The Safed Musli Plant and Natural Bodybuilding Supplements

Safed Musli, also known as chlorophytum borivilianum is a rare plant found in India which has recently proven to be a very beneficial addition to natural bodybuilding supplements. Well known for its abilities as an aphrodisiac, Safed Musli has become increasingly popular and sought out worldwide. It is an herb which appears annually and is able to withstand major changes in climate. The plant belongs to the Liliaceae family and is typically grown in Andhra Pradesh. Safed Musli plants stand approximately one and a half feet high with long, skinny leaves which are deep green and white with tuberous roots.

Its outstanding medicinal properties have become an important staple in bodybuilding supplements.

Safed Musli is comprised of many steroidal glycosides. It contains compounds such as 8-hexadecenoic acid, palmitic acid, 3-heptadecanone, methyl pentacosanoate and stearic acid.

The ever-growing interest in natural products has boosted the demand for Safed Musli especially in Europe, the United States and countries in the Gulf. With increasing popularity around the world, the plant is continually being researched and tested in new herbal remedies and products.

Ancient Use of the Safed Musli Plant in India
The Safed Musli plant is traced back to India where it has been used for many years as a vital medicinal plant. The species first attracted attention in 1954 in India as it was incorporated into many Ayurvedic tonics and used as an aphrodisiac. From there it began to reach rare status as demand for the plant dramatically increased. The plant has been an integral part of Ayurdvedic medicine, treating conditions from diabetes to arthritis and even high cholesterol.

Ayurvedic literature celebrates Safed Musli as a miracle plant with amazing abilities. Some of this literature includes Rasendra Sarsangrah, Bhavaprakash nighantu and Raja Ballabh Nighantu where the plant is referred to as "Vajikaran" meaning aphrodisiac.

Saponins, A Key Ingredient

The underlying benefits of the Safed Musli plant are the saponins within in. Saponins are found in the roots and have tremendous therapeutic abilities. Their name is derived from the Latin word for "soap" which refers to the frothy nature of saponins when they are combined with water.

Saponins contain natural medicinal properties which promote optimum health. They are involved in hemolysis, stimulate the immune system, act as an expectorant and reduce inflammation. Saponins also contain properties that combat fungi, bacteria and protozoa.

Aside from the Safed Musli plant, saponins can be found in many other forms in nature. These include the following: fenugreek herb, ginseng, red onions, soy beans, agave plant, bacopa monierri, paprika, alfalfa herb and disogenin which comes from wild yam root.

Modern Use of Safed Musli in Bodybuilding Supplements
Recently, research on how the saponins contained in Safed Musli effect testosterone has shown traces of stigmasterol as well as hecogenin. Both of these components are ideal ingredients for natural bodybuilding supplements  Stigmasterol shares a similar structure to testosterone. It is believed to latch on to the same body receptors that testosterone attaches to which causes stigmasterol to act nearly the same as testosterone. In similar fashion, hecogenin has an ability to convert to specific compounds that resemble testosterone and yields the same results on the body.

Taking supplements containing Safed Musli benefit the body in many different ways. They can improve strength and physical endurance, buffer lactic acid, fight general body weakness, aid in recovering from the physical exhaustion of exercise and build muscle mass while lowering heart and respiration rates as well as systolic blood pressure. Other effects include an elevated libido, sperm count and helping to increase spermatosis.

Additional Uses of Safed Musli  

Besides its uses as a bodybuilding agent, the Safed Musli plant is frequently used for the following: an alternative to the popular drug Viagra, a cure for weakness and debilitating illnesses, a therapeutic practice in Ayurveda, Allopathy and Unani, remedies for arthritis and diabetes, a drug to help improve immune functions as well as a cure for natal and post-natal complications.

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The Benefits of Natural Bodybuilding Techniques

Natural bodybuilding techniques are those methods that enable one to build muscle without the use of artificial-and often illegal-injected or ingested substances. The most common class of artificial substances used for this purpose are anabolic steroids which, despite strong warnings from health officials, continues to be used by bodybuilders who want to see fast results from their workouts.

But there is a terrifying risk in choosing steroids over natural bodybuilding techniques.

