Protein is essential to life. All the body tissues and organs are built by protein. It is for good reason, then, that body builders take protein powders to help them develop and tone muscles. Weightlifters take protein to gain greater strength. Under-weight people take protein to gain weight. Thus, protein is a multi-purpose supplement for better health, stronger muscles and stout bodies.

In recent years, scientists have studied the role of specific types of protein on improved immunity, maintenance of good health increased life span. Research has shown that these proteins have profound effects on human metabolism. The particular focus of research has been a milk protein called whey. What is whey protein? Cow's milk contains roughly 6% protein of which 20% is whey. Ordinarily, the term whey protein refers to the milk proteins remained after cheese is made.

Whey protein has been the favorite of bodybuilders for quite some time now, since it is proven to be the best protein for tissue repair and muscle building. Whey is a complete protein, because it contains all the essential and nonessential amino acids. Whey protein also contains a large percentage of branched-chain amino acids. Normally, whey protein is enzymatically digested to make all the amino acids available for absorption in the body to exert their beneficial effects.

Whey protein has been shown to increase the amounts of human growth hormone (HGH), which is necessary to maintain the lean body mass while keeping the fat tissue in a check and maintains bone density. The amount of HGH induced by whey protein depends directly on quality and quantity of protein in the diet and in nutritional supplements. In addition, whey protein digest also improves immunity in order for the body to fend against opportunistic infections and to maintain high levels of body's own antioxidants. It also normalizes body's cholesterol to within normal range.

All life depends on proteins. Proteins carry out all biological functions in living organisms including humans. Proteins are made of amino acids, which are their basic building blocks. Essentially, amino acids are strung like beads in long chains in proteins. In the body, proteins are made from individual amino acids. Therefore, nutritional supplementation with amino acids ensures that all cells, tissues and organs in the body have a ready supply of amino acids.

 These amino acids, of course, provide the body with the support to produce proteins. Amino acids, however, carry out other important functions. Nutritional supplementation keeps the amino acid supply in the bloodstream within healthy range. Under some circumstances, such as stress whether it is due to high-intensity exercise or other reasons, amino acids in the blood can be depleted so that important substances in the body cannot be produced in the right amounts at the right time in the right place. For example, if serotonin cannot be synthesized in the brain, ordinary stress may be aggravated to depression. Some amino acids, such as glycine, glutamine and, among others arginine, combine with and neutralize toxins. This is of paramount importance for liver health, since detoxification takes place in the liver. People suffering from abnormal liver function, chronic arthritis, and excessive chemical exposure usually have poor amino acid profile. Branched chain amino acids (BCAA), valine, isoleucine and leucine, greatly aid detoxification and liver function. Hence, supplementation with amino acids is critical for restoration of appropriate amounts of amino acids, which help foster better health.

Ultimate Nutrition's Amino Gold also contains sulfur-containing amino acids methionine and cysteine. These amino acids have been shown to help prolong life span. Typically, as people age, the amounts of these two amino acids decreases considerably. Since dietary supplementation with cysteine prolonged the life span of guinea pigs, a report in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that maintaining optimal levels of methionine and cysteine could potentially promote longevity in humans.

Ultimate Nutrition's Amino Gold is a full-spectrum amino acid nutritional aid to that help maintain optimal levels of amino acids in the bloodstream and promote good health at any stage of life.

Hormones are central to human health and vitality. Hormonal balance in the body is essential to vibrancy, optimism and, indeed, the quality of life. In the hormonal network, no hormone plays a more critical role than human growth hormone. Growth hormone, as the name suggests, is necessary for growth in the formative years of puberty and teen years. After the human body has attained its adult size, its levels begin to dwindle ever so gradually. By the seventh decade of human life, the amount of growth hormone is reduced considerably. Decreased amounts of growth hormone lead to a number of symptoms that can cause chronic diseases. For example, reduced amounts of growth hormone result in a decrease of lean body mass, an increase of the adipose tissue, high levels of cholesterol, obesity, compromised immune function, and could contribute to psychological symptoms, such as depression. This indicates the importance of growth hormone in maintenance of health.

The benefits of growth hormone are not only for the elderly whose ability to produce it naturally reduces with age. Growth hormone is essential for people of all age groups, but especially for the athlete and those exercise regularly. Stimulation of the body to produce growth hormone naturally can, therefore, have immense health benefits both to maintain good health but also to fend against the aging process. Thus, induction of growth hormone could potentially help delay the onset of age-related frailties.

For certain, there are magic bullets to help the body produce growth hormone. The human body, however, is pliable enough to be primed to produce and secrete growth hormone in requisite amounts. Even though there is no substitute for regular exercise, which helps produce growth hormone, Ultimate Nutrition's Arginine Ornithine Lysine is designed to help produce growth hormone to ensure all its health benefits. These amino acids are known to induce growth hormone.

