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.

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https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/how-many-calories-do-i-burn-a-day#harris-benedict-formula

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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.

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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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

Properly chewed food is easier for your stomach to mix with enzymes and digestive juices to continue breaking down nutrients for fuel. The better you chew your food, the easier it is for your stomach functions to carry on optimally.

Did you know these fun stomach facts?

  • 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.

The best way to take care of your stomach’s health is to eat a balanced diet of whole foods, lean meats, plant-based fats, and to drink plenty of water. And while exercise doesn’t directly impact stomach functions, an active lifestyle can help burn excessive calories and help with heart health.

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.

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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://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/adipose_tissue.htm#:~:text=Adipose%20tissue%2C%20or%20fat%2C%20is,cushions%20and%20insulates%20the%20body.

https://www.yourhormones.info/glands/adipose-tissue/

https://www.endocrinology.org/endocrinologist/126-winter17/features/adipose-tissue-a-fat-lot-of-good/

https://www.britannica.com/science/adipose-tissue

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/501419/12-enlightening-facts-about-body-fat

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3775412/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4985254/

https://www.livescience.com/62218-whats-in-a-fat-cell.html

https://www.texasheart.org/heart-health/womens-heart-health/straight-talk-newsletter/obesity-the-facts-about-fat/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23283583/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4091429/

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/ATVBAHA.119.312425

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-019-0230-6

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.*

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Nutritions-dynamic-duos

https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/food-synergy-nutrients-that-work-better-together#1

https://whatsgood.vitaminshoppe.com/nutrients-to-pair-together/

https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2016-03-09/nutrient-synergy-harnessing-the-power-of-dynamic-duos-and-trios

https://paleoleap.com/why-whole-foods-beat-supplements/

https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/food-synergy-nutrients-that-work-better-together#1

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1331782/

https://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2673882

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK230984/

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/iron_and_vitamin_c_the_perfect_pair.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2507689/

https://www.cdc.gov/salt/potassium.htm.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/potassium_and_sodium_out_of_balance

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16772638/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3927946/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566462/

 

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Baked goods are a quintessential part of many celebrations. Whether you’re crafting a pecan or mince pie, babka, noodles, or the family’s secret recipe for soft rolls, most list flour as a main ingredient. This year, give your traditional recipes a tasty transformation by swapping for one of the top alternative flours.

When mixing up your favorite batter, flour serves as a binding agent to help hold your mixture together and add texture and flavor. Regular flour is made from ground whole-wheat kernels. Whole grains are nutritious, but as they’re processed down into heavily refined white flour, many of the beneficial ingredients are stripped away and its glycemic impact raises.

This is where alternative flours come in. These flour substitutes have gained popularity over the last several years, and for good reason. You can enjoy the same textures and cohesion as regular flour, but with a lower glycemic impact, more flavor, and a multitude of nutritional benefits.

What is an Alternative Flour?

Alternative flours are commonly made from nuts, seeds, beans, and other grains. Like regular flour, the whole ingredients are processed and milled into a semi-fine powder. Many, like chickpea and almond flour, offer similar binding properties. This makes the flour substitutes an easy 1:1 replacements in your go-to recipes—though some master bakers recommend a pinch more baking powder to offset almond flour’s slightly heavier weight.

Because they often contain more vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients than regular flour, alternative flours fit perfectly into popular dietary guidelines—ketogenic, paleo, low-carb, gluten-free, or wheat-free diets. Even if you aren’t focused on a specific eating plan, the added variety and additional fiber work wonders for your gut health.

Comparing White, Whole Wheat, and Almond Flours

To understand the health benefits of alternative flours, let’s first look at the average nutritional values of the two most common grain flours: white and whole wheat.

Unbleached White Flour, 1 cup (227 g)

  • 455 calories
  • 4 g carbs
    • 4 g dietary fiber
  • 9 g protein
  • 2 g fat
    • 2 g saturated fat
    • 6 g poly and monounsaturated fat
  • Glycemic load: 85

Although white flour is a good source of thiamin, folate, and selenium, the glycemic load of 85 is high. A healthy number to aim for is 55 or less. Additionally, white flour is stripped of its nutrients during the production process, and then added back later.

