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Strong Medicine September 2008- Eric Serrano MD
Best Protein Powder Options? Dr. Serrano I like to consume protein several times per day, but find it hard to sit down for all of my meals. I have tried some protein powders in the past, but all made my stomach upset at some point or caused fatigue. Any suggestions? Yes- I have run into this for years and over a couple years of research I figured out that many of the common ingredients used in protein powders just do not agree with a large percentage of the population. Symptoms can be fatigue, bloating, stomach upset and more, if you are experiencing these sings then you can also bet that the body is not absorbing the ingredients very well. Poor digestion has a negative residual impact that can cause consistent bloating if material builds up. This makes it hard to absorb anything you consume which can negative impact your health and performance. The Get Lean Protein Protein contains ingredients which may be hypoallergenic and this is especially important for those who are allergic to soy and milk based proteins which make up a majority of the protein products available on the market. I prefer that people eat real food whenever possible, but understand that a times a quick protein drink is the best alternative. Get Lean Protein has 0 sugar and the carb content is primarily dietary fiber which is very important as it helps with protein uptake, gut function and to keep you feeling satisfied. I put together a special blend of pea and rice protein due to their special properties. Colostrum and L Glycine help with body composition, energy and performance. So far the feedback has been very good since the Get Lean was released in mid July, I was not surprised as for several months the trials were all positive with my patients in the office. What to eat before training What is an easily digestible food source I can consume before training? I have a hard time keeping anything down if I eat within a couple hours before training, but then I end of tired and hungry while I am working out and performance drops. Good question and this has been an issue I have solved for patients over many years. You want something that is easily digestible, but also a combination of ingredients that will help with performance and body comp improvements. This is a difficult balance, but over the past couple years I have finally found a combo that meets the needs of all of my patients. 60 minutes before training take 6 scoops of Get Lean Protein assuming you are an adult male as this is the first flight of nutrients to optimize the body for training. 30 min before take 100% MR and Muscle Synthesis and this will force the body to use more stored fat as fuel during exercise while providing an alternative energy source/building blocks for muscles during training. When doing this over the past several months my patients saw big increases in muscle mass, reductions in body fat and improved performance. Not a single complaint about stomach upset or fatigue which is common with many protein combinations. Immediately following training take the 100% MR and Muscle Synthesis which start a hormonal and muscular repair sequence to nearly eliminate muscle soreness the following day. This accelerated rate of recovery is very important as the harder you push the training, the greater the emphasis must be on recovery to avoid over training. 30 min following the post workout amino loading take the get lean again which is done to ensure the raw materials within the 100% MR and Muscle Synthesis can be fully utilized before introducing any other items that can distract this important process. Remember timing is everything!
Raising Testosterone Levels with Proper Diet
I've been eating
grass- fed beef as much as I can for the past couple years versus the
corn-fed variety. What are Normal Testosterone Levels?
I am 72 year old man and I would like to find out the proper
testosterone level for a man my age. Cholesterol levels with a high protein diet?
Do one set of Cholesterol ranges fit for everyone?
I
switched to grass-fed beef last year and have eaten this meat
exclusively. Because of food sensitivities I cannot eat fish, most
pasteurized dairy and wheat.
I've been eating grass-fed meats, raw dairy, high omega-3 eggs from a
local farmer, and organic produce for almost 4 years now. I am a
46-year old woman who is covered with cellulite from my shoulders to
my knees and need to loose approximately 20 pounds. I'm 5'8", and
currently weigh 176 Lbs. and take no meds. I don't eat tons of grains
or fruits. Mostly sprouted bread and one chocolate chip cookie after
dinner. I eat more eggs, raw cheese and beef or chicken than anything
else. Protein and fat keep my blood sugar balanced so that's what I
eat.
4-rotate fruits, never consume fruit juices
6-Rotate all food sources especially proteins
Eating Refined Foods Causes Pain
Seminars
I have an agenda based on new research and interesting topics that the hosts propose, but I leave a majority of the seminar open for questions which can take me in many different directions. I know that most of the people who attend the seminars are not just looking for basics, but innovative protocols and facts that they can take with them and put to good use. Over the years trainers who have attended present cases of tough clients and ask me how I would approach fixing problems and this enables me to lay out all of the details; explaining why I do certain things. Training has become a large focus of the seminars in addition to nutrition, supplementation, injury rehab, etc. I like to demonstrate new techniques and take people form the audience to explain how I would treat an injury. At a recent seminar I picked someone from the audience who was having tremendous shoulder pain and dysfunction. I spent 30 minutes treating him and then built a rehab program that I was able to demonstrate right then and there. If you plan on attending please email Scott@infinityfitness.com for details and please send questions or topics you would like covered at the seminar. Nutrition Tactics to Correct Injuries
1-pancreatic enzymes
High Cholesterol and Bp?
