Can Soy Protein Shakes Make A Difference?

Posted by Mr Supplement on April 17th, 2007

Soy protein shakes have become increasingly popular in recent years among people who want to heighten their physical fitness levels, increase their stamina or improve their overall health. They are often recommended by dieticians for people who are trying to lose weight because soy is naturally low in calories. It can also help decrease the amount of fat that your body stores. Soy protein helps control insulin levels which can help reduce the sugar cravings that make it difficult to stay on a weight loss plan.  Most people who are lactose intolerant find that soy milk is easy to digest.

Body builders and athletes who want stronger muscles and who want to increase their muscle mass often make soy protein shakes a part of their fitness regimen. People who are just beginning a physical fitness regimen find that soy boosts energy levels and that makes it easier to become motivated to exercise.

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What Can A Whey Protein Shake Do For You?

Posted by Mr Supplement on April 16th, 2007

Whey protein shakes provide unique benefits for bodybuilders, athletes and anybody else who is interested in losing fat and increasing muscle mass. Many bodybuilders prefer whey shakes over any other variety of protein supplement. People involved in intense training need significant amounts of protein in their diets because the body has to have a constant flow of protein in order to build muscle mass.

According to the Whey Protein Institute, whey is a pure and natural form of protein that comes from cow’s milk that is used during the cheese making process. Whey is considered safe for use by people of all ages. Although whey has been used for hundreds of years, it has gained popularity in the last 20 years as more and more bodybuilder and athletes have made it their “protein of choice.”  It also can provide substantial benefits to people who aren’t bodybuilders.

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What Is Creatine Ethyl Ester?

Posted by Mr Supplement on April 15th, 2007

Creatine ethyl ester is a substance that aids athletic performance and muscle development. It is a modified version of creatine monohydrate with an ester attached. The ester allows this creatine compound to “kick it up a notch.”

Regular creatine monohydrate has substantial benefits but it is not absorbed well in our bodies. The ester allows the compound to be more easily absorbed. Some athletic trainers and body builders believe that creatine ethyl ester does a superior job in increasing muscle strength, muscle mass and the overall performance of bodybuilders and athletes.

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What Are The Benefits Of Protein Shakes?

Posted by Mr Supplement on April 4th, 2007

Protein is the most important nutrient for bodybuilders and athletes, but it is difficult to get the large amounts of needed protein through diet alone. That’s why many bodybuilders drink protein shakes a few times a day.

Most personal trainers recommend eating five small meals a day to boost metabolism and energy levels. However, this is an unrealistic expectation in today’s world where most people have hectic lifestyles. Protein shakes provide an easy and convenient way to get the protein you need quickly and efficiently.

Both whey and soy shakes have gained popularity in recent years. Many bodybuilders prefer whey because it has intensive muscle building abilities. Whey protein is derived from cow’s milk during the cheese making process. Concentrated whey protein has very little fat, lactose or cholesterol. Nearly all bodybuilders drink a protein shake after they work out because muscle damage can occur during training. Extra protein helps to repair the injured tissue.

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What Is Creatine Monohydrate?

Posted by Mr Supplement on April 3rd, 2007

More and more athletes and bodybuilders are turning to creatine monohydrate to build muscles and boost performance. In fact, many personal trainers and weight lifters refer to creatine monohydrate as “the ultimate body building supplement.”

The reason it is getting so much attention is because creatine helps build muscle mass, usually in about two weeks. This comes as welcome news to bodybuilders who need a quicker way to bulk up before a competition.  Creatine monohydrate boosts performance and improves energy levels.

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Whey UP energy-protein drink

Posted by Mr Supplement on April 2nd, 2007

whey up energy protein drinkA new supplement drink has just come onto the market last week called Whey UP. This is not just a whey protein drink but also an energy drink!

The supplement is the invention of Erik Rothchild who runs an internet advertising company called webworks. Eric used to wake up for his early morning  workouts at 5 am and create his own shake which consisted of a sugar free energy drink along with whey protein and fruit. Erik realised he couldn’t get this specific product type in any store so decided to develop the product himself.

A 16 oz can of Whey UP contains around 90 calories, containing 22g of protein and 150mg of caffeine. Other ingredients are the kind of things you will find in most energy drinks like red bull i.e. taurine and B vitamins. The drink also contains artificial sweeteners.

Hi-health a nutrition store based in Arizona with 53 stores has the exclusive sales rights for the first 60 days of the product, due for release on the market March/April 2007.

It will be interesting to see how they Whey UP supplement takes off. I think it could do well as both markets are massive and the fusion of the two areas makes perfect sense. I also can’t wait to get my hands on one to give it a try.

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Homemade Protein Shakes

Posted by Mr Supplement on April 1st, 2007

Homemade protein shakeBecause protein powders have an unpleasant taste, many people prefer to use the powders to make homemade shakes. If you are taking protein shakes three times a day (as many people do) you will quickly become bored if you don’t experiment with a variety of flavor combinations. And if you don’t stay on your program, you will not get the desired results from your muscle building regimen.

The variety of protein shakes that you can make is as vast as your imagination. It is important to choose your ingredients carefully because you don’t want to add extra fats and calories. It is best to use only natural ingredients. For instance, if you use peanut butter to make a shake you should use natural peanut butter instead of the processed kind. Natural peanut butter has high protein content and also contains natural fats that contribute to a healthy diet plan.

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Is Creatine Loading Necessary?

Posted by Mr Supplement on March 31st, 2007

Creatine loading is an area open to much discussion. If it is necessary or not does not seem to have been proven or decided.

So what actually is creatine loading?

Well it is what some of the creatine manufacturers recommend when you first start using the supplement. You take a higher dose of creatine each day say for the first 5 days and then onto a lower maintenance phase for a few weeks. There are many different variances based on amounts and frequencies. One example would be take a 5g dose of creatine 4 times a day and for the first 5 days then 2-5g for 5 weeks, then no creatine for 1-2 weeks. If you do not load initially a normal intake is 5g daily.

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What does Creatine supplementation actually do?

Posted by Mr Supplement on March 30th, 2007

Creatine is known as an energy replenisher. What it works in replenishing is a molecule called ATP (Adenine Tri Phosphate). The ATP is broken down in our bodies and in doing so releases the energy for our muscles during contraction. What actually happens to the ATP is that it loses a phosphate molecule and then it becomes ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate) with only 2 phosphate molecules. The ADP then is replenished through phosphates from the phosphocreatine molecule (creatine + phosphate) which leaves the bi product creatine to be excreted from our bodies. From the contraction a bi product is the production of lactic acid. This is stored in our muscles and by getting to much of this the muscle contractions stop, you will feel your muscles ‘burning up’ and heavy and have to stop the set. It’s a funny feeling when you just can’t lift anything anymore, even with the lightest weight. I find this is the most notable when doing a bicep workout.

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Creatine to help Parkinson’s Disease?

Posted by Mr Supplement on March 29th, 2007

Just a quick news update on the well know nutritional supplement Creatine. It is to be used in a large study in America by the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to determine if the supplement can help to slow the progression of the degenerative brain disorder - Parkinson’s disease.

There are drugs at present that can reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease but there are none at present that can slow its progression.

The study will take place across 51 medical sites across the US and Canada and will involve 1720 people who have early stage Parkinson’s disease. Half will be receiving a placebo and half creatine and each participant will not know what they are receiving.

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