Gathering Everything I've Learned
- ostrowskiab
- Mar 27, 2019
- 11 min read
Carbs
Carbs are our bodies main source of energy, our brains and red blood cells rely on them almost totally in order to function properly. The problem with a high carb intake nowadays is that many of the carbohydrates that Americans are eating have very low quality and a very large quantity. To understand this we have to look at the two types of carbs, simple and complex. Simple carbs usually are made up of one unit of sugar where else a complex carb is made up of over 100 units of sugar.
Types of carbs:
Simple Carbs-
Monosaccharides- Glucose, Fructose, Galactose
Diaccharides- Maltose, Lactose, Sucrose
Examples: Cookies, candies, fruits, sports drinks, corn syrup, sugar, fruit juice concentrate
Simple carbs are essentially sugars, they have higher glucose levels which are enabled to to enter the body quickly, and when this occurs the pancreas releases insulin to get glucose to your muscle or fat cells in order to store them. When this process is forced to happen too often, over time it will result in excessive insulin which negatively affects the pancreas and can cause insulin dysfunction, typically causing weight gain. These simple carbs you should stray away from are table sugars, syrups, sweetened beverages etc. While simple carbs, such as light dairy and fruit are nutritionally valuable they are not built to be meals.
But complex carbs, such as whole grains and veggies have lower levels of glucose and are able to slow the release of glucose and insulin, resulting in healthier blood glucose levels.
Complex Carbs-
Polysacchardies- Starches, Fibers, Glycogen
Examples: Apples, brown rice, oats, broccoli, cauliflower, barley, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, legumes etc
If your goal is to feel fuller longer and increase your energy levels, complex carbs are the way to go. When you haven't eaten in a long period of time and you give your body a sugary, simple carbohydrate, the glucose release in to the body is very rapid, but it will leave the blood quicker, causing a dip in your glucose levels. Eating simple carbs all day will make your energy levels dip more frequently through out the day. Simple carbs take a shorter time to digest in the body and because of this you will feel much hungrier quicker. When you choose complex carbs they should ideally be unrefined starches and veggies, which are much more sustainable.
Almost all of these complex carbs are high in fiber, keeping your blood sugar from getting too high and regulating your glucose and cholesterol levels.
When meal planning be sure that you are getting your carbs from natural sugars such as fruits and less processed starches and vegetables, this will ensure that you are getting everything you need nutritionally and feel fuller longer.
Gaining Muscle:
Your body is made out of 650 skeletal muscles, motor neurons in the brain send signals to those muscles and tell them when to contract, which results in movement. When this contraction is repeated consistently those muscles become stronger, resulting in an increase of muscle mass. Muscles must undergo damage or strain, what is called muscle injury, in order to become larger and build muscle fibers. When this occurs cell signaling messages are sent throughout the body in order to activate muscle repair. For cells to undergo change they need to quickly adapt in order to remain healthy and functional. One of the ways that they do this is through hypertrophy. This is a process where cells increase in size in order to keep up with changes in their environment such as fluctuation in hormones, inflammation, and muscle damage due to an increased workload. When aiming to achieve more muscle mass and strength this workload should be made up of solid compound movements such as squats, dead lifts, bench press etc. These exercise engage several muscles at once which generally burns more calories than isolation exercise.
In order to cause this muscle hypertrophy we need to increase our intakes of water, glycogen or protein in a muscle cells to compensate the lost calories. Glycogen, a polysaccharide stored in your muscles and liver works to fuel the body during your workout. Without it the body would substantially fail to do work, low levels of glycogen makes it very difficult to perform and build muscle and strength. The best way to avoid this is to make sure you have a high carb intake, depending on the person about 1-3 grams of carbs per pound of body weight will suffice.
Nutritional Truths
1. Protein is important
The body breaks down protein molecules in the food you eat, and uses the amino acids from it to build its own proteins. When you are exercising the body needs even more amino acids than it would normally in order to repair damaged muscle fibers from hypertrophy. If the body has a protein deficient it will not be able to properly heal those muscles and muscle growth will come to a halt. When carbohydrates are paired with proteins for any meal the muscle growth or what is called the anabolic muscle building process is able to function properly. The carbohydrates work as energy for the body and the brain when converted from complex carbs to simple carbs in the form of glucose. While protein such as meat, fish and milk builds the muscles. When eaten together around your workouts the body is able to function and repair itself properly building muscle and allowing your body to burn more calories when at rest, this will consequently speed up your metabolism as well.
