• Increased thermogenesis;
• Increased satiety;
• Hormonal regulation of hunger; and,
• Increased lean muscle mass.

Protein doesn't just help build muscle. Protein can also help us lose weight.

Increased Thermogenesis

Protein helps you burn more calories than fat or carbohydrates. While the reasons for this aren’t entirely understood, a possible theory is that because protein can’t be stored like carbs and fats, it needs to be processed immediately. Whereas the thermic effect of carbohydrates is only between 5 and 15%, and even lower for fat, the thermic effect of protein is between 20-35% of energy consumed.¹ This means that your body burns extra calories just by maintaining a high-protein diet. You lose weight with protein. How many extra calories? One recent study found that people consuming a 30% protein diet burned an extra 34kj/hour more over the study duration than those who ate a 15% protein diet.² This is about twice the thermic effect!

Increased Satiety

Scientific studies have consistently found that people on higher protein diets tend to feel less hungry for longer periods than those on low protein diets. Feeling more satiated for longer helps prevent snacking and taking in extra calories, which in turn aids weight loss. By how much? While this effect is difficult to isolate, at least 5 major studies have found that long term high protein diets have led to significantly higher levels of weight loss when compared to those on low protein diets. For example, a six-month long randomized trial on 132 obese subjects found that those consuming a 22% protein diet low in carbs lost more than 3 times as much weight on average than the group consuming a low fat and high carbohydrate diet consisting of just 16% protein.³

Hormones

Your gut releases many hormones that regulate how full you feel and how often you crave food. High protein diets have been found to induce your gut to release the greatest amounts of anorectic hormone peptide YY (PYY), which decreases hunger. A long term study of protein intake in mice found that higher protein levels increased plasma PYY levels, decreased food intake, and reduced their body fat.⁴

Increased Lean Muscle Mass

Muscles are your best friend if you’re trying to lose fat. Roughly stated, the more muscle you have, the more energy you burn, and the more likely you are to dip into your fat cells for that energy. Muscles help you burn extra energy even when you’re not working out. The more lean body mass you have, the higher your resting energy expenditure. For example, every 10 kg (22lb) difference in lean body mass translates to a difference in energy expenditure of approximately 100 calories a day.⁵

In addition to weight loss benefits, increased protein and lean body mass may be good for overall health. The author of a review article on protein and health in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that,

“abundant evidence points to a key role of altered muscle metabolism in the genesis, and therefore prevention, of many common pathologic conditions and chronic diseases. […] increasing protein or amino acid intakes may optimize muscle strength and metabolism and thereby improve health.”⁶

Not all proteins are equally as effective though, and some have added weight-loss benefits on top of those already mentioned. Undenatured whey protein works in conjunction with several other key ingredients found in GSH Ignite to increase intracellular glutathione levels. This is important in weight loss because it allows cellular respiration to increase, which means that your cells are better able to produce energy and get rid of toxins that tend to build up.

Just as consuming more energy than you burn causes your fat cells to grow larger, they can also grow as a result of accumulated toxins. When your fat cells are full of toxins they get congested – they can expand to several times their original size, which has the consequence of making you fatter also. When your cells have sufficient glutathione levels, then they can ramp up their metabolism and expel waste more efficiently. This means both leaner cells and an overall higher resting metabolic rate in your body. GSH-Ignite is a high quality source of easily digestible protein and other thermogenic aids, helping you to increase lean body mass and overall cellular health.

References:

1. Halton TL, Hu FB. The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review. J Am Coll Nutr. 2004 Oct;23(5):373-85.

2. Johnston CS, Day CS, Swan PD: Postprandial thermogenesis is increased 100% on a high protein, low fat diet versus a high carbohydrate low fat diet in healthy young women. J Am Coll Nut21 :55 –61,2002.

3. Skov AR, Toubro S, Ronn B, Holm L, Astrup A: Randomized trial on protein vs carbohydrate in ad libitum fat reduced diet for the treatment of obesity. Int J Obes23 :528 –536,1999.

