Hormone regulation is an important element of muscle building and repair, and a variety of dietary supplements and formulas can enhance the body’s natural cycle of hormone production. Advanced Muscle Science has developed an anti-estrogen complex, Arom-X, to promote muscle growth and increase testosterone levels. As it reduces estrogen levels, Arom-X simultaneously increases testosterone production, supporting healthy sexual function and enhancing focus.

Estrogen Inhibitors: Who Needs ‘Em?
Having too much estrogen often leads to limited muscle growth and an inability to bulk up easily. Bodybuilders and other athletes have long sought to increase their testosterone levels to allow their muscles to grow in a relatively short time. A variety of steroid supplements promise to deliver noticeable results. New formulas have been developed in the wake of the Food and Drug Administration’s ban on prohormones in the United States, but legal hormone products such as estrogen inhibitors are still available for many bodybuilders, athletes, and fitness enthusiasts.

If you’re a man whose sex life is missing something, there could be help for you in supplement form. Which type you should try depends largely on the problem you’re having, as well as the cause. To understand how supplements may help your sex life, you first need to determine what may be the root of the problem.

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  Hormonal changes. While they’re less common in men than in women, hormonal changes do take place. Whether you call it andropause, male menopause, or a midlife crisis, it’s during this time that you can undergo hormonal changes (such as lower testosterone levels) that can play havoc with your sex life.


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  Medical conditions. Many medical conditions can cause erectile dysfunction, which interferes with the act of sex. Experience such a problem once, and you can find yourself in a maddening cycle that can test even the strongest relationship: If sexual organs don’t work properly, the mood is ruined; a fear of future difficulty can dampen your libido. (If the problem is ongoing, it’s a good idea to see your doctor, since impotence can be a symptom of a serious underlying medical condition, such as prostate cancer.) Other types of medical conditions may not directly involve sexual organs but still can interfere with sex. High blood pressure, heart conditions, and more can interfere with the ability or desire to have sex.

When you’re shopping around for a thermogenic supplement, you want to choose one whose ingredients work best with your body. Learning what the key ingredients in these fat burners can do will help you create effective short- and long-term plans. Thermogenic supplements that are free of ephedra and other dangerous stimulants may help increase your metabolism and burn calories faster.

After the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned ephedra from the market, manufacturers of dietary supplements began researching alternative ingredients that could imitate the same reaction without harmful side effects. Now thermogenic formulas are made with a number of herbal extracts and synthetic ingredients.

Common Ingredients and Properties
Thermogenic supplements contain a variety of ingredients that can suppress the appetite, stimulate the nervous system, increase blood circulation, and even improve mood. While the FDA has not approved most of these supplements and ingredients, many do present themselves as “all natural” and “safe.” Understanding how each ingredient affects your body will help you make a better choice of supplement. We’ll cover some common ingredients in these supplements.

Recently the American Dietetic Association issued a warning about the dangers of mixing energy drinks with exercise. They cautioned that drinking energy drinks during workouts can increase the risk of dehydration or cause other problems, such as heart palpitations. Reaction to this report has been swift—in some cases even prompting schools to ban the drinks at athletic events and at school-sponsored activities.
But what’s the real story on energy drinks? What’s in them, and how much danger do they really pose when used during exercise and sports?

What’s in an Energy Drink, Anyway?
Energy drinks have taken the marketplace by storm. Convenience-store coolers are loaded with popular mass-market brands like Red Bull, Vault, and RockStar. Established nutritional supplement makers have been quick to jump into the market as well, marketing their own drinks, like FUZE’s Mega Energy, CytoSport’s Xcyto Energy Drink, Twinlab’s Energy Fuel, and others.

In recent years, overweight and obesity have become a public health problem affecting adults and children at record rates. Of course, as more people become overweight, more develop weight-related health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. While dieting alone can mitigate a weight problem, it really isn’t the best long-term solution. Successful weight management, so important to overall health, hinges on making positive dietary changes and increasing physical activity. Muscle Milk can be a valuable part of this process.

Protect Yourself
CytoSport created Muscle Milk to help the body burn fat while building muscle mass. Because this supplement offers nutrients targeted toward building and repairing muscle, including it as a component of your weight-management exercise plan will help support your increased physical activity. If you’re a physical-fitness neophyte, it’s important for you to understand that protecting yourself from muscle strain can be just as important as building muscle and burning fat.

