KYOTO, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On June 1st, Pharma Foods International Co. Ltd. will share a newly-released study at the ACSM Annual Meeting in Boston, proving for the first time that supplementing a post-exercise whey protein regimen with their naturally-produced flagship product PharmaGABATM produces an increase in resting serum growth hormone, consequently improving the formation of lean muscle mass.
GABA (γ-Aminobutyric acid) is a naturally-occurring amino acid and key inhibitory neurotransmitter found in human cells. Serum growth hormone (GH) regulates various elements of body composition including the synthesis of muscle protein. Although GABA’s specific anabolic effect remains undefined, what’s been shown, for the first time, is that oral intake of PharmaGABATM along with whey protein, a known means of stimulating skeletal muscle hypertrophy, enhances the process and produces demonstrably more lean mass than with whey protein alone.
The study looked at 26 males, aged 26 to 48, who practiced progressive-resistance weight training. The group was divided in two – all ingested 10 grams of whey protein daily, half supplemented it with 100 milligrams of PharmaGABATM. The group trained twice weekly, following a systematized circuit of weight-resistance exercises. Resting serum growth hormone was recorded in blood plasma at baseline, four, eight, and twelve weeks; while change in muscle mass was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at baseline and twelve weeks. The result was that while GH improved significantly for the group ingesting whey protein, the improvement quickly leveled off, whereas the addition of GABA demonstrated proliferation throughout the period of GH, and at the end of twelve weeks, lean mass was dramatically increased in the group taking both together.
Pharma Foods International is a leader in the production of GABA which, in recent years has proven to be a powerful adjunct in such neural functions as relaxation, stress reduction and focus. Its PharmaGABATM is naturally-derived using lactobacillus hilgardii, used for centuries in the preparation of foods like Korean kimchi. PharmaGABATM is featured in dozens of products in Japan, reflecting both the public’s confidence in its effectiveness and in the high standard of manufacture that Pharma Foods International has come to represent.
