To understand how to improve athletic performance and recuperate faster and more completely, it helps to know what it is exactly your body needs to recuperate from after you exercise. The five main recuperation issues athletes face are:

• Repairing and limiting the effects of oxidative stress;
• Healing damaged muscles;
• Recovering from inflammation;
• Fortifying the immune system; and,
• Building back up energy.

While they are separated below for simplicity, in truth each of the problems facing an athlete are interrelated: for example, free radicals can cause inflammation and muscle damage, and inflammation is a response to muscle damage.

The Problem: Oxidative Stress

When you exercise, you produce more free radicals – harmful molecules that can damage cell function and muscle tissue, causing muscle loss and inflammation. Furthermore, high free radical levels can continue to damage your muscles even after you’ve stopped exercising, delaying recuperation time.

The Problem: Muscle Damage

When you exercise intensely, tiny tears appear in your muscle cell membranes – this is called cellular microtrauma, and basically means your muscle tissue becomes damaged. If your body doesn’t receive the nourishment it needs to repair your muscles, recuperation is delayed or remains incomplete.

The Problem: Inflammation

Inflammation occurs after intense exercise, and helps cause soreness, central nervous system fatigue, and a delay in the regeneration of muscle.

If inflammation isn’t properly treated and your body is subjected to repeated intense exercise, then you risk developing chronic inflammation, which can put you out of the game for a long period of time.

The Problem: Weakened Immune System

For several hours after you exercise intensely, your immune system is more vulnerable to attack than ever. This means an increased risk of getting sick, which can throw your training schedule out of whack for weeks.

The Problem: Lack of Energy

Recuperation and healing take energy, and as your body diverts its resources to repairing itself, you may experience an overall drop in daily energy.

Additionally, cellular wastes can build up and make you feel tired and irritable. These must be cleansed from your body for full recuperation.

Your Solutions

Oxidative Stress Relief:

The best way to counter oxidative stress is to take a natural supplement that provides anti-oxidants that will work to neutralize the damaging free radicals produced by exercise. Careful though, not all anti-oxidants are created equal.

For more information on oxidative stress relief.

Boost Your Immune System:

While adequate sleep and good nutrition will help boost your immune system in general, what you need is something to take right after exercising that will give your immune system immediate protection. For athletes, immunoglobulins (also called antibodies) are an ideal choice because they have a triple function: immunoglobulins are bioactive proteins, meaning that they provide both a source of quality amino acids to help repair muscles; are clinically proven to help your body fight against invading bacteria and viruses; and also promote a healthy inflammatory response.

For more information on boosting your immune system.

Promote a Healthy Inflammatory Response:

To reduce recuperation time, you need to fight the inflammatory cytokines that assemble in muscle tissue after exercise. TGF-ß is a potent anti-inflammatory peptide, and surprisingly perhaps, so is turmeric, a spice found in much Indian cooking.

For more information on how to promote a healthy inflammatory response.

Feed and Repair Your Muscles:

Your muscles need nourishment to rebuild and repair. This means finding a high-quality source of essential amino acids such as immunoglobulins which are also proven to increase the transport of amino acids into muscle cells throughout the body, reducing recuperation time. Egg albumin protein is also ideal, as it is a slow-release glycoprotein, providing your muscles with a steady source of highly recognizable essential amino acids. It also serves an important osmotic function, preventing the water in blood from moving into the interstitial fluid. Papain (from the papaya fruit) can also help with recuperation as it is a digestive enzyme that breaks protein down into amino acids that are easily assimilated into muscle tissue.

For more information on muscle repair.

Boost Your Energy Levels:

To get more energy for recuperation and performance, you need to recharge and cleanse your cells of metabolic wastes, allowing them to produce energy more efficiently. Drinking adequate water throughout your day helps to flush out the wastes, but can be insufficient on its own. Calcium D-glucarate helps the liver to detoxify the blood of impurities, including waste products produced during exercise. Cell function can also be enhanced by other means (this should link to article on cellular energy).

For more information on boosting your energy levels.

Other Tips to Speed Post-Workout Recuperation:

Get your sleep: your body repairs itself when you sleep, so get a good night ’s rest.
Drink enough water: water helps your cells cleanse themselves.
Always cool down for at least 10 minutes immediately after exercise, and stretch.
Replace depleted fluid, protein and glycogen stores within ½ an hour of training.

References

1. Dwivedi C, Heck WJ, Downie AA, et al. Effect of calcium glucarate on beta-glucuronidase activity and glucarate content of certain vegetables and fruits. Biochem Med Metab Biol 1990;43:83–92.

