Supplement Review Volume I

I have a request for info on protein and supplements, so I'll give my two cents on these subjects.

As far as proteins, I am a big fan of Biotest's Grow, which is currently on sale at T-mag.com for $23 bucks for 2lbs. Grow is the best tasting protein I've had and they claim that it contains good protein (I can't really call it). As far as proteins go, there are some good ones out there, but try to avoid the real cheap ones and anything that contains soy.

On the topic of soy, it appears that it should be avoided at all costs and more and more studies are showing the damage that soy does to both males and females (not to mention CHILDREN that are feed it from birth). This article reviews the new book written by Kaayla T. Daniel, Ph.D called "The Whole Soy Story." Check out her website here. Once again it looks as if the food manufactures with the help of the good ol' US government are pulling a fast one.

As far as supplements go, I'm a big fan of only 5grams of creatine (usually micronized, but probably doesn't matter) for a month followed by one month off. The cycling really doesn't do much, but should allow the creatine to help you recover better after you take a week off. The latest studies are all saying that 5 grams is plenty and if you take to too much, you actually will see worse results. Creatine does help with recovery, but other than that it is not a wonder product, plus it probably does nothing for 25% of the population or so. Other than that I healthy multi-vitamin, some vitamin C and some fish oils a couple times a day round out things for me. Everything else is pretty much a waste of dinero.

Here is a sweet recently written diet article that basically out lines the plan that my brother and I follow. Then again we are both diesel and pretty ripped, so if you don't want that then don't mess. The key is to remember to eat veggies (I buy bags of the frozen stuff) or fruit with protein for every meal--5-7 times a day.

Putting 40,000 Readers, One by One, on a Cover

One of the few magazines that I subscribe to (Reason along with the Economist, URB, Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times) is going to put a satellite photo of each subscribers neighborhood on the cover. Reason is a great read and you can actually access all of the issues on-line for free (minus the current issue which comes on-line a couple weeks later).

In some respects, Reason's cover stunt is less Big Brother than one more demonstration that micromarketing is here to stay. "My son gets sports catalogs where his name is imprinted on the jerseys that are on the cover," Mr. Rotenberg said. "He thinks that's very cool."

In his editor's note describing the magazine's database package, Mr. Gillispie left open three spots - commuting time, educational attainment and percentage of children living with grandparents - so he could adapt his message to individual readers. Mr. Gillespie said that the parlor trick could have profound implications as database and printing capabilities grow.

"What if you received a magazine that only had stories and ads that you were interested in and pertained to you?" he asked. "That would be a magazine that everyone would want to read."

Wired:Steroids for Everyone!

The always exciting and thoughtful Wired headlines bring us this piece on what should be done with performance enhancing drugs. Pascal's ultimate solution is to create two leagues, one where anything goes and one where everyone is all natural. If you want you can use, if you don't want you don't have to. Freedom to chose, Amen brother, Amen.

Imagine a world where performance enhancement was open and regulated. Instead of forcing athletes to sneak through back alleys to stay competitive, sports authorities should admit that drugs are essential - then help athletes cope with the side effects. Once legalized, drug use would still have limits, but they would be established by physicians and athletes - based on their ability to handle performance enhancers. Bad outcomes would be far less frequent if players were not forced to rely on quacks (such as the former Tower of Power bassist at the center of the baseball designer steroid scandal). Innovation in performance enhancers would accelerate in the light of day. There might even be spinoff applications that would benefit you and me.

To be sure, monitoring all this would be tricky. Balancing benefits and costs is hard. So for pharmco Luddites who want a simpler world, where performance enhancers don't transform competitions and the cult of the natural still thrives, I have an answer: Create one league for the genetically engineered home-run hitter and another for the human-scale slugger. One event for the sprinter pumped up on growth hormones and another for the free-range slowpoke. One tour for the supercharged cyclist and another for the antidoping racer.