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sports drinks
performance.
and
the
effect
on
exercise
January.
By Alan Aragon
Weight
loss
with
a
Mediterranean, or low-fat diet.
low-carbohydrate,
Med.
2008
Jul
AlanAragonsResearchReviewAugust,2008[BacktoContents]
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conversely, if you eat less calories than you burn, youll lose
weight. Adjacently, the Law of Conservation of Energy states
that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but may be
transformed from one kind to another. In plain terms, this means
that you cant create more bodyweight out of thin air, there has
to be an increased intake of calories. Conversely, you cant
magically lose bodyweight if a surplus of calories is maintained
via that fridge getting raided constantly. Of course, there are
temporary weight gains and losses that can be due to hydration
flux (and thus occur independently of caloric flux), but in the
long-term, basic laws of physics make themselves known,
regardless of macronutrient composition.
Metabolic advantage? Not beyond the short-term
Most of you are aware that the macronutrients have varying
thermic effect (caloric cost of processing). In single-meal studies
comparing their effects, protein causes the highest diet-induced
thermogenesis (DIT), carbohydrate is in the middle, and fat falls
in last place.1-3 The allure of increasing the proportion of dietary
protein at the expense of carbohydrate is the idea that it will
impart a metabolic advantage via increased thermogenesis. This
theoretically should lead to greater weight loss over time.
However, unlike the mixed results seen in self-reported intake or
free-living conditions, rigorously controlled trials comparing
isocaloric treatments differing in macronutrient composition
unanimously show no long-term difference in bodyweight
reduction (body composition effects can vary, well get to that).
In the most tightly controlled long-term trial to date, Das et al
compared 1 year of hypocaloric high- and low-glycemic load
(GL) dieting.4 No significant differences were seen in
bodyweight or bodyfat determined by DEXA, despite 10% less
protein and 20% less carbs in the low-GL group at either the 6th
or 12th month.
In a more disparate comparison, Noakes et al examined the
effects of 3 diets, one with the following macronutrient
proportions (% carb:fat:protein):5
Very Low Fat = (70:10:20) = 250.8g carb
High Unsaturated Fat = (50:30:20) = 179.1g carb
Very Low Carb = (4:61:35) = 14.3g carb
Despite the broadly varying proportions of macronutrients
(particularly fat and carbohydrate), no significant differences
were seen in total weight loss, or loss of bodyfat percent.
Interestingly, the high unsaturated fat diet showed the best
preservation of lean mass.
Duh, getting enough protein matters
A related question is whether or not consuming a suboptimal
amounts of protein can unfavorably impact the thermodynamic
equation. Duh, yes it can, and a sizable amount of the current
research comparing low- and high-carb diets do not match
protein intake. With that fact aside, research specifically
designed to compare varying high- versus low-protein diets have
yielded the predictable answer: getting enough protein matters.
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References
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more representative of what might apply to real-world, longterm dieting as opposed to crash dieting followed by weight
gain rebound, then repeating the cycle.
Study limitations
Off the bat, total bodyweight is a fair indicator of progress in
obese subjects, but its limitations really show up as people get
leaner, and certainly when people get on an exercise program
(that includes resistance training) and start to trade fat for
muscle. Measuring bodyfat % would have provided provide
some valuable data. granted an accurate method such as ADP,
DEXA, or hydrodensitiometry was used. Another limitation, as
mentioned by the authors themselves, was the measurement of
HOMA-IR is not an optimal method to assess insulin resistance
among persons with diabetes.
Comment/application
Certain outcomes of this trial were predictable, such as the
greater improvement in fasting insulin and glucose in the
Mediterranean group compared to the low-fat group, and the
greater improvement in total cholesterol to HDL-C ratio in the
Atkins group compared to the low-fat group. However, certain
outcomes were less predictable, like the greater weight loss with
the Atkins and Mediterranean diets compared to the low-fat diet.
I say this because two previous long-term trials comparing highand low-carb intakes showed the superiority of low-carb at the
6th month, but no significant differences in weight loss at the 12th
month.1,2 Other than the length of those previous trials versus the
present one thats twice as long, theres no immediately apparent
explanation for the differing outcomes. One could point to the
more extensive measures of dietary control, higher subject
retention, and better adherence in the present study giving it the
advantage. On the flip side, one could also point to a potential
commercial bias of the present study, since it was funded in part
by the Atkins Research Foundation. The other two trials did not
have any such intimate commercial affiliation.
