Rest and relaxation are what your body craves after a long day. Feeling occasional stress can stand in the way of the calm you need to recharge your batteries. Luckily, there are calming nutrients found in your diet that help support your relaxation efforts. Whether you’re trying to fall asleep or simply decompress after a challenging day, anti-stress vitamins and minerals are ready to help you relax.
Take Time to Slow Down—Rest is Necessary
In order for your body to work well, you need rest. Relaxation and rest give your body time to recover and recharge after operating all day. It takes a lot of energy to keep your brain and body ready to tackle whatever the day throws at you. So it’s important to give your body time to recoup some of that spent cellular energy.
There is a built-in body system that ensures you rest and recover as you should. It’s called the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS). This branch of the nervous system controls calming and restful behavior, like sleep. The PSNS also makes sure your body uses the rest time to perform certain functions—digestion is one.
Vitamins and minerals in your diet can support PSNS function and help you relax. Magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins optimize your body’s ability to recharge and support healthy rest. Take a minute to explore how these calming nutrients play an important role in your quest for relaxation.
Magnesium and Stress: Rest Your Mind and Body
Calm starts with magnesium. It’s known in the scientific community as the “calming mineral” because it plays a critical role in your body’s ability to relax. Your mind and muscles need magnesium to properly rest.
Feeling uneasy can make it difficult to sink into the restful sleep your body needs to power you through your day. Magnesium can help you prepare your mind for rest by optimizing activity in the PSNS, so you can wind down after a long day.
Magnesium also supports the regulation of the sleep hormone melatonin. Maintaining healthy levels of melatonin is essential for directing your body’s sleep-wake cycles. Magnesium optimizes melatonin secretion so you become sleepy at the end of the day and feel rested when you wake up.
And that’s not all magnesium can do to support feelings of calm and rest. Magnesium binds with the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) to help put your body in sleep mode. GABA is responsible for turning down nervous system activity so your body can settle down and rest.
As for the rest of your body, magnesium optimizes muscle recovery after exercise. When your muscles feel tight it can be difficult to relax. Magnesium helps support muscle relaxation by blocking calcium from entering the muscle fiber. Calcium transfer is what typically stimulates contraction.
How does this relationship between calcium and magnesium work? The two essential minerals compete for space in your muscles. Calcium triggers muscle contraction, while magnesium does the opposite. When magnesium is present, your muscles can relax, helping you avoid uncomfortable feelings of muscle tightness and cramps.
Rest and calm are necessary for your body to thrive. And magnesium is the mineral that can help your body and brain relax. Help healthy muscle relaxation and sleep with magnesium—the calming mineral.
Zinc: Another Mineral to Manage Stress
Stress is a major antagonist to feeling calm and rested. Enter zinc, the stress-modulating mineral. Zinc supports feelings of calm and rest by helping your brain keep occasional stress under control, making it easier for you to relax.
Scientific research supports the theory that zinc helps your brain manage and respond to occasional stress. Studies also indicate that individuals who acquire enough zinc in their diet experience healthy mood support and maintain feelings of wellness.
Zinc is one of the main essential nutrients that support your mental health, and your body relies solely on your diet for its supply. So it’s important to ensure your nutritional choices can support your daily zinc requirements. Foods rich in zinc include: animal proteins, legumes, and grains. You can also reinforce your diet with a high-quality zinc supplement.
B Vitamins Help Build Brain Health
Your brain is in charge of helping your body rest. It relies on neurotransmitters to send messages throughout your body when it’s time to wind down. Earlier you read how GABA and melatonin influence your ability to sleep and rest. Those are just two examples of neurotransmitters your brain uses to calm you down.
The brain needs chemical building blocks to make the neurotransmitters that tell your body to rest. B vitamins are the precursors to many neurotransmitters. They play a part in the chemical interactions that produce messenger molecules like dopamine and serotonin.
Dopamine is known for its ability to trigger feelings of happiness, reward, and pleasure. And serotonin is a mood-regulating chemical messenger. When dopamine and serotonin levels are within a healthy range, you feel happy and content.
Both of these neurotransmitters affect your emotional and mental well-being. Good mental health is necessary for rest and relaxation. That’s why it’s essential to support the neurotransmitters that maintain a good mood. That way you can help manage the occasional mental stress that may lead to sleepless nights.
B vitamins help maintain the production of the neurotransmitters that can put your mind at ease. Support the manufacture of dopamine and serotonin in your brain with B vitamins from your diet or supplements. And you can optimize your mental health and feel at peace.
Rest Assured, Vitamins and Minerals Support Relaxation
The calming nutrients you’ve just read about help you relax so you can combat occasional stress with rest. Magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins all work to help you decompress after a long day. Your brain and muscles rely on these essential vitamins and minerals to relax. Look for dietary sources or high-quality supplements of these nutrients to help calm your body.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AdobeStock_177780209.jpeg16322449Sydney SprouseSydney Sprouse2021-03-19 10:19:312022-07-03 21:07:08Relax with the Nutritional Support of Calming Nutrients
Each glass of water fills up your tank—lifting you closer to levels of healthy hydration. You knew that, though. And you’re likely familiar with the benefits of proper hydration. That’s why you’re counting ounces, glasses, or bottlefuls. The connections between hydration and health run deeper than you may have previously even thought, though.
There are many well-known hydration benefits, including:
Maintaining healthy fluid and key electrolyte balance
Supporting healthy temperature regulation (through water’s role in sweating)
Helping maintain the health of your blood supply
That’s an impressive list of important, wide-ranging benefits of proper hydration. But that’s only the beginning of what healthy hydration can mean for your overall wellness. Pour a tall glass of water, and dive into the exciting—and sometimes surprising—connections between hydration and health.
Healthy Hydration Levels Help Optimize Weight-Management Efforts
Water is heavy. And it makes up a significant portion of your body weight. That’s why boxers sweat off pounds before weighing in.
While you might not want to drink a liter of water before jumping on the scale, maintaining proper hydration is good for your long-term weight-management goals. Study after study strengthens the case for many weight-related benefits of proper hydration. And it can make an impact on the number you see on the scale in a few ways.
The first is satiety. Water makes you feel full. Researchers have found drinking water before meals—30 minutes prior seems to be the best timing—helps you eat fewer calories. And consuming fewer calories drives progress toward weight-management goals.
Second, thirst is often mistaken for hunger. This error can lead people to snack when they are really just thirsty. Staying properly hydrated—drinking water before you’re thirsty—will help you avoid a calorie-intensive mistake.
Drinking enough water may help support the maintenance of a healthy metabolic rate, too. Studies show ties between water intake and calorie burning. Part of this has been attributed to the thermogenic effort needed to heat water to match the temperature of the body. Other studies have also established connections between hydration levels and maintaining proper metabolism of stored fat.
Lastly, water is a zero-calorie beverages choice. Shunning sugary juice or soda when you’re thirsty is weight management 101. That’s because it’s effective to opt for zero-calorie water to help reduce energy intake, which adds up in your favor throughout the day.
Understanding the Fluid Dynamics of Hydration and Mood
You know food and mood go hand in hand. Think of the last time you skipped a meal and started feeling hangry (being angry because of hunger).
The mood-crushing implications of thirst don’t have a buzzword. That doesn’t make them any less real. Improper hydration—even to a mild degree—can ravage a perfectly fine afternoon with down moods, feeling anxious, irritability, and frayed nerves.
Like much of mood, your body’s messengers (neurotransmitters and hormones) are partly responsible. Neurotransmitters require water for maintaining proper function and balance. Dopamine and serotonin are the two brain chemicals that seem most impacted by improper hydration.
Don’t forget about the hormones, though. A study found the body’s stress hormone, cortisol, is released when you aren’t properly hydrated. And having extra cortisol hanging around isn’t ideal for everything from weight management to memory.
Next time, when you start feeling the creep of a bad mood coming on, downing a glass of water may help wash it away.
The Benefits of Proper Hydration Also Encompass Normal Cognition and Concentration
Your brain is a vociferous consumer of calories. It also has quite a thirst for maintaining healthy hydration.
The need for water goes beyond basic brain-health maintenance. Drinking enough liquid can support your ability to complete tasks because it may help maintain healthy cognition and concentration.
Studies linked even mild dehydration—defined as a drop of about two percent in body weight, which can occur from completing everyday tasks—to several impacts. When healthy hydration isn’t maintained, focus and working memory can be affected. A more severe or prolonged water deficiency may become detrimental to reasoning and thinking.
Your brain doesn’t make you aware of your thirst just because it craves refreshment. It wants water for support—to help successfully accomplish the massive mental tasks you face daily.
Hydration and Energy: Drink Up to Support Physical Stamina and Exercise Performance
Staying hydrated helps your brain maintain its energy and focus to conquer your mental to-do list. Your body is also able to clear physical hurdles with the help of sustained healthy hydration.
You probably already associate water with physical exertion. It’s a glass of ice water after strenuous yard work or the water bottle you tote from machine to machine at the gym.
