Army Deaths Spur Campaign Against Supplements

'nuff said.

Mr./Ms. Moderator, you can now close the thread.

I DONT THINK SO

The supplements are a serious issue. DS saw numerous heat casulaties during IBOLC last summer that he thought were linked to supplements. His words "They suck the water right out of you." I think we need to talk about this "crap"
This general is actually doing something about it and should be commended.
 
My bad Norwich. You are correct.

I was making the point that there should be no discussion as to the utility or efficacy of nutritional "supplements". They are worse than "crap" and those who hawk them should be regarded accordingly.
 
My bad Norwich. You are correct.

I was making the point that there should be no discussion as to the utility or efficacy of nutritional "supplements". They are worse than "crap" and those who hawk them should be regarded accordingly.


All is good:thumb:
 
At times in the past, I know my son has used some of the protein powder type of supplements (that I think are a waste of money at best) but stays away from the pre-workout supplements such as the Jack-3D in the article. His comments about those are you have to be an idiot or really uninformed to take that stuff.
 
At times in the past, I know my son has used some of the protein powder type of supplements (that I think are a waste of money at best) but stays away from the pre-workout supplements such as the Jack-3D in the article. His comments about those are you have to be an idiot or really uninformed to take that stuff.

Your DS is wise. My DS always relied on heavy quantities of PJ sandwiches and cheese burgers to add bulk.
 
I used Jack3D (with the DMAA I believe), No-Explode, Muscle tech/pharm and Rampage quite a bit in college and they sold it in large quantities on post. It was a great pick-me-up to a workout when you were tired or needed an extra pump. I used it solely with strength training and never in a military field training or cardio capacity. I also always brought a large gallon of water to the gym whenever I took any pre-workout. There will always be those who ignore warning labels and such but that doesn't mean a class of products needs to be demonized.

Protein powder and mass gainer are not gimmicks. If taken properly with a balanced diet you can surpass muscle gaining goals easily. They have been tested and proven very efficient for an athletes diet (especially a busy one). During my frosh year of ROTC I was 135 and during that summer I lifted hard with protein and mass gainer pushing me to 160. Currently I now sit at 5'11 185.

Many people who SERIOUSLY (and I am not talking ROTC or Ranger challenge type of workouts) lift in college or elsewhere take some sort of pre-workout. The key is moderation, hydration, gauging the intensity of workout and cyclical rotation of the supplement.

Just my opinion though, but I would venture to guess these soldiers used the product in a high high dose or had some underlying health issue. I knew guys who simply didn't cycle it and would be taking up to 5 scoops to get the effect and I would agree that is NOT healthy. The article suggest that the injuries and deaths occurred during field or physical training. Both training situations require at least moderate cardio which is a terrible idea to sustain a jacked up HR that's already elevated from the workout. It's not advantageous nor smart to use the product in this way...
 
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Whenever I walked the passageways of Chase Hall, I was always amazed at the number of cadet rooms that had one (or more) of those HUGE bottles of protein powder on their shelf.
 
I used Jack3D (with the DMAA I believe), No-Explode, Muscle tech/pharm and Rampage quite a bit in college and they sold it in large quantities on post. It was a great pick-me-up to a workout when you were tired or needed an extra pump. I used it solely with strength training and never in a military field training or cardio capacity. I also always brought a large gallon of water to the gym whenever I took any pre-workout. There will always be those who ignore warning labels and such but that doesn't mean a class of products needs to be demonized.

Protein powder and mass gainer are not gimmicks. If taken properly with a balanced diet you can surpass muscle gaining goals easily. They have been tested and proven very efficient for an athletes diet (especially a busy one). During my frosh year of ROTC I was 135 and during that summer I lifted hard with protein and mass gainer pushing me to 160. Currently I now sit at 5'11 185.

Many people who SERIOUSLY (and I am not talking ROTC or Ranger challenge type of workouts) lift in college or elsewhere take some sort of pre-workout. The key is moderation, hydration, gauging the intensity of workout and cyclical rotation of the supplement.

Just my opinion though, but I would venture to guess these soldiers used the product in a high high dose or had some underlying health issue. I knew guys who simply didn't cycle it and would be taking up to 5 scoops to get the effect and I would agree that is NOT healthy. The article suggest that the injuries and deaths occurred during field or physical training. Both training situations require at least moderate cardio which is a terrible idea to sustain a jacked up HR that's already elevated from the workout. It's not advantageous nor smart to use the product in this way...

Understood , but I wonder how many of these 19 year old kids using the supplements and even 5 hour energy read the fine print on the jars. I doubt most of them read it. We have plenty of posts here of cadets who did not understand the ROTC contract they signed. I doubt they even have any idea of the dangers. There are better ways of building bulk or staying awake through diet and exercise. There are consequences to all actions and it is playing with fire.
 
