You don’t have to memorize the nutrient content of all your foods. You can thank nutrition facts labels for that. It isn’t necessary to recall the sodium content of your breakfast cereal off the top of your head every time you shop. But getting the most information from reading nutrition facts labels can be tough, too.
Here’s six tips for pulling out the facts that matter most to you:
Start with the Serving Size
Every number on that nutrition facts label means nothing without some context. The serving size provides the context you need.
All the amounts that follow are based on that servings size. Sometimes the whole package of food is a serving, but that’s not always the case. That’s why you have to be careful.
Relying on the label’s serving size is a good idea because you can’t trust your judgment. It’s not an insult to you—in general, people are terrible at gauging serving sizes. Research indicates the average person’s estimations are off somewhere between 40-150 percent. So, you could be eating double the number of calories you think you are.
Please fight the urge to skip right to calories or fat content. Don’t start down the label without checking the serving size to put everything else in context.
Figure Out the Type of Fat
Reading nutrition facts is often a dive into the macronutrient content of the food. That’s a helpful way to break things down and give you the information you need. But the raw numbers might not be enough to make good decisions.
This is especially true with fats.
Paying attention to the type of fat and where that fat comes from can be more important than the total number. You want to avoid trans fats, but saturated fat can be more nuanced. That’s why you need to look at the ingredient deck to figure out if the source of fat is vegetable-based (usually healthier) or animal-based (usually unhealthier). Going the extra step will help you make the healthy determination.
Check the Sugar and Find the Fiber
Fats aren’t the only macronutrient that requires extra investigation. When you’re reading nutrition facts labels, look at carbohydrates, but also note the sugar and fiber amount.
Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. It has well-established ties to weight gain and can hide in foods that seem healthy. Just think about all the sugar that’s hidden in fruit juice. Checking the sugar content—especially added sugar—is important.
While you might avoid sugar, your diet can benefit from more fiber. These complex carbohydrates aid in healthy digestion and keep you feeling full for a longer time. And you only absorb about half of fiber’s calorie content. All these combined effects help fiber support your weight-maintenance efforts. Make sure to find the fiber when reading nutrition facts labels.
Pay Attention to Protein
Just because it’s the final macronutrient mentioned doesn’t mean protein you should ignore it when reading nutrition facts. Far from it. If you’re managing your weight or exercising, protein is key.
A lot of studies have shown dietary protein’s ability to support weight-management programs. An analysis of 51 studies found that a sufficient increase in protein—over 58 percent per day, on average—showed favorable weigh-management results.
A similar analysis showed that dietary protein increases showed favorable effects for muscle and strength during resistance training.
So, protein is a big plus for those focusing on diet and exercise. But it’s also important for general health. Dietary protein provides the essential amino acids your body needs to carry out its daily functions.
Don’t Miss the Micronutrients
The essential vitamins and minerals are listed on the label. This will help you see how much nourishment you’re actually getting from what you’re eating.
On most labels, you’ll also see a percentage of daily value. That number is based on recommended daily allowances, which are about avoiding deficiencies. It doesn’t consider optimal amounts needed to live your best life.
Sodium is one micronutrient you won’t find with the other vitamins and minerals. It’s typically listed with the macronutrients. And if you’re watching your sodium intake, check this important number.
Keep Your Health Goals in Mind
Every person is different. Everybody has different health goals. That makes each label look different to each individual.
You have to look at labels through the lens of your own health goals. When you do that, each number starts to take on new meaning. Here’s one example: if you’re managing your weight, a low-calorie count might be intriguing. But if you’re a body builder, high calories might be more important.
And don’t lose sight of the big picture. Put what you’re about to consume in the context of what you will or have eaten over the course of an entire day. Think of nutrition as a daily bank account. What have you put into your nutritional savings account and what will you be withdrawing?
Reading is Fundamental
Get in the habit of reading labels and learning about the nutritional composition of your food. Over time this becomes easier and eventually will become second nature. You’ll never have to memorize every detail. But at some point, you intuitively begin to know the nutrient content of the food choices in front of you. Educating yourself will help you reach for healthier alternatives to fuel your life.
This is all part of getting serious about your food. In coordination, you should write down your health goals. Then ask how you want food to fuel your life, and what ratios of macronutrients (carbs, proteins, and fats) make you feel the best and help you achieve the health you desire? After you have your health goals, utilize a nutrition facts panel to help you achieve them.
