Very basic foundation of fitness Part 2 Dietary strategies for improvement: Carbohydrate Consumption If weight loss is not a major concern, the post-exercise period is one of the best opportunities to nutritionally take advantage of the anabolic effects insulin has on muscle. By ingesting carbohydrates in combination with essential amino acids (EAA) immediately post-exercise, protein breakdown is significantly reduced while also increasing muscle glycogen synthesis (Børsheim, Tipton, Wolf, & Wolfe, 2002; Biolo, Williams, Fleming, & Wolfe, 1999). This combination of EAA and carbohydrates during recovery has also been shown to elevate growth hormone (GH) concentrations up to six hours post-exercise; significantly longer than protein ingestion alone (Chandler, Byrne, Patterson, & Ivy, 1994). If weight loss is a concern, then overall dietary carbohydrate consumption should be kept low throughout the entire day to help stabilize insulin levels and improve insulin sensitivity. However, extremely prolonged reductions in dietary carbohydrates should be avoided in athletes who compete in weight classes and need to maintain a certain amount of muscle mass (body builders, wrestlers, martial artists). Extreme reductions not only decrease circulating insulin, but also IGF-1, which may ultimately lead to muscle loss because post-exercise protein synthesis is reduced without adequate concentrations of insulin and IGF-I (Mäestu, Eliakim, Jürimäe, Valter, & Jürimäe, 2010). Dietary Cholesterol Eating foods high in dietary cholesterol is a simple way to increase serum testosterone (Te). Dietary cholesterol does not correlate to serum cholesterol, and the greater intake of dietary cholesterol correlates to greater increases in strength and lean mass when resistance training. This is because cholesterol seems to aid in the production of Te and estrogen (Riechman, Andrews, MacLean, & Sheather, 2007). Vegetarian diets are often low in dietary cholesterol, and are associated with lower Te compared to omnivores (Hill & Wynder, 1979; Bélanger et al., 1989; Raben et al., 1992). Vitamin D Supplementing with vitamin D also proves beneficial for body composition. In overweight and obese women, total body fat mass decreased as vitamin D serum concentrations increased (Salehpour et al., 2012). Vitamin D is also necessary for muscle growth, and when healthy overweight men with low Te levels were given ~3,300 iu of vitamin D a day for one year, a significant increase in total Te was observed when compared to baseline levels and a placebo group (Pilz et al., 2011). Zinc and Magnesium Zinc and Mg supplementation have also been correlated to increased IGF-I levels and zinc specifically can increase serum Te concentrations. In trained football players, zinc and Mg supplementation improved muscle function along with the anabolic hormone profile after seven weeks of training (Brilla & Conte, 2000). In competitive triathletes supplementing with Mg for four weeks, they experienced greater work capacity along with decreased levels of cortisol before and after exhaustive exercise, indicating the improvement in efficiency compared to a control group (Golf, Bender & Grüttner, 1998). Cruciferous Vegetables In those attempting to decrease their amount of estrogen (men with lower Te: estrogen ratios, and women with excessive lower-extremity body fat accumulation), evidence is building in the efficacy of cruciferous vegetables to not only alter body composition but also reduce the risk of cancers associated with estrogen. The phytochemicals contained in broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower seem to favorably modify and balance the metabolism of estrogen. Diindolylmethane (DIM), the most potent inducer of estrogen metabolism, has been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers (Zeligs, 1998). Supplementing with DIM may prove to be a viable strategy to reduce serum estrogen and its effects on fat distribution.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 04:26:39 +0000
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