Vanadium for Type II Diabetes!? Beneficial Effect of Trace Element on Blood Glucose Management in Rat Model.

Some of you may remember that vanadium has once been hailed as nutrient repartitioner (it has been shown to increase glucose uptake into muscle tissue via GLUT4-receptors) in the fitness & bodybuilding community. After reports on possible toxicity issues, which were - at least in parts - based on reports of people who dosed according to the common "more helps more" mentality of our society, vanadium supplements, stand-alone or larger doses as part of micronutrient blends, have disappeared from the market. Science, on the other hand has not given up on this promising, yet non-benign "medication".

A recent study (Kurt. 2011) published in the journal Biometals underlines that the effects of vanadium, which was named after the Scandinavian goddess of beauty and fertility, Vanadis, do in fact border on those of a pharmaceutical drug. After treating rats with streptozotocin and thus inducing a metabolic profile that is generally considered an appropriate model for human type II diabetes, the researchers from the Department of Chemistry, at the University of Istanbul, supplemented the chow of their animals (control & STZ-induced type II diabetic rats) with 100mg vanadyl sulfate per kg of body weight. For an 80kg male human this would amount to a massive dose of 1.200mg vanadium sulfate per day, the consumption of which is not advisable until definitive human data on short- and especially long-term consequences are available.

Figure 1: Blood glucose levels (mg/dl) of rats at different time-points
(data adapted from Kurt. 2011)

Regardless of the results of future studies on the effects & safety of vanadium on humans, the study results (as shown in figure 1) clearly indicate that vanadium is able to counter, maybe even reverse, the negative effects streptozotocin has on blood glucose and insulin management in rats.

Its also noteworthy that, according to the scientists, the administration of vanadium also reversed the pro-oxidative effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes. I am yet not sure if this conclusion Kurt et al. base on a reduction of anti-oxidant activity in the tissue of the diabetic rats is valid. After all, the latter could also be a direct consequence of potential toxic effects of the trace mineral. Until further human data will be available, I would thus strongly advice against taking high dose vanadium supplements, even if you have type II diabetes.

Vitamin(S!) E, The Whole Picture: Delta Tocopherol a Rising Star in Cancer Protection

Those of you who have attentively followed my dissertation on fish oil (cf. SHR: ProfDrAndro talking on the Pros & Cons of Fish Oil) may remember that - as an aside - I mentioned that not alpha-tocopherol, which is what supplement companies add to their fish oils, but delta-tocopherol would be the anti-oxidant of choice to protect the highly oxidizable oil from going rancid.

Figure 1: Toco-8, one of the few
tocotrienol products on the market

A very recent report (Li. 2011) on findings of scientists from The State University of New Jersey is only one out of a whole line studies that imply that the real health value of "vitamin E" (we should better start writing "the vitamins E") does not lie in one, but in the combination of the tocopherols (alpha, gamma, delta) and the naturally ocuring tocotrienols, of which both the delta-tocopherol, as well as the group of tocotrienols have long been overlooked in the course of what one should probably call the "alpha-tocopherol"-hype.

According to Li et al., of the three tocopherols (alpha, gamma, delta @ a human equivalent dose of 800IU) the scientists fed to mice, which had previously been "infected" with "human lung cancer H1299 cells", the "δ-Tocopherol inhibited tumor growth most strongly" (delta > gamma > alpha). And with reference to the underlying mechanism of the observed superiority of delta-tocopherol to the two other isomers, the scientists argue:

The higher activity of δ-T in the inhibition of tumor growth corresponded well with its ability to inhibit the formation of 8-OHdG, γ-H2AX, and nitrotyrosine as well as to induce cell apoptosis.

With 8-OHdG being a marker for oxidative stress, γ-H2AX being a marker for cellular damage and nitrotyrosine being a reactive derived from nitrogen species and tyrosines in proteins, these findings suggest that delta-tocopherol protects against oxidative stress and cellular damage, and, at the same time, facilitates apoptosis of cancerous cell lines (on a side note: a characteristic feature of cancer is that the "normal" and healthy programmed cell death does not occur). Alpha-tocopherol, on the other hand, has "little or no influence" on these parameters.

If one also takes into consideration that the tocopherols appear to displace each other...

[...] dietary γ- or δ-tocopherol, however, decreased serum α-tocopherol levels, and dietary α-tocopherol decreased serum levels of γ-tocopherol.

