Chris asks…
Toning Supplements for Women?
I’m female,18, 5’10, and 143 lbs. I have a week and a half to become as lean as possible for a competition. I am eating very well: protein shakes for breakfast and lunch and small healthy meals for dinner. I am also hitting the gym for two hours a day: mainly cardio (running/power walking and stair stepping) as well as leg and ab exercises (no lifting though).
Normally I stick to diet and exercise but since I only have 10 days to slim down, what are some good supplements out there that would really help boost my progress? Specific names would be great.
thanks!
vti answers:
Dietary supplements are poorly regulated in the US. They do not have to conform to the stringent standards applied to pharmaceuticals or food products by the FDA. The result of this absence of oversight has been a scammer’s dream and the scammers have made the most of it. A huge and powerful supplement industry has grown up around public ignorance, human wishful thinking and false hope, and a lack of regulation which was designed to give people the freedom to explore homeopathic, naturopathic, and alternative remedies.
Because supplement makers do not have to follow the same stringent FDA regulations which are applied to food and drugs, it is impossible to know which supplements are scams without testing by independent laboratories. It is, however, quite easy to be fooled by common myths and expensive advertising. For this reason, supplements should be avoided unless recommended by a legitimate health care professional. Here’s what the US National Institute of Health has to say.
“Always check with your health care provider before taking a supplement, especially when combining or substituting them with other foods or medicine.” Ref: http://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information/ODS_Frequently_Asked_Questions.aspx#Need
Many manufacturers buy cheap supplements from foreign countries with no regulations which contain toxins and poisons including heavy metals, pesticides, detergents, etc. Others add stimulants such as caffeine to an otherwise worthless product to provide the hapless buyer a sense that the product is doing something. Still others cut the supplement with fillers so only trace amounts get to the customer keeping their cost down so they can put more money into garish and bloated advertising which promises what they know they can’t deliver. For these and other reasons you cannot know what you’re getting when you buy a supplement. As an example, go here http://ftcsearch.ftc.gov/search?q=weider&btnG=Search&entqr=0&ud=1&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&client=ftc_consumer&proxystylesheet=ftc_consumer&filter=0&site=default_collection for a comprehensive list of entries of the legal actions the FTC has taken against the well known supplement peddler Joe Weider and his bodybuilding empire for bogus advertising and supplement ripoffs.
Humans evolved over 100,000 years without supplements by eating natural food. There is no reason why we need supplements today if there are no special health considerations and ample natural wholesome food is available to us.
Here are some links to help you find the truth about supplements from the people who know the most, care about your well being, and don’t want to sell you anything: Your government.
• General info you can count on about dietary supplements. Use the links.
Http://www.fda.gov/food/dietarysupplements/default.htm
• An FDA white paper with links to supplement info. Use the links
http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/ConsumerInformation/ucm110567.htm
• An A through Z listing of supplements and what you should know about them.
Http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dietarysupplements.html
Here are some links for those interested in protein supplements.
• Here’s a white paper you can read which debunks the myth of the protein supplement. Note the following excerpt…“At present there is no evidence to suggest that supplements are required for optimal muscle growth or strength gain.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15212752
• Here’s one more study supplement users should read. Note the excerpt…”Consumption of a recovery drink (whey protein, amino acids, creatine, and carbohydrate) after strength training workouts did not promote greater gains in FFM (Fat free muscle) compared with consumption of a carbohydrate-only drink.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15105028
• Here’s another from Live Science. Note the excerpt…“Medical researchers have advised against protein supplements for years for the average person. But many sports trainers continue to push them on amateur athletes simply because they don’t know any better.” http://www.livescience.com/health/protein-supplements-100202.html#
Be sure to Google “supplement scams” before buying. Here’s an example of what you might find.
Http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/28/eveningnews/main5193515.shtml
http://www.muscle-build.com/supplement-scams.html
YA only allows ten links or I would post many more. So do you own research. Learn the truth about supplements.
Good luck and good health!!
♠
Richard asks…
Are food supplements harmful to pregnant women?
Eversince I got married, Im taking food supplements, Im just curious if its harmful if I’ll get pregnant? I dont know if I’m pregnant now, since last month I got test and its negative and I got my period also. This month my period is due this week.
Lingzhi food supplement in particular
vti answers:
Many supplements and even vitamin products haven’t been tested for safety on pregnant women, and if they are not medications they may not be required to, so you can’t rely on labelling to give you safety information.
I would be very cautious about taking anything unusual that isn’t specifically intended for pregnant women. For example, even some common herbs can risk the baby. Here’s a list of herbs to avoid:
http://www.babycenter.com.au/pregnancy/isitsafeto/herb&drugchart/
Normal multivitamins can be a risk because they tend to have more vitamin A than a pregnant woman should have.
