Effects of Probiotics on Gut Flora

There are a few unexpected signs that show you that you may have an intestinal flora imbalance and the difficulty of losing weight is one of them. The way this works is the intestinal bacteria emit several chemical and by-products that help regulate the appetite, digestion and metabolism.

If you have suffered from cystitis, allergies, mycosis or gastroenteritis or if you simply have diarrhea or constipation, it is because of the imbalance in your gut flora. If you consume a lot of bad- refined or processed foods that are high in simple carbohydrates, low in dietary fibre and trans fats that cause inflammation, you increase the amount of harmful bacteria in your gut.

If the bacteria balance is altered from good to bad, the signals that are sent to your brain and your body also become different. Then you start experiencing the consequences of distorted nutrition absorption and glucose metabolism, fat gain and obesity and inflammation that may lead to a variety of illnesses.

It is important to have a balanced diet of natural and unprocessed foods, including a variety of fruits and veggies of different colors, lean proteins from different animal and vegetarian sources, fermented foods, and good fats that are commonly available in butter, nuts, seeds and olive oil. And you may also want to try probiotic and prebiotic supplements to help balance the bacterial flora quickly.

Intestinal flora simply indicated the bacteria that are found naturally in your gut that help prevent potential infections in your body. And your body is often exposed to pathogenic bacteria through your diet- bad eating habits, antibiotics or other medication and your mental health- stress levels. When you have too much of these bad bacteria you’ll have an intestinal flora imbalance that will lead to digestive problems and viral infections with the weakened immune system.

Intestinal flora is very active in strengthening the immune system. And the probiotics- the micro-organisms that are available in the intestinal flora are the key to restored and better protected gut flora. The intestine is the second longest organ in human body after the skin and measures about 22 feet. Good bacteria or probiotics are responsible for the immune cells’ production in your body which will then navigate through your body including the respiratory and digestive systems.

You need to consume probiotics regularly and in adequate amounts for your body to really benefit from them. Probiotics can have different effects on different people and you need to know more about your body and the type of probiotics you need to take. Some research indicates a link between lactobacillus acidophilus intake and significant weight gain in animals. This means certain probiotics could possibly cause overweight and obesity, although not proven in humans. But generally speaking they are beneficial:

Active yeast probiotic can be beneficial for your skin, hair and nails. Bifidobacterium helps promote glucose tolerance and better digestion and improve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Lactobacillus Acidophilus is known to be good for reducing cholesterol, reducing diarrhea, improve IBS symptoms, treat urinary tract and vaginal infections, reduce cold and flu and allergy symptoms. L. Casei is good for preventing diarrhea and helping with the brain function. L. Plantarum may help prevent inflammation in your body, while L. Rhamnosus that colonizes the intestine helps prevent eczema and treat diarrhea.

You can get them as supplements and eat and drink more of the probiotic and prebiotic foods and drinks. Diet has an important role and impact on your intestinal flora and dietary fiber has a special place in your diet, both the soluble and insoluble fibers. When you eat and swallow foods they go straight into your tummy and get reduced to smaller pieces. Gallbladder and pancreas act on the protein and fat digestion. And the dietary fibers help with the transit to the intestinal wall.

Good bacteria feed on the soluble fibers (from chickpeas, lentils, peas, seeds, oats, barley, some fruits and veggies) in your colon that form a viscous gel for a slower sugar absorption and promote fat elimination. Insoluble fiber that is found in wholegrain bread, nuts, beans, wheat bran, potatoes and some cereals absorbs watering increases stool size and help with the treatment of constipation.

There are at least 100 billion bacteria in your gut flora or microbiota for nutrient assimilation, vitamin synthesis and immune system protection. Please note that up to 70% of your immune cells are located in your intestinal flora. And it is time for you to change your diet for the better and perhaps take probiotic/prebiotic supplements. While you switch to healthier eating habits you may also want to eat less of sugar, saturated fat, cheese and meat that have strong acidifying power. You want to eat more of natural sugar-free yogurt, kefir, miso, sauerkraut and other pickled and fermented foods and drinks.

