If you've noticed that you don't have as much vim and vigor as you did ten or twenty years ago … or that your muscles aren't quite as buff as they used to be … you're in good company. As we age, we all naturally lose muscle mass, strength, energy, and vigor—in varying degrees. This aging-related muscle deterioration is called Sarcopenia, and in its severe form it results in disabling frailty and weakness, along with a significant increased risk of illness and death. The problem is, this "frailty of aging syndrome" is becoming a problem of epidemic proportions as the population grows older and lives longer.

Staying active and strong

We all know the importance of staying active and exercising, and numerous studies have shown that active people are indeed healthier. But as we get older, it takes more and more effort to get the results we want … because our body and muscles just don't respond to exercise the way they did when we were younger. Exercise can be frustrating and discouraging because the results are so slow in coming. But it's important to keep it up!

Although no one cause has been found for Sarcopenia, one recent scientific conference focusing on research and treatments for the syndrome concluded that the only effective intervention was regular physical exercise that includes weight training. However, the researchers stressed the point that even people who are active, and maintain their fitness level, are not immune to developing Sarcopenia.¹ 

The good news is an amazing European pharmaceutical that stimulates muscle health, energy, and vitality is now available in the US!

For years scientists have searched for a compound that could safely promote muscle growth and muscle health. Countless products have been sold to help people get more results from their exercise, both for body builders and people just interested in getting the most from their physical activity. Unfortunately, these products have been more hype than science.

Not surprisingly, most of these products have had little or no testing in humans to even show they are beneficial. This is in spite of the fact that scientists have been vigorously researching the causes and potential treatments of age-related muscle deterioration.

Luckily, all this research has actually begun to pay off. In fact, there is a special amino acid complex composed of Ornithine (an amino acid) and Ketoglutaric Acid (a natural energy-producing compound) that shows tremendous promise as a stimulator of muscle health, energy, and vitality. This compound is called Ornithine Ketoglutarate, or OKG.

OKG has a successful track record in Europe for helping severely traumatized patients like burn victims. Over several decades of research and clinical use, OKG has been used to limit the protein breakdown and muscle loss that results from trauma. Numerous studies have examined both the use of OKG in trauma victims and the elderly, and have attempted to understand how this amazing amino acid compound stimulates protein synthesis in tissues and muscles.

Additionally, research has shown that OKG is also useful for supporting cardiovascular health and immune function. OKG is quickly emerging from a pharmaceutical for severely ill burn victims to a powerful amino acid supplement for all of us interested in promoting our health, strength, and vigor. Despite the need for a safe, nutritional product to help people interested in getting the most from their exercise—and to help those of us determined to prevent the devastating consequences of age-related muscle deterioration—OKG has been almost unknown in the USA. That is, until now!

From burns to bodybuilders

Severe burns are some of the most serious and difficult injuries to treat. Along with the threat of infection, one of the biggest problems facing burn victims is the inevitable catabolic state that follows severe burns. A catabolic state causes a breakdown of tissue and muscle proteins, and this is the opposite of the anabolic state, which promotes protein synthesis in our body. Numerous treatments have been tried to reverse the catabolic state that plagues burn victims and contributes to tissue breakdown and infection.

One of the most effective compounds scientists and doctors have utilized is OKG. This safe compound composed of natural ingredients has been shown to significantly promote protein synthesis and healing in burn victims.² 

Although OKG has been safely used for burn victims in Europe for more than 20 years, it has remained an orphan drug (a drug used to treat or prevent rare diseases) in the rest of the world. And even though it is a very effective and safe compound for stimulating protein synthesis in the body and muscles, OKG has received little clinical interest outside its use for burn victims.

Because OKG is known to stimulate muscle health and growth, it's not surprising that it has been popular among bodybuilders. Numerous products containing OKG appeared on the market about a decade ago, but most of them have disappeared from store shelves because they contained an inferior calcium or magnesium OKG salt—not the pure OKG used in all the impressive research. Also, most OKG products did not contain the proper dosage that has been shown to be effective, but instead contained a small, ineffective amount. Only recently has real pharmaceutical-grade OKG become available in an effective dosage.

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References

Articles of Interest from Smart Publications Health & Wellness Update

• Ornithine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (OKG) Promotes Glutamine and Muscle Mass