Nearly 15 million American adults will have at least one major depressive episode in their lives. With depression being the leading cause of work disability in younger adults, this illness has a tremendous impact on productivity for all industries. Approved for use in the United States in 1987, Prozac quickly became one of the most prescribed drugs for depression. Also known by its scientific name, fluoxetine, Prozac increases the level of serotonin in the body. An increase in serotonin levels causes mood stabilization. While Prozac is most commonly used for depression, it has also been approved for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and premenstrual syndrome. Other names for Prozac are Fontex, Seromex, Seronil, Sarafem, and Fluctin.

It’s Not All Rosy
Though it’s safe and effective for most patients, Prozac does have potentially harmful side effects. The most widely reported of these are:

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  Neurological: Headache, dizziness, tremor, seizure, restlessness, fatigue, abnormal vision, and decreased libido.


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  Gastrointestinal: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dry mouth, heartburn, upset stomach, and constipation.


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  Psychological: Insomnia, anxiety, and agitation.


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  Cardiovascular: Heart rhythm abnormalities and high blood pressure.


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  General: Flu-like symptoms, fever, excessive sweating, yawning, weight loss, and rash.

Bodybuilders and other athletes have turned to dietary supplements and even steroids to complement their muscle-building training programs. Increased muscle mass can equate to improved strength and flexibility, but building muscle rapidly can be challenging. Maximizing muscle gains often requires dietary changes, supplements, and nutritional support from other compounds.
Anabolic steroids are an illegal form of supplementation for muscle gains in athletic competition, and now many athletes turn to alternatives for achieving the muscle gains they need. A-Bomb, from MHP, offers a unique, legal formula that may trigger anabolic action in the body. A-Bomb is designed to manipulate specific muscle growth regulators in the DNA of cells. By working at the cellular level, A-Bomb may trigger just the right mechanisms to create an anabolic environment.

Many users of N.O.-Xplode claim that the nitric oxide (NO) booster loses its effects after just a few weeks. While results vary for everyone using the supplement, the general recommendations are to cycle it so your body won’t readily adapt to the supplement or your training program. Cycling a supplement is important throughout a training period, helping the body avoid falling into the familiarization stages where supplements have little or no effect. N.O.-Xplode can be best used on a cycle of 12 weeks on and 4 weeks off, enabling users to recover easily and maximize their gains.
Still, N.O.-Xplode’s initial effects may not last longer than the first few weeks. Why does this happen, and how can you maximize your gains with minimal side effects?

Here’s a familiar scene: You’re grocery shopping with your kids after picking them up from school. You’re browsing the cereal aisle, turning boxes around to gauge and compare their nutritional value. The kids are picking up the most sugary, fluffy confections and tossing them into the cart behind your back. At the register, you smile apologetically at the cashier, shoot your kids a stern glance, and ask if you can leave the junk there. Next week, you repeat the process.
But what if you could find a snack that offers a much-needed energy boost (not to mention antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals) and comes in such enticing flavors as Chocolate Peanut Crunch, Cookies ‘n Cream, Double Fudge Brownie, and Black Forest Cake? What if your kids loved it? Enter Promax Bars, the supplement solution that has consistently outscored its competitors 12 to 1 on taste, mouth, feel, and general satisfaction for the past 11 years.

A few years ago, carb was considered a four-letter word. Today, diet gurus have eased up on their carb bashing and are actually encouraging us to eat the right carbs … in moderation, of course. But if only there were a way to have your cake and eat it, too—without all the guilt of excess carb consumption. Well, there may be, to a point.
First of all, you do need some carbohydrates in your diet, since they’re the preferred source of energy for your muscles and brain. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans are healthy sources of complex carbohydrates. If these types of foods were our only source of carbs, we probably wouldn’t have the obesity problem we do today. Unfortunately, most of us like to eat products made with refined sugar and flour that are loaded with empty calories, and it’s easy to overindulge in these types of carbohydrates. This can be especially dangerous if you have diabetes or glucose intolerance. Even if you’re trying to adhere to a traditional low-carb diet, there are times when you might slip up and have some bread with dinner. Could a “carb blocker” erase the consequences of your actions?