But, remember, there is still no substitute for eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible, exercising, choosing healthy sources of protein, and ensuring you get optimal amounts of all essential micro- and macro-nutrients your body needs for optimal health.
There’s lots of information about what a healthy diet is. It’s on the internet, crowding bookstore shelves, and passed between friends and family members. With so much information available, you might assume becoming a health expert should be easy. Instead, the overload of information can be quite confusing and even daunting. Perhaps this is true because the most basic measure of diet—the calorie—is also shrouded in mystery. So understanding calories is your first step to making healthy, informed choices.
When you sit down for a meal, you may be too hungry to worry about whether it’s a balanced one. Or maybe you abide by the “ignorance is bliss” mentality. In either case, knowledge is power. Learning the basics of macronutrients and the number of calories they provide can help you create well-balanced meals. Arming yourself with accurate nutritional information will allow you to live your healthiest life.
Understanding Calories in Your Food
Simply put, a calorie is a unit of energy. Calories indicate the energy content of the food and beverages you eat and drink. Understanding calories can help you make educated decisions about your diet and exercise.
There are three main sources of calories in the human diet. They come from the three macronutrients: carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Carbohydrates are the main source. They provide four calories per gram. Fat comes in second and offers more than twice as many calories, at nine calories per gram. Protein is the third source, which delivers four calories per gram. (Some countries use kilojoules instead of calories to measure food energy. This article uses calories. But here’s the conversion rate you need—1 calorie = 4.2 kilojoules.)
A common question is whether all calories are created equal. On paper, it’s hard to argue why they wouldn’t be equal. Remember, calories are a measurement. So a calorie from fat should provide the same amount of energy as a calorie from protein. But really, this question should be posed to the gut.
Your gut absorbs almost all of the calories from the carbohydrates, protein, and fat you eat. But your gut treats fiber (a type of carbohydrate) differently than the other macronutrients. Instead of taking on all the calories fiber has to offer, your gut will only absorb about half. That’s because fiber is difficult for the gut to digest completely.
On top of that, fiber easily absorbs water. This process can help you feel fuller for longer, and helps you cut back how many calories you eat—or at least absorb. Combined with the other health benefits of fiber, it’s no wonder that The American Heart Association recommends adults consume 25 grams per day.
Your Body at Rest
Most people are familiar with the idea that exercise burns calories. However, your body also expends energy by merely existing.
The amount your body uses at rest is called your “basal metabolic rate” or BMR. It makes up for two-thirds of your daily calories burned.
This is a significant chunk because metabolism requires a lot of energy. Metabolism includes processes like body temperature regulation, blood circulation, and cell growth, to name a few. Your brain chews up about 20 percent of your calories—about 450 for an average diet—per day by itself.
If you’re counting calories, you can think of these as freebies. Understanding calories your body burns just to maintain itself will help you plan your diet and exercise better.
How Many Calories Should You Eat?
You need to consume a certain number of calories each day for your metabolic processes to occur effectively and for your body to work properly. For men, this number is roughly 2500 calories per day. Women need approximately 2000 calories per day.
These daily requirements fluctuate depending on a few factors—age, sex, weight, and activity level.
Age: Infants and children require fewer calories than adults. As adults age through the lifespan, energy requirements decrease. This is true, in part, because activity levels of older adults tend to decrease with age.
Weight: Calorie needs are a function of weight. A larger person needs more calories because carrying more weight takes more effort and requires more energy. They also have more living tissue to support. This is also true in the opposite direction—smaller person, fewer calories.
Sex: Men typically require more calories per day on average because their BMR is higher.
Activity level: Athletes are a great illustration of the effect of activity level on calorie needs. Calories burned through intense physical activity need to be replaced to ensure the body’s metabolism can continue, unaffected. That’s why athletes take in more calories and stay fit.
When determining your unique calorie needs, consider whether you’re trying to lose, maintain, or gain weight. (This topic will be further explored in a later section.) Imagine you’d like to lose weight. Losing one pound of body fat is the equivalent of burning 3,500 calories. So if you either burn or cut out 500 calories per day, you would lose one pound per week.
Here are some other ideas on how to be more mindful of your calorie intake:
Add more fluids to your meals. Maybe start with soup or increase your water intake. Either way, consuming more fluids can help you feel full.
Increase your fiber intake. Fiber is not easily digested and, as a result, the gut only absorbs half of fiber’s calories. Additionally, fiber will keep you feeling full for longer.