Whole-grain Wheat Flour, 1 cup (227 g)

  • 407 calories
  • 1 g carbs
    • 6 g dietary fiber
  • 16 g protein
  • 2 g fat
    • 4 g saturated fat
    • 2 g poly and monounsaturated fat
  • Glycemic load: 69

Like white flour, whole-grain wheat flour is a good source of thiamin, folate, and selenium. It has fewer total carbs, and a whopping 14.6 grams of dietary fiber to help your body respond to all you’ll throw at it during celebrations.

Cup-for-cup, whole-grain wheat flour is the clear winner over the unbleached white variety. Now, let’s see how almond flour stacks up.

Almond Flour, 1 cup (227 g)

  • 648 calories
  • 24 g protein
  • 24 g carbs
    • 14 g dietary fiber
  • 56 g fat
    • 3 g saturated fat
    • 7 g poly and monounsaturated fat
  • Glycemic Load: less than 1

While higher in calories than white or wheat, almond flour has almost no effect on blood sugar—and it’s full of healthy, monounsaturated fats and prebiotic, insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber is an essential carbohydrate that makes you feel fuller, longer to help you maintain a healthy weight. And it supports good digestive health by feeding your gut bacteria.

Almond flour is a good source of a variety of phytonutrients, such as resveratrol and flavonoids, and it’s rich in vitamin E and other antioxidants. It also provides other essential minerals like calcium, iron, and manganese.

When it comes to cooking, almond flour has a light, buttery flavor that blends well with savory or sweet baking. Because its binding properties are similar to regular flour, it substitutes at a 1:1 ratio. With an abundance of healthy benefits and its ease to swap it in recipes, almond flour is one of the best and most popular alternative baking and bread flours.

Flavorful Flour Substitutes

Now you know the nutritional baseline of white, wheat, and almond flours, you can compare other alternative flours. Here are the average nutrition facts for some of the most popular flour substitutes on the market.

Buckwheat Flour, 1 cup (227 g)

  • 560 calories
  • 16 g protein
  • 115 g carbs
    • 36 g dietary fiber
  • Less than 1 g fat
    • 0 g saturated fat
  • Glycemic Load: 71

Contrary to the name, buckwheat flour contains no wheat, and is gluten free. While it has the highest glycemic impact of any flour on this list, buckwheat is rich in fiber, antioxidants, and micronutrients like folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, and zinc.

Buckwheat flour has a strong, earthy flavor that’s ideal for muffins, tarts, and banana bread. It doesn’t bind well, so either find recipes specifically made for buckwheat flour, or mix it with other alternative flours to avoid crumbly baked goods.

Cassava Flour, 1 cup (227 g)

  • 460 calories
  • Less than 1 g protein
  • 28 g carbs
    • 8 g dietary fiber
  • Less than 1 g fat
    • 0 g saturated fat
  • Glycemic Load: 46

This flour is made from cassava root, and even though it’s generally low in nutrients, cassava flour contains vitamin C, folate, thiamine, and essential minerals like manganese and potassium.

Cassava is a popular alternative flour. Known for its neutral flavor and powdery texture, it’s commonly a 1:1 replacement for white flour. It tends to be a bit more absorbent, so bakers recommend using slightly less than an equal ratio compared to white flour. This will help maintain moisture in grandma’s famous cookie recipe.

Chickpea Flour, 1 cup (227 g)

  • 356 calories
  • 20 g protein
  • 53 g carbs
    • 10 g dietary fiber
  • 6 g fat
    • 6 g saturated fat
  • Glycemic Load: 44

Chickpeas are the main ingredient in hummus, and they also make for a tasty and healthy alternative flour. Relatively low in fat, with almost no saturated fat, chickpea flour has a medium-low glycemic index of 44. It’s also a fantastic source of folate—over 100 percent of your daily recommendation. It also gives you thiamine and minerals like iron, magnesium, and manganese.

Like almond flour, chickpea flour has a natural, light nutty flavor that’s ideal for many baked goods, but with stronger binding properties. You won’t regret swapping in this flour in your next batch of tortillas.

Coconut Flour, 1 cup (227 g)

  • 480 calories
  • 6 g protein
  • 72 g carbs
    • 40 g dietary fiber
  • 16 g fat
    • 13 g saturated fat
  • Glycemic Load: 50s

Coconut flour is low in fat and packed with dietary fiber and medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). Derived from coconut oil, these triglycerides help deliver vital nutrients, such as vitamin E and Coenzyme Q10, to support your brain and heart health.

Coconut flour has a mildly sweet taste, which may affect the flavor profile of your cooking. Its binding properties aren’t a match for regular flour, as it absorbs more liquid. Mix with other flours, add an egg for additional moisture, or find recipes specifying coconut flour as an ingredient.

