Do You Crave for Sweets? Read This to Know Why and How to Overcome

Craving for sweets is a problem that many people suffer from. The problem is not when you consume sweets, but it is when you over-consume them. It can be very bothersome for people who are trying to reduce weight or maintain it. People who have diabetes can do themselves a huge harm by giving in to sugar cravings. It is very important for you to differentiate the cravings that your body absolutely needs from those that your body wants as an addiction. The following sections will explain why you crave sweets and how you can overcome your cravings.
Emotional eating
Most people turn to sugar and sweets when they are stressed or unhappy. More specifically called 'emotional eating'; people reach out to sweets in order to comfort themselves. Severe stress, overwork or lack of sleep can make a person crave for energy dense sweets to get the sudden rush of energy. The instant sugary treat makes the brain release natural chemicals called opioids which give the body a feeling of pleasure and happiness. This explains the 'high' you get after eating a chocolate cake or a donut.

Deficiency of Vitamin B Complex
If a person is deficient in Vitamin B, he tends to be low on energy. To make up for this, his body starts giving out craving signs which make him want sugary or fatty foods that can give him instant energy. It is very important for a person to understand what his body exactly wants for. The only way to fight cravings is to ensure that the body gets its share of nutrition and healthy foods.
Low adrenal function
Adrenal glands secrete hormones like epinephrine (adrenalin), cortisone, oestrogen and progesterone. Low adrenal function can lead to reduction in the secretion of such hormones due to which one tends to feels low on energy, becomes lethargic and craves for instant energy boosting foods.
Dieting
If a person has been on a strict low fat, low carbohydrate diet for a long time, the body becomes insulin resistant. Due to this, even though there is ample amount of glucose in the blood, the body starts sending out signals to the brain because of which the person tends to want for more sweets and fatty foods.
How to reduce or overcome sweet cravings?
• Ensure that your body gets the required amounts of nutrients essential for proper functioning.

• Do not starve yourself.
• Drink lots of water whenever you crave for sweets. There are chances that a person has mistaken thirst or dehydration as hunger.
• Reduce the intake of packaged or canned foods. Your body needs natural sugars and -not synthetic or processed sugars.
• Whenever you crave for a cake or a bar of chocolate, try to divert your mind by going for a long walk or listening to good, soothing music. If the craving persists, try eating nuts or fruits to subside your hunger.
• You can also start mild exercising under the guidance of a personal trainer.
• If you still get cravings, consult a doctor or dietitian. Get your diet plan analysed by a professional.



 Source: 

Sports Drinks Vs Water - The Ugly Truth

Lucozade, Powerade, Gatorade...
In the 21st century - advertisements for energy drinks are everywhere. You can no longer switch on the television or flick open a magazine without seeing an advert for these glorified potions. It seems that these drinks are taking over the fitness world, and you only have to wander down to your local gym to see just how popular they are.
So what actually are these so called "sports drinks", and what do they proclaim to do?
A sports drink is a beverage designed to increase energy levels, replace electrolytes and and keep you hydrated. So let's look at how they claim to do this:
Increase Energy Levels
Sports Drinks are full of sugar - A 500ml bottle of Lucozade energy contains 21 teaspoons of sugar! To put that into perspective, a can of coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar. When these sports drinks are consumed, our body converts all the sugar into glucose which is released into our blood stream. This glucose provides our bodies with energy - which is what gives us that "alert" feeling.
The problem is - glucose is a very short lived energy source and has detrimental effects on the body. When we drink sports drinks, our bodies have to produce large amounts of insulin to help our cells absorb the glucose from our blood stream. Any excess glucose is then converted to fat in our livers and deposited into our cells. Insulin also inhibits the breakdown of fat within our bodies. Both these factors encourage the accumulation of fat, and are counter productive when you consider the reason people are at the gym!
The counter argument to this is that the sports drinks provide you with the energy you require to perform an intense workout - which provides benefits that far exceed the negative impacts of the sports drink. Well I say that is a terrible argument, and here's why..