Add protein to your breakfast (if this isn’t already part of your routine). Protein will help you feel full for longer. Protein can also help support lean body mass, which will help increase your BMR.
Limit empty calories when possible. These are usually found in added sugar and solid fats. While these foods provide energy, they lack important nutrients.
Read nutritional labels for macronutrient and calorie content. Pay attention to the number of serving sizes in each package. The nutritional information represents only one serving.
Understanding Calories and Exercise
Now that you’re familiar with the calories in your diet, let’s explore how calories relate to exercise.
You already know exercise is the best way to burn calories. And burning calories is one way to manage your bodyweight. Vigorous exercise can burn as much as 20 calories per minute.
But this type of effort is difficult to maintain for a long period of time. The good news is that sustained, moderate activity burns the most calories.
One family remained sedentary. Another did housework for a few hours. The third participated in a short, vigorous workout. The family that did housework burned more calories than the family that exercised vigorously. Even though the housework was not an intense activity, the family kept at it for much longer.
So don’t worry about working up a sweat. If you don’t have the energy for a big push, focus on moving your body for a sustained period of time.
Knowing that you’re burning calories is different than being aware of the exact amount you’ve worked off. Calculating calories burned is helpful because it can make achieving your bodyweight goals easier—whether that be weight loss, maintenance, or weight gain.
Many gym-based exercise machines and wearable activity trackers make calculating calories burned an effortless task. Still there may be times you’re exercising without a machine or smart technology.
The good news is published data exists on an assortment of exercises and how many calories each activity burns. The Compendium of Physical Activities is a good place to start. It provides categories of activities listed by speed or intensity. Beside each activity type is the corresponding MET value, or Metabolic Equivalent of Task.
Under 2.9 METs: light activity (gardening or fishing)
Between 3.0 and 5.9 METs: moderate activity (mowing the lawn or snowshoeing)
Greater than 6.0 METs: intense activity (shoveling snow or playing soccer)
With a simple calculation, METs can be converted to calories burned. The only other variables you need to supply are your body weight in kilograms (kg) and the length of time the activity was performed (in hours).
(MET Value of Activity) x (Body Weight in kg) x (Time in hours) = Calories Burned
Let’s say you weigh 150 pounds, or 68 kilograms. Check out the list below to see how many calories you would burn doing different activities for 30 minutes.
Biking (light effort) = 119 calories
Biking (moderate effort) = 231 calories
Walking (light effort) = 102 calories
Running (moderate effort) = 282 calories
Running (high effort) = 374 calories
Swimming freestyle (light to moderate effort) = 197 calories
Water aerobics = 187 calories
Circuit training (moderate effort) = 146 calories
The Relationship Between Calories and Bodyweight
Understanding calories from your diet (calories in) and those you burn (calories out) makes weight management a matter of simple math. There’s still a lot of effort, but it’s all about balancing calories in and calories out.
You can control calorie intake by paying attention to your diet. And you can change how many calories you burn by incorporating a range of physical activity into your lifestyle.
If you’re consuming less than your daily calorie requirement, you will likely lose weight. If you’re matching the requirement, you should maintain your current weight. And if you’re consuming significantly more than your baseline requirement, you will likely gain weight.
Weight loss: Calories In – Calories Out < 0
Weight maintenance: Calories In – Calories Out = 0
Weight gain: Calories In – Calories Out > 0
Recall the factors that will influence your daily calorie needs (age, weight, sex, and activity level). These affect your “calories in” and, consequently, how many calories you need to expend to reach your goal.
There are many calorie calculators available online that take these factors into account. The USDA provides a Body Weight Planner that can help you determine the activity changes and calories needed to manage your weight.
Which Is the Most Important Side of the Calorie Balance Equation?
As you can see above, exercise only burns about 100-400 calories per 30 minutes of activity—or about 200-800 calories per hour. Whereas the average person needs to consume approximately 2,250 calories per day. Probably the easier side of the equation to immediately affect is “calories in.” It is hard work to burn 500 calories through exercise. Yet pretty easy to put the fork down—or stop eating the empty calories through junk food—and consume 500 fewer calories every day.
This isn’t to underscore the health benefits of exercise. Everyone should be exercising at least 30 minutes per day at least four days a week. This will help you experience the health benefits of exercise.