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Taking Amino Acids Before a Workout

Would amino acids before your workout be effective and how much, for increasing stamina, endurance and losing weight? BCAA (Branched chain amino acid) supplements are known to be the best for athletes, and if taken prior to or during their workout sessions, and not with meals.

You may be aware of the product called “Pre-Workout” and a few more that are designed simply as pre-workout supplements. And they are some of the best selling products on the gym supplements industry, in fact the best seller after whey protein. We’re not going to recommend any brands here as there are a few good ones out there, each with their own mixtures or recipes.

But a common composition in most of these pre-workout products would be a mix of BCAA, L-tyrosine, arginine, creatine, beta-alanine and caffeine. The promises by the supplement companies are big, such as great muscular endurance and strength gains, increase in your energy levels and a decrease in fat. And they use all their marketing and advertising techniques to sell their products, with great packaging and offering free samples.

So if you are going to take these BCAA supplements, take a dose of 5 grams ten minutes before your workout as they will help you lift more (creatine and caffeine) and prepare you for an intense workout, if you haven’t eaten or taken any protein one to two hours prior. And during your workout (intra-training) you can take up to 10 grams of BCAA supplement in your protein shake that you drink throughout your training, so that they are quickly absorbed by your muscles.

Muscle catabolism will be much less likely to happen and you will feel much less fatigue. And you probably want to stop drinking thirty minutes before the end of your workout. And you can take 5 grams of BCAA post-workout to help your muscles recover faster. Your best bet after your training session is a serving of whey protein, for both recovery and to get the best out of whey in terms of muscle growth. The BCAA supplements help prevent muscle catabolism, have an anabolic effect and help with the protein synthesis and more importantly your body will have the energy it needs.

It may also be a good idea to spread the doses throughout the day for muscle retention. But how much will depend on the brand and the type of BCAA you’re taking. And you may want to discuss this with your trainer. There are plenty of options on the market for your pre-workout supplement. You may even consider the proper protein sources like dairy, legumes and meats. You can take whey protein powders that contain a variety of amino acids. Taking amino acids before your training will help stimulate the synthesis of muscles.

Your body and muscles will remain in the anabolic state, which means your muscles grow rather than breaking down. Delayed onset muscle soreness will be a lot less likely and you can get back to gym quicker and sooner without any pain. But too much of whey and amino acids will be harmful for your body. Excessive use will cause burdens on your kidneys as the unused protein will need to be processed by your kidneys before getting out of your body. And this burden of the increased workload will cause damage and even poisoning.

And then you have in fact some recent studies conducted on the effectiveness of these pre-workout mixtures. They found zero to very little effect on strength, work volume, muscle endurance, physical performance or decrease in body fat. There was an increase in energy if they contained sugar, and an increase in concentration and attention and less fatigue if they contained creatine and caffeine. What these studies are saying is you’re just purchasing the coffee (and perhaps creatine alone) at a very high price.

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Is Whey Protein Powder Bad For You?

According to Professor Dr. Canan Karatay, different types of protein powders commonly used by athletes, gym-goers or anyone trying to build or increase muscle mass are rather dangerous. So what is protein powder or whey protein? Why is it so bad for you?

Whey protein is a mixture of alpha lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin, immunoglobins and bovine serum albumin. Canan Karatay is a very well known professor of internal medicine and cardiology. She says that protein powder is often recommended to people that work out. But there are many ways of getting protein in much healthier and natural ways. And the cheapest and perhaps the easiest way of consuming protein is eggs.

The type of protein found in eggs is not harmful but beneficial for your body, unlike the protein in powder form. You’ll find nine essential amino acids in the egg white that certainly need to get into your body. There is Omega 6 in the egg yolk and Omega 3 in the egg

white. Then you have the choline, which is a water soluble essential nutrient, similar to vitamins and the main ingredient of acetylcholine, one of the most important brain stimulating chemicals.

