Milk Thistle

Most bodybuilders use Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) to protect their liver when they are using oral steroids. But this herbal medicine has much more benificial properties.

The brains of a mouse type that develops Alzheimer's at a young age keep functioning well for longer if the animals are given extracts of milk thistle [Silybum marianum] mixed with their food, researchers at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology discovered.
 

Supplementation with Silybum marianum – the plant is also known as milk thistle – induces liver cells to synthesise more glutathione, a detoxifier which improves the functioning of the liver. Animal studies have shown that Silybum marianum protects the liver against the effects of oral anabolic steroids. [Med Pregl. 2003;56 Suppl 1:79-83.]

It is also possible that the plant has a similar protective effect on the prostate. [Integr Cancer Ther. 2007 Jun; 6(2): 130-45.] Prostate cancer may occur as a result of the decrease in production of detoxifying enzymes that occurs with aging. [Exp Gerontol. 2012 Mar; 47(3): 223-8.] There are also indications that Silybum marianum blocks the growth-enhancing effects of androgens on prostate cancer cells. [Carcinogenesis. 2001 Sep;22(9):1399-403.]

Do you really need bodybuilding supplements, or are they just a waste of good money?

I’m afraid that what you just discovered is probably discovered every day by countless bodybuilders and fitness buffs who are hoping to get an edge at the gym by downing expensive shakes, powders and pills.

Just browse the myriad of bodybuilding supplement discussion boards out there and you’ll find plenty of mixed opinions on whether supplements actually result in better performance at the gym. Some people swear by them, others shrug their shoulders and say all supplements give you is really expensive pee.

Geranium oils do not contain the stimulant DMAA-MHA, according to new research that once again questions the study often cited by pre-workout and weight loss supplements claiming it does.

Geranium. Not a DMAA-MHA source, researchers have concluded. This makes a ban of synthetic DMAA logical. This supplement seem to work well as a supplementation in fatloss appetite surpression, pre-workout booster and also as a "herbal XTC".

After an analysis of the Chinese study (Ping et al), along with geranium oils, DMAA (1,3 dimethylamylamine)-MHA (methylhexanamine) ingredients and four supplements containing them, the researchers concluded the labelling practice was a “marketing ploy”.

The researchers, led by Angelo Lisi from the National Measurement Institute in Australia, also said the status of another “doping agent” called a and b-phenethylamine needed investigating.

Does Drinking Milk Cause Acne?

Is There a Link Between Dairy and Acne?

We've heard it over and over again: your diet does not cause acne. However, there are a handful of doctors who believe that what we eat may indeed affect our skin. And they're not pointing fingers at chocolate and potato chips, but instead at milk. That's right -- the wholesome drink that we've always considered healthy is at the center of an acne controversy.

Researchers claim to have found a correlation between milk intake and the incidence of acne. It seems milk drinkers develop more severe acne than non-milk drinkers. One study, published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, looked at the diets of teenaged boys. The young men who drank the most milk also tended to have the worst acne.

This supports the results of previous studies, during which teenage girls were asked to keep food diaries and monitor breakout activity. Again, girls whose diets were rich in dairy products had more severe acne than the rest.

Of all dairy products, milk was the worst offender. Chocolate milk, cottage cheese, and sherbet also had a negative effect on the skin. But other dairy products didn't seem to cause breakouts.

Vitamin A: The Forgotten Bodybuilding Nutrient       

The dense forest of bodybuilding nutrition contains a paradox: the quantity of information available is abundant, but the wisdom of traditional diets to satisfy the primary concerns of bodybuilders is sparse and hard to find. Typical recommendations include very low-fat diets rich in protein foods like salmon and chicken.

You will search in vain through mainstream men's health magazines to find so much as a mention of the importance of vitamin A to bodybuilding. Yet this nutrient is essential to muscle-building and may be the bodybuilder's most potent weapon. Vitamin A is necessary for the utilization of protein and the production of testosterone and other growth factors. In fact, one human study, discussed below, found the administration of vitamin A and iron to have results equivalent to the administration of testosterone itself. Rather than advocating the consumption of vitamin-A rich foods such as liver and natural food-based supplements such as cod liver oil, mainstream men's health writers are advocating diets very high in protein, which deplete vitamin A reserves, leaving one to wonder whether the athletes who resort to over-the-counter steroid supplements might be able to achieve similar results by consuming a traditional diet, rich in vitamin A.