Muscle Talk

Probiotic may be anti-fat

At Vanderbilt University, a group of scientists and researchers have genetically modified a strain of normal human gut bacteria to see its effects on weight gain and insulin resistance on mice who were put on a high-fat diet. In all animals (humans included), gut/intestinal health is a huge determinant of not just risk for chronic diseases but also potential for weight gain, insulin resistance, and other adverse effects of a high-fat diet. Probiotics are microorganisms that are ingested to provide health benefits to the body, positively modify the flora in the gut, and replace harmful microbes with useful ones. The probiotic these scientists “created” helped the mice lower their food intake, body fat, and insulin resistance. It’s only a matter of time before this becomes available for human consumption. In the meantime, take probiotics now for improved health and weight loss!

C + E = B-A-D

Vitamin C is good for you because it’s a potent antioxidant that helps repair damage caused by the free radicals in your body. It’s also helpful when used to form collagen, a protein in your body used to make tendons and ligaments, among other things. Vitamin E is also a potent antioxidant and has been shown in some studies to lessen the severity of certain inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis. But what happens when you’re a hard-training athlete and you take both? According to a study published in the Journal of Physiology, not only did endurance athletes given 1000 milligrams of vitamin C and 235 milligrams of vitamin E daily for 11 weeks see no improvement in VO2 max numbers and running performance, but it was also shown that vitamins C and E hampered impeded certain adaptations in the cells of the exercised muscles. Muscles need to adapt in order to recover. The worse the adaptation, the worse the recovery.