These need to get into the human body through natural forms. You need to eat the whole egg including the yolk, not just its white like many athletes do. And nothing about the egg is harmful for your body. Artificial protein powder is what is bad for you. Protein and fat should go into your body simultaneously. But if the eggs are overcooked dangerous trans fats come out, like when you see the green bits next to the yolk. And that is no longer an egg, it breaks down easily when you eat it and is very bad for your body.

You should not eat the egg white on its own because it is high in protein and very low in fat. It is great that there is plenty of protein in the white, but if you do not get fat as well by eating the yolk that protein can be bad for your body. Protein and fat should be consumed together through natural ways, such as eating the whole egg. When you have fat with the protein, this fat will accelerate the use of protein in your body and makes it much stronger. Protein powders are full of trans fats and they are being sold at the gyms and health stores.

When these powders help grow muscles they also make your heart get larger too, as heart is also a muscle. This is exactly why some young gym-goers or athletes are suffering from heart attacks. Other dangers linked to the whey protein is headaches and nausea, reduced appetite, cramps, tummy pain and fatigue in high doses. People that allergic to dairy can also be allergic to whey protein. Very high doses of protein every day can also cause bad skin and acne. And most importantly whey powder is a refined food and despite having many nutrients, the majority is protein.

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Dietary Proportions of Macronutrients- Carbohydrates, Fat, and Protein

There are different recommendations by different nutrition experts for the healthy distributions of carbs, fats, and proteins in one’s diet. As you may be well aware you have good fats or carbs and bad fats and carbs and better or worse or higher or lower quality proteins. So the quality is definitely more important than quantity or what percentages of which macronutrients to have on a daily basis. The most important thing is picking the right sources of food, no matter which macronutrient group they belong to.

Many carbohydrates (fruits, bread, honey, pasta, potatoes, rice, sweet foods) include a good percentage of sugar and they tend to cover at least or about half of your daily energy needs. And if you exercise or live an active life you’ll use them as an energy source and burn them during the day. But if you do not exercise or have a sedentary lifestyle, they will easily turn into fat and extra kgs you probably do not want to put on.

You shall be consuming or storing a lot of the high glycemic index or glycemic load foods. And the high GI or GL foods are known to cause weight gain, and health complications like diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. So you may want to reduce your carb intake down to 35 to 40% of your total calorie intake while maintaining your metabolic balance. But if you are someone that is very active or that exercises regularly then you can have 50- 55% of your total calories from carbohydrates.

And you will always be better off choosing the right kind of carbs, those with low glycemic index and load value with the most nutritional value and the lowest amount of calories. You should eat more of veggies, fruits, tubers (especially sweet potatoes) and wholegrain products and as little as processed carbs as possible. You need to avoid those ultra-processed biscuits, cookies, pastries or anything with added sugars, especially high fructose corn syrup.

Fats are basically the fatty foods or any kind of added fats and they should constitute up to 40% of your total daily calorie intake. There are different types of fats, like saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Only 5-10 years ago nutritionists were telling us to consume as little as saturated fats as possible. But the latest studies find no clear connection between the consumption of saturated fats of animal origin and the increase in cases of heart diseases.

Moderation is the key here and most things natural or animal origin are good for you, including butter, dairy products and different types of meat. Out of the vegetable origin saturated fats, coconut oil is good for you, but not so much the palm oil. But if you eat too much of saturated fats, there is a risk of clotting. This means your cell membranes will become too hard and it will be hard for your red blood cells to move into the small blood cells. And the nerve cells will not be receiving the important messages and this may lead to depression.

You can dedicate 10-15% of your total calories to saturated fats, which is roughly one-third of your total fat consumption. You should definitely include them in moderation in your daily diet. For an average male or female adult, this is equal to roughly 25 grams of saturated fat, somewhere between 20 and 30 grams. You can still have your butter on wholemeal bread, use coconut oil or coconut milk in cooking. You don’t have to completely deprive yourselves of these little fatty pleasures.

