Ornithine Alpha-ketoglutarate: Discover How A Natural Formula Used By Top Athletes Can Improve Your Energy Levels, Stamina And Immunity

A nutritional supplement developed to improve the performance of athletes, is now proving to be extremely beneficial in speeding the recovery time of patients after surgery or injury.

In fact, this remarkable formula is producing such successful results, that it's now routinely used in France after surgery in order to accelerate wound healing.
Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate or OKG as it's more commonly called, is a potent anabolic ('body building') food. It increases energy, endurance and muscle mass whilst inhibiting muscle breakdown, fatigue, and the build up of fat. Add to this its ability to speed up recovery time and it's not hard to understand why it is such a popular choice among many sportsmen and women.

Now doctors are finding it useful too. In addition to its wound-healing properties, Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) is also proving to be effective in preventing muscle wasting or weight loss in conditions where poor appetite is a factor. This includes appetite loss associated with ageing, gastroenteritis, depression and cancer.

Take Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) to get the most out of your workout
Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) is a combination of the amino acid L-Ornithine (traditionally used by athletes to improve performance) and alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG). alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) is a precursor of the amino acid glutamine and it also plays an important role in the physiological process known as the Krebs cycle - responsible for breaking down carbohydrates in your body to produce energy.

L-Ornithine and alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) work synergistically in Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) to induce favourable conditions for any exercise or training regimen by regulating L-Glutamine levels - another amino acid - in your body. L-Glutamine is an essential source of cellular fuel, which helps drive metabolic processes. Normally your body is forced to break down muscle in order to do this.

But the alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) component of Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) curbs this breakdown of muscle by combining with ammonia - a toxic by-product that accumulates during intense workouts - to restore glutamine and hence energy levels back to normal. This prevents the attack on lean muscle mass and the accumulation of ammonia, which is highly toxic and can cause impaired cognition.1

Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) also stimulates the growth-promoting action of insulin, which encourages muscle growth and increases strength. It provides the amino acid arginine which stimulates your pituitary gland (located in your brain) to release Growth Hormone (GH). This hormone boosts body fat metabolism and protects your muscle tissue from being broken down for energy, resulting in a leaner appearance.

By encouraging the excretion of ammonia (released during exercise), Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) also prevents the build up of lactic acid - known to accumulate with ammonia - which causes muscle fatigue, soreness and poor stamina.

Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) helps your body cope with physical stress - increasing strength and endurance
Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) is proving beneficial in cases of 'over training', which can often occur after months of relentless workouts. It helps by limiting the incidence of injuries following over-exertion.

Placebo-controlled, double blind studies, conducted at the School of Medicine, West Virginia University in the US, have shown that after six weeks of intensive training in age-matched, weight-trained men, those given Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) possessed significantly greater bench press strength and bicep circumference.

Similarly post-training insulin levels were greater in those taking Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) - insulin encourages muscle growth and weight gain. In addition to this, increases in growth hormone release were found to take place up to 90 minutes after Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) had been taken, which confirms Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) as a natural growth-promoting agent.2

Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) can help your body make a full recovery after chronic illness
These properties mean that Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) may also provide significant relief during periods of illness, by protecting stores of muscle protein. This prevents your body from burning up valuable lean body mass for energy during trauma and stress.

Under these conditions a heavy strain is put on glutamine stores to support the metabolism of tissues like your gastrointestinal tract and immune system, for example. Your immune system in particular can benefit from taking Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG), because its response and recovery time is dependent on adequate serum levels of glutamine. It's no surprise, then, that taking Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) during illness limits muscle wasting and helps your immune system cope.

One study found that hospitalised patients given Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) following bowel disease surgery, experienced a slower rate of protein breakdown and muscle wasting. Even the chronically malnourished can benefit from Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) supplementation, as it is reported to restore proper body weight.

Furthermore in a large, placebo-controlled trial, non-hospitalised elderly people showed improved appetite, weight gain, muscle growth and reduced need for medical care, after taking 10g of Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) each day in the recovery phase.3

Animal studies are even showing that Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) supplementation may have a role in cancer patients, given its inhibition of tissue protein breakdown in advanced stages of the disease.

What to take for best results
If you want to keep your hard-earned muscle definition, or just stay on top of a modern fitness regime or stressful lifestyle, then Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) can help. Its role in aiding growth and recovery means that Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) may also prove to be a valuable addition to standard hospital feeds for patients who are bed bound or chronically ill. The recommended dosage is between 3g and 10g per day depending on intensity of exercise or degree of infirmity and immobility. To date, the only side-effect reported is diarrhoea at doses above 15g per day.

1.Kelly G.S. ND Sports Nutrition: A Review of selected Nutritional supplements for body builders and strength athletes www.thorne.com/altmedrev/fulltext/sports.html
2.Cheltin, Robert D et al ' The effect of Ornithine Alpha-ketoglutarate on healthy weight trained men. Journal of Exercise Physiology. 3 (4): 37-47, 2000
3.Brocker P, Vellas B, Albarede J, et al. A two-centre, randomized, double-blind trial of ornithine oxoglutarate in 194 elderly, ambulatory, convalescent subjects. Age Aging 1994;23:303-6