Bulletin #155 – Carotenoids Count!

Don’t risk your health by short-changing yourself on orange, red, and yellow fruits and vegetables. They’re brimming with carotenoids, a kind of super-antioxidant making news.  Carotenoids are responsible for the colorful hues of plants and even some animal foods, including salmon and shrimp. But they do more than serve as natural pigments. Carotenoids have “provitamin A activity,” mean-ing that your body produces vitamin A from them, especially beta-caro-tene (the most well known of the  carotenoids).As antioxidants, these protective nutrients neutralize free radicals at the cellular level, thus protect-ing cell membranes, DNA, and other cellular components against  damage.The first carotenoid to be isolated was beta-carotene. Today, scien-tists have discovered more than 600 carotenoids and are reporting that many may be a hundred times more powerful than beta-carotene and other antioxidants alone.

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Among the main carotenoids now under the most investigation are alpha-caro-tene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, ly-copene, and zeaxanthin.Alpha-carotene, which makes up about one-third of the carotenoids in carrots, shows promise in stalling the growth of certain malignant tu-mors and may be protective against breast cancer. Beta-carotene reduc-es the risk of cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, uterus, prostate, and lung.

Beta-cryptoxanthin looks promis-ing against breast cancer and lung cancer. Lycopene appears to be protective against cancer of the colon, bladder, and pancreas, but is particularly noteworthy for its role in preventing prostate cancer. In a diet study sponsored by the  National Cancer Institute, research-ers identified lycopene as being par-ticularly powerful against prostate cancer. Tomato sauce, tomatoes, tomato juice, and pizza are prima-ry sources of lycopene, and those individuals who consumed greater than 10 servings of these combined foods per week had a significant-ly decreased risk of developing prostate cancer when compared to those who ate less than 1 1/2  servings per week.Lutein, better known for prevent-ing eye diseases, may guard against cancer of the colon, lung and breast. Its less-well-known companion ca-rotenoid, zeaxanthin, is linked to a lower risk of breast, cervical, and colon cancers. Both carotenoids are being investigated for their role in preventing skin cancer.

The table on the following page provides an overview of the key carotenoids, their health benefits, and food sources in which they’re found.As extra insurance for all the an-tioxidant nutrients you need, be sure you’re supplementing daily with Parrillo Essential Vitamin Formula™ and Parrillo Mineral-Electrolyte Formula™.What You Can Do Now: There’s no recommended daily require-ment for beta-carotene and oth-er carotenoids. However, many health experts recommend 6 mil-ligrams a day of beta-carotene. When you eat beta-carotene-rich foods, you’re automatically get-ting other carotenes.Here are some tips for super-charging your diet with carot-enoids:• Use the counter to identify the best sources of carotenoids. In-clude these foods in your daily diet.• Color your plate with as many colorful vegetables you can. The more colorful your food selec-tions, the more carotenoids you’ll eat.• Eat canned soups with a tomato base.• Drink vegetable juices rather than sodas.• Eat a hefty serving of tomatoes or tomato-based foods at least twice a week or more.

• Add extra tomato sauce or paste to soups or stews.• Eat sandwiches and salads with to-matoes.• Make sure fruits and vegeta-bles are as fresh as possible. Once they’re plucked from the vine or harvested from the ground, their antioxidant power starts to  dwindle.• Snack on raw fruits and vegetables to get the most carotenoids. One exception, though, is carrots, which actually release more carot-enoids when cooked.• Enjoy exotic fruits such as guavas or mangoes for a change of pace.• Blend cooked carrots or pump-kin into a smoothie.

Bulletin #154 – Parrillo Nutrition Supplies What Your Body Demands

Weight-loss diets frequently get criti-cized because they supposedly do not furnish a healthy supply of nutrients, and this is certainly true of many di-ets. But in far too many cases – and research bears this out – everyday eating habits tend to be more unbal-anced, with an insufficient supply of critical nutrients, than most diets are. Further, the average person simply does not eat nutritiously enough to satisfy even the basic daily require-ments, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, according to several studies.

Consid-er, for example, a typical American diet:Breakfast: One glazed doughnut, one cup of orange juice, and one cup of coffee with a tablespoon of half-and-half.Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich, small bag of potato chips, one medi-um apple, and a can of cola soda.Mid-Afternoon snack: Cookies and a can of cola.Fast-Food Dinner: Supersizedcheeseburger and French fries.Evening Snack: A bowl of vanilla ice cream.Although it supplies plenty of energy (2,264 calories) – and Parrillo Perfor-mance is all about increasing calories – this menu is deficient in several vi-tal nutrients: calcium, a bone-build-ing mineral; magnesium, important to heart health; selenium, widely rec-ognized as a cancer preventative; vi-tamin A, vital for disease-fighting; and vitamin E, a nutrient that con-fers a wide range of health-protec-tive benefits.

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This menu is critically low in fiber too (barely 10 grams), supplying less than half of what we normally need each day. Plus, more than 40 percent of its calories come from fat. Fat intake should be no more than 30 percent of your daily calories.The Parrillo Nutrition Program™ is devised to provide a healthy combi-nation of basic nutrients – protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. For example:• ProteinProtein is to your body what a wood frame is to your house, or steel is to a bridge.

Nutritionally, it is the basic, most important building material in your body, essential to high-level health because of its role in growth and maintenance. Your body breaks down protein from food into nutri-ent fragments called amino acids and reshuffles them into new protein to build and rebuild tissue, including body-firming muscle. Protein also keeps your immune system function-ing up to par, helps carry nutrients throughout the body, has a hand in forming hormones, and is involved in important enzyme reactions such as digestion. The Parrillo Nutrition Program™ is purposely high in pro-tein because it stimulates the reduc-tion of body fat, particularly in the abdominal region of the body, ac-cording to the latest research into dietary protein and fat loss.Proteins found in the Parrillo Nutrition Program™ include fish, white meat poultry, egg whites, and our line of protein powders and bars.• CarbohydratesCarbohydrates are energy foods. During digestion, they are changed into glucose (blood sugar), which circulates in your blood and is used as energy for the red blood cells and your central nervous sys-tem. Glucose not used right away is stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen, which provides an ad-ditional reservoir for energy. Carbohydrates also supply an amazing fat-fighting nutrient – fi-ber, the non-digestible remnant of plant foods.

A growing body of research shows that high-fiber eating helps peel off pounds and banish them for good. How exactly does fiber work this weight-loss magic? When eaten with other nutrients like protein, fiber slows the rate of digestion too, stabilizing your blood sugar between meals so that it is not converted to fat stores.The carbohydrates found in the Parrillo Nutrition Program™ in-clude certain types whole grains, brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, some pastas, legumes (beans and lentils), and non starchy vegetables, from broccoli to cauli-flower to salad vegetables (what we call “fibrous carbs”). A significant feature of this program is that these allowable carbohydrates do not pro-mote fat storage. • FatDietary fat is an essential nutrient, re-quired to help form the structures of cell membranes, regulate metabolism, and provide a source of energy for ex-ercise and activity. Along with carbo-hydrates, fat is a vital fuel source for your body.Allowable fats on the Parrillo Nutri-tion Program™ include canola, oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil, evening prim-rose oil, and our specially engineered fat, CapTri®. This fat has a unique molecular structure which causes it to follow a different metabolic route than regular fats. It behaves more like a carbohydrate in the body, except that it doesn’t increase insulin levels.