...it is becoming more and more obvious that supplementation with isolated tocopherols, as it has been the case in many of the inconsistent studies on the effect of "vitamin E" on cancer, is not warranted.

So, if you decide to copy the study and supplement 800IU of vitamin E, make sure it comes from a source of "natural, mixed tocopherols" or even better tocopherols & tocotrienols, of which S. Wada in a very recent review (Wada. 2011) on the effects of vitamin E on cancer writes:

Vitamin E, especially tocotrienols, seems to be a potent agent for cancer prevention, however no large-scale clinical trial on the cancer prevention effect of tocotrienols has been conducted yet. Therefore it is expected that clinical trials overcoming the lower bioavailability of tocotrienols will be conducted, and it is urgently needed to assess the safety and the efficacy of the administration of the tocotrienols as a part of a cancer prevention regimen.

Ah, and don't forget: The SuppVersity is the place where you will read about these studies first ;-)

I-Force Dexaprine Ingredient Write-Up.

Figure 1: I-Force Nutrition's
newest fat burner Dexaprine

Just received an email from the marketing guys @I-Force Nutrition informing me that "Dexaprine is finally here...". Well, to be honest, I had not been waiting for it, but the email intrigued me and I would like to give you a brief rundown on the ingredients, which are "guaranteed to give you more energy, increased appetite suppression, and insane mood enhancement than you have ever experienced!" - I don't know about you, but I think I have heard similar claims before ;-)

Ok, here we go: One bottle of Dexaprine, which is 39.99 (pre-order offer @ I-Force webshop) has 60 servings (serving size 1 capsule) of the "thermogenic powerhouse" (I love these advertisment guys) @ 600mg of the following ingredients

• Thermophoric Amine Mood Enhancing Complex,
  which is basically just synephrine (from citrus aurantium) + geranamine (which is also known as 1,3-dimethylamylamine, 4-methyl-2-hexylamine, or as I-Force has it on the label 1,3-dimethylpentylamine)
  
• Extended Release Energy Complex,
  which is a combination of caffeine and theophylline, with the latter having identical beneficial (stimulant, beta receptor agonism, etc.) as well as detrimental (e.g. temporary insulin resistance in muscle tissue, cf. Colnes. 2010, adrenal problems due to long term (over-)use etc.) effects on perceived energy and weight loss, but a longer half-life, which is even prolonged by the concomittant admistration of caffeine (Jonkman. 1991)
  
• Anabolic Protein Synthesis Enhancing Complex,of which I think that it is completely mislabeled, because it is a combination of the two diiodo-L-Thyronines (also known as T2s), 3,3'-T2 and 3,5-T2, of which I have already written in a paper for a German BodyBuilding and fitness magazine (click here for Google-translation) that their impact on metabolic rate (in non-hypothyroid individuals) is probably negligible and would - according to the mice studies that are presently available - require much higher doses than those present in current "thyroid stimulating" products to up-regulate UCP significantly above "normal" levels.

So, overall this does leave us with a probably relatively long lasting stimulant that will enable you to work harder and thus burn more calories and subsequently more fat. Not bad, but nothing new or even revolutionary here.

On a side note: As it is quite often the case in the supplement industry, Dexaprine is deliberately named to sound similar to a potent drug, the synthetic amphetamine Dexedrine (has up to 15 mg dextro-Amphetamin per cap). This practice is about as shabby as calling a product XYZ-"drol". The latter, i.e. the "drols", have incidentally been banned by bodybuilding.com - good idea, guys ;-)

Algae Cake: Delicious & Healthy!? Wait Until You Learn that it is a Waste Product of Biofuel Production

Despite the Fukushima disaster and the possible contamination of seafood and algae from the pacific ocean, seaweed still has a very good reputation among the health & longevity "experts" (especially those who happen to sell respective supplements).

Figure 1: Algae cake (left) and differently processed algae (right);
pictures as they appear on homepage of Dr V Sivasubramanian

And though I do not want to argue that there are lots of studies that indicate beneficial effects of eating whole algae or supplementing with certain constituents, I must say that I was somewhat puzzled, when I read about the "terrific" idea, a group of Indian scientists (Singh. 2011) has recently come up with. They want to use algal cake (basically a waste product of the production of biofuel from algae) as ...

[...] extremely valuable, high protein by-product of our system that will be used for the production of nutritional food additives, vitamin supplements, animal/fish feed and other valuable consumer products.