Oat Flour, 1 cup (227 g)

  • 420 calories
  • 15 g protein
  • 68 g carbs
    • 8 g dietary fiber
  • 5 g fat
    • 7 g saturated fat
  • Glycemic Load: 44

Oats make a great dairy-free milk, and they are just as good as a gluten-free flour substitute. Oat flour contains healthy fats, dietary fiber, antioxidants, thiamin, and iron. While not necessarily a nutritional superfood, it has a mild taste, binds well, and is easy to make at home with whole oats and a blender or food processor. If you’re looking to replace white flour on a budget, this could be your new go to.

Quinoa Flour, 1 cup (227 g)

  • 440 calories
  • 16 g protein
  • 72 g carbs
    • 8 g dietary fiber
  • 2 g fat
    • 0 g saturated fat
  • Glycemic Load: 53

While higher in carbs and glycemic impact compared to other alternative flours, quinoa is a nutritious grain full of phytonutrients. It’s also packed with B vitamins, calcium, vitamin E, iron, magnesium, potassium, and antioxidants.

Quinoa flour has an earthy, lightly bitter flavor and pairs well with spices. Like coconut flour, it absorbs more moisture when binding. Try it in your batch of gingerbread or tall stack of pancakes.

Elevate Your Baking Experience

When it comes to home cooking, there’s always an alternative flour fit for the job. Popular substitutes like almond and chickpea flour make for simple 1:1 swaps in any recipe, and are great to help you cater to the diets of your family and guests.

Use the information you just learned to choose the flour that’s right for you and your menu. Everyone at the table will enjoy your tasty twist on more satisfying, and nutritious, celebratory favorites.

https://celiac.org/gluten-free-living/what-is-gluten/

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/healthy-wholewheat-flour-vs-white-3305.html

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-277X.2009.00970.x

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15428052.2014.952475

https://www.afsuter.com/application/binding-agents/

https://nutritiondata.self.com/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition

https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-almond-flour#1

You’re a bright, shining star. It shows in every aspect of your life. Now illuminate your inner beauty even more with brightening skincare. Glowing skin you can see—achieved by using proven brightening ingredients—is a trend that stands the test of time. After all, healthy-looking skin never goes out of style.

The goal of brightening skincare is to put the emphasis on a healthy-looking, radiant complexion—rather than seeking ways to cover up blemishes. Focus your skincare efforts on ways to highlight your natural beauty. You can do that by incorporating brightening and refining ingredients into your skincare routine.

So look deeper into ways to upgrade your skincare game to match your inner glow. Below you’ll find a breakdown of some of the best ingredients and approaches to give your skin a glow-up. Now you can start your search for skincare products to brighten and illuminate your complexion armed with the information you need.

Niacinamide is Your Brightening Skincare Superstar

Say hello to the real powerhouse of visible skin brightening. Niacinamide is a tough act to follow—because it is so effective in visibly transforming dull, patchy, uneven skin, into a gorgeous-, glowing-, radiant-looking complexion.

Niacinamide is a B vitamin (a form of vitamin B3 to be exact) and is one of the most effective skincare ingredients at visibly reducing the apparent contrast of dark spots or hyperpigmentation. Niacinamide can shrink the appearance of pores and reduce visible oil production. Not to mention improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, all while visibly evening out skin tone.

Beauty gurus and skincare aficionados alike love this active ingredient. That’s why so many skincare products—like the Celavive Dark Spot Corrector—rely on niacinamide to deliver visually dramatic results.

Another reason to love niacinamide is its compatibility with other antioxidants, specifically vitamin C. When niacinamide and vitamin C are combined, their antioxidant activity is amplified. Antioxidants help protect the skin for a beautiful complexion. With antioxidants like niacinamide and vitamin C working together, dark spots visibly fade to reveal fresh, younger-looking skin.

Shine with Vitamin C Derivatives

Bright-looking skin needs vitamin C—just like the vitamin is essential for the rest of your body. Vitamin C and its derivatives (ascorbic acid, ascorbyl glucoside, ascorbyl palmitate) are powerful antioxidants that provide help to keep your skin looking beautifully radiant. It is also important for a visibly bright, even-looking skin tone. Redness from dry skin can make your complexion appear splotchy. But vitamin C is a soothing agent that can help your skin look calm.

