Athletes, DMG, High Triglycerides and low O2

[MariaS.]

We are trying to control my husband's high triglycerides with diet and weight reduction. However, as he is an athlete in training for national competition in judo this year, the high triglycerides have had a significant impact on his stamina.

I think I have it figured out: Since high triglycerides interfere with oxygen transport, then when my husband is working out - his muscles are oxygen deprived (like being at high altitude) and they have to go into the anaerobic cycle much sooner than is normal, creating lactic acid in the muscles and causing exhaustion much sooner.

What he is doing to combat this is to take a supplement called dimethyl glycine (DMG) in the form of a small, under the tongue tablet a short while before exercising or doing physical work of any sort. The DMG increases the oxygen carrying capability of his blood and he is able to function normally until it wears off. This allows him to get a full length workout without getting abnormally tired.

Has anyone else tried this? Olympic swimmers have been using DMG for 20 years, I'm told, to increase their oxygen carrying capacity of their blood. It's legal for them and quite safe, I'm told. We got the DMG at a local health food store. You need the sublingual kind, though, because DMG doesn't pass through the bowel wall easily, I'm told.

[MariaS.]

Does this make sense to anyone else? I mean about the low oxygen causing the muscles to use the anaerobic cycle to get their energy?

Does anyone have an opinion on our fix?

[HeyThere]

Originally Posted by MariaS.

Does this make sense to anyone else? I mean about the low oxygen causing the muscles to use the anaerobic cycle to get their energy?

Does anyone have an opinion on our fix?

Well, on the magic school bus this is explained : When you use your muscles you build up lactic acid ( which causes muscle fatigue) but when you breathe in oxygen goes to the lungs and transported through the blood stream to feed the body oxygen and all the waste is transported through sweat glands and exhaling. I hear drinking plenty of water and eating a banana/pottasium will reduce the effect of lactic acid build up.

I thought high triglycerides meant your liver pancreas is producing to much glycogen from all the startches/sugar --so much it does not know what to do with it-- causing one to gain fat weight fast prone to Diab2.

Has anyone tried fruit pectin?
Glucophage?
Chromium Piccolante? Sp

[MariaS.]

Originally Posted by HeyThere

I thought high triglycerides meant your liver pancreas is producing to much glycogen from all the startches/sugar --so much it does not know what to do with it-- causing one to gain fat weight fast prone to Diab2.

Has anyone tried fruit pectin?
Glucophage?
Chromium Piccolante? Sp

I didn't know that..... but the effect I mentioned, the lower ability to carry oxygen, is a side effect of the presence of high triglycerides in the blood. At least, that's what a retired medical technologist told me.

My husband's symptoms when doing physical stuff certainly point to oxygen deprivation. He starts gasping much too soon, and gets exhausted quickly......... despite having more than his share of muscles on his body.

If he does a significant amount of work while this way, the next day he is VERY sore-- a direct effect of lactic acid build up, I think. If he takes a couple of DMG before working, then he lasts a LOT longer and is NOT sore the next day.

It seems pretty straight forward to me.

Since we've been using the DMG, he's been able to work out (or do heavy physical work) for much longer stretches at a time. This extra calorie consumption is helping him lose weight, and I hope that when he gets down to where he ought to be, then his triglycerides might go back to near normal. A test 1.5 months ago put him in the 900 range for triglycerides!

If this diet and exercise doesn't drop them, we'll have to try the drug thing too.

He's at 229 lbs now. If he gets below 205 lbs, he'll be in the next lower weight division in the Judo competition. (They are sorted by weight, like wrestling). So he has LOTS of incentive to lose weight. He doesn't want to be in the heavyweight division with the 300+ pound guys!

[zip2play]

MariaS,

That 900mg./dl. range for triglycerides is EXTREMELY dangerous. He should be taking something to lower it immediately and work out the long term strategy at his leisure. This is a safer approach.
Has he considered a low carb diet? (I really hate recommending this but it usually DOES lower triglycerides a lot almost overnight!)
What does the rest of his blood lipid picture look like!
(Gasping is NEVER to be taken lightly.)