4. Batterham, R.L. and Heffron, H. and Kapoor, S. and Chivers, J.E. and Chandarana, K. and Herzog, H. and Le Roux, C.W. and Thomas, E.L. and Bell, J.D. and Withers, D.J. (2006) Critical role for peptide YY in protein-mediated satiation and body-weight regulation. Cell Metabolism, 4 (3). pp. 223-233. ISSN 15504131

5. Robert R Wolfe. The under appreciated role of muscle in health and disease: review article. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 84, No. 3, 475-482, September 2006

6. ibid.

Copyright 2010 Elite Sports and Fitness

Cellular respiration involves the intake and use of oxygen by your body’s cells in order to generate energy called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP).  To understand the process, consider a very common energy source – fire.  What are the three components needed for fire? They are:

• Fuel
• Oxygen
• Ignition Source

The same is true for the energy your cells generate, Adenosine Triphosphate is a biological battery:  a source of energy that changes to ADP, the diphosphate, when it has completely discharged. The ADP then undergoes cellular respiration to change back to the ATP that enables you to attain maximum athletic performance.

The three essential components needed to enable cellular respiration to take place are:

Fuel: The fuel is glucose, which primarily comes from your carbohydrate intake, whether in the form of simple sugars or complex fats.  Ultimately the carbohydrates you consume are converted to glucose. That is the raw material for cellular respiration – any unused glucose can be used to top up your glycogen stores, and any after that forms fatty tissue.

Oxygen: Oxygen is taken in by the lungs and attached to the red blood cells, so is available to the body cells when needed to generate energy.

Ignition Source: Cellular respiration differs from normal ignition in that it is a series of chemical reactions, and is basically what is known as a redox reaction. There is no single ignition source as such, though ATP kicks it off by breaking open the chemical bonds of the fuel source, glucose.

The whole reaction sequence comprises three basic stages, known as:

• Glycolysis: Glucose is broken down to pyruvate.

• Krebs Cycle:  Also known as the Citric Acid Cycle, pyruvate is used form the high energy ATP molecules.

• Electron Transport System:  This is an oxidation-reduction process wherein electrons are transferred from a high energy donor molecule to a low energy acceptor molecule with the release of energy and the generation of more ATP.

What Does All This Mean To You As An Athlete?

The stronger your electron transport system, then the more ATP energy you can generate. Not only that, but electrons are also essential for the generation of electric current, and guess what? Your nervous system is an electrical system.

Your nerves are the wires that carry electrons from your brain, to the cells that react to contract your muscles. The faster and stronger that these muscle cells contract then the quicker and more powerful your reactions, the more powerfully they can contract, the more strength you have. Your athletic performance is a combination of strong cellular respiration (generating energy for more power when you need it) and a high membrane potential (the electrical charge within your body cells), which are needed to generate the explosive power, sustained speed and stamina needed by runners over all distances.

Free Radicals and Inflammation

However, any chemical reactions involving oxygen are liable to produce by-products known as free-radicals. These are destructive oxygenated molecules that destroy your cells and their means of producing energy – leaving you with less overall energy available.

Not only that, but exercise can damage body tissue and initiate the inflammatory response of your immune system. Neither of these side-effects is desirable in athletes, and can severely affect you fitness and performance.

So how can you help to strengthen cellular respiration while at the same time avoiding the negative consequences of doing so?  By using GSH Ignite.

GSH Ignite

GSH Ignite is a supplement that has been developed specifically to provide your body with a readily usable source of electrons. It enables runners and other athletes to make best use of the fuel and oxygen they take in to maximize cellular respiration while also fighting against the free radicals and reducing inflammation. The result is explosive power & increased strength and endurance.

Copyright 2010 LifeHealthSecrets

So far this season (knock wood!!!) I am completely injury free. I think that’s partially because I have been able to strength train more effectively to protect my joints and also because my joints just seem to “feel” better.

I am just starting my 9th week of a 12 week “base” training program. The last 2 weeks were pretty intense and this is a “recovery” week which I’m really happy to have! I have been experimenting with the Adrenal Reboot and am hoping that will help me over the hump. I’m also liking the GSH-Ignite a lot as an addition to my program. What little evidence I have so far indicates that I am indeed “stronger” than I was at the same time last year. I seem to be much stronger in the water especially. Also, on the bike this morning in an 8 mile aerobic TT, I took a full 30 seconds off my time from last year.