The average person that visits the gym performs moderate intensity exercise for around 30 minutes. Let's imagine their chosen exercise is running - in which case they will burn around 250-400 calories in their session. Now let's imagine they consume a 500ml bottle of Lucozade Sport, which contains 140 calories. That is around half the total calories that they are burning by being at the gym, just from consuming an energy drink. So for every 10 minutes they run, they are only burning 5 minutes worth of calories...
What makes matters worse is the sugar in the sports drink - which is bad for two reasons.
1. As explained earlier - consuming sugar causes a surge in insulin levels, which promotes the accumulation of fat within our bodies.
2. When glucose is readily available in our bloodstream, our cells will use this as their primary source of energy. As a result, the energy we require to perform exercise will come from the glucose in our blood. If we didn't drink the sports drink then our cells would not have access to that glucose - which means they would have to get energy from breaking down our fat.
As you can see - sports drinks are a counter-productive method for someone who want's to lose fat. However, those in support of sports drinks will still argue that they provide you with the energy that you require to perform exercise. However again, that is a flawed argument..
The average gym visitor has access to more than enough energy to perform 30 minutes of exercise. They are likely to have glucose in their bloodstream from their meals that day, and if they run out of glucose, they can breakdown fat reserves to power their bodies. The only time when sports drinks are beneficial is for ultra endurance athletes - the kind that are performing intense exercise for hours on end. But even then, there are far better sources of energy - what's wrong with a good old banana? Not only is this far better for your body than sports drinks, but it is broken down far slower so provides sustained energy over a long period of time - as opposed to a short spike that is supplied by glucose. In short - sports drinks are just as bad for us as sweets, and there are far better ways to provide our bodies with the energy required for exercise.
Replacing Electrolytes
Electrolytes are minerals that can be found in blood and cells, and help to regulate bodily fluids. The most well known of these are Sodium and Chloride.
During exercise - the body's electrolyte balance can begin to shift - and as the body loses electrolytes through sweat, the imbalance can result in symptoms such as muscle cramps, fatigue and nausea. Sports drinks capitalise on this by promising that they can replace the electrolytes in our bodies and prevent these symptoms Whilst there may be an element of truth in this - it is irrelevant to the average gym visitor. Our bodies lose electrolytes relatively slowly, so unless you are exercising for over an hour, your body will be able to address its electrolyte imbalance without the need for sports drinks.
Hydration
The final promise of the "sports drinks" is that they keep you hydrated. Keeping hydrated is an important part of any exercise routine, as the body loses water far quicker than it loses electrolytes. A lack of water can lead to dehydration which results in fatigue, muscle weakness, headaches, dizziness and poor concentration.
However - do you want to know the best way to keep your body hydrated? WATER

There is absolutely no better way to hydrate your body than to drink water - and plenty of it. What's more - it's free, contains no calories and has a multitude of benefits to your body.
The other trouble will sports drinks is that they encourage you to drink before you feel thirsty. They claim the reason for this is that once you feel thirsty - it is too late - and dehydration has already kicked in. This is absolute nonsense, and there is simply no scientific research to back up this claim. Our bodies are extremely complex machines that have evolved over thousands of years. Considering water is the single most important element for our survival, I'm sure our bodies have developed the ability to warn us when we need to drink (before we get dehydrated). And how does it do that? It's called being thirsty!
The fact of the matter is, we do not need to drink water until we feel thirsty, as this is our bodies way of letting us know we need to drink. The danger of drinking before we feel thirsty is that it can result in over hydration - which is very dangerous. People very rarely die of dehydration, but it is very common for people to die of over hydration.
So there you have it..
Sports Drinks are completely unnecessary for the average gym visitor:
- They contain a massive amount of sugar.
- They are rich in calories
- They promote fat accumulation in your body.
- They are a short term energy source.
- They are useless in regards to replacing electrolytes unless exercising for 1 hour+
- They are an expensive form of hydration - water is free and more effective.

Source:

How Much Fruit is Too Much Fruit?

�� 10 CANCER CAUSING FOODS YOU SHOULD NEVER PUT IN YOUR MOUTH AGAIN

Raspberry Ketones for Weight Loss

There has been a lot of talk about raspberry ketones this year thanks to a mention on the Dr. Oz show. With a discussion of the benefits of these ketones, the stores couldn't keep them in stock. Things have settled down a little since then, but they are still extremely popular.

Raspberries, like all fruit, are good for you as part of a healthy diet. Raspberries have a special benefit that not many fruits provide. That is, raspberries can provide ketones to our bodies.

The problem is raspberries contain such small quantities of ketones that you could eat until you're full and only receive a tiny benefit of the ketones from raspberries. That's why supplements are beneficial; they contain a concentrated form of ketones extracted from raspberries.

What are ketones?

Ketone enzymes occur naturally in our bodies. Ketones (ketone bodies) are the result of our bodies metabolizing fatty acids. If we do not consume enough carbohydrates to provide our bodies with the sugar energy (glucose) it needs, it breaks down fat for energy and ketones result from this process. Our bodies will then use ketones instead of glucose for the energy it needs.

What is ketosis?