Staying hydrated during physical activity is important. But striving for optimal hydration throughout the day also provides big benefits. Healthy hydration can help maintain your energy levels and aid in the fight against lethargy. Sufficient fluid intake and eating enough water-rich foods supports your ability to have the physical stamina to thrive.
Muscles move your body. And your muscles are overwhelmingly water—about 80 percent. Researchers have found that water moving in and out of muscle cells plays a key role in muscle contraction. So, keeping yourself optimally hydrated supports healthy muscle function and performance.
The explanations connecting hydration and energy go all the way to the cellular level.
Cells in your muscles—and throughout your body—need water to maintain health, structure, and optimal energy production. Healthy hydration sets up all your cells up for success by helping support the conversion of food into cellular energy (ATP). This fuel helps you crank through your busy days and have enough in the tank for exercise.
And your performance during those workouts is also tied to staying properly hydrated. Exercising requires a whole lot of muscle contractions. So water’s essential role in the mechanisms of this key muscular process make hydration and exercise inextricably linked.
Muscles are only part of the exercise puzzle, though. Movements during your routine also rely on many of your joints. And optimal hydration helps support joint health. Your joints are cushioned by fluid after all.
The problem with hydration and exercise is sweat, which is primarily made from water and salt. When working out, you can lose up to 10 percent of your body’s water weight through your skin. That’s why sports medicine organizations suggest drinking two glasses of water (about a half liter) before your workout and continuing to hydrate early and frequently throughout. This will help you maintain your energy level, support muscle activity, and optimize exercise performance.
Put the Benefits of Proper Hydration to Work for Your Health
Talking about food eats up a lot of energy in the health-and-wellness world. Diet is crucial for health, but it’s time to spare some headspace for healthy hydration.
The list of well-known benefits was long enough before tacking on weight, mood, cognition, and energy. But it’s undeniably impressive what simply downing enough fluids each day can do to help support your overall health. And it’s a much less complicated task than adhering to a diet.
No counting carbs or calories. No weighing portions. No avoiding this food one week and something else the next. Healthy hydration’s benefits can be felt by simply drinking water (plain is preferred) throughout the day.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AdobeStock_210055930.jpeg16322449David BakerDavid Baker2021-03-09 14:40:472022-07-03 21:08:21Experience the Surprising Benefits of Proper Hydration
When you think about it, brains are strange. They keeping your organs working and monitor the environment for danger. Basically, it keeps you alive. Yet the brain is also able to randomly pop up the lyrics to decades-old one-hit wonders. You can crack some of the mysteries of the brain by understanding the basics of neuroscience. But interesting brain-body connections still bring up tantalizing questions.
You’ve come to the right place to find your answers about how the brain and body work together. The six fascinating questions explored below help provide enhanced perspective about the brain-body connection.
Is the Brain Involved in Every Single Process and Function of My Body?
The short answer is yes. You would think your brain needs to delegate sometimes. But the brain monitors and reacts to changes everywhere in your body—and in your environment.
That doesn’t mean you’re conscious of all that’s going on.
Paying attention to every little function of the body would drive you insane. That’s why many functions are basically automated—especially those that keep you alive. It’s the reason you don’t have to think about moving your food through the digestive system, regulating blood flow, or consciously convert light into images.
So your brain is involved in everything, but thankfully, your conscious attention isn’t always needed.
Does the Brain Communicate Directly with the Whole Body?
The answer depends on what you consider direct communication. Your brain isn’t hopping on the body’s loud speaker to announce a wound cleanup on the finger you just cut on a piece of paper.
But the brain-body connection is built on solid two-way communication.
Your nervous system is responsible for relaying many of these messages. These nerve pathways allow probably the most traditionally direct communication—like the special connection of the gut-brain axis.
Your brain also uses chemical messengers. This can be done through the release of neurotransmitters or hormones—depending on the desired result.
Your stress response is a good example. Your brain senses stress and triggers the proper glands to release stress hormones like cortisol. These messengers tell the body to prepare for fight or flight—ramping up the physical sensations of stress you experience.
The methods may not be as direct and simple as anyone—especially those studying the brain-body connection—might like. But the communication methods are effective, which helps maintain health and happiness.
Are Parts of the Body Assigned Their Own Space in the Brain?
Your brain doesn’t have a Department of Bones or a Ministry of Arm Muscles. But different areas of the brain do specialize in certain functions.
Here’s how it breaks down (in alphabetical, not anatomical, order):
Brain Stem: Your brain’s connection to the spinal cord is a hub for information and nerves throughout your head and body. It also contains the medulla oblongata, which participates in keeping your heart and lungs working properly.
Cerebellum: Thank this part of your brain for any sports success you’ve had. Movement, fine motor skills, and balance are the responsibility of the cerebellum.
Diencephalon: It contains the thalamus, epithalamus, and hypothalamus. Together, they’re involved in how you feel emotionally, how you sleep, what you remember, how you behave, and how your body maintains the status quo of homeostasis.
Frontal Lobes: The front part of your brain helps you pay attention, strategize, judge, and solve problems. It also plays a role in your motor skills.
Occipital Lobes: You’re reading this thanks to this area’s ties to vision.
Parietal Lobes: Coordinating and making sense of information from your senses happens here.
Temporal Lobes: This area helps you recognize people’s faces and emotions. It’s also a primary reason you can learn spoken languages.
Parts of the Immune System are Found Throughout the Body. Is the Brain Really Commanding all Those Immune Cells?
Your immune system is often described as an army patrolling the borders of your body. In that scenario, you may mistake the brain for their commanding officer. But the relationship isn’t s a strict chain of command.
It’s much more of a collaborative effort, with plenty of communication pathways between the brain and immune system. Your nervous system connects directly to the thymus and bone marrow where cells are produced, as well as the lymphatic system. The cells on the front line of immunity also have receptors for brain messages. And they signal the brain with cytokines.
What you have is a complex dance of sensing, communicating, and reacting that results in immune protection. Your brain and immune cells are perfectly paired because they’re programmed to respond to changes in your body and environment. So it make sense they work together to keep you feeling your best.
Does the Blood-Brain Barrier Interrupt Brain-Body Connection?
It does, but selectively so. The blood-brain barrier protects your central processing center from unsavory items circulating in your blood.
This is accomplished by clamping down the space between the endothelial cells lining blood-vessel walls. Larger molecules—especially toxins and pathogens—can’t pass. Oxygen, fuel, and other important molecules make it through. Cellular communication and an array of transport proteins also allow some flexibility for what can cross the barrier.
That means your brain has a way to protect itself from everything in the body. But this barrier doesn’t typically stop the normal processes of your brain-body connection.
Mind Over Matter is a Popular Mantra During Exercise. But is Your Brain Really Able to Overcome Physical Factors to Push You During Exercise?
Your heart pounds, a deep breath escapes you, and your muscles are gelatin. But a couple of minutes remain in your workout. Your body feels done. Your brain is helping you push through.
That’s because your body sends signals, and your brain decides how to interpret them. Your motivation and mindset come into play. Your experiences building resilience and endurance also determine how far your brain will let you push your body.
There is a point where you must stop. Your brain’s main concern is survival, and you do have physical limits. Reach a point where survival is threatened or you have too much lactic acid in your muscles to keep running, you won’t be able to push through that wall. But your brain does make it possible to go harder and further than you might think.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AdobeStock_306841573.jpeg16322449David BakerDavid Baker2021-03-08 10:30:492022-07-03 21:09:186 Interesting Quirks of the Brain-Body Connection
Metabolism is often tied to weight. But there’s much more to it than how easily the numbers on the scale change. You’ve probably heard someone blame weight gain or feeling sluggish on having a “slow” metabolism—you’ll learn later that it’s not completely out of your control. But this is a common misunderstanding of the concept of metabolism.
The meaning of the word “metabolism” is very simple, yet few people seem to understand what it is and what it does. Metabolism is the set of chemical processes that take place in living organisms to sustain life.
On a microscopic scale, the reactions and processes that maintain cellular health are referred to as cellular metabolism. These reactions are catalyzed by enzymes and organisms big and small rely on them for growth, reproduction, structural maintenance, and responses to their environment. In the broadest sense, metabolism is what gives organisms life. Without it, there is none.
Your metabolism has three main functions:
Converting food to energy
Converting food to building blocks for proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and certain carbohydrates
Eliminating waste products
So the health of your metabolism ultimately depends on your diet and nutrition. You must eat and drink to provide the energy (calories) and metabolic building blocks (vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and essential fats) needed to fuel your actions, sustain your structure and integrity, and eliminate toxic wastes and cellular debris.
Without calories, there is no fuel. Without adequate nutrients, there are no building blocks to support structural integrity and mechanical function. And without proper elimination, toxic wastes and cellular garbage accumulate. Inefficient function in any of these areas will result in poor health.
Building Up or Breaking Down—It’s All About the Metabolism
All metabolic reactions are either anabolic or catabolic. Let’s define these different types of metabolism:
Anabolism (building up) supports new cell growth and production, storage of energy, and maintenance of body tissues.
Catabolism (breaking down) is the disassembling of fat, protein, and carbohydrates to release energy, keep you warm, and allow your muscles to contract.