This means you can use CapTri® in place of carbs to decrease insulin levels and shift your metabolism into a fat-burn-ing mode. This is very similar to the strategy of the high fat diets except without relying on conventional fat as an energy source. In short, Cap-Tri® lets you reap the benefits of the high fat approach without the prob-lems that go along with conventional  dietary fat. • VitaminsRequired by your body in tiny amounts, vitamins play impor-tant roles in the metabolism of  carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The vitamins you need daily are found in the Parrillo Nutrition Program™ as follows:Vitamin A: Green leafy vegeta-bles, carrots, sweet potatoes, and yams.Vitamin B-complex: Protein foods, whole grains, legumes, and  vegetables.Vitamin C: Vegetables.Vitamin D: Fish.Vitamin E: Whole grains, and green leafy vegetables.

• MineralsLike vitamins, minerals play a role in metabolism. But a major differ-ence between the two nutrients is that minerals are constituents of bodily structures, such as bone, cartilage, and teeth, providing their hardness and strength. While vitamins help manufacture these structures, they do not become part of the structures themselves.The minerals you need daily are found in the Parrillo Nutrition  Program™ as follows:Iron: Poultry and green leafy  vegetables.Calcium: Salmon, green leafy  vegetables, and broccoli.Copper: Poultry and shellfish.Magnesium: Various lean pro-teins.Phosphorus: Various lean pro-teins.Potassium: Vegetables.Selenium: Whole grains, fish.Zinc: Shellfish, whole grains, and vegetables.• Nutrient Composition ofthe Parrillo Nutrition Program™ Proportionately, the Parrillo Nutri-tion Program™ is higher in protein, moderate to high in carbohydrates, and low to moderate in fat. This approach has been found in numer-ous studies to effectively promote fat loss, plus it suits the needs of an active lifestyle. For detailed infor-mation about this program and its multiple meals, increase-calories approach to eating, call us to order the Parrillo Nutrition Manual™. It has everything you need to know about healthy, lose-fat, gain-muscle nutrition.

Bulletin #153 – Supplement Sense

How do you know which nutritional supplements to take?Before I answer that, let me re-state the case for taking supplements. To begin with, our foods today are not as nutritious as they once were — a result of poor environmental stew-ardship. Modern farming methods, for example, have depleted the soil in many areas of the country, ul-timately reducing the nutrients in food. Also, weight-loss diets, exer-cise, and stress increase our need for nutrients. Cooking can destroy cer-tain vitamins too.Further, many people do not eat nutritiously enough to even satisfy the recommended daily intake for vitamins and minerals, according to several studies.

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Consider, for ex-ample, a typical American diet:Breakfast: one glazed doughnut, one cup of orange juice, and one cup of coffee with a tablespoon of half-and-half.Lunch: ham and cheese sandwich, small bag of potato chips, one  medium apple, and a can of cola soda.Mid-afternoon snack: one granola bar and a can of cola soda.Fast-Food Dinner: Quarter Pounder cheeseburger and side salad with an ounce of  red French dressing.Evening snack: six ounces of  vanilla ice cream (16% fat).Although it supplies adequate calo-ries (2264), this menu is deficient in several vital nutrients: calcium, a bone-building mineral; magne-sium, important to heart health; se-lenium, widely recognized as a can-cer preventative; vitamin A, vital for disease-fighting; and vitamin E, a nutrient that confers a wide range of health-protective benefits.

This menu is critically low in fiber too (only about 10 grams), supplying less than half of what we normally need each day. Plus, 40 percent of the calories come from fat. Fat in-take should be no more than 30 per-cent of your daily calories; people with heart disease should further reduce their fat consumption.Thus, a very strong case for tak-ing nutritional supplements can be built. That being so, how should you decide which supplements to take? Here’s a step-by-step guide:A Basic FormulaA good motto to adopt is: Food first. Before you even consider taking supplements, make sure you’re fol-lowing a nutritious diet. Each day, try to eat five to six times a day, as recommended on the Parrillo Nutri-tion Program™. These meals should consist of fibrous carbs, starchy carbs, and lean proteins. But as nutritional insurance, take the recommended dosage of Parrillo Essential Vitamin For-mula™ and Parrillo Mineral-Electrolyte Formula™.

These contain antioxidants, which are vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, beta-carotene, vita-min C, vitamin E, and selenium that help protect you against dis-ease.A Personalized Supplement ProgramNo two people are alike in their need for various nutrients. Our own individual nutrient re-quirements vary, depending on our sex, age, activity level, and physical health. Thus, based on your personal situation, you may want to consider additional sup-plements – in addition to a daily antioxidant product. Here’s a closer look:Sex: If you are a woman, you require adequate calcium (about 1200 mg daily) to help prevent osteoporosis, a crippling bone disease. To get that much cal-cium from food, you’d have to eat the following each day: a cup of calcium-fortified orange juice; a cup of skim milk; a cup of low-fat yogurt; and a cup of cooked turnip greens. If you fall short on your calcium intake, you can make up the difference with a calcium supplement such as Parrillo Mineral-Electrolyte Formula™.

Men can be nutrient-needy in other areas. For instance, supplemental vit-amin E and selenium have recently been shown to reduce the incidence of prostate cancer. Thus, if you’re a man, you may benefit from an extra dose of these nutrients. Up to 50 mi-crograms of selenium and between 400 IUs and 800 IUs of vitamin E daily are considered health-protec-tive. Good sources are Parrillo Min-eral-Electrolyte™ and Natural Vita-min E Plus™.Age: As we get older, our need for certain nutrients changes. People older than 60, for example, have trou-ble absorbing enough folic acid (a B vitamin), vitamin B12, and calcium. Age also increases our need for iron. Supplementation is an excellent way to guard against health-damaging de-ficiencies. Try the following: Parrillo Essential Vitamin Formula™, Min-eral Electrolyte Formula™, and Liver Amino Formula™.Activity Level: Exercise depletes nutrients. Thus, if you’re physically active, you may benefit from ad-ditional nutrients.

Taking antioxi-dants – namely vitamins E and C – has been found in studies to help muscles recover and regenerate more quickly following exercise. As well, specialty supplements such as the Parrillo powders may give you extra  energy for exercise.Physical Health: Depending on the condition of your physical health, you may want to explore “disease-spe-cific” supplements – those that have been shown in scientific research to prevent, treat, and even reverse, certain diseases. A good example is glucosamine sulfate for treating osteo-arthritis, a degenerative joint disease. Glucosamine is a type of sugar mol-ecule manufactured naturally by car-tilage cells. Where there is joint dam-age, cartilage cells self-destruct and stop making glucosamine. Joint health then continues to deteriorate.

An over-whelming number of medical stud-ies show supplemental glucosamine reverses this destructive process and stimulates the cartilage cells to rebuild cartilage. I recommend Parrillo Joint Formula™ for joint health.Other examples of disease-specific supplements include folic acid, vitamin E, and carnitine (protein-like nutrient) to fight heart disease. A good source of supplemental vitamin E is Parrillo Natural Vitamin E-Plus™. The amount of information currently available on nutritional supplements is certainly mind numbing. But if you’re interested in attaining optimum health, take the time to bone up on nutrition and supplementation. Knowledge is empowering – and certainly health-protective.

Bulletin #151 – Prediabetes and Your Diet

A health condition tearing up the headlines is “prediabetes.” This is a precursor, or forerunner, to type 2 di-abetes, which has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. Prediabetes is characterized by blood sugar levels that may be either normal or higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered diabetes. The major problem with prediabetes is that the body does not use insulin normally.