Collagen (the protein that gives skin its bounce) relies on vitamin C, too. Skincare products with vitamin C target the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and the visibly uneven texture of aging skin. Vitamin C helps skin look uniform, soft, and supple. And through collagen’s impact on skin hydration, vitamin C aids in the appearance of a plump and smooth complexion.

Adding skincare products with vitamin C to your skincare routine is a must. Serums like the Celavive Light Complexion Serum use vitamin C along with niacinamide and other brightening ingredients to transform the appearance of dull skin into a radiant, glowing complexion.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate for Glowing Skin

The best way to keep your glowing skin going is plenty of hydration. Hydrated skin stays visibly plump and smooth. And smooth skin gleams because light reflects well off of hydrated skin. This gives you that bouncy, beautiful glow you’re looking for.

The best hydrating ingredients lock water inside the skin. That’s because your skin is like a sponge. It absorbs and retains moisture and skincare treatments. So look for skincare products that seal moisture in and keep your skin looking hydrated and happy.

Ingredients like shea butter and jojoba-seed oil are just the ticket to brighter, more youthful-looking skin. These are potent moisturizers that help maintain hydration, without clogging up pores or causing blemishes.

Sheet masks are a real treat for your skin. These masks—including the Celavive Vivid White Sheet Mask, which is loaded with shea butter and jojoba-seed oil—are great for intense hydrating. These luxurious skin treatments are even better if they’re blended with brightening agents. Look for:

  • niacinamide
  • licorice extract
  • red algae
  • sugars that bind to water and flood your skin with moisture.

Try a brightening sheet mask a few nights a week to lock in that glow and moisture.

For daily brightening and hydration, find a cream that does double duty. An ingredient list that includes niacinamide, red algae, and added vitamin C can help you achieve a gorgeous glow—plus, the necessary moisture your skin depends on. Find a cream—like USANA’s Celavive Luminous Moisture Cream—that can be used twice daily to achieve a gorgeous glow. This will help you illuminate your inner beauty on a daily basis.

Get Your Glow On

Do your research to find what kind of skincare treatments will work best for you—and for your skin type. Look for hydrating and brightening benefits, as well as ingredients that support visibly healthy skin for a beautiful look.

You can check brighter-looking skin off your beauty bucket list. Add brightening skincare to your daily routine—with effective active ingredients like niacinamide and vitamin C—to put a visibly luminous, radiant complexion within reach.

https://www.paulaschoice.com/skin-care-advice/skin-brightening/what-is-vitamin-c-and-how-does-it-benefit-skin

https://www.allure.com/story/dull-skin-causes-and-treatments

https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary/antioxidants/palmaria-palmata-extract.html

https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary/emollients/saccharide-isomerate.html

https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary/skin-soothing/glycyrrhiza-glabra.html

https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary/antioxidants/ascorbic-acid.html

https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary/antioxidants/ascorbyl-palmitate.html

https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary/antioxidants/ascorbyl-glucoside.html

https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary/skin-soothing/niacinamide.html

When it comes to digestion, your job is easy. You cook, chew, swallow, and clean up. But after your plate is empty, the hard part starts. A cohort of digestive worker bees handles the arduous task of transforming chunks of chewed up nutrition into more useful forms. And from your mouth to small intestine, digestive enzymes bear the brunt of breaking down your diet into accessible, absorbable pieces.

You’re probably more familiar with the mechanical methods used to turn your afternoon apple into glucose, fiber, and micronutrients. That’s because you can feel your teeth biting, cutting, and grinding food up. You can even detect the churning of food in your stomach.

Digestive enzymes’ work goes undetected while it’s happening—because it occurs on a microscopic scale. Enzymes are specialized proteins throughout your body that support the activity of various important chemical reactions. These enzyme-driven reactions happen all the time without you knowing. But you’d feel the absence if your digestive enzymes took a day off.

