Optygen Versus Endurox Excel - Battle of the Big Ads

I have to say that I’ve been laughing my butt off at the expensive full-page advertisements that have been appearing in Triathlete magazine over the past few months. The different ads go something like this:

Optygen Ads (from First Endurance) = “Clinically proven to increase endurance & performance” - and selling you “regular” Optygen for $40 (about 3 weeks worth) or Optygen “HP” for $75 (a bottle of either version lasts about 3 weeks at usage suggestions).

Endurox Excel Ads (from PacificHealh Labs - owned by Motts, the apple juice company) = “Optygen users - are you paying a lot more for a lot less?” - and telling you about 2 research studies on Optygen that showed no benefits for endurance performance.

You can see the Endurox Excel ad and the “no effect” Optygen studies on the PacificHealth Labs website at: (http://pacifichealthlabs.com/Endurox-Excel-vs-Optygen.asp) - and you can see PDF scans of both ads at https://WickedFastSportsNutrition.com/Blog/

The ads make me laugh because they suggest that you need to choose between “either” an endurance supplement based on cordyceps/rhodiola (such as either Optygen product) or one based on ciwujia (such as Endurox Excel). 

I actually like both products as “better than average” in the world of sports supplements, but as a competitive endurance athlete, why wouldn’t you want to improve your oxygen uptake and long-term endurance (as cordyceps and rhodiola can do, IF supplemented at the proper levels) and why wouldn’t you also want to improve your resilience to stress and boost short-term energy (as ciwujia can do, IF supplemented at the proper levels)? Why would you need to choose one supplement or the other - why not supplement with both?

What a great idea - we wish we thought of it! 

Wait - we DID think of it - about 6 years ago when we launched Energ-Ease (http://www.wickedfastsportsnutrition.com/p-8-energ-ease.aspx), which contains a research-proven blend of:

• Cordyceps
• Rhodiola
• Eleuthero (another name for ciwujia)...

Along with:

• Eurycoma (for stress hormone balance and prevention of overtraining)
• Resveratrol (for blood flow and mitochondrial function)
• Withania (to improve mental energy)

See the links at the end of this blog article for some additional reading on the endurance  benefits of each of these natural ingredients...

At Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition, we sell Energ-Ease for $40 for a full 30-day supply (and even less when packaged in a bundle such as our Wicked Fast Pak with Recover-Ease and Intense Defense at http://www.wickedfastsportsnutrition.com/p-5-wicked-fast-pack.aspx).

You would have to buy both the “HP” version of Optygen ($75) and Endurox Excel ($18) to get the cordyceps/rhodiola/eleuthero found in Energ-Ease (at almost double the cost), and you’d still be missing out on the additional mental/physical endurance benefits of the eurycoma/resveratrol/withania in Energ-Ease.

Our Energ-Ease formula has been subjected to research in endurance athletes just like you (and us), including marathon runners, 24-hour mountain bikers, and Ironman triathletes - and our scientific presentations have been delivered at peer-reviewed conferences such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the International Society for Sports Nutrition (http://www.wickedfastsportsnutrition.com/t-Research.aspx).

You might be thinking that if Energ-Ease works so well, it must contain prohibited substances. If you’re among the very elite-level athletes who are afraid of testing positive for banned substances in a doping control, don’t worry about Energ-Ease, which has been scrutinized through independent analysis by Banned Substances Control Group (http://www.bscg.org/Certified-Products.php) - where you won’t see Optygen or Endurox Excel.

Since we don’t “do” big-money advertising or pro-athlete sponsorships to promote Wicked Fast products, you won’t see us fighting it out with First Endurance or Motts/PacificHealth on the pages of Triathlete or other endurance mags - but you WILL see us continuing to develop athlete-tested and research-proven supplements at a reasonable price. We’re endurance junkies ourselves, and we develop products that WE want to take. Of course, we think you’ll like them too...

If you’re looking for an effective, affordable, and non-hyped supplement to take your endurance performance to the next level, then you should give Energ-Ease a try.

Thanks for reading,

Shawn

====================

Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D.

C.E.O. (Chief Endurance Officer)

Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition

801-576-0788 (office)

Shawn@WickedFastSN.com

www.WickedFastSportsNutrition.com

Follow me on Twitter  http://twitter.com/DocTalbott

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Additional Reading:

Cordyceps = http://www.supplementwatch.com/SupplementWatch/Library/Entries/2008/10/14_Cordyceps_(Professional_version).html

Rhodiola = http://www.livestrong.com/article/110044-benefits-rhodiola-rosea-extract/

Ciwujia/Eleuthero = (http://running.competitor.com/2011/06/nutrition/performance-in-a-pill-energize-yourself-with-eleuthero_30250)

Eurycoma = http://www.wickedfastsportsnutrition.com/PDF/EnergEaseAbstractISSN2006.pdf

Resveratrol  http://running.competitor.com/2009/07/features/supplements-for-endurance-performance_3692

Withania (Ashwagandha) = http://running.competitor.com/2011/06/nutrition/performance-in-a-pill-boost-your-energy-levels-with-ginseng_29763

Brain Ergogenics = http://running.competitor.com/2011/07/nutrition/performance-in-a-pill-are-brain-ergogenics-beneficial_31667

Hydration and Electrolytes

A cycling friend of mine (who is also a researcher) sent me this question about hydration/cramping/electrolytes – and I thought some of you other endurance nuts might benefit from the answer…

Hi Shawn,

I use various sport drinks to prevent cramping after hard exercise, but I’m not convinced I have found the perfect one. The literature on these drinks makes confusing claims, such as:

-Sugars are needed for best absorption of salts

-The ideal ratio of Na/K is ….