To make the easiest impact on your weight, slowly begin to consume fewer calories. If you have a hard time restricting your calories at first, increase your exercise routine accordingly. But to make the quickest impact on your weight, work on both sides of the calorie balance equation. Combine eating less, making healthy food choices, and increasing your daily exercise routine.
Putting It All Together
Developing a healthy regimen of balanced meals and exercise can be daunting. Understanding calories can be a big help. And fortunately, there are many resources available to make this process easier. Start by learning about your energy needs based on your age, sex, weight, and activity level. This gives you a great starting point.
Gather the information you can from food packaging to make educated decisions based on the labels. This will help you meet your daily calorie requirements while building out your snacks and meals. Then, based on your weight management goals, you can decide how many calories you should be consuming compared to your baseline energy requirement.
Finally, determine how many calories you can burn based on the physical activities you enjoy. This will give you an idea of how long and how often you should exercise to achieve your weight management goals.
Understanding calories can be the first step to a healthier you. No matter what your health and fitness goals are, you’re now armed to navigate the decisions more confidently.
About the Author
Jenna Templeton is a health educator and freelance science writer living in Salt Lake City, Utah. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Virginia Tech, Jenna spent five years as a research scientist in the nutritional industry. This work fueled her interest in personal wellness, leading her to pursue a graduate degree in Health Promotion & Education from the University of Utah. Outside of work, Jenna enjoys live music, gardening, all things food, and playing in the Wasatch mountains.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AdobeStock_168395800.jpeg8001200Jenna TempletonJenna Templeton2017-11-20 09:29:512022-07-25 00:08:52Understanding Calories is Your First Step to Weight Management
Introduction to Plant Compounds
Plants are a large portion of a healthy diet. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains provide your body with essential nutrition and nourishment. Loaded with vitamins and minerals, these food groups play an active role in keeping you healthy. But your favorite produce has more to offer than meets the eye. Plants are packed with powerful compounds called phytonutrients.
These plant chemical compounds can promote and maintain good health. But your body can’t make these important nutrients. So it needs a reliable source of these plant compounds. Eating a variety of plant-based foods can help supplement your diet with the phytonutrients your body needs.
A well-rounded diet can provide you with dozens of phytonutrients. And each performs a specialized role in the plants they’re derived from—and in your body. Antioxidant ability is one of the most important functions of phytonutrients. These plant compounds also help protect your eyes, maintain a healthy immune system, and help facilitate cell signaling. Phytonutrients are interesting, important, and valuable to your health.
Important Terminology
Understanding how phytonutrients work in the body requires a grasp of some new vocabulary. Learning the following terms will help you understand the importance and value of phytonutrients to your health.
Phytonutrient: A chemical compound found in plants that has positive impacts on human health and nutrition. Phytonutrients can also be referred to as phytochemicals.
Free Radicals: Any molecule containing an unpaired electron. Free radicals are very reactive and can trigger oxidation.
Oxidant: These molecules contain oxygen and are highly reactive. They easily react with other molecules changing their chemical nature. These changes can ultimately become toxic to the cell.
Antioxidant: A molecule that slows or reduces the damage done to an organism by free radicals and other oxidants. Antioxidants help prevent a chemical reaction called oxidation from occurring. They do this by neutralizing unpaired electrons on potentially dangerous molecules.
Carotenoids: A class of naturally occurring plant pigments. Carotenoids produce red, orange, and yellow color in fruits and vegetables. These phytonutrients protect plants from oxidative damage.
Polyphenols: These phytonutrients are concentrated in the leaf tissue of plants. They deter predators and help keep plants healthy. Polyphenols are the largest class of antioxidants in your diet.
Bioflavonoids: Bioflavonoids are a subcategory of polyphenols. They share the same function in plants, but differ in chemical structure. Bioflavonoids contain unique chemical signatures, like ketones and alcohol groups (carbon-oxygen double bond and oxygen-hydrogen single bond, respectively).
Phytonutrient Function in Your Body
In plants, phytonutrients act as pigments, giving fruits and vegetables their vibrant color. They also protect, fortify, and strengthen healthy plants. But these compounds can also play a role in helping maintain your health.
Phytonutrients act as antioxidants, helping protect your body from free radicals. Your body needs to maintain a balance of oxidants (free radicals, etc.) and unreactive molecules. When this balance shifts in favor of oxidants, damage can be done to your healthy cells.
