Astaxanthin boosts sport performance by 55%

Photo credit: Idea go

Astaxanthin was shown to significantly improve sports endurance and strength in a ground breaking 2008 astaxanthin study for body building and performance athletes. Exercise performance improved 55% for those who had taken only 4 mg AstaREAL astaxanthin daily for six months.

The 2008 astaxanthin study by Curt Malmsten and Ake Lignell looked at the astaxanthin effects on physical performance. Forty students participated in this double blind placebo controlled astaxanthin study. The scientists used algae meal (AstaREAL®) as the astaxanthin supplement. Twenty students got the real capsules with 4 mg astaxanthin per pill. The other twenty received placebo pills, also for six months.

The physical strengths examined were strength/endurance, fitness and strength/explosivity by standard exercises. Each student was tested for their baseline strengths before the astaxanthin supplementation started. For the students who took the real astaxanthin for six months the average number of squats increased by 54.9% or 27.05 squats (from 49.32 to 76.37).


4 MG Astaxanthin for 6 Months
The students who had taken the placebo increased their performance by 19.5% or 9.0 squats (from 46.06 to 55.06). Therefore, the increase in the astaxanthin supplemented group was three times higher than the improvement in the placebo group (P=0.047). None of the other strength tests differed significantly between the groups at the end of the research period. Based on their research the scientists conclude that astaxanthin improves strength and endurance in sports performance.

The two researchers find the strength and endurance improvement extremely interesting, because there's no obvious mechanism that can explain the better muscle endurance and improved tolerance for lactic acid. The physical benefits of astaxanthin can neither be explained by increased muscle mass, because the students didn't gain any significant weight. They speculate that astaxanthin protects the cell membrane, including the mitochondrial membrane, against oxidative stress that comes with intense exercise. It's possible that astaxanthin thereby preserves the functionality of the muscle cells, they say.


More Astaxanthin Research Confirmed
The researchers note that the observed astaxanthin benefits for physical performance are corroborated by previous scientific studies with astaxanthin in mice who increased exhaustive swimming time [15] and by another astaxanthin study that showed lower biomarkers for muscle fatigue in humans [12].


Source: http://astaxanthin.wellwise.org/astaxanthin-research-study-muscle-strength

Mustard for muscles

The humble mustard looks set to become the gym rat's best friend: A natural compound in mustard has been shown to build muscle and increase strength. I guess it won't be too long before someone comes up with a post-workout mustard shake.

Photo credit: Suat Eman

If you are looking to lean out, add muscle mass, and get ripped, a new research report published in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) suggests that you might want to look to your garden for a little help.

A new study has found that mustard and certain types of vegetables naturally contain a steroid-like compound that can help increase appetite, promote the development of muscle mass, and boost overall athletic performance, with minimal side effects.

Bodybuilders, aging individuals with wasting muscles, and even just young- or middle-aged people looking to bulk up often start out experimenting with a variety of muscle-building powders and supplements with the hope that these will help to improve performance and promote muscle growth. Many of these products do, of course, work as intended when combined with exercise and weight-lifting -- but now it may be even easier to build muscle just by eating the right foods.

Dr. Slavko Komarnytsky, a researcher from North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Kannapolis, NC, and his colleagues recently conducted a study aimed at testing the effects of homobrassinolide, the mustard compound found to be responsible for producing an anabolic effect when consumed.

The team tested the substance on one group of normal, healthy rats fed a typical diet, as well as on another fed a high-protein specific diet. The team also fed a third group of castrated, peri-pubertal rats homobrassinolide to see how it might help restore androgen-dependent tissues following castration.

The findings revealed that in all three groups, homobrassinolide effectively helped boost appetite and food intake, increase lean muscle mass, and improve strength. Tests involving muscle cells alone also revealed an increase in the number and size of muscle fiber cells, indicating that homobrassinolide is an effective, natural way to increase strength.

"We hope that one day brassinosteroids may provide an effective, natural, and safe alternative for age- and disease-associated muscle loss, or be used to improve endurance and physical performance," said Dr. Komarnytsky.

"The temptation is to see this discovery as another quick fix to help you go from fat to fit," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "and to a very small degree, this may be true. In reality, however, this study identifies an important drug target for a wide range of conditions that cause muscle wasting."

Besides promoting muscle growth and improved strength, mustard also helps alleviate migraine headaches and prevent cancer. It is also a powerful anti-fungal and antiseptic compound





Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...

http://www.naturalnews.com/033810_mustard_muscle.html#ixzz1aLhBEDj9