Supplement Guide: Foreword and Disclaimer

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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.

Product Review: BSN NO-Xplode

Ah... the one and only, NO-Xplode. Revered as the best nitric oxide booster for your car body by professionals, amateurs and recreational users alike, this product has been the top seller worldwide for as long as I can remember. Almost every year since its debut, NO-Xplode has been seated #2 in Bodybuilding.com's Top 50 Bestsellers. And their list (which by the way, is not category based) is updated monthly.

I've had my first taste of this stuff years ago back when there were only two flavours and I had a go at the Blue Raspberry. I won't say it tastes great as there's a bitter aftertaste but all that is now history with this new flavour: Orange.

I was thinking, 'Heh, not gonna be easy to pull this one off.' I mean, orange juice is a common drink in most places. BSN might get away with blue raspberry cos we've got no benchmark against that (blue raspberry juice?) so we'll either go 'mmm good' or 'bleargh..'

Anyway, it's good to say that their Orange flavour tastes great. I just wanna suck it up when I'm at it. What could be better than having the same crazy pumps and no bitter aftertaste?

Product Review: Axis Labs Creatine Ethyl Ester

Creatine. Defined as a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to muscle and nerve cells; it was discovered in 1832 by Derek Edward Bye who later named it after the Greek work for flesh: kreas. Amazingly enough, it was till about a century later in 1900s that creatine was popularized as a sport supplement during the Barcelona Olympics. I have read somewhere though, that the earliest use of creatine was during World War 2 by soldiers but I'm not gonna bother validating that.

The first creatine product is a simple monohydrate - creatine complexed with a molecule of water. Then came the glamour versions of malates, dicreatines, esters and whatnot following the immense hype the compound received in less than 2 decades. Difference? Absorption rate, serum half-life and potential side effects such as cramping, bloating and water retention.

hmm... my watermark seems too small...

I had my experience with the plain ol' creatine monohydrate some years back. And I've also had the more glamourous dicreatines, krealkalyns and malates. What I've not tried is the ethyl esters... hence the bottle in my hand above. This creatine is in capsules and dosing is about 3 caps a serve. Not very large caps at so I'm not complaining after having to take M-Stak.

I guess it's more convenient not having to drink liquid all the time. Just pop 3 caps and rest easy in the thought of getting creatine in the blood.

Product Review: UN M-Stak

I wanted to try UN's Isostak for my choice of methoxyisoflavone... But at the last minute I flipped out and decided to go for broke with UN Animal M-Stak.

Mother*#($&%@-Stak

The 'M' of course can stand for many things. Mass-stak, Methoxy-stak, Meta-stak, Mother-of-all-staks, etc. But whatever it is, this will get the job done. While not as punishing to take as the Animal Pak, (note: I'm not the crazy Spanish dude) the M-Stak comes in 21 packets meant for a 21-day cycle. Each pack has 4 tabs and 4 caps. These components which are coloured blue and red for the caps and varied shades of brown for the tabs all have their own functions such as to potentiate androgen activity, regulate insulin, boost energy, prevent muscle breakdown (anti-catabolic) and inhibit estrogen. Sounds scary? Well it's not really.

might take awhile getting used to to these...

Taking a pack sort of puts my body in overdrive. I just gotta eat everything and anything under the sun to keep fuelled and always anabolic. No point fussing too much about the quality of food, just keep the pangs of hunger away. Let's see the difference in 21 days. Rage on.