If you are a gym rat or bodybuilder or simply interested in beginning an exercise program you have probably heard a lot about creatine and the muscle miracles it performs. Unfortunately, most people believe that creatine helps build muscle and it does in a way, but probably not the way you are thinking. The best way to describe creatine is to say that it helps the muscles help themselves build muscle. If that is not clear enough, continue reading.

Creatine does exactly what it claims to do and that is to retain water in your muscles. This is the point of creatine and it really is effective at keeping water in the muscles. Now, what happens is when your muscles are retaining water they are in an optimal state for building new muscle. As a result, when you take creatine and water is retained in your muscles then when you weight train you will get more of an effect because your muscles are better capable of building muscle. After this period you may develop more strength and increased endurance as well. So, if you are taking creatine to help you build muscle and you understand what creatine does and how it helps you build muscle then you will not be disappointed. On the other hand, if you are taking creatine and hoping it will simply grow you bodybuilder’s muscles without putting in the work then you are mistaken.

The best thing to do is begin taking creatine and working out with weights on a regular routine or even with a trainer. By taking the creatine your muscles will be poised to grow and get stronger while building endurance. However, keep in mind you have to put in all the hard work and that all creatine does for you is helps your muscles retain water in order to be in a state where building muscle is easier. Over time you will see your muscles growing and should not see any loss of definition because of the retained water in your muscles. Don’t become confused about creatine building big muscles; it just helps your muscles build themselves stronger and better when you put in the work.

Thinking of trying out steroids? What can it hurt. You’re only going to take one dose and see what it does right? The other guys in the gym are getting huge while you’re stuffing around with your protein shakes and nutrition bars.

Well, you need to check this out!
Article Body:
You’ve been going to the gym everyday and working your butt off. You drink protein shakes, eat loads of chicken, and see some muscle gain. Your happy. Then you notice the new guy at gym is getting big real fast. He only started 3 months ago and he’s putting on size like there’s no tomorrow. What the???

Obviously he’s on roids and your starting to wonder whether you should chuck in the towel or jump on the train. It’s tempting. Why work so hard when you’re only going to see mediocre results compared to the other guy.

Steroids obviously work, but are they worth it? And are they guaranteed?

The Technical Mumbo Jumbo:

Hundreds of distinct steroids have been identified in plant, animals, and fungi. The steroids associated with muscle growth are called anabolic steroids.

Anabolic steroids are a class of natural and synthetic steroid hormones that promote cell growth and division of tissue and bone. They not only effect muscle tissue but various other organs as well. Testosterone is the most potent natural anabolic steroid.

Testosterone is primarily secreted in the testicals of males and the ovaries of females. It is the principal male sex hormone. On average, the adult male body produces about twenty times the amount of testosterone of an adult female’s body.

Testosterone naturally increases in males at puberty and causes these effects:

- Increased libido and erection frequency
- Pubic hair extends to thighs and up toward umbilicus
- Facial hair (sideburns, beard, mustache)
- Chest hair, periareolar hair, perianal hair
- Increased tendency for violence or aggressive
- Subcutaneous fat in face decreases
- Increased muscle strength and mass
- Deepening of voice
- Growth of the adam’s apple
- Growth of spermatogenic tissue in testes, male fertility
- Growth of jaw, brow, chin, nose, and remodeling of facial bone contours
- Shoulders widen and rib cage expands

The Risks:

The side effects of using anabolic steroids vary depending on the type of drug, dosage, duration of use and individual sensitivity and response.

To be straight with you, there are more stories and myths about steroid effects than you can poke a stick at. But some of the more common and documented effects include severe acne, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, impotence, and mood swings.

So if you think you can handle that, then you’re all set… Well, not really.

Besides the shrunken testicals, people who take large doses (like what’s needed for muscle gain) can lose control of their emotions and become irritable and really aggressive. Little things can make them hysterically angry. This is what is called “roid rage”.

A case study published in the Australian Medical Journal (165:222-26) reviewed the evidence concerning the effects of anabolic steroids on the mind.

The case centered on a 29-year-old bodybuilder who beat his wife to death using a weapon described as a claw hammer. While he committed this horrific act, his four children were in another part of the house. He then shot himself in the head. Before this incident, his home life had been described as ‘‘happy.’’

This man had used steroids off and on for years, and seven weeks before the murder, he had used a steroid stack consisting of Winstrol-V and sustanon, both injectable steroids. A later urine test showed that he also used Valium, a muscle relaxant and anti-anxiety drug.

This doesn’t mean if you take steroids you are going to lose it and become an angry incredible hulk. But it definitely rings warning bells.

More Bad News – The problems don’t stop when you stop taking roids either. People who use steroids can develop a dependence on them. That means they will go through withdrawal when they stop using. They can feel sick to their stomach, have headaches, sweat a lot, feel dizzy and be depressed.

Also, They are illegal – (In case you were wondering):

Steroids are legal for use by veterinarians and doctors but it is illegal to sell or buy them on the street. When steroids are sold on the street or in a gym, they are often mixed with other things which only increases your risks.

Steroids are also banned from amateur sports like the Olympics and most professional sports. Several Olympic athletes have lost their medals after they were tested and found to have used steroids to bulk up.

Are they Guaranteed:

Steroids are going to increase your muscle mass – Hands Down.

That doesn’t necessarily mean your chest and biceps are going to pop out of your shirt first. There are some cases where users experienced very little gain on their chest and massive gain on their shoulders and traps. Who else wants to become the next hunchback? Not me.

Effects on serotonin, blood sugar regulation, and more!