2. Calorie Intake
Muscle Growth is Affected by the Amounts of Food You Intake
The only way to increase growth is to have a surplus of calories in your diet. Calories are the amount of energy it would take to raise 1 kg of water to 1 degree Celsius. The amount of calories you burn each day is your total daily energy expenditure. How much energy you burn each day is going to directly affect how many calories you should be eating, in order to be in taking slightly more calories than what is enough. Because we are also engaging in compound movements which burns more calories than many other isolated exercises it is important to be getting enough protein as well as carbs.
3. Overeating
Grossly Overeating is going to for sure result in an increased mass, but mass of what? Muscle including fat. A very large calorie surplus will result in fat gain, which will make it harder to keep off fat in the future. Keep this in mind while planning your meals, try to stick to lean meats, unprocessed carbs, vegetables and and small servings of grains.
Losing Weight:
When trying to lose weight avoid excessive hours of cardio and to replace exaggerated time on the treadmill with shorter, high Intensity workouts (HIIT) or weight lifting. Any quick burst of physically activity proves to be much more beneficial to the body than all of that dreaded cardio. A 15-30 minute workout of push ups, burpees, and squats can burn an average of 15 calories a minute, that's nearly double the amount of calories burned in a run. Cardio enhances your body's ability to fuel your muscles, during these workouts your lungs and heart have to work harder than they normally would during a weight lifting session, which in turn strengthens them. It is when this action becomes excessive that it can be harmful to the body.
Cortisol
Cortisol is important for functioning, as it keeps our body's immune system in check by regulating blood pressure and providing the body with the necessary energy to fight injury, illness and infection.
Through a study, it was reported that those who participate in very strenuous exercise and training risk having much higher cortisol levels than others, which can prove to be problematic to the levels of growth and sex hormones in the body and its ability to make tissue repairs. This hormone is directly related to stress and aging, those who participate in extraneous activity everyday keep more elevated levels of cortisol throughout the day, which can lead the body to store more fat, compared to those whose levels are high in the morning and drop down throughout the day.
With any spike of emotion, whether fear or stress, cortisol levels increase, becoming harmful when they get too high.
With today's high stress world, our society is becoming high strung and we are reaping its affects.. This hormone is directly related to stress and aging, those who participate in extraneous activity everyday keep more elevated levels of cortisol throughout the day, which can lead the body to store more fat compared to those whose levels are high in the morning and drop down throughout the day.
Vitamin Supplements:
While many of these deficiencies are very real and should be treated so, the main problem with supplements is that people who do not need them are taking them. According to the National Institute of Health, “It’s possible to get all of the nutrients you need by eating a variety of healthy foods, so you don’t have to take one,” says Carol Haggans, a registered dietitian and consultant to NIH. “But supplements can be useful for filling in gaps in your diet."
Detoxes & Juice Cleanses:
Up to 90% of the antioxidants in plants are naturally bound to fibers and are lost when the whole fruits are juiced.
When fruits and vegetables are juiced, the resting liquid contains all of the vitamins and minerals but all of the fiber that makes you feel full all day is extracted.
When soluble and insoluble fiber are chewed together, they form a type of gel in the digestive tract that prevents sugar from slipping into your blood stream and overloading your liver. But when you blend or juice fruits it gets rid of any insoluble fiber and bombards your liver with sugar.
Many fruits and vegetables contain large amounts of water, for example celery has a water content of 95 percent per cup. Of all foods, vegetables contain the most water and while this is very beneficial when paired with proper proteins and carbs, it is not sustainable.
Most juice cleanses last from between 3-14 days and are usually in a caloric range of 500-1,200 calories which is low for almost anyone. Because of such a low-calorie intake, the body begins to go into starvation mode and it will try to conserve energy by slowing down your metabolism. The most weight actually lost ends up actually being water weight and is most likely gained back several days after the cleanse. Many fruits and vegetables contain large amounts of water, for example celery has a water content of 95 percent per cup. Of all foods, vegetables contain the most water and while this is very beneficial it is not enough to go by each day on.
Low protein
Protein is necessary not only to build muscle but to build healthy immune cells and make enzymes and hormones and it is found nowhere in these juices. According to a study done by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. those who increased their dietary protein from 15% to 30% saw a decrease in their caloric consumption of about 477 calories. By simply increasing the protein amount, not the calories, you could drop more than a pound of weight in a week.