-Too much Na is dangerous

-Too little Na is dangerous

-Too much K is dangerous

-Trace metals (Mg, Mn) are important

-Vitamins (VitC, riboflavin) help

-The ideal solution to drink has the same composition as sweat. (This is a cool idea, but sweats from different people, different exercises, different nutritional status and different parts of the body vary. Also, you lose or use-up stuff in other ways – kidney filtration, metabolic breakdown (sugars, vitamins)…

It makes sense to me that a practical way to meter these additions to your body is to add them to *all* of the water you drink. That way, you get them roughly in proportion to the water you lose which is related to your energy exertion and may eliminate some environmental variables like temperature. I don’t see the manufacturers stressing this though, and I could be wrong.

It has been a while since I researched this, so I am probably forgetting some of the claims and confusions. In your studies, have you found anything solid? Do you have practical recommendations? My current favorite is Vitalyte, but it has more sugar than I think it should have. I think all the commercial products add sugar to make the product sell.

See you next summer on the trails?

Scott

My reply:

Hi Scott - good to hear from you – and most definitely you’ll see me on the trails as soon as they’re clear of snow!

Yeah - the whole elyte and hydration thing is a mess - there are SO many competing ideas and theories - and the only things that anybody can agree on are:

-a blend of different elytes is best, with sodium by far the most important, then potassium, then any of the others…

-a blend of sugars, at a low level, will enhance absorption of both elytes and H20 (this is why the WHO - World Health Organization gives dilute saline/sugar solution to dehydrated refuges – it hydrates faster, maintains cardiovascular function, and reduces gut bloating)…

-the “commercial” products that do the best job of elyte/hydration are Gatorade “G-Series” and Powerbar's new “Ironman Perform” drink (for short spins in moderate conditions)…

BUT, when you start going “longer” and need more calories, those extra calories really screw things up - they slow the absorption of water and elytes and lead to gut bloating and eventually to cramping (gut and leg cramps).

-this sucks, because the harder you go (intensity), the slower your gut absorption becomes…

-this double-sucks, because the hotter it gets, the more you need the fluid/elytes, and the slower you're able to get them out of your gut and into your blood/muscles…

You will also hear all sorts of rubbish about needing protein and antioxidants and other stuff in your hydration drink – but its all marketing blather. You don’t need protein unless you’re done with your workout – or if you’re going really long (like an ultra) – and in both situations, you want to get anything other than H20, sugar, and electrolytes from your FOOD.

I've been mixing up my own "blend" for years. It is a blend of maltodextrin, sucrose/fructose, and potato starch – three different types of carbs that are absorbed very differently from the gut. Because they use different transporters, they empty quickly and the risk of GI bloat and cramping is much reduced.

I've used this blend for Ironman-distance triathlons and ultramarathon runs (50-100 miles) with decent success - but even then, you still need to go to “real foods” for the really long events.

For elytes, I use sea salt from the grinder - more grinds for really hot days and fewer grinds on less hot days. I know it doesn’t sound very scientific, but it allows you to “customize” your electrolyte intake based on conditions, workout, and fitness level.

Here is my Wicked Fast blend:

* The flavor is fairly mild (I hate the overly sweet taste of most commercial sports drinks).

*(1 rounded scoop = about 35g from the Country Time lemonade canister):

-1 scoop lemonade mix (sucrose/fructose) = 140 calories of "fast" carbohydrates

*I use Country Time lemonade or 4C Ice Tea mix, depending on taste that day.

-1 scoop maltodextrin = 140 calories of "medium" carbohydrates

*I use Carbo-Pro powder, but there are lots of plain maltodextrin powders out there)

-1 scoop potato starch (amylopectin) = 140 calories of "slow" carbohydrates

*I use Manischewitz because you can find it in any grocery store)

-2 "twists" of sea salt grinder = approx 1/4 tsp of salt (about 1g) = approx 450mg sodium, 450mg chloride, 100mg potassium/magnesium/calcium

*I use a pink sea salt from the local grocery store

Total = 420 “mixed” carbohydrate calories with 1,000mg total electrolytes

*you can adjust the amount of sweetness/flavor with more/less lemonade mix and the amount of elytes with more/fewer twists of the salt grinder.

I usually carry this mixed with water in a single 24-ounce insulated bottle with another bottle of plain water. If I need more calories than this 450 - such as in an Ironman or Ultra, then I'm switching over to real foods like PB&J sandwiches, Ensure, Boiled Potatoes, Granola Bars, etc.

I'll also roll out having already taken my 2 Energ-Ease capsules (for endurance/stamina) and if I'm out for over 3 hours, I'll pop a few Recover-Ease capsules (the BCAAs can help enhance hydration and delay central fatigue - but you don't need them for shorter workouts). Of course, I'll finish the workout with 4 capsules of Recover-Ease to enhance post-exercise recovery.

Hope that helps – and good luck on your next long hot ride!

Shawn

====================================

Shawn M. Talbott, PhD, LDN, FACSM

www.ShawnTalbott.com

Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/DocTalbott

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https://wickedfastsportsnutrition.com/blog/post/2011/02/01/Electrolyte-Hydration-Beverage.aspx

Performance in a Pill (4) - Choosing and Using Supplements

Confused by nutritional supplements? Not for long.

Written by: Shawn Talbott, PhD

Without a doubt, dietary supplements have widespread usage and appeal—to the tune of more than $25 billion in annual sales in the United States alone. Approximately 85 percent of Americans have used dietary supplements at one time or another, and more than six in 10 members of the population are regular users of supplements (using them on most days of the week). The numbers for supplement use are even higher for athletes.

Despite the large number of people currently buying and using dietary supplements, however, a huge gap often exists between the practice of supplementation and the knowledge behind those choices and usage patterns. For example, many consumers are not careful about recommended dosages for supplements—and the common assumption that “if a little is good, more is better” can pose serious health consequences.

Choosing a Supplement

In choosing dietary supplements, ask the following questions:

1. Is it safe and legal?

2. Do the product’s claims make sense?

3. Do studies exist on the actual finished product (not the individual ingredients), and were those studies conducted in endurance athletes?

