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May 2005
HOW TO AMP YOUR MIND AND BODY
One user’s guide to enhancing executive performance – with a little OTC help.
Thanks to the lunkheads over at Major League Baseball and the shenanigans of USA
Track and Field, performance-enhancing drugs have gotten a bad name. Let’s look
at this for a minute. Isn’t better performance what we’re all searching for? Does
anyone really strive for average performance or – worse – outright deterioration?
I think not. But it’s paradoxical to assume that in an attempt to improve things,
you’d choose to ingest something harmful, like steroids or epo or the latest designer
drug cooked up for power lifters in some back-alley lab in Belgium. No smart person
would do this. Rather, what you’d want is the new generation of fine-tuned products
that actually benefit the body – the micronized, optimized, cutting-edge stuff that
helps stave off the inevitable stresses of life, especially urban business life.
I’m talking about intelligently working all the angles to make sure the engine runs
better than ever (even at higher mileage), not puffing up your muscles, shrinking
your testicles, or thickening your brow bone.
For 20 years I’ve competed seriously at sports – mostly swimming, but I also dabbled
in cycling and running. Along the way I began my business career and learned the
extent to which mental and emotional stress take a very physical toll. Over time
I’ve felt the changes: fatigue setting in faster, recovery taking longer, little
pains cropping up, things just not feeling as sharp as they used to. I detest these
feelings. Fighting them with every tool I could get my hands on seemed the thing
to do, so I experimented with supplements that promised to help. Some did; most
didn’t. Unlike Big Pharma, the supplement industry has managed to evade strict FDA
oversight. Making grandiose promises is standard practice, yet most of the claims
are untested, subjective, and of dubious merit. Coaches, trainers, doctors, other
athletes – everyone had a pet theory and a prescription about how to perform better.
I tried them all. I’m talking about over-the-counter products – no prescriptions,
nothing too harsh, nothing illegal. Some people call them nutraceuticals; some call
them nootropics (after the Greek words noos and tropos, which together mean “acting
on the mind”); some call them plain old vitamins; others call them drugs. Everyone,
however, calls them big business. In 2003, estimated revenue for the dietary-supplement
industry was $19.8 billion.
In the end my ideal selection came down to a mere handful. As you read through this
list, please remember that everyone’s biochemistry is different. Each of us is a
unique and complicated machine, and what works for me may not work for you. (In
fact, some supplements can hurt you.) So the first rule of performance enhancement
is this: Listen to your body. If a supplement doesn’t suit you, stop taking it.
And it goes without saying that if you have a heart problem or any other health
issue, or currently are using medication, talk to a doctor first.
Workout Tonic
ProEndorphin was created by the St. Louis company, Nutraceutics, a three-generation
clan of pharmacologists, to help athletes train harder and recover faster. This
orange powder, until recently available only through doctors, is a high-grade blend
of B vitamins, kola nitida (an organic caffeine), ginseng, and other nutrients,
carefully processed to ensure the highest level of absorption and potency. In general,
there are two problems with your average vitamin supplement. First, if it comes
in a giant, horse-choking pill, it’s likely to slip through your system largely
undigested. And then there’s the often crummy quality of the base ingredients. “We
pay $100 per kilo for our ginseng,” says Brett Cherry, Nutraceutics’ sales manager.
“Meanwhile, at trade shows people come up to us all the time offering ginseng for
$6 per kilo.” I mix up a water bottle of ProEndorphin and drink it during swim practice.
On bleary afternoons I’ll drink a packet and suddenly be interested in completing
even the most deadly chore. As a stimulant that doesn’t make you jittery, it’s an
excellent alternative to coffee. Also, ProEndorphin is the best hangover cure I’ve
ever tried.
Juice for your Joints
Glucosamine and chondroitin are known as a remedy for joint pain, but few have heard
of MSM. Which is too bad, because MSM rocks. It’s a natural form of sulfur used
by the body to build bone, connective tissue, and muscle. In a perfect world your
supply would be found entirely in fresh fruits and vegetables. These days, however,
food isn’t that trustworthy, and minerals are so depleted that we need to supplement.
In my experience with a balky shoulder and occasional knee pain, MSM works quickly
and powerfully to eliminate pain, with zero side effects. Friends I’ve turned on
to it have witnessed the same result. (One of them referred to it as magic.) Often
it’s sold in a blend with glucosamine; for me it works better solo. Bonus: Sometimes
referred to as “the beauty mineral,” MSM feeds skin and hair.