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Insulin is a hormone that, when not produced in sufficient amounts by the pancreas or used properly by the body, triggers diabetes. Nearly half of prediabetics develop the full-blown disease within five to ten years. And that’s the bad news. The good news is that prediabetes can be reversed with diet, weight loss and exercise.But what kind of diet – and what kind of exercise?Major studies show that if you re-duce your fat intake to 30 percent of total calories; cut your saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of total calories; and eat more fiber (more veggies, and whole grains), you will reduce your risk of diabetes and re-verse prediabetes. So if you want to do either, it’s preferable to emphasize complex carbohydrates and down-play simple sugars. Simple sugars are a major source of calories, but offer no nutrients to go along with the calories. Because of this, it’s best to limit simple sugars in your diet.Complex carbs also contain fiber, which helps transform your eat-healthier efforts into something so simple and automatic. You’ll be able keep your blood sugar under better control, without constantly working at it or making yourself crazy.

The reason is that high-fi-ber foods break down into glucose more gradually and are absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream. They stabilize your blood sugar, and do not cause post-meal surges. Shoot for a goal of 25 to 35 grams of fiber daily. Another important move is meal combining. By combining protein, complex carbohydrates, and fat in the same meal, for example, you automatically slow-release glucose because your digestive system takes longer to break down this combina-tion of foods. This manner of food combining helps prevent spikes in blood sugar after you eat a meal.Additionally, one of the best ways to keep your blood sugar level as close to normal as possible is to eat multiple meals throughout the day, preferably at the same time each day.

Generally, this involves eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus a mid-morning meal and a mid-after-noon meal. At every meal, have a protein and a carbohydrate (preferably a natu-ral, high-fiber carbohydrate). This combination of foods produces a slow release of glucose to keep your blood sugar stabilized and your en-ergy level high throughout the day. What’s more, your body works best when nutrients are replen-ished every couple hours. Here’s an added benefit, particu-larly if you need to lose weight: Eating multiple meals can help you with weight control. Every time you eat a meal your meta-bolic rate goes up. The reason is that your body starts working very hard to turn that meal into fuel.

As part of digestion and absorption, heat is given off in a process called thermogenesis, and this elevates your metabolic rate. So by eating frequent meals throughout the day, your metabo-lism is constantly charged up, and your body burns calories more  efficiently.Dietwise, what I’ve described for preventing diabetes are the prin-ciples of the Parrillo Nutrition Plan! Our program not only helps you build lean muscle, it also con-tains the ingredients of a health- building diet.As for exercise, all forms can lower your risk of getting dia-betes. For prevention, however, strength training is extremely im-portant. Strength training helps normalize the flow of glucose from the blood into the muscle tissue where it can be proper-ly used for energy. This effect may help regulate the body’s use of glucose, thereby controlling or preventing diabetes and its complications. Strength training also encourages insulin use by acti-vating a key protein in muscle cells that helps insulin push glucose into these cells. Muscle cells need lots of glucose for energy.If you’re concerned about diabetes, rethink your diet and exercise pro-gram. And consider showing the Parrillo programs to your physician. They may just help you overcome, and deal with, this epidemic in your own life.

Bulletin #149 – Nutrition 101: Get Lean By Getting Back to Basics

We’re a nation of dieters. In fact, about 50 million of us will go on a diet this year. Yet we’re also a nation of fatties. More than 97 million Ameri-cans are now considered obese or overweight, according to a report from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. What gives? Why is it that we diet, only to get fatter in the process? In two words: fad diets. Weight-loss experts agree that diets promising quick weight loss, from the Grapefruit Diet to the Lose-Weight-While-You-Sleep Diet, won’t work for long. You’ll only regain your lost weight and then some. In fact, very few people — only around 5% — can keep weight off for good. The most effective way to knock off the pounds and keep them off is with a plan that emphasizes a variety of foods, re-duces calories and includes regular ex-ercise. The Parrillo Nutrition Program is that diet. It’s healthy and energizing, plus simple and easy to follow. Stick with it, and before long, you’ll experi-ence a fitness that you can see and feel.

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The Parrillo Nutrition Program in-cludes a five-part fat attack strategy: Eat lean, high-fiber foods in fat-burning proportionsThe emphasis in this plan is on low-fat, high-fiber foods, which have been shown in research studies to help peel off pounds and banish them for good. Proportionately, this plan is high in protein, moderate in carbohy-drate, and low in fat. This approach suits the needs of active people and has been found in numerous stud-ies to effectively promote fat loss. Eat multiple mealsOn this plan, you’ll forgo your usual three squares a day and eat six or more meals a day. Research shows that eat-ing multiple meals stimulates fat burning and preserves lean muscle. Take supplements to enhance health & fat lossSupplementing with certain dietary products has been shown to facili-tate fat loss and assist the body in building lean muscle.

This increases your nutrient density and ensures that you’re getting exactly what you need to develop the best physique possible. Parrillo Performance has a great line of supplements and func-tional foods for your needs.Include a combination exercise programIncorporate both aerobic exercise and weight training into your week-ly fitness program. Submaximal ex-ercise, such as aerobics, uses fat as a fuel source, helping to burn off your fat stores. It also builds your aerobic power, so you can train longer and burn even more fat. Weight training burns fat as well, but in a different way — by creating met-abolically active muscle tissue. This maximizes your metabolism. So with a combination exercise program, you’re burning fat several ways. The BIG payoffFollow these simple strategies and you’re sure to melt away the pounds. Stick to it, and you’ll actu-ally keep the fat off.

Bulletin #148 – From Here to Serenity: How to Nutritionally Tame the Tension in Your Life

Blowing a sales call, missing dead-lines, failing a test, getting laid off, working too hard, losing a loved one – these are just a few of the things in life that trigger stress, and with it, emotions of frustration, anxiety, or depression. This nega-tive form of stress is referred to as “distress.”But stress also comes in a positive form known as “eustress,” coined by stress researcher Hans Selye from the Greek word eu meaning good. Eustress arises from pleasant activities, such as planning a wed-ding or preparing to go on vacation. Rather than provoke negative emo-tions, eustress generally produces welcome anticipation, imparts high hopes, and gives you butterflies in your stomach .Both types stem from your natural “fight or flight” response to events in which the body automatically prepares you to run from or con-tend with an unusual, or potentially threatening, situation.

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This sets off a cascade of biochemical events. For example:• Your body starts churning out increased levels of two chief stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol .• Your heart races and your pulse increases . • Your muscles tense up .• Your pupils dilate, and your hearing becomes more acute. What is eustress from one person may be distress for another. For example, ask someone to give a speech to 1000 people. If that person is comfortable in front of an audience, he or she will see this as an exciting, positive ex-perience (eustress). On the other hand, if someone who is shy is asked to speak before a group, he or she would view this as a source of distress. Whether you experience eustress or distress in any given situation depends largely on your attitude .

To some, a situation is an opportunity (eu-stress); to others, a predicament (distress).One point is certain, however: When eustress tips over into dis-tress and goes unresolved, or if distress becomes chronic, there’s trouble. In fact, medical experts estimate that distress accounts for more than 90 percent of all ill-nesses and trips to the doctor . Here’s a glimpse into what hap-pens physiologically when dis-tress goes unresolved.Distress gets under your skinHives, acne, itching, eczema, and other common skin disorders are caused or aggravated by chronic stress .Distress produces tension head-achesThe most common of all head-aches, tension headaches occur when the muscles surrounding your skull go into painful spasms.

