Can more dietary protein prevent weight gain? Protein leverage and obesity
Simpson and Raubenheimer, the two scientists who came up with the protein leverage hypothesis of obesity, expound on their ideas in Nature. The weight of evidence indicates that the primary driver of...
View ArticleDoes overtraining exist, or is it an excuse for weak people?
Strangely enough, I’ve seen lots of denials that overtraining exists, that it’s not a real phenomenon, on sites devoted to weightlifting and bodybuilding. The attitude seems to be that, since there’s...
View ArticleCan you increase your lean mass through diet alone?
What’s the relation of dietary protein to lean mass? How does dietary protein relate to lean mass – mainly muscle – in the absence of resistance training or any other form of exercise? Can you increase...
View ArticleUndenatured whey for health, muscle, and cancer prevention
What is whey, and what’s it good for? Whey is the fraction of protein from milk that remains liquid when milk is curdled. The curdled portion mostly represents casein – which has its uses, but that’s...
View ArticleThe Resistance Training Paradox
In a recent post, Intermittent fasting and the growth-longevity tradeoff, noting the link between growth and aging and how the biochemical sensor mTOR appears to be the nexus between the two, I wrote:...
View ArticleFed or fasted workouts?
For a long time I did all my workouts in a fasted state; usually they were in the morning and I didn’t feel terribly hungry, so a cup of coffee sufficed to get me into the gym. I put on 35 pounds of...
View ArticleResolving the Resistance Training Paradox
The Resistance Training Paradox: Growth vs Longevity A few weeks ago I wrote about what I called The Resistance Training Paradox, the paradox consisting of the fact that resistance training...
View ArticleOptimizing protein intake
Optimizing protein intake, for me, encompasses two goals which are at least in theory somewhat opposed to each other. Goal 1: I want to get maximal hypertrophy from my weightlifting sessions. Goal 2: I...
View ArticleAdequate protein is a must for weight loss
Humans strive to maintain a constant protein intake The protein leverage hypothesis of obesity asserts that humans and animals closely regulate the amount of protein in their diets, with the average...
View ArticlePreventing muscle loss and infections in the hospital
Preventing muscle loss and infections in the hospital When people are hospitalized and/or bedridden, they can lose muscle mass at an alarming rate. In one study, healthy older adults lost one kilogram...
View ArticleHow to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time
Most people who work out, especially if that workout is lifting weights, do so for the effects on body composition. They either want to lose fat, or gain muscle, but the question always comes up: how...
View ArticleProtein cycling diet for life extension
Valter Longo is a scientist at the University of Southern California who has done many studies on the anti-aging effects of fasting. He’s studied not just intermittent fasting, but prolonged fasting of...
View ArticleBest and Worst Protein Supplements
As part of some research I’m doing for another project, I looked into protein supplements. For myself, I’ve always confined my choice of protein supplement to the best ones, and haven’t looked around a...
View ArticleProtein Fights Fatigue
Many people have vague health complaints, that they just don’t feel well or are tired all the time. (I’ve been there.) Regular doctors often can’t find anything grossly abnormal about them, so there’s...
View ArticleProtein Supplementation Increases Muscle Mass
People who train for strength and/or muscle growth by lifting weights have long supplemented with protein in order to get the biggest gains possible from their exercise. Whey protein has been studied...
View ArticleHigher Protein for Greater Weight Loss
By now we know that low-carbohydrate diets are much more effective for weight loss than standard low-calorie or low-fat diets. Usually, the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets is attributed to...
View ArticleHow Carbohydrates and Not Protein Promote Aging
There’s a lot of confusion and misdirection in the area of diet and aging, so let’s see if we can get some of it straightened out. mTOR mTOR is the mammalian target of rapamycin, a molecular mechanism...
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