WORDS OF WISDOM BY MILOS SARCEV FEB ISSUE (15th Nov)
“BIOSIGNATURE MODULATION”
Q. Dear Milos,
A gentleman at my local gym, told me about a one hour private consultation telephone call he had with you recently, and to be honest, I was astonished at what you told him.
You mentioned something called Biosignature Modulation, and ways to reduce body fat in certain areas of the body. I have never ever heard you talk about spot reduction before.
Can you explain this theory to me, because it really intrigues me, and I would love to know the scientific logic behind it?
A. For many years I have been advising my clients to always make certain that their energy consumption (food intake) matched their specific goals. If someone wished to reduce their bodyweight, (body fat) then it’s only logical that their caloric intake, should be considerably lower than their energy expenditure.
Under normal circumstances to create this caloric difference (deficit) we can either increase our amount of physical activity, or reduce our daily intake of food. However, we can, if need be, do both.
But, you are absolutely right, about the fact that I have never endorsed spot reduction techniques. For years I believed that most of us had genetically determined spots in our bodies, where excess calories that we consume, appear in the form of fat deposits.
However, four or five years ago, my good friend, and worlds greatest strength coach, (in my opinion) Charles Poliquin, pointed out to me that he could tell precisely, (by measuring my bodyfat with calipers) what was going on in my body.
Since 1997 he has periodically measured my body fat, and would then inform me that I had either adrenal exhaustion, high cortisol or even a thyroid problem etc.
At first I felt that his findings were simply speculation, or coincidence on his part, however, after observing many of his clients, (myself included) I began to realize that he was coincidently always right.
Don’t you just hate that, when this happens?
Anyway, to cut a long story short he began telling me about Biosignature Modulation methods, that he used on his clients. Basically he started to apply this method to specifically target these particular areas, where those individuals had a tendency to store fat.
I would like to point out that Charles is working with super star athletes, who are already in great physical shape, and at the top of their particular fields of endevour. He has, with great success accomplished favorable body composition changes, because he recognizes the characteristics of each and every fat storage site, of his clients.
Since he turned me onto his research, I have found a lot of ground for his claims. First of all I started reading medical journals which outlined all the health risks of obese people. Plus I discovered clear documented evidence, that site-specific fat storage could be attributed to hormonal imbalances (besides genetics). Hormonal changes and imbalances such as high cortisol, high insulin, and low growth hormone levels, including variations of the amounts of testosterone in man, (low) and women, (high) as well as estrogen. All these factors could determine the process of regional fat distribution.
Numerous studies confirmed a direct connection of localized (site specific) fat deposition, and in particular hormonal changes, including production and elimination. The first studies were done on people that carried most of their fat in their abdominal region. It was found that the most common health risk of obese people is stress. Obese people under stress secrete more cortisol, which activates an increase in fat-storage enzymes.
But, it wasn’t until studies were done on non-obese women, (who gained excess abdominal
fat due to stress) which linked the elevation of cortisol to midsection obesity.
Charles is very systematic and keeps documented journals, (with photos, programs, body fat
measurements, diet and supplementation protocols…) of each and every athlete that he works with.
He has shown me dozens of examples where some of his stressed athletes accumulated most fat in their
umbilical region (stomach). Unfortunately, during the 2001 contest season, I became one of his clients with the exact same kind of problem. Looking at the photos from the 2001 Night of Champions I could see that my abdominals were definitely not as lean as usual, and the skin fold measurement on Charles’s chart showed an increase in abdominal fat.
Looking back over that period, I can remember that I was extremely stressed, due to serious business problems, which I was going through at the time.
Then I remembered a couple of years before taking a personal friend (also an IFBB professional) to see
Charles, and after only one brief body fat test he diagnosed him with high levels of circulating insulin! He backed up this diagnosis because of the fat that my friend carried in his supra-iliac region.
Needles to say he was right on the money, (again!) because my friend had entered a state of insulin resistance.
Finally, another friend of mine, an IFBB fitness competitor and model, had problems in her gluteal area, which meant that her legs were never as lean as her upper body. Charles put her on a specific supplementation program, and within just a couple of months she managed to considerably lean out,
in those exact areas.
