Body builders vs. FDA

I love living in America. How great to live in a country where we are trying to protect each other by using scientific research to test, try, and retest products and chemicals before selling them to unsuspecting consumers. In my opinion, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) plays a critical role in safeguarding the lives of millions. I honestly worry a little when using a product from a country without the governmental checks and balances that we enjoy.


On the other hand we have the bodybuilders. I love these guys. We owe a lot to these crazy guys. And the reason is, they are willing to try out all kinds of different nutrition and supplement concoctions on themselves in order to find perfection in the human form at the cost of their health. No guinea pigs or rats here - what these guys discover you can apply directly to the human body since they are using their own human bodies to try it out. We know never to use steroids because of cardiovascular and reproductive damage, not to mention cancer risks. We know that extremely high doses of ephedrine mixed with caffeine and excessive dehydration, can cause a young healthy 16 year old to drop dead on the football field. I hope I've scared you enough to sell you on the fact that it is crucial to know exactly what you are taking, eating and using to achieve your goals. We have a world of research at our fingertips with the internet. Please use it. However, coming from a careful, scientific upbringing by my mentors and professors at BYU - I also encourage you to learn how to tell good research from bad research (that's for another day unfortunately).


When I began trying to find the best overall system to get in shape 10 years ago, I found the most cutting-edge information in the bodybuilding literature. These guys know their stuff. They know chemistry, biology and nutrition like any PhD I've ever met and they apply this information directly to getting a great body. Now you have to wade through magazine after magazine, article after article of dangerous crap before you get to the nuggets of real truth, but when you find those parts that make sense - you have cutting edge information.


In my research I found that the FDA wanted me to take 25 grams of protein a day. The bodybuilder literature was saying 130 grams a day (1 gram per 1 lb of bodyweight). Huge difference! You have a decision to make. If you want to know how I made my decision... I reasoned that the FDA is trying to provide a recommendation for the average American with the average American's lifestyle. I didn't want to live the average lifestyle - I wanted to have strong, lean muscles and very little fat on my body. But I also wanted my heart and brain to survive to the century mark. I had learned from real science that muscles will break down if you abuse them. If you feed them protein, they will rebuild and in addition, they will want to rebuild stronger and bigger (in preparation for the next abuse). As you feed your body and muscles enough protein for them to rebuild (discovered by the bodybuilders), your body will have to rid the waste that is associated with protein, requiring a lot of work from the kidneys. Healthy kidneys are up to the task as long as you give them lots and lots of water to do the job. Your brain on the other hand needs carbohydrates. And fat is necessary in the absorption of vitamins and nutrients. So balancing carbs with protein and fat is what I've decided is the best way to get a shapely body; a strong, energetic body; a quick, alert brain; and a healthy cardiovascular system for living beyond age 100.


Do your research. Know where your research is coming from. Understand the motivating factors and goals of people offering you information. I will tell you to trust me - but you should only smile when I say that and let it warm your heart, knowing that I simply want to motivate you - then do your research! And when you discover good stuff - please, please, please share it with the world! Be healthy, happy and beautiful - inside and out.


Debbie