When our bodies are in ketosis (elevated ketone levels), we feel less hungry and eat less than we would if not in ketosis. While in ketosis, our bodies are burning fat as the main source of energy. Our brains use glucose for the energy it needs. But when glucose is not available our brains switch to running on ketones since they can't burn fat for energy.

What are raspberry ketones?

Raspberry ketones are a compound found in, and derived from, raspberries. They are what give raspberries their unique aroma. They are a natural dietary supplement that boosts our body's ability to burn fat and lose weight, naturally.

Raspberry ketones help our bodies produce and release adiponectin. Adiponectin is secreted from fat tissues and from our liver and is a protein that helps regulate our metabolism. Higher levels of adiponectin are associated with lower levels of body fat.

They are an excellent source of antioxidants. Antioxidants help protect against cell damage (oxidation) and help fight off diseases.

When taken as part of a healthy diet and exercise, you can expect good results from taking raspberry ketones. This would be the most beneficial way to go about making a healthy change in your weight. You can rely solely on the ketones, but you will have longer lasting and better results if combined with a healthy diet and exercise plan.

Some of the benefits of raspberry ketones are:

Benefit #1:They help our bodies produce adiponectin.

Benefit #2: They are an antioxidant.

Benefit #3: They are all natural (the raspberry ketones).

Benefit #4: Assist with the elimination of fat.

Benefit #5: They boost metabolism.

So far to date, there have not been any studies done on the effects of raspberry ketones on humans. Japanese scientists did a research study on mice and found raspberry ketones to significantly increase the burning of stored fat and inhibit fat from being stored.

 Source:

Who Should Eat the Anti-Inflammatory Diet?

Did you know that inflammation has been identified as the basis for most chronic disease - diseases like arthritis, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and even cancer? That's right. Most chronic diseases are a result of a lifestyle of affluence that affords us the luxury of being able to eat the wrong foods in the wrong amounts at the wrong times. These food choices set in play a host of processes in your body that produce inflammation from a multitude of sources. In addition, many of us are genetically programmed to produce excessive inflammation when exposed to common irritant sources such as smoke, chemicals and poor dietary choices. Some of us produce so much inflammation that we have autoimmune disorders such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and colitis.

How exactly do poor food choices produce inflammation? Packaged and highly processed foods as well as fast foods are some of the worst culprits. They are also some of the food choices most widely available. Designed for convenience, these foods are loaded with trans-fat to extend their shelf life as well as change their taste and texture. A trans-fat is created from a natural, saturated fat - another less than healthy fat. That saturated fat is "transformed" into a trans-fat via a process called trans-hydrogenation. This transformed fat is chemically different enough from a natural fat that, when incorporated into your body tissues, it creates a cascade of chemicals called cytokines. Cytokines are molecules responsible for producing inflammation throughout your body.

Foods that are loaded with refined sugars are also inflammatory. Cakes, cookies and doughnuts are examples of foods that are rapidly digested by your body, releasing large amounts of glucose. This glucose is rapidly absorbed by your body, causing a high blood glucose level. Your body in turn releases a surge of insulin to help normalize your blood glucose levels. This surge of insulin combined with high blood glucose levels causes your body to release cytokines, inflammatory molecules, as well. Each surge of glucose actually signals your body to store fat. Guess what? Fat tissue becomes physiologically active and begins to release these same inflammatory molecules, cytokines, as well.

Refined grains - grains stripped of fiber and vital nutrients- also create inflammation. A whole grain is a molecule composed of large amounts of glucose linked together and encapsulated with a fiber coating. This fiber coating makes the digestion and release of glucose a slow and steady process. When the outer fiber coating is stripped away to create a smooth and creamy texture, glucose molecules are readily available for rapid digestion and absorption into your body. This rapid surge of glucose into your system again is the trigger for the inflammatory cascade.

Certain grains have the ability to produce inflammation in certain individuals. Wheat, oats, barley and rye are all grains that contain significant amounts of a protein substance called gluten. Gluten makes foods, like bread, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Yet this same gluten is very inflammatory in individuals genetically challenged in digesting gluten. Symptoms can be as severe as pain, bloating, diarrhea and malnutrition or as mild as nausea or lack of energy. Eliminating these specific grains from your diet is often the key to controlling this type of inflammation.

What exactly is an anti-inflammatory diet? In general, an anti-inflammatory diet consists of fresh, whole foods which do not contain triggers for inflammation and are loaded with molecules that actually neutralize inflammation in your body.