These plant compounds help neutralize oxidants and help maintain that healthy balance. They do this neutralizing unpaired electrons on potentially dangerous molecules. This chemical interaction stabilizes the oxidant and keeps oxidative damage from taking place.
Classes of Phytonutrients
Below, you’ll find information about some of the major classes of phytonutrients and examples of each. Although they may differ in structure, each phytonutrient works for the same goal: reducing oxidative damage and protecting your health.
Carotenoids
Photosynthetic bacteria, algae, and plants produce more than 750 pigments called carotenoids. Carotenoids help protect the plant from harmful wavelengths of light so plants can use the sun for energy. These pigments also protect the photosynthetic portions of plant cells.
This class of phytonutrient is the source of the bright red, orange, and yellow colors of fruits and vegetables. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants and are critical in protecting your eye health and helping facilitate smooth cellular communication.
Beta-Carotene
Beta-carotene is probably the most well-known carotenoid and phytonutrient. It is a precursor to vitamin A. Since your body can’t make vitamin A, you need a provitamin like beta-carotene in your diet. So your body can turn it into vitamin A when it needs.
Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body and supports healthy eyes. This conversion is accomplished in the duodenum (the first part of your small intestine) when intestinal enzymes split beta-carotene into two active vitamin A molecules called retinal. That’s the usable form of vitamin A in the body. And it’s involved in many complex processes in your body.
Lycopene, Lutein, and Zeaxanthin
These three carotenoids also help maintain eye health. But they work differently than beta-carotene.
Light entering your eye is focused on the retina and filtered by cells in your eye called rods and cones. The chemical structures of lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin allow them to absorb light, too. These pigments specifically absorb blue light, which has been shown to cause light-induced oxidative damage.
But that’s not all these phytonutrients do. Carotenoids like those listed above help your body’s cell signaling be more efficient and reliable. How do they do it? Carotenoids stimulate the manufacture of proteins called connexins. These proteins help neighboring cells exchange information, faster.
Polyphenols
Polyphenols have a distinctive shape and a name that describes their chemical makeup. To understand them a bit more, let’s dive deep into the chemistry.
Chemical compounds come in all shapes and a variety of unique organizations. The order and placement of atoms in each molecule determine its function. Polyphenols are made primarily of two kinds of atom patterns: benzene rings and alcohol groups.
Benzene rings are cyclical chemical rings made of carbon and hydrogen with alternating double bonds. Alcohol groups consist of oxygen and hydrogen attached to another atom, like carbon. Together, one benzene ring plus one alcohol group equals one phenol. When multiple phenols are strung together, polyphenols are born. This chemical shape is important because it literally lets polyphenols absorb and neutralize extra electrons.
Polyphenols are the most numerous antioxidants in your diet. They are known to promote cardiovascular health. Two polyphenols, resveratrol and curcumin, are especially important in a healthy diet and are key ingredients in dietary supplements.
Resveratrol
Resveratrol is an antioxidant polyphenol found commonly in your diet. You can find it in peanuts, berries, grapes, and red wine.
The positive effects of resveratrol have only recently been uncovered. In the 1990s, scientist stumbled upon resveratrol while studying the health benefits associated with red-wine consumption.
For many years the diets of French people had been under scrutiny. The French regularly eat foods high in saturated fats, yet they have healthy hearts and blood vessels. They also consume large amounts of wine. This phenomenon is referred to as the “French paradox.” After resveratrol was discovered in red wine, researchers took a closer look to see if it could help explain these paradoxical observations.
By itself, resveratrol is great at tackling free radicals and other reactive oxygen species. But it also supports the function of other important molecules. Glutathione, one of the most ubiquitous molecules in your body, pairs up with resveratrol to help protect your cells from oxidative damage, which helps maintain healthy cell function.
Grape Seed Extract
Since grapes contain both resveratrol (found primarily in grape skins) and grape seed extract, the function of these two phytonutrients are very similar. Grape seed extract comes from, you guessed it, grape seeds. It is a powerful antioxidant and supports cardiovascular health.
Circulatory system benefits come from the phytonutrient’s ability to help the body maintain healthy blood pressure already in the normal range. This is done by supporting the healthy function of venous pumps, which help blood return to the heart.
Curcumin
If you enjoy tropical cuisine, get excited. Because some of your favorite foods are loaded with phytonutrients. Curcumin is a polyphenolic compound making waves in human nutrition. This phytonutrient has demonstrated the ability to support healthy brain and joint function.