Dear Dr. Serrano,
Dr. Serrano during my
last check up my doctor said I had to use a certain target heart
rate based on my age to help with fat loss and cardio health. This
all seems suspect to me, on another note my wife does 5-6 40 minute
sessions of cardio each week on top of 3 days of weight lifting. Is
this really necessary for her to stay at a low body fat level long
term? I have done very well with the 100% MR and Muscle Synthesis
around my workouts, my wife wants to know if it will help her burn
fat?
That
much cardio is not necessary and counter productive as a high volume
of this type of exercise will cause overtraining. Some clear
symptoms are not feeling good in general, poor mood, lack of results
and low sex drive. Remind your wife that she cannot stay at a very
low body fat all year long or there can be some health problems. A
large majority of people would be better off with less steady state
cardio and more interval sprints which have proven to be more
effective for fat loss and conditioning. The target heart rate
stuff can provide some guidance, but is not very useful in many
situations due to many variables.
You should concern yourself with gradually increasing exertion
levels within tolerable limits to burn more fat. You can talk
to Scott about the many different ways to alter the interval length,
tension, inclines etc. Many factors need to change or the
routine will get stale.
Taking
100% MR and
Muscle Synthesis
30 minutes before training helps to prime the hormonal environment
for exercise primarily by lowering stress hormones. Most of my
patients report that they are more motivated to exercise when amino
loading and this has to do not only with lowering stress, but also
the beneficial impact that aminos have on mood. There are many
studies that prove amino acid supplementation spares muscle during
exercise, but more recently studies show that the use of free form
amino acids found with the MR and Muscle Synthesis force the body to
use more stored fat as fuel during exercise as well. They
compared many food sources before training and then measured how
much fat was burned during exercise following, the sources included
rice, chicken, juice, whey protein and free form amino acids.
There were a couple other sources, but I cannot remember them all.
The group who consumed the carb sources before training burned the
least amount of fat, while those who took the free form aminos
burned the most fat.
Those who are looking to increase endurance performance also see a big improvement when amino loading with 100% MR and Muscle Synthesis, I thought I would mention this since it is related more closely to the cardio format. Even you crazy people who pedal on those spinning bikes will do very well.
Blood Type Diet?
Dear Dr. Serrano, Meat Controversy in my house!
I
live in North Palm Beach, FL. I am a young mom of two preteens and
have a die-hard, meat-eating husband. We are in a whirlwind of
disagreement since I just spent a week in a "raw food" health
institute in West Palm Beach where I learned the "detriments" of meat
eating which leads to degeneration, as they taught. We ate vegan raw
food the entire time there, and my friend dropped 50 points in her
cholesterol in 3 weeks. She also became somewhat anemic....... I
personally had no adverse effects, and lost 5 lbs in one week. I weigh
110 and am 5'6", so that was a lot for me.
Yes you can get
adequate omega 3 intake and CLA when taking the
Alpha Omega,
I prefer that some omega 3 come from the diet as well. Grassfed
beef is an excellent source of omega 3 as are many fish. Look
closely most Essential fatty acid combinations do not include enough
CLA to be a factor. Meat consumption and cholesterol?
I
know you are a busy man and have probably had similar questions like
mine, but mine is specific to the needs of my husband. His doctors
have been trying to put him on a statin for years now. Both of us are
trying to avoid these drugs as we feel uncomfortable with the possible
side effects.
Great
question, and I am going to be blunt . . . no way, no way will I
prescribed statins to your husband for a cholesterol of only 198. What
other risk factors does he have? Hypertension, blood sugars, obesity,
family history? Plus the big question is, how he feels; is he feeling
sick, tired, depressed? If the answer is no, then I would do this: High Cholesterol I recently went for blood work that showed I had elevated total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Is there any reason to be concerned about eating grass fed beef and butter and also raw milk? I am 53 and going through menopause. My HDL is good. You did not give me your exact numbers; consequently, I cannot give you any recommendations. My criteria are very different than most doctors. Usually when your LDL is high it can be due to a high consumption of cheeses or diary products combined with a lot of carbohydrates and low Chromium. Because of the above and without looking at your numbers, I wouldn't stop beef but I would stop dairy. Comparing Essential Fatty Acid Products DR. Serrano there are many fish oil products on the market with more epa and dha per capsule than yours, what makes your alpha omega so much better than all of the others? Peter San Francisco
Dear Peter:
I did not say that my fish oils are better than any other because
fish oil is fish oil (assuming the
ingredients are not contaminated!), what I said is that the
blend that we created of fish oils and other fats is better than any
other Essential Fat Products because we offer not only the fish oil
you need but in addition we provide the other fats that are
necessary for a complete balance of health and fitness. The problem
arises from the lack of fish (omega 3 source) consumption and the
high intake of omega 6 from other food sources, and to balance that
we must consume omega 3, omega 9 and omega 6. The only product on
the market that offers the specific ratios of ingredients I have
found to be effective is
Alpha Omega. The ratio is not based on
something that I pulled from my hat but from research studies and from using
thousands of patients for human trials to formulate an optimal
ratio. Check labels for accessory ingredients to make sure you
are getting the full spectrum of what is needed. Also consider
who stands behind the product to ensure the quality, contamination
within fish oil products is a huge problem. I make sure the
raw materials that go into the alpha omega pass rigorous testing
including a toxin filtration process that is very expensive.
