Login or Register

Information on CytoGainer

Jun 4, 2011 | By Brian Willett
Information on CytoGainer
Photo Credit Pixland/Pixland/Getty Images

CytoGainer is a high-calorie sports nutrition supplement manufactured by CytoSport, a company best known for its Muscle Milk supplement. As the name indicates, CytoGainer is intended to help you gain muscle mass and weight, so it is significantly more calorie-dense than other supplements and provides protein, carbohydrates and fat for growth. While CytoGainer can support your athletic goals, it may not be appropriate for everyone, so you should consult a doctor prior to use.

Suggested Use

According to CytoSport, you should consume three servings of CytoGainer per day, which would amount to 1,710 calories if mixed with water, and 2,430 calories if mixed with low-fat milk. Although a calorie surplus can help you gain weight and muscle, consuming too many calories will cause you to gain fat. You may find three servings excessive, as an hour of weightlifting burns 219 calories, according to MayoClinic.com, and one serving of CytoGainer mixed with water provides 570.

Calorie Content

Each serving of CytoGainer powder is 4 scoops and has 570 calories. This amount represents 28.5 percent of the daily suggested intake of 2,000 calories, and is much more than the amount provided by a regular protein powder, which is 110 calories per serving.

Protein Content

Each serving of CytoGainer provides 54 g of protein, which is enough to satisfy your daily recommended intake. While supplement and nutrition researcher Dr. John Berardi suggests that muscle-building athletes may benefit from consuming 2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight each day because protein stimulates anabolic hormones, this amount may be inappropriate for some. MayoClinic.com nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky notes that high-protein diets may aggravate existing liver and kidney problems, or cause new ones.

Carbohydrate Content

CytoGainer is rich in carbohydrates, with 75 g per serving. Carbohydrates provide your body with fuel, and they can be beneficial for increasing your energy levels before workouts and stimulating recovery afterward. CytoGainer is low in sugar, with 7 g, and provides 4 g of dietary fiber, which aids in digestion.

Fat Content

CytoGainer is relatively low in fat, with 6 g of total fat and 3.5 g of saturated fat. Some of the fat comes from medium-chain triglycerides, a type of fat that may promote the burning of fat for fuel. While this may help you reduce your body fat percentage, research reported in the November 2010 issue of the "International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition" suggests that this fat may be detrimental to your weight-gain efforts. The research notes that medium-chain triglycerides stimulate increased calorie burning and reduced calorie intake, but they do not improve exercise performance.

Vitamin and Mineral Content

CytoGainer contains a number of vitamins and minerals, including 35 percent of the daily suggested intake for vitamins A, C, D and E, and the same percentage of the suggested intakes for iron, calcium, zinc and copper.

References

Article reviewed by TimDog Last updated on: Jun 4, 2011

Must see: Photo Galleries

Member Comments