Good afternoon Nikkola Newsletterers!
I started personal training on October 1, 2001. I've been using supplements since 1993, when I bought Joe Weider's Mass Gainer. The supplement industry has come a long way since then.
I've tried and analyzed hundreds of brands. Formulated nutritional products for the fitness company I worked for most of my career. I also worked for a practitioner-based manufacturer. I've been responsible for the conception, sourcing, formulating, packaging, education, and promotion of supplements.
So, I must say, I was surprised when I was introduced to Amare not long ago. Here was a company focused on an aspect of health no others were: mental health. Their formulas are filled with branded, research-supported ingredients instead of generics. The Chief Science Officer has published a crazy number of studies, some of which I used when formulating products and educating personal trainers. The products taste great, look amazing, and are designed to help you feel better quickly.
If this sounds intriguing to you, please reply to this email. I'd love to share some more info.
Enjoy today’s carefully crafted newsletter!
📖 Deep Dives
Arginine and Citrulline: Health and Performance Benefits. L-arginine is a semi-essential amino acid that increases nitric oxide levels. Nitric oxide plays a crucial role in vascular function, which means low arginine levels leads to cardiovascular problems, erectile dysfunction, and reduced physical performance. Not surprisingly, arginine levels also affect how you respond to a COVID-19 infection. While you do consume some arginine through your diet, you’d likely benefit from supplementing with it, or with citrulline. Keep reading...
The Soft(er) American: From JFK’s 1960 Article to Today’s Reality. If your long-term goal was to destroy a nation or civilization, you could work to constantly grow stronger and more powerful yourself, or you could discreetly contribute to the weakening of the nation you wish to destroy. America has its enemies, and you could easily argue that we’re more vulnerable today than ever before. The rising power of other nations coupled with the weakening of our own puts the United States in a precarious position. As a nation founded by the people, for the people, it’s long past time “the people” take ownership of our country and its culture. It all starts with a concerted effort to build strength, first as an individual, then as a community, and eventually, as a nation. Keep reading...
🩺 Health
Healthy gut, healthy prostate? Researchers found a link between gut health and prostate inflammation in aging men. In a study led by Polish scientists, they discovered that the levels of certain fats in the blood and compounds produced by gut bacteria are connected to inflammation in the prostate, a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). They found that men with BPH and metabolic syndrome had higher levels of inflammatory markers in their prostate. This groundbreaking work suggests that what's happening in the gut may influence prostate health, potentially opening new doors for managing prostate inflammation. Essentially, the study shows us that a healthy gut might contribute to a healthier prostate. This could be crucial in developing future treatments for BPH, impacting many men's lives as they age.
Inhaled monoclonal antibodies could be useful with Covid. Remember when the mainstream media doubted Trump about antibody treatments? In a pioneering study, scientists have discovered that aerosol-delivered monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can effectively combat SARS-CoV-2 infection in its early stages in primate models. This inhalation method delivers antibodies directly to the lungs, leading to a significant reduction in virus replication and lung inflammation. When compared to traditional intravenous methods, this aerosol approach allows for a rapid and concentrated delivery of mAbs to the lungs, providing a robust defense against the virus. The study also revealed that administering mAbs both before and after exposure to the virus resulted in the most effective reduction of viral load and inflammation in the lungs, pointing towards a promising strategy for human treatments. Moreover, this technique presents several practical benefits, such as the potential for self-administration, a decrease in necessary dosages, and cost savings. It could prove especially valuable in early treatment and in reducing virus transmission, as it can be applied at home or in outpatient settings, minimizing the need for close contact during viral outbreaks. The findings suggest that aerosolized mAbs could be a viable option for protecting against and managing respiratory diseases in the future, especially in situations where there is a high risk of exposure to the virus.
