Tag protein

Are Post-Workout Carbohydrates Necessary?

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Please check out my latest article for Sports Nutrition Supplement Guide!

You can access the original post here:

http://www.sportsnutritionsupplementguide.com/eating-plans/item/1532-are-post-workout-carbohydrates-necessary#.VfiGeBFViko

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If you have been lifting weights for a while, you have probably heard about the importance of ingesting simple carbohydrates during the critical post-workout window. The idea is that the insulin spike which occurs with carb consumption augments protein uptake and thus optimizes muscle building and repair.

However, there is a growing body of evidence which argues against this theory. One study which was published in Nutrition and Metabolism split older male subjects into two groups, one of which consumed only protein post-workout, while the other group consumed the identical amount of protein, with an added carbohydrate source in a 1 to 2 ratio. The subjects in the second group initially had an insulin spike and a greater uptake of protein into muscle tissue, but after several hours, both groups had the same uptake of protein.

Athletes who train several times a day may benefit from the faster rate of protein absorption which accompanies carbohydrate consumption during the post-workout window since they need to keep glycogen stores full for the next workout. However, the average person or athlete who only trains once per day will be able to replenish glycogen levels within a day or two, without any negative effects, as long as enough carbohydrates are consumed in the diet throughout each day. This is great news for individuals who cannot consume large amounts of simple carbohydrates, either due to diabetes or excess weight, because the overall absorption and uptake of protein is unaffected by carbohydrate intake.

Substances like whey protein induce an even bigger spike in insulin than carbs do, and the increase insulin levels from protein alone is adequate to inhibit the muscle breakdown which occurs post-lift. You might also consider employing a carb-cycle diet which consists of a low carb plan intermixed with one or two high carb days per week. The carb spike days will effectively replenish glycogen stores and keep your energy high for those intense lifting days, while the remaining lower carbohydrate days will boost growth hormone production.

REFERENCES: Hamer H, Wall B, Kiskini A, de Lange A, et al (2013) Carbohydrate co-ingestion with protein does not further augment post-prandial muscle protein accretion in older men. Nutrition & Metabolism 10:15.

Why Cheat Meals Are Good

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If you ask a competitor about favorite cheat meals, you had better expect the person’s eyes to glaze over as he or she lovingly describes his or her most beloved foods. You may wonder if cheat meals are only incorporated into the lives of fitness people, but they actually serve a purpose for anyone who is committed to healthy eating. Perhaps you have just embarked on a healthy food regimen and are struggling a bit with it. When you incorporate one or two cheat meals into your plan each week you will boost your metabolism and foster a more balanced relationship with food.

Let’s face it. We are only human, and we carry our emotional relationship with food with us throughout our lives. If we were to practice a rigid adherence to a healthy meal plan without any fun meals, we would feel guilty if we were to ever indulge in a bad food in a moment of weakness. If we know that we are allowed such a fun meal (I prefer this terminology over “cheat” meal), we can rest in the comfort that it is acceptable and that there is no reason to feel guilty about consuming it. This also works nicely if you tend to go to events on the weekends and don’t want to be the stick-in-the-mud who can’t eat anything that is being served.

When you eat a more calorie controlled meal plan during the rest of the week, a fun meal will speed up your metabolism and satisfy cravings that have been accumulating during the week. I believe it is important to eat something you truly crave instead of doing a small cheat like a dinner roll with a chicken spinach salad. Have the two slices of pizza or the burger! Just make sure to eat an acceptable amount of food and don’t gorge yourself.

I am often asked by weight management patients if a cheat day or a cheat weekend is acceptable. My response is no, for the simple reason that this creates a slippery slope which causes many individuals to lose self-control and spiral into a guilt-ridden “I messed up so why stop now?” mentality. If it is too difficult to do one fun meal per week, incorporate two fun meals spaced by at least one day so that your body can recover.

New B-Up Bar Flavor: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

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There’s a new flavor in the B-Up Bar lineup! Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough has lots of tasty chunks of chocolate, and tastes just like chocolate chip cookie dough! These bars have ZERO artificial sweeteners, are gluten free, are loaded with fiber, and deliver 20 grams of protein.

Go to Yupbrands.com to order any of the amazing flavors of B-Up Bars or B-Jammin Bars.

When ordering single boxes (no bundle packs or samples), you can use my discount code amstacey29 to get 12% off your order!

Please Check Out My Profile at Sports Nutrition Supplement Guide Website!

