March 23, 2001
Issue # 39

Supplementing the Extreme!
by Derek W. Cornelius

Question:  Derek, you really tick me off man.  I mean you’ve been saying for months that some new steroidals are being developed that will revolutionize everything.  I used to have so much faith in you but now I’m starting to think that you shoot crap out your butt sometimes.  I mean c’mon do you really have some incredible stuff you’re working on or are you just talking and flapping your gums to bring attention to yourself?

Answer:  First of all, thank you for writing and being concerned.  This whole project has been a great concern of mine also.  Unfortunately, it looks like it will still take quite a few months to perfect the whole thing.  There has been setback after setback but it hasn’t been all on my part.  I have received commitments from the manufacturer on lead times but they have missed these time and time again.  Then, the matter of cost is coming into play as this stuff is looking like it will be terribly expensive.  I am quite certain that all of these issues will be worked out in time so please be patient.  I have already received samples and have performed some extensive bloodworm and can assure you that this technology is truly revolutionary and will make current “prohormones” truly orally bioavailable.

Question:  Help!  I need some assistance.  I am so confused by all of the amino acid supplements on the market.  First, there are so many different types of amino acids.  Then, there are so many different products with so many different types of combinations of amino acids.  I’ve seen taurine, glutamine, branched chain, complete mixtures, etc, etc.  Every product says it’s the best and the only one that I need.  Please tell me if I should even be worrying about this.  Do I need to supplement with amino acids or a particular amino acid and, if so, which ones?

Answer:  The first bit of information that I want you to go home with today is that a good quality protein powder has all of the amino acids that you need.  So, forget all of those amino acid supplements that you see sitting prettily on the shelves.  Basically, you will be wasting your money on these and they will not do a whole lot for you.  What about high dose singular amino acids?  Well, there is some controversy here and I don’t claim to have all of the answers.  However, I will tell you that it takes something fairly powerful to change the human body’s composition in terms of fat: muscle ratio.  I honestly have not seen dramatic results from any singular amino acid or amino acid derivative.  Some people are now toting the branched chain amino acids, but research shows that there effectiveness is very questionable.  Let me give you some insight here.  The only BCAA that has been shown to actually have some anticatabolic properties is Leucine.  Leucine is anticatabolic because it is metabolized into Ketoisocaproate and Ketoisocaproate is anticatabolic because it is metabolized into Hydroxymethylbutyrate (HMB).  Now, HMB is much more anti-catabolic than Leucine, however, even it does not manifest significant properties until you at least take five grams per day (or more).  I really see no need to take Leucine with the better HMB on the market.  If all goes well, in the near future there will be an HMB derivative that will be released that will be incredibly powerful.  I am talking about something novel here, something never before seen! 

Really, the only amino acid that I think has potential is Glutamine.  I haven’t seen it totally transform someone’s body but I have talked to many people who have gotten some pretty good results from it including greater fullness and muscle density.  The problem with Glutamine is that a large portion of it is absorbed and used by the gut.  This presents a huge problem because very little of the ingested amount actually enters the bloodstream.  If it can’t enter the bloodstream, then it can’t get to the muscles where we want it to do its magic.  Some people take lower dosages; however, 50-100 grams per day seems to do the trick for most people.  The absolute least I would recommend would be 30 grams per day…I would consider this the threshold amount.  I have been vigorously working on a very special glutamine product with a revolutionary delivery system that is quite incredible really.  The great thing is that we have seen dramatic results with about a tenth of the amount of regular glutamine.  We were really fortunate with this one because we stumbled upon this by accident.  It seems like many of the great discoveries happened by accident!

Question:  Just wanted to write and tell you that I love your column and really learn a lot.  Also wanted to tell you that I love creatine (I guess I am a hyper responder) and usually never cycle off.  I’ve been seeing some stuff on ribose and wanted to know if it was worth the money.  It seems really expensive and I don’t want to waste my money on something that won’t help me that much.

Answer:  First, thank you for the complement.  Second, I totally understand your dilemma.  This industry is filled with poorly made and ineffective supplements.  Is ribose ineffective?  Well, that depends on how you use it.  If you wanted to fork a huge sum money over to be able to take 30 grams or more per day then it might be effective.  All of the studies were done on large dosages like this.  Unfortunately, supplement companies are just putting in a few grams on their label just so they can say that they have it in there.  I honestly, don’t see how a few grams of ribose per day will do allow you to see any greater benefit than taking creatine alone.  I have talked to many people who have used a small dosage like this and they saw no greater benefit.  Thus, do yourself a favor; stay away from ribose right now and save your money.

Question:  Are you still on that no fructose, no maltodextrin kick?  Another website says that these are really good for you so I don’t believe you.

Answer:  Actually, I am on a low fructose, low maltodextrin kick and there is good reason for this.  I am not sure what website you are talking about but they are probably selling one or both of these items if they are actively promoting them.  The facts are quite clear though that these carbohydrates are not healthy and beneficial in large quantities.  In fact, as far as I can tell they can do quite a bit of damage.  Maltodextrin is about 75% worse at raising sugar and insulin levels than sucrose which is common table sugar.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that maltodextrin is nothing more than a super, highly concentrated form of sugar.  If you don’t believe, please do a simple search on the Internet for “glycemic index”.  You will quickly find that maltodextrin is the absolute worst carbohydrate for you in terms of raising your blood sugar and insulin levels.  Look, people…do yourselves a favor and stay away from this stuff.

The story with fructose is not much better.  Although it has a rather low glycemic index, it causes insulin resistance and other demonstrated health problems.  I really can’t imagine a worse combination than fructose and maltodextrin.  Would you believe that some supplement companies are actually putting both of these in their products and claiming that it is good for you?  I can’t stress enough to look at the label carefully and see if it has one or more of these carbohydrates in it.  If it has one of them, then stay away with a 5-foot pole.  If it has both, then stay away with a 10-foot pole.

Question:  Do you know anything about those new growth hormone releasing peptide nasal sprays?

Answer:   Sure, I know about these.  Do they work?  Yes!  Are they legal?  No!  There are some companies right now that are selling these but who knows for how long.  Lately, I’ve noticed that the FDA has been cracking down on the industry a bit more than in the past.  I seriously doubt that they will allow this for much longer.  But, who knows! 

As far as other growth hormone releasing products on the market?  Don’t waste your money or time on these.  As far as I can tell, they do little for the individual using them and they might even be a complete waste.

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