Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan Example

Boiled Artichokes slow down the absorption of glucose and minimize the insulin + glucose surges (Nomikos. 2007)

This article has made quite a remarkable transformation. It started as a Facebook Short News Item, was upgraded to a mini-article for the SuppVersity Short News and, when I realized that those green thistles have surprisingly diverse beneficial effects on human health, eventually became the regular SuppVersity Article you are about to read, right now.

Artichoke leaves the future of diabesity treatment!?

I have to admit, I am not exactly and artichole expert, but I was still surprised that the paper Joanna Magielse and her colleagues from the University of Antwerp are about to publish in the scientific journal Food & Function claims to be the first to investigate the beneficial health effects of artichoke leave extracts on diabetes-induced oxidation in vivo.

I mean, we all have seen the broad range of artichoke supplements on the shelves; and my brief review of the literature yielded studies from the mid 1920s discussing how beneficial artichoke can be for patients with type II diabetes (Root. 1925).

When I kept digging through the currently available literature, though, I had to realize that the vast majority of the in-vivo studies dealt with the anti-cholesterol (Wider. 2013) and digestive benefits (Marakis. 2002) of artichokes and their leaf extracts (ALE). The proven anti-oxidant effects of its major polyphenolic constituents (Zapolska-Downar. 2002;  Betancor-Fernandez. 2003; Jimenez-Escrig. 2003; Menghini. 2010), on the other hand, havent been tested in either animals or humans with type II diabetes. The rodent-experiment the Belgian researchers describe in the paper at hand is thus probably in fact the first to investigate the anti-oxidative effects ALE in an in-vivo scenario.
Over the course of 3 weeks the rodents who had been injected with streptozotocin (STZ) to induce a diabetic phenotype that is commonly and successfully used as a model for type II diabetes in man consumed either

• Why 0.2g/kg BW? This is the rodent equivalent of a well-tolerated amount of 2g/day that has been used for treatment of hypercholesterolemia and digestive complaints (Englisch. 2000; Holtmann. 2003; Barnes. 2007).
  0.2g/kg BW of artichoke extract (CYN1),
• 1g/kg BW of artichoke extract (CYN2),
• 50mg/kg BW alpha-tocopherol-acetate (VIT E),

or no supplement at all. To make sure to have an appropriate reference, a fifth non-streptozotocin injected group served as a healthy control. In contrast to their their com-rats (sorry, I could not resist) who had blood glucose levels of 250mg/kg, the control rats started into the 3-week treatment phase with normal (=healthy) blood glucose levels and inflammation.
To determine the effects the provision of artichoke leaves would have on the baseline inflammation of the diabetic rats, the researchers measured the plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). The status of plasma coenzyme Q9(CoQ9, necessary for the biosynthesis of coq10 increases indicate lower coQ10 levels) and erythrocyte reduced glutathione (GSH), on the other hand, were used as indicators of the state of the endogenous antioxidative defense system.

Figure 1: MDA, 8-OHdG, CoQ9 and GSH levels expressed as rel. difference to control (Magielse. 2013)

With the information from the previous paragraph, even a rocket scientist without a clue of biology will recognize that the buffered MDA,8-OHdG and coQ10 and GSH levels (the further away from the x-axis the more "disturbed" they are compared to the CON group), indicate that the artichoke leave extract did what the were not 100% sure it would to: It survived the passage through the gastrointestinal tract and wasnt extensively metabolized by colonic microflora or liver phase II enzymes, as it is the case for other potent in-vitro antioxidants like reseveratrol.

Whats the mechanism and what do we already know about artichoke?

With respect to the underlying mechanism that could explain the improvements the researchers observed in the study at hand, Magielse et al. point out that...

