The current buzzword in sports nutrition is undenatured, but does it really mean anything? A denatured protein may well have lost its function, but undenatured is kind of confusing. After all, it wasn’t that many years ago that experts were telling us that the theory of a natural product imparting bioactive properties was pure fantasy.
While the so-called gurus told us that plant steroids had no activity in humans, scientists and the medical profession held world conferences to debate potential application for the bioactive properties of ecdysteroids; e.g., tumor suppression. We were also told that colostrum was for babies, that the growth factors it contained could never survive long enough in the gastrointestinal tract of an adult to remain biologically active, but scientists were establishing biological activity for a host of growth factors and protein fractions already isolated from colostrum and native whey and casein.
Potent antiviral, antibacterial and immunosupportive properties were identified, and several of those factors would be earmarked as treatment for dental conditions, skin lesions, impaired immune function and intestinal tract disorders, as well as for the formulation of specialized infant formulas. We now know that those factors are not only active in the infant gut but may even be responsible for its development.
The latest addition to the list of nutritional products with bioactive properties is Humanofort, an embryonic peptide product from eastern Europe. Although the product is firmly established in the anti-aging market, the sports-nutrition industry has only recently recognized the potential benefits of its bioactive properties, which include decreased bodyfat, increased lean mass, reduced stress and improved immune function and sleep quality.
These are mainly achieved by elevating 17-ketosteroid levels, which are consistently low among steroid users. Humanofort’s oligopeptides positively influence the ratio of anabolic to catabolic hormones, making it a product that offers benefits to chemically assisted and natural athletes alike.
Editor’s note: For more on HumanoVar see page 192 of the April ’02 IRONMAN.
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