My first real test will be the NJ Devilman Sprint Triathlon, first weekend in May, which is a setup for my 2 biggest races of the year: Eagleman 2nd weekend in June and NYC Triathlon, 3rd weekend in July.

I will probably do some more tri’s after that, but my focus will start to be on completing the Boston Marathon as part of my 60th birthday celebration.

Copyright 2010 LifeHealthSecrets

My days are busy and I work full time, nearly everyday.   In order to fit in my training schedule, which is normally 2 to 3 hours 5 days a week, I train in the basement of the thrift shop where I work.  This is a recent training session focusing on 1 minute endurance sets.

• minute 1-90 pushups
  
• minute 2-80
• minute 3-80
• minute 4-76
• minute 5-80
• minute 6-80
• minute 7-84
• minute 8-80
• minute 9-90 (70 in 40 seconds)
  
• minute 10-90 (70 in 40 seconds)
• minute 11-95 (80 in 44 s econds)
• minute 12-70

• pull ups 360
• inclined push ups 180(sets of 30)
• back hand push ups (4 sets of 20) 50 straight

Prior to my training I will eat at least 3 hours prior to training two cups of brown rice, two sirloin patties, and steak and squash, half gallon of water with 2 Maxodin.  Then 1 hour prior to training I will take 3 servings of GSH Ignite and ensure I drink lots of water.

Building Strength & Explosive are Critical to Peak Athletic Performance

Compare two athletes of the exact same body size and build, who have followed the same training regimen – they don’t necessarily have the same power, speed or explosive capacity. Why? Once athletes attain a certain level of strength and stamina, the difference in their capabilities comes down to their bodies’ bio-electric current flow. The stronger the current flow, the stronger the body, and the more explosive power and strength you have access to.

Bio-electric current, also known as cellular zeta-potential, is the movement of electrons through your cells and consequently, through your body. The moving electron is literally the catalyst for the chemistry of life – a body completely stripped of moving electrons is a dead body. Current is especially important to athletes because it feeds the nerves which then feed the muscles. More current = more explosive power, when all else is equal. However, the rigorous training athletes undergo tends to deplete current, and if they allow a deficit to build over time, eventually their bodies become depleted and their explosive power diminishes. The younger athletes with the stronger current win because they haven’t yet exhausted their systems.

A strong electron transfer system, along with an abundant supply of electron donors, is important to the athlete because it strengthens cellular respiration and cellular charge (membrane potential) – both of which are essential to explosive power and strength.

First, let’s look at why cellular respiration is important. Just like you have the lungs, you have 60-100 trillion small lungs in your body – your cells. If those cells are ‘breathing’ at their optimum capacity, then they can increase ATP production, providing you with more energy for explosive power, to move your muscles. The best way to increase cellular respiration? By increasing current, or the supply and transfer of electrons.

If you’ve taken the time to do a bit of research, then you know there’s a dilemma all athletes face when they’re training: the harder you work out and the more ATP you produce, the more electron-robbing free radicals your body produces, and the faster your cells and DNA become damaged by oxidative stress. Taking a supplement like creatine to increase cellular respiration just makes the problem worse – your body ramps up ATP production without any means of defending its cells against the increased free radical load. Not only does a high free radical load decrease your performance in the medium and long term, it also leads to premature aging.

This is why glutathione supplementation is so important. Glutathione solves the athlete’s dilemma by allowing cellular respiration to increase while protecting cells against free radicals. Glutathione is one of your body’s most powerful electron donors –so powerful, in fact, that we literally can’t survive without it. That’s why our bodies produce it internally. However, as we get older, from as early as 20 years old, our internal glutathione levels begin to drop by as much as 35%. That means that your body slows ATP production as well, to protect against increased free radicals. Remember, ATP is the energy your muscles need for power and explosive strength. By dealing with the free radicals from within the cell, glutathione permits ATP to increase naturally. Greater cellular respiration = more explosive power and maximum strength for athletes.