"...it should be emphasized that not only direct antioxidant actions, but also indirect mechanisms affecting gene expression of inflammatory pathways and modulating antioxidant enzyme synthesis have been reported for polyphenols and may contribute to the reduction of oxidative stress." (Magielse. 2013)

In that, the scientists are referring to the previously established beneficial effects on lipid metabolism and glucose absorption other researchers have observed in previous studies:

• Boiled wild artichoke reduces postprandial glycemic and insulinemic responses in normal subjects by inhibiting the glucose absorption (100g of boiled plant on 50g of glucose in complete meal). Interestingly, this trick doesnt work in patients with type II diabetes (Nomikos. 2007)
• Significant increase in bile secretion and thus improved fat digestion.  1.92g of artichoke extract lead to increase of up to ~140% in a randomised placebo-controlled double-blind cross-over study published in Phytomedicine (Kirchhoff. 1994). 
• Beneficial improvements in endothelial function (-21% VCAM-1; - 17% ICAM-1 brachial +37% FMV) in hyperlipidemic patients with only 20ml of "self-made"* artichoke juice per day (*juiced by the researchers; Lupattelli. 2004).
• Provides "food" for probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei (LMGP22043) that have beneficial effects on faecal bacteria and biochemical parameters in human subjects (Valerio. 2011).
• Has UV protective effects, when applied to the hair (Fernandez. 2012) - not that important for your overall  health, but still quite telling, right?)
• 2x 200mg of ALE per day decrease total cholesterol and LDL and increase HDL in subjects with existing hypercholesterolaemia (Rondanelli. 2013)

I know that youd probably love another 200 references to studies that support the beneficial health effects of artichoke and artichoke extracts, but you know what? I think thats enough for a preliminary conclusion.

Reference:

• Barnes, J., Anderson, L.-A., Phillipson, J.-D. (Eds.), Herbal Medicines, Pharmaceutical Press, London 2007. 
• Betancor-Fernandez, A., P´ erez-G´ alvez, A., Sies, H., Stahl, W., Screening pharmaceutical preparations containing extracts of turmeric rhizome, artichoke leaf, devil’s claw root and gar lic or salmon oil for antioxidant capacity. J. Pharm. Pharma col. 2003,55, 981–986. 
• Englisch, W., Beckers, C., Unkauf, M., Ruepp, M. et al., Effi cacy of artichoke dry extract in patients with hyperlipopro teinemia. Arzneimittel-Forschung. 2000,50, E260–E265. 
• Fernandez, E., Martínez-Teipel, B., Armengol, R., Barba, C., & Coderch, L. Efficacy of antioxidants in human hair. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology.  2012
• Holtmann, G., Adam, B., Haag, S., Collet, W. et al., Efficacy of artichoke leaf extract in the treatment of patients with functional dyspepsia: a six-week placebo-controlled, double blind, multicentre trial.Aliment. Pharmacol. Ther. 2003,18, 1099–1105.
• Jimenez-Escrig, A., Dragsted, L.-O., Daneshvar, B., Pulido, R. et al., In vitro antioxidant activities of edible artichoke (Cynara scolymusL.) and effect on biomarkers of antioxi dants in rats.J. Agric. Food Chem. 2003,51, 5540–5545.
• Kirchhoff, R., Beckers, C. H., Kirchhoff, G. M., Trinczek-Gärtner, H., Petrowicz, O., & Reimann, H. J. Increase in choleresis by means of artichoke extract. Phytomedicine. 1994, 1(2), 107-115.
• Lupattelli, G., Marchesi, S., Lombardini, R., Roscini, A. R., Trinca, F., Gemelli, F., ... & Mannarino, E. Artichoke juice improves endothelial function in hyperlipemia. Life sciences. 2004, 76(7), 775-782.
• Marakis, G., Walker, A. F., Middleton, R. W., Booth, J. C. L., Wright, J., & Pike, D. J. (2002). Artichoke leaf extract reduces mild dyspepsia in an open study. Phytomedicine, 9(8), 694-699.
• Menghini, L., Genovese, S., Epifano, F., Tirillini, B. et al., Antiproliferative, protective and antioxidant effects of arti choke, dandelion, turmeric and rosemary extracts and their formulation.Int. J. Immunopathol. Pharmacol. 2010,23, 601– 610. 
• Nomikos, T., Detopoulou, P., Fragopoulou, E., Pliakis, E., & Antonopoulou, S.. Boiled wild artichoke reduces postprandial glycemic and insulinemic responses in normal subjects but has no effect on metabolic syndrome patients. Nutrition Research. 2007, 27(12), 741-749.
• Root, H. F., & Baker, M. L. Inulin and artichokes in the treatment of diabetes. Archives of Internal Medicine. 1925, 36(1), 126.
• Rondanelli, M., Giacosa, A., Opizzi, A., Faliva, M. A., Sala, P., Perna, S., ... & Bombardelli, E. (2013). Beneficial effects of artichoke leaf extract supplementation on increasing HDL-cholesterol in subjects with primary mild hypercholesterolaemia: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 64(1), 7-15.
• Rumessen, J. J., Bodé, S., Hamberg, O., & Gudmand-Høyer, E. Fructans of Jerusalem artichokes: intestinal transport, absorption, fermentation, and influence on blood glucose, insulin, and C-peptide responses in healthy subjects. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 1990, 52(4), 675-681.
• Valerio, F., et al. Role of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus paracasei LMGP22043 carried by artichokes in influencing faecal bacteria and biochemical parameters in human subjects. Journal of applied microbiology 2011, 111(1): 155-164.
• Wider, B., Pittler, M. H., Thompson-Coon, J., & Ernst, E. (2013). Artichoke leaf extract for treating hypercholesterolaemia. status and date: New search for studies and content updated (no change to conclusions), published in, (3).
• Wittemer, S. M., Ploch, M., Windeck, T., Müller, S. C., Drewelow, B., Derendorf, H., & Veit, M. Bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of caffeoylquinic acids and flavonoids after oral administration of Artichoke leaf extracts in humans. Phytomedicine. 2005, 12(1), 28-38.
• Zapolska-Downar, D., Zapolski-Downar, A., Naruszewicz, M., Siennicka, A. et al., Protective properties of artichoke (Cynara scolymus) against oxidative stress induced in cultured endothelial cells and monocytes .Life Sci.2002,71, 2897–2908. 

