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The branch chain amino acids (L-leucine, L-isoleucine, and L-valine) are so named because of their molecular configuration. These amino acids are essential to your body, as your body cannot make them on its own. They consist of 35% of the essential aminos in muscle proteins, BCAA's are of critical importance to athletes and bodybuilders
BCAAs play a big role in promoting a positive nitrogen balance inside muscles, which helps promote new muscle growth and recovery while discouraging muscle breakdown. Plus, these coveted amino acids are reported to greatly help improve endurance and decrease fatigue perception.
And that's a big key right there. Endurance and fatigue perception. BCAA's are not metabolized in the liver like every other amino acid. Instead, they are metabolized in muscle tissue. Therefore, supplementation with BCAAs may provide your muscles with massive amounts of energy. Without enough amino acids in the pool, your body can break down muscle tissue to get the amino acids it needs. Supplementation with BCAA's may help prevent that. This is potentially why athletes on a low carbohydrate diet report higher energy levels with BCAA use.
The Power of Xylitol
Power Chews are all sweetened with Xylitol sugar alcohol, a significant ingredient that effects the health of your blood sugar, gut, dental, and overall well being. Xylitol is a sugar substitute that delivers more than just great flavor and fewer calories.
While Xylitol is just as sweet as table sugar (sucrose), it has about 40% fewer calories and 75% fewer carbohydrates. That in itself can make a big impact on your waistline! Importantly, xylitol is slowly absorbed and metabolized, resulting in very negligible changes in insulin. Xylitol therefore won’t raise your blood sugar like regular sugar, which puts tremendous strain on your system, causing negative health effects.
Xylitol Dental Benefits/Antibacterial Qualities
More than a mere substitute, Xylitol appears to be a valuable adjunctive modality in dental care. Clinical and field tests demonstrated dramatic reductions in new tooth decay, along with arrest and even some reversal of existing dental cavities. This xylitol effect is long-lasting and possibly permanent. (10 Low decay rates persist even years after trials have been completed.). Xylitol has the interesting property that it causes bacteria on the surface of a membrane to become dislodged so they can be washed away.
Clinically Proven Effects of Xylitol"
Inhibits plaque and dental cavities by 80%
Retards demineralization of tooth enamel
Promotes remineralization of tooth enamel
Increases saliva production
Relieves dry mouth (xerostomia)
Protects salivary proteins, has a protein-stabilizing effect, Improves breath odor
Reduces infections in the mouth and nasopharynx (5,11,12,13)
Advantages of using xylitol:
improves diabetes and carbohydrate sensitivity
improve blood sugar control
Excellent taste, versatility and equivalent sweetness
Low calorie
Very low glycemic index
Minimal effect on blood sugar and insulin levels
Slow, steady release of energy
Antiketogenic - lowers serum free fatty acid levels and improves peripheral glucose utilization
Increases absorption of B vitamins and calcium
Improves dental health
Inhibits yeast, including Candida Albicans
Decreases glycation of proteins, reduces AGEs
Reduces carbohydrate cravings and binge eating (16,17)
Xylitol Aids Weight Loss
Xylitol slows stomach-emptying and its low glycemic index and mostly insulin-independent metabolism makes it ideal for maintaining steady levels of insulin and blood sugar. This increases satiety and reduces bingeing. Xylitol is incompletely absorbed, and only a portion of what is absorbed slowly converts to glucose. An important added bonus of xylitol metabolism is the activation of the glutathione antioxidant system which helps to squelch free radicals generated by heavy exercise, thereby reducing oxidative damage to muscle and blood cells. Because xylitol is efficiently and steadily converted to glucose (energy) and glycogen (storage) it may be particularly useful when coupled with other carbohydrates for recovery after heavy exercise. Likewise, it may be valuable for carbohydrate loading (super-compensating) by packing glycogen after a depletion phase.
Xylitol used between meals maintains a steady trickle of energy. Unabsorbed xylitol acts like dietary fiber, helping to maintain healthy gut function. Partial bacterial fermentation here produces volatile short chain fatty acids that are utilized along existing insulin-independent energy pathways.
Xylitol for Athletes and Bodybuilders
Developing lean muscle mass involves increasing anabolism (build-up) while minimizing catabolism (breakdown) of muscle protein. These are well-documented xylitol effects in conditions of stress and trauma. It is not known yet how well these findings will translate for athletes and bodybuilders, but the possibilities look promising.