In general, catabolism is the group of processes that break down large molecules into smaller ones for the purpose of providing energy and building blocks to construct new molecules.
Catabolism happens in stages, from general to very specific. First, large organic molecules (macronutrients) are digested from food into smaller compounds. Specific enzymes breakdown proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into much smaller and simpler chemicals.
Proteins yield amino acids.
Large carbohydrates (such as polysaccharides) are broken down to mono- and disaccharides (simple sugars).
Fats are split up into small fatty acids and monoglycerides.
These processes of digestion occur outside the cells. Then the smaller and more basic molecules are absorbed by the cells and converted into even smaller molecules like acetyl-CoA, which promote the release of energy.
Additional catabolic processes result in molecules that feed the citric acid cycle, electron transport chain, and oxidative phosphorylation (ATP). These chemical reactions release available and stored energy to support activity and build and support tissues.
The following is a very simplified overview of the catabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
The Build Up: Anabolic Metabolism Basics Explained
The opposite of catabolism is anabolism. Anabolic metabolism uses the energy released from catabolism to build and synthesize complex compounds.
Simple molecules and breakdown products of catabolism—like amino acids, monosaccharides, and nucleic acids—are used as precursors to build increasingly more complex molecules. These include polysaccharides (starch), amino acids and proteins, and fatty acids.
Anabolic carbohydrate metabolism starts with the conversion of basic organic compounds—pyruvate, lactate, and amino acids—into glucose. This sugar molecule can then be used for direct cellular energy and to assemble polysaccharides (starch and
glycogen). Glycogen is a storage form of glucose that can be accessed and broken down easily when the body needs energy quickly. When blood glucose levels drop, the body taps into its reserve of glycogen in the liver and muscles to provide energy for cellular function and activity.
Amino acids are used as building blocks to construct proteins and muscle tissue. In anabolism, individual amino acids are connected by peptide bonds, and their unique sequences result in specific protein structures. These various proteins include enzymes, hormones, and compounds your body uses for cellular transport, digestion, defense, and overall structure.
Long chain fats and fatty acids are built from acetyl-CoA and NADPH through the actions of enzymes called fatty acid synthases. Most of the acetyl-CoA that is converted to fatty acids in anabolic metabolism is derived from catabolized carbohydrates.
Catabolism and anabolism work in concert to maintain balance within the body. Under normal circumstances and health, the body attempts to maintain homeostasis. If there is enough imbalance in either direction, the body will change and adapt—at least up to a certain point. If there is a deficit of fuel and nutrients the body will stay in a state of catabolism. That’s because anabolism requires energy, while catabolism releases it.
The Role of Minerals and Vitamins in Metabolism
Vitamins and minerals do not provide direct energy, but they do play vital roles in metabolism. Several B vitamins are required as co-enzymes involved in the breakdown and buildup of macromolecules you read about above.
Several minerals—magnesium, zinc, iron, selenium, copper, and iodine especially—are essential parts of many enzymes in the body involved with metabolism. Minerals are also required for the building of new muscle and bone, which helps support normal body growth.
What is Metabolic Rate?
Metabolic rate is a way of explaining how much energy your body needs to fulfill all of its needs in providing for maintenance of body structure, energy use and storage, and cellular processes. Simply put, it’s the rate at which your body uses energy or burns calories.
When people refer to their metabolism being slow—typically as a cause of weight gain—they are referring to metabolic rate. Now that you have a very general idea of the meaning of metabolism, you can further explore metabolic rate and how they connect.
Basal Metabolic Rate
There are several pieces to the metabolic-rate puzzle. The first and largest fraction of your metabolic rate is known as Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).
The BMR measures the total calories you need to perform the body’s most basic functions, like respiration, circulation, brain activity, and cellular activities. In other words, it’s the calories you require to maintain your body if you were sleeping all day.
Measuring your BMR accurately is done under restrictive conditions and requires specific lab equipment and procedures. However, there are mathematic formulas you can use to get a reasonably accurate idea of your BMR. In general, your body size and muscle content have the most influence on your basal energy requirements.
You may also see metabolic rate described as Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Because BMR and RMR are essentially the same, those terms are often used interchangeably.
Use This Equation to Calculate Your BMR
The Harris-Benedict equation is the most common way to estimate your basal metabolic rate. There are other formulas you can use, or, better yet, calculators that do it for you (see references).
Harris-Benedict Equation:
For men: BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years)
For women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) – (4.330 x age in years)
Adding an Activity Factor
For most people, the next largest portion of their energy requirement and metabolic needs is activity level. The principle is simple—the more active you are, and the more intense your activity, the more energy you require.
Measuring exactly how many calories you burn during any given activity is difficult, if not impossible, under real world conditions. There are various tables available to help estimate the energy (in calories) you expend doing different activities.
Body weight is factored in this estimate because it takes a lot more energy for a 200-pound (91 kilogram) person to run a mile than for a 120-pound (54 kilogram) person. In most people, physical activities account for about 15-30 percent of total daily energy requirements.
Estimate your activity level factor by choosing a category that most fits your current lifestyle:
Sedentary (desk job, mostly sitting, little to no exercise or extra activity): Calorie Calculation = BMR x 1.2
Lightly active (sedentary job, activity like chores and walking 1-3 days/week): Calorie Calculation = BMR x 1.375
Moderately active (moving around and active during the day, moderate workouts 3-5 days/week): Calorie Calculation = BMR x 1.55
Very active (active during the day, sports or vigorous exercise on most days): Calorie Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (heavy and demanding physical work, intense workouts 6-7 days/week) : Calorie Calculation = BMR x 1.9
Adding activity level to your BMR gives you a value known as Active Metabolic Rate (AMR). You can calculate your AMR by multiplying your BMR and by your current level of activity from above.
Your AMR represents the number of calories you need to consume each day to stay at your current weight. If your goal is to lose weight, you would need a calorie deficit. That means you need to increase your physical activity level or decrease your energy intake by consuming fewer calories.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
In addition to your basal and active metabolic rates, there are a couple of other minor factors that can influence your total energy expenditure. One is the level of energy spent during eating and digestion. This is known as the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF).
It takes energy to digest, absorb, break down, and store nutrients.
Protein requires the most energy to digest and metabolize, so it has the highest thermic effect.
Carbohydrates require less energy than protein, and the more complex the carbohydrate, the higher the thermic effect. Starch and fiber have higher energy demands than simple sugars.
The thermic effect of fat is very low. It takes very little energy to digest, absorb, and store fat.
Overall, the TEF can account for as much as 10 percent of calories burned per day. That means eating a healthy protein-rich diet can make a difference over time.
Brown Adipose Tissue
Energy expenditure in adult humans isn’t impacted much by brown adipose tissue (BAT). But it’s worth mentioning since it’s a hot topic of current research.
Most adipose tissue (fat) is white. Each white fat cell contains a single lipid droplet. By contrast, brown fat cells contain numerous smaller droplets. The high number of iron-containing mitochondria and capillaries in the brown fats cells are what give the tissue its brown color. The primary function of BAT is in thermoregulation, or maintenance of core body temperature. This explains the abundance of BAT in newborns and hibernating mammals.
The prevalence of BAT diminishes with age in humans, but it is known to be present in adults with active and healthy metabolisms. Currently there is little evidence to support products or techniques to exploit or activate BAT in adults, but it is possible that this tissue may account for a small percentage of energy expenditure in some individuals.
What You Can Do to Support Your Metabolism
Many products and exercise methods promise to instantly rev-up your metabolism. But it’s not quite as simple as advertised. There are many factors in your control that can positively affect your metabolism, though. And making strides in these areas support your metabolism and help optimize vim and vigor throughout all aspects of your life.
Here some habits and activities you can perform to keep your metabolism performing at its best:
ExerciseRegularly – Remaining sedentary is not good for you or your metabolism. All activity and exercise that increases heart rate increases blood flow. This delivers more oxygen and nutrients to cells where they are needed to support metabolism. With sporadic activity, the effect may only be temporary, but consistent exercise leads to more long-term effects and benefits. Combining endurance or aerobic exercise with resistance exercise and weight training will deliver the greatest benefit. You may have heard it takes a lot more metabolic energy to maintain muscle than fat. That’s true. So maintaining or increasing your muscle mass will help keep your metabolism younger while you age.
Stay Hydrated – If you want to extract the most from your exercise and metabolism, you need to stay hydrated. Some research has shown that lack of good hydration can stall your metabolism, putting the brakes on burning energy and weight loss. Cool, pure water or an appropriate sports drink are typically best.
Commit to Restful Sleep – It may seem obvious, but poor and irregular sleep can make your metabolism sluggish. It can also affect your motivation to exercise and eat right. Your body performs important repair and building functions during sleep, so cutting corners on sleep is likely to lead to poor overall health—in addition to a slower metabolism.
Manage Stress – Stressful situations prompt your body to increase cortisol production. That’s good if you need to handle a short-term crisis. On the other hand, chronic and unmanaged stress leads to consistently high cortisol levels that can be a huge problem. Cortisol impairs insulin sensitivity and that leads to possible weight gain and a lethargic metabolism.