I don’t know much about food supplements but if they’re supposed to have health benefits then that means that they’re supposed to act like a drug! I wouldn’t take the risk.
Michael asks…
Sex patch or libido supplement for women?
Does anyone know of a sex patch for women to increase libido that really works? Or a supplement that works? I tried a sex patch (that really worked) by a company called London something but I cannot find that company on google.
vti answers:
Hi there!
Supplements are much more potent than patches and are less hassle. Here are two great supplements (herbs) that work:
Damiana
Guarana
These may only be herbs but they are very potent with no bad side effects (apart from increased well being!)…what more could you want? Lol
I wouldn’t buy the over-priced label/designer herb supplements (you know the type, over-hyped rubbish)…get the herbs direct and in their natural state (powdered whole herb). With herbal extract mixtures you don’t know what’s in it and whether the company have really put the stated amounts in it.
On the bottle of Damiana products they often recommend taking about 2 capsules per day (of dried WHOLE herb – not extract) – this is NOT high enough and you will not experience much if anything at all with these doses. One capsule only contains about 400mg (0.04g) so if you only had 2 capsules per day you would only be taking in 0.8g of whole herb per day. You need at least 2g – 4g of the dried herb to notice any effects. 2g is equivalent to about 5 capsules per day. The bottled capsulated herbs are always over-priced; hence the reason why I prefer to buy the herb in bulk bags (e.g. 4oz) and put them in capsules myself (with my capsule filling machine that does about 20 capsules per fill)…or I buy the whole herb (not powdered) and make a tea with them.
You need to take about the same amount of Guarana too. Guarana is like Caffeine but it’s not as harsh on the system and it boosts your libido and well-being more.
Taken combined, these simple two supplements are better than Viagra (so I’ve heard, lol)!
Here’s a great website where you can buy the herbs in bulk and save lots of money:
Mountain Rose Herbs (www.mountainroseherbs.com/)
If you want to just try these herbs out before you buy in bulk, try your local health store (they are pretty popular herbs) and don’t be embarrassed to ask the store person if they can order them in! Lol.
As a side note, you can’t beat good old exercise and healthy eating as a libido booster Things like strawberries, wholegrain, tomatoes, beef etc are great natural libido boosters.
Hope this helps!
Daniel asks…
Protein supplements and women?
You’ll have to forgive me, but I’m really confused about protein shakes and powder.
I understand that they aid muscle recovery, but how exactly are they supposed to be used by women who don’t want to be body-builders?
I’m 18 and trying to slim down and I know I have to lose body fat before I can tone up. I’m running every day, so should I be using protein supplements? Or not until I am trying to tighten everything up?
I realise I must sound vague, but I’m just so confused with all the information there is out there on the internet!
Thanks in advance for any answers!
vti answers:
Protein supplements are not just designed for body builders, protein supplements are designed to help get a good amount protein into peoples diets on daily bases, as this is more convenient for most people, for instance having a shake when people are on the go or using it as a pre/post workout for the gym. It is also cheaper in the long run instead of buying fresh foods such as fresh meats to add to every meal which can be expensive. So it really does not matter where your protein comes from it can be from a supplement or it can be from food which ever you chose it doesn’t really matter. The reason body builders are so big is because they are training to be like that doing training for muscle size (hypertrophy training), also body builders will put their bodies in a calorie surplus to ensure they put on size. You are not training like a body builder at all and will be leaving your body in a calorie deficit which is the aid to fat loss. So at the end of it protein does not make you have big muscles you will be getting confused when you are reading about protein building and repairing muscle tissue that does not mean building muscle size. Finally even if you was going to train like a body builder it’s pretty impossible for a women to get huge down to their hormone levels, the biggest you could naturally would be something like Jodie Marsh unless you are on steroids. But you don’t need to worry about that because like my rant above you are not even doing that type of training.
Mary asks…
Preworkout supplement for women?
What exactly does a preworkout upplement do for you?
Benefits?
Drawbacks?
I’m thinking about adding one to my workout routine.
I do not wan to bulk up. I want to tone up and slim down.
Recommendations on kind and brand please!
Thank you!!
Are those okay for women?
vti answers:
Women can basically use the same supplements as men, except
use slightly lower doses to accommodate the needs of your body.
Branched chain amino acids(BCAA’s), about 5gr before.
L=Arginine helps produce Nitric Oxide(NO) which helps blood flow of
nutrients. About 3gr 30 minutes before.
Even caffeine about 15 to 30 minutes before for an increase in energy.
These are a few things you can do.
Beta Alanine can help buffer the effects of lactic acid which can
help if you want to train longer.
Good Luck
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