Health Risk of Steroid Abuse

Anabolic steroids are artificially produced testosterone, a male hormone. Because it is a male hormone, this drug increases strength, energy, and muscle mass. Bodybuilders, and other athletes, are attracted to steroid use because of its purported-and often very apparent-muscle enhancement effects in a very short period of time and for a relatively small amount of effort. (In general, those who take steroids are able to build significantly more muscle mass as compared with those who follow strictly natural bodybuilding techniques).

But the health risks related to steroid abuse cannot be overstated. Some of these risks include:

Heart attack. Steroids have been shown to have at least three different effects on the heart: (a) they can lower the good type of cholesterol (HDL) and raise the bad type of cholesterol (LDL) in the blood. (b) they can raise the blood pressure and (c) they can literally damage the heart by enlarging the left ventricle.
Liver damage
Stroke
Prostate cancer due to steroid's tendency to enlarge the prostate gland
Sexual impotence
Infertility

These and many other health effects of steroid abuse (up to and including death) should give one pause before choosing this method over natural bodybuilding techniques. But there is one more aspect to consider.

Steroids-a Temporary Fix

Despite its much-vaunted ability to "pump up" an athlete quickly, steroids have another reputation that is not as well recognized-they are a temporary fix. Indeed, the muscle that steroids build so quickly will just as quickly diminish once one stops taking steroids, say experts.

This is why many athletes suffer from long-term steroid abuse-to maintain its muscle-enhancing effects, they must continue taking this synthetic hormone. Continued steroid abuse then leads to higher risks of adverse health effects.

It would appear, then, that the only benefit of steroid use is this temporary advantage, but this advantage is accompanied by serious (and often irreversible) effects upon the user's physical and sometimes emotional health.

Benefits of Natural Bodybuilding Techniques

In contrast to steroids, natural bodybuilding techniques offer a number of benefits to bodybuilders and other athletes. Some of these benefits include:

An absence of unhealthy side effects
Long-lasting results with respect to enhanced musculature, which do not dissipate as is the case with steroid use
Workouts are positive reinforcers, as compared to excessive testosterone use which interferes with the release of endorphins
In general, however, there is not much of a difference between natural and "unnatural" bodybuilding techniques. The types of exercises and training routines are the same in both cases. However, one's training schedule will likely change. Since steroids speed up the repair time of the muscles, those that use these synthetic hormones are able to have more intense, and more frequent, training sessions as compared with those who use natural bodybuilding techniques.

Nutrition Tips for Natural Bodybuilders

Experts consider proper nutrition to be one of the most significant factors in natural bodybuilding. Although opinions regarding what constitutes proper nutrition for bodybuilders varies, many experts recommend that, of all of the calories a bodybuilder consumes each day:

- 30 percent should be a form of protein
- 50 percent should be derived from carbohydrates
- 20 percent should be from healthy fats

In addition, one should minimize, to the greatest extent possible, the consumption of sugar and of processed foods. Of course, this is true for all individuals.

Bodybuilding Techniques

According to Iron Magazine, "[t]he trick with weight training is that you need to actually rest more than you need to train. When you train with weights, you are breaking down the fibers in the muscles of your body." In order to successfully build muscle, it is necessary to rest those same muscles the day after training. Thus, if you work the muscles of the upper body one day, do not work those same muscles the next day. A good training technique, therefore, is to work different muscle groups on alternate days.

In addition, Iron Magazine suggests a number of natural bodybuilding techniques that have been proven to increase muscle mass relatively quickly. These varied techniques prevent the body from becoming too comfortable with a particular training routine and will enable the muscles to be more responsive to training.

Stalled repetitions. Stop at the midway point of a repetition and hold it for a few seconds before completing the repetition. This can be modified by stopping the movement during different points in the range of motion.

Forced repetitions. Use as many repetitions of a particular weight as is necessary to force the muscles to fatigue or failure (a point at which another repetition cannot be performed).

Load Pyramiding. Add additional weight with each successive set of repetitions.

Repetition pyramiding. Use a consistent amount of weight, gradually increasing the number of repetitions for each successive set.

As always, consult a doctor before starting this, or any, exercise routine. Bodybuilding is particularly strenuous so this caution is particularly advisable before embarking on this path.