Avoid Starvation Diets – Your metabolism can’t zip along efficiently if it doesn’t have the right fuel and a consistent supply of nutrients. If your calorie (energy) intake is too low for very long, the body will slow down building, repair, digestion, and other high-energy consuming functions of metabolism. This often happens when people undertake excessively rigid or strict diets, and one reason why trying to lose weight too fast can be counterproductive. If your daily energy intake is not enough to maintain normal activities and alertness, that’s a sign you may also be blunting your metabolism.
Eat a Varied, Nutritious Diet – Adequate fuel alone doesn’t do the trick. Quality protein, vitamins, and minerals in the right amounts are needed to build and supply hormones, enzymes, and structures you need to keep your body and metabolism strong. Several B vitamins and minerals, like calcium and iron, are key nutrients for maintaining a healthy metabolism. A plant-based diet is healthy and generally recommended.
But don’t skimp on quality protein or your muscles and your metabolism will suffer for it.
Get Regular Medical Check-Ups – If you’re doing everything else right but aren’t making the progress you should, check with your health-care provider about your medications, hormones, and genetics. Some medications can interfere with metabolism. And, for many reasons, some hormones levels can be off kilter. Hormonal issues related to the thyroid or endocrine system can often be adjusted or treated to put you on the right track. You can’t really alter your genetics, but, in some cases, it can provide information that a qualified professional can use to structure a diet or regimen that works best for you.
Your metabolism is very complex. But the basic principle is simple: It’s the way your cells convert the food and nutrients you eat into the energy and processes you need to move, think, breath, and exist. Under normal conditions, having a healthy metabolism has little to do with luck—and everything to do with following principles of healthy eating, exercise, and beneficial lifestyle habits.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/AdobeStock_232083779.jpeg16322449Russ BartonRuss Barton2021-02-19 12:00:162022-07-03 21:18:30Metabolism – It’s What Keeps You Going
There’s little debate that exercise plays a powerful role in a happy, healthy life. Regular physical activity helps to build strong muscles, improve your cardiovascular and metabolic systems, shape your physique, and even extend your health. Physically, most people feel better when they regularly exercise. But it doesn’t stop there. The psychology of exercising and enjoying physical activities that boost mood can be just as beneficial to overall health. It’s time you explored the emotional benefits of exercise.
Move for Your Mental Health
Shaping mental health looks different for everyone. Increasing positive feelings to help elevate your energy, give you confidence, boost your mood, and enhance your ability to cope with life’s daily stressors is a great place to start. Your mental health influences your cognition, behavior, and emotional well-being—how you think, act, and feel—at any moment. A crucial part of overall health is gaining more control over how you experience the ups and downs of everyday life.
The benefits of exercise on mental health are powerful. In fact, research suggests that exercise can be as effective as other remedies in maintaining a healthy mental state. This happens by supporting the growth of nerve cells and optimizing their connections within the brain—not simply because it helps tone your physique and improve your self-confidence. A lifestyle shift to try activities that boost mood and bolster your mental health can be a fun way to reap the rewards of reduced stress and a resilient mindset.
The psychology of exercising gives insight into what motivates you to get up and move and how to fit regular activity into your day. If you’re already a habitual exerciser, you’re probably familiar with one of the most common reasons exercise can be so fun—it just feels good. That’s you experiencing the emotional benefits of exercise. But, what’s behind that euphoric feeling that floods your body after a long run and helps you bounce back after a tough day?
Physical Activity and Brain Chemistry
As an infant, you were loved and adored by parents and family members. Being doted on by your primary caregivers flooded your brain with positive neurotransmitters—a powerful, happy combination of chemicals that helped give you feelings of safety, love, and pleasure through responsive interactions.
As you grow and develop, you carry this same innate need for positive feelings of well-being. And though physical activity may not exactly mimic the soothing feeling of receiving love from a parent, the emotional benefits of exercise produce some of the same combinations of chemicals—poignant tools for living a full and balanced life.
The crucial interplay of communication between your brain and body is a result of neurotransmitters and their essential role as messengers. They create a link to your nervous system tied to your emotions, motivation and drive, pain response, focus, energy levels, and your ability to tap into the positive aspects of the human experience. Common neurotransmitters that play a role in exercise and mood for greater mental health include:
Serotonin is a messenger that impacts your entire body. As an important regulator of mood and cognition, it’s responsible for creating an overall feeling of well-being and happiness. It also reboots your brain while you sleep and affects digestion.
Dopamine is your primary motivation chemical. It helps to promote ambition, drive, and attention. Plus, it assists to regulate important responses like movement and learning, as well as impacts your emotional state. Maintaining basic self-care, including daily exercise, is the most efficient way to ensure optimum dopamine levels.
Norepinephrine is associated with the fight-or-flight response when your body senses danger. It helps you react to stress and exercise by increasing heart rate and plays a role in breaking down fat to provide energy for your body.
Digging Deeper into Exercise’s Feel-Good Factor
If you’ve ever been motivated to hit the gym simply because it feels good—there’s a great explanation why. Hint: it’s not just the flood of endorphins common with this exhilarating feeling. Endocannabinoids (produced naturally in the body) are chemical compounds that are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier to bind to neural receptors. They are actually responsible for the rush you feel after a great work out.
Aerobic exercise increases the production of several neurotropic factors—growth factors of the nervous tissue. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is among them, playing a central role in protecting existing neurons and stimulating the growth of new ones (a process called neurogenesis). BDNF actually helps you grow new brain cells. The more BDNF you have, the more you support the growth and development of your nervous system.
During exercise, BDNF is produced and works with the endocannabinoid receptors in the body to effectively block pain and create that feeling of bliss commonly known as a runner’s high. The presence of new neurons gives you an increased level of responsiveness to be more in touch with your experience. And the unique protective ability of BDNF makes your existing brain cells more resilient and less affected by stress on the body. Stress from regular exercise causes a chain reaction that feels good, helps make you more resilient to feelings of stress and anxiety, and actually helps you bounce back from the outside stressors of life faster than before.
BDNF also boosts serotonin production. And it’s reciprocal—higher levels of serotonin stimulate BDNF expression—creating a dynamic cycle that ignites feel-good senses from physical activity alone.
The Mental and Emotional Benefits of Exercise
It’s true, exercise helps to stimulate your mood on a chemical level, but the mental and emotional benefits of exercise also transform your day-to-day mindset. Whether you have a set fitness routine, are a seasoned weekend warrior, or want to experience the positive impact of daily exercise, you may recognize these benefits as you increase your physical activity.
Improved self-esteem
Increased energy and stamina
Easier weight management
Improved sleep quality
Pride in accomplishments
Improved body image perception
Enhanced ability to cope with stress
Stronger interpersonal relationships
Increased mental alertness
These practical benefits of exercise can increase your satisfaction, gratitude, and connection—all major mental-health wins.
Go the Distance with Aerobic Activities that Boost Mood
If you haven’t adopted a favorite aerobic activity, it’s a good time to try something new. Any form of exercise helps to overcome feelings of anxiety and increase well-being, but research shows the best activities that boost mood kick your heart rate up a bit. Moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise creates more robust and longer-lasting changes to your neurobiology. That’s right—revving up the treadmill speed can enhance your ability to cope with challenging situations.
Moderate intensity exercise—50-60 percent of your max heart rate (find your max by subtracting your age from 220)
Vigorous intensity exercise—70-85 percent of your max heart rate
Add intensity slowly, if necessary. Carry a backpack on your hikes, set goals to swim a faster lap, take fewer breaks between sets in the gym—anything to increase your heart rate as you become more physically fit. Achieving your personal exercise goals is an unbeatable investment in your well-being.
Keep the Momentum
A healthy habit of regular exercise creates ongoing, mood-boosting effects to build your momentum and tackle your fitness goals. If the first step to fitness seems difficult, try these motivational tips to mentally prepare for your next sweat session.
Action precedes motivation. Don’t wait until you feel like exercising—just do it. Schedule your workouts ahead of time, set out your gear, and don’t think too much, just start moving.
Be mindful of screen time during exercise. Engaging on social media or checking your phone constantly forces you to multitask during your workouts. You may become overwhelmed or distracted and lose your intensity and drive to continue.
Recruit a friend. Working out with a buddy enhances social connection, can push you to strive for greater intensity, and makes you accountable for your goals. Plus, a shared fitness goal is great motivation.
Make your workout fun! Finding the right type of exercise is a must. Try new activates and workouts, and switch up your routine to keep you motivated. The more engaged you are in your workout, the more likely you’ll be to show up day after day.
If you’re looking to improve your overall health and find a natural way to cope with daily stress, find some activities that your boost mood. Positive emotional benefits of exercise await on the other side of an intense bike ride, a long run, a night of dancing, or a competitive tennis match. Make your move toward better mental health today.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/AdobeStock_334068019-scaled.jpeg14402560staffstaff2021-02-17 17:00:082022-07-03 21:19:37Find Your Movement, Change Your Mood: The Emotional Benefits of Exercise
You and a few friends sit down at your favorite restaurant, order appetizers and a meal, and enjoy each other’s company as you fill up on patatas bravas. Without realizing it, you’ve polish off your plate, sans any portion control whatsoever—over 1,200 calories consumed in half an hour, more if it was washed down with a soda.