2. Tarnopolsky, M.A., Bosman, M., MacDonald, J.R., Vandeputte, D., Martin, J., & Roy, B.D. (1997). Post exercise protein-carbohydrate and carbohydrate supplements increase muscle glycogen in men and women. Journal of Applied Physiology, 83, 1877-1883

3. van Loon, L.J., Saris, W.H., Kruijshoop, M., & Wagenmakers, A.J. (2000).
Maximizing postexercise muscle glycogen synthesis: carbohydrate supplementation and the application of amino acid or protein hydrolysate mixtures. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72, 106-111.

4. Nieman DC. (2000) Is infection risk linked to exercise workload? Med Sci Sports Exerc 32: S406 –S411, 2000.

Copyright 2010 Elite Sports and Fitness

Still relatively new to the sports world, immunoglobulins are bioactive proteins that provide a wide range of benefits that traditional proteins don ’t. Not only do they help to build muscle, they also repair tissue at an accelerated pace, promote a healthy inflammatory response, and boost the immune system – all vital to successful athletic recuperation.

What are Immunoglobulins?

Immunoglobulins are also known as antibodies. They are plasma proteins used by our immune systems to seek out, identify and neutralize invading viruses and bacteria. They do this either by marking the offending invader, so other cells can come and destroy it, or by binding directly to it, effectively preventing it from causing infection. In other words, immunoglobulins are immune system boosters.

How Immunoglobulins Boost Our Immune System

Immunoglobulins are also a component of human breast-milk, helping to protect babies from illness and build a strong immune system for life. Clinical studies have shown immunoglobulin supplementation to help the body retain the protein it needs to build muscle, increase lean muscle mass, reduce the levels of inflammatory cytokines in the gut, reduce the number of sick days and even lower cholesterol. Immunoglobulins boost our immune systems and help strengthen an athlete’s body.

How to Boost Your Immune System

The main reason immunoglobulins have not been used as a protein supplement and as a supplement to boost our immune system until recently has been due to high cost and limited quality supply. Our favorite high-quality immunoglobulin-based protein that includes several other natural recovery-enhancing agents and is used by elite athletes is Protein Extreme Energy.

The benefits of immunoglobulins include:

• boosts and strengthens the immune system
• gets more amino acids into muscle cells throughout the body
• promotes muscle tissue growth, regeneration, and strengthening
• initiates the transport of nucleic acids into the cell nucleus, where the DNA resides
• provides the raw material needed to repair damage to the DNA and initiate cell division
• supports reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines
• helps in post-exercise recovery
• beneficial in repairing extreme muscle rips

Feel the difference as to how a bioactive protein can help your performance and boost your immune system.

Copyright 2010 Elite Sports and Fitness

Your body needs good quality fuel to run at its best. For athletes this means not only pure, healthy foods but also high quality supplements – you want the stuff that burns clean and that is sustainable in the long run, not the stuff that’s going to mess with your metabolism and leave you feeling burnt out six months down the road.

There’s a pretty strong consensus on the diet front – eat lean, hormone-free proteins, complex carbohydrates, omega-3 type fats and stay away from anything processed, packaged or that comes out of a deep fryer. Navigating the supplement industry is a little murkier though, and the purpose of this article is to break down what every athlete who’s looking to enhance their performance naturally should take, and why.

But first, as a caveat, let me acknowledge that different athletes have different goals and needs and so, while I’ve tried to tailor this to adults following a serious training program, you should always consult your doctor to make sure these things are right for you, and the information in this article shouldn’t be construed as taking the place of a doctor’s advice.

1. A High Quality Protein Supplement

Physically active people need more protein. Protein helps build muscle, so getting enough is critical for the serious athlete. In theory you can get it all through your diet; in practice it’s much easier to down a shake. But take too much and you can stress your liver and kidneys, especially if the protein source has a low Net Nitrogen Utilization (NNU) value. Protein 2.0 is a class of proteins called ‘bioactive’ protein – it gives you more bang for your buck because it not only helps you build muscle, it also offers active peptides that bolster your immune system and promote a healthy inflammatory response.

Tara-Hurdles-Competition

2. Anti-Oxidants

When you exercise, you breathe harder. This means you’re taking in more oxygen. Great, except that oxygen produces free radicals in your body that damage your cells and DNA. So antioxidants are critical to any athlete’s training regimen, because the harder you train, the harder your cells are going to get pummeled with free radicals.