That’s because these specialized proteins support healthy digestion. The enzymes working all along the digestive conveyor belt aid in breaking down food. This action is why digestive enzymes help you feel less bloated and full, while also assisting with other occasional issues that can occur when you eat too much.*

But that’s only one of the ways digestive enzymes support your health. Your body can’t use what it can’t absorb. Creating smaller molecules out of your food’s macronutrients is key for maintaining optimal whole-body nourishment. After enzyme-aided reactions occur, your dietary nutrition is able to soaked up by the small intestine—and eventually spread to the cells of your body.*

Without digestive enzymes, eating would be nothing more than an excuse to gnash your teeth. So follow your food’s digestion journey and meet the important digestive enzymes at each stop that help support the breakdown and healthy, efficient absorption of your dietary nutrition.*

A Quick Guide to Natural Digestive Enzymes

Specific chemical reactions in your body require unique enzymes to support their normal activity. This could make for a very lengthy list of digestive enzymes. But here are four of the most important and well-known digestive enzymes and how they’re involved in supporting healthy digestion:*

  • Amylase for starches
  • Lipase for fats
  • Protease for proteins
  • Lactase for the milk protein lactose

You can also think of amylase, lipase, protease as categories of enzymes. Along the digestive journey, there are different subsets of each main enzyme type that breaks down the major macronutrients.

The Mouth: It Starts with Saliva

Your mouth waters at the sight or smell of an impending meal. This isn’t some cartoonish reaction to a delicious dinner. It’s an important step that delivers the digestive enzymes that kick off digestion.

Your salivary glands are responsible for producing several enzymes carried in saliva and mixed with food as you chew. These specific digestive enzymes—including amylase—start the process of breaking down carbohydrates into simpler sugars.

The Stomach: More than Acid

Your stomach growls, rumbles, and expands if it gets too full. That makes your stomach the central concern when you talk about eating. And it does have a big, messy job to do—one that couldn’t be completed without the help of digestive enzymes.

Along with stomach acid, a protease called pepsin—released by the cells of your stomach wall—combines with fat- and carb-crunching enzymes to disassemble macronutrients. That’s how the fats, carbs, and protein of your diet are churned, mixed, and deconstructed into a liquid called chyme.

At this point, your meal is well on its way to a state of acceptable absorbability. But there are a few more organs and their enzymes that need to join the digestive party before nutrient absorption happens.

The Pancreas: A Powerful Enzyme-Excreting Organ

Your pancreas provides a lot of juice to help move food closer to its digestive destiny. Between your stomach and small intestine, enzymes produced in the pancreas take a turn breaking down your food further. They enter through ducts into the duodenum—located in the very upper portion of your small intestines.

These diverse digestive enzymes are secreted to specifically disassemble proteins into amino acids or peptides, and fats into their component fatty acids and glycerol. Carbohydrates are also further simplified at this stage of digestion.

Although not a digestive enzyme, bile from the liver is also key at this stage to helping support the breakdown of fats you eat.

The Small Intestine: Enzymes at the Site of Absorption

You wouldn’t recognize that apple or sandwich you ate by the time it reaches your small intestine. It’s been chewed up, churned about, and broken down.

But there’s one more set of digestive enzymes needed to finish the job and make final preparations for absorption. These enzymes finish the job of simplifying carbohydrates into glucose or fructose and further deconstruct proteins into their base building blocks—amino acids.

At that point, the digestive enzymes have done their job. Your food’s nutrients are ready to be absorbed and distributed throughout your body to help maintain your energy and overall health.*

Stock Your System with Foods Containing Natural Digestive Enzymes

You’ve read about the digestive enzymes your body produces throughout your digestive system. But you can support healthy digestion by adding some enzyme-enhanced foods to your diet.*

Select your favorites from the list below and build meals around them for a boost of digestive enzymes that can help you maintain normal digestion. They’ll also help you maximize your meals by supporting the processes that make nutrients as available as possible for absorption.*

  • Honey
  • Pineapple
  • Mango
  • Bananas
  • Papaya
  • Fermented foods (like sauerkraut, miso, or kimchi)
  • Avocado
  • Kiwi
  • Ginger

*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://www.webmd.com/diet/what-are-digestive-enzymes#1

https://sites.psu.edu/thealimentarystudents/2014/03/10/gi-enzymes-and-their-importance-in-digestion/

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1840-digestive-enzymes.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-are-digestive-enzymes-1945036

https://www.healthline.com/health/why-are-enzymes-important

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK54127/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/natural-digestive-enzymes

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/the-digestive-process-what-is-the-role-of-your-pancreas-in-digestion.

Earl Grey. Masala chai. Matcha. Ceylon. Oolong. The benefits of tea are almost as limitless as the varieties consumed across the globe. Steeping tea leaves has been a cultural staple for thousands of years. This complex beverage lets you enjoy deep, richly diverse flavors, and also reap the powerful health benefits.

Tea is a steeped drink stemming from the Camellia sinensis plant. It originated in China and Southeast Asia, and has evolved into several varieties through its travels across the globe. Variations are derived from how the leaves are processed, and differ in flavor, nutrients, and health benefits.

