Applied Nutrition Critical Oats

Critical Oats is a product from UK based company Applied Nutrition. This product states that it can be perfect for a Busy/Active Lifestyle This review will aim to examine the ingredients in this product to see if it can support the claims made.

100% Organic Wholegrain Oat Flakes

Ground Oats have been suggested to be key to lowering cholesterol (1). Other beneficial effects that ground oats provide include a reduction in blood sugar levels, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, more research is needed however to elucidate these effects.

Whey Protein Concentrate (Emulsifier Soy Lecithin)

Whey, soy and milk protein helps aid muscle protein synthesis when combined with resistance training (2, 3). Other key features include increasing muscle mass (4), an increase in lean body mass (5) and greater recovery from exercise (6). Longer periods of supplementation have shown greater gains in fat free mass (7).

Muscle protein synthesis is increased due to high concentration of Leucine (BCAA) which is a signalling molecule needed to increase muscle protein synthesis (8). Consumption of whey protein helps increase muscle mass due to a greater amount of peripheral nitrogen retention whereas soy protein has been found to have a greater effect on splanchnic protein synthesis (9).

The reason for greater recovery of exercise can be due to a post exercise insulin response (10, 11) which means glycogen resynthesis occurs rapidly so exercise can be prolonged, with greater training volume increased hypertrophy and decreased muscle damage.

Milk Whey Protein Isolate

Much like Whey protein, Casein is formed from milk during the cheese making process. Once separated, Acids are added separated from whey protein and formed into a solid state. Unlike whey; casein protein takes much longer to digest and has beneficial effects during the recovery process helping to rebuild muscle post exercise, (12). 

Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT Powder)

MCT is known as medium chain triglyceride. It has been suggested that it can aid fat burning which will help weight loss (13), however this has been disputed (14) and more research is needed to fully elucidate these findings.

Thickener (Xanthan Gum) 

Xanthan Gum are water soluble dietary fibres, which have been reported to reduce total cholesterol; however there seems to be insufficient evidence to confirm this theory. (15)

Sweetener (Sucralose), Natural Sweetener (Stevia)

Sucralose is a sweetener that is calorie free. This ingredient is used in many products and is used to make the product taste sweeter and does not have any nutritional benefit.  

Stevia does not have any nutritional benefits as it is a sweetener and sugar substitute extracted from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana

This product contains ingredients that can be perfect for a Busy/Active Lifestyle whilst also able to gain muscle mass. This product should be consumed with 1 scoop (60g) with water. This product has no banned substances when referring to the WADA prohibited list when observing the label / ingredients posted on the website. 

*NOTE – This product has not been tested in a laboratory and may contain other substances that may not appear on the label

1 – Lia, A., Hallmans, G., Sandberg, A. S., Sundberg, B., Aman, P., & Andersson, H. (1995). Oat beta-glucan increases bile acid excretion and a fiber-rich barley fraction increases cholesterol excretion in ileostomy subjects. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 62(6), 1245-1251.

2 – Coker, R. H., Miller, S., Schutzler, S., Deutz, N., & Wolfe, R. R. (2012). Whey protein and essential amino acids promote the reduction of adipose tissue and increased muscle protein synthesis during caloric restriction-induced weight loss in elderly, obese individuals. Nutr J, 11(1), 105.

3 – Hulmi, J. J., Lockwood, C. M., & Stout, J. R. (2010). Review Effect of protein/essential amino acids and resistance training on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: A case for whey protein.

4 – Pasiakos, S. M., McLellan, T. M., & Lieberman, H. R. (2015). The effects of protein supplements on muscle mass, strength, and aerobic and anaerobic power in healthy adults: a systematic review. Sports Medicine, 45(1), 111-131.

5 – Volek, J. S., Volk, B. M., Gómez, A. L., Kunces, L. J., Kupchak, B. R., Freidenreich, D. J., … & Kraemer, W. J. (2013). Whey protein supplementation during resistance training augments lean body mass. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 32(2), 122-135.

6 – Hansen, M., Bangsbo, J., Jensen, J., Bibby, B. M., & Madsen, K. (2014). Effect of Whey Protein Hydrolysate on Performance and Recovery of Top-Class Orienteering Runners. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism.

7 – Hartman, J. W., Tang, J. E., Wilkinson, S. B., Tarnopolsky, M. A., Lawrence, R. L., Fullerton, A. V., & Phillips, S. M. (2007). Consumption of fat-free fluid milk after resistance exercise promotes greater lean mass accretion than does consumption of soy or carbohydrate in young, novice, male weightlifters. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 86(2), 373-381.

8- Atherton, P. J., Smith, K., Etheridge, T., Rankin, D., & Rennie, M. J. (2010). Distinct anabolic signalling responses to amino acids in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells. Amino acids, 38(5), 1533-1539.

9 – Fouillet, H., Mariotti, F., Gaudichon, C., Bos, C., & Tomé, D. (2002). Peripheral and splanchnic metabolism of dietary nitrogen are differently affected by the protein source in humans as assessed by compartmental modeling. The Journal of nutrition, 132(1), 125-133.

10- Hulmi, J. J., Volek, J. S., Selänne, H. A. R. R. I., & Mero, A. A. (2005). Protein ingestion prior to strength exercise affects blood hormones and metabolism. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 37(11), 1990-1997.

11 – Power, O., Hallihan, A., & Jakeman, P. (2009). Human insulinotropic response to oral ingestion of native and hydrolysed whey protein. Amino acids, 37(2), 333-339.

12 – Res, P. T., Groen, B., Pennings, B., Beelen, M., Wallis, G. A., Gijsen, A. P., … & Van Loon, L. J. (2012). Protein ingestion before sleep improves postexercise overnight recovery. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 44(8), 1560-9.

13 – Clegg, M. E. (2010). Medium-chain triglycerides are advantageous in promoting weight loss although not beneficial to exercise performance. International journal of food sciences and nutrition, 61(7), 653-679.

14 – Goedecke, J. H., Clark, V. R., Noakes, T. D., & Lambert, E. V. (2005). The effects of medium-chain triacylglycerol and carbohydrate ingestion on ultra-endurance exercise performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 15(1), 15-27.

15 – Jensen, C. D., Spiller, G. A., Gates, J. E., Miller, A. F., & Whittam, J. H. (1993). The effect of acacia gum and a water-soluble dietary fiber mixture on blood lipids in humans. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 12(2), 147-154.