4. Was the amount of the supplement in the study the same as the recommended amount on the label?

5. Is it right for you (do you need something for general nutrition or endurance or recovery or nothing at all)?


Natural Versus Synthetic Vitamins

In most cases, natural and synthetic vitamins and minerals are handled by the body in exactly the same way. A good example of this is the B-complex vitamins, which can be obtained in supplements as “natural” B vitamins (usually from brewer’s yeast or a similar substance) or as purified chemicals and listed on the product label as thiamin (B-1), riboflavin (B-2), niacin (B-3), and so forth. When any of these supplemental sources of B vitamins is consumed, the vitamins are absorbed, transported, and utilized by the body in exactly the same way—so we can say with confidence that there is no difference between natural and synthetic when it comes to B vitamins.

Two interesting exceptions to this rule are folic acid, which is better absorbed in the synthetic form (compared to natural forms found in foods), and vitamin E, which is far superior as the natural form (absorbed and retained in the body two to three times better than synthetic vitamin E).

Brand Name or Generic?

This is one of the most common questions that I get when it comes to multivitamins. People want to know if they can just buy the “grocery store version” to get their daily nutrients. The ultimate answer is really less about generics vs. brand-name products than it is about choosing between supplements that provide “basic” versus “optimal” levels of particular nutrients. Therefore, the answer to this question will depend on two primary factors: How much money can you afford to spend on a supplement, and are you looking for a basic or an optimal supplement?

Many of the generic or private-label store-brand supplements on the market will do a satisfactory job of helping you meet the basic RDA (recommended daily allowance) levels for essential vitamins and minerals. The primary limitation with these generic products, and even with many brand-name supplements, is that the basic RDA levels of most vitamins and minerals fall far below the levels associated with optimal health and certainly below those needed for optimal endurance performance.

With respect to the B vitamins, there is good scientific evidence to support daily intakes at 200-500 percent of RDA levels for optimal stress response and cortisol control. These levels are two to five times higher than the levels found in most multivitamin products.

Calcium and magnesium are two minerals that are known to help regulate the body’s stress response, yet most generic supplements and one-tablet-a-day-type brand-name supplements provide only a small fraction of the 250–500 milligrams (mg) of calcium and the 125–250 mg of magnesium needed to promote a normal stress response. The primary reason for skimping on the calcium and magnesium in these products is not cost (both are very cheap), but rather space considerations in the capsules and tablets. Both calcium and magnesium are bulky minerals—that is, they take up a lot of space—so an optimal daily dosage requires more than a single capsule each day (and sometimes as many as four capsules, depending on the mineral source).

The bottom line here is that everybody should take at least a basic multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplement (MVMS)—and virtually any product, generic or brand-name, on the shelf at Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid, or your local grocery store will satisfy the basic RDA-level requirements. However, if you are interested in a supplement that delivers more than the rock-bottom levels of nutrients, and if you can afford to spend a little more on your daily supplement regimen, then you will want to consider a MVMS that provides higher levels of B-complex vitamins, calcium, and magnesium.

Herbal Supplements

When it comes to selecting herbal supplements, the situation can quickly get very confusing. Because herbals are really a form of natural medicine, it is crucial that you select the right form of the herb so that you get the safest and most effective product. Herbal supplements are an area in which generic products are not equivalent to brand-name products. It is vitally important to select either the exact product that has been used in clinical studies, or a product that contains a chemically equivalent form of the herb that has been studied. The easiest way for most consumers to select a safe and effective herb is to select only those extracts that have been “standardized” to provide a uniform level of the key active ingredients in each batch of the product. The best scenario would be to select only those specific products that have undergone clinical studies of their own and in endurance athletes (rather than selecting products that contain ingredients on which studies have been conducted)—but there are far fewer finished products that have been subjected to clinical testing than there are raw ingredients (cordyceps, rhodiola, glucosamine etc.) that have been evaluated in such research.

Where to Buy Supplements?

The preceding three points should offer enough general guidance to help you weed through the many less desirable supplement products on the market and select products that can make a difference in your overall health. With the explosive growth in the supplement market over the past decade, consumers can now find vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other supplements for sale in a variety of places—including specialty supplement stores, natural-foods stores, drugstores, grocery stores, discount department stores, and through direct marketing, infomercials, catalog sales, and the Internet. Are any of these outlets “better” than the others? Not really—but each has its own particular niche.

For example, the least expensive “bargain” products will be found at supermarkets and discount department stores (e.g., Wal-Mart), but these products may suffer from many of the problems outlined above with regard to basic versus optimal supplementation. Supplements that are a step above the cheapest and most basic of products can typically be found at drugstores, natural-foods markets, and specialty supplement outlets, including running and cycling shops. These are the middle-of-the-road products that do a decent job of balancing high-quality and optimal nutrient levels with moderate prices. The most expensive products, and those with the widest range in terms of quality, safety, and effectiveness, are typically sold through direct sales channels such as the Internet, catalogs, and independent sales agents. In some cases, these products are designed to deliver optimal levels of all nutrients in the most bioavailable forms, but the obvious downside is their high price. In other cases, all you get is the high price—without any of the optimal levels of the crucial nutrients.

So how can you differentiate among these premium-priced products? By asking to see the results from their clinical studies. Products in this “premium” category will almost certainly need to justify their high price with strong scientific evidence to support their claims and to show that their product is justified at this price. If the company cannot provide you with scientific evidence to support its premium products, then you are well advised to look elsewhere for your supplement.

Using Supplements

After you have selected your supplements with the help of the above information, the following guidelines can help you use those supplements in the proper manner (that is, to optimize both safety and effectiveness):

Remember that a dietary supplement is just that—meaning that it is meant to be added to an otherwise healthy diet. It is not meant to substitute for a balanced diet or to make up for a poor diet.
Follow the dosage recommendations on the package. The recommended dosage is important for safety and effectiveness—especially for herbals and other supplements that combine multiple ingredients. Don’t assume that if one tablet is recommended per day, two or three will be even better.
Keep all dietary supplements in a safe place—away from heat and light that may accelerate their breakdown, and away from children who may accidentally ingest them.