And if you eat less of them, please make sure you have more mono or polyunsaturated fats, rather than high GI carbohydrates. Then you have the healthy monounsaturated fats like the 60% of the content of rapeseed oil and 70% of olive oil. Then you have the pecans, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and avocado that are rich on monounsaturated fats. Overall they are good for your heart health and you can use olive oil in your salads and cooking and have some nuts as snacks without worrying about putting on weight.

Polyunsaturated fats can be approximately 5-6% of your total calorie intake, which is about one-sixth of your total fat. And this is equal to about 10 to 15 grams of total fat intake. You should also pay attention to how much Omega 3 (EPAs and DHAs from fish oil) and Omega 6 you consume. Find a good balance between the two, such as 2 units of Omega 6 to 3 units of Omega 3.

Having too much of Omega 6 fatty acids may cause inflammation and thicker blood, which can, in turn, cause infarction or certain cancers. This is not the case for Omega 3 fatty acids as the blood will flow freely. Omega 6 is often hidden in foods and therefore they are a little hard to avoid. If you suffer from heart or inflammatory diseases like the joint pain you probably want to decrease this Omega 3 / Omega 6 ratio to 2 to 1.

Protein is also good for you and should be an important part of your diet, between less than 15% to 30% of the total depending on whether you work out or not. They are an important part of your muscles and offer a variety of health benefits. You also want to have half of that from vegetable sources like legumes like chickpeas, lentils and string beans as well as veggies like broccoli, peas, asparagus, pumpkin seeds and mung bean sprouts. Even the traditional cereals like oats, barley, rye, and wheat have good amounts of protein in them.

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Olives Nutrition and Health Benefits

You should eat olives every day, in your salads, in cooked dishes or on their own in breakfast with cheese and tomatoes. Whether they are black, violet or green, olives, and olive oil offer plenty of health benefits, being rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrients.

There are more than 500 types of fragrant and tasty olives and they’re all great for health and will help keep your body healthy and in good shape. By integrating olives into your daily diet you’ll help boost your health in different ways. But please try and go for the fresh and organic olives rather than the canned olives with added chemicals.

Most of us already know that olive oil is good for you because of being rich in good fats like oleic acids which make up the 3/4 of the total content. Oleic acids are mono-unsaturated fatty acids that have a positive impact on your cholesterol levels and help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. And you’ll find that olives are low cholesterol type of food with only about 0.2mg out of 100g.

They are also reported to glutathione protein production in the blood which helps produce energy. Olives, despite being high in fat are low in calories and there are only 150 calories in 100 grams of olives which is up to four times less than some sweet or salty snacks. And it is not that easy to eat 100g of olives in one go when you think about it, as they are also rather filling.

So olives can actually help you lose weight and keep in good shape despite their high-fat content as monounsaturated fats are linked to better insulin sensitivity, better digestion, better satiety and a loss of abdominal fat. Iron, which is an important mineral for producing the red blood cells and oxygenating your body is plenty available in olives as 100g of black olives will give you almost half of your recommended daily intake for iron and this will help stimulate your immune system.

Olives are also rich in vitamin E content that protects against the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun, helps reduce the wrinkles and enhances the skin microcirculation and helps to fight against aging, keeping the elasticity and suppleness of the skin intact. With a high Vitamin A content olives help fight glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration, protect the cornea and maintain great eye health.

Olives contain polyphenols which have the antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. As a hypoglycemic food, olives can be rather beneficial for diabetic patients, with the insulin resistance index measured to be much lower in those that consume olives and olive oil regularly. They can protect against chronic constipation by lubricating your colon and making the bowel evacuation easier. This way, olives help clean the digestive tract nicely and improves your internal hygiene.

* Olives have a low glycemic index value of 15. For 3.5 ounces of olives, you have 3 grams of carbs and 2 grams of dietary fiber, which ends in just 1 g of carbs to be broken down into sugar.

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