Phytonutrients are found in most fruits and vegetables, responsible for their colorful appearance. These huge molecules have antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties. This means they neutralize the oxidative stress that your body generates daily, leading to inflammation. Healthy fats found in cold- water, fatty fish, flax seed and nuts can also diminish the amount of inflammation produced by your body as well. Cooking oils such as olive oil and canola oil also help your body fight and neutralize inflammation. Certain vitamins and minerals - vitamin A,D, E and C as well as zinc, selenium and copper - are found in abundance in fresh, whole foods. These antioxidants also neutralize oxidative stress and dampen the formation of inflammation.

Eliminating fast foods as well as packaged foods is the first step of the anti-inflammatory diet. Eliminating foods with refined sugars and processed grains is the second step. Eating generous amounts daily of fresh fruit and vegetables and moderate amounts of whole grains and lean protein as well as healthy fats found in fish, seeds and nuts is the foundation of the anti-inflammatory diet. Then for select individuals, reducing or eliminating grains, especially gluten-containing grains, is the final step.

So just who should eat an anti-inflammatory diet? Obviously, anyone who suffers from an inflammatory condition such as autoimmune disorders (lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis.) or allergic disorders (asthma, eczema) will benefit from the anti-inflammatory diet. Most people with chronic pain (head aches, back pain, neck pain, knee pain, joint pains, nerve pains, muscle pains) have elements of inflammation involved in their pain and will benefit too. Irritable bowel syndrome and common digestive disorders such as acid reflux improve with the anti-inflammatory diet. Yet surprisingly, anyone suffering with chronic degenerative disorders (arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and even cancer) will benefit as well from this diet. Finally, anyone interested in preventing these degenerative diseases and achieving optimal health will benefit. In fact, the science confirms that eating to prevent inflammation not only prevents disease and maintains health but also keeps us looking and feeling younger.

So eat healthy and don't let inflammation get a grip on you. From children to the elderly, everyone can benefit from this powerful approach to eating.

Source: 

12 Signs You're Eating Too Much Sugar

Egg Whites VS. Whole Eggs?

Eggs yolks vs. egg whites. One of the great debates when considering a healthy diet is that egg whites are healthier for you because the yolk is loaded with cholesterol and fat. So, what's the answer? Which one do you choose when eating breakfast? Which is the healthier option?

To determine the answer, let's look at 3 key factors.

Factor #1: Do you want just protein or are you interested in the nutrients as well?

One egg is about 70 calories and has 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat. The egg white portion of the egg contains about 3.5 grams of the total protein. The remaining 2.5 grams plus the 5 grams of fat are in the yolk. This is why many people opt to toss the yolk and increase the egg white because you're getting all the protein without the unnecessary fat. Although this sounds good in theory, the yolk also contains all of the nutrients. The yolk contains leucin, choline, as well as Vitamin A, D,E & B. Leucin helps the attack on visceral fat, the fat that builds around your internal organs. It also promotes muscle recovery after exercise. Choline has been shown in research to be effective in preventing memory loss, protecting the liver from accumulating fat and may even lower cholesterol. Vitamins A, D, E & B have too many benefits to list. But to touch on the most important in regard to this topic, they enhance our breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose, which provides us energy. They breakdown fats and proteins, which aid the normal function of the nervous system and they promote healthy skin, hair, and eyes.[i]

Do you want less calories and less protein? Or do you want to opt for the yolk with more calories and fat but also a much higher level of nutrients, vitamins and minerals? The decision is now yours to make.

Factor #2: Cholesterol (HDL vs. LDL) or high density lipoprotein vs. low density lipoprotein

To keep this simple, LDL is the bad cholesterol because it causes the buildup of fatty deposits with in your arteries that cause heart disease. Conversely, HDL, or the good cholesterol, helps to remove the LDL from your arteries. Many studies show that eating whole eggs raises your HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL thereby increasing the overall good to bad cholesterol level in your bloodstream. This is a good thing.

Cholesterol became such a big hype in the media over the past few decades because of the rise in people diagnosed with heart disease. BUT, having higher cholesterol doesn't mean you have heart disease. A Harvard study conducted on over 100,000 people concluded that egg consumption in healthy individuals did not increase the risk of coronary heart disease. Cholesterol does serve a purpose in your body and to eliminate it just because of media hype is bogus. Now that you know the difference, you are aware that as long as you are a healthy individual the increase of HDL you get by consuming egg yolks is not a bad thing after all.

Factor #3: The quality of the egg.

There are other factors to consider as well such as whether the egg is organic, whether the chickens are cage free, and what the chicken's diet consisted of. The more natural cage free chicken will have a yolk higher in omega 3 and contain more nutrients. A chicken that is raised in its natural state and allowed to eat insects and greens will have thicker shells and a deeper colored orange yolk indicating a much higher nutrient level and carotenoids. So the rule I'm proclaiming is the following. The better quality of the egg the more you should want the yolk.