Summary

Now that you know how to choose your optimally-formulated, research-proven, endurance-specific supplement based on the broad criteria above, you can put it to its best use by adding it to your otherwise super-charged diet and training regimen (and not hoping that the supplement will act like a magic bullet).

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About the Author: Shawn Talbott is multiple Ironman and ultramarathon finisher and a sports nutrition expert with a Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry and a master’s degree in exercise science. He lives in Salt Lake City. For more information visit www.ShawnTalbott.com

Performance in a Pill (3) - Banned Substances, Buyer Beware

Do you know what’s really in your sports nutrition supplements?

Written by: Shawn Talbott, PhD

Doping. Even uttering the word makes many of us in the endurance community cringe. It is a word charged with ethics, emotion, politics. For us non-elite athletes, the issue of doping, or use of banned performance-enhancing drugs and methods, is mostly a theoretical one. Even if you were stuffed to the gills with testosterone and amphetamines at your next event, chances are you wouldn’t have to fear urinating in a cup or providing a blood sample for a doping test (even if you were on the top step of the podium). However, if you plan on stepping onto the podium at Kona, or an Olympic Trials race, or a state championship cycling event, or even a NCAA-sanctioned running race, your chances of peeing in that cup are greater. The higher your level of competition is, the more likely you are to find yourself subjected to a doping analysis. (I’ve been tested twice as an elite-level rower, but never as a triathlete.)

Are Your Supplements Tainted?

According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), athletes are “strictly liable” for any prohibited substances which are found in their bodies (blood and urine samples)—no matter how the banned substance made its way into the athlete’s body. It’s not overly cynical to “expect” any doping athlete to blame a contaminated dietary supplement for his or her positive dope test, but WADA doesn’t let athletes off the hook for “accidents”; even when some supplements have clearly been found to contain undeclared steroids and stimulants.

According to a much-quoted 2001 study commissioned by the International Olympic Committee, nearly 15 percent of sports supplements (634 products from 215 suppliers in 13 countries) tested positive for undeclared prohibited substances (anabolic agents or stimulants). Such findings have led to a policy of “supplement avoidance” among many people in the endurance community – even when scientific evidence clearly supports the use of some types of dietary supplements for promoting wellness, enhancing recovery, and generally helping athletes maintain a high state of mental and physical performance. Taking a “just say no” approach to supplements is simply unrealistic for some endurance athletes, however. We need to explore every option that can help keep us going amidst the demands of work, family, and other aspects of our life outside of our endurance training.

None of us, elite or amateur, wants our supplements to contain any “undeclared” ingredients, especially if they’re prohibited by the rules of our sport. If your electrolyte powder has a smidge of testosterone in it, you probably won’t have to give back the Maillot Jaune, but you want your nutrition products to contain what they’re supposed to and nothing else. This is where good quality control comes in.

Contamination and Quality Control

Most manufacturers of dietary supplements are responsible and ethical, and they have no desire to market contaminated products. But even while many companies will tell you that their products are “formulated without banned substances” or that their products are “manufactured in a facility which contains no banned substances”, you never really know that the products you’re ingesting are clean unless those products are specifically analyzed to confirm the absence of prohibited substances.

Testing products for banned substances is an extremely intricate area of analytical chemistry. The credibility of a banned substance screen really comes down to the sensitivity (or the “limits of detection”—the smallest amount of a substance that can be detected) of a particular analytical method, because even a minute “trace” amount of a banned substance present in a nutrition product could result in a positive doping result. Many labs can analyze substances down to microgram levels of sensitivity (mcg), but banned substances present at nanogram-levels (ng = 100 times lower than most labs can detect) could cause a positive doping result.

I have personally been involved in several projects where doping risks have been associated with dietary supplements used by elite athletes. In two instances, we were able to trace contaminated herbal extracts (containing undeclared ephedrine in one case and intentionally spiked with sildenifil, the active ingredient in Viagra, in another) back to their origin (China in both cases). In another instance, the individual raw materials checked out clean but the finished product tested positive for testosterone precursors (DHEA and androstenedione) – with contamination eventually traced to an improperly cleaned encapsulating machine that had been used months before to manufacture bodybuilding supplements.

Endurance athletes also need to understand that some dietary supplement ingredients (and medications) that are perfectly legal in the United States may also be considered prohibited by WADA for use in sport (training and competition). DHEA, a precursor for testosterone synthesis used for anti-aging benefits, and sildenifil (Viagra), used for other types of “performance enhancement”, are two examples of substances that are perfectly legal for the market, but banned for athletes.

You could take one of several positions on the issue of dietary supplements and the risk of consuming banned substances:

1. I’m an elite athlete who can’t afford to take the risk with supplements, so I’ll just say no, even if that means I’m giving up a legal performance edge to my competition by forgoing the all supplements).

2. Who cares? I’m an age-grouper doing this for fun and a challenge. I’ll take the risk of taking supplements so I can gain any edge that can help me train harder and go faster.

3. I want the benefits of the right supplements, but I don’t want to break the rules, and I want to know what I’m putting into my body.

No matter which group you fall into, you ought to be concerned that your nutrition products are produced under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), which are mandated and overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and that they contain only those ingredients that are disclosed on the label (which is mandated by U.S. law). There are a handful of organizations that can analyze dietary supplements for the presence of prohibited substances (primarily anabolic agents like steroids and stimulants like ephedrine and amphetamines). They include Banned Substances Control Group (BSCG), HFL Sports Science, NSF International (which certifies supplements for Major League baseball and the National Football League), ConsumerLab, and the National Products Association. Be aware that the limits of detection and the compounds they analyze differ between the organizations.

