Here is an amazing side effect of the pill--but there is one catch.
Why? It appears that oral contraceptives impair muscle gains from resistance exercise training in women.
The study: Led by Chang-Woock Lee, the team followed 73 healthy women between the ages of 18 and 31; of these, 34 of the women used oral contraceptives, while 39 did not. Three times a week for 10 weeks, each woman participated in whole-body resistance exercises. During the study period, the women were encouraged to eat enough protein to promote muscle growth.
The results: There were noticeable differences in lean muscle gain between the two groups of women. While lean muscle increased just 2.1 percent in those women taking oral contraceptives, it was boosted by 3.5 percent in the women who weren't on the pill. Put another way, the non-pill users gained 60 percent more muscle mass than those who were on the pill. Lee's team acknowledged they are surprised by the magnitude of the differences in muscle gains between the two groups, especially since other strength gains, such as arm and leg circumferences, were similar among the two groups. In addition, tests showed that blood levels of three muscle-building hormones were significantly lower, while one muscle-breaking hormone was significantly higher, in pill users than non-pill users.
One exercise--done just twice a week for an hour--best attacks belly fat.
"Numerous health and performance benefits including improved exercise/athletic performance, body composition, aesthetic beauty and self-image can be attained from the increased muscle mass and strength associated with resistance exercise training," Lee said in a prepared statement. "Oral contraceptive users may not be able to fully enjoy those benefits while experiencing impaired exercise performance and difficulties achieving athletic goals due to diminished muscle responses they get from resistance exercise training." The study findings were presented at the American Physiological Society meeting, which was part of the Experimental Biology 2009 scientific conference underway in New Orleans.