Tea is rich in micronutrients that can support a variety of body systems. It’s also a safe and efficient source of caffeine to boost your energy. Knowing how to select the tea that’s right for you, and what to avoid, will help you experience the health benefits of tea for yourself.

One Plant, One Hundred Names—A Guide to Tea

Whether you hardly drink tea or practically swim in the stuff, here’s your friendly, in-depth guide to tea. Take a sip of some of these healthy tea favorites:

  • Green:

Green tea is made from leaves quickly heated and dried after harvesting to prevent oxidation. It’s often considered the “true tea” by many, as it’s thought to have originated in China nearly 5,000 years ago.

Green tea is known for having less caffeine and for being exceptionally high in flavonoids (an important type of phytonutrients) that support many body systems. This includes proper heart function.

  • Black:

Black tea is produced by allowing the leaves to fully oxidize during processing. This exposes the plant’s cell walls to oxygen, turning them dark brown. Black tea is considered a Western European style of processing tea, while Asian cultures prefer green tea.

Black tea contains more caffeine than green tea, but not as much as brewed coffee. Although this healthy tea also contains flavonoids that can support immune health, green tea is widely considered to be healthier.

  • White:

White tea is the least processed variety. Its leaves are harvested before they are fully developed and quickly dried to prevent oxidization. This process results in the most delicate and freshest tea available.

This tea option is exceptionally high in antioxidants and fluoride. It also contains less caffeine than both green and black tea.

  • Oolong:

Oolong is a traditionally Chinese, partially oxidized tea. And while it has a complex processing system, it is often described as a step between green tea and black tea. Some oolong teas have attributes similar to green tea, while others are almost indistinguishable from black tea.

Oolong is also very rich in antioxidants and polyphenols. The complex harvesting and drying process make oolong tea’s caffeine content unique. The levels generally fall somewhere between the caffeine content of green and black teas.

  • Herbal:

Herbal teas are not made from Camellia sinensis, so in the purse sense, are not really tea. They derive their flavors and health benefits from other sources. Popular herbal ingredients include: chamomile, peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, rooibos, and several other plant materials.

Still, many herbal teas also contain important antioxidants that can help support your health in a variety of ways.

Healthy Tea’s Foundation: Polyphenols, Flavonoids, and Antioxidants

Traditional teas—especially green tea—owe a number of health benefits to polyphenols. These micronutrients are found in certain plant-based foods. They’re filled with antioxidants that help defend against cell-damaging free radicals and can support digestive, immune, and cardiovascular health.

The polyphenols found in tea, particularly one called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), have been the focus of much scientific research. This research suggests ECGC is responsible for most of the recorded health benefits of tea, including:

From this evidence, the best way to make the benefits of tea a part of your healthy lifestyle is to choose brews high in polyphenols, especially ECGC. Although it can be difficult to know the exact levels of ECGC in the tea you buy, studies show green tea generally contains the most and black tea the least. To get the most polyphenols and flavonoids, buy teas that are high-quality and fresh.

Tea and Caffeine: Energy Unlocking Power

When the midday slump hits, a lot of people turn to caffeine (coffee, green tea, black tea, or man-made energy drinks) for a quick source of energy. Diet and sleep are certainly the cornerstones of solid energy levels, but life throws a lot at you. And you probably find yourself occasionally outmatched and reaching for more support.

Caffeine gives you a boost two ways:

  1. Increasing your metabolism
  2. Exhilarating your central nervous system

But you don’t want to overdo it. Caffeine is potent, and too much can make you overly anxious and even shaky. A healthy adult shouldn’t consume more than three to four hundred milligrams per day. Some people—including pregnant women, adolescents, and children—are more sensitive to caffeine and will need to limit their intake even more. And remember, high doses of caffeine can lead to a hard crash. So, you may want to spread out your caffeine consumption to smaller amounts throughout the day.

With recent research around tea polyphenols, green tea is becoming widely known as a healthy, safe, and efficient source of caffeine. It may not pack the same punch as black tea or coffee, but it’s high in antioxidant and polyphenol, making green tea a fantastic way to boost a healthy lifestyle with efficient energy.