High Fructose Levels
Blending or juicing fruits and vegetables makes it easy to consume a surplus of fructose and glucose. Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, says “If you drink a glass of orange juice, you could be drinking the amount of sugar in four to six oranges—or more than a Coke—and you don’t feel full afterward.” Fructose, found in fruits, processed foods and sugary drinks, can only be used by liver cells while glucose can be used by every single cell in the body. Because glucose can be used very quickly, only 20% of it falls on the liver while the other 80% is used by the rest of the body. But when fructose is metabolized in the liver, it is turned into free fatty acids and triglycerides, which get stored as fat. These triglycerides can lead to fat accumulation in the belly around the liver. Also, fructose activates glycerol which is lipophilic meaning it is attracted to fats, the more glycerol you have the more fat you store. A study conducted by the University of Illinois at Alabama concentrated on two groups of mice, all were fed the same amount of calories but one group of mice were fed a diet in which 18% of the calories came from fructose and another group of mice was fed a diet consisting of 18% of calories from glucose. The mice fed fructose, saw a 20% increase in their liver mass, gained weight and became sedentary. Not only does a surplus of fructose increase the risk for obesity, and chronic diseases but it actually depletes the body of the vitamins and minerals you think you are getting in these juices.
Amino Acids
Amino Acids are essential to the function of our organs, glands, tendons, and arteries. Essentially meaning that our bodies do not make them, the nine essential amino acids are, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lycine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Primarily they transport and store our necessary nutrients to other cells. Because they help to heal wounds and repair tissue they can be the deciding factor between you and some pretty sore muscles. These essential amino acids can all be found in complete proteins such as meats, dairy, and seafood, But for those of you who are like me and like to avoid meat at times or are a vegan, you can find amino acids in incomplete proteins. Meaning that they only provide certain essential acids incomplete proteins include plant based foods. Nuts, beans, brown rice, tofu, and lentils all provide several amino acids, but it is important to eat several kinds of plant based foods throughout the day in order to consume a large grouping of amino acids.
BCAA's
Branched-chain amino acids make up a grouping of three essential amino acids, leucine, isoleucine, and valine, which account for 35% of the essential amino acids in our muscles. While regulating blood sugar levels, improves glucose metabolism, BCAA's are more commonly used to reduce mental and physical fatigue during exercise.
Leucine: Stimulates wound healing and produces growth hormones.
Isolecine: Regulates blood sugar and energy levels and is heavily involved in hemoglobin production and muscle metabolism.
Valine: Promoting muscle growth and tissue repair, increases alertness, elevates blood pressure and increases heart rate and respiration.
Cardio
The key is to avoid excessive hours of cardio and to replace exaggerated time on the treadmill with shorter, high Intensity workouts (HIIT) or weight lifting. Any quick burst of physically activity proves to be much more beneficial to the body than all of that dreaded cardio. A 15-30 minute workout of push ups, burpees, and squats can burn an average of 15 calories a minute, that's nearly double the amount of calories burned in a run. Using The basic Calories Burned Running Calculator, you can find the rough amount of calories burned per each run, compare that to your next HIIT workout.
Medicinal Plants & Their Benefits
Turmeric: This reddish, orange Asian spice has been opted for because of its spice but concerning its medicinal properties it's been looked to for its joint and headache healing properties. The root of turmeric is what is most commonly used in medicines. It contains a yellowish colored chemical called curcumin which can help decrease swelling and inflammation, and manage breathing problems. It's also recognized for its ability to enhance recovery in active people, managing exercise-induced inflammation and muscle soreness. It can help manage headaches, anxiety, joint pain, colds, bronchitis, stomach pain and many more illnesses.
Ginkgo: Ginkgo extract, taken from the leaves, has been commonly associated with brain health and function, antioxidant properties, and increased circulation. It's been widely used in various degenerative diseases such as cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, macroangiopathy and more. Along with turmeric, ginkgo also has many anti-inflammatory effects, helping with arthritis, stomach issues, cancer, heart disease and strokes.
Cayenne pepper: It helps the digestion process because it increases the production of saliva in the mouth. But it also stimulates the production of enzymes which speed up the chemical reactions in the body and break down food into nutrients. It has been researched that because of its spice, cayenne can cause pain in a different part of the body, redirecting the brain's attention away from a headache or a migraine and towards the another site. After this pain, nerve fibers have a depleted amount of pain chemical, which will in turn trick your body into feeling pain somewhere else.
According to Mid America Heart Institute at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, cayenne pepper can decrease acid secretion, increase alkali and gastric blood flow. It can help to regulate your metabolism and suppress hunger throughout the day.
Because cayenne is a metabolic booster, it can actually burn excess fat by promoting fat oxidation, also causes less of an appetite. It raises your body temperature which makes you sweat and increases the activity of your immune system, and kick starting the digestive process. Try eating some with your breakfast, this will help curb your cravings and reduce bloating. Additionally, cayenne can help soothe inflammation and food irritants caused by food sensitivities and allergies.
Comments