Natural bodybuilding techniques are becoming increasingly popular with athletes who desire a increased muscle mass without the side effects of muscle enhancing drugs. By choosing natural methods, including those rare supplements that have been proven through clinical studies to assist performance enhancement without unhealthy side effects, these athletes can take pride in the fact that any muscle they build is derived from hard work, discipline and healthy habits as opposed to use of dangerous drugs.

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Raising Your Testosterone Levels Naturally

As a bodybuilder, you are probably looking to raise your testosterone levels. Many men unfortunately choose to take steroids and controversial supplements. While these do have some medical uses, long-term use is not recommended and there are much healthier, natural ways to go about it.

Bodybuilders who want to increase their muscle mass need to eat foods that are natural estrogen suppressors. Since estrogen produces body fat, the less you have of it the more you will have of the lean muscle created by your higher testosterone levels.

The best way to boost any chemical in your body and promote the health we all want is diet. Exercise is important too but without a healthy diet, all the exercise in the world won't help. Learning what foods are better than others for production of this or that chemical can help you to achieve any results you want with your body.

There are plenty of foods that can help increase testosterone. Garlic is one but you must make sure to eat actual garlic rather than take supplements because the supplements have little to none of the compound allicin, which is what boosts the testosterone levels. Eggs, especially the yolks, are also good because they boost your cholesterol, which also produces testosterone.

Anything containing the mineral zinc will help produce muscle mass, which boosts testosterone. Oysters are one food that you should include because of the high levels of zinc they contain.

Monounsaturated fats like those found in nuts, olive oil, and peanut butter are also good for increasing testosterone in men. It's not known why but some scientists think the monounsaturated fats have an effect on the testes.

Once you've got your diet straightened out, focus on exercises. Things like walking aren't going to benefit you much but activities like weight lifting are great. Focus on exercises such as squats and deadlifts that work multiple sets of muscles to get the best effect.

Other ways to naturally raise your testosterone are having sex, especially in the morning, getting plenty of sleep, and limiting the amount of alcohol you drink. Having sex boosts the testosterone production, as does sleep. At least seven to eight hours of sleep a night will help keep you in tip top shape. Alcohol reduces the amount of testosterone produced so drinking too much of it isn't a good idea if you're trying to bulk up.

A healthy lifestyle and activities combined with certain foods and a lot of exercise will help you to boost those testosterone levels naturally and build up that muscle mass before you know it.


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The Dangers of Bodybuilding Supplements

Nutritional supplements can be great in helping you stay healthy and ensuring you get all the necessary vitamins and minerals your body requires. However many bodybuilders take and misuse 'bodybuilding supplements', with goal of bulking up faster. The bodybuilding supplement which is most often misused by bodybuilders is anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids will help you get bigger much faster than a natural bodybuilder, but the negative effects of such bodybuilding supplements seriously outweigh the benefits.

Bodybuilders Beware...

As a bodybuilder you must know that steroids are illegal, and most competitive bodybuilders have to take drug test before competing. The damage you will do to yourself by being caught out doing steroids will destroy your reputation within bodybuilding circles and outside them. Plus the damage you might do to your body is potentially very bad.

You'll Stop Being A "Real" Man

Here's What Steroids Might Do To You (as a man):

-They will cause men's testicles to shrink

-Steroids have been shown to lower men's sperm count

-Cause breasts to develop

-Induce you voice to deepen

-Trigger your hair to fall out

Who's the man now then?

Women also are effected; by a deepening of the voice, hair loss and also the development of facial hair. Teenagers who take steroids might have their growth stunted. And if all this isn't enough, it can get much worse.

Anabolic steroids can cause damage to your liver, with the side effect of jaundice. They are also believed to cause tumours in the liver and cancer. However the worst effect is found on the heart, as steroids can cause the heart to enlarge and the arteries to harden, with the result being heart disease and eventually heart failure.

Even More Side Effects

Other bodybuilding supplements have been found to cause spots, acne, shaking, and uncontrollable anger, also known as roid rage that causes the user to be extremely aggressive and violent.

I'm not going to touch in detail on the reasons why steroids help you bulk up, because I don't believe you should be taking them. All you need it hard work, dedication, good nutrition and a proven training program, and if you stick to it all you'll have the body of your dreams in no time.

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