Supplement Performance - 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 performanceenhancing

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 muscle 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 recovery?

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.