Want to perform better? Hit the bars

Q: I do a lot of hardcore endurance exercise like distance biking, cross country skiing, running, etc. I rely heavily on nutritional bars during exercise. But I’m not sure which ones are really the best for optimizing my performance. Can you give me some guidance??

A: Yeah, this is a confusing one for sure. There are literally hundreds of bars out there now with endless variations on macronutrient makeup. But for your particular need we can boil it down to two main schools of thought: high-carb versus high-fat. We don’t even need to consider a lot of protein for endurance because they simply don’t make sense. I’ll just tell you that now and spare you the biochemical details. But the high-carb versus high-fat debate warrants a bit of examination and explanation.

First, what’s the goal of eating energy bars during endurance events? To provide you with the proper fuel to help you perform at your highest level for the longest period of time possible.

OK, now digging a level deeper, what has to happen in your body to achieve this goal? Well, you have to help your body conserve as much of its natural carbohydrate energy stores as possible—namely glycogen. Why? Because when you run out of glycogen you "bonk." Your performance tails off dramatically, you get weak and light-headed, and that rotten banana peel on the side of the road starts to look mighty tasty. At this point you’re relying almost exclusively on fat stores to provide your body with energy. And while that’s a great thing for getting ripped, it sucks for optimal performance because fat is simply not as efficient a fuel source as carbohydrate.

Now we get to the meat of the issue. Which dietary nutrient, fat or carbohydrate, will most effectively help to conserve glycogen stores while supporting your highest level of physical activity? And the answer—after 30 years of scientific research—is carbs.

Here’s the deal. While higher fat bars (such as PR*Bar™ and ZonePerfect™ bars, sporting a 40/30/30 ratio) are more calorically dense and won’t create any type of insulin reaction, they simply don’t offer the glycogen-sparing and performance-enhancing benefits of carbs. The reasons are many.

First, as already stated, fat is not as efficient a fuel source as carbohydrates. Where carbs empty quickly from the gut and are transported directly into the blood stream as glucose to be immediately burned as fuel; fat tends to move slowly out of the gut, must first be transported to the liver through the lymphatic system where it is converted into a fatty acid fuel source and finally released into the blood stream. All the while, valuable glycogen stores are being used up.

Another problem is that even when the fatty acids finally reach your muscles, they are useless as a fuel source when your body jumps into an anaerobic state. Whereas carbs burn aerobically and anaerobically. And during a competitive endurance event you are consistently bouncing back and forth between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism—making carbs a much better choice.

Finally, the process of converting any fuel source, be it carb or fat, into functional energy to move muscles requires energy. And it takes much more energy to turn fat into functional muscular energy than it does for carbs. In other words, while 100 fat calories may supply your muscles with a net energy pop of say 70 calories, 100 carb calories provides over 90 usable, muscle-driving calories. Make sense? OK.

I must toss in one caveat here. I have been focusing on which bar is best for use in a competitive, or high-level endurance event. However, if you are looking for a bar to use while on a multi-day backpacking trip in the mountains, I’d take some of each. The higher fat bars will give you a more dense calorie choice and will burn well during your long-term aerobic trekking. While the high-carb bars will come in handy when you feel your blood sugar dropping near the top of a long pass and you need some energy pronto.

For the high-level endurance events I’d stick with the high-carb bars. My personal favorites is still the original PowerBar™. With 45 grams of carbs, about 9 grams of protein and only 3 grams of fat it gives you what you need. And from years of personal experience I can tell you that it digests quickly and is easy on the stomach, even during grueling events. For you weekend warriors, you can also try EAS’ AdvantEdge Extreme Outdoor Energy Bars, with 42 grams of carbs, about 12 grams of protein and 4 grams of fat.

Just the facts about 1-AD

Q: I’ve been hearing about a new pro-hormone supplement called 1-AD. It’s supposed to be seven times more powerful then testosterone, with none of the usual side effects. What do you think about this stuff?

