Iowa State student, Shawn Dassie, has just come back from a regular checkup. His body fat is down to 7 percent from 7.9. He has had 12 pounds of lean body gain, and his leg press has gone up 250 pounds. He works his body harder and feels less soreness.

Dassie, a junior in exercise and sport science, has been weight lifting and body building for nearly seven years. Then suddenly within four weeks his body grew as much as it did his first year of lifting.

Unexplained phenomena? Dassie worked harder than ever those four weeks when was receiving a nutrient isolated by ISU researchers.

Recently released to the general public, beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate or HMB, is touted as one of the greatest breakthroughs in body- building by muscle and fitness magazines such as Muscle Media 2000 and Ironman.

HMB has been in short supply since its release. General Nutrition Centers in Ames and Des Moines report they have not been able to keep HMB in stock. Metabolic Technologies Incorporated, located in the ISU research park, holds the patent on HMB’s manufacture has been working to meet demand.

The results of a November study, released in late April by an ISU research group led by animal ecology professor Steve Nissen, showed the apparent benefits of HMB use.

The study involved 40 males; 17 were previously trained weight lifters and 23 were untrained. The subjects were randomly given either HMB or a placebo. All completed four weeks of exercises consisting of eight resistance exercises and two trunk exercises on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Three sets of each exercise were performed and weights continually increased to cause failure in the 3rd to 6th repetition of each set.

Statistics on all subjects before and after the study were compared and found to have changed positively, according to Nissen, in FASEB, a national experimental biology journal.

The average body fat at the start was about 15.3 kilograms and 67.5 kilograms lean body mass. After four weeks, among those receiving the placebo, there was a 2.2 percent body fat decrease compared to 7.2 percent decrease in those taking HMB.

Those given HMB also increased their lean mass 3.1 percent, over the 1.92 percent experienced by the control group. The increased lean mass reflected a larger strength gain as well — an average bench press increase of 10.2 kilograms; this was a 55 percent greater increase than the control group.

Dassie has no plans to stop using HMB. “I take it pretty much religiously. It knocks down the soreness after a workout. It seems like I get sore less often and get as good a workout,” he said. “Before HMB I couldn’t lift my legs more than once a week, now I do it twice a week.”

HMB is a naturally occurring substance in the human body, Nissen said. It is a nutrient, not a drug. Derived from the amino acid leucine, HMB is found in foods of both plant and animal origin.

Catfish and grapefruit are two foods relatively high in HMB, according to MTI.

The problem that exists, said Nissen, is that it is impractical to consume enough of these foods to see a noticeable effect of HMB. This is not so with pills.

The recommended dosage of HMB is four 250 mg / capsules, three times per day with meals, said MTI. It does not require any additional supplements or special meals. Those using HMB to gain muscle size and strength should be exercising appropriately. HMB is labeled a “protein breakdown suppressor.” It does not add muscle; it prevents it from being damaged.

The nutrient appears to support the body’s ability to minimize protein breakdown during intense physical exercise, according to MTI. This reduces muscle damage and increases mass. HMB does not require any cycling—switching from period of use to non-use, as do other bodybuilding supplements.

“Under stressful conditions we believe there is an extra requirement for [HMB],” Nissen said. The human body seems unable to produce sufficient HMB during intense workouts resulting in protein damage, said Nissen. “Much like vitamin C, it’s a normal part of a human body, or animal body, for that matter.”

Since beginning his regimen of HMB, Dassie said he has been asked if he plans on entering bodybuilding competition. So far he has declined. Dassie enjoys being able to work out with the effects of HMB and wants to continue his normal eating habits, which would be changed if he were to compete.

“The stuff really works. I’ve been training for close to seven years. I’ve tried everything,” Dassie said. “I’ve never in one year, besides the first year I’ve lifted, lost this much fat or gained this much lean weight.”

Previous to human studies, HMB was tested on various animals, including sheep, chicken and cattle, Nissen said. While chicken or sheep cannot be trained to lift weights, studies revealed that the addition of HMB resulted in increased body weight, Nissen said.

MTI is the exclusive patent holder on HMB, and consumers should be wary of buying imitators. According to a copyrighted article in the April edition of Muscle Media 2000, there are other companies beginning to sell drugs that give the impression that they contain HMB, but that do not.

“I’ve seen one bottle where the implications were that is was HMB, but there wasn’t any HMB in it,” Nissen said.

HMB is available from General Nutrition Centers and through Muscle Media 2000 depending on supply. Nissen said that within a month the shortage should be remedied. HMB is available in bottles of 120 capsules (250 mg / per capsule) for about $35.