Archive for the ‘Nutrition’ Category
As a lot of people often ask me questions about dietary supplements and their effectiveness, I decided to write some posts providing you with basic information about some good bodybuilding supplements. By ‘good’ I mean that they’re not a complete waste of money. I’ll basically write honest, short overviews of different supplements for you. I hope these posts will help you get a better understanding of the subject, so you can decide which supplements are useful for you to reach your goals. So let’s start with the first one!
Creatine is definitely my favorite supplement so far. Creatine is a natural substance that is primarily found in meat. The human body itself produces a certain amount of creatine, because creatine helps supply energy to the muscle. Scientific studies have shown that creatine supplementation can improve maximum strength and lead to an increase in muscle mass. Creatine supplementation is especially recommended for vegetarians and vegans, who otherwise consume less creatine due to the lack of meat in their diets.
Just like carbs, fats are a source of energy, whereas proteins are building material. Protein is only used as a source of energy in certain cases. In the past, most people believed fats to be ‘evil’. Many people basically believed fat makes you fat. Bodybuilders were all into low-fat diets. Luckily, we know more today. Fats are not strictly bad at all. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Some types of fats are even essential, that means they can not be built by the human body itself. These are called essential fatty acids, often simply referred to as ‘EFAs’. These consist of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. EFAs are involved in numerous processes in the human body and have various effects on the cardiovascular, reproductive, immune and nervous system. As most people’s food choices in western countries are very bad, it is no miracle that a lot of people here suffer from EFA deficiency, which is linked to several serious health conditions, like obesity, diabetes, cancer, immune disfunction or depression.
However, there are two things you should know.
You give your best to stick to your diet. You try everything to keep your discipline at maximum levels. This time, you will not return to your old eating habits. You are determined to be successful! Despite your best efforts, you sense a pressing need for sugar. Sigh! Or at least for something that tastes sweet. You desperately want to eat something that actually tastes. You want a delight for the senses!