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I have had the good fortune to be one of the Authoritative Experts on Sportsnutritionsupplementguide.com for the past year. Please check out their site, which is chock-full of information and inspiration! The link below will take you to my profile on the site:

http://www.sportsnutritionsupplementguide.com/get-certified/brand-specific/itemlist/user/486-drstaceynaito

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The Power Of Leucine

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Original post can be found at:

http://www.sportsnutritionsupplementguide.com/supplementation/item/1528-the-power-of-leucine

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Leucine could be considered the most important supplement you should add to your regimen as you age, especially if you are a competitor. Leucine breaks down much faster during exercise than the other two branched-chain amino acids (isoleucine and valine), and is also unique in that it plays a critical role in intramuscular protein production through anabolic signaling and mediation of insulin secretion, so it certainly makes sense to ensure that you are getting sufficient amounts of leucine in your diet.

If you are over the age of 35 or 40, leucine is depleted even more rapidly, so replenishing this amino acid through leucine rich food or through leucine supplements can be an insurance policy to guard against age-related muscle loss.

Leucine crosses the blood-brain barrier, and once in the brain, it sends satiety signals to the hypothalamus, thus guarding against overeating.1 It also promotes glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity by optimizing glucose metabolism. Another important function which leucine has in the brain is the stimulation of glutamate production and release. Since glutamate is an important neurotransmitter in the brain which is involved in memory and learning, the presence of leucine exerts protective effects on cognitive function.

One study by Donato et al discovered that leucine supplementation while on a calorie restricted diet resulted in more fat loss overall, as well as increased protein synthesis in muscle tissue and the liver. 2 The human requirement for leucine is the highest of all the essential amino acids, at approximately 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight in sedentary adults. However, this requirement does not take into account the muscle preserving needs of individuals who are engaged in intense resistance training. Such individuals benefit greatly from supplementing with up to 200 milligrams of leucine per kilogram of body weight. 3

If you are considering adding leucine to your regimen, be sure to time it so that you ingest it when you take in a protein-rich meal. If you prefer actual food sources of leucine, you can consume turkey breast (over 2 grams of leucine in a 3 ounce serving), fish, dairy products, seeds, soy or nuts. Leucine powder is VERY bitter, so make sure to mix it with a tasty protein powder, or take it in capsule form with your whole food meals. This will optimize protein synthesis in muscle tissue and enhance the anabolic effect.

REFERENCES

1. Potier M, Darcel N, Tome (2009) Protein, amino acids and the control of food intake. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 12(1):54-58.

2. Donato J Jr, Pedrosa RG, Cruzat VF, Pires IS, Tirapegui J (2006) Effects of leucine supplementation on the body composition and protein status of rats submitted to food restriction. Nutrition 22 : 520 –527,2006

3. WHO/FAO/UNU (2007) Protein and amino acid requirements in human nutrition. Report of a joint WHO/FAO/UNU expert consultation. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 1–265.

Question On My Fan Page About Food Additives

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Some guy wrote in on my Facebook Fan Page on June 14 at 1:13am with the following question:

“Why is their Xanthan Gum and Sucralose in Whey 100 Ultra Clean when that will make it harmfull to the body how can you loose weight and build lean muscle with those types of harmfull ingredients put in whey?”

I hadn’t seen the question until now, so I wanted to make sure I posted a response. Here it is:

Xanthan gum is a plant based thickening agent which may cause some digestive issues in those who already suffer from digestive maladies, in which case they probably wouldn’t be ingesting whey in the first place. As for the sucralose, there is a huge controversy regarding potential harm from consuming it, yet nothing conclusive. I am personally not a huge fan of sucralose, but truth be told, it is in many food items. In addition, it can be very difficult to make a palatable whey protein formula without sucralose, since stevia can be very bitter. Please be aware that I am not in any way involved with the manufacture of Royal Sport Ltd. products but I definitely consider them to be some of the best in the industry. Bear in mind that the vast majority of sports supplement products are full of additives, so in this case I think we are talking about choosing products which are on the less offensive end of the spectrum when it comes to flavorings and additives.

Menopausal Weight Gain

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Menopause can really break a woman’s spirit, for countless reasons. Her ability to reproduce comes to a screeching halt, her nether regions may start to resemble an arid climate, hot flashes may make her feel like she is spontaneously combusting, and she may have mood swings that would make the Tazmanian Devil look like a calm little bugger in comparison. But it’s the weight gain which often upsets menopausal women the most. Menopausal women will notice that if they drop their caloric intake, weight won’t drop at all, even though it may have easily melted off in the past.

