STAY AWAY FROM THESE
Many bodybuilders have looked on ginseng, first identified as useful in Chinese medicine, as
a mild tonic that increases workout intensity and recovery ability, but I’ve found it largely useless
to the bodybuilder. It also seems to adversely affect testosterone levels in the body and may
thus set the athlete back in training to some degree.
Likewise, bee pollen and royal jelly have not been proven to present any anabolic or growth
advantages. Though they may eventually provide some medicinal benefits, they’re of little use
with training or the Anabolic Diet.
It’s also important to note that Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT’s) get a big thumbs down
for use in the Anabolic Diet. Very few foods actually contain MCT’s, but you’ll find many people
are very big on MCT supplements, most of which are derived from coconut oil. They’ll say,
“It’s fat, why can’t we use it?” but it basically bypasses the whole energy pathway we’re trying to
establish with the Anabolic Diet and can be very counterproductive.
MCT’s can be of great use on a diet high in complex carbs because of its protein sparing
effects. But on the Anabolic Diet, the body, instead of using the long chain fatty acids that make
up most body fat, uses the MCT’s. The body ends up bypassing the very metabolic processes
that the Anabolic Diet sets up: to burn its own fat and use the long chain fatties as a primary
energy source.
The long chain triglycerides utilized in the Anabolic Diet also have several advantages over
the MCT’s. They have an even greater protein-sparing effect than the MCT’s. And along with
decreasing the formation of bodyfat, which the MCT’s also do, they increase the amount of
existing bodyfat broken down and greatly decrease bodyfat levels.
A lot of people will be tempted to run down to the health food store and buy some MCT’s
to be used on this diet, but don’t bite. They’ll actually work against the diet in terms of muscle
production and fat breakdown.
I also wouldn’t put any trust in those manufacturers of herbal and plant products who advertise
that their products contain natural testosterone or have the ability to increase natural testosterone
production and thus serve as a substitute for anabolic steroids. The fact is that no plant or herb,
with the possible exception of truffles (which contain Androst-16-en-3-ol), contains testosterone
or even any derivatives that the body can transform into useful hormones for growth. The steroids
contained in these products are plant sterols, not the anabolic type humans can use.
It’s also important to note that some of the compounds advertised may also end up having a
negative effect on muscularity and performance. Beta-sitosterol, one of the most plentiful
phytoestrogens found in alcoholic beverages, can actually work against the male athlete.
Nicotine is also used by some athletes in the belief it will increase performance. It can enter
the body through smoking, chewing tobacco or snuff, nicotine gum, or by nicotine patches.
Smoking is the most common and least desirable way to take nicotine. When combined with
the over 2000 other chemical substances in a cigarette, nicotine acts as an irritant and cancer-
causing agent. It can also decrease the lungs’ ability to clean themselves. Lung disease and cancer
SUPPLEMENTATION 63