Though not life-threatening, ten-sion headaches are often a clear sign that you are depressed or under pressure . Distress assaults your immune system When you’re persistently stressed out, your body can’t metabolize stress hormones properly and they stick around it, damaging your immune system. Research shows that distress interferes with the function of “natural killer cells,” which help the body combat for-eign invaders that cause disease. It also reduces the body’s produc-tion of interferon, a type of protein that fights viruses and boosts the immunity — your body’s armor against illness .Distress is a heart breakerEveryday mental stresses such as tension, frustration, and sadness may trigger myocardial ischemia – lack of oxygen to the heart muscle .

This condition increases the chance of heart attack.  Clearly, distress is hazardous to your health. It wrecks practically every body system. How well you cope with distress makes all the difference in your health and well being. Here are some healthy lifestyle practices that will help minimize its potentially damaging health effects.Fortify yourself nutritionallyChronic distress robs your body of nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin B complex, and protein. So what’s a stressed-out body to do? First, make sure to eat plenty of vegetables daily, and with every meal, some protein (fish, poultry, lean meats, legumes, or low-fat dairy products). Include sev-eral servings of whole grains daily too.

As important, take daily vitamin and mineral supplements such as Parrillo Essential Vitamin Formula™ and Parrillo Mineral-Electrolyte For-mula™ as nutritional insurance .  Sweat it outExercise, particularly the aerobic type, is one of the most effective ways to dissipate physical and emo-tional distress. It speeds up the pro-duction of natural feel-good chemi-cals called endorphins. Exercise also relieves muscular tension brought on by distress and anxiety. In fact, numerous studies have shown that aerobic exercise can be an effective part of treatment for anxiety.Get enough restIf you’re an emotional basket case right now, take it easy by getting more rest. During rest (including sleep), the body can heal injuries and infections, eliminate toxins and waste products, dissipate distress, replenish fuel stores in your muscle fibers and bloodstream, and restore energy. Rest also allows your immune system to re-charge so that you’re better protected from disease.

Bulletin #116 – Mold More Muscularity

Muscularity describes the relative devel-opment of each muscle — its size, shape, separation, and the degree of body fat pres-ent. With most physiques, the lack of mus-cular is immediately obvious, with flaws ranging from poor quadriceps separation to poor lower lat development. In many cases, muscularity is there, but it is obscured by body fat. But let’s not focus on the nega-tives; let’s focus on the positives: how to hone your physique so that there are no flaws in muscularity. Although muscularity is a highly desired attribute among exercisers, bodybuilders, and other athletes, few really know how to attain it. Basically, it requires a multi-prong approach, something I call my six-step for-mula, mapped out for you in this column. If one of your physique goals is muscularity, I’d advise the following:Step One: Eat fewer starchy carbohydrates.  Reducing your intake of starchy carbohy-drates – potatoes, yams, whole grains, and brown rice, for example – is an amazing way to start stripping away fat.

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Metaboli-cally, this dietary reduction helps shift your body into a fat-burning mode. Your body simply starts burning fat for energy, since there is a deficit of carbs in your body. How much of a reduction will work? A good rule of thumb is to adjust your carbohydrate-to-protein ratio to between 1 to 1 or 1.5 to 1. Be aware that one problem with reducing carbohydrate intake is a potential decline in your energy levels. To compensate, try supplementing your diet with CapTri®, our medium-chain triglyceride oil (MCT oil). This is a special type of lipid that provides quality calories and, unlike conventional di-etary fats, is not likely to be stored as body fat. Calorie for calorie, CapTri contributes less to body weight gain (fat gain) than carbohydrates or conventional dietary fat. Think of CapTri as an immediate energy source that will get burned before the body has time to store it. It is an excellent meta-bolic-support supplement.Start with 1/2 tablespoon at every meal. After a few days, increase to one table-spoon with each meal. During hard train-ing, many athletes go as high as two to three tablespoons per meal - a level they have found to be beneficial.

Step Two: Increase your dietary pro-tein.Protein is now recognized as a nutrient that helps stimulate the metabolism, and by that token, it is essential to consume ample protein in order to promote fat loss while maintaining muscle. You can meet your higher-protein requirement by eating between 1.25 and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. At least 1 gram should come from chicken, fish, turkey, or egg whites, with at least another .25 or .5 gram of additional protein per pound of body weight from vegetable sources, which contain some protein as well.Step Three: Gradually increase your caloric intake. To lose body fat, thereby unveiling mus-cularity, most people are under the mis-taken impression that they must severely restrict their caloric intake. But when de-nied food, the body begins to feed on the protein in the muscles . Because muscle is the body’s most metabolically active tissue, depleting it interferes with your ability to burn calories. Plus, restrictive diets lower your metabolic rate, making it easier for your body to store fat.

With this step, you should gradually increase your calories 200 to 400 calories for a few days to re-charge your metabolism for fat-burn-ing. This will stimulate your metabolism for increased muscularity.Step Four: Place greater emphasis on heavy weight training. The development of muscularity is not all nutrition. Certain training techniques are required as well, but they do work best in concert with the nutritional guide-lines I just covered. If you want to obtain muscularity fairly rapid, there is a special set sequence that I recommend following. It is as follows: one warm-up set, three to five heavy pyramid sets (increasing the poundage each time and lowering the number of reps), and one to two high-rep sets (exhaustion sets). Put another way, you start off training a muscle slow and heavy like a powerlifter trains. You then finish training the muscle fast and intense like a bodybuilder does. This is the right training sequence for muscularity.Step Five: Increase the duration, in-tensity, and frequency of your aerobics.

Doing more aerobic work improves the muscle fibers’ ability to oxidize fats for energy, and you get leaner, with more mus-cularity, as a result. Let me explain the optimal way to train aerobically so that you can achieve the best results.For a long time now, exercisers have been urged to achieve their “target heart rate” during aerobic activity. This is the elevation of the pulse to approximately 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age). Reaching target heart rate and keeping it there for at least 20 minutes is supposed to boost general cardiovascular conditioning. Also, it’s al-ways been assumed that if you exercise at your target heart rate long enough, you burn fat.Optimal cardiovascular conditioning is not achieved by just raising your target heart rate, however. It’s achieved by increasing your “oxygen uptake” or VO-2max. This represents your body’s maximum capability to deliver oxygen to the work-ing muscles. So how do you boost your VO2max? By exercising so intensely that you’re breathing hard. The harder you breathe, the more energy you expend, and the more fat you burn because you’re doing more work. Train consistently like this, and some important metabolic changes take place in-side the body. First, the mitochondria (cel-lular furnaces where fat and other nutrients are burned) increase in size and total num-ber inside muscle fibers. Second, muscle fibers build up more aerobic enzymes special chemicals involved in fat-burning.

Third, aerobic exercise appears to increase levels of myoglobin, a muscle compound that accelerates the transfer of oxygen from the bloodstream into the muscle fibers. Larger mitochondria and more of them, greater levels of aerobic enzymes, and increased blood flow — these factors all boost the fat-burning capability of muscle fibers. The more aerobically fit you be-come, the more your body learns to burn fat for energy. So you can see why aerobic exercise is so important for leaning out.Endurance athletes have known these things all along. That’s why bodybuilders can learn a lot from the training regimens of endurance athletes. They train regularly and at long durations at near VO2max, and as a result, their muscles are conditioned to rely more heavily on fat for energy and less on stored carbohydrate (glycogen). To approach the training level of an endurance athlete, perform aerobics several times a week, for 45 to 60 minutes each time. But don’t “coast.” Work out hard, so that you’re breathing hard. The harder you breathe, the more fat you burn.Step Six: Stretch for mass andmuscu-larity.