Caffeine wont do the "last rep" for ya.

Time for a brief review of the latest exercise and supplementation science in the SuppVersity Short News. You can see an overview of all previous articles in an RSS feed here.

This time you can take a look at the surprisingly lasting pro-anabolic effects of HIIT as measured by skeletal muscle protein synthesis in the elderly and the similarly surprising finding that caffeine - even if its consumed in significant doses before a workout - will not have you curl an extra pound on either barbell or dumbbell curls.

• 27% increase in protein synthesis even 24h after HIIT exercise in the elderly - Resistance exercise (RE) and aerobic exercise are recommended for older adults for fitness and strength. High-intensity interval exercise (HIIT) is an understudied but potent potential alternative to aerobic exercise. A recent study from the McMaster University aimed to determine how each mode of exercise affected the integrated day-to-day response of muscle protein synthesis.
  
  To do so, they recruited 22 sedentary men (mean age = 22; 67±4 years; body mass index: 27.0±2.6 kg m- 2 [mean ± SEM]) who were randomly assigned to perform resistance training, aerobic exercise, or HIIT. The participants consumed a stable isotope tracer (D2O) for 9 days. Daily saliva samples were taken to measure tracer incorporation in body water. Muscle biopsies were obtained on Days 5-8 of D2O consumption to measure tracer incorporation into muscle at rest, 24 hours, and 48 hours following each exercise bout: RE (3 × 10 repetitions: leg extensor and press, 95% 10RM), HIIT (10 × 1 minute, 95% maximal heart rate [HRmax]), or aerobic exercise (30 minutes, 55%-60% HRmax).
  

  Figure 1: Myofirillar (left) and sarcoplasmic (right) protein fractional synthesis rate (FSR) at baseline and postexercise. Data are means ± SEM. Bars bearing different letters are signifiantly different within each exercise group | AE = aerobic exercise; HIIT = high-intensity interval exercise; RE = resistance exercise (Bell. 2015).

  What the scientists found is quite surprising: While resistance training showed, as it was expected, the greatest increase in fractional protein synthesis immediately, post workout, only the HIIT protocol lead do significant increases in sarcoplasmic protein fractional synthetic rate 24-hour postexercise (2.30±0.34% d- 1 vs 1.83±0.21% d- 1).
  