Somehow that reminds me of the economically clever, yet from a health perspective questionable practice of feeding cows and other cattle with fishmeal, another "by-product"  which has traditionally been produced from the waste products of the fishery industry and has - among other health problems - been implicated as a contributing factor to the rise of BSE infection, everyone seems to have forgotten about, these days... But, hey, these are just my 2 cents. If anyone of you has the chance to taste one of these outstanding "cakes" let me know how it did you ;-)

Save Our Children: No more "Obeldickses" - Lifestyle Intervention, Not Rigorous Dieting Key to Solving Childhood Obesity

What is good for adults cannot be bad for children!? Right so in the case of turning a sedentary life upside down: Changing the lifestyle, i.e. eating and exercise habits of overweight children (8 year olds) produced profound and above all persistent (>12 month) improvements in body weight, fat mass, waist circumference, and blood pressure!

In a recent report (Schaefer. 2011) on what the German scientists felicitously called the "Obeldicks" program (with reference to the obese Gaul from the famous comic book series),  Schaefer et. al. report the results of a large scale intervention program with 76 obese children and their parents. The program was based on three-pillar-strategy:

• physical activity training, 
• nutrition education, 
• and behavior counseling 

And the beneficial and more importantly lasting (>12 month follow up) effects it had on the participants should make it pretty clear that in a society, where pathological eating & movement patterns (driving to McDonalds, eating the SuperSizeMenue right in your car) become the norm, profound lifestyle changes are the only sustainable way to lose weight, improve or maintain health and promote long jeopardy.

So, if you want to die from diabetes, cancer or heart disease (you chose your favorite) in 10 years from now, that is your choice, BUT be fair and give your children the education and advice they need to get their acts together, they probably still have the chance.

Fukushima & You: Understand What's Going On & How to Protect Yourself.

I am back on SHR - this time talking about a very serious topic: The meltdown at the nuclear power plant(s) in Fukushima.

"What the Fukushima Is Going On?"

Update: Download Podcast

Listen live @ 9:00AM AM/12:00PM ET

Tune in live and listen to some solid background info that will help you understand what's going on in Japan, California and the rest of the world.

Calorie Restriction vs. Exercise for Optimal Body Composition? Exercise Preserves Muscle Tissue and Prevents Metabolic Downregulation.

Those of you who listened to my comments on set points and reasonable weight loss on Super Human Radio, will already know that - other than Gary Taubes, for example - I am a huge advocate of exercise, when it comes to weight loss, -maintenance and overall improvements in body composition. Data from a recently published study (Soare. 2011), despite being evaluated from an anti-aging perspective, confirms the adequacy of approaching your body composition goals, by dietary modifications and exercise induced increases in energy expenditure, instead of just "eating less calories".

In their study, Soare et al compared 24 subjects who had been on a calorically restricted diet (CR, 1769±348 kcal/d) for an average of 6 years to 24 age- and sex-matched sedentary individuals (control, WD, 2302±668 kcal/d) and 24 body fat-matched exercise-trained (EX, 2798±760 kcal/d) volunteers, who were eating Western diets.

Figure 1: Total body weight, lean mass & fat mass in sendentary control, calorie restricted (CR) and exercise (EX) group. (Data adapted from Soare. 2011)

Although the researchers found that both, "the CR and EX groups were significantly leaner than the control (WD) group" both the greater amount of lean body mass (cf. figure 1) as well as their finding that...

Mean 24-hour, day-time and night-time core body temperatures were all significantly lower in the CR group than in the WD and EX groups (P≤0.01).

...underline the futility of every effort to achieve improved body composition, i.e, to maximize muscle (lean mass), while shedding as much body fat, as possible via (even moderate) caloric restriction.

Two other things are noteworthy, as well. Firstly, the reduction in body temperature, which is indicative of a downregulation of the metabolic rate, may be favorable for a longer, but that does not equate into more livable life. And secondly, the "Taubes-Hypothesis" that exercise is "useless", because "it makes you hungry" (the subjects in the EX group in fact consumed more calories) and you would compensate by eating more, anyway, would be relevant, only, if in fact "a calorie was a calorie" and "only calories" counted; the superior body composition of the exercise group, on the other hand, speaks for itself and does suggest that even Garry himself may benefit from one or another training session in the gym ;-)

Edit: As I hear in an anonymous comment Taubes is supposed to do resistance training. When he was talking to doctor Oz, he did however propose the hypothesis I refer to above and this really bothered me.