Supplement Guide: Adenosine Triphosphate

ATP for short. I've had to endure hearing about this bugger during classes back in uni to the point of foaming at the mouth. Basically it's our body's energy molecule, hence the popular but very deadpan joke, "Aiyah, No ATPlah..." among faculty members.

Disclaimer

Product Review: Cytosport Muscle Milk Revisited

This stuff's so good I just had to go for it again. This time I opted for Chocolate flavour.

I guess you can never go wrong with chocolate... the safe flavour I would like to call it. But somehow Muscle Milk never fails to impress. I mixed it with milk and it totally tastes like a milkshake, just as the tub label says.

Anyway, I realize that this really makes a good nighttime protein supplement. Unlike before, I avoided taking the Mocha Joe version at night since it contains caffeine. Now, I've been taking my choc on nights where the supper crave kicks in and I find that it keeps me satiated nicely until morning when I'm ready for breakie. Gone are the days where I wake up feeling like an Ethiopian child.

Packin' 32 grams of protein per serving and a whole lot more... Muscle Milk may not be quite the bang for your buck but it's quality stuff and at 300+ calories a serve, makes quite a good in-between-meals snack.

The Supplement Guide

Foreword and Disclaimer

5-Hydroxy-Tryptophan
Adenosine Triphosphate
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha-GPC
Arginine
Betaine
Bovine Colostrum
Branched-Chain Amino Acids
Caffeine
Calcium
Capsaicin
Carnitine
Carnosine
Casein
Chocamine
Chondroitin
Chromium
Citrulline Malate
Citrus Aurantium
Coenzyme Q10
Collagen Hydrolysate
Conjugated Linoleic Acid
Creatine
Digestive Enzymes
Diindole
Dimethyl-Aminoethanol
Ecdysterone
Echinacea
Egg Protein
Eurycoma Longifolia Jack
Evodiamine
Fenugreek
Fibre
Fish Oil
Flaxseed Oil
Forskolin
Gamma-Linolenic Acid
Ginkgo Biloba
Ginseng
Glucomannan
Glucosamine
Glutamine
Glycocyamine
Green Tea Extract
Guarana
Guggulsterones
Gymnema Sylvestre
HMB
Hoodia
Huperzine A
Hydroxy-Citric Acid (HCA)

Supplement Guide: Foreword and Disclaimer

narutard

Have you ever felt lost whenever you tried to read the Nutritional Facts of a supplement? With words like ‘Guanidino Propionic Acid, Gynostemma Pentaphyllum or Rutaecarpine 95%’ it’s almost as if the supplement companies deliberately want to confuse you or simply do not care if you understand the product at all.

Well, I’ve had my fair share of that feeling and having been in the dark for awhile now; I’ve decided to create a supplement guide that will hopefully cover the major ingredients out there. As much as this will be a valuable learning experience for me, perhaps it may also help you or anyone with the interest to enhance their diet.

I am certainly no nutritionist/dietician but my background has provided me the skills necessary to understand the aspects of nutrition. My sources for this Supplement Guide include fitness magazines such as Flex, Muscle & Fitness, IronMag, Men’s Health, etc; websites such as Bodybuilding.com, NutritionData.com, etc; hearsay, gossip, superstition, newspaper articles, TV programmes yada yada. Thus, as with all advisory-related matters, please do read the following disclaimer.

Disclaimer
The subsequent posts/entries in relation to this Supplement Guide are for information purposes only and I am not liable for the effects of the reported supplements or products, legal or illegal or any loss, injury or damage caused by their use. It is your responsibility to abide by the laws and dosage allowances specific to your country of residence. Always consult a doctor before commencing supplementation or changing dosages. Some supplements may not work effectively outside specific dosage ranges and may potentially cause harm if taken in excess. Not all supplements, combinations of supplements, or dose ranges of supplements may be suitable, safe or effective for everyone.

Stay tuned...

The Science of Supplements

Perhaps a question all consumers on this side of Earth tend to ask is, "Sure this thing works ah?" or "REAL or not?" in typical Asian flavour combo-ed with an equally skeptical mentality. Especially so if the 'wants' are seemingly a little out of their league - like losing 20 pounds or conversely, gaining 20 pounds. Well, here's one for the haters and non-believers...

Supplements ain't hocus pocus mumbo jumbo concocted in some stonehenge by druids or in Baba Yaga's apothecary o' voodoo mystics obscura. Maybe those 'ubat kuat lelaki' stuff usually advertised on lamp posts or whatever is, but certainly not cutting edge supplements borne from the scientific method.

I should know, having spent my tertiary education on the subject matter of science. Now its not so much about the level of education here... even a lawyer, engineer or architect who've spent thousands in the pursuit of knowledge may not be the wiser. Simply because theirs is a different stream of knowledge. I'll cut to the chase.

Behold. The metabolic pathway chart. This bitch of a chart shows various processes that occurs in the human body. Like how sugars are stored in the liver as glycogen, etc. I remember wrestling with this chart in the examination halls as though I was looking for Aztec ruins during my Cell Metabolism paper. This bible of physiological processes was put together by scientists after the deaths of many rats/mice I'm sure of it. Oh yeah, the one on the left is truncated. The real deal is about 4-5 times the size of that.

Anyway, supplements affect you by targeting certain processes in your body whether it's providing more of a substrate (material used) or by shutting off pathways. For example, understanding muscle activity. Just look at the chart you can see familiar stuff like glutamine, alanine, glucose, etc.

So there you have it. The power of science at work.