Sure you can get anti-oxidants from some foods, but my money’s on glutathione, which is like the Great White shark of anti-oxidants – hundreds of times stronger than anything found in fruits or vegetables. Your body manufactures it internally, but production declines from as early as age twenty on. Unfortunately, a glutathione supplement is useless (it just gets digested). Fortunately, supplements that provide the precursors for your body to rev up its own natural glutathione production are effective. As an added bonus, when you increase glutathione production, you increase ATP – ATP energy, or cellular energy, so not only do you fight free radicals, you also get more energy.

3. Immune Enhancement

Train hard and your immune system crashes. “High intensity exercise impairs immune function for up to several hours post-exercise.” (Nieman DC. Is infection risk linked to exercise workload? Med Sci Sports Exerc 32: S406 –S411, 2000.). This means that you’re open to illness and infection – and being sick isn’t good for business. A mean flu can have you knocked on your ass for weeks. Better just to strengthen your immune system. Echinacea? Meh. Vitamin C? If you must. But, as I mentioned above, if you take a bioactive protein, you’re going to boost your immune system as a side benefit – and save money by not having to buy an extra product.

4. Adrenal Support

Your adrenals sit on top of your kidneys and regulate stress, including that handy fight-or-flight response that kicks in right before and during an event. You know, it’s that adrenaline cold sweat that makes you feel like you could wrestle a cougar (which is probably what that short burst of energy was originally intended for). Modern times haven’t been so kind to our adrenals though, and daily life stress (think traffic jams, your boss, bills, etc…) combined with workout stress spells adrenal burnout. If your adrenals aren’t at their best, neither are you, and your performance will suffer. So if you’re training or doing extreme sports, an adrenal supplement could be what you need.

5. Memory, Focus, Concentration

Sports and training aren’t just about strength – they’re also about focus, concentration, and reaction time. So taking something for your brain is a good idea. Fish with a low mercury content and high fat content is optimal because it contains lots of DHA, but it not always available and hard to take with you when traveling. Other promising memory and focus supplements are Gotu Kola, DMAE and CDP Choline.

While I’m not a professional athlete, I take my training and my body’s long-term health seriously. I’m not planning on making it to the Olympics, but I do want to be in great shape well into my retirement years.

Here’s what I take:

1-2 scoops Protein Extreme Energy in the morning before breakfast (for protein and immune system)

2 Maxodin with breakfast (for concentration, memory, focus)

1-2 scoops GSH-Ignite before work-outs (for free radical protection)

In some cases I will take 1 scoop of Protein Extreme Energy for post work out muscle support and recovery

2 Adrenal ReBoot with dinner (for adrenal support)

Copyright 2010 Life Health Secrets

To summarize the benefits in bullet point form, the benefits of bioactive proteins found in Protein Extreme Energy include:

• boosts and strengthens the immune system
• gets more amino acids into muscle cells throughout the body
• promotes muscle tissue growth, regeneration, and strengthening
• initiates the transport of nucleic acids into the cell nucleus, where the DNA resides
• provides the raw material needed to repair damage to the DNA and initiate cell division
• supports reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines
• helps in post-exercise recovery
• beneficial in repairing extreme muscle rips

From these points you can see why serious athletes and body builders nationwide have been incorporating Protein Extreme Energy into their daily regime.

How will Protein Extreme Energy help me build muscle?

Protein Extreme Energy offers a supply of high quality bioactive protein, and helps to maintain a positive nitrogen balance, essential for the retention of dietary protein. Combined with weight training, Protein Extreme Energy allows you to build muscle quickly and easily.

Why not just use whey powder?

In addition to being fifteen times stronger than whey protein isolate, containing 45% Immunoglobulin G as opposed to whey protein isolate’s 3% level, Protein Extreme Energy is far more bio-available because it is the only protein source that does not require high temperatures for raw material to be made. This means the un-altered amino acid sequences found in Protein Extreme Energy are far more digestible than those found in whey protein isolate, not to mention far stronger with eight times more IGF-1 and other immunoglobulin. This leads to a significant increase in your level of protein synthesis and nitrogen retention that allows your body to use more of the protein you eat and allows it to remain usable for a longer period of time.

This puts your body in the most anabolic state it has ever been in.

The only two times in your life that your body has had elevated levels of immunoglobulin was if you were breast fed as an infant and when your body transitioned from adolescence to adulthood. It takes a healthy adult approximately one full day for their body to produce the amount of immunoglobulin that is made available within just six hours of having a scoop of Protein Extreme Energy.