Summary of Xylitol Benefits
Xylitol has been shown to contribute to increased bone density, weight loss, stabilization of blood sugar and lowering of insulin levels. Additional benefits include:
Increases energy by enhancing ATP production
Increases utilization of fat
Replenishes glycogen
Anabolic — keeps biosynthetic pathways open
Anticatabolic —helps maintain lean muscle mass
Antioxidant —generates NADPH, keeping glutathione in an active state
Increases endurance
Reduces free radical and oxidative damage
To be effective, 4 to 12 grams of xylitol per day are needed The suggested use for xylitol is 3-5 times daily between meals. Increasing benefits level off at around 15 grams per day. The safety of xylitol has been extensively tested. To date, it is completely devoid of adverse effects.
One serving of PowerChews provides your body with over 5g of xylitol, meaning you only need 2-3 servings between meals each day, with delicious body-building candy that maintains dental, blood glucose, gut and overall health coupled with the delivery of a full efficacious dose of BCAAs!
References
1. David Williams, How Sweet It Isnt!. Alternatives, June 99;185-8.
2. Makinen KK. Biochemical principles of the use of xylitol in medicine and nutrition with special consideration of dental aspects. Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, 1978.
3. Aminoff C. New carbohydrate sweeteners. In Sugars in Nutrition (Sipple HL, McNutt KW, eds), Chapter 10, Academic Press, New York 1974.
4. Makinen KK. Latest dental studies on xylitol and mechanism of action of xylitol in caries limitation. In Progress in Sweeteners (Grenby TH, ed.), Chapter 13, Elsevier, London 1989.
5. John Peldyak, Xylitol, Sweeten Your Smile, Sweet Smart (Mt Pleasant, MI: Advanced Developments Inc., 1996).
6. Bar, A., Xylitol. In: Alternative Sweeteners, L. OBrien Nabors & R.C. Gelardi eds., Marcel Dekker, Inc., N.Y., 1986.
7. Life Sciences Research Office, 1986. Health aspects of sugar alcohols and lactose. Report prepared for the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and
Drug Administration, Washington, D.C., under contract No. FDA 223-83-2020 by the Life Sciences Research Office, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), Bethesda, Md.
8. Office of the Federal Register, General Services Administration, 1987. Code of Federal Regulations. Title 21. S. 172. (395. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing
Office.
9. WHO/FAO Evaluation of certain food additives and contaminants, Twenty-seventh Report of the joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, Geneva, WHO Technical Report Series No .696, 1983.
10. Isokangas, P.; Alanen, P.; Tiekso, J.; and Makinen, K.K. 1989, Long-term effect of xylitol chewing gum on dental caries. Community Dent. Oral Epidemia: 200.
11. Soderling, E.; Makinen, K.K.; Chen, C-Y; Pape, Jr., H.R.; Makinen, P-L, Effect of Sorbitol, xylitol and xylitol/sorbitol chewing gums on dental plaque. Journal of Dental
Research, Vol.67, Special Issue, Abstract 1334, 1988.
12. Tufts University School of Dental Medicine: Dry Mouth, 1986 13. Makinen KK, Soderling E. Solubility of Calcium salts, enamel, and hydroxyapatite in aqueous solutions
of simple carbohydrates. Calcif Tissue Int (1984) 36:64-71
14. Svanberg M, Knuuttila M. Dietary xylitol prevents ovariectomy-induced changes of bone inorganic fraction in rats. Bone Miner (1994) 26:81-88
15. Uhari M, Kontiokari T, Koskela M, Niemela M. Xylitol chewing gum in prevention of acute otitis www. double blind randomized trial. Br Med J (1996) 313:1180-1184.
16. Brunzell, John D., Use of fructose, xylitol, or sorbitol as a sweetener in diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care, Vol. 1, No. 4, July-August 1978.
17. Makinen KK. Dietary prevention of dental caris by xylitol- clinical effectiveness and safety. Journal of Applied Nutrition (1992) 44:16-28.
18. Scheinen A, Banoczy J, Szokes J, et al: Collaborative WHO xylitol field studies in Hungary. Acta Odontol Scand 1985;43:327-347.
19. Kandelman D, Bar A, Hefti A: Collaborative WHO xylitol field study in French Polynesia. Caries Res 1988;22(1):55-62.
20. Kandelman D, Gagnon G: J Dent Res 1987;66(8): 1407-1411.
21. Isokangas P, Alanen P, Tiekso J, Makinen KK. Xylitol chewing gum in caries prevention. A field study in children at caries-active ages. J Am Dent Assoc 1988.
22. Makinen, KK, et al. Belize Chewing Gum Study 1989-1993. Journal of Dental Research 1995;74(12):1904.
