Q&As: Ask the Nutritionist (Last updated: 20 Sep 2006)
If you have a question on supplement, nutrition or training to ask, email to
questions@ultimatesg.com
Q) What is the difference between Siberia, China,
Korea and American ginseng? Which one is good for
bodybuilding?
A) I believe ginseng is probably the most underated
herb for bodybuilding. Anyway Siberia ginseng do not
even belong to the ginseng family. American ginseng
in my opinion will not be beneficial as an ergogenic
aid. In my opinion, Chinese and Korean ginseng are
similar in properties and high grade Chinese ginseng
should be very useful in promoting recovery but they
are expensive and difficult to obtain.

Q) Casein and Whey, which is more superior?
A) Casein is better at maintaining nitrogen balance.
Your body need a steady and slow influx of amino
acids rather than a quick burst. If you are using whey
except for after workout, it make sense to take like 10g
of whey protein at one go (at least 30 minutes interval)
rather than one shot of 30-45g.

Q) I do not like the smell of shaker after a few usage,
any solution?
A) You can soak the plastic shaker in hot water and
dry it completely. Some people recommend washing
it with tea leaves. Nowadays, I seldom use a shaker
any more as ISS powder mixes easily with a spoon. If
I do, I opened up a 500ml mineral water bottle, drink
about 20% of it. Then I use a large funnel to load my
protein powder into the bottle, shake drink and throw
into the bin. One 500ml mineral water may cost as
little as $0.40 each if you buy by carton.

Q) I read that dairy food is not a food that human
evolved on, does that mean whey is not  suitable for
human since whey is a milk product?
A) I have personally not heard of whey-allergy before.

Q) Should I use weight to train my abdominals?
A) One should not use weights to train their
abdominals as the waist size will enlarge. The
exception is very thin bodybuilders in their early
months of training. One should train their waist
without weights for duration like 30-45 mins to trim
and tone up the abdominals. I recommend 2-3 times
a week.

Q) I read about training more than 45 mins will be
counter productive as it increase catabolic (meaning
cause muscle break down) hormone level too much,
is it true?
A) It really depends on how many body parts you are
working. If you are doing 3 or more body part, 45 mins
may not be sufficient to work the muscles properly
unless you are using HEAVY DUTY training methods.
Even if you are, the gain from training like this will not
continue for too long. After that, you should switch to
more sets like 10-15 sets per body part going up to
even 20-25 sets per body parts if you are advanced.

Q) How much protein can the body digest at one
meal?
A) One can digest as much as 50g or more protein at
one meal. But if one is taking a protein supplement
that is all whey, I will recommend not to take more
than 30g and combine with other protein sources that
are "slower". Some formulas like Micellar Matrix is
good in this respect.

Q) What do you think of a bodybuilder sleeping 5
hours a day, train twice a day 6 days a week. Why did
he make great gains still? Doesn't he overtrain?
A) He is on anabolic steroids I suspect. Anabolic
steroids allows one to recuperate very fast but it also
caused insomia and reduce in ability to sleep. In a
long run there are evidence people on anabolic
steroids for prolonged time no only have damaged
liver but also aged faster.

Q) What fat percentage will one look good?
A) Around 8% you will look terrific. 6% you look like a
pro bodybuilder if you still have enough size. 10-12%
you look ok. In my opinion of course.

Q) What is Omega 9? I saw it in some essential fat
supplement products, is it good?
A) Omega 9 is not even an essential fatty acid like 3
and 6. Meaning our body can synthesise omega 9 fat.
So the answer is no, I think it is worthless. Although
omega 6 is essential it is abundant in common oil
like sunflower, canola, peanut, corn etc. Hence, in
essential fatty acid supplementation one should
concentrate on EPA and DHA, and especially DHA.

Q) How much Vitamin E is good to take as
supplement? What food are high in Vitamin E?
A) Vitamin E is found in abundant in unrefined
vegetable oil. But the processing take out a huge bulk
of vitamin E and are then made into vitamin E
supplements. Vitamin E are important as they are the
most important oil soluble vitamin in our body. When
you are taking fried food, poly-unsaturated oil like fish
oil and most vegetable oils, it is wise to take 200iu to
400iu of vitamin E daily. There are evidence vit E help
to wipe out free radicals in active athletes, whose
bodies have increased formation due to prolonged
and regular physical exercise. Personally I take 400iu
of vitamin E (fat soluble) combine with 1g of Vit C
(water soluble) daily, As for the other forms of
antioxidants like carotenoids and flavonoids, I get
them from fruits mainly and occasionally some
Chinese herbs from the tonic soup cooked by my
family. Remember anti-oxidants work synergistically
and it is impossible to construct an all-round
antioxidant pill effectively with present knowledge.

Q) You recommend 1500mg of DHA daily to boost the
brain and improve mood, will it be ineffective if I take
only 500mg daily?
A) DHA is the most valuable Omega 3 fatty acid for the
human body. Even if you were to just take 500mg daily
it will be very useful for your body. This is especially
the case because omega 3 is very deficient in a
typical modern diet and DHA is the hardest to
synthesised Omega 3 in the human body. On the
other hand DHA can be easily converted to EPA but
not the other way round.

Q) How much protein do I need daily?
A) Reliable research suggest you need 1.2g to 1.7g of
protein per kg body weight to gain muscles. However,
if you are restricting carbohydrate intake, you may
need 2.5-3g per kg body weight. It is unwise to restrict
carbohydrate intake too much. You will need at least
100g per day to feel okay. High protein and near zero
carbohydrate diet will cause a state called ketosis,
which the most unbearable part is the exhale and
sweating of ketones which smell bad.  
Need HELP?
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