Supplement Companies/Muscle Mags?

Off Topic
1

I just finished reading “Dirty Tricks, Supplement Company Shenanigans” by Chris Shugart and TC dated 11/1/01 on the EXPOSE page of T-Nation. In the article they made mention that some muscle mags are owned or affiliated with supplement companies. One thing I have read in every mag is that glutamine is an essential supp to take along with creatine and protein powder.

Now, after reading Barr’s expose articles on glutamine it seems every magazine out there overlooked all these published studies. So, are the mags just whores for the advertising bucks or are they actually owned/affiliated with the supplements they write about? Name some names, T-Nation.

P.S. I appreciate the fact that T-Nation has never BS’d about Biotest.

2

[quote]Colonel Dinque wrote:
I just finished reading “Dirty Tricks, Supplement Company Shenanigans” by Chris Shugart and TC dated 11/1/01 on the EXPOSE page of T-Nation. In the article they made mention that some muscle mags are owned or affiliated with supplement companies. One thing I have read in every mag is that glutamine is an essential supp to take along with creatine and protein powder.

Now, after reading Barr’s expose articles on glutamine it seems every magazine out there overlooked all these published studies. So, are the mags just whores for the advertising bucks or are they actually owned/affiliated with the supplements they write about? Name some names, T-Nation.

P.S. I appreciate the fact that T-Nation has never BS’d about Bio-Test.[/quote]

I should say that despite Dave Barr’s great article, there isn’t a consensus on the use of glutamine.

For instance, I know that at the very least, Christian Thibaudeau swears by it. And I happen to think it’s a “conditionally essential” amino acid, meaning that under certain circumstances, it’s very important.

As such, I’m hesitant to condemn magazines or supplement companies for recommending it.

Of course, they should at least acknowledge that there’s controversy surrounding glutamine.

As far as the second question, there’d be no way the current muscle mags could put out their individual mags without being whores for supplement companies.

That, and most have strong ties with individual companies. I believe Kennedy owns a substantial piece of MuscleTech, so the abundance of MuscleTech ads in his publication is expected.

Ironman, for a while, did have stakes in a supplement company, but I don’t know if that’s true any longer.

Blechman owned Muscular Development when he was an owner of TwinLabs, but I have no idea what the current relationship is.

3

[quote]Colonel Dinque wrote:
I just finished reading “Dirty Tricks, Supplement Company Shenanigans” by Chris Shugart and TC dated 11/1/01 on the EXPOSE page of T-Nation. In the article they made mention that some muscle mags are owned or affiliated with supplement companies. One thing I have read in every mag is that glutamine is an essential supp to take along with creatine and protein powder.

Now, after reading Barr’s expose articles on glutamine it seems every magazine out there overlooked all these published studies. So, are the mags just whores for the advertising bucks or are they actually owned/affiliated with the supplements they write about? Name some names, T-Nation.

P.S. I appreciate the fact that T-Nation has never BS’d about Bio-Test.[/quote]

I find glutamine to be ‘essential.’ I have taken it for years and in that time have stopped and I noticed some effects. Therefore, it has become a product that I am willing to spend my money on.

Health and fitness are inexact sciences. For every study you find in favor of something, there will be another that refutes that. I say, try it and see if you get any results. My results have been immune related, not performance.

There are whores everywhere–trust me.

4

Thanks TC- I wasn’t ready to throw out my tub of glutamine yet.
I just wish there was some real objectivity in the magazines instead of all these “4 Page Special Report” every 15 pages.

And yes, I know they have to make a buck selling advertising, but at this point, if I bother to get a muscle magazine, I make it a point to rip out every ad page. You should see how skinny the magazine ends up.