A: I think ErgoPharm’s marketing department should be congratulated. Using classic guerilla marketing techniques (i.e., posting multiple commentaries about 1-AD on a variety of bodybuilding chat sites and message boards) ErgoPharm, in cooperation with LPJ Research Inc., has done a great job at turning an interesting product concept into a virtual urban legend. Without making claims for which they could be held liable, they have managed to insinuate exactly the information you mentioned above. And to many people this has become fact. But, what are the facts, really?

Fact #1: Patrick Arnold, who is the president of LPJ and brains behind this product development, is clearly a bright guy with a vast history in and a passion for pro-hormone supplement development.

Fact #2: 1-AD (1-androstene-3beta, 17beta-diol) is a metabolic precursor to 1-testosterone.

Fact #3: 1-testosterone is chemically very similar to testosterone, and cannot be aromatized to estrogen due to the small difference in structure.

Fact #4: 1-testosterone has been shown—in one preliminary study back in the 1960s—to possibly be 700 percent more myotrophic (anabolic) than testosterone.

Fact #5: Due to its chemical structure, 1-AD would be more resistant than most pro-hormones to being broken down in the liver—thus making it more likely to be orally active.

Fact #6: 1-testosterone is even more chemically and metabolically similar to dihydrotestosterone (DHT—the stuff that promotes prostate enlargement and hair loss) than it is to testosterone.

Fact #7: 1-AD can freely convert to DHT in the body.

Fact #8: There is no conclusive research demonstrating that 1-AD converts to 1-testosterone when taken orally by humans.

Fact #9: 1-testosterone, while possibly highly anabolic, is similarly highly androgenic.

Fact #10: Real world muscle building effects of 1-testosterone have never been scientifically demonstrated in humans.

Fact #11: No human research has of yet been done to assess the actual chemical and anabolic effects of taking 1-AD.

Fact #12: Fairly severe GI and urinary side-effects have been noted by users of 1-AD.

Fact #13: At its cheapest a month supply of 1-AD would cost you $180.

End analysis: This is an interesting product concept with no direct scientific support of its effectiveness. If and when they get some research going to demonstrate that 1-AD does indeed convert to 1-testosterone when taken orally, and that this 1-testosterone truly does stimulate muscle growth, and that the probable conversion to DHT can be controlled, and that other hormonal systems aren’t adversely affected it may be worth trying. Until then, I’d spend your hard-earned cash elsewhere.

Be a loser for good

Q: I’ve manage to lose about 20 pounds of fat over the past six months and now I want to make sure and keep it off, without continuing to starve myself. Is there anything that can help keep the fat off while allowing me to return to a more normal lifestyle?

A: You’re in luck. Rebound weight gain, as it’s called by the boys in the white coats, has become a hot topic lately. Recent research as suggested that it is actually less healthy for people to lose weight and regain it than it is to just stay a bit overweight. So scientists have amped up their efforts to find natural nutrients to help people keep the chub off once it’s gone.

There are two nutrients which look promising. They are conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and hydroxy citric acid (HCA). Both have been extensively researched for this specific purpose especially HCA, with multiple newly-published studies. Here’s the scoop.

First let’s look at HCA. It appears to help fend off fat by four separate mechanisms. The most well-publicized of these being its ability to partially block the conversion of carbs into fat storage. It does this by inhibiting an enzyme called ATP-citrate-lyase, which is responsible for assisting in the lipogenic process. Next, more recent research has found that HCA tends to increase fat oxidation during exercise. So you burn more fat with the same amount of exercise. Its third mechanism is to decrease voluntary food intake. Researchers have seen this happen time and again in studies, but don’t know exactly why. And finally, the most recent finding is that HCA appears to act almost as a leptin-like analog. And if you remember, leptin acts as the master control switch for fat storage. The more leptin in the blood, the less fat gets stored.

As for CLA, its powerful nutrient partitioning effects (its ability to direct consumed calories preferentially towards muscle and away from fat) have been demonstrated in a variety of studies. CLA has also been shown to increase the feelings and fullness and satiety in people coming off a low calorie diet, thus decrease the amount of food they eat.

Additionally, CLA may even possess apoptotic characteristics where fat cells are concerned. More simply put, it tends to kill fat cells.
I think using a product that combines these two items in decent dosages could be very helpful in your quest to quell the return of the love handles.