What is a positive nitrogen balance in the body?

This simply means that less protein is excreted from the body than is consumed. Protein loss occurs primarily through urine, though it can be lost through all other bodily fluids, including sweat, fecal matter, saliva, menstruation and ejaculation. A positive nitrogen balance allows the body to retain the protein inputted through diet and utilize it in synthesizing new tissue – building up your muscles.

I am an athlete/bodybuilder, why should I be worried about my immune system?

It has long been known that during intensive physical activity and training, the immune system is suppressed, thus rendering the athlete more vulnerable to infection. This immuno-suppressant effect lingers for hours after a workout, causing further exposure to harmful bacteria and viruses abundant in our environment, with few defenses to prevent them from wreaking havoc.

How does Protein Extreme Energy boost my immune system?

Protein Extreme Energy is a unique product designed to boost the immune system in a way that no other supplement can. It is a source of natural antibodies and also provides a supply of both immunomodulatory and growth-promoting peptides, essential components of any serious athlete or body builder’s regime. These include Immunoglobulins (IgG), Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), and Transforming Growth factor-beta (TGFB).

So which component does what, exactly?

IgG, a type of Immunoglobulin, is proven to protect against pathogens, thus relieving strain on the immune system.

IGF-1, or Insulin Growth Factor-1, has been demonstrated to augment the transport of amino acids into muscle cells throughout the body, regenerating, strengthening, and growing these tissues after workout. It is produced primarily in the liver through the conversion of Human Growth Hormone (HGH). HGH, secreted by the pituitary gland, is essential for growth and optimal immune system performance. European researchers have established that IGF-1 is responsible for initiating the transport of nucleic acids into the cell nucleus, where the DNA resides, thus providing the raw material needed to repair damage to the DNA and initiating cell division.

In a recent study (unpublished) it has been observed through laboratory analysis that the concentration of IGF-I in Protein Extreme Energy is not different from the concentration of IGF-I already present in human serum.  A similar concentration of IGF-I in the product compared to normal human serum has these advantages: 1) No expected change in the way the product would influence normal, healthy cells than would normal serum;  and, 2) For damaged tissue, IGF-I at normal levels in serum has been shown to have a positive effect on the repair process.   The study completed on this topic by measuring IGF-I concentrations in healthy adults in a clinical trial and observed no change in circulating IGF-I levels.

TGFB, or Transforming Growth factor-beta is anti-inflammatory, helps in post-exercise recovery, and is beneficial in repairing extreme muscle rips.

How much Protein Extreme Energy should I take?

For best results, drink one scoop of Protein Extreme Energy mixed with 8-12 oz. of  cold water upon waking and one scoop of Protein Extreme Energy as a post workout drink.  In addition, drink approximately sixteen ounces of water within thirty minutes and one ounce for every two pounds of body weight throughout the rest of your day.

Why do I need to drink water?

All protein pulls water from your system, which can cause dehydration and further lead to gas, fever, nausea and diarrhea. The protein in Protein Extreme Energy has a very high rate of absorption and adequate water intake is crucial for ensuring the best results are obtained.

Copyright 2009 LifeHealthSecrets

Healthy-Body

Healthy cells are the building blocks to a healthy body, and translate into more core energy and better sports performance. When your cells aren’t functioning properly, metabolic wastes accumulate and can cause inflammation, poor nutrient assimilation and other sorts of complications that impact your health. Protein Extreme Energy is designed to promote healthy cells through at least four channels. First by building your electron transfer systems – the fuel for cellular energy. Second, Protein Extreme Energy also helps counter free radical damage by providing a high electron load and establishing a recognizable, transferable electron process. Third by supporting a healthy inflammatory response; and fourth by cleansing cellular receptor sites – the ‘docking stations’ where cells receive nutrients, which can get easily clogged.

Protein Extreme Energy also enhances your natural immune function. When you train hard, your immune system crashes. “High intensity exercise impairs immune function for up to several hours post-exercise.” (Nieman DC. Is infection risk linked to exercise workload? Med Sci Sports Exerc 32: S406 –S411, 2000.). This means that you’re open to illness and infection – and being sick means taking time off training. Protein Extreme Energy provides your body with bioactive protein in the form of immunoglobulins – also known as antibodies, which your body uses to neutralize invading viruses and bacteria. The dual functions of immunoglobulins – providing a high-quality protein supplement and immune enhancement – make it a great choice for active people.

Copyright 2009 LifeHealthSecrets