Health Benefits of Tea at a Glance

  Caffeine content per cup/250ml Estimated ECGC content Antioxidant activity Common Varieties
Green 30–70 mg High High Matcha, Dragonwell, Sencha
Black 47–90 mg Low Moderate Earl Grey, Ceylon, Assam
White 6–55 mg Moderate High Bai Mudan, Darjeeling White
Brewed Coffee 90–160 mg None Moderate N/A

Steeped in Sugar

The health benefits of tea are as diverse as it is flavorful. But many companies and manufacturers take advantage of this knowledge to sell cheap and unhealthy products.

A lot of pre-brewed teas and iced teas are filled with sugar. Tea lattes and trendy bubble teas are also loaded with sugar and calories. All of these options may seem healthy because they contain tea, but you’re better off to avoid them.

Instead, do what humans have been doing for generations. Put on the kettle, brew yourself some fresh tea, and curl up on the couch to enjoy its delicate flavor and healthy tea benefits.

https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2019/december/health-benefits-of-tea

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17906191/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3220617/

https://www.teatulia.com/tea-101/tea-varieties.html

A healthy diet and plenty of water are benchmarks for proper nutrition. But how your body removes waste is equally as important as what goes into your system. Your kidneys are responsible for removing waste products from the body—along with other crucial actions. And while much focus is placed on other organ-specific health—like your heart and liver—learning how to take care of your kidneys can be a cornerstone of optimal health.

Your kidneys perform a variety of tasks:

  • waste removal via urine
  • balancing your body’s fluid levels
  • releasing hormones to help maintain normal blood pressure
  • activate vitamin D into a usable form used to help promote bone health
  • control the production of red blood cells

Your kidneys regulate so many key functions to maintain your whole-body health. That’s why kidney health is crucial to keep your body operating at peak performance.

Learn more about how kidneys function, the ways vitamin D and kidney health connect, and how to take care of your kidneys—including the fuel they need for optimal health.

How Kidneys Function

Make a fist. That’s approximately the size of your kidney. You’re born with two kidneys located in the back of your abdomen, just under your ribcage on each side of the spine. They are slightly different sizes. Your right kidney is smaller and sits lower to make room for your liver.

To oversimplify how kidneys function, consider this: blood comes into the kidney and is filtered, good blood then returns to the circulatory system by way of the renal vein, and waste is expelled though the ureter into the bladder.

Taking a deeper look starts with a discussion of anatomy. Your kidneys contain millions of functioning units called nephrons. A nephron is the structural and functional unit of the kidney. They filter blood plasma to produce urine, while also reabsorbing water, sodium, and glucose back into the circulatory system.

Each nephron contains a renal corpuscle (the blood filtering component of the kidney) and a renal tubule (a secondary collection system for the filtered blood). Blood first passes into the renal corpuscle and enters a filtration space called the glomerulus. The glomerulus has a special barrier that keeps blood cells, proteins, and larger molecules in the blood, while allowing water, ions, and smaller molecules to exit the blood. This is the first step in creating urine.

At this point, the soon-to-be urine has most of the water and electrolytes that were in the blood. While the blood is lacking in these nutrients. The renal tubule moves most of the water, electrolytes, and other nutrients back into the blood. It leaves behind some water, urea, and other waste products.

This is one reason why staying hydrated is important. Without enough water, the kidneys can struggle to filter everything out and then pull the essential nutrients back into the bloodstream.

After filtering is complete, blood exits the kidney through the renal vein back to the heart. The waste and toxins pulled from the blood stream are sent through the ureter to the bladder for urination.

More Than a Filter

Balance in life is crucial, and your kidneys contribute to the balance in your circulatory system. Kidneys help regulate extracellular fluid volume, important to keep blood flowing to vital organs.

Examples of extracellular fluids are interstitial fluid, blood plasma, and lymph. The kidney also controls osmolarity and ion concentrations, making sure the extracellular fluids don’t become too diluted or concentrated. Osmolarity is key for proper fluid transportation because it’s a mechanism that allows extracellular fluids to pass across one membrane into another.

This ensures consistent levels of key ions (charged atoms or molecules)—including sodium, potassium, and calcium. Your kidneys also help with the regulation of blood plasma pH levels, which prevents your blood from becoming too acidic or basic.

Finally, kidneys produce the hormone erythropoietin (EPO). EPO plays a role in the production of red blood cells. Acting like a shield, EPO protects red blood cells during infancy, and, in turn, stimulates the stem cells in bone marrow to increase the production of additional red blood cells. Because red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, it is important to maintain a proper level of EPO to maintain healthy production of new red blood cells.