Everyone’s been there, stewing in lack of self-control guilt after overeating. But cut yourself some slack—cultural shifts are some the biggest consumption culprits. Restaurant servings sizes have doubled, even tripled, over the last 25 years. This is contributing to a crushing calorie overload and soaring obesity rates.
A fast-food burger ordered in the early ‘90s would’ve weighed in around 4.5 ounces (about 128 grams). Today, that same burger sits at 8 oz. (about 227 grams). In turn, plates at home have become fuller to match the new norm. Preservative-packed prepackaged foods have also steadily become staples, replacing home-cooked meals.
The world is seeing steady increases in average calorie consumption. But you can reverse the trend in your own life with easy, effective planning. Savor your meals, without the guilt, using portion control science.
Weighing the Portion Control Benefits
Why is portion control important? It helps you manage overall caloric intake while ensuring you feed your body the right types of macro and micronutrients. Whether you have a weight-loss goal, want to adjust your BMI, or aspire to maintain a healthy weight, your body will appreciate the beneficial nutrients you may otherwise miss. Your wallet will thank you, too, since every ingredient will go further. And you can say goodbye to mindless munching straight from the package.
The importance of portion control extends to your gut. Too-large portions may cause indigestion and discomfort. If you feel cramped or bloated after a big meal, overeating could be to blame. Measuring out meals will leave you feeling refreshed, content, and energized after eating—defeating the dreaded “post-lunch brain fog” once and for all.
Beyond belly imbalance, a calorie surplus (consuming more calories than your body can burn) has been shown to contribute to overall weight gain, even in active adults and athletes. With the exception of pure protein, overfeeding tends to have a negative effect on body composition, resulting in increased body weight or fat mass.
Eating for Your Body Type and Activity Level
Making portion control science work looks a bit different from person to person. Your genetics and lifestyle play a major part in the amounts and types of nutrients you should eat. Start by determining your body type—endomorph, ectomorph, or mesomorph. This will help define your macronutrient ratio—protein, fat, and carbohydrates—and whether you should err on the side of more or fewer calories on an average day.
Know Your Nutrients
The more you know about nutrients, the easier it is to design a diet that fits your needs and goals. Learn more about macro and micronutrients today.
The next step is inputting your height, weight, and a few other stats into a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calculator. BMR calculators offer a rough estimate of the energy your body currently expends in a neutral environment (like binge-watching an entire season of your favorite TV show). Factor in your activity level and add in any of your energy-burning hobbies. Here are a few common activities measured out in 30-minute increments by Harvard Health Publishing for a 155-pound person:
112 calories for general weightlifting
130 calories for golf (with a cart)
167 calories for walking at a 3.5 mph average
223 calories using a stair-stepper
260 calories for low-impact aerobics
298 calories for general circuit training
Combine your BMR, general activity level, and all the motions you make to determine the average number of calories you should aim to consume in a day.
Master Your Meal Plan
You’ve done the math. Now it’s time for the exciting part: making your own personalized portion control guide. Determine the nutritional content of your favorite foods and ingredients, and read the nutrition facts label found on packaged goods. Pay special attention to the serving size—it will surprise you how microscopic the recommended portions can be on many processed foods. For home cooking, a kitchen scale could be a new staple for fast, accurate ingredient measurements.
While your body type will guide you towards the right type of diet, you can’t go wrong with the “golden ratio” of macronutrients. On average, half your plate should be vegetables, a quarter of protein, a quarter of complex carbohydrates, and a dash of healthy fats. Eating within these parameters ensures plenty of satisfying fiber and a range of phytonutrients and other micronutrients that simply aren’t available in a take-n’-bake pizza. Plus, veggies tend to be lower in calories compared to protein-rich foods, while healthy fats tend to be calorie-dense. This means your meals will still be hearty, even when measuring out portions.
The right ratios don’t have to be boring. In fact, eating a varied diet contributes to gut diversity and is a predicator for a healthier heart and weight range. Challenge yourself to try fruits and vegetables from every color of the rainbow and you’ll enjoy great flavors and beneficial compounds in no time.
The Practice of Portion Control
The importance of portion control becomes less meaningful when it isn’t practiced consistently. Make perfectly measured meals a habit with these tips:
Portion Control Tips
Use smaller plates. It’s the simplest, and most effective, method of portion control. Studies show people eat less—or more—depending on their dishware dimensions, regardless of how hungry they were to start.
Meal prep during the week. Measuring, cooking, and storing a week’s worth of meals ultimately saves time, allows you to eat on the go, and ensures you stay on track—even on your busiest days.
Give yourself a hand. When a scale isn’t available, your hand makes for a solid portion control guide. Protein portions should be about the size of your palm, carbs sized to a clenched fist, and fats portioned to the size of your thumb.
Drink a tall glass of water before each meal to help trigger your stomach to signal fullness. Actually, you should aim to stay hydrated all the time—a win-win for your overall health and portion-control goals.
Eat purposefully. It can take 20 minutes or longer for your stomach to signal feelings of fullness to your brain. Take your time with each bite, appreciating the textures and flavors. And put down the smartphone at the dinner table to avoid the risk of distracted overeating. (And because it’s rude, of course.)
Enjoy healthy, whole-food snacks like almonds, apples, or celery sticks with hummus dip between meals. Utilize the glycemic index to shop for low-glycemic foods—a satisfying way to silence tummy rumbles.
Split the meal when eating out, or ask for a half serving. Even if you tell yourself to be extra-vigilant as you order, it’s too easy to overdo it with often-exaggerated portions. At the very least, secure a to-go box at the same time as your food is delivered and divide out your leftovers. Peruse the menu for lighter fare or lunch options—they offer healthier choices and classic meals in smaller portions.
Make less mean more.Intermittent fasting is a popular eating option that simplifies eating by condensing your caloric intake into fewer meals. It’s also shown to decrease fat and maintain energy levels.
Keep a journal. Jotting down what and how much you eat every day, as well as including brief notes on your daily reactions, can help paint a picture of how nutrition affects your life. Look for trends, and bring up your thoughts with a trusted nutritionist.
Ensure enough quality sleep to help regulate hormones associated with hunger. A multitude of other physical and mental health benefits surround a sound night’s slumber.
Remove the temptation. Your environment strongly influences your behavior. You know yourself better than anyone, so address your weaknesses. If you often reach for a cola at 3:00 p.m., go for a walk at 2:55 p.m. instead.
Your hand makes for a perfect portion control guide.
Experience the Importance of Portion Control
Society may be eating more than ever before, but armed with the know-how—along with a little practice—you can reign in your dietary habits. You’ll save money, nourish your body with the right nutrients, and lose the overeating guilt. And the next time you visit your favorite go-to restaurant, drink a tall glass of water, portion out a to-go box, and enjoy every bite.
With the right mindset, it’s easy to make portion control science work for you.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/AdobeStock_112068652.jpeg16322449staffstaff2021-02-09 12:00:512022-07-03 21:22:25Eat Less, Enjoy More | A Portion Control Guide
Life is busy. And often the easiest foods to find come from the drive-through or a package. The problem is that these are often low in protein, fiber, and micronutrients. At the same time, the easy food options are often high in total calories—while not being very satisfying. These characteristics are the opposite of what to look for in a meal replacement. You want to make your meal replacements a healthy, on-the-go alternative to these unhealthy meals.
To fill this role, meal replacements need to be simple. That’s why the best meal replacements often take the form of a shake or a bar, which have minimal or no preparation. If an option is too complicated and time consuming to prepare, then you might go back to the unhealthy options.
The Nutrients to look for in a Meal Replacement
It’s not easy to have freshly prepared food with a balance of healthy fats, protein, and carbohydrates for every meal. The best meal replacements will provide a good balance of these macronutrients in an easy-to-eat form. This will vary depending on your goals and food preferences, but a healthy diet acquires roughly 20-35 percent of its calories from fat, 40-65 percent from carbs, and 15-25 percent from protein.
Applying that same balance to a 250-calorie meal replacement means it should have roughly 6-10 grams of fat, 25-41 grams of carbs, and 9-16 grams of protein. About three grams of those carbohydrates should be from fiber.
Those numbers are just guidelines. What’s most important is a meal replacement should still fit into your overall healthy eating goals. It could be a good opportunity to secure a little bit of extra fiber and protein that the rest of your diet may be lacking. So don’t worry if you see protein and fiber go beyond these general recommendations, but they should support your bigger daily goals.
The fat in a meal replacement should focus on healthier fats. This means it should generally limit saturated fats and contain more unsaturated fats. The fats in meal replacements often come from nuts and seeds—a much healthier choice than fried fats found in fast food. There are small amounts of naturally occurring trans fats in many foods, but the amount should be low enough that it rounds down to zero.
A normal, healthy meal that’s full of plant-based foods is also going to have lots of essential micronutrients. You should still be amassing some of these nutrients from your meal replacement, too. Look for a meal replacement that has a broad range of essential vitamins and minerals.