More evidence obesity is bad for your brain. Researchers have found a critical link between obesity and the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, using fruit flies to shed light on the issue. A high-sugar diet, which can lead to obesity, was shown to cause insulin resistance in the brain's glial cells. This resistance hampers the cells' ability to clear out damaged neural pathways, increasing the likelihood of neurodegeneration. The study, published in PLOS Biology, reveals that flies on a sugar-rich diet had reduced levels of key proteins needed for neuron maintenance. Surprisingly, most conventional recommendations still don't focus on reducing carbohydrate intake. The focus seems to be more on drug therapies that allow you to keep eating them.
Discontinuing contraceptive use quickly drops blood clotting risk. A new study highlighted by the American Society of Hematology delivers a breath of fresh air for those using hormone-based contraceptives like the pill, vaginal rings, or patches. It turns out the heightened risk of blood clots associated with these contraceptives drops significantly within two to four weeks of stopping them. This is a game-changer for planning around surgeries or other high-clot-risk scenarios, suggesting a two to four-week cushion is enough. The part that amused me is that the stories surrounding this study celebrated the fact that the risks went away quickly when women stopped using them. It didn't stress the fact that using them increased the risk by three times.
🧠 Mental Health
Got stress? You might be creating it. A massive meta-analysis of over 30 years of data, supports the theory that people with mental health disorders are more likely to create stressful situations for themselves, a process known as stress generation. This cycle, where depression both causes and results from stress, suggests that individuals have more control over their stress levels than previously believed. Digging deeper, the team also identified specific behaviors and traits, like negative thinking patterns and poor emotion regulation, that contribute to this self-inflicted stress.
💊 Supplementation
Omega-3s plus resistance training could make you stronger than resistance training alone. Young adults taking 3.85 grams of omega-3s daily gained more strength from resistance training over 10 weeks than those who didn't, without extra muscle bulk. The omega-3 group improved their one-rep max bench press and squat more significantly, suggesting factors beyond muscle size, like muscle quality and neurological adaptations, played a role. The study challenges the notion that muscle size alone dictates strength, pointing to the potential of omega-3s to enhance the body's muscle-building machinery and neuromuscular function.
Whey protein is the most environmentally friendly protein source. You read that right. It's also one of the best for you in terms of supporting muscle mass and long-term health. According to a new study, whey protein is superior even to plant sources like tofu and pea protein. That said, if you're looking for a non-dairy protein powder, high-quality pea protein is probably the way to go.
🏋️♂️ Exercise
Can you cram your workouts into your weekend? When I design programs for my VIGOR Training members, I usually put their workouts on their schedule for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Most people prefer to get their workouts done during the week. But what happens when you can't. Is it okay to cram them into the weekend? Can you workout three or four days in a row? Yes! If that's what your schedule requires, you absolutely can do that and still get similar benefits, according to research from the Mayo clinic. Make your workouts fit a realistic schedule, don't try to rearrange your life to fit in your workouts. The former approach works long-term. The latter does not.
🌎 Other News
Billions of Copies of Residual DNA in a Single Dose of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine: Preprint. A new preprint study up for peer review finds billions of residual DNA fragments in the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine vials. The lead author of the study, molecular virologist David Speicher, who has a doctorate in virology, told The Epoch Times that their study is "the largest study" on residual DNA in COVID-19 vaccines to date. "In our study, we measured DNA copies of spike, ori (origin of replication), and SV40 enhancer genes," he told The Epoch Times. "The loads of SV40 enhancer-promoter, ori, and virus spike in Pfizer are up to 186 billion copies per dose." Keep reading...
Sterilizing the Young. The aggressive promotion of gender ideology has coincided with a sharp rise in children identifying as transgender. As with the eugenics movement of a century ago, doctors are subjecting these young and vulnerable children to harmful drugs and irreversible surgeries that can leave them permanently sterilized. Researchers attribute the new phenomenon of rapid-onset gender dysphoria largely to social contagion. In England, the number of girls identifying as transgender skyrocketed by 4,400 percent in a 10-year period. In Denmark, the number of children referred to the centralized gender service also exploded, climbing from 97 in 2016 to 352 in 2022, of whom 70 percent were female. Between 2017 and 2021, American youth receiving a diagnosis of gender dysphoria nearly tripled in just five years, according to one study. Keep reading...