A special training technique I developed called “fascial stretching” can be incorpo-rated into your training program to develop muscularity. This technique strengthens and stretches the “fascia,” a thick, fibrous sheet of tissue that envelops individual muscles and groups of muscles and, like a divider, separates their layers and group-ings. The fascia encloses other structures too, including tendons, joints, blood ves-sels, nerves, and organs. The fascia func-tions like a “shock absorber” for the tissues it surrounds, protecting them from blows of athletics or the stresses of training and competition. On the molecular level, fascia tissue is stronger than structural steel .To perform fascial stretching, you stretch between sets of weight training exercises when the muscle is fully pumped (the pump has an additional stretch effect on the mus-cle). Special stretching exercises are used, and these are explained in detail in the Par-rillo Training Manual .

Done consistently during workouts, fascial stretching stimu-lates muscular development and improves strength. The reason for this response is simple: When you stretch the fascia, you give the muscle underneath more room to grow. The result is larger muscles and bet-ter separation between muscle groups. I’ve seen this happen in working with athletes who use fascial stretching. What’s more, I’ve observed that their strength levels can increase by as much as 20 percent.I have just really scratched the surface of muscularity with this column. If you’d like to know more, call Parrillo Performance for information on the Parrillo Nutrition Program and the Parrillo Training Manual – and how you can make both of these books part of your training library.

Bulletin #113 – Food over Genetics

Where your physique is concerned, it’s estimated that 20 to 25 percent of your shape and body fat distribution are at-tributable to genetic factors. You might be born with the tendency toward abdominal or lower body fat, or less muscle, but that doesn’t mean you’re destined to live with these realities. You can change fat distribution patterns and build appreciable muscle even if you are a “hard gainer,” and there’s no better way to do that than with proper nutrition, complemented by specialized, intense training . Genetic limitations can also be exceed-ed by increasing nutrient levels in the diet through food and supplementation. When properly nourished, the body starts grow-ing and responding at rates never thought possible. Here is a look at how.

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The Power Of FoodThe most vital substance you need for growth is food. Yes, food! To get the results you want from nutrition, food will always work the most effectively, much better than “miracle” supplements. I call food the “perfect supplement” because it supplies the raw materials your body needs for growth and for the stimulation of chemical processes involved in the breakdown, absorption, and assimilation of nutrients.In my work with the best bodybuilders and athletes in the world, I’ve identified which foods yield the best results in terms of physique and performance. Lean pro-tein, for example, supplies nutrients called amino acids which are required for every metabolic process. Athletes have higher requirements for protein than the aver-age person . Without enough protein, you cannot build muscle, repair its breakdown after training, or drive your metabolism. Starchy and fibrous carbohydrates supply energy and are stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. You need certain fats called Es-sential Fatty Acids (EFAs), which must be supplied by the diet. EFAs regulate many biological functions, including the manufacture of connective tissue, cellular walls, and hormones. A good supplemen-tal source of EFAs is Parrillo Evening Primrose Oil.All the foods I recommend on the Parrillo Nutrition Program have a “high-nutrient density.” This describes the ratio of nutrients in a food to the energy it sup-plies.

Natural starchy foods like potatoes, yams, brown rice, and whole grains are packed with carbohydrates, protein, vita-mins, and minerals. Fibrous vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, water, fiber, and carbohydrate. And, lean proteins are high in protein, vitamin, and minerals. In short, high-density nutrient foods pack a lot of nutritional wallop, and that’s why you should eat them . Try to stay away from low-nutrient density foods. These are typically “junk foods” such as processed foods, sweets, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, and high fat foods. Low-nutrient density foods are easily converted to body fat or, as in the case of alcohol, can interfere with the body’s ability to metabolize fat.Foods containing simple sugars are excluded from my nutrition program be-cause they also convert easily to body fat. These foods include fruit and fruit juices, which contain the simple sugar fructose, and dairy products, which contain the simple sugar lactose . You can increase the nutrient density of your nutrition by adding in supple-ments — but only after you’re eating properly. By taking supplements, you force your digestive system to process more nutrients.

This allows the nutri-ent levels in your body to be increased at the cellular level — beyond what can achieved by food alone. This, along with a gradual increase of calories, helps your body grow. Supplements are quality nu-trients that work in conjunction with food to help your body build its metabolism and recovery mechanisms. The Ultimate Bodybuilding DietTo a degree, you have a great deal of control over whether the food you eat is turned into body fat or muscle. The as-signment of food to either fat stores or muscle stores is called “nutrient partition-ing,” and it’s the secret behind getting lean and staying muscular .To understand how nutrient partitioning works, it’s helpful to think of the body as being divided into a fat compartment and a lean compartment . Food goes to either of these compartments or is burned for energy .One of the factors that has a signifi-cant effect on nutrient partitioning is your endocrine system. It’s involved in such processes as metabolism, energy production, and growth.

The endocrine system consists of several organs in the body, including the pituitary gland, the thyroid gland, the parathyroid gland, the pancreas, the testes or ovaries, and the kidneys. This specialized system is like a chemical “messenger service” in the body; it transmits messages in the form of hormones, carried by the blood to specific targets (organs, tissues, or cells) in the body. The messages sent are things like “build muscle proteins,” “store fat,” “burn fat,” or “store carbohydrates.”Once these messages are received by the targets, the commands are carried out by enzymes, special proteins that control chemical reactions inside cells . Through these reactions, enzymes can make or break down proteins or fat.Two of the most important hormones involved in muscle growth and fat loss are insulin and glucagon, both produced in the pancreas. They regulate carbohydrate metabolism and fat metabolism by exert-ing control over the enzymes that carry out these processes .When blood sugar (glucose) levels rise — usually after carbohydrates are eaten — insulin is released. It transports glu-cose into cells where it is burned for ener-gy or stored as glycogen. If carbohydrates are released into the bloodstream too fast, an overproduction of insulin occurs. Con-sequently, some of the carbohydrates are deposited as fat — instead of being stored as glycogen. Simple sugars and refined carbohydrates are rapid-release foods that trigger too much insulin .

This channels calories to the fat compartment of the body — not the avenue of nutrient parti-tioning you want.Interestingly, insulin is involved in mus-cular growth because it transports certain amino acids into muscle cells. To make this happen, you need carbohydrates. The key, however, is eating the right kinds of carbs, in the right amounts.Glucagon opposes the effect of insulin. When blood sugar is low, glucagon is released, and this typically occurs several hours after a meal is eaten. Glucagon then activates the conversion of glycogen to glucose in the liver in response to low blood sugar levels. It also signals the body to start burning fat for energy, because the body is running low on carbohydrates, its preferred fuel source.The ratio of insulin to glycogen in your body largely determines whether you will gain fat or lose it. You can control this ra-tio naturally by adjusting the protein and carbohydrate proportions in your diet and combining foods in the proper manner. Here’s how you can partition your food more effectively, so it can be used to burn fat and build muscle:

1. When trying to gain muscular weight, you want a higher ratio of insulin, so you would increase your carbohydrate intake, perhaps as high as 400 to 500 grams or more a day. A carbohydrate supplement such as Parrillo ProCarb Formula, which is formulated with the complex carbo-hydrate maltodextrin, is a good way to increase carbohydrate consumption. So are any of the Parrillo Energy Bars. At the same time, be sure to meet your lean protein requirement by eating between 1.25 and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. At least 1 gram should come from chicken, fish, turkey, or egg whites, with at least another .25 or .5 gram of additional protein per pound of body weight from vegetable sources, which contain some protein as well.

