Nutrition & Health OnLine Magazine: Questions & Answers Weight Loss and Fitness

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

By Davey Dunn

Q. I was wondering why you did not rate Herbalife in your weight loss products article. A friend of mine is trying to get me to buy some from her because she says she lost weight using it.

A. We rated Metabolife and AM 300 which are products in the same genre since they are also marketed via multi-level distributors. Most products for weight loss distributed by such companies are pretty similar so what was said about Metabolife and AM 300 will probably also hold true for the Herbalife weight loss product. You can do a more thorough evaluation yourself if you can look at the ingredients that it contains. See how many of the ingredients are on our list of proven ingredients for weight loss. Next compare the quantity of proven ingredients to what is contained in other products. Last compare the cost of the product in relation to the quality and the quantity of proven ingredients and you should be able to determine whether the product is worth your money. This is basically the procedure that we used when we wrote the article and it is probably the most accurate way of determining the best product. You may also want to read our article How to Choose the Right Weight Loss Product to better understand how different products work and how to choose the right one for you.

Q. I am mainly interested in bodybuilding so I was wondering if there is ever a time when I should do maximum lifts like powerlifters.

A. Since your interest is building muscle and not demonstrating strength then there is no reason for you to perform single repetition maximum lifts like powerlifters perform in competition. Maximum lifts do not stimulate muscle growth any more than a double or a triple but they do increase your risk of injury dramatically. Some people even recommend that bodybuilders never perform less than five repetition sets however that is going to far. Performing some heavy doubles and triples helps to stress your muscles in a different way than higher repetition sets are able and it is consistent with the principle of variation to perform such sets every couple of months. For best results in building muscle you should employ some sort of periodized cycle as described in our article PERIODIZE YOUR TRAINING FOR MAXIMUM RESULTS. A sample program for a bodybuilder might contain 5 weeks in the 10 to 12 repetition range followed by 3 weeks in the 5-6 repetition range followed by 2 weeks in the 2-3 repetition range. After completing a cycle you should have about a week of light training and then start over with a new cycle. You can vary the amount of weeks spent in each range depending upon how much you want to shock your muscles each time you change phases.

Q. I heard that L-Phenylalanine can be dangerous. Is this true because I noticed that it is contained in most protein powders and some other supplements?

A. L-Phenylalanine is a naturally occurring amino acid commonly found in dairy products which is why, as you noted, it is listed on the label of most protein powders. It is not dangerous to ingest unless you have a rare genetic disorder call phenylketonuria or PKU. People who have this disease must maintain a highly regulated diet that is low in protein in order to make sure they do not take in to much L-Phenylalanine each day. Unless you are a phenylketonuric you have nothing to worry about in regard to L-Phenylalanine and if you regularly eat dairy products like milk or cheese then it is a pretty safe bet that you do not have phenylketonuria.

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