Curcumin is found in turmeric, a spice derived from the roots of the tropical plant Curcuma longa Linn. Turmeric adds bright yellow-orange color to cooking. This vibrant polyphenol has been used for medicinal purposes in India for centuries. And new scientific research is adding credence to its ancient claims.
A lot of the benefits come from curcumin’s ability to behave like an antioxidant. But it also disrupts the route of cytokines and enzymes like cyclooxygenase. That’s how curcumin helps maintain healthy joint function.
The brain-health support provided by curcumin is achieved in a different way. As a result of aging, memory can be effected by the build-up of “junk” or “plaques” in the brain. Plaques are clumps of protein that stick to brain tissue and interrupt cell signaling. Curcumin has been shown to help dismantle those plaques and makes it harder for them to form. This phytonutrient has also been show to support brain-cell growth and maintain healthy cognitive function and memory.
Green Tea Extract
Green tea is enjoyed by millions of people every day. But there is more to the drink than a natural energy boost. Green tea extract may help maintain a healthy weight.
Green tea extract is natural source of caffeine and it’s full of polyphenols. This phytonutrient has been shown to increase the energy your body uses every day. And using more energy makes reaching a healthy weight more manageable.
Here’s how it works. Green tea extract supports the action of norepinephrine, the neurotransmitter that regulates heat production and fat oxidation. The polyphenol also oxidizes fat cells and increases the rate at which your body uses energy. This increase in metabolism creates heat and burns fat—all without significant impact on your heart rate.
Olive Fruit Extract
Olive fruit extract and other olive-derived compounds work primarily as antioxidants. They protect the body from unhealthy oxidation. That’s how olive fruit extract reduces the toxic chemicals that lead to redness and irritation.
Glutathione function is also stimulated by olive fruit extract. Olive fruit extract and glutathione work together to destroy free-radicals and keep oxidative stress at bay.
This polyphenol also promotes healthy circulation which also helps supports heart function. That’s because healthy arteries help maintain normal blood pressure and promote general well-being.
Bioflavonoids
Bioflavonoids (also known as flavonoids) are a special category of polyphenols. They are further categorized by their chemical structure. And there are hundreds of plant-derived bioflavonoids that work to keep you healthy and strong.
Like other phytonutrients, bioflavonoids are primarily antioxidants. But they can also help protect the liver, maintain brain health, and more. In addition, bioflavonoids can be useful in maintaining normal hormone levels.
Quercetin and Rutin
Quercetin and rutin belong to a group of bioflavonoids called flavonols. This category of bioflavonoid is unique because of the position of alcohol groups in its chemical structure.
Flavonols—like quercetin and rutin—interrupt signals between hormones and promote normal hormone interaction. Quercetin and rutin also provide support to your liver. They work together to assist in a natural process that promotes toxin excretion in the urine.
Hesperidin
Hesperidin falls into the bioflavonoid category of flavanones. These compounds are distinguished by the oxygen-carbon double bond in their chemical arrangement.
Hesperidin and other flavanones act as antioxidants that protect the brain. These antioxidants function like curcumin—which is mentioned in the polyphenols section above. Hesperidin can help preserve brain function by fighting against plaque formation. These protein build-ups interfere with brain cell communication. By optimizing brain health and protecting against age-related memory loss, hesperidin and other flavanones help maintain healthy cognitive function.
Flavanones have also demonstrated abilities to support your immune system and help keep you healthy.
Cysteine is an amino acid necessary for building that all-important detox molecule, glutathione. Getting cysteine in your diet is easier than your think. It’s available in a lot of animal protein. But there’s several plant sources. So all you have to do is just add garlic.
Whole garlic cloves are brimming with a molecule called alliin. It contains the cysteine needed to help produce the glutathione your body needs. But alliin is trapped inside. Crushing, chopping, and chewing garlic releases alliinase.
The protein alliinase frees alliin making it available for our bodies to absorb. Once absorbed, our bodies release the cysteine from alliin making it available for use. One use is glutathione production. Cysteine increases the concentration of glutathione in the body and puts it to work detoxing foreign chemicals and cleaning up free-radical damage.
Alpha-Lipoic Acid
Glutathione relies on alpha-lipoic acid for help in the detoxification process. But your body also needs this antioxidant for helping to maintain normal blood sugar—provided it’s already