These amino acids function in a synchronized manner to block the growth hormone inhibitor, somatostatin. Whereas both arginine and lysine have been shown in clinical studies to induce growth hormone, their effect is potentiated in the presence of ornithine. Even though the body can produce ornithine from dietary arginine, which cannot be produced by the body. Clinical studies have demonstrated that ornithine in combination with arginine and lysine works best in younger individuals, especially those on an active exercise regimen. This "stacking" of amino acids has many health benefits for people in all age groups.

The importance of growth hormone can hardly be overemphasized. In its commitment to provide high-quality products to its customers, Ultimate Nutrition now has this amino acid cocktail to induce the secretion of growth hormone naturally without the need for pharmacological doses of recombinant growth hormone. Arginine Ornithine Lysine is an obvious choice to promote health and wellbeing at all stages of adult life.

One of the challenges in maintaining focus during intense training and physical exercise is mental fatigue. Whereas most athletes worry about and take corrective action to ward against muscle fatigue, mental fatigue must be combated as well. In fact, recent research has placed increasing emphasis on mental fatigue during exercise. This mental fatigue is commonly referred to as central fatigue because of the involvement of the central nervous system. While central fatigue does not affect muscles, it can reduce the capacity to perform optimally.

There is a correlation between the amino acid tryptophan in the brain and the degree of mental fatigue. Upon entry into the brain, tryptophan has the ability to "calm" the central nervous system, causing sleep and drowsiness. Normally, there are sufficient amounts of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) circulating in the bloodstream to control the entry of tryptophan into the brain. During long-term and sustained exercise, however, muscles use large amounts of amino acids as a source for energy. The body prefers to use BCAAs for energy, since they readily replace glucose in the energy production pathways. As muscles begin to use BCAAs, the amounts of these amino acids drop, which allows tryptophan to enter the brain, inducing fatigue and tiredness. Research shows that supplementation with branched-chain amino acids can prevent central fatigue by tightly regulating the influx of tryptophan to the brain. Supplementation before and during exercise has been proven to enhance performance.

Branched-chain amino acids include leucine, isoleucine and valine. These amino acids are needed for the maintenance of muscle tissue during physical stress and intense exercise. From the perspective of athletes, BCAAs function as anabolic agents and induce sparing, which allows the body to burn fat and not muscle.

Nutrient needs often increase faster than calorie needs in athletes. Ultimate Nutrition is committed to providing athletes with the best products to fulfill exactly those needs. Ultimate Nutrition's 100% Crystalline BCAA is one product designed to increase endurance, lengthen the time to fatigue and improve performance.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid, abbreviated as GABA, is an amino acid that is produced in the brain. It is formed by glutamic acid in the body with the help of vitamin B6, and prevents nerve cells from firing too much and, thus, having a claming effect. As such, GABA serves as a neurotransmitter.

In the body, GABA is found in large amounts in the hypothalamus suggesting that this amino acid plays a crucial role in the hypothalamic-pituitary function. The hypothalamus is a region on the back of the brain, which regulates the instinctive functions, such as sleep cycles, body temperature and the activity of the pituitary gland. The pituitary is the master endocrine gland that affects all hormonal functions of the body. One primary hormone produced in and secreted by the pituitary is growth hormone, which is of great interest to the athlete. GABA is an excellent substitute for growth hormone or "stacking" with other amino acids and nutrients to give more strength and afford faster recovery after intense exercise.

Several clinical studies have shown that ingestion of GABA releases growth hormone, especially after exercise, with remarkable effectiveness. Release of growth hormone increases lean body mass. Consequently, it is an invaluable nutritional supplement for body builders, powerlifters, runners, martial artists, and other athletes of all shades.

In addition, because of its calming and soothing effects, GABA also lowers blood pressure, helps control hypoglycemia, prevents anxiety and promotes restful sleep. To an extent, it also regulates appetite, which is helpful in maintaining optimal weight.

GABA is best taken before going to sleep on a relatively empty stomach. Empty stomach means approximately 45 minutes after the ingestion of the day's last meal. Intake of GABA at bed time makes it work with the body's natural rhythms for increased growth hormone production, which happens roughly 90 minutes after the onset of sleep. The evening intake of GABA correlates with GABA's effect to induce restful and refreshing sleep.

Even though the effect of GABA varies from individual to individual, the beneficial effects may be discernible within two weeks, but its full impact may be noticed after six to eight weeks.

Thus, GABA packs a great deal of punch in one amino acid that has numerous beneficial effects, and promotes general wellbeing relatively quickly.

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