Health Supplement

Calcium is known best of all it’s benefits as a promoter of healthy and strong bones. Too little calcium and you can’t relax your muscles. Bad relaxation, makes for less potential energy and so on and ultimately for less than satisfactory contraction. Bad contraction equals bad workouts and no growth. Calcium is also very important in fat metabolization, so no cigar for the people who claim milk is fattening. It makes for less fat storage and better use of present macronutrients in the blood.
The best sources of calcium, aside from supplements, can be found in dairy products, products fortified with calcium, salmon, beans and broccoli.

Inadequate intakes of dietary calcium from food and supplements produce no obvious symptoms in the short term. Circulating blood levels of the nutrient, for example, are tightly regulated. Hypocalcemia results primarily from medical problems or treatments, including renal failure, surgical removal of the stomach, and use of certain medications (such as diuretics). Symptoms of hypocalcemia include numbness and tingling in the fingers, muscle cramps, convulsions, lethargy, poor appetite, and abnormal heart rhythms. If left untreated, calcium deficiency leads to death.
Groups at risk of calcium inadequacy:
1. Postmenopausal women
2. Amenorrheic women and the female athlete triad
3. Individuals with lactose intolerance
4. Vegetarians

Adequate Intakes (AIs) for Calcium

Potential benefits of calcium supplementation:
1. Bone health and osteoporosis
2. Blood pressure and hypertension
3. Cancer of the colon and rectum. Supplementation with calcium carbonate has led to reductions in the risk of adenoma (a nonmalignant tumor) in the colon, a precursor to cancer.
4. Cancer of the prostate
5. Kidney stones
6. Weight management

Excessively high levels of calcium in the blood known as hypercalcemia impair kidney function, and lead to reduced absorption of other essential minerals, such as iron, zinc, magnesium, and phosphorus.

Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) for Calcium

Some individuals who take calcium supplements might experience gas, bloating, constipation, or a combination of these symptoms. Such symptoms can often be resolved by spreading out the calcium dose throughout the day, taking the supplement with meals, or changing the brand of supplement used.

Source:
http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/calcium.asp

http://www.trulyhuge.com/calcium_supplement.html

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Amino acids are essential to the human body. They build the cells, repair tissues, are responsible for the production of enzymes, and play a key role in mental health. All amino acids are essential for proper protein synthesis. A shortage of even one amino acid can cause protein synthesis to be greatly reduced and it can stop altogether if left untreated.

Amino Acids Supplement come in the form of pills, capsules, or powders containing a particular concoction of amino acids. Most amino acid supplements are sold as anabolic agents to help in body-building; arginine and ornithine are two constituents frequently promoted as ‘natural steroids’ (a distinctly misleading name since they are chemically very different from steroids).

Since amino acids are the building blocks of protein, the main component of muscle, many people believe that just by taking extra amino acids they can develop larger muscles. However, a muscle grows only in response to extra physical demands placed on it.

Bodybuilders can especially benefit from supplementing amino acids because they aid in repair, growth, and development of muscle tissue.

Overconsumption causes health risks. Unbalanced amino acid mixtures or single amino acids may be toxic. If amino-acid supplements are used as the basis of a high-protein, low fat diet they can be downright dangerous because they can cause abnormal heart rhythms.
One and one-half grams of powder three times a day should be sufficient to provide the body with an adequate supply of available amino acids to assist in digesting food and bulking up. There are no side effects with proper supplementation.

Source:
http://www.nutritional-supplements-health-guide.com/amino-acid-basics.html

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/amino.html

Fish Oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. It contains the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), precursors to eicosanoids that reduce inflammation throughout the body.

Fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, flounder, albacore tuna and salmon may be high in omega-3 fatty acids, but due to their position at the top of the food chain, these species can accumulate toxic, because it contaminants such as mercury, dioxin, PCBs and chlordane.

The preferred source of omega-3 should be from the fish’s body, not the liver. The liver and liver products (such as cod liver oil) of fish and many animals (such as seals and whales) contain omega-3, but also the active form of vitamin A. At high levels, this form of the vitamin can be dangerous.

What are the benefits of taking an omega 3 Fish Oil supplement?

• Lowers blood triglyceride levels
• Can help regulate cholesterol in the body
• Reduces the risk of heart attack
• Reduces the risk of dangerous abnormal heart rhythms
• Reduces the risk of strokes
• Lowers blood pressure
• Several studies report possible anti-cancer effects of n?3 fatty acids found in fish oil (particularly breast, colon and prostate cancer). Omega-3 fatty acids reduced prostate cancer growth, slowed histopathological progression, and increased survival.

The FDA recommends no more than 3 grams of combined EPA and DHA per day. Intake of 3 grams per day or greater of omega-3 fatty acids may increase the risk of bleeding, although there is little evidence of significant bleeding risk at lower doses. Very large intakes of fish oil/omega-3 fatty acids may increase the risk of hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_oil, http://www.intense-workout.com/fish_oil.html