What are the Benefits of Meal Replacements?
Now you know what to look for in a meal replacement. Let’s assume you have found one that meets the above criteria, you like the flavor of, and have decided to incorporate it into your daily life. The real benefits will come from using it to replace the unhealthiest parts of your diet first.
A healthier meal on-the-go
Meal replacements are all about finding an easier way to have a nutritious diet. They aren’t meant to replace a well-balanced meal full of lean protein, vegetables, and whole grains. Instead, they aim to replace the unhealthy snacks and fast food that fill out your diet.
Why do people eat these unhealthy foods in the first place? Some of the foods do taste good, but people aren’t frequenting the corner fast-food joint due to their fine dining experience. A lot of it is due to convenience and routine.
The beauty of meal replacements is they are very easy to prepare. And that ease will help you turn meal replacements into part of your regular routine. So instead of a pastry with your morning coffee or the daily burger and fries for lunch, you can have a shake or bar instead.
Replacing fast food, chips, or candy with a meal replacement can help you increase your intake of essential nutrients like protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. At the same time, it can help limit the number of simple sugars, unhealthy fats, and total calories you eat. This is a win-win—giving you more nutrition in fewer calories.
Meal replacements instead of dieting
Yes, the act of eating a meal replacement does make it part of your diet. But compared to many of the traditional weight-loss diets, meal replacements have some distinct advantages.
As mentioned, the best meal replacements are easy to incorporate into your diet. Shakes require minimal preparation and bars don’t require any. The convenience of meal replacements also plays an important role in their ability to help people maintain a healthy weight.
Some of the top reasons people fail at weight-loss diets are due to their complicated nature. Many diets have you counting parts of the food you eat. Calories, fat, carbs, and protein are all important parts of your diet. But for most people it becomes tedious to track them and always be aware where you are at each point throughout the day.
Counting calories
If you have ever eaten out or at a family member’s house while trying to count calories, then you know the nightmare that can become. You are stuck with a few bad options. You can give up on goals for the day and eat what they have prepared. Or you can pick out the couple foods that you can guess accurately and eat some of those—but then go home still hungry.
This isn’t a viable long-term solution for most people. It leads to inconsistent results and eventually giving up on the diet.
It’s not encouraged to just bring a shake to dinner at your friend’s house. But you can plan ahead. Have a shake for lunch that same day, instead of eating both a large lunch and a large meal for dinner.
Even if you still end up eating more than you should on some days, meal replacements are tools for long-term success. Unlike most diets, the replacements are not about losing 10 pounds in the next month. They help you make better eating choices over the months and years of your life.
So after a big night out, rather than the internal debate about whether to continue your calorie counting or give up, you can go back to a simple meal-replacement for lunch. It’s not the most exciting or glamorous food. But the best meal replacements are convenient, and provide a choice you can lean on for years.
That’s great if counting calories works for you, or it’s something you want to do for a short while. These dietary approaches aren’t mutually exclusive. You can use meal replacements while you count calories. Just remember that weight maintenance is a life-long goal, and whatever works for you is going to have to be maintained throughout your life.
Counting carbs
Ketogenic diets are extremely popular right now. And for good reason—most people love an excuse to eat bacon and cheese all day.
Ketogenic diets have some legitimate benefits. Beyond the cheese and bacon, one of the big benefits people talk about is avoiding the calorie counting mentioned above. As already outlined, that task isn’t fun.
But the true followers of keto know that it’s not a diet that keeps you completely away from the counting game. To stay in ketosis, you need to keep your carb intake below about 10 percent of your total energy intake. That means you need to know your calorie intake AND your carb intake.
You could try to keep it simple by skipping the calorie counting, and just limit carbs to 50 g per day. But that won’t work for everyone. And those who do keep their carbs below 50 g per day will face a struggle common to keto diets.
That challenge is acquiring enough nutritious fruits and vegetables in your diet and 25-plus grams of fiber, all while staying below 50 g of carbs per day. It isn’t easy, especially without really tracking your diet carefully. Just like with calorie counting, this isn’t saying that keto diets are bad. Just that it’s more difficult to maintain for most people than turning to a quality meal replacement as a weight-management tool.
What to Look for in a Meal Replacement? What Works Best for You
The most important part of a healthy diet is finding what works for you. The balance of a good meal replacement makes them a great alternative to unhealthy snacks. And their simplicity makes the best meal replacements good alternatives to stricter diets.
Meal replacements aren’t perfect either, but it’s that lack of having to be perfect that makes them so easy to incorporate into your long-term goals. Whether you are trying to have an overall healthier diet or trying to maintain a healthy weight, longevity is essential.
Dieting for life is a marathon, not a sprint. And that’s what a meal replacement is designed for—a life-long addition to your diet.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Healthy-Breakfast-Nutrimeal.jpg418835Austin WinegarAustin Winegar2021-02-05 10:00:282022-08-30 11:04:13What to Look for in a Meal Replacement and How They Can Help Your Health
Eating is one of life’s great joys. But what follows—digestion—is more work than wonder for your stomach. The stomach functions as a chemical and mechanical pouch solely designed to break down food for absorption. In addition to what the stomach does for digestion, it’s also your main food storage tank.
The stomach is also the first stop after you’ve swallowed food. Unlike other sophisticated organs, like the brain or liver, the stomach is a physical brute. In addition to a muscular lining to pulverize food into smaller pieces, highly acidic gastric juices are created to further dissolve your dinner. What the stomach does is tackle the tough work of preparing nutrients to be absorbed in the intestines.
Your stomach anatomy is unique, which helps it perform three vital food functions:
Temporary storage
Mixing and breakdown
Preparation for nutrient absorption in the intestines
Read on to learn more about how the stomach functions. You’ll also discover the way vitamin B12 and other nutrients are extracted from food, fun stomach facts, and how to care for your digestive system.
Your Stomach Anatomy Helps Accomplish What the Stomach Does in Digestion
The entire digestive system is one continuous tube connecting your mouth (where food enters) to your anus (where waste is expelled). And your stomach anatomy is best described as an enlarged, pouch-like section of this digestive tube. The muscular, J-shaped organ is found in the upper part of your abdomen on the left side of your torso. At approximately 12 inches long and six inches wide—size may vary depending on the person, sex, build, and how much they’ve eaten—it connects your esophagus to your small intestine.
All digestion starts in your mouth, where food is chewed and combined with saliva. As each bite is sufficiently broken down, a digestive tube opens at the esophagus to allow food to travel to the tip of your stomach. Once there, an esophageal sphincter opens to pass chewed food into the stomach—one of the many key organs for extracting nutrients from your diet. If the sphincter doesn’t work properly, acidic gastric juices can leach into your esophagus which feels unpleasant—to say the least.
Your stomach anatomy is broken into four primary sections:
Cardia: Where contents of the esophagus enter the stomach.
Fundus: An expanded area connecting the esophagus to the stomach.
Body: The main, central region of the stomach.
Pylorus: Where digested food is dispelled into the small intestine.
The majority of what the stomach does for food digestion takes place in the organ’s body section, where chewed foods mix with acidic gastric juice and digestive enzymes. This content is churned through a series of muscle contractions called peristalsis. They are vigorous enough to ground solid foods down into a smooth food pulp for easy extraction of nutrients in the intestines.
The inner mucous lining of the stomach contains a series of folds that run its length—from the esophageal to the pyloric sphincters. These folds aid stomach functions by creating pathways for moving the food around and helping in digestion. While the majority of nutrient absorption takes place in your small intestine, the stomach does pull out some water, medication, amino acids, and water-soluble vitamins during its digestive stage.
Your stomach wall is made up of several layers of mucous membrane, connective tissue with blood vessels, nerves, and muscle fibers. Inner stomach lining also has glands that release the three to four liters of gastric juice needed every day to facilitate the absorption of nutrients. Its hydrochloric acid also breaks down food while digestive enzymes split up proteins.
Gastric juice is so virulent to organic matter it’s able to kill bacteria in your digestive system. To protect your stomach from the gastric juices, bicarbonate is produced in the pancreas and the stomach to neutralize the hydrochloric acid. In addition, mucus lines the walls of the stomach to reduce the effects of gastric juices. Once food has been transformed into pulp, the pyloric sphincter opens and pushes the material into your small intestine for further digestion and nutrient absorption. The stomach’s digestive job is done.
The Stomach Functions as a Key Cog in Vitamin B12 Absorption
Vitamin B12 is an important nutrient to keep your body’s nerve and blood cells healthy, while helping support DNA synthesis and red-blood-cell formation. Good sources of B12 are readily available in meats (beef, pork, and fish), eggs, milk, and fortified cereals. B12 is so vital to your body that three to five years’ worth of the essential vitamin is stored in your liver to continue healthy red-blood-cell production and other key functions.
While B12 is primarily absorbed in the small intestine, it can’t be used without first passing through the stomach. During the initial digestion process, B12 is pulled out of food and combined with a cell-recognition protein, called an intrinsic factor, from the parietal cells of the stomach.