Buyer Beware

As you’ll read in coming editions of the “Performance in a Pill?” series, there are certainly some dietary supplements that are of potential value to endurance athletes—but the responsibility for choosing and using the right supplements (and avoiding the “wrong” ones) comes back to the individual athlete. Only through self-education and asking the right questions can you make an informed decision about which supplements are right for you.

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About the Author: Shawn Talbott is multiple Ironman and ultramarathon finisher and a sports nutrition expert with a Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry and a master’s degree in exercise science. He lives in Salt Lake City. For more information visit www.ShawnTalbott.com

Performance in a Pill (2) - Supplement Use Among Endurance Athletes

How do your supplement habits compare to other endurance athletes?

Written by: Shawn Talbott, PhD

Surveys on dietary supplement use among the general population suggest that 50-75 percent of adult Americans are “regular users” of dietary supplements, primarily multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplements. Supplement usage rates among athletes are less clear, with some reports indicating 100 percent usage of dietary supplement among bodybuilders, and other estimates indicating 30-50 percent usage among elite and non-elite endurance athletes.

It is generally accepted that bodybuilders and weight-training enthusiasts consume dietary supplements at a significantly greater level compared to endurance athletes (runners, triathletes, cyclists, etc), but the reasons for this disparity are not well understood. Differences in supplement effects, marketing, and mode of education (e.g. where/how athletes get their information) may account for some of the differences in supplement usage between strength and endurance athletes.

My research group, SupplementWatch, conducted a study entitled “Dietary Supplement Use Among Endurance Athletes” that was presented at the International Society for Sports Nutrition (ISSN). Our overall conclusions were:

Triathletes at both Olympic and Ironman distances are avid users of dietary supplements (almost 100 percent in some cases).
Primary sources of information about supplements are the Internet (95%), friends and training partners (89%), and coaches (83%).
Longer-distance triathletes appear to take more supplements for recovery and endurance and also tend to report greater supplement usage after exercise, as compared to shorter-distance triathletes.
In our study, we recruited 326 triathletes from events in California, Texas, and Oklahoma (174 were Iron-distance triathletes with 103 men and 71 women, and 152 were Olympic-distance with 89 men and 63 women). Triathletes reported that, on average, they consumed dietary supplements five days per week and spent $51/month on their supplements (range $15 to $140).

Interestingly, we also found that despite the widespread use of supplements among triathletes, they also felt that they needed more information about supplements (90 percent) and they had difficulty in finding accurate/unbiased information (90 percent).

When we asked triathletes why they took supplements, 89 percent indicated that they felt they were not able to get the nutrients they needed from foods alone. Other reasons for taking supplements included:

• They give me energy (82%)
• To perform better (73%)
• General health (62%)
• To help me recover (61%)
• To lose body fat (41%)
• To prevent disease (28%)

When asked what types of supplements they were using, we found a wide range of endurance-specific products:

• Carbohydrate (beverage) = 98%
• Multi-vitamin = 93%
• Electrolyte (beverage) = 90%
• Carbohydrate (gel) = 78%
• Fish oil = 60%
• Antioxidant = 56%
• Recovery = 56%
• Endurance = 52%
• Fat Loss = 42%

When we looked at when supplements were consumed, we found that triathletes were avid users of dietary supplements before (95 percent) and during (88 percent) exercise, but less so after training (only 54 percent), despite the fact that some of the most proven sport nutrition supplements are post-exercise recovery enhancers.

Overall, we found that triathletes are avid consumers of a wide range of dietary supplements for reasons including endurance enhancement, general health, post-exercise recovery, and other benefits – but that they were in search of more information about supplements. While we did not survey runners, considering the wide degree of overlap between the two sports we would expect to obtain similar findings.

Future installments in this “Performance in a Pill?” series will attempt to give you the information you need to make informed decisions about the pros and cons of choosing and using dietary supplements as an endurance athlete.

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Shawn Talbott, PhD, is a multiple Ironman and ultramarathon finisher and nutritional biochemist based in Salt Lake City. For more information visit www.ShawnTalbott.com

Performance in a Pill (1) - Intro to Dietary Supplements

See original version at http://triathlon.competitor.com/2010/10/nutrition/performance-in-a-pill-introduction-to-dietary-supplements_15479

In this first installment of a new series, one of the top sports supplements experts invites you to learn everything you need to know about safe and effective nutritional supplementation for endurance.

Written by: Shawn Talbott, Ph.D.

Nearly 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates, the “father of modern medicine”, embraced the concept, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Although we know that diet plays a role in five of the 10 leading causes of death (including coronary heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, Type II diabetes, and atherosclerosis), the advent of modern pharmaceutical therapy in the 19th century caused the “food as medicine” philosophy to fall into relative obscurity as a “quaint” concept among many healthcare professionals.

As endurance athletes, we’re concerned as much about health as we are about performance, so this “food first” approach is certainly something that we should be taking to heart. We know that diet is at least as important for optimal physical and mental performance as exercise training—but too few of us pay as much attention to our diets as we pay to choosing our next pair of running shoes.

Many of the athletes that I work with are looking for ways to “fix” the nutrition side of their performance, or looking to tweak their nutrition for a performance “edge” over their competition. This article is the first in a series, “Performance in a Pill?”, where I’ll explore the evidence for/against certain dietary supplements: some that might help us as endurance athletes, some that might not help, and others that might be downright dangerous or illegal (or both).

Herbal preparations have been used as medicinal agents and performance enhancers since time immemorial in all cultures the world over. Since 1994, however, with the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), millions of American consumers have readily and avidly embraced the use of food, dietary supplements, and herbal extracts for more than just basic nutrition. The past decade has seen the dietary supplement industry grow in size from almost zero to almost $25 billion in annual domestic sales with more $100 million in worldwide sales. Although estimates vary, approximately 50-60 percent of adults in the United States identify themselves as consumers of dietary supplements (close to 200 million Americans consume supplements, according to the FDA). Among endurance athletes, some studies suggest that as many as 90 percent of elite-level athletes are regular users of dietary supplements (and close to 100 percent of power athletes use supplements).