Now you have an explanation of the 3 main factors to consider when choosing whether or not you want to include the yolks in your next healthy breakfast or toss them in the trash. There really is no right or wrong answer. It's merely a matter of preference. Personally, I use a combination of both and here is my recommendation. If you eat eggs everyday just eat the whites. This will limit your fat and cholesterol intake. However, you should also try and incorporate the whole egg into your diet once or twice a week to get all the other nutrients, vitamins and minerals found in the yolk. After all an egg is at the top of the super food list, and the yolk has everything to do with that.

 Source: 

Since When Did Dessert Become Breakfast?

I actually can't remember a time when people didn't have dessert for breakfast, but I didn't realise it at the time.

When I was a child my standard breakfast was either a fried egg on toast or some wheatbix with milk and sugar. Looking back my breakfast wasn't perfect but for the times it was pretty good.

I have to admit being a little envious of the children of some friends of my parents. They had either coco pops or sugar frosties for breakfast and access to cola at the family business. But they have certainly paid the price with poor health.

Even today we think of dessert as something just a bit, or a lot naughty. It is sweet, rich and often comes in a large serve at the point of the meal when you really don't need more food.

But here's the problem. Dessert is often a combination of a big serve of sugar, fructose, gluten and vegetable oils. A truly disastrous combination of three of the worst food groups. Driving heart disease, diabetes and obesity to just name a few of the problems.

So now we look at popular breakfasts. Cereal, sweetened, or unsweetened, flavoured yoghurt, fruit juice, toast with jam or nutulla. It sounds different than the dessert but when you look at the ingredients, they are no different.

From a health perspective having dessert for breakfast would do the same job in your body. Both equally bad, although breakfast could be worse because of the possibility to have so much sugar and fructose.

Before you argue the point let's look at the most common breakfast foods.

Flavored yogurt, often low fat. It's either full of sugar, or artificial sweeteners with carbohydrate bulking agents to provide consistency in place of the fat. This is poor quality processed food.

Often has a 35% or more sugar content, even the so called healthy sports cereals. The healthy and often expensive cereals are often toasted in vegetable oils, contain gluten and are wheat based. Even oats rapidly convert to glucose in your blood.

Fruit juice. A big hit of fructose for your liver to process, it shuts down your leptin hormone which tells you, that you have had enough to eat, and it oxidises your LDL cholesterol, which sets you up for hardening of the arteries.

Toast, is a combination of grains which convert to glucose, gluten and roundup residues which attack your gut.

 Source:

How Your Diet Can Make You Into A Better Athlete

With the exception of those certain mutants among us who eat candy, smoke cigarettes, and drink soda (sorry, DIET soda) and coffee all day and then go ahead and send 5.15, all of our climbing abilities are affected by what we eat and when. This is unfortunate, since many of us would just love to subsist on cookies and Nutella sandwiches because they taste oh, so delicious.

There's a lot that goes into using diet to affect athletic performance and overall health, and it can be really confusing sometimes with all of the conflicting research and opinions we see everywhere. My job as a nutrition therapist is to make sense of it myself and relay that coherence to others. The science of nutrition is still in its infancy really, but there are some guidelines you can follow to help you feel energetic, strong and clear-headed - the overarching qualities of a successful person - not just a successful climber. What I am about to tell you has nothing to do with supplements that will make you stronger or super foods that will give you more endurance. There are no magic bullets to make you send your project. There aren't even clear cut rules about what will make you flail all over it - if there were, we'd all be climbing 5.14. So, sit back and prepare yourself for some eye-opening, jaw-dropping... common sense (with a little science to back it up).

There is one mundane, obvious and absolutely imperative topic that just might drastically change your life, and more importantly your 8a.nu scorecard. Breakfast.

How many of you eat some sort of baked good or cereal or other variation of sugar with (insert grain here) for breakfast? How many of you also drink coffee in the morning because your breakfast just doesn't do the job of keeping you awake until lunch, or for that matter 10am? If this is you - this is also most people, so don't feel too ashamed... How many of you, along with around 40% of the rest of the U.S., don't eat breakfast at all? The number one reason we have so many stressed out, tired, overweight people in this country is because we're not eating a good breakfast. That is a bold statement and I just made it - confidently. So, what's a good breakfast? It is NOT sugary cereal with skim milk, instant oatmeal with orange juice, a bagel with jelly, or a doughnut and coffee. These things may taste good, but they will sadly do you no good throughout your day or your life.

