HMB: Supplement Review

Someone emailed me and asked me about the HMB bodybuilding supplement.  I'll (begrudgingly) admit that I tried this back when it first came out.  It did absolutely nothing for me.

This stuff may have some uses for keeping muscle during cutting/low-calorie diets.  But an effective dosage would be expensive.  HMB has been called "one of the most expensive supplements on the market" because a minimum of 3 grams a day seems to be required (based on what I've seen in the forums, those who get good results take significantly higher dosages than that).  

What does the research say?

To date there are not many published studies looking into HMB's efficacy, and more high quality research is needed. In addition, the current research is contradictory. One study carried out in 1996 concluded that supplementation with 1.5 or 3 g HMB/day can partly prevent exercise-induced protein breakdown and/or muscle damage and result in larger gains in muscle function associated with resistance training [1]. A recent review of the research, however, stated that HMB supplementation (3 to 6 g /d) during resistance-training does not reduce catabolism or affect training- induced changes in body composition and strength in experienced resistance-trained males [2].

Quoted from:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/nutrition/supplements/hmb.php

In short, the research on HMB has been far from convincing or conclusive.  Save your money.