2. To lose body fat, decrease insulin and increase glucagon by eating slightly less carbohydrate and more protein. A good rule of thumb is to adjust your car-bohydrate-to-protein ratio to between 1 to 1 or 1.5 to 1. One problem with reducing carbohydrate intake is the potential de-cline in energy levels. To compensate, try supplementing your diet with CapTri®, our medium-chain triglyceride oil . This is a special type of lipid that provides quality calories and, unlike conventional dietary fats, is not likely to be stored as body fat.

3. Don’t take nutrient partitioning to extremes by going on a “zero-carb” diet in an attempt to burn more body fat. Under extremely low-carb conditions, muscular growth is impossible. There’s not enough insulin available to transport amino acids into muscle cells. Furthermore, the body begins to break down its own proteins into amino acids for conversion into glu-cose, needed by the brain for fuel.Food over Genetics4. Rate of digestion is important. Your meals (five, six, or more a day) should include the proper combination of lean proteins, starchy carbohydrates, and fi-brous carbohydrates.

This combination of foods slows your digestion to keep carbohydrates from being released into the bloodstream too fast, thus preventing an overproduction of insulin.Food is the cornerstone of nutrition. If you don’t eat the proper foods — lean pro-teins, starchy carbohydrates, and fibrous carbohydrates — nothing else matters. We were built to process food — proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. So if you want to make the best possible progress with your physique and buck your genetics, I suggest that you start with the basics. And that means food.

Bulletin #104 – Nutrition for Older Athletes

If you want to get better as time marches on, you may need to rethink and tweak your nutrition and training practices to postpone, or slow down, the effects of ag-ing. In this month’s column, I’ll provide advice and guidelines for the 50+ crowd so that you can ensure your health well into your gold years . Here goes:Watch your fat intake .Curtailing fat not only keeps body fat low, it also helps you reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. The Parrillo Nutrition Program keeps dietary fats as low as possible. You must, however, have some essential fatty acids in your diet.

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Each day, take one teaspoon to one table-spoon of an EFA source such as safflower, sunflower, linseed, or flaxseed oils, or sup-plement with Parrillo Evening Primrose Oil (which will help with joint movement and pain too). In addition, use CapTri, a special medium chain fatty acid that is less likely to convert to body fat. Use recovery nutrients.When you were younger, your body could bounce back from intense workouts in as little as six hours. But by the time you reach 50, it can take 48 hours to re-cover. That’s because aging makes your connective tissue — tendons, ligaments, and joints — stiffer and not as forgiving to the wear and tear of exercise. Following the Parrillo Nutrition Pro-gram will help accelerate the recovery process because it provides the energy, an-tioxidants, and other nutrients your body needs for growth and repair.

It’s also a good idea to drink ProCarb, Hi-Protein Powder, or one of our other beverages im-mediately following workouts.Scientific experiments demonstrate that this type of supplement (with the added protein) initiates the rapid uptake of carbs by your muscles – faster than carbs alone. (1)In addition, a carbohydrate/protein supplement taken following a workout stimulates the release of two hormones (insulin and growth hormone), creating an environment favorable to muscle growth and recovery. (2)Increase your protein intake.Unless you’re exercising regularly, you could be losing lean muscle mass, another consequence of aging. On the Parrillo Nutrition Program, we recommend that you eat 1.25 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. At least one gram of protein per pound of your body weight should come from complete pro-tein sources such as lean white meat poul-try, fish, egg whites, or from one of your protein powders.

The remaining should come from starchy and fibrous carbohy-drates, which also contain protein.Increase dietary fiber.As an older athlete, your chances of de-veloping diverticulosis — small pouches that project outward from the wall of the colon — are on the rise. Should these pouches get irritated, the problem turns into diverticulitis. Its signs include cramps, fever, and nausea. You can prevent both situations by con-suming high-fiber diet, including legumes, vegetables, and whole grains. These foods are emphasized on the Parrillo Nutrition ProgramEnsure an adequate intake of cal-cium.Older athletes are at an increased risk of bone fractures due to osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease in which vital min-erals like calcium leach from your bones as you age. Used to be, osteoporosis was thought of as a woman’s disease. But in the past few years, its incidence among men has been climbing. Among the 25 million sufferers in the United States, two million men have osteoporosis, and three million more are at risk.To maximize and preserve bone loss if you’re a woman, take in at least 1200 mil-ligrams if you’re 51 or older. Many physi-cians recommend 1500 milligrams daily . Similarly, men need a daily calcium intake of 1200 milligrams a day over age 51.

A good source of supplement calcium is Parrillo Mineral Electrolyte Formula.In addition, be sure to continue your regular weight-training program too. Weight-bearing and strength-developing exercise stimulates the formation of bone. It also improves strength and balance, thus reducing the risk of falls and frac-tures .Shun simple sugars and refined foods.As you get older, your body doesn’t process glucose as well, and higher lev-els of sugar tend to hang around in your blood. This is tough on the body and can lead to diabetes, a blood sugar metabo-lism disorder. If you follow the Parrillo Nutrition Program, you’ll automatically avoid refined, sugar-loaded foods in favor of complex carbohydrates, which actually help regulate blood sugar. Prevent age-related  nutrient deficiencies.Older adults are at great risk of vitamin and mineral deficiencies because their bodies are less efficient at absorption. Further, studies show that as many as three in 10 people over the age of 65 may deficient in B vitamins, which are heart protective, as well as antioxidants, which preserve immunity and protect you from various disease. Supplementing with antioxidant vita-mins – namely vitamins E and C – has been found in studies to boost immunity, plus help muscles recover and regenerate more rapidly following exercise.

Both vitamin C and Vitamin E seem to prevent exercise-generated free radicals from de-stroying muscle cell membranes. (3) Most research points to a dosage of between 400 IU and 1,000 IUs of vitamin E daily and between 500 mg and 1000 mg daily of vitamin C to get the protec-tive effect.The Parrillo Essential Vitamin Formula and the Parrillo Mineral-Electrolyte For-mula both supply the antioxidants your body needs for recovery.In addition to eating properly and sup-plementing with antioxidants, there are other measures you can take to bolster im-munity so that you’re less like to get sick. One of these is using a whey-based sup-plement in your nutrition program. It also enhances recovery. We have two products containing whey: Optimized Whey For-mula (100% whey protein isolate) and our 50-50+ Formula (formulated with whey protein isolate, calcium casein, milk pro-tein isolates, and maltodextrin).

References

1. Zawadzki, K.M., Yaspelkis, BB., and J.L. Ivy. 1992. Carbohydrate-protein com-plex increases the rate of muscle glycogen storage after exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology 72: 1854-1859.

2. Chandler, R.M., Byrne, H.K., Pat-terson, J.G., and J.L. Ivy. 1994. Dietary supplements affect the anabolic hormones after weight-training exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology 76: 839-845.