Another aspect about this trial worth pondering is what the
outcomes might have been if formal exercise was structured into
the protocol. My guess is that (with funding bias on hold for a
second) the weight loss differences between treatments would
diminish. Exercise itself improves glucose and insulin
parameters, as well as plasma lipids, so those differences should
diminish as well. Also, the type of exercise would likely have
some influence on the outcome if it had enough volume and/or
intensity to be a better match for the higher-carb diets instead of
the Atkins diet. The latter is rarely used by competitive athletes
outside of maximal strength-focused sports.
An appealing characteristic of Atkins diet was its weight loss
effectiveness despite an unrestricted intake of protein and fat
(carbohydrate was limited to 20 g per day for the 2-month
induction phase with a gradual increase to a maximum of 120 g
per day to maintain the weight loss. Obviously calories still
mater, but apparently, caloric intake was self-regulated probably
due to protein- mediated satiety. Notably, however, the
Mediterranean diet performed on par with the Atkins diet for
weight loss, and actually surpassed it in parameters relevant to
those with glucose control issues. This trial adds evidence
supporting the case of... (drum roll please).... Moderation.
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notoriously inaccurate means compared to other more handsoff methods such as hydrodensitiometry and DEXA.
Comment/application
15g whey isolate was taken immediately before and immediately
after training. Pre- and postworkout solid meal timing was
purposely minimally restrictive, in order to assess whether or not
the protein supplementation had an additive effect despite
normal temporal meal ingestion. The subjects were instructed
not eat anything 60 minutes before and 30 minutes after training.
I find it difficult to believe that an additional 30g of whey twice
per week, timed around training, could have made any difference
at all, but according to these data, it did. I checked for dietary
imbalance between groups, and there were no significant
differences in the intake of any macronutrient. Protein intake by
both groups was approximately 1.4-1.5g/kg, which should be
sufficient for supporting size and strength gains.8,9 As a personal
field anecdote, Ive seen the best results for size and strength
gains in client who consume 2-3g/kg. The chances of 30g whey
near training would augment gains at this level of protein intake
are slim, but this obviously has yet to be investigated.
Interestingly, of the 4 muscles comprising the quadriceps, only
the vastus lateralis increased in cross-sectional area by the end of
the trial. This increase was greater in the whey-supplemented
group, but not to a statistically significant degree. The authors
speculate that this is due to the exercise selection, which was
specifically designed to load the vastus lateralis, the muscle from
which biopsies were taken. Additionally, total body mass
increased and bodyfat percent decreased in both exercising
groups, without any significant difference between the groups.
Study limitations
Study strengths
The concept here is relatively fresh; this is the first study
examine protein supplementation on both acute and long-term
gene expression responses along with cross-sectional area and
maximal force of trained muscles. The 21-week trial duration
was lengthy compared to most trials in this particular area of
research, which typically span 8-12 weeks. Training sessions
were supervised by experienced staff. Cross-sectional area of the
quadriceps femoris was determined via magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI).
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To save space, here are the official website links to their other
label information: Gatorade, Cytomax. Sports drinks typically
contain more of the other electrolytes in sweat (potassium,
calcium, and magnesium). However, theres insufficient
evidence that including electrolytes other than sodium and
chloride (accomplished with salt) is necessary or beneficial,
since the losses of these electrolytes are too small to have any
impact on performance or recovery.12-15
The inclusion of lactate in the sports drinks is not an entirely
novel direction in ergogenic research. As far back as 1991,
Fahey et al compared a the effects of polylactate solution with a
glucose polymer solution and found no differences in perceived
exertion during 180 minutes at 50% VO2 max, but no
performance aspects were measured.16 In 1994, Swensen et al
found that a polylactate solution had no measurable
physiological or performance effects compared to a glucose
polymer solution.17 Notably, polylactate beyond very low
concentrations caused severe gastrointestinal discomfort, a
characteristic also seen in later research by Peronnet et al.18
Based on the scant data available lactate has an unimpressive
50% success rate in research assessing its ability to enhance
endurance. For those who dont mind betting on half a chance
that Cytomax works better than the popular brand according to
the manufacturer, I suppose the product is perfect for you.
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Thanks once again for getting your wits filled with another
AARR issue. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions,
bones of contention, cheers, jeers, any feedback at all, send it
over to aarrsupport@gmail.com. All suggestions are taken very
seriously. I want to make sure this publication continues to stand
alone in its excellence.
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