Vitamin B12 supports the health of your entire body. This essential vitamin helps keep the body’s nerves and blood cells healthy and helps maintain the mechanisms for making new DNA. And without the digestive assistance from the stomach, the body wouldn’t be able to take on this vital nutrient.
Tips on How to Care for Your Stomach
You’ve learned how the stomach functions. Now let’s explore how you can support optimal stomach health. Caring for your stomach can have overlapping benefits for the rest of your body. And simple lifestyle changes go a long way to promote good stomach health and support your general well-being.
Stay Hydrated
Water is vital for good health, and it is essential at all levels of digestion. Water helps soften food as you chew it, assists with its travel down the esophagus, and creates bulkier yet softer stool for waste removal. Water also aids in the breakdown of foods so your body can absorb the nutrients. Drinking eight glasses of water a day helps your stomach process food and supports proper hydration.
Follow a Regular Eating Schedule
When you eat is almost as important as what you eat. Your body’s circadian clock is an internal biologic timer that coordinates daily behaviors: sleep/wake, hormone release, and heart function. It responds to environmental changes, like light and food, and helps coordinate your circadian rhythms with your surroundings.
When your clock is out of sync, it can negatively affect your health. Your body expects certain fuels (fats, sugars) at specific times of day. Eating at set times allows for proper digestion. Sporadic eating overworks your stomach as it digests food, sometimes causing bloating and indigestion. Studies show eating every 3–5 hours gives your stomach enough time to adequately process your food and fuel your body.
Eat More Fiber
Fiber is a unique type of carbohydrate that’s essential to maintain a healthy weight and support overall health. While most carbohydrates are converted into sugar, fiber passes through your body undigested. It helps to regulate your hunger levels and assists with waste removal, supporting digestive health and overall well-being.
There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibers are found in oats, peas, beans, carrots, and citrus fruits. Insoluble fibers—wheat bran, nuts, and certain vegetables like cauliflower and potatoes—don’t dissolve in water to help materials move through your digestive tract.
Your stomach muscles and gastric acids break down food. And a diet rich in fiber helps bind the food pulp that’s passed from the stomach into the intestines. Once it reaches your colon, fiber feeds friendly gut bacteria and helps maintain your microbiome.
Chew Your Food
Food is mostly digested in your stomach and intestines, but the process starts the second you take a bite. Chewing breaks down food into smaller pieces. This helps food to travel down your esophagus (to avoid choking) and assists your stomach with digestion. Chewing mixes saliva—which is packed with digestive enzymes—into your food to allow your body to absorb the greatest amount of nutrients.
Excuse me! Burping releases air molecules swallowed while eating. That’s why you burp when you drink carbonated beverages.
Belly size doesn’t correlate to stomach size. Regardless of your midsection’s girth, the average stomach is the same size, about 12 inches long and six inches wide.
On the front line. The acid in your stomach sterilizes and neutralizes bacteria and other toxins you might consume.
Home of hormones. Your stomach produces a variety of substances. This includes digestive enzymes, acids, and hormones that help stimulate hunger.
Stronger than steel. Stomach acid, or hydrochloric (HCl) acid, is powerful enough to dissolve most metals. Originally produced from green vitriol and rock salt, HCl is also known as muriatic acid, acidium salis, and spirit of salts.
Time for supper. A growling stomach is called borborygmic. It happens all the time, but it’s easier to hear when your stomach is empty.
Zero gravity diners. Muscles in your esophagus constrict and relax in a wave-like manner called peristalsis. This motion pushes food down your esophagus, which is why astronauts digest their food the same in space as on Earth.
Feed Your Body Right to Keep Up Healthy Stomach Function
It’s common for the stomach to be considered the home of your entire digestive process. But your stomach is just one of the many important organs that help your body absorb nutrients.
As the fuel tank for your body, your stomach temporarily stores the food that it later turns into the energy you need to power your life. So, the next time you feel something in the pit of your stomach, use these tips to give your belly the extra boost of support it needs.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AdobeStock_313580715.jpeg15912513staffstaff2021-01-25 09:20:382022-07-03 21:26:23Something to Digest—How Your Stomach Functions
It’s common to have an adversarial relationship with fat. You’re taunted by it when you look in the mirror. You curse your body fat. You pinch it and try hard to burn it off. But maybe instead of open hostility, it’s time to try to understand fat tissue—or, by its impressive, scientific name, adipose tissue.
This attitude isn’t the fault of the individual alone. Society at large has a complicated relationship with fat tissue. The conflict stems from a plethora of misunderstandings and misconceptions. The lack of knowledge about fat functions creates a simplified understanding of adipose tissue’s biological importance.
You can expand your understanding of all things adipose with the answers to common questions about fat tissue. Learn about formation, function, and fun facts that will reshape your relationship with body fat.
Q. Besides a constant source of ire, what is fat tissue actually?
A. The definition of fat or adipose tissue is fairly simple. It’s loose connective tissue that acts as energy storage. That’s the very basics of fat tissue.
The more formal name (adipose tissue) comes from the fact that this type of tissue is made up of adipocytes—commonly referred to as fat cells. The moniker fits because their main job is to store excess calories as fatty acids called triglycerides.
These reserves of energy in physical form are stashed throughout the body. You tap into the fatty acids in adipose tissue when energy intake and carbohydrate stores—as glycogen—are depleted. It’s a process that’s familiar to those on keto diets or who practice intermittent fasting.
One other easy misunderstanding about fat needs to be cleared up right away. Eating dietary fat of any type doesn’t transfer directly to adipose tissue. Sure, the fat tissue on your body is similar at a molecular level to the fat you eat. Lipids and fatty acids form the building blocks of all fats—including adipose tissue. But the fat you eat goes through a lot before it possibly is incorporated into adipocytes.
Digestion breaks down the fats you eat into component parts. Some of that energy is burned off. Some is used to build structures or for other health-maintenance purposes throughout the body. The leftover energy from dietary fat can then be stored in adipose tissue. So instead of avoiding fats in your diet, just look for healthy, plant-based sources. And remember the caloric price tag, because fat packs nine calories per gram.
Q. Is there more to adipose tissue than just fat? Or are there other components?
A. Your body fat is more complex than the simplified villain narrative that pervades pop culture. There are the adipocytes, of course, and plenty of small blood vessels to maintain circulation into the adipose tissue. Nerve and endocrine (hormone producers) cells as well as lymphatic pathways are also found in fat tissue.
But the biggest non-fat component of adipose tissue is the stromal vascular fraction (SVF). This important element is a collection of diverse cell types—including mature cells (vascular, smooth muscle, blood and immune cells, as well as fibroblasts) and stem cells. Millions of these SVF cells aren’t fat-filled, but provide structure and material that can adapt as the tissue needs fluctuate.
Q. What health and survival functions do fat tissue perform?
A. Of course, you don’t want too much adipose tissue, but having too little is a problem as well. That’s because fat isn’t just a physical punishment for unhealthy eating or a lack of exercise. It has crucial biological functions that keep you alive and thriving.
The main functions include:
Energy storage—This main adipose purpose (already discussed above) is a survival mechanism to make the most of bountiful food supplies by stashing some for later.
Heat—Animals in cold climates use blubber to keep them warm, and this phenomenon exists in humans—especially babies, but research is showing the role fat plays in heating adults, too.
Padding—Accumulated adipose tissue cushions your organs to provide a measure of protection.
Metabolic impact: Using secretions (hormones, cytokines, and other metabolites), adipose tissue helps regulate energy balance, appetite, and various metabolic actions.
Hormone production: As an endocrine organ, fat tissue makes a variety of hormones, like leptin, adiponectin, and resistin.
Q. Fat is an organ?!
A. Yes. You read that right—adipose tissue is considered an endocrine organ. And a big one, too. This designation is based on fat tissue’s ability to produce hormones—literally the definition of an endocrine organ.
Your adipose tissue’s communication and influence on metabolic activities are helped by the array of hormones it makes. Leptin is especially important for energy regulation. It interacts with your brain’s hypothalamus and helps maintain the body weight over time. It’s one of the reasons dieting is so hard.
Q. Are there different types of adipose tissue?
A. Indeed there are different forms of adipose tissue. And they’re conveniently color-coded to keep them separate.
White fat tissue acts as the energy storehouses for the extras from your diet. That’s also what’s pulled from when your body runs out of easily burned sugars. Your white adipose tissue also handles the hormone secretions that come from your body fat.
Brown fat tissue is thermogenic—packed with more blood vessels and to help maintain warmth. Science has known this kind of fat was in newborns. But up until recently, it wasn’t thought to play much of a role in adults.
Adipose tissue is also often described by where it is on the body.
Q. Where does fat accumulate?
A. The midsection is the first place you might look for body fat. But a round belly is only one place you’ll find fat-stuffed adipose tissue.
In fact, fat is all over your body.
Adipose tissue is tucked into the innermost layer of your skin. This subcutaneous fat is what you measure with calipers or pinch to check your weight-management progress. It’s also the fatty tissue that’s easiest to spot.
You can’t exactly see visceral fat—though evidence of it (a pot belly) can become apparent with too much accumulation. This type of fat describes the adipocytes clustered inside your abdominal cavity and around your internal organs. You need some for padding, but too much visceral fat can hamper health.