Love Weed
The main ingredient of Testron SX, Tribulus terrestris, is a weed. The best crop
grows in Bulgaria, and for centuries Eastern European and Asian civilizations have
hoarded it for themselves. You can’t blame them. This botanical comes with impressive
claims and, as far as I’m concerned, delivers on them: It sparks libido, brightens
mood, and acts as an all-round energy tonic. In my experience, the first item on
that list is what you really notice. Tribulus stimulates the body’s production of
lutenizing hormone, which regulates sex drive. Look around the health-food store:
There are entire aisles devoted to male potency. Most of the products are packed
with low-quality
stimulants and yohimbe, an herb that, when I took it, produced
truly terrifying mood swings. In general, I look for a boost that doesn’t come with
a fierce backlash. This supplement will warm you up, not fling you overhead and
then drop you onto cement.
Urban Defense
Juvenon tackles a universal problem: stress.
Everyone knows that pressure-filled
workdays, toxic environments, and bad habits exact a physical toll, but stress comes
in devious packages. It seems deeply unfair that exercise, undeniably a good habit,
also causes stress on a cellular level. The result is free radicals, rogue molecules
that rampage through cells causing oxidation, which in turn disrupts molecular structure
(think rusty car). A class of nutrients known as antioxidants helps repair (and
for that matter, prevent) the damage. Vitamins C and E and beta carotene are the
big three, but a substance called alpha lipoic acid is also popular among athletes.
ALA doesn’t just protect energy-producing mitochondria and DNA from free-radical
damage; it also seems to boost the potency of other antioxidants. Meanwhile, at
the University of California at Berkeley, renowned biochemist Bruce Ames discovered
that stacking ALA with the amino acid acetyl-L-carnitine resulted in an even more
effective formula, and a rejuvenating one, given that cell wear and tear is the
definition of aging. I take these two nutrients (packaged together in Juvenon) to
help recover from hard workouts, and though there are no huge, pyrotechnic effects
I can point to – no bursts of energy or Dorian Gray-type drama – when I don’t take
it, I miss it.
Fuel for Cells
Not nearly as alien as its name, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NADH, is
a coenzyme, the active form of vitamin B3. Your body comes equipped with a supply
and doles it out in proportion to the amount of activity going on in any given cell.
For instance, heart tissues work overtime and therefore receive plenty. One problem:
The innate source dwindles over time. A naturopathic doctor recommended NADH, and
though it’s expensive, for me at least it’s worth the cash. NADH is the body’s most
potent antioxidant. It cleans up messes. And who doesn’t need that (especially after
a five-course business dinner with three bottles of wine, followed by four hours
of sleep and an overseas flight)?
Brain Food
Immodestly touted by its marketers as “the highest quality brain-power powder on
the market,” Choline Cocktail II, for my money, delivers on its hype. The ingredient
list is impressive – a tonic for the gray matter – and it’s synergistic, meaning
that these substances work more effectively when taken together. It includes phosphatidylserine,
a phospholipid that nourishes nerve tissue, neurons, and cell membranes. Now the
brain is complicated, and I’m no neurobiologist, but phosphatidylserine is one of
the few supplements to have undergone rigorous scientific testing at Stanford and
elsewhere, that showed it’s effective as a memory enhancer and brain protector.
It’s accompanied in the mix by the brain antioxidant ginkgo biloba: DMAE, a concentration-bolstering
supplement; and choline, a vitamin-like compound that can be absorbed through the
blood-brain barrier, the body’s defense against harmful substances getting into
mission control. The brain loves choline, using it to maintain cell membranes and
build the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (low acetylcholine is a distinguishing
feature in Alzheimer’s patients). This powder also contains a passel of vitamins,
the heart-protecting enzyme CoQ10, and guarana, a naturally occurring form of caffeine.
Choline Cocktail won’t supercharge your workouts, but it’s a lovely antidote to
the four o’clock doldrums and a thoughtful thing to do for your body’s hardest-working
organ.
Turbo-Heart
Vivaxl is another performance drink mix from the maker of ProEndorphin. The two
products share a similar recipe with one big difference: Each packet of Vivaxl contains
2,800 mg of the amino acid arginine. This specific dosage – no more, no less, according
to the company – promotes nitric oxide release, a process that has an impressive
resume. (Three doctors won a Nobel in 1998 for discovering it.) The process does everything short of giving you a neck massage: It’s great for your heart, revs up
circulation, combats fatigue, strengthens the immune system, and contributes to
better erectile function. As if that’s not enough, I find that the Vivaxl mix brightens
my mood. This is a mellower drink than ProEndorphin – the arginine seems to cut
the stimulant quotient – making it perfect for days when a long meeting’s on the
agenda rather than a long workout.