When considering any dietary supplement, we all face the often-daunting challenge of trying to determine whether or not a particular product meets our needs (or lives up to its claims). The broad definition of dietary supplements permits the use of a wide variety of plant constituents (roots, leaves, stems, etc.), vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other ingredients that can have essential or nonessential bioactive constituents with associated health benefits (or risks). Endurance athletes tend to use dietary supplements either as preventive nutrition, where, for example, a daily multivitamin supplement is intended to provide nutritional “insurance”, or as ergogenic aids, or performance enhancers. For example, cordyceps and rhodiola are intended to improve oxygen utilization and boost endurance performance. Of course, consumers also use dietary supplements in myriad other ways to promote weight loss, to increase energy levels, and to treat specific diseases.

The Food and Drug Administration regulates dietary supplements in many of the same ways that it regulates conventional foods—but supplement products are required to carry the disclaimer, “This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.” Like foods, but unlike drugs, dietary supplements do not require pre-marketing approval by the FDA, but the FDA has the authority to restrict sales and remove specific supplements from the market if they are shown to pose a public health risk. Because the scientific and medical evidence for the efficacy and safety of dietary supplements is highly variable in terms of both quantity and quality, it is very much a situation of “buyer beware” when it comes to choosing and using dietary supplements. However, by understanding the risks and benefits associated with use of these products, we can make an educated decision about which supplements are worth their cost to help with endurance, recovery, or general nutrition—and (perhaps more importantly) which others are best avoided.


This series of articles is intended to provide endurance athletes with a basis and background on which to make educated decisions about the appropriate use (or avoidance) of specific dietary supplements. The most important thing to realize is that dietary supplements are not panaceas or magic bullets that can counteract poor health habits; rather, they are supplements to a comprehensive lifestyle approach that also includes a balanced diet, regular physical training, stress management, adequate sleep, and other positive health practices.

Research studies of dietary supplements are often difficult to evaluate because of differences in the ingredients from study to study, incomplete description and analysis of the active ingredients, and variations in the dosing, duration, and population studied. Considering the large number of dietary supplements on the market, this series will focus on the supplements that are most likely to be of interest to endurance athletes and those that have a sufficient body of clinical evidence to evaluate.

Each article in this series will cover 3 main areas:

1. Claimst/theory behind the supplement (What is it supposed to do and how?)
2. Science (What does independent research say about this supplement?)
3. Recommendations (How might this supplement benefit you, the endurance athlete?)

I am generally a fairly “pro-supplement” kind of person, but I am also a staunch advocate of the idea that food and fitness must come first—so I won’t be pushing any magical pills or potions to make up for poor diet or lack of training. Thanks for starting this journey with me. I look forward to exploring the world of endurance supplements with you in the coming weeks.

About the Author: Shawn Talbott is multiple Ironman and ultramarathon finisher and a sports nutrition expert with a Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry and a master’s degree in exercise science. He lives in Salt Lake City. For more information visit www.ShawnTalbott.com

Competitor Network Series

I have a new article series on the Competitor Network (http://running.competitor.com/) - these are the folks who bring you several excellent magazines dedicated to endurance sports, including VeloNews (http://velonews.competitor.com/), Singletrack (mountain biking at http://singletrack.competitor.com/), and Triathlete (http://triathlon.competitor.com/). If it matters to endurance athletes, you’ll read about it on the Competitor Network.

My first two articles for Competitor covered different aspects of Nutritional Recovery (what and when to eat to recover faster) - you can read the full articles at the links below...

1. Nutritional Recovery (http://triathlon.competitor.com/2009/07/features/nutritional-recovery_3402)

2. Now or Later? When to Eat Post-Exercise? (http://running.competitor.com/2010/05/features/now-or-later_10020)

More recently, I’ve been working on a new article series on dietary supplements that we’re calling, “Performance in a Pill?”

The series will examine the pros and cons of choosing and using dietary supplements to improve performance - specifically endurance, recovery, and other aspects of performance in which an endurance athlete may be interested.

The links below will bring you to the most recent four articles in the “Performance in a Pill?” series - hope you like them!

Performance in a Pill Series:

1. 1.Introduction to Dietary Supplements (http://triathlon.competitor.com/2010/10/nutrition/performance-in-a-pill-introduction-to-dietary-supplements_15479)

1. 2.Supplement Use Among Endurance Athletes (http://triathlon.competitor.com/2010/11/nutrition/performance-in-a-pill-supplement-use-among-endurance-atheltes_16530)

1. 3.Banned Substances – Buyer Beware (http://running.competitor.com/2010/11/nutrition/performance-in-a-pill-banned-substances-buyer-beware_16777)

1. 4. Choosing and Using Dietary Supplements (http://running.competitor.com/2010/11/nutrition/performance-in-a-pill-choosing-and-using-supplements_18191)

Thanks for reading!

Shawn M. Talbott, PhD
www.ShawnTalbott.com

New "About Us" at Wicked Fast

I thought it was about time to update the "About Us" portion of the Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition website for a few reasons. The primary reason is that people are SO surprised when they call or email us when either myself or Julie picks up the phone or personally replies to an email message. Many of our customers are expecting to get transferred to a call-center to speak with a customer service agent (not always a "bad" thing) - so they're surprised to actually get the owners of the company.

Well, it's not surprising to us, because when we started Wicked Fast back in 2004, we wanted to have a "different" type of nutrition company - one that didn't rely on advertising or pro-athlete payoffs to "push" its products - one that focused on the science of endurance to develop super-premium products (without the super-premium price) - and one that we could run the way we wanted to run it, with a commitment to helping our customers achieve their peak potential (hey, we can't all be on the podium, but we can certainly do our best to reach our personal best).

We're a small company - and we'll always be a small "niche" company because we want to stay focused on the committed endurance athletes (like us) who take their training and racing and personal performance seriously. 