Fat is also laced between your muscle fibers (intermuscular fat) and inside your bone marrow. That yellow bone marrow—the kind where adipocytes are found—is important for stem cell production.
Q. Can you really not eliminate fat cells? What’s the process to remove adipose tissue and slim down?
A. You were born with tens of billions of fat cells and they aren’t going anywhere. You’ll likely have them, and maybe more, for the entirety of your life. That’s because, while you can’t naturally destroy fat cells, you can add more adipose tissue. And once it’s there, it doesn’t go away, either.
Sorry if that’s bad news. Liposuction can literally suck up and permanently remove adipose tissue located under your skin. But there’s simply no way to diet or exercise away your adipose tissue.
If that’s true—and it certainly is—how do you burn fat naturally to improve your physique?
Fat tissue is made up of adipocytes that act as little energy storage containers of lipids. When your body is in a state where it has to rely on stored fat for energy, the necessary amount of containers are emptied.
The storage structures stay, but they are no longer plumped up by the fat that filled them. This helps you look slimmer. Just remember that those adipocytes can be filled back up in the future—depending on your calorie expenditure and intake.
Q. Is there a correct amount of fat tissue?
A. Like most health indicators, there isn’t a single number that works for everyone. Instead, there is a healthy range for body fat percentage and body mass index (BMI).
Women with 10-31 percent body fat are considered in the healthy range. For men, the numbers are between two and 24 percent. If you’re looking to use BMI, the healthy range is 18.5–24.9.
There are other factors—age and activity level, for instance—that may make your target range slightly different. But the important takeaway about body fat is that you do need some, but too much isn’t good for maintaining optimal health.
Also, dealing with fat loss purely based on your weight isn’t the right approach. When you’re talking about fat tissue amounts, body composition is the keyword. That’s why the measurements you see above aren’t tied to a number to shoot for on the scale.
Use Your Knowledge About Adipose Tissue to Shape Your Health
Now that you understand more about your body fat—including a cool new name, adipose tissue—that doesn’t mean you’ll stop pinching it or trying to burn it off. But come at your relationship with fat from a place of knowledge and understanding.
Utilize your newfound knowledge to smartly design your lifestyle to achieve the right fat-related goals. Respecting the way adipose tissue works, the functions it performs, and its impact on your body can inform your dietary and exercise choices.
Next time you look in the mirror and are ready to curse your stubborn adipose accumulations, remember fat isn’t automatically bad. Fat tissue isn’t a black-and-white issue. Now you know adipose is a matter of brown and white tissue.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AdobeStock_122938167.jpeg16782382David BakerDavid Baker2021-01-18 12:30:552022-07-03 21:29:18Cut the Fat—Just the Facts About Adipose Tissue
Teamwork creates awe-inspiring results. The intricate harmonies intertwining during a soaring duet. A delicate dance playing out during a doubles tennis match. Peanut butter’s salty crunch deliciously counterbalanced by the smooth sweetness of your favorite jelly. And don’t forget the amazing combination of calcium and vitamin D—complementary nutrients that help optimize your health.*
Huh? That last one isn’t exactly the Batman-and-Robin-esque dynamic duo you were expecting. But they are just one of many powerful pairs of nutrients that work together to support various aspects of your overall health.*
You need all the essential vitamins and minerals, but some are better acquired in combination. That’s because many vitamins and minerals interact with each other and certain pairs work to create beneficial nutrient synergy.
To be useful in maintaining health, nutrients have to be absorbed. And complementary nutrients are often helpful because they support proper absorption. This makes compounds available for your body to maintain healthy levels and utilize the nutrients it needs. Other pairs provide aid through optimized performance or transformations that support nutrient action.*
Complementary nutrients are a heartwarming—and in some cases heart-supporting—concept. Vitamins, minerals, and other healthy compounds combining for the good of your health. And you can take advantage of nutrient synergy to help you feel your best and live your life to the fullest.*
Pick up the following pairs to make sure you’re taking in plenty of nutrients that work together.
How Magnesium, Calcium, Vitamin D Operate as a Power Trio
Here’s the recipe for a variety of important nutrient synergies:
add the most abundant mineral in the body (calcium)
toss in a powerful, hormone-like vitamin (D, that is)
finish it off with a mineral that impacts hundreds of enzyme systems (magnesium)
That essential trio accounts for many complementary connections. Calcium holds down the center of this tremendous trio. With the importance of that particular macromineral, it’s not a big surprise it relies on the most other nutrients to work optimally.*
Magnesium’s supporting act in service of calcium starts with absorption in the small intestine. The two minerals share similar passage into the blood stream, and both depend on comparable activation in the kidney. Through enzyme activity and the parathyroid hormone, magnesium also helps maintain normal calcium levels in your blood—providing important support for bone and overall health.*
Calcium’s utility is also complemented by vitamin D. That’s because the hormone-like vitamin helps maintain healthy calcium levels in two ways. First, it helps optimize absorption of the mineral in your gut. Second, vitamin D supports the regulation of calcium in your body.*
The regulatory functions of these complementary nutrients have an important role in maintaining bone health. That’s because vitamin D’s work supporting calcium regulation revolves around the optimal functioning of the bone mineralization process. Vitamin D acts as a key cog to maintain this process, which helps calcium fill in your bone matrix to optimize skeletal health and strength.*
The trio’s connections aren’t completely dependent on calcium. Magnesium works in so many enzymes that it also acts as complementary nutrient to vitamin D in two ways. The hard-working mineral helps optimize the metabolism and activation of the sunshine vitamin.*
Magnesium, calcium, and vitamin D are an excellent example of three nutrients that work together. So take advantage of their connections and the many ways they help maintain your overall health.*
Vitamin K Pairs Well with Calcium
When talking about calcium complements, vitamin K2 bears mentioning. Achieving the right balance of calcium and K2 supports the mineral’s important role in bone-health maintenance. And it does this while helping safeguard against the effects of too much calcium.*
This happens because vitamin K2 supports the action of osteocalcin. You need this compound in the body to collect calcium from the blood and help the mineral become part of your bones. Osteocalcin isn’t created in an active form. To ready it for work, you need the support of vitamin K2.*
Bones aren’t the only benefactors of this partnership. These complementary nutrients support proper calcium utilization, which helps maintain a healthy circulatory system. When calcium is shipped to the bones instead of settling in arteries, you’re able to maintain healthy, flexible blood vessels—supporting your heart and circulatory health.*
Two Ways Vitamin C Acts as a Complementary Nutrient
Vitamin C is plenty powerful on its own. You’ll summon antioxidant activity, circulatory support, and maintain healthy collagen production. And vitamin C plays well with two other important nutrients—iron and vitamin E.*
Under normal conditions, your body is good at taking in iron from meat sources. The same can’t be said of plant-based forms of the metal. But it’s vitamin C to the rescue, helping iron from plant sources become available for absorption in your gut cells.
Vitamin C and E are also both powerful antioxidants. And they happen to be a pair of nutrients that work together to support other parts of your health, as well. The immune system is one of the big recipients of their combined powers. Working together, the two vitamins help support healthy immune function. They also help provide proper antioxidant support during exercise.*
The Teamwork of Sodium and Potassium Involves a Delicate Balancing Act
Name a more powerful electrolyte duo than sodium and potassium. It’s hard to do. They’re both important forces for maintaining your body’s healthy fluid balance. And they act as complementary nutrients in other aspects of health, too.*
This relationship is especially key in conversations about maintaining healthy blood pressure already in the normal range. You need potassium to help balance out all the sodium in the modern diet and support heart health and keep blood pressure in the normal range.*
These potent electrolytes also combine to support bone and kidney health. They also work together to optimize the transmission of nerve and muscle signals. That’s because the intake of potassium by cells bumps out sodium, helping to maintain proper communication between nerves and muscles alike.*
Two Symbiotic B Vitamins: B12 and Folate
It seems right that a pair of B vitamins makes the list of complementary nutrients. Not all B vitamins work together as well as B12 and folate (B9), though.
Their teamwork helps support two of the most bedrock processes of life—cell division and replication. They also support the metabolism of homocysteine (a prevalent amino acid with ties to heart health). But this relationship starts at the absorption stage, where B12 supports a string of natural processes that make folate available for use in your body.*
Smart Food Choices Help You Maximize the Power of Complementary Nutrients
Food is a delicious delivery device for nutrients. Filling your meals with a variety of nutritious foods is the best way to have your diet constantly deliver packages of nutrients that work together.
Diversify by eating a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables. Pair your impressive array of plants with lean proteins, healthy fats, and plenty of water. (One reason you need the fat and water is to support proper absorption of the various vitamins in your diet.)
So load up a spinach salad (for the iron) with orange wedges (packed with vitamin C) and add in sunflower seeds (to add in vitamin E). Your taste buds will be happy while you crunch down on complementary nutrients your body can use to help you thrive.*
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/AdobeStock_249882515-scaled.jpeg12802560David BakerDavid Baker2021-01-06 10:00:022022-07-03 21:31:16Discover Complementary Nutrients that Work Together for Your Health
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