3. Alessio HM, et al. 1997. Exercise-induced oxidative stress before and after vitamin C supplementation. International Journal of Sport Nutrition. 7:1-9; Also: Jakeman, P., and S. Maxwell. Effect of antioxidant vitamin supplementation on muscle function after eccentric exercise. European Journal of Applied Physiology 67: 426-430 .

Bulletin #97 – Nutritional Supplementation: An Overview, Part 3

Creatine is one of the most powerful sports nutrition supplements available. It is remarkable in that creatine causes noticeable increases in muscle size and strength within as little as one week of use. To understand how creatine works, you have to know a little about muscle physiology.The immediate source of chemical energy which is used to power muscular contractions is a molecule called ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. When the food you eat is oxidized, or burned, to produce energy, that energy is used to generate ATP. Then the ATP is used to power muscle contractions. A good analogy is a coal-fired generator. Coal is burned to produce heat, which then heats water to make steam, which then turns a turbine to make electric-ity. The electricity then runs your fan. It’s a process of transforming chemical energy (in the coal) into heat energy (in the steam) into electrical energy (the electricity), and finally into mechanical energy, the air moving from the fan. The energy (calories) in the food you eat is transformed into a chemical form of energy called ATP, which then is used to power muscle contractions.Here’s where creatine comes into play: ATP is called a “phosphagen,” a high-energy phosphate compound .

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Adenosine triphos-phate contains three phosphate groups, thus the name “triphosphate.” Phosphate groups are strongly negatively charged. These nega-tively charged portions of the molecule repel each other, making the molecule want to break apart. When it does break apart, split-ting a chemical bond, energy is released. It is that energy which is used to make muscles contract. When ATP breaks apart, one of the phosphate groups comes off, forming a free phosphate and ADP, or adenosine diphosphate (“diphosphate” means two phosphate groups remain). As you continue to perform reps the ATP gets used up, leav-ing ADP as a by-product. Creatine helps re-from the ATP. Here’s howOnce creatine gets inside muscle cells, a phosphate group is added to form creatine phosphate . Creatine phosphate is then in a position to donate its phosphate group to ADP, thereby re-generating ATP. So, the more creatine you have inside your muscle cells, the more ATP you can make, and the more energy you have to power muscle contractions .

Bottom line More creatine allows you to con-stantly keep your ATP levels topped off, so you have more energy for muscular contrac-tions . And that means more strength, and more reps . Creatine supplementation results in an increase in strength between 5-15%, depend-ing on what your creatine levels were before-hand . And it also increases your endurance, for another two or three reps per set. So you lift more weight, for more reps, which obvi-ously is going to help your muscles grow faster. Regarding performance, creatine helps the most in situations of very intense exercise, when ATP is rapidly depleted. The best examples are weight lifting and sprint-ing, where busts of maximal or near maximal effort are required. It is not so important in really long endurance exercise, where the intensity of effort is lower but for a longer time.

The best uses are in applications such as weight lifting, sprinting, and in sports where bursts of very high intensity effort are required, like football, baseball, and basket-ball. In high intensity exercise, creatine has proven to definitely improve performance. Competitive athletes in sports such as these would be fools to be without it.Muscle sizeRegarding muscle size, creatine helps in two ways. A more long-term effect is that creatine supplementation allows you to lift more weight for more reps, so you get more muscle fiber hypertrophy. A more immediate effect is that as muscle cells take up creatine, it takes water along with it. So it makes the muscle fibers swell, getting bigger and harder. After a month of creatine supplementation, you might ingest only 250 grams of creatine, but gain six to fourteen pounds of muscle mass. That weight is mostly water, being drawn inside muscles cells by the extra creatine. It’s kind of like having a constant pump.Your body makes some creatine naturally. The kidneys make about one gram per day .

Creatine is also contained in meat, and the average diet of meat eaters supplies about another gram per day. So, without creatine supplementation, you get about two grams per day, unless you’re a vegetar-ian, in which case you get about one gram per day. Creatine supplementation allows you to propel this to a much higher level. This increases the amount of creatine inside muscle cells, making them bigger and harder and stronger .The way to use creatine is to start with a loading phase, which usually is 20 grams a day for five to seven days. To do this, take five grams (one teaspoon) four times a day, for five to seven days. This is followed by the maintenance phase, which is five to ten grams a day. After only one month, you will see a noticeable increase in size and strength. Parrillo Creatine Monohydrate™ is the high-est purity creatine supplement available. And a word of caution: don’t be fooled into buying creatine phosphate supplements. It sounds like a good idea, until you realize creatine phosphate is not absorbed from the intestine .

You need to use creatine monohy-drate, which is absorbed from the intestines. Once transported inside muscle cells, it is converted into creatine phosphate. Also beware of liquid creatine supplements, as creatine will break down after a few weeks of being dissolved in water.Supplements to use with creatineTo boost your gains through the roof, there’s an excellent supplement to use in combination with creatine: 50-50 Plus™. 50-50 Plus™ is a drink mix made from about 50% protein and 50% carbohydrate. The protein portion is very much like our Hi-Protein Powder™, and the carbohydrate part is derived from Pro-Carb™. Studies have shown that a combination of protein and carbohydrate like this works better at promoting muscular growth than either one alone. Combining creatine with 50-50 Plus™ is, quite frankly, the most potent nutritional supplement available for sup-porting muscle growth. The amino acid profile of the protein is ideal for supporting muscular growth, and the carbohydrate replenishes glycogen, further enhancing energy levels and strength. The best time to use this combination is after training. At that time your muscles are depleted and are begging for nutrients. The protein acts to repair muscle damage from training as well as to supply the building blocks to gener-ate new muscle tissue.

The carbohydrate replenishes glycogen, as well as increasing uptake of the amino acids and creatine by muscle cells. If you’re on a budget and want to keep things simple, try 50-50 Plus™ along with creatine. After just one month, used in combination with proper diet, you will see and feel a difference.Another very effective supplement, which is often overlooked, is Parrillo Liver-Amino Formula™. Some people have the misconception that this is just a fancy protein supplement in the form of a pill, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is much more that that, and is a first-line supplement for many athletes. In addition to providing a very high quality protein source, this supplement also includes heme iron and B vitamins, including a rich source of B-12. Most iron supplements are very poorly absorbed. “Heme iron” is iron combined with a chemical group called “heme,” for which hemoglobin is named. Hemoglobin is the protein molecule inside red blood cells that binds oxygen, transporting it to tissues. Heme iron is absorbed much more efficiently than non-heme iron, and works much better to build red blood cells.

This enhances oxy-gen transport, greatly facilitating endurance, growth, and recovery. Many athletes are actually iron de-ficient, especially female athletes. Studies have shown that 25% of female athletes suf-fer from iron deficiency, without even know-ing about it. Correction of iron deficiency anemia results in a dramatic improvement in exercise performance. Without adequate oxygen delivery, your muscles simply can-not work like they’re supposed to. If oxygen delivery is compromised, then energy pro-duction is compromised, and strength and endurance suffer. Many people who take our Liver-Amino Formula™ are amazed at the increase in energy level they have. And increased energy leads to longer, harder, more intense, and more productive work-outs. Liver-Amino Formula isn’t really a mass-building supplement, like creatine and 50-50 Plus™ are. It’s more of a performance supplement. It enhances energy production by helping to build red blood cell mass and thereby increasing oxygen delivery to working muscles.

