|
||||||
Calcium and Weight LossResearch update! Calcium: The Intelligent Bodybuilder’s Secret Weapon for Rapid Fat Loss. by Paul Cribb, B.H.Sci HMS AST Director of Research A substantial amount of scientific research has accumulated over the last 4 years that supports what appears to be a very unlikely concept. The amount of calcium consumed within the diet is a key component in the regulation of energy metabolism. This scientific evidence suggests that a high calcium intake not only offers real protection against body fat accumulation, it enables a person to utilize (burn) more fat for energy. The metabolic role of calcium influences how easily an individual gains or loses body fat. How does calcium speed fat loss? There are several biochemical hypotheses that may explain how calcium speeds fat loss. The most evidence-based notion is that calcium stimulates “uncoupling proteins” in the mitochondria of muscle cells. Stimulating these proteins diverts calories toward heat production rather than fat storage. In mice, low calcium diets are shown to promote lipid (fat) storage, whereas a high calcium intake is shown to inhibit fat accumulation and accelerate fat utilization. Large, epidemiological research studies involving humans such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) published last year, reveal a clear relationship between people who consume a lot of calcium and people with low levels of body fat. The results of this extensive dietary survey also suggested that the higher the calcium intake, the leaner the individual was. This cross-sectional survey was conducted over a 6-year period (between 1988 and 1994), it followed a complex, four-stage probability sampling scheme designed to represent the entire U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population. In this study, calcium’s potent effect on body fat was clear. Diets that are rich in calcium appear to prevent fat gain as well as increase fat metabolism during caloric restriction. Scientists at the University of Colorado have shown that people who consume a high calcium intake can mobilize stored fat and use it for energy much easier than people on a low calcium intake. The only way to burn body fat is to mobilize it from fat cells and get it into circulation as free fatty acids. For bodybuilders, this research is particularly important. Most research studies on fat loss involves overweight subjects however, the results on calcium were witnessed utilizing lean individuals. In this research, calcium intake was measured in servings per day. This made it difficult to determine an effective dose for health-conscious people. However, a dose-dependant effect was clear; the higher the intake calcium-rich foods, the leaner the individual was. A high calcium intake all year round, maybe one of the most effective strategies for bodybuilders to fight fat accumulation and stay lean all year long (not just in the competition phase). The best sources of calcium for fat loss. Before you go rushing out to buy a pack of calcium pills, listen up. The best source of calcium that promotes fat loss is from food; particularly dairy foods that are rich in protein. Intriguingly, all the research on this topic shows that the source of calcium is most important for obtaining calcium’s fat burning effects. [1,2,3] Dairy proteins that are rich in calcium appear to provide the greatest fat-loss effect. [3] A review of the current literature on the impact of calcium’s effects on body composition clearly shows that calcium from dairy sources exerts a significantly greater effect on fat metabolism and weight loss than calcium supplementation. [4] Even without dieting, calcium’s fat metabolizing effects are powerful; increasing the intake of dairy protein without calorie restriction is shown to improve body composition (reduce body fat and increase lean body weight). [3] Bioavailability The bioavailability of nutrients within food is important to consider when choosing the nutritional material of your bodybuilding diet. The bioavailability of a nutrient in a particular food is the actual amount of the nutrient that is absorbed from the food during digestion. For example, although spinach is considered a rich source of calcium, the amount of calcium absorbed from spinach is very small. The calcium from navy, pinto or red beans is only absorbed about half as well as that from dairy foods. A bodybuilder would need to consume more than a kilo of pinto beans to obtain the same amount of calcium that can be absorbed from one glass of low fat milk. Other studies have shown that the calcium absorption efficiency from fortified food sources (such as fortified soy milk) is also not as good as dairy foods; the soy-fortified drink was 25% less bioavailable than the naturally occurring calcium contained in dairy foods. Note:  Although dairy foods are the richest source of bioavailable calcium, healthy individuals absorb only about 20 to 35% of the calcium from dairy. From other food sources, the body absorbs even less! Therefore, bodybuilders and bodyshapers need to incorporate the finest sources of calcium into their diet. If you take a look at this list of rich sources of calcium, you’ll see that dairy proteins such as VP2 Whey Isolate andNy-Tro PRO-40 are rich sources of bioavailable calcium. The bottom line regarding dairy calcium is, the more you drink, the leaner you become; so drink up! Calcium Comparisons *Low fat milk (1 cup)...................................300mgs *Powdered non fat milk (1 tablespoon)..............50mgs *Non fat yogurt (1cup)................................400mgs *Non fat cottage cheese (1 cup).....................400mgs Sardines (with bones)3oz..............................370mgs Salmon (with bones)3oz................................210mgs Spinach (1 cup)..........................................170mgs Broccoli (1 cup)..........................................150gms Turnip greens (1cup)...................................190gms *VP2 Whey Isolate(2 scoops).......................200mgs *Ny-Tro PRO-40(1 packet)..........................500mgs * designates a high bioavailability (dairy) calcium source. References:
|
||||||