Vitamin D and Kidney Health

Vitamin D is often called the “sunshine vitamin” because it can be produced in your skin from a response to sunlight. The kidneys play a key role in converting vitamin D into a useful nutrient for the body. People acquire vitamin D from two places: exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet B radiation and from their diet—food and supplements.

The kidneys pull vitamin D out of the blood, which is then sent to the skeletal system. But vitamin D is important for many reasons. An example is how it helps to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in your body to maintain healthy, normal levels. Specifically, vitamin D helps support healthy calcium absorption from the intestines. And when your body has optimal levels of calcium, it can maintain healthy bones, teeth, and muscles.

Through vitamin D, you can see why learning how to take care of your kidneys benefits other key organs and systems in your body, as well.

Tips on How to Take Care of Your Kidneys

You’ve learned how kidneys function. Now let’s explore how you can support optimal kidney health. Caring for your kidneys can have overlapping benefits for the rest of your body. And simple lifestyle changes go a long way to promote good kidney health and improve your general well-being.

  1. Stay Hydrated

Water is vital for good health, and it certainly assists your kidneys. Drinking eight glasses of water a day helps your kidneys have the fluid necessary to remove excessive sodium and toxins from your system.

The eight glasses number isn’t a recommendation. In fact, the exact volume of water you need to consume depends on your health and lifestyle. A good indicator you’re drinking enough water is straw-colored urine. If urine is too dark, it may be a sign of dehydration. Too clear, and you’re drinking too much water.

  1. Monitor Blood Pressure

The kidneys play an important role in blood pressure regulation. Healthy blood pressure readings are between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. Anything higher is considered to be elevated blood pressure. Your circulatory system and kidneys work in concert to keep your blood flowing at an even, healthy level. Speak to your physician or health-care provider if you have concerns about your blood pressure.

  1. Maintain Normal, Healthy Blood Sugar Levels

Keeping your blood sugar in the normal, healthy range helps maintain your kidney and overall health. Your kidneys are already hard at work filtering nutrients from your blood back into your body and removing waste. So keep your kidneys running smoothly by maintaining healthy blood sugar levels in the normal range.

  1. Exercise and Remain Active

While you can’t flex your kidneys, you can support them by walking, swimming, or cycling 150 minutes a week. Anything—from hikes in the forest to dancing—can help you stay closer to your ideal weight and avoid putting additional strain on your kidneys. Being overweight can raise your blood pressure, which is bad for your kidneys. But regular exercise is good for your waistline and your overall health.

  1. Eat a Healthy Diet

Diet and exercise go hand-in-hand for good health. But if you really want to show your kidneys some love, you’ll eat a low-sodium diet. Excessive sodium in your system is difficult for your kidneys to filter out. Consider eating a diet rich in fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, and whole grains. Avoid kidney-damaging foods like processed meats, excessive dairy, and packaged meals.

  1. Don’t Smoke

There are a thousand reasons to quit smoking. Here’s one more: Nicotine is bad for blood pressure, and therefore bad for kidney health.

Did You Know?

  • You Only Need One Kidney to Live. You’re born with around 1.5 million nephrons—about 750,000 per kidney. You only need 300,000 to filter your blood daily.
  • Hearts Pump, Kidneys Filter. Your kidneys filter half-a-cup of blood every minute. This is about 45 gallons of blood per day.
  • Same but Different. Kidneys are asymmetrical. The right kidney is smaller and sits lower than the larger left kidney to leave space for your liver.
  • DIY Kidney. Dutch doctor Willem Kolff made the first dialysis machine with a sausage casing, orange juice can, and a washing machine. The washing machine spun to filter the pumped-in blood.
  • Water in Moderation. Too much liquid can cause hyponatremia, a condition where too much water in the system dilutes sodium the kidneys can’t remove.
  • Swap It Out. The first successful kidney transplant was performed by Joseph E. Smith in Boston, Massachusetts in 1954.

Start Maintaining Your Kidney Health Today

A lifestyle focused on kidney health is good for total body health. A balanced diet combined with exercise is critical to maintain kidney health. And while you’re tending to the needs of your kidney, you’re also helping the other systems in your body. What’s good for the kidneys also helps the digestive system, heart, and immune system.

The human body is complex and integrated—with the kidneys playing a major role in supporting your overall wellness. Your kidneys are equally intricate and complex organs that help keep your body in balance. Making small steps to maintain a healthy blood pressure in the normal range can help your kidneys to function properly, too.

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