The epic story of what happens when you eat these foods begins with blood sugar. All of us have heard about blood sugar. It's the level of sugar, or glucose, in your blood at any given time. The sugar fuels our daily metabolic and athletic activities and what you want is enough sugar in your blood at all times to keep your mood and energy level stable. You've also all heard of adrenaline, especially as climbers. It's the stuff that pumps through your body (or, at least my body) when you're pumped out of your skull and about to take a giant whip and you're not sure if your belayer is watching you or giving some guy beta on a different route 30 feet away. You get sweaty, light-headed, tunnel vision so you can't even see the jug in front of your face, your legs start to tremble, your heart starts audibly beating, and you may have the sudden urge to puke all over your belayer, and maybe for good reason. This is generally described by us as intense fear.

Cut to 11am on Monday morning after a breakfast of jelly-filled doughnuts. When you eat super sugary foods without any fat, fiber and protein (i.e. oil, veggies and meat) to make the meal last longer, your blood sugar plummets quickly because you use up those simple sugars so easily after you've been fasting for hours overnight. If you'd eaten 2 eggs, some sausage, spinach, avocado and salsa instead of the doughnuts, the fat and fiber and protein would mitigate the steep rise and fall of your blood sugar and keep you full and energized for longer, keeping your blood sugar less erratic. This is what your body was meant to eat - fat, protein and fibrous carbohydrates. Not sugar that's taken from corn, heated to hellish temperatures and chemically denatured enough to happily sit on a shelf for years. Cavemen would have had a hard time finding that on the prairie. Think meat (we'll get to the vegetarians next), nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables and that's what we evolutionarily grew up eating.

When you eat very sugary foods or skip meals instead of eating whole, nutrient dense foods, your body considers this a stressful event and gives you a small surge of adrenaline to get you through to your next meal. To a lesser degree your body experiences the same uncomfortable symptoms of adrenaline you felt on the climb you were about to pitch off of, but instead of intense fear it manifests as anxiety. You're also feeling the effects of low blood sugar - brain fog and muscle weakness. Weakness. I hope my point is surfacing.

There's more. Then imagine that once you finally get to lunch you're starving, so you eat a big, doughy sandwich, some cookies, a bag of chips and some sort of sparkly, sugary beverage. Even though this meal probably has ample protein, fat and maybe fiber in it, you're not in the clear. Your blood sugar is like a boat rocking back and forth in response to a big wave - the wave hits and the boat lurches to one side. It doesn't stop there - it pitches back the other way almost as forcefully as the first time. The swaying only subsides when the force of the wave dissipates. Or big waves keep hitting it and it continues to sway wildly. Your blood sugar's big wave is you eating a sugary breakfast or skipping it altogether. The violent swaying only subsides when you start your day with protein, fat and fiber and repeat every 3 to 5 hours. Every single day. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be on a boat in calm water than be capsized by a storm every day...

Coffee. You'll have to excuse the prolonged analogy, but imagine that coffee is a giant whale, hitting the side of your boat. Every cup of coffee is a blow to the boat's side. It's is called a stimulant because it stimulates your adrenals to spit out adrenaline, which is why you feel... er, shall we say, awake. Wouldn't we rather use our adrenaline stores for something important like an epic big wall rather than for dragging our asses through our morning every day?

Demanding so much of the adrenal glands for adrenaline takes its toll on the rest of the body - namely the thyroid gland. The thyroid is responsible for little things like body weight, temperature and metabolism. Part of its job is to make sure we have enough energy to get through our day, and if we don't, the pituitary gland sends a message to it telling it to get off its ass and make us more. Unfortunately, the pituitary is also responsible for sending the same kind of rallying messages to the adrenals. If the adrenals are overworked by our blood sugar and coffee "issues", not to mention our climbing addiction, the pituitary gets really tired and lags on its communication to the thyroid. This is why so many of us are constantly tired and depressed, not able to lose weight, cold all the time, and have poor digestion and sleep habits. It's also one big reason we get frequent headaches, muscle cramps, water retention, slow wound healing and why so many of us are sick much of the time. Read through all of those symptoms again and note how many of them you can assign to yourself or your significant other or the person sitting next to you.