So is the answer just to take a glutathione supplement? Not so fast. Remember, there are two aspects to the body’s bio-electrical current: cellular respiration and cellular charge (the sodium potassium pump). Cell charge is the second element you need for explosive power and strength. When cellular charge is low, metabolic waste accumulates and cellular respiration is impeded. If this isn’t dealt with, then the cell’s osmotic pressure become so weak that it can no longer expel its own waste and old body fluids, and edema or water retention occurs. The cell has trouble pulling in nutrients and becomes congested. If you don’t increase cell charge, then glutathione supplementation is ineffective, or minimally effective at best, because the cell can’t even pull in the nutrients it needs to function. By strengthening cellular charge, metabolic wastes are efficiently removed and cellular respiration can increase.

So how can an athlete increase current, and by extension increase both cellular respiration and charge?

GSH-Ignite was formulated specifically to address these issues. By providing the body with an ample supply of bio-recognizable electrons, and using proprietary means to transfer and move those electrons throughout the body, GSH-Ignite allows athletes to achieve greater levels of explosive power and strength than they could through training alone. GSH-Ignite strengthens the body’s current and promotes healthy glutathione levels while also increasing cellular charge. The effect? Maximum strength and more explosive power.

Copyright 2010 Elite Sports and Fitness.com

I train hard, and the LifeHealthSecrets supplements have helped a lot. They keep me relaxed, in the zone and sharp. I get a better rest at night, and I’m a lot stronger than before. I felt stronger after only the 3rd day on the supplements. My stamina has increased. Before taking the products, I was managing only 10 reps per set, with a total of 80 push-ups. Now I’m averaging 20 to 25 reps of front pull-ups per set, with a total count of 300. Now I can also do more one-armed pushups, averaging 10 one-arm pushups in a set, for a total of 70. Prior, it was 7 per set, with a total of 49. I’ve also gone from doing 2,015 pushups in an hour to 2,080, and this is increasing all the time, getting closer to the 3,800 I need to beat the world record.

I’m diagnosed as an insomniac and I find it hard to sleep without taking something. The doctors told me it’s stress. I live a stressful life, I worry about a lot of things. It’s just me and my mom, and I help my mother pay the bills, so I’m always worried about that. I live in a bad neighborhood, so I’m always worried about getting attacked or something crazy happening to me. Since I’ve been on this plan, taking Maxodin, Adrenal Re-Boot, the Protein Extreme Energy and GSH Ignite, I’m sleeping a lot better and feel much more awake when I’m awake, not groggy at all, which I used to feel a lot. I’ve also noticed that since I’ve been on these products, I’m not as angry as I usually am. I’ve very hot blooded, I have a bad temper, and I’ve noticed that things don’t bother me as much as they used to, I’m not stressing over things. I’m more focused on the things I need to be focused on. Now I feel more mentally alert, focused, and with a sense of calmness that I didn’t have before.

Shaun McDaniel

Age 24

Queens, New York

Lots of anticipation followed me to Week 1 of the Colgate Women’s Indoor Games.   I have had this recurring nightmare for years that I either forget my sprint spikes, or that I am late for my race.  Well, this week, the meet was running ahead of schedule, so when I arrived, my heart jumped as I saw the hurdles set up and ready to go.  I had to do an abbreviated warm-up, while quickly saying hello to long-time friends and fellow-competitors, who come together only at this time of year, every year, for the Colgate Women’s Games.  Keep in mind, that each week athletes advance to the next week based on their performance, in hopes of qualifying for the finals at Madison Square Garden.  This is a six week track series.  There were a lot of women competing in the open 55 meter hurdles, and I placed second in my heat in the trials and second overall in the finals.  My time was faster in the trials, and I felt a little strain in my right lead leg hip flexor, that has been plaguing me on and off for a few weeks now.  My left hamstring was also a little sore.  As far as training, we added plyometrics and power exercises to my training this week.  Coach Johnson incorporated box jumps and cleans after my hurdle workout, which will help me with my starts and exploding out of the blocks.  Keep in mind that the open athlete has a different training schedule than a collegiate athlete.  A collegiate athlete trains with the expectation of running their peak times in late January and February at championship meets.  As an open athlete, my major competitions are in February and March.  Therefore, I started speed and hurdle training a little later this indoor season, so I did not feel as sharp and quick over the hurdles as I would have liked, but my training is devised so that each week I run a little faster….so stay tuned!