Veracious Fitness and Gaming, LLC

08/31/2021

Did you know that the calories on the Nutrition Facts can legally be off as much as 20 percent? This is just one way companies can manipulate food labels to make their products seem healthier. Learn more about this and other labeling tactics that companies can use to deceive you in this weeks blog post.

Have you ever wondered why cooking spray is zero calories? What would you think if I told you this was a lie? You might think this is impossible since we should have laws against such dishonest claims. That is what the FDA is for, right? Unfortunately, the rules and regulations around the accuracy o

07/21/2021

(New Blog Post) Blue light from electronics is frequently blamed for disrupting sleep and damaging eye sight. This can be alarming for those that spend the majority of their time in front of a computer or other devices. Is this fear justified? Learn the truth about blue light along with 9 easy to follow blue light tips in this weeks blog post.

We are told that blue light from electronic can disrupt sleep and damage eye sight. This can be alarming for those that spend the majority of their time in front of a computer. I’ve seen a lot of advice around blue light exposure, but there is one problem. Some of the most cited advice is not actu...

07/07/2021

(New Blog Post) 7 Most Overrated Exercises – The last thing you want to do is waste your time on ineffective exercises. Today's blog post covers my list of some of the biggest offenders and why they should be ditched for other exercises.

The last thing you want to do is waste your time on exercises that are ineffective. Unfortunately, the internet and social media has turned many into “experts” who simply parrot exercises others promote without actually knowing the purpose of such exercises. This leads many of us to believe that...

06/10/2021

Supplement Quick Review: Glucuronolactone

Glucuronolactone claims to increase energy and improve focus and is found in energy drinks and gamer performance supplements. Does the research agree with its effectiveness?

The amount of research is pretty overwhelming with a total of ZERO human studies. That is right. There is no human research I could find that even remotely supports these claims.

The closest thing we have for human research are studies that tested caffeinated energy drinks that include glucuronolactone as an ingredient, but there is no way of knowing if glucuronolactone contributes anything when tested along with other ingredients.

Final Conclusion: Glucuronolactone is useless to supplement with based on the lack of evidence. Its inclusions in performance supplements shouldn't be a deciding factor in using them. Only when more (or any) research comes out can we makes any real claims to glucuronolactone's effectiveness.

06/01/2021

(New Blog Post) Meal Replacements: Healthy or Junk? Like with many foods, there is no one size fits all answer. Find out what can make a meal replacement a healthy option in this weeks blog post.

One of the most asked questions I get about nutritious foods: What are my thoughts on meal replacement supplements? I assume this is because they tend to resemble junk food in that they are often processed and convenient. Does this mean they are junk food? There is no one size fits all answer to thi

05/19/2021

Supplement Quick Review: Taurine

Taurine is thought to work synergistically with caffeine to improved physical and cognitive performance and is found in pre-workouts and energy drinks. Does the research agree with its effectiveness?

I analyzed two systematic reviews on taurine. One used a meta-analysis to examine physical performance effects while the other examined the cognitive effects.

The meta-analysis only found 10 studies that examined taurine in isolation that weren't animal studies. Out of the 10 there were 7 that tested for time to exertion (TTE) and the rest tested other performance measures.

It did show a small-to-moderate improvement to TTE which suggests taurine might improve endurance, but the lack of research is too limited to draw strong conclusions. Research is so limited that there is no way to determine if taurine is effective for any other performance measures or even what an optimal dose is.

What about cognitive performance? The amount of evidence here is even worst. The systematic review was only able to find 4 studies that examined taurine's effect here. The worst part, the limited research suggests that taurine might actually counteract the effects of caffeine. The evidence for this isn't strong at this time, but it is something to consider.

Final Conclusion: Taurine doesn't have enough evidence to justify supplementing it for either physical or cognitive performance. You might even consider avoiding products that use it along with caffeine in case it does hinder caffeine's effect.

Research Sources:
https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/72/suppl_1/48/1929962?login=true
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-018-0896-2
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Simo-Oja/publication/5246230_Pharmacology_of_Taurine/links/02bfe50f0b430c5023000000/Pharmacology-of-Taurine.pdf
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1024/taurine

05/12/2021

(New Blog Post) Vegetable-Haters Veggie Solution: Did you know only 1 in 10 American adults consume enough veggies? If you dislike veggies then consider reading this weeks blog post for ways to get more veggies in your diet.

Do you hate vegetables, but know you should be eating more of them? Vegetables are important because they provide essential vitamins and minerals as well as fiber which is important for digestive health. It might be surprising to hear, but I am not really a huge fan of them either. If there is one t

05/05/2021

Supplement Quick Review: Caffeine Dosage

Are you consuming too much caffeine? Research clearly shows caffeine can boost physical and cognitive performance, but what does it say about effective dosages?

Bad news first. Dosage is highly dependent on the person. Several biological and environmental factors can determine caffeine sensitivity. Recommendations are based on averages, but it takes personal testing to figure out your optimal dose.

That said, let's start with physical performance. The average optimal dose is around 3 mg per kg of body weight. That's approximately 200 mg for a 150 pound person. This can vary from 1.5 - 6 mg per kg of body weight between individuals.