Due to the expense many companies bypass filtration to increase
their profits.
Solutions for Cravings Dr. Serrano for years I have had cravings, mostly for junk food like pizza, cup cakes you name it. On many occasions I give in which is why I am over weight. What can I do to prevent cravings? Is there a supplement I can take to make this go away? My husband has the same problem, but I seem to have it much worse around my cycle. How much of this is mental? Sherry Tacoma
tTwo easy ways to stop cravings if you cant handle it,
I assume your
cravings are for sweets, so I will give you the answer for that.
gymnemma sylvestre- buy it and chew it before you want to consume
something sweet and it will taste awful
100% MR and Muscle Synthesis Powder- mix about a quart of water with 2 scoops of each amino acid formula and sip over an hour period. The ingredients including BCAA and Free Form Amino acids will stop the cravings and the hunger. Defining Types of Amino Acids
Dr.
Serrano I have tried many amino acids stacks over the years and I
find the 100% MR and Muscle Synthesis to be the best, I would like
to know why they are better so I can explain to others. I know that
you use only the purest ingredients, but what is it about the ratios
that are so special? Can you also tell me what the difference is
between an free form amino and BCAA?
Thanks
Justin Las Vegas
Dear Justin:
Any moron doctor can come up with a amino acid formula but it takes
a long time to get the right ratios so it works optimally (I have experimented with amino acid protocols with literally
thousands of patients over the last 15 years.) Let me
put it in simple terms, if you have a baseball team and you have
your best hitter last and your clean up hitter before the last
person, how many runs will your team score?, not many but if you have
the precise order, and quantity then the team will score a lot of
runs, and this is the same with MS and MR, the right quantities at
the proper time make a huge difference, that is why we do not reveal
the amount of each ingredient.
YOU are asking the wrong question, because BCAA are free form amino acids, a protein source consists of amino acids linked together, when you free each amino acid then they become free. Now keep in mind there are many barriers to both absorption and utilization that must be considered. You are wasting your time if the ingredients cannot be used by the body properly. I spend a great deal of my time working on the utilization end of the spectrum as this is where most challenges exist. Over the years I have learned many techniques through the human trials to boost utilization and ensure patient success. Flax Oil Vs. Fish Oil
Dr Serrano
I have read many books, articles and journals suggesting daily
use of flax oil for fat loss. I gather you do not like it for
men over 35 for this purpose, may I ask why? What is flax oil
good for in your opinion and how does it differ from the actual
seeds? I assume if dropping flax oil I should increase my fish
oil intake to support fat loss correct?
Thanks Mark
Boston
Great
question, and here is the answer and it is based in research and
my clinical experience.
Flax
has alpha linolenic and linoleic and these can transform to EPA,
DHA and GLA, but to do this you must have the necessary activity
of an enzyme called 5 desaturase. The problem with this enzyme is
that the activity is lowered by consuming coffee, sugars, and alcohol.
Furthermore a low intake of magnesium, zinc and dietary fat make
the problem worse. You can imagine how hard it is to make
the enzyme work with all of these barriers interfering and a lack
of the right raw materials. As a result dietary fat from
flax oil will not be used efficiently so it becomes fuel or
triglycerides and body fat. Remember that you still need
some alpha linolenic and linoleic sources so have some in small
dosages which you can get from
Alpha Omega.
Fixing a bad mood?
Dr.
Serrano I seem to suffer from bad moods, maybe depression, but I
have never been diagnosed by a doctor so I guess a better way to
put it is that I just feel down quite a bit. How big of a role
does the foods I eat play in this? Can supplements make things
better? When I am feeling down I find that only some ice cream or
other junk food makes me feel better which has become a big
problem when it comes to body fat levels. Tina
Dear Tina:
food intake is critical, you may be manipulating your mood with
bad food choices which bring blood sugar levels up and down.
You want a steady level of blood sugar so stay away from sweets
and eat a medium carb diet with lots of alpha omegas with
Muscle Synthesis in between meals so you can keep your levels of
neurotransmitters up.
Also your vitamin D might be low if you live in the northern
area, and if you don't eat good fats then it will be worse.
Please submit questions for Dr. Serrano by emailing scott@infinityfitness.com The questions should not be of a medical nature requesting specific advice for conditions. He will answer questions as quickly as possible based on availability of None of the statements within this article have been approved by the FDA
Give consideration to my
consultation service which provides customized training and
nutrition programs so that you can make the best use of your time and
effort.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER |
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