  That does not mean that HIIT is the better muscle builder, though. Specifically in view of the fact that its the myofibrilar, not the sarcoplasmic protein synthesis rate that bunks with aging (Balagopal. 1997), the higher myofibrilar post-workout protein synthesis after the relatively low volume resistance training session is more important than the long-lasting elevation of the protein influx into the sarcoplasma, a muscle protein fraction that is involved in the anaerobic ATP production, intracellular transport, and several other enzyme functions. 
• Stronger biceps with caffeine? No, ... at least during insometric contractions the administration of 5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg caffeine does not have ergogenic effects on the elbow flexors.
  Thats at least what the latest study from the University of Kansas shows. In their 13 recreationally trained male subjects, the ingestion of the aforementioned amounts of caffeine in form of of a caffeineated drink did not lead to significant increases in any of the relevant performance markers.
  

  Figure 2: Caffeine did not have significant ergogenic effects; at least the rate of torque development did increase, though (Trevino. 2015).

  In contrast to previous research which has indicated that under certain conditions, caffeine may increase muscle force production during anaerobic activities (3,6,15,17). The results of our study revealed that caffeine did not significantly affect peak torque during the maximal isometric contractions. As Trevino et al. point out, this finding may result from a variety of factors:

  Figure 3: In contrast to the study at hand a study by Beck et al. found significant increases in bench press performance in slightly better trained subjects (Beck. 2006).

  "Past equivocal findings with caffeine ingestion and anaerobic performance may have resulted from the type of muscle action and exercise performed, caffeine dose used, muscle group tested, or training status of the subjects. Our protocol used a single-joint isometric exercise to test the effects of caffeine doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg of body mass on maximal strength of the elbow flexors in resistance trained males (participating in at least 2 training sessions per week). Beck et al. (2006) reported that a 201 mg dose of caffeine significantly increased bench press 1RM in resistance trained males (participating in at least 4 training sessions/week). 

  Because significant results were found with a caffeine dose less than ours (average absolute doses in the current study were 426.7 and 853.4 mg for the 0 and 5 mg/ kg body mass conditions, respectively), it seems that the exercise test and training status may have led to different findings between the studies" (Trevino. 2015).

  Next to the training status and the lack of familiarity with performing maximal muscle contrations (the subjects in Beck et al. (2006) trained 4 times per week, the ones in the study at hand only two times), the exercise may play a role as well. The bench press is after all a multi-joint exercise requiring dynamic involvement of the pectoralis major, deltoid, and triceps. The biceps curl, on the other hand is the classic single-joint exercise, where the CNS activating effect of caffeine may simply offer less benefits than on bench presses, squats and other multi-joint exercises. The same may be true for comparisons of large and small muscle groups and could explain why Astorino et al. (2010), Jacobson, et al. (1992) and Kalmar et al. (1999) found beneficial effect of caffeine on the leg extension performance of their subjects, while Trevino et al. were not able to detect ergogenic effects for the small elbow flexors.

References

• Astorino, Todd A., et al. "Effect of two doses of caffeine on muscular function during isokinetic exercise." Medicine and science in sports and exercise 42.12 (2010): 2205-2210.
• Balagopal, P., et al. "Effects of aging on in vivo synthesis of skeletal muscle myosin heavy-chain and sarcoplasmic protein in humans." American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology And Metabolism 273.4 (1997): E790-E800.
• Beck, Travis W., et al. "The acute effects of a caffeine-containing supplement on strength, muscular endurance, and anaerobic capabilities." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 20.3 (2006): 506-510.
• Bell et al. "Day-to-Day Changes in Muscle Protein Synthesis in Recovery From Resistance, Aerobic, and High-Intensity Interval Exercise in Older Men." J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci (2015). 
• Jacobson, B. H., et al. "Effect of caffeine on maximal strength and power in élite male athletes." British journal of sports medicine 26.4 (1992): 276-280.
• Kalmar, J. M., and E. Cafarelli. "Effects of caffeine on neuromuscular function." Journal of Applied Physiology 87.2 (1999): 801-808.
• Trevino, Michael A., et al. "Acute Effects of Caffeine on Strength and Muscle Activation of the Elbow Flexors." The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 29.2 (2015): 513-520.