamin C supplementation on cytokine changes following an ultramarathon." Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research 20.11 (2000): 1029-1035.
- Paschilis, V. et al. "Low vitamin C values are linked with decreased physical performance and increased oxidative stress: reversal by vitamin C supplementation." Eur J Nutr (2014). Ahead of print.
- Paulsen, Gøran, et al. "Vitamin C and E supplementation hampers cellular adaptation to endurance training in humans: a double?blind, randomised, controlled trial." The Journal of physiology 592.8 (2014): 1887-1901.
- Peters, E. M., et al. "Vitamin C supplementation attenuates the increases in circulating cortisol, adrenaline and anti-inflammatory polypeptides following ultramarathon running." International journal of sports medicine 22.7 (2001): 537-543.
- Picklo, Matthew. "Supplementation with vitamin E and vitamin C inversely alters mitochondrial copy number and mitochondrial protein in obese, exercising rats (1030.5)." The FASEB Journal 28.1 Supplement (2014): 1030-5.
- Powers, Scott K., et al. "Dietary antioxidants and exercise." Journal of sports sciences 22.1 (2004): 81-94.
- Powers, Scott K., And Kurt J. Sollanek. "Endurance Exercise And Antioxidant Supplementation: Sense Or Nonsense?-Part." Sports Science 27.137 (2014): 1-4.
- Tauler, P., et al. "Diet supplementation with vitamin E, vitamin C and ?-carotene cocktail enhances basal neutrophil antioxidant enzymes in athletes." Pflügers Archiv 443.5-6 (2002): 791-797.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Protease Supplementation First Evidence That 1 000mg Bromelain Have Ergogenic Effects in Athletes Decreased Fatigue Maintenance of Testosterone During Competition
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| You wont see the same effects with pineapple/juice (Aiyegbusi. 2011). |
Proteases have evolved multiple times, and different classes of protease can perform the same reaction by completely different catalytic mechanisms. Proteases can be found in animals, plants, bacteria, archaea and viruses. And proteases can be found on among the favorite supplements of naturopath.
Before you resorts to supplements, make sure your workout routine is not messing you up!
Never Train Just "To Burn Calories", Folks!
"Cardio" ? Overtraining & Muscle Loss?
Is There Such a Thing as "Overtraining"?
2 Alternative Methods to Test for Overtraining
Heart Rate Variability to Test for Overtraining
Overtraining & Self-Inflicted Hypothyroidism
The former is what Shing et al. conclude based on the results of a study that involved fifteen highly trained cyclists [age: 22, years, height: 1.79, body mass: 68.69]. In the corresponding randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
- 8 of the cyclist 1000mg of bromelain per day, while
- 7 of the cyclists got a visually identical placebo supplement
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| Figure 1: Changes in CK and testosterone during the 6 days of competitive cycling (Shing. 2015). |
In conjunction with the perceived feeling of fatigue with was lower in the bromelain group on day four of racing (P = 0.01), the results of the study at hand to this in fact suggest that the consumption of 1,000mg of bromelain can have beneficial effects on some, albeit not directly performance relevant parameters in trained athletes.
What else do we know about bromelain? 40% of orally consumed bromelain are absorbed. Bromelain has been associated with decreased CVD risk. Bromelain reduces inflammation in chronic disease. Bromelain has analgesic effects. Bromelain prevents blood clotting. In the petri dish bromelain has anti-cancer effects. Bromelain is non-toxic - according to rodent studies even dosages of 20g should be safe in humans (Pavan. 2012).
Bottom line: The study at hand is intriguing. The results are promising. On its own, it is yet - in my humble opinion - not enough to run to the next GLC and buy a ton of bromelain.
If future studies confirm the results of the study at hand, provide insights into the underlying mechanisms and prove that more performance relevant markers such as the average power production or time trial performance of endurance athletes and/or the strength and size gains of strength athletes increases well, this would be a good reason to oder a bag of bromelain | Comment on Facebook!
If future studies confirm the results of the study at hand, provide insights into the underlying mechanisms and prove that more performance relevant markers such as the average power production or time trial performance of endurance athletes and/or the strength and size gains of strength athletes increases well, this would be a good reason to oder a bag of bromelain | Comment on Facebook!
- Aiyegbusi, Ayoola I., et al. "A comparative study of the effects of bromelain and fresh pineapple juice on the early phase of healing in acute crush achilles tendon injury." Journal of medicinal food 14.4 (2011): 348-352.
- Pavan, Rajendra, Sapna Jain, and Ajay Kumar. "Properties and therapeutic application of bromelain: a review." Biotechnology research international 2012 (2012).
- Shing, Cecilia M., et al. "Acute protease supplementation effects on muscle damage and recovery across consecutive days of cycle racing." European journal of sport science ahead-of-print (2015): 1-7.
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