Cognitive performance requires a lower dose. Optimal doses range from 0.5 – 4 mg per kg of body weight. This is approximately 33 – 300 mg for a 150 pound person.

Do higher doses provide greater benefits? This isn't the case. Higher doses have no extra effect or a negative effect. Physical performance may decline with as little as 450 mg and cognitive functions may decline with doses higher than 300 mg.

What about optimal timing? Peak absorption occurs between 15 and 120 minutes. Most recommendations suggest use 45 – 60 minutes before physical activity. Same can be applied to cognitive performance, but increased performance can last up to 10 hours which removes the need for strict timing.

Extra Considerations: 1.) Healthy adults should consume no more than 400 mg daily to avoid health risks according to the research and FDA recommendations. 2.) Even light chronic use over a month can build a tolerance which can reduce the benefits. Only consume occasionally or cycle off periodically. 3.) Consume no less than 6 hours before bed to avoid sleep disturbances.

Research Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27762662/
https://www.gssiweb.org/sports-science-exchange/article/caffeine-and-exercise-performance-an-update
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223802/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3805807/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00080/full
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763416300690
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-979/caffeine

04/29/2021

(New Blog Post) Fitness Myth Busting: Are fitness myths hindering you health and physique goals? The wrong information can have you wasting your time and could even ruin your progress.

Find out what myths you might be fooled by in my most recent blog post.

Is fasted cardio better for fat loss? Do you burn more calories eating many meals or just one meal a day? Does food before bed make you gain weight? These are all questions you might have based on just a few different fitness myths I have heard. It can be hard to tell what information is real and wh

04/21/2021

Supplement Quick Review: Tyrosine

Tyrosine is used in pre-workouts and gaming supplements with claims of increase physical and cognitive performance. What does the research say about its effectiveness?

I analyzed four systematic reviews as well as several individual studies. Please note that the amount of quality research is limited. The most recent systematic review examined 22 studies which is a small sample size to draw conclusions from.

That said, let's start with the effect on physical performance. None of the research supports claims for increased physical performance. The only potential benefit is that it might increase vigilance and mental effort, but this was only tested for in one study.

Cognitive performance is a different story. The research shows some performance increases in working memory, multitasking, and information processing. Basically, you can make better short term decisions which are essential in competitive sports/gaming.

Sounds great, right? Well, this effect is only present during highly stressful situations. This isn't entirely pointless as competitive sports/gaming can be subject to high physical and/or cognitive stress that can hinder cognitive abilities. Cognitive performance boosts will most likely only apply when you are forced to make clutch plays if overall stress is low for the activity you are doing.

Be aware, optimal dosing is difficult to determine due to the lack of research. Dosing in the research can ranged from 500 mg to approximately 18 grams.

Final Conclusion: Tyrosine seems to only increase cognitive performance and only when stress from the activity hinders cognitive abilities. It's useless in pre-workouts and conditionally useful in gaming supplements.

Research Sources:
https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/180/7/754/4160625?login=true
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25797188/
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/2/545/htm
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022395615002472
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1037/tyrosine
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10230711/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3863934/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0028393215000299
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0361923094902003
https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/15/2/article-p173.xml
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-014-3022-7
https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2018-48464-001
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12970-019-0326-3

04/14/2021

(New Blog Post) Healthy eating often ends up taking a back seat to the gaming lifestyle. The rise of delivery services has only made this worse. Take out and many convenience foods are loaded with calories from tons of fats and sugars you don't really need.

Find out what healthy convenience foods I would recommend to gamers in my most recent blog post.

I get it. You rather spend more time gaming than preparing a meal or snack. Sometimes you might even forget to eat and want something quick instead of having to wait forever for your meal to cook. The problem with this mindset is that many turn to convenience foods which are some of the worst foods

04/07/2021

Supplement Quick Review: Arginine

Arginine is a pre-workout supplement that claims to increase blood flow and oxygen uptake to muscle resulting in increased athletic/exercise performance. What does the research say about its effectiveness?

I analyzed two meta-analysis which collectively examined 26 studies. Overall, the number of quality studies is limited, but the research does seem to suggest it could potentially increase maximal oxygen uptake and performance for both anaerobic and aerobic activities.

This might convince you arginine is worth using, but there are caveats. One of the meta-analyses found that a dose around 10 – 11 grams was required. Single doses this high can potentially cause abdominal distress and leads to a tingling sensation which many may find uncomfortable. Smaller doses spread out through the day were shown to be effective without side effects, but this needs to be done daily to get the performance boost.

It would also seem that the supplement citrulline is actually more effective for increasing arginine levels than pure arginine. Citrulline has a stronger evidence base for being an effective performance supplement especially when compared to arginine.

I was curious if there is a synergistic effect between arginine and citrulline, so I examined two meta-analyses covering this. Unfortunately, the research is very limited. Initial evidence suggests they might work well together, but it is unclear what the effective dose of both are besides the fact that a ratio of 2:1 citrulline to arginine seems to be best.

Final Conclusion: Arginine seems useless unless taken in larger doses and if you aren't already supplementing with citrulline. Arginine and citrulline may work well together, but there isn't enough evidence to justify using it in this way.