At Wicked Fast, Julie and I personally guarantee that our products will be the purest, most-potent, and most effective products for Endurance, Recovery, Balanced Nutrition, and Fat Loss that you have ever used. Period. 

Thanks for reading...

Shawn

Here is the new "About Us" text for your reading pleasure:

About Us

Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition (WFSN) provides FOUR research-proven nutrition products specifically formulated for endurance athletes. Our products are formulated with the highest purity and highest potency ingredients by endurance athletes for endurance athletes. The Wicked Fast Team (all of whom are avid endurance junkies – just like you) is focused on developing and delivering the highest quality, efficacious and cutting-edge natural products to endurance athletes around the world. Try Wicked Fast products and FEEL the difference for yourself.

Wicked Fast is owned and operated by Shawn & Julie Talbott – so when you email or call, you’ll get one of us – not a call center or an order taker. Shawn holds a MS in Exercise Science (UMass Amherst), an EMP in Entrepreneurship (MIT), and a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry (Rutgers), and is an avid endurance athlete with 14 Ironman finishes and numerous ultra-marathons under his belt. Julie holds a BS in Industrial Engineering (UMass Amherst) and an MBA in Operations (Rutgers), and is also an endurance athlete competing in marathons and trail running. No matter what questions you might have about Wicked Fast products – how they work – what our science shows – how to use them – how you can become a distributor – how they compare to more costly products – why we don’t advertise – whatever – Shawn & Julie can help to answer your questions and help you go faster, recover quicker, and reach your peak potential.

Our FOUR products are:

Energ-Ease helps you to "Get up... Get going... and Keep going..." Energ-Ease is the only endurance supplement that delivers quick energy, sustained stamina, and helps maintain normal hormone balance to help you avoid overtraining. Take Energ-Ease before exercise to help you reach new heights in energy, endurance, and stamina.

Recover-Ease helps your body to recover faster and more completely from your hardest efforts. No other recovery product works the way Recover-Ease does to reduce stress hormones, improve immune function, accelerate tissue repair, and manage muscle soreness.

Intense Defense is a comprehensive and balanced multi-nutrient supplement intended for dedicated endurance athletes. It provides 3 complete formulas delivering Optimal Nutrition, Antioxidant Balance, and Inflammatory Control.

Wicked Lean with Neurovectin helps burn fat, control appetite and enhance metabolism. One to two ounces before exercise or a meal will help ignite your metabolism while enhancing focus, giving that extra "edge" to your workouts and your willpower! Achieve your optimal "leanness" and high-octane performance with Wicked Lean.

Our Vision

To use the science of today – plus the wisdom and tradition of nature – to enhance your physical and mental endurance performance…

Committed To Research

WFSN considers science to be its guiding principle. While other companies pay a great deal of lip service to science, Wicked Fast stands behind each and every one of its products with clinical studies (on our actual finished products in endurance athletes), patents, biochemical assays, and laboratory analyses to prove to you that our products are pure, safe, effective, and worth your attention. We are one of the few nutrition companies in the world to maintain our own state-of-the-art human physiology and exercise biochemistry laboratory and support a program of ongoing clinical performance research. Rather than spending money on expensive advertising or professional athlete sponsorships, we would MUCH prefer to spend our money on research to ensure our products are the most potent, highest purity, and most effective endurance products on the market.

Committed To You

Every WFSN product is developed with the end-user in mind. We do not “pixie dust” our products with miniscule levels of ingredients. Rather, we only use the clinically effective amounts of the specific ingredients known to be effective for a particular benefit. We do this because we know that our customers want products that WORK – not products with empty promises and marketing hype. Each and every WFSN product is backed by our 100% money-back guarantee.

Research Proven

Our research has been presented at numerous prestigious scientific conferences, including The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), American College of Nutrition (ACN), Experimental Biology (EB), American Society for Nutrition (ASN), and the International Society for Sports Nutrition (ISSN), among others.

Wicked Lean Launches!

Earlier today, I sent out this email to our most loyal Wicked Fast customers - triathletes, marathoners, ultrarunners, and assorted endurance nuts to alert them (and you) to the launch (finally!) of our newest product = Wicked Lean (see #2 below).

I also wanted to find out what people generally thought about the whole issue of “banned substances” in dietary supplements (see #1 below). My hunch is that most people don’t care as much about the “elite athlete doping” issue as they do about naturally performing at their best with whatever “edge” they can find. We’ll see what comments I get back to this question and to my upcoming article on the topic in Competitor (a major endurance magazine/website).

===================================

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for being a Wicked Fast customer. I have two quick things to share with you - one Question - and one Announcement.

1. The Question

Do you care whether or not Wicked Fast products are certified by a 3rd-party lab to be free of prohibited substances?

-For several years, our Energ-Ease and Recover-Ease products have been certified by BSCG (Banned Substances Control Group) and HFL (in the United Kingdom) to be "free" of any substances deemed to be prohibited or banned by sporting governing bodies. This means that if you're competing in NCAA or Olympic or similar events (where you might have to pee in a cup), then our products would not cause anyone to "test positive" for something that shouldn't be there (steroids, stimulants, etc).

-Our Energ-Ease and Recover-Ease continue to be manufactured under FDA-GMP conditions (the highest and most stringent) and we screen all of our raw materials to ensure the highest purity and potency - but we're not sure if you (our customers) give a hoot about the extra level of banned substance analysis.

-Let me know if you want us to continue our 3rd-party banned substance testing (or if you don't really care). This is an added expense for our little company - we refrain from advertising and pro sponsorships so we can keep our prices fair for avid age-groupers like ourselves - but we'll continue the analytical testing if you want us to.

2. The Announcement

Earlier today, we launched our newest product - Wicked Lean ("Burn Fat, Control Appetite, & Enhance Metabolism")

-We've been testing and tweaking and retesting the Wicked Lean formula for the last 2 years and we're thrilled that it is finally "out there" for people to start using (especially with the off-season and Holidays coming, when many of us tend to stray away from our race weight and the need to get back to race weight as the season heats up).