At NAPS (and I'm told by the athletic director here at the Naval Academy), a certain brand of protein powder is authorized and sold to midshipmen/NAPSters as a safer alternative. Other brands of supplementation and protein are generally off limits though.
 
Protein powder and mass gainer are not gimmicks. If taken properly with a balanced diet you can surpass muscle gaining goals easily. They have been tested and proven very efficient for an athletes diet (especially a busy one).

I agree with you completely. Protein powder and weight gainers are not at all a waste of money, when they are taken correctly with a strict lifting regiment and proper diet. After wrestling ended about 8 weeks ago, my coach gave me a workout and diet regiment that includes using whey protein and creatine daily. I have put on 15 pounds of muscle since (and I still got my 6 pack :thumb:) and I do attribute a lot of this weight gain to the supplements. I have friends who are on an identical lifting regiments but use the supplements irregularly and/or do not eat properly and they are not seeing any results.

That being said, if I were doing field training like ranger challenge, basic training, etc. I would stop using all the supplements in a heart beat because they are designed to SUPPLEMENT your diet and when you are given limited food and water they can have adverse effects, as seen in the article.

Bottom line, when it comes to supplements you need to do research and learn about what it is you are putting into your body.
 
Understood , but I wonder how many of these 19 year old kids using the supplements and even 5 hour energy read the fine print on the jars. I doubt most of them read it. We have plenty of posts here of cadets who did not understand the ROTC contract they signed. I doubt they even have any idea of the dangers. There are better ways of building bulk or staying awake through diet and exercise. There are consequences to all actions and it is playing with fire.

A lot, actually. I would be interested to see some stats on the number of users vs the number of incidents. While it is regrettable that some people got hurt because they were stupid, that is not cause for banning products that are perfectly safe when used properly and may help increase overall fitness.

or maybe you would rather guys have more money for beer, cigarettes, and all the other bad things out there that won't ever help them get stronger?
 
A lot, actually. I would be interested to see some stats on the number of users vs the number of incidents. While it is regrettable that some people got hurt because they were stupid, that is not cause for banning products that are perfectly safe when used properly and may help increase overall fitness.

or maybe you would rather guys have more money for beer, cigarettes, and all the other bad things out there that won't ever help them get stronger?

Consumer Reports
http://news.consumerreports.org/safety/2010/06/consumer-reports-protein-drink-investigation-.html

You have no idea what you are injesting. When I was your age the craze was loosing weight. A nice pill Fen-Phen was the rage. Except after a while people found that it ate away the valves of their hearts.

Anything to make a buck
 
Norwich, I appreciate you doing the heavy lifting on this one. I am in total agreement with you on all points.

One doesn't need any of that crap to be a "lean mean fighting machine". Thought you'd like the Stripes reference.
 
Norwich, I appreciate you doing the heavy lifting on this one. I am in total agreement with you on all points.

One doesn't need any of that crap to be a "lean mean fighting machine". Thought you'd like the Stripes reference.

Outstanding!!!
 
Consumer Reports
http://news.consumerreports.org/safety/2010/06/consumer-reports-protein-drink-investigation-.html

You have no idea what you are injesting. When I was your age the craze was loosing weight. A nice pill Fen-Phen was the rage. Except after a while people found that it ate away the valves of their hearts.

Anything to make a buck

The levels of mercury reported in the study (for consuming 3 servings of protein shakes a day) are comparable to the amount of mercury in a serving of tuna in many cases. Consumer reports found high levels of arsenic in apple juices being sold. MuscleMilk has their own rebuttal to the report: http://www.facebook.com/notes/cytos...-the-consumer-reports-article-on/432402750438

Bottom line? A LOT of our food out there has various levels of contaminants that we may or may not be aware of. For people using high-quality protein supplements with minimal other ingredients from good sources and only 3-5 times a week, I'm not sure the notion that all of them are more harmful than many of the things we already eat is a strong assertion. This isn't Fen-Phen, DMAA, or something similar. Many exclusively protein supplements are helpful and (just like with fish), some of the benefits of using them outweigh the negative consequences suggested.

Really, use them to complement other smart nutritional choices to include adequate rest and hydration for better results. They aren't a silver bullet.
 
I need to stop Preaching

Though, Cadets should be aware of risks. Found out DS is working with uncle who works with major Beef Jerky company on future overseas shipment of product to some well deserving troops. Oh well.
 
Norwich, you fought the good fight, you finished the race, you have kept the faith. Now proudly wear the crown of righteousness.

And go enjoy a bottle of Smart Water.
 
Norwich, you fought the good fight, you finished the race, you have kept the faith. Now proudly wear the crown of righteousness.

And go enjoy a bottle of Smart Water.

Actually I am sinking in to a FAT Beach Sandwich from the Rutgers Grease Trucks and a Diet Coke, so I can to watch the calories,

Fat Beach sandwich: cheese steak, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, French fries, ketchup, mayo, lettuce, tomato.

l.jpg
 
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