Although the above would probably be the major mechanisms by which whey could help the dieter, there are several secondary effects of whey that may assist in weight loss. For example, whey’s effects on serotonin levels. Serotonin is probably the most studied neurotransmitter since it has been found to be involved in a wide range of psychological and biological functions. Serotonin ( also called 5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT) is involved with mood, anxiety, and appetite.

Elevated levels of serotonin can cause relaxation and reduced anxiety. Low serotonin levels are associated with low mood, increased anxiety (hence the current popularity of the SSRI drugs such as Prozac and others), and poor appetite control. This is an extremely abbreviated description of all the functions serotonin performs in the human body – many of which have yet to be fully elucidated – but a full explanation is beyond the scope of this article.

Needless to say, Increased brain serotonin levels are associated with an improved ability of people to cope with stress, whereas a decline in serotonin activity is associated with depression and anxiety. Elevated levels of serotonin in the body often result in the relief of depression, as well as substantial reduction in pain sensitivity, anxiety and stress. It has also been theorized that a diet-induced increase in tryptophan will increase brain serotonin levels, while a diet designed for weight loss (e.g., a diet that reduces calories) may lead to a reduction of brain serotonin levels due to reduced substrate for production and a reduction in carbohydrates.

Many people on a reduced calorie intake in an attempt to lose weight find they are often ill tempered and more anxious. Reductions in serotonin may be partially to blame here. One recent study (The bovine protein alpha-lactalbumin increases the plasma ratio of tryptophan to the other large neutral amino acids, and in vulnerable subjects raises brain serotonin activity, reduces cortisol concentration, and improves mood under stress. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Jun;71(6):1536-1544) examined whether alpha-lactalbumin – a major sub fraction found in whey which has an especially high tryptophan content – would increase plasma Tryptophan levels as well reduce depression and cortisol concentrations in subjects under acute stress considered to be vulnerable to stress.

The researchers examined twenty-nine “highly stress-vulnerable subjects” and 29 “relatively stress-invulnerable” subjects using a double blind, placebo-controlled study design. The study participants were exposed to experimental stress after eating a diet enriched with either alpha-lactalbumin (found in whey) or sodium-caseinate, another milk based protein. They researchers looked at:

* Diet-induced changes in the plasma Tryptophan and its ratio to other large neutral amino acids.

* Prolactin levels.

* Changes in mood and pulse rate.

* Cortisol levels (which were assessed before and after the stressor).

Amazingly, the ratio of plasma Tryptophan to the other amino acids tested was 48% higher after the alpha-lactalbumin diet than after the casein diet! This was accompanied by a decrease in cortisol levels and higher prolactin concentration. Perhaps most important and relevant to the average person reading this article, they found “reduced depressive feelings” when test subjects were put under stress.

They concluded that the “Consumption of a dietary protein enriched in tryptophan increased the plasma Trp-LNAA ratio and, in stress-vulnerable subjects, improved coping ability, probably through alterations in brain serotonin.” This effect was not seen in the sodium-caseinate group. If other studies can confirm these findings, whey may turn out to be yet another safe and effective supplement in the battle against depression and stress, as well as reduced serotonin levels due to dieting.

Although there is a long list of hormones involved in appetite regulation, some of which have been mentioned above, serotonin appears to be a key player in the game. In general, experiments find increased serotonin availability or activity = reduced food consumption and decreased serotonin = increase food consumption. If whey can selectively increase serotonin levels above that of other proteins, it could be very helpful to the dieter.

Other possible advantages whey may confer to the dieter is improved blood sugar regulation (Frid AH, Nilsson M, Holst JJ, Bjorck IM. Effect of whey on blood glucose and insulin responses to composite breakfast and lunch meals in type 2 diabetic subjects. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jul;82(1):69-75.) which is yet another key area in controlling appetite and metabolism.

Finally, calcium from dairy products has been found to be associated with a reduction in bodyweight and fat mass. Calcium is thought to influence energy metabolism as intracellular calcium regulates fat cell (adipocyte) lipid metabolism as well as triglyceride storage. It’s been demonstrated in several studies the superiority of dairy versus non-dairy sources of calcium for improving body composition, and the whey fraction of dairy maybe the key.

The mechanism responsible for increased fat loss found with dairy-based calcium versus nondairy calcium has not is not fully understood but researchers looking at the issue theorized “… dairy sources of calcium markedly attenuate weight and fat gain and accelerate fat loss to a greater degree than do supplemental sources of calcium. This augmented effect of dairy products relative to supplemental calcium is likely due to additional bioactive compounds, including the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and the rich concentration of branched-chain amino acids in whey, which act synergistically with calcium to attenuate adiposity.”

It appears components in whey – some of which have been mentioned above – are thought to act synergistically with calcium to improve body composition (Zemel MB. Role of calcium and dairy products in energy partitioning and weight management. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 May;79(5):907S-912S.).

Conclusion

Taken in isolation, none of these studies are so compelling that people should run out and use whey as some form of weight loss nirvana. However, taken as a total picture, the bulk of the research seems to conclude that whey may in fact have some unique effects for weight loss and should be of great use to the dieter. More studies are clearly needed however.

So what is the practical application of all this information and how does the dieter put it to good use? Being the appetite suppressing effects of whey appear to last approximately 2-3 hours, it would seem best to stagger the intake throughout the day. For example, breakfast might be 1-2 scoops of whey and a bowl of oatmeal, and perhaps a few scoops of whey taken between lunch and dinner.

If whey does what the data suggests it does in the above, that should be the most effective method for maximizing the effects of whey on food (calorie) intake on subsequent meals as well as the other metabolic effects covered. If working out, the schedule may be different however and people should follow the pre and post nutrition recommendations made in my ebook “Muscle Building Nutrition” or advice easily found on the ‘net via the many sports nutrition and bodybuilding related web sites.