Sunday, February 5, 2012

Total Physique Online

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Fish Oils, Essential Fats, Testosterone and Athletic Performance

bodybuilderEssential fatty acids (EFAs) are nutrients that your body needs to be able to function properly. In strength athletes (bodybuildiers, powerlifters) EFAs assist in muscle growth by enhancing testosterone levels. These fats are needed by strength athletes to rebuild muscle tissues and protect joints while working out.

In addition to being necessary for muscle development and energy in bodybuilders and powerlifters , there is a plethora of mounting evidence that shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that EFAs are necessary for countless metabolic processes in the body, healthy brain function, improved fat metabolism, healthy sex drive and libido for people in general. Yet, while the popularity of EFAs is growing, as a bodybuilding supplement or dietary component, EFAs are only now beginning to get the attention they deserve.

A quick search of the internet pulls up thousands of pages on the connection between EFAs and testosterone, but finding actual studies is a bit more challenging. I managed to cull together a list of studies that are worthy of evaluation, should you have the patience to do so. However, in the interest of brevity here is a list of some of the key health benefits as concluded by the studies:

  • A diet high in healthy fats appears to increase Testosterone when accompanied by strength training. This means that an increase in healthy fats has an anabolic component that can increase muscle building and muscle sparing potential.
  • A diet high in healthy fats reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s.
  • A diet high in healthy fats contributes to an increase in HDL (which is good) and a reduction in LDL (the bad form of Cholesterol). This means a reduction in the risk of heart disease
  • A diet high in healthy fats reduces inflammation and improves the strength of connective tissues.

Clearly, EFAs are important, and so it is absolutely necessary that your diet contain an abundance of foods rich in them. Certain foods and meats are high in Omeg-3 and/or Omega-6. Avacoado’s, nuts, olive oils, fish and eggs are excellent dietary sources of these types of fats, but speaking as a person with numerous food allergies I can tell you that getting the fats you need from the foods that are available may not be possible for everyone. For example, I am allergic to eggs, numerous types of nuts and because I am concerned about the mercury content of fresh fish, I do not consume much fish. So, I supplement. Supplementing with a good EFA product may be something that would be of benefit to you as well.

OmeGold

Supplementing with a good EFA product makes good sense for the reasons I just listed, but choosing a good product took me some time. I finally found Omegold from LPI. I liked it for several reasons.

Omegold had several interesting traits that appealed to me. Taking good fish oil supplements use to come with a price in the form of indigestion. A lot of people refuse fish oil supplements because of the fishy aftertaste. Omegold represents a new generation of EFA products available on the market that eliminate this problem altogether.

In addition, Omegold contains generous amounts of DHA and something called E32, which is a super up version of Vitamin E, one of the few antioxidants that even the FDA admits is an antioxidant worth supplementing with (as if we didn’t already know that).

Omegold is my personal choice for solving my EFA needs and I love it so much I decided to become an affiliate.

For more information on Omegold, click the link or the image below and read the PDF file containing some in depth information. Stay tuned for more posts on EFAs

Order OmeGold Today

references:

  1. Grundy SSM. Influence of stearic acid on cholesterol metabolism relative to other long-chain fatty acids. The American journal of clinical nutrition 1994;60:986-90S.
  2. Nicholls SJSJ, Lundman PP, Harmer JAJA, Cutri BB, Griffiths KAKA, Rye KAK-A, Barter PJPJ, Celermajer DSDS. Consumption of saturated fat impairs the anti-inflammatory properties of high-density lipoproteins and endothelial function. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2006;48:715-20.
  3. Volek JS, Forsythe CE. The case for not restricting saturated fat on a low carbohydrate diet. Nutr Metab (Lond) 2005;2:21.
  4. Howie BBJ, Shultz TTD. Dietary and hormonal interrelationships among vegetarian Seventh-Day Adventists and nonvegetarian men. The American journal of clinical nutrition 1985;42:127-34.
  5. Dorgan JJF, Judd JJT, Longcope CC, Brown CC, Schatzkin AA, Clevidence BBA, Campbell WWS, Nair PPP, Franz CC, Kahle LL, Taylor PPR. Effects of dietary fat and fiber on plasma and urine androgens and estrogens in men: a controlled feeding study. The American journal of clinical nutrition 1996;64:850-5.
  6. Key TTJ, Roe LL, Thorogood MM, Moore JJW, Clark GGM, Wang DDY. Testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, calculated free testosterone, and oestradiol in male vegans and omnivores. The British journal of nutrition 1990;64:111-9.
  7. Hämäläinen EEK, Adlercreutz HH, Puska PP, Pietinen PP. Decrease of serum total and free testosterone during a low-fat high-fibre diet. The Journal of steroid biochemistry 1983;18:369-70.
  8. Meikle AAW, Stringham JJD, Woodward MMG, McMurry MMP. Effects of a fat-containing meal on sex hormones in men. Metabolism, clinical and experimental 1990;39:943-6.
  9. Sallinen JJ, Pakarinen AA, Ahtiainen JJ, Kraemer WWJ, Volek JJS, Häkkinen KK. Relationship between diet and serum anabolic hormone responses to heavy-resistance exercise in men. International journal of sports medicine 2004;25:627-33.
  10. Volek JS, Kraemer WJ, Bush JA, Incledon T, Boetes M. Testosterone and cortisol in relationship to dietary nutrients and resistance exercise. J Appl Physiol 1997;82:49-54.
  11. Helland IB et al. Maternal Supplementation With Very Long-chain n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids During Pregnancy and Lactation Augments Children’s IQ at 4 Years of Age. Pediatrics. Vol. 111, pp. e39-e44, 2003.
  12. Mori TA et al. Docosahexaenoic Acid but Not Eicosapentaenoic Acid Lowers Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Heart Rate in Humans. Hypertension. 1999; 34:253-260.
  13. Kyle DJ et al. Low serum docosahexaenoic acid is a significant risk factor for Alzheimer’s dementia. Lipids. 1999;34:S245.
  14. Makrides M et al. Erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid correlates with the visual response of healthy, term infants. Pediatr Res. 1993; 33(4 Pt 1):425-427.
  15. Stordy BJ. Dark adaptation, motor skills, docosahexaenoic acid, and dyslexia. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000;71(1 Suppl):323S-326S.
  16. Colombo J et al. Maternal DHA and the Development of Attention in Infancy and Toddlerhood. Child Development. 2004; 75 (4); 1254-1267.
  17. ?-3 Fatty Acid Treatment in 174 Patients With Mild to Moderate Alzheimer Disease: OmegAD Study. A Randomized Double-blind Trial. Freund-Levi Y et al. Arch Neurol. 2006;63:1402-1408.
  18. Kromhout D, et al. Food consumption patterns in the 1960s in seven countries. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1989) 49:889-894.
  19. Bang HO and Dyerburg J: Lipid metabolism and ischemic heart disease in Greenland Eskimos. In: H.H. Draper (ed). Advances in Nutrition Research. Plenum Press, New York, 1980, pp. 1Ð22.

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3 Responses to “Fish Oils, Essential Fats, Testosterone and Athletic Performance”

  1. [...] Omega-6 oils (found in corn, safflower, sunflower, peanut, soybean and canola oils). You [...]

  2. Thank you for posting this informative article on the health benefits of fish oils. I’ve been using fish oils for years and always on the lookout for new products. I’ve never heard of Omegold, from Life Plus International, but will definitely look further into this product.

    • webmaster says:

      You are welcome.

      It is not necessary for you to “buy it from me”. Just call Life Plus and tell them you are not a member and have not been referred by anyone, and that you just heard about this product online and wanted to try it. They will take care of you. Keep me informed in regards to how you are doing.

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