Month: August 2011

This study showed that there was more muscle protein synthesis after consuming 25g of protein vs. consuming 25g spread out over multiple servings.

A lesson to be learned with protein is that “pulsing” is more effective at increasing muscle protein synthesis than constant infusions of smaller amounts.  So having two big protein meals a day can be a bigger net gain than trying to eat a lot of small meals with some protein in them.  This is similar to how you maintain better insulin sensitivity by not constantly putting a small amount of carbs in your mouth vs. just eating one large amount and then giving your pancreas a break for a while.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21795443

This study was a bit of the obvious, but nonetheless, I’m glad to see a controlled study was done.  Essentially, a bunch of people exercised and drank sugar, while another group didn’t exercise and drank the same sugar.  The result, the less active people had a much higher swing in blood sugar which we know leads to chronic health problems.  So the overall take away?

Eat less carbs when you’re less active, or another way to say it, carbs should be balanced by your moderate to high intensity activity

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=11566

This is a really interesting study because it shows that the reduction in oxidative stress via an antioxidant rich diet correlates with lower body fat, lower oxidized cholesterol, lower triglycerides and blood sugar.

Is any of this surprising?  Not especially, but does reinforce that people should be eating real foods because real foods have natural and synergistic antioxidants.

http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/8/1/59/abstract

Prunes have a reputation of being eaten by old people for bowel motility, but they also happen to have more benefits that should make them a staple in your diet:

1. Prunes are the highest antioxidant fruit by weight (some blueberries can have more)

2. Prunes are extremely low in fructose! This is probably the most important benefit because your antioxidant to fructose ratio is so high.

3. Last but not least, they seem to help by suppressing bone resorption and thus reduce fracture potential better than most other fruits. The study doesn’t say exactly why but my two guesses are that it increases the alkalinity of the blood and potentially contains boron (like Apples) which are part of the bone matrix and known to be synergistic with calcium, vitamin D3, magnesium and zinc.

Here’s a great video by a neurologist who decided to dive into the actual science of how fats, carbs and protein affect us.  He said the research by experts was clear, a high fat, low carb diet is the way to lower your risk of heart disease.

This doctor showed how he brought down his blood fat (triglycerides) from 720 to < 150, and his cholesterol significantly down as well.  He also gives a great explanation at the end of why cholesterol is actually trying to heal arterial tears that resulted from glycated proteins (proteins damaged by too much sugar in the blood):

It seems to me that anything that increases the ability for the muscle to take in sugar will lower your blood glucose.  The study below shows that 20-40 minutes lowers blood glucose. Unfortunately, that’s not really that convenient unless you’re watching TV or something similar.  I’ve read that going for a walk also helps keep the arteries pumping and manage blood glucose better (obviously better than sitting).

I’d also make the argument that foam rolling could be even more of a benefit than passive stretching but would need to see a study on that to be sure.  Overall, a good little piece of knowledge to keep in mind or incorporate into your routine.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21843832

I’ve mentioned before the importance of having herbs and spices in your diet and now another study shows that cumin can lower stress and improve blood glucose:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/cumin-has-antistress-antioxidant-and-memory-enhancing-activities

Ever wondered how all orange juice tastes the exact same year round?  That’s not how nature works and neither is 100% Orange Juice real.  They use essential oils and other flavorings derived from oranges (in the 100% orange juice case) to ensure the exact same taste and increase the shelf life.

Here’s a blurb about it:

For industrially-produced orange juice, after the oranges are squeezed, the juice is stored in giant holding tanks and the oxygen is removed from them, which allows the liquid to keep for up to a year without spoiling.  It also makes the juice completely flavorless. So the industry uses “flavor packs” to re-flavor the juice.

According to Food Renegade:

“Juice companies therefore hire flavor and fragrance companies … to engineer flavor packs to add back to the juice to make it taste fresh. Flavor packs aren’t listed as an ingredient on the label because technically they are derived from orange essence and oil. Yet those in the industry will tell you that the flavor packs, whether made for reconstituted or pasteurized orange juice, resemble nothing found in nature.”

Source

I’ve always known that herbs and spices are the pieces of most people’s diets that’s not done well.  You’d think we’d put more emphasis on the fact that cinnamon can lower blood sugar by making muscle cells take up more glucose.  Or that turmeric in curry powder is thought to be the reason that India has lowest incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease per capita.

Another study just came out showing that those two spices, turmeric and cinnamon, can reduce the elevation in triglycerides by up to 30%.  I’m curious what the meals were composed of, but overall, it’s a safe assertion that consuming organic herbs and spices can be a great way to reduce the oxidative stress from a less than optimal meal.

This was a great post outlining all the chemicals you put on your body in your morning routine when using your typical mainstream brands:

http://ruthsrealfood.blogspot.com/2011/07/good-morning-chemical-soup.html