I could continue with more examples, as I remember them, however, this was enough for me to consider his “Biosignature Modulation” theory and system, as a very valuable tool for any nutritionist.
So if you ask me now if I believe in “spot reduction” I would have to definitely say –YES!
By knowing a person’s “Biosignature”, we can possibly optimize their health and improve their body
composition, following site-characteristic protocols.
Here are four examples:
(1.) High - lower body (upper thigh skin fold and gluteal fold) fat measurements, indicate high amounts of so-called Alpha-2-receptors, (more common in women) plus high levels of estrogens.
The recommended treatment for this would be yohimbine which is available at any health food shop. Yohimbine is extracted from the bark of yohimbe trees and it’s a selective alpha –2 antagonist.
By locally blocking alpha-2 receptors we maximize fat loss, and minimize fat accumulation.
Yohimbine cream is definitely a better choice because oral delivery of yohimbine could result in systematically high blood levels that could have dangerous side effects on the heart and the CNS (central nervous system).
Yohimbine cream would also increase peripheral blood flow, (adipose tissue has very poor vascularity)
which would greatly increase lipolysis (mobilization of fatty acids…causing fat loss). I used this cream very successfully on Kris Dim for this year’s NPC Nationals.
Charles also suggested the supplement indole-3-carbinol, (found in Broccoli type vegetables) as an estrogen detoxifier, as well as isoflavones (diadzein and genistein) found in soy beans.
Even though these isoflavones show estrogenic properties, (therefore classified as phytoestrogens) in this instance they would act as anti-estrogens. It is somewhat confusing, but simply put, if there is not enough estrogens in the tissues, diadzein and genistein would bind to estrogen receptors producing an estogen-like response (not good!). However, if there is a presence of excess estrogens, (a known characteristic for this group) they would bind to its receptors, creating an anti-estrogenic effect.
(2.) High umbilical (abdominal) skin fold measurements alarmed health care professionals because one study consisting of 30,000 women over a period of 12 years discovered that women with higher umbilical fat measurements, (abdominal fat accumulation) were more likely to develop heart disease than other ordinary overweight women. As I mentioned before, this group had to deal with high stress and chronically elevated cortisol. The popular supplement phosphatydylserine has shown a dramatic reduction of circulating cortisol, (as well as improved mood, memory, and motivation – to fight stress and depression).
Charles also recommends fish oils rich in essential omega-3 oils and Licorice Root which helps the regulation of cortisol production. Glycerrhizin is a component of licorice, which is capable of inactivating cortisol.
Another good idea for any person belonging to this particular group is to limit (reduce) their caffeine and simple sugars consumption. These are factors that could impact (increase) their levels of cortisol in the body.
(3.) People with a high, mid-axillary ( upper outer lat region) fat measurement, usually have some form of thyroid problem.
This year during my contest preparation for the New York Night of the Champions, and Hungarian GP, I experienced certain thyroid problems myself which resulted in me turning up at these shows with a “softer looking back”.
The supplements that I recommend to treat this particular problem are: Guggulsterones (a compound of herb Guggul) which stimulates synthesis of T3, active form of thyroid hormone. Also a good choice would be a Bladerwrack a natural source of Iodine, Zinc and Selenenium – all responsible for thyroid hormone production..Finally, Ashwaganda (withania somnfera) and Coleus root( a member of the mint family) both used frequently to stimulate the thyroid gland.
(4) If a supra iliac (love handles) skin fold is high, then the person could have a circulating insulin problem, so a low carbohydrate diet is recommended here. Take frequent smaller meals, consisting of essential fats and high fiber. Supplements such as fenugreek and flax seeds will control levels of blood sugar and insulin.
So, there you have it. I hope you find some logic and rationale behind all this, because I would be the first one to admit that I didn’t think much of Biosignature Modulation, until my own personal experiences, coincided with the theory.
CHARLES POLIQUIN has many great articles on his:
http://www.charlespoliquin.net
