Supplement Zone - Issue 14

L-Carnitine Increases IGF-1
It’s not just inactivity that can cause muscle loss; caloric restriction, serious illness, and other forms of stress can also contribute to muscle tissue breakdown. Scientists in Germany wondered if L-carnitine could delay or prevent catabolism. The researchers gave rats the human equivalent of 1 to 3 grams of L-carnitine per day; the control group was given food without supplementation. During the four weeks the experiment lasted, the L-carnitine-popping rats built up more muscle, and the fat tissue around their muscles decreased! L-carnitine also increased the concentration of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). As regular readers of MUSCLE INSIDER will know, IGF-1 has powerful anabolic effects in adults, which is why many top bodybuilders and other athletes inject synthetic versions of it.

Green Coffee Bean Extract for Fat Loss
Green coffee bean is getting a lot of exposure these days in the fat-loss world. Researchers are still trying to figure out exactly how this little bean works and what it can do for people looking to shed fat. Green coffee beans are cleaned, dried, roasted, ground, and brewed to produce coffee. Scientists in Scranton, Pennsylvania found that supplementation with an extract made from unroasted coffee beans can help overweight people lose extra weight when they’re in a caloric deficit. The experiment was run as follows: Subjects had three phases in which the subjects were given a placebo for three weeks, then took a two-week break, then supplemented with 700 milligrams of green coffee bean extract (GCBE) daily, then took a two-week break, then took 1,050 milligrams of GCBE daily. After the 22 weeks were up, subjects lost approximately 17.63 pounds on average!

Build Muscle with HMB
HMB stands for beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate and is a metabolite of leucine, a branched-chain amino acid. MUSCLE INSIDER’s own Bill Phillips helped introduce HMB to the supplement market back in the ‘90s, and the research backing HMB continues to grow. HMB helps build muscle, prevent catabolism while dieting, and decrease delayed onset muscle soreness. Researchers at the University of Central Florida wanted to see if they could boost muscle strength and quality through the use of HMB, without having test subjects work out. Half the subjects in their study were given a placebo daily for 24 weeks, and the other half were given 3 grams of CaHMB, the calcium salt form of HMB. In the HMB group, lean body mass increased by half a kilogram, and muscle mass increased by 300 grams. That means that taking HMB while not training can in fact increase your muscle mass!