That’s because the plummeting levels of progesterone and estrogen also adversely affect a woman’s ability to mobilize fat. Cortisol levels can go unchecked as a result of the low levels of progesterone and estrogen, and any extra calories will end up getting stored as fat. If a menopausal woman is at a caloric deficit, the switch flips in favor of burning muscle instead of turning to the storage fat she so desperately wants to incinerate. This is especially true for the adipose (fat) tissue around the midsection, because cortisol is notorious for padding that area with extra fat, resulting in an ever expanding belly. Another unfortunate consequence of cortisol is that levels will rise dramatically with prolonged intense exercise. The key is to have more abbreviated, yet still intense, exercise sessions so that the cortisol release is also accompanied by a boost in HGH and testosterone, thus conferring a protective effect on muscle.

Basically, the WORST thing you can do if you are in the midst of menopausal hell and struggling with weight gain is to engage in lengthy gym sessions. That might work for a 20 year old, but it can be devastating for a 50 year old. If you are a gym rat like me, you can still train up to six days per week (that’s how frequently I train), but keep your sessions intense but relatively short, between 30 to 60 minutes. If you train beyond that time window, the excess cortisol release will only trigger your body to cling to fat.

Menopausal women also experience an increase in carbohydrate sensitivity, which means that carbohydrate-rich meals which they used to be able to consume in their younger years without much consequence will suddenly wreak havoc on that waistline. The extra carbs settle in for a long and uninvited stay in the midsection and end up making women miserable. Because of this, dietary shifts need to be implemented in which the intake of starches and grains is dramatically reduced, while the consumption of more lean protein and green vegetables is increased. I also strongly recommend supplementing the diet with digestive enzymes and probiotics to optimize gut health and digestion of different foods.

Why Whey Protein Is The Key To Anti-Aging

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Original post can be found at:

http://www.sportsnutritionsupplementguide.com/health-wellness/anti-aging/item/1519-why-whey-protein-is-the-key-to-anti-aging#.VZ2WSvlViko

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Adequate protein intake is vital to anyone seeking to preserve muscle mass, especially since the aging process threatens the loss of all that hard-earned muscle through a process called sarcopenia. Sarcopenia causes a loss of muscle mass and strength in all individuals as they age, even in die-hard gym addicts.

The aging process hits us with a double whammy because 1) our dietary protein needs increase over time, and 2) our ability to synthesize new proteins plummets as a consequence of diminished levels of testosterone, human growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factor-1. In other words, it becomes tougher and tougher to meet the aging body’s protein needs, and the result is a loss of muscle.

One of the biggest challenges in meeting the protein demands of the body as we age is the physical challenge of consuming adequate protein. Protein powders are an excellent means of meeting protein requirements in a low bulk form since they are dissolved in liquid. Whey protein in particular is an excellent protein source for anyone over the age of 30, provided they have no issues with allergy or intolerance to whey.

Whey protein is rich in branched chain amino acids, especially leucine, which is considered the most important branched chain amino acid for protein synthesis, especially in older people. Branched chain amino acids are also responsible for proper dermal collagen protein synthesis, so they play a huge role in the condition of the skin, maintaining its suppleness and tone.

Another age-related benefit of supplementing one’s diet with whey protein is the presence of lactoferrin, which fortifies bone and prevents osteoporotic fractures by activating osteoblasts. Whey protein also contains high levels of cysteine, an amino acid which boosts glutathione production. Glutathione, an antioxidant with powerful anti-aging effects, steadily declines naturally as we age, and since its production relies on the presence of cysteine, the introduction of whey protein into a meal plan can guard against age related diseases.

Whey protein has profound effects on glucose metabolism as well. It reduces serum glucose levels in healthy individuals while impairing glucose tolerance in diabetic and obese individuals. When consumed consistently as part of a sensible high protein meal plan, the result is a reduction in body weight and an increase in fat oxidation. This is due to the release of leptin, cholecystokinin, and glucagon like-peptide 1, all of which create a feeling of satiety.

In summary, the benefits of whey protein are numerous and significant, especially for older individuals. If you have yet to incorporate whey protein into your meal plan and you have been lamenting the ravages of Father Time, do yourself a favor and add whey protein to your daily regimen.

References: Sousa G et al. Dietary whey protein lessens several risk factors for metabolic diseases: a review. Lipids Health Disc. 2012;11:67

I Am Proud To Be A MAW Sponsored Athlete!

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For the cleanest and tastiest meals, look no further than MAW Nutrition Inc.! I am so honored and grateful for the opportunity to promote this company, and can tell you first hand that the food is exceptionally delicious and completely guilt free!

Check them out at http://www.mawnutritioninc.com/ and be sure to enter my discount code: NAITO10 for 10% off your order!