-We have some cool deals on Wicked Lean and we're sharing free bottles with our loyal customers (look for your freebie in you next auto-delivery of Energ-Ease or Recover-Ease).

-Related to the Question above - you should know that Wicked Lean contains a couple of ingredients that are considered by WADA to be "prohibited" stimulants - so if the drug testers are often knocking on your door, then you might want to skip Wicked Lean - no matter how effective it is at helping you hit your race weight.

-Wicked Lean is produced in a completely separate facility (in another state) from our production of Energ-Ease and Recover-Ease, so there is no risk of "cross contamination" between the products. So, if you are concerned about banned substances, both EE and RE will remain "dope-free" even if Wicked Lean is off limits for you.

Thanks for letting me share this info with you all. Please let myself or Julie know if you have any questions about any of our Wicked Fast products.

Good luck with the rest of your seasons - and if you're already in the "off" season - then rest and relax and kill it in 2011!

All best,

Shawn

====================

Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer

Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition

648 E Rocky Knoll

Draper, UT 84020

801-576-0788 (office)

801-915-1170 (mobile)

Shawn@WickedFastSN.com

www.WickedFastSportsNutrition.com

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Glutamine for Endurance Athletes?

Here is some correspondence I have been having with a journalist writing an article about the pros/cons of supplementing with glutamine:

I referred the writer to this link for some general info on glutamine (from my SupplementWatch educational site - based on the content from my 2 textbooks on dietary supplements)...

http://www.supplementwatch.com/SupplementWatch/Library/Entries/2009/2/18_Glutamine_-_Professional_Version.html

The I answered a bunch of question for her on the phone - and then handled a question about “how much can glutamine levels become depleted by exercise?” - to which I answered:

30-50% is probably a good range - the depletion of glutamine is very much dependent on the overall intensity of the challenge - so extremely intense catabolic conditions (such as burn patients) might deplete glutamine levels by 90% - while the casual exerciser would have little to no glutamine depletion. A hard-training athlete would be someplace in between - for example, we know that running a 1/2-marathon or full marathon will suppress immune function enough to result in upper respiratory tract infections in about 70% of finishers - so the more intense the effort, the greater the glutamine depletion is likely to be.

...and another = “How does glutamine increase glycogen levels?” - to which I replied:

Glutamine directly increases the activity of an enzyme - glycogen synthase - that creates glycogen in muscle/liver cells (glycogen = the stored form of glucose). Most studies suggest that this effect only happens if you have depleted your glycogen stores pretty significantly (very intense or long duration exercise). From a practical perspective, most people can “get away” with restoring glycogen levels after exercise with just eating carbs (provide the glucose for glycogen synthesis) - but in very depleted states, the added glutamine will enhance the glycogen storage - which could be important for athletes training/competing hard day after day.

...and finally - a very good question about some of the research on glutamine supplements not showing much of anything...

A lot of hard research does not indicate that glutamine does much - if anything - when taken as a supplement. Is this because the use of single amino acids can’t be substantiated somehow? Or is it because they need to work together with other nutrients to be effective? Or are they more effective when taken as BCAAs?

Hi Lxx - I think that most of the "no effect" studies come down to 2 factors:

1. the intensity of the intervention was not high enough - this is based on the fact that the most "extreme" situations (burns, post-surgery, and very intense/long exercise) tend to respond more predictably to glutamine supplementation - while the trials of shorter/easier interventions are hit/miss. It goes back to what I said before - that glutamine is a great supplement to consider if you are training HARD and need some help in "keeping" that muscle and enhancing repair - but if you're not going "hard enough" to get yourself into that hyper-catabolic state, then glutamine will probably not add much for you.

2. compliance with the supplementation regimen - I see this all the time with university-based research on supplements. A grad student will conduct a study on a small number of subjects, give them some capsules to take during a training program, and then not "manage" either the subjects or their supplement well enough (the subjects forget to take their pills or miss a few of the training sessions) - which results in a "no effect" result from the study because the subjects did not "go hard enough" (to create that hypercatabolic state) or even adhere to their supplementation regimen (they can't work if you don't take them).

There is also another factor that is more of a practical consideration when it comes to formulating products:

3. glutamine (which is cheap) is more effective when taken with BCAAs (which are expensive) - this is a harder one to tease out, but since the immune system cells are using all 4 of these amino acids as an energy source, it makes sense to take them together. We have found very good results on reducing post-exercise URTIs (upper respiratory tract infections after marathon running) with a combination of glutamine (1 gram) plus BCAAs (leucine, valine, isoleucine in a 3:1:1 ratio).

Hope that helps!

Shawn

==================================

Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D.

Nutritional Biochemist and Author

www.shawntalbott.com

www.supplementwatch.com

NEW BOOK - “Vigor - 7 Days to Unlimited Energy, Focus, and Well-Being” (http://www.VigorBook.com)

 

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-Killer at Large - an award-winning documentary exploring the causes and solutions underlying the American obesity epidemic  (http://www.KilleratLarge.com)

-The Health Professionals Guide to Dietary Supplements (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkens) - http://www.supplementwatch.com/

-Cortisol Control and the Beauty Connection - The All-Natural Inside-Out Approach to Reversing Wrinkles, Preventing Acne, And Improving Skin Tone (Hunter House) - http://www.cortisolcontrol.com/

-Natural Solutions for Pain-Free Living (Chronicle Publishers - Currant Books)

-The Cortisol Connection - Why Stress Makes You Fat and Ruins Your Health (Hunter House) - http://www.cortisolconnection.com/

-The Cortisol Connection Diet - The Breakthrough Program to Control Stress and Lose Weight (Hunter House) - http://www.cortisolconnectiondiet.com/

-A Guide to Understanding Dietary Supplements - an Outstanding Academic Text of 2004 (Haworth Press) - http://www.supplementwatch.com/