This improves exercise performance as well as enhancing recovery and boosting energy levels.  flu, or oth-er pesky infection. But it happens - and for various reasons. One has to do with the po-tentially “dark side” of exercise: In certain circumstances, exercise can suppress your immune system, which is your defense against infections and illness, by altering hormonal and biochemical functions in the body. Not to worry, though: In most situa-tions, exercise does the opposite. It enhances your immune system . But what of those cases where exer-cise impairs immune defenses?According to scientific research, these can occur under the following cir-cumstances1: • You’re under mental stress. •  You’re undernourished.   (Re-search indicates athletes consume about 25 percent fewer calories than they need, leading to deficiencies of many essential nutrients.) 2 • You exercise in a carbohydrate-depleted state (this increases the circula-tion of stress hormones in your body, plus harms immune-protective substances in the body). • You’ve attempted quick weight loss through caloric deprivation. •

You’ve practiced improper hy-giene.The good news is that you can protect yourself from infections with improved nu-trition and lifestyle practices. Here’s a look at how:1. Supplement with extra carbsSupplementation with carbohydrate beverages - be-fore, during, and after exercise - has been shown to strength-en immune responses . For example, it reduces levels of the hormone cortisol in blood. That’s good, since cortisol suppresses immune response . Carbo-hydrate supple-mentation also appears to protect various types of immune cells from weakening .3 If you’re on the Parrillo Nutri-tion Program™ a good supplement choice is our ProCarb™ For-mula, which can be used before, during, and after a workout.2. Consume whey protein supple-mentsResearch shows that whey protein diets in-crease the amount of glutathione in body tissues. Gluta-thione is a peptide (an amino acid de-rivative) that is involved in strengthening immunity.

The elevation of glutathione has been shown to inhibit the development of several types of tumors, ac-cording to numerous studies .4Whey protein is found in the follow-ing products Optimized Whey Protein™, Hi-Protein Powder™, 50/50 Plus Pow-der™, Parrillo Sports Nutrition Bars™, Parrillo Protein Bars™, and Parrillo Energy Bars™.3. Beware of the “overtraining myth.”“Overtraining” refers to poor perfor-mance in training and competition, and its symptoms include fatigue, frequent illness, disturbed sleep, and moodiness.5Overtraining, however, is simply “un-derrecovery” or “undereating” - not taking in enough nutrients to fully recover from your workouts. If ample nutrients are not provided, intense workouts won’t do much good. But once you get in the habit of mak-ing your nutrition as intense as your training, your workouts will be much more produc-tive, and you’ll see results much quicker.Make sure you remain in a calorie surplus - that is, eating ample calories and taking in supplemental nutrients to support your energy needs throughout the day . Fol-low a high-calorie nutrition program, and you should have enough energy stamina to blast through any workout, regardless of how long or intense it is.

You’ll also have enough recuperative power to sustain you from workout to workout, without any com-promise of energy or immune function.4. Take antioxidantsAntioxidants are nutrients found in foods and supplements that protect the body from the onslaught of disease-causing free radicals. Free radical damage has been implicated in diseases such as cancer and heart disease .Fortunately, free radicals aren’t al-lowed to do their bad deeds without being policed. They’re apprehended by the antioxi-dant nutrients, which include vitamins A, C, E, beta-carotene, and certain minerals and enzymes . These nutrients simply donate an electron to a free radical but without chang-ing into a radical itself. This action “neutral-izes,” or stops the dangerous multiplication of still more free radicals.  Supplementing with antioxidant nutri-ents has been found in research to help pro-tect the body against age-related diseases. You get vitamins A and E by eating a diet rich in vegetables and whole grains. Vitamin A, in particular, is found in yellow and or-ange foods, such as yams - a bodybuilding staple. Nutritionists feel that our diets don’t supply all the vitamin E needed for good health.

Thus, supplementation of vitamin E is recommended .By following the Parrillo Nutrition Program™ and supplementing with the Parrillo Essential Vitamin Formula™ and the Parrillo Mineral-Electrolyte Formula™ you supply your body with the antioxidant vitamins and minerals it needs for good health .5. Try arginineArginine is considered a non-essential amino acid, meaning the body can syn-thesize it from proteins and other nutrients . Despite the fact that arginine is labeled non-essential, it has a number of important functions in the body, including the fortifica-tion of the immune system. In studies with animals and humans, arginine has been found to improve wound healing and bolster immune responses, plus reduce the incidence of infection following surgery.6,7Arginine has other duties, as well. It is required to manufacture creatine, an impor-tant chemical in the muscles that provides the energy for contractions. In addition, Arginine apparently helps prevent the body from breaking down protein in muscles and organs to repair itself when injured. Meat, poultry, and fish are good sources of arginine, as are numerous supplements, including our Enhanced GH Formula™ and our Ultimate Amino Formula™. 6. Get in the zinc syncZinc has far-reaching roles in the body. For example, it helps absorb vitamins; break down carbohydrates; and regulate the growth and development of reproductive organs .

Zinc is also an important immune-boosting mineral, involved in making su-peroxide dismutase (SOD), an antioxidant enzyme that inactivates certain free radicals. Zinc, however, can be depleted by pro-longed, high-intensity exercise if you’re poorly nourished. Because zinc is required for the activity of several enzymes involved in energy metabolism, reductions in zinc concentrations in muscle may lead to muscle fatigue .8 The best sources of zinc are lean proteins, whole grains, and mineral supple-ments. Zinc is one of the minerals found in our Mineral-Electrolyte Formula™.7. Manage athletic stressHard-training bodybuilders and ath-letes can succumb to the immune-weaken-ing effects of stress just like anyone else. Here are some ways to pre-vent this9:• Vary your train-ing routine to avoid mo-notony.• Space your compe-titions appro-priately so as to not place undue bur-den on your recovery and immune re-sponses.• Practice stress reduction strategies such as relaxation if you’re continually stressed out over competition.• Get adequate rest and recovery.• Reduce environmental stress by limiting the time you train in heat, cold, humidity, or polluted air.• Practice good hygiene to limit the transmission of contagious illnesses.• Get regular medical check-ups if you have recurrent infections.

References

1.Nieman, D.C. 1997. Exercise immu-nology: practical applications. International Journal of Sports Medicine 18: S91-S100.

2.Venkatraman, J.T., et al. 2000. Dietary fats and immune status in athletes: clinical implications . Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 32: S389-S395.Immuno-Nutrition

3.Nieman, D.C. 1999. Nutrition, exer-cise, and immune system function. Clinics in Sports Medicine 18: 537-548 .

4 .Bounous, G ., et al . Whey proteins in cancer prevention. Cancer Letter 57: 91-94 .

5.MacKinnon, L.T. 2000. Special fea-ture for the Olympics: effects of exercise on the immune system: overtraining effects on immunity and performance in athletes. Im-munology and Cell Biology 78: 502-509 .

6.Barbul, A., et al. 1990. Arginine enhances wound healing and lymphocyte immune responses in humans . Surgery 108: 331-336 .

7.Evoy, D. 1998. Immunonutrition: the role of arginine. Nutrition 14: 611-617.

8.Cordova, A. 1995. Behaviour of zinc in physical exercise: a special references to immunity and fatigue. Neuroscience and Biobehavorial Reviews 19: 439-445

9.Gleeson, M. 2000. The scientific basis of practical strategies to maintain the immunocompetence in elite athletes. Exer-cise Immunology Review 6: 75-101

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