So, how does a low functioning thyroid affect our climbing? Well, let's be honest - there's not one person who can climb their best when they're constipated all the time - oh yeah, that's another sign of thyroid dysfunction. No climber who is chronically depressed and anxious is going to be able to confidently lead climb at their limit - we've all witnessed that. And even if it's only 10 pounds that you are struggling to lose, those 10 pounds can make your project feel way harder than if you were at your optimal weight. And ladies, how many of you would like to have had better circulation in your numb fingers on a cold day outside? Yet another symptom of thyroid dysfunction. Water retention in our joints can lead to pain and inflammation - and just because your ankles aren't swollen like a pregnant woman, it doesn't mean you're not retaining water, guys. And finally, who can climb their best when they get sick all the time? We all know how drained and weak we get with the flu. What's the first thing I tell people who have thyroid dysfunction? Eat a good breakfast.

So, to you mutants out there climbing V15 fueled by sugar packets and sugar water - how hard do you think you could climb if you balanced your blood sugar?


Source: 

How the food you eat affects your brain - Mia Nacamulli

Does Chromium Picolinate Promote Weight Loss?

Chromium picolinate is sold as a standalone supplement or also included in diet pill compounds promoting weight loss. Proponents of chromium picolinate claim that it reduces insulin resistance, which increases weight loss. While it's well known that the chromium mineral is needed for glucose to be utilized by insulin, supplementation with chromium would really only be necessary if the subject were deficient in that mineral. As it stands, it is extremely rare for a person to be chromium deficient in a first-world country.


Chromium picolinate is the combination of chromium and picolinic acid. Purportedly, supplementation with chromium aids the body in burning fat over muscle when there is an energy deficit and fuel is needed.


Pouring over the research done in regards to chromium picolinate is no small task. While one study (Althuis MD, Jordan NE, Ludington EA, Wittes JT (2002). "Glucose and insulin responses to dietary chromium supplements: a meta-analysis". AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION 76 (1): 148-155.) claimed there was no significant difference in insulin resistance, another study cited that the first study was flawed.


I counted 10 more studies, found mainly through PubMed, that confirmed Chromium Picolinate's ability to decrease insulin resistance.


I then narrowed my search and looked only for Chromium Picolinate studies that researched weight loss specifically. There was one in particular that supported a change in body composition (it was not body weight or body mass index, but rather fat composition of the body). Just as quickly, I found another study stating that absolutely no change in body composition was found when supplementing with chromium picolinate.


At the end of the day, it'll be up to you to decide if you'd like to try supplementation. It is key to monitor your changes, measure carefully, and keep an open mind. Don't conclude that it will work (or won't) before you try it, or that's likely the result you'll get. Chromium picolinate remains a small unknown, though the tides are starting to turn in its favor apparently.

 Source: 

What Is Lactose Intolerance?

Do you find after having a glass of milk or an ice cream, you feel sick or nauseous? It is possible you may be Lactose Intolerant. People who are Lactose Intolerant report that they begin to feel sick approximately 30 minutes after they have milk or milk products like ice cream or cheese. Other symptoms commonly associated with Lactose intolerance are stomach distress, cramps, gas, diarrhea and bloating.
Lactose intolerance is also called Lactase Deficiency, is caused when your body is not able to naturally digest or metabolize a type sugar called lactose which is commonly found in milk and milk products. Lactose intolerance in fact is a fairly common condition. However, you should always seek the advice of your doctor or a health care professional to help you figure out if you are suffering from Lactose intolerance or some other condition.
So if you happen to be Lactose intolerant what causes the unpleasant symptoms? The answer is simple. The condition is actually caused by a deficiency of lactase, an enzyme which normally is produced by the cells lining your stomach. The lactase enzyme's job is to break down lactose, a complex sugar found in milk into two simpler sugars, glucose and galactose. When the Lactase does it job the two simpler forms of sugar can then be properly metabolized and absorbed into the bloodstream. The good news is once you know you have a lactose problem there are many ways to live a normal lactose-free life!

Depending on the severity of your symptoms, lactose intolerance can usually be controlled by making changes to or substituting lactose free items in your diet. Depending on the individual's ability to digest lactose, these dietary changes can be as minor as decreasing the amount of lactose consumed or may include substituting lactose free items or lactose reduced items for the offending items in your diet.
Some people find they can decrease their symptoms simply by consuming milk or milk products with other foods during a meal rather having them on their own. Some individuals find relief when they carefully choose what milk products to eat such as yogurt or hard cheese that have lower levels of lactose than other milk products.
Individuals who still experience symptoms even after making minor changes to their diet can also take over-the-counter medicines. These preparations contain lactase, the missing enzyme which causes lactose intolerance and the unpleasant symptoms. This remedy can be taken while consuming your regular milk or milk products.
If you are having severe reactions to lactose food and products you will need to consider a more pro active approach to your diet. Before making any major changes to your diet you really need to consult with your health care provider. Your health care provider has the tools to be able to efficiently diagnose your symptoms and determine what would work for you. Before you make any major changes to your diet, you should know milk and milk products are an important source of calcium, protein and other essential nutrients. Calcium in particular is needed to grow and repair bones no matter what age you are. A shortage of calcium can lead to health problems like poor growth when young or osteoporosis later in life. So, before you change your diet or cut out milk and milk products, make sure to talk to your doctor about your symptoms. A few simple tests will give you peace of mind and the answers you need!

Source: 

10 Tips to Reduce Sugar in Your Diet

Health and Nutrition - The Dangers of Sugar in Your Diet and Some Sweet Substitutes

"All human nutritional needs can be met in full without having to take a single spoonful of white or brown or raw sugar.'
The late Dr. John Yudkin - Sweet and Dangerous, Wyden, 1972, Queens College, London
We all know that too much sugar is really bad for our health. As a result of this there are lots of 'natural' sugar products available to buy in food stores, health food stores and on the internet. With so much choice what do you choose?

Our bodies need sugar in the form of glucose, especially our brain, which needs glucose to function properly. Sucrose is a disaccharide which is two sugars that is broken down into two simple sugars, glucose and fructose. Glucose in our blood provides us with energy. There are different sugars depending on the food we eat for example fructose is the main sugar in fruits, maltose, a sugar in grain like barley and lactose a sugar found in milk.
One of the sugars which have been heralded as one to replace 'white poison' or otherwise known, white table sugar or sucrose... is Agave (ah gah vay). Sometimes agave is referred to as a syrup or nectar and it has a similar taste to honey but not as thick. Without a doubt agave is a much better option than artificial sweeteners which should be avoided at all costs - the clue is in the name artificial!

Agave is a plant which looks like a cactus and can be found in desert areas in places like Mexico. When the agave plant is harvested the sap is extracted and then heated at a low temperature at which point the carbohydrates are broken down into sugars. Agave is available in both light and dark, the darker it is the less time it has been heated and filtrated.
Peter Pure from Raw Food Party asks the question is Agave good for you?
* Sugar is sugar is sugar is sugar
* Sugar ages you
* It is the cause of immune system crashes
* It is an anti-nutrient
* It rots your teeth
* It's causes diabetes
* Sugar ferments your blood cells
* Sugar is food for candida, cancer, viruses, bacteria, yeasts, and mould
There are many people suffering with sugar addiction, some people are aware of this others are not. If someone 'gives up' sugar for whatever reason, they are only eliminating spoons of 'visible' sugar on breakfast cereal, or in tea or coffee but there are so many foods, including natural foods such as fruit which contain a form of sugar. Processed foods have so much sugar that we now have a sugar crisis in our health service in the form of type 2 diabetes and an assortment of degenerative diseases.
Peter suggests 'Many people will want us to believe that this and that new form of sugar is okay.That is not the case. Even honey, by far the best of all sugars, needs to be limited. Dates and fruits too for that matter'

My experience is that people make incredible health breakthrough's for themselves just by getting off the main sugar culprits - all grains and grain products, bread, pasta, cornflakes, rice, barley, spelt, quinoa, beans, lentils, corn, potatoes and refined foods (preferably dried fruit too).
Why grains and beans/lentils first? Simple - you probably wouldn't eat 2 bowls of honey in one go, but you might eat 2 bowls of rice (for example).
Sugar in all it's forms is just a part of a transitional diet as people get off their sugar addictions (with a few rare exceptions of athletes who burn a lot of sugar).
The only exception to all of this, if there is any magic "sugar" is stevia - which is a herb that taste's sweet but is not sugar.'

Stevia (stee v ah) or sweet herb, harvested from places such as South America and Asia as an alternative sweetener can be purchased as a lplant, liquid or powder. Japanese people have been using stevia successfully for many years and they don't have the same health and weight problems as we have in western culture, unless of course they eat a western diet! Stevia is much sweeter than sugar so you don't use or need too much of it and as it is a natural herbal sweetener.
Another natural sugar alternative is Xylotil, which looks and tastes exactly like sugar and does not have that horrid aftertaste associated with so many chemical sweeteners. Xylotil has fewer calories and carbohydrates than sugar and as a result it is slowly absorbed in the body and does not cause an increased rush of insulin so is better for anyone suffering with diabetes. Xylotil can be used in cooking to replace refined white sugar but like all sugar you need to identify how much sugar you are consuming in your diet, especially all hidden sugar which piles on the pounds, empty calories and over time makes you ill.

Of course, there are multiple things to consider to become more healthy, lose weight or live your life to your body's full potential. Sugar is just one.

How fat loss works in your body - the suprising truth