Universal Nutrition has been manufacturing dietary and sports supplements for more than 20 years. They offer products in a wide variety of categories and last year were nominated for a number of awards in the Bodybuilding.com Supplement Awards. These awards recognize the best products available in the sports supplement industry. Universal Nutrition were successful in two categories – Animal Pak won the best multivitamin, while Animal Flex won best joint supplement.
These are only a couple of the products in the Animal line. Others include an essential fatty acid supplement and products to increase muscle strength and performance.
Universal Nutrition also have sports supplements such as amino acid, and vitamin and mineral supplements. There is also a range of protein powders, as well as weight gain powders.
Probably one of the biggest differences between whey protein and soy protein is their source. Whey protein is an animal product, extracted from the watery substance that’s left over from cheese production. Therefore, it is unsuitable for anyone with allergies to dairy products or who is lactose intolerant. It also wouldn’t be suitable for vegans.
Soy protein, on the other hand, is a plant product, extracted from the soybean. This would make it suitable for vegans but not for people with soy allergies, which is a fairly common allergy.
So if you don’t have any dietary problems with either protein type, which one wins the whey vs. soy protein fight on a quality level?
There are a few different systems in place to measure protein quality. Digestibility is measured using a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (or PDCAAS). Officially, the highest score possible is 1.0. Both whey and soy proteins rate at 1.0, meaning they are both highly digestible. Unofficially though, whey protein has scored 1.14 so it’s probably just that little bit better.
Do you hear the term “carbohydrate” and immediately think of something that’s bad for you and that you should avoid as much as possible? You don’t need to think of carbohydrates as the enemy. All carbohydrates are not created equal.
Carbohydrates occur in two different forms – either simple or complex. Simple carbohydrates are sugars like glucose or fructose. These are the sorts of carbohydrates that you shouldn’t eat too much of.
Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, are carbohydrates that are good for you. We all need to ensure that we eat plenty of complex carbohydrates so that our bodies can produce energy to drive our metabolisms.
Optimum Nutrition is a brand of nutritional supplements with products covering a range of categories.
They make a number of protein products including eight different whey protein supplements. They also have casein, egg and soy proteins, as well as protein blends like Nitrocore 24 and Pro Complex.
There’s also several diet supplements and fat-burning products in Optimum Nutrition’s range. These include L-carnitine, an amino acid which helps to transport fat to muscles so it can be burned for energy, and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which has been shown to help reduce fat.
Then there’s your everyday vitamins and minerals, including men’s, women’s and sport multiples, as well as a B complex and C combination.
Optimum Nutrition is a brand of nutritional supplements with products covering a range of categories.
They make a number of protein products including eight different whey protein supplements. They also have casein, egg and soy proteins, as well as protein blends like Nitrocore 24 and Pro Complex.
There’s also several diet supplements and fat-burning products in Optimum Nutrition’s range. These include L-carnitine, an amino acid which helps to transport fat to muscles so it can be burned for energy, and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which has been shown to help reduce fat.
Then there’s your everyday vitamins and minerals, including men’s, women’s and sport multiples, as well as a B complex and C combination.
Designed for serious bodybuilders, Arson by Muscle Asylum Project is a thermogenic product offering rapid fat burning results. Thermogenesis is the production of heat in the body due to metabolic processes. Some people have reported feeling the heat generated by Arson after taking just a single dose.
Containing a number of fat-burning ingredients including green tea and caffeine, Arson was shown in one study to increase the oxidation of fat by up to 35% in 24 hours. Arson works by boosting your levels of noradrenaline, the main fat-burning hormone in your body, by up to 40%. It also blocks alpha-2 receptors which has the effect of telling your body to keep burning fat for longer. Arson incorporates Rapid Wave Pulse Technology, a nutrient transport system that quickly delivers the active ingredients to your fat cells for rapid fat reduction.
If you do an internet search, you can find a number of comments about Arson from people who have tried it. Most comments are quite positive though, as you’d expect for any supplement, there are also reports of it having little effect in some who’ve tried it, and some people even reported feeling ill on it. Arson is not designed for the average person but more for the hardcore bodybuilder, so it might be a good idea to do a bit of homework before deciding to take Arson by Muscle Asylum Project to ensure that it’s suitable for you. Of course, if you have any health problems or are on any medication you should certainly consult your doctor.
Are you an athlete looking to increase your muscle strength and mass, and your endurance? Beta-alanine is a supplement that can help you to do both of these things.
Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid. This means that our bodies are able to produce it. We also ingest it when we eat proteins like chicken, beef and fish. So why do we need to supplement it if we can produce it ourselves?
Firstly, we need to understand what beta-alanine does. When beta-alanine and another amino acid called histidine combine, they produce a compound called carnosine. Carnosine is an intracellular buffer which is produced by our muscles, and which absorbs hydrogen ions. As we exercise, lactic acid builds up in our bodies. This lactic acid then releases hydrogen ions and it’s these hydrogen ions that are responsible for causing our muscles to become fatigued. If you have higher carnosine levels more of the hydrogen ions will be absorbed, thereby boosting muscle performance and allowing you to exercise for longer.
Casein is the main protein found in milk, making up about 80% of all proteins found in cows’ milk (though only about 40% of human milk). It not only contains essential amino acids but also calcium and phosphorous.
If you want to increase your muscle mass, casein protein powder can be a valuable supplement. It is a slow-digesting amino acid source, meaning that it will stay in your body longer than a fast-digesting protein like whey protein. This, together with the fact that it inhibits the breakdown of protein, means that your muscles can get the benefit of casein for a longer period of time. In studies it’s been shown to stay in the blood for up to seven hours.
Casein is also a very good source of glutamine, which is found in your skeletal muscles and plays an important role in the synthesis of protein.
Methyl Masterdrol V2 by LG Sciences is a prohormone. What are prohormones? They’re substances from which other hormones are formed. Prohormone supplements are popular with bodybuilders and athletes as they convert to other hormones once in the body. They’re the next best thing to anabolic steroids for muscle development, providing increases in strength and size.
Many prohormones have been banned but Methyl Masterdrol V2 is, at this stage, still legal. In fact, it’s the last legal androstane on the market. Androstanes are substances that make steroids effective. Androstane-based steroids are often deactivated when they get into muscle tissue but in Methyl Masterdrol V2, LG Sciences has developed a product that can give you exceptionally stronger and firmer muscles.
The protein element of whey is highly digestible and has been found to be a valuable health and nutritional supplement. Whey is a component of milk. It’s a by-product of cheese production, being the watery substance that remains after milk has been curdled. In addition to protein, whey also contains water, lactose, minerals and fat.
Whey protein is made up of a number of components. Beta-lactoglobulin makes up around half of whey protein. It reportedly aids vitamin availability by binding the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
Whey protein also contains essential and branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). Around a third of our skeletal muscle is made up of BCAAs. This is one of the reasons that whey protein powder is a valuable supplement if you’re a body builder or other athlete needing to increase your strength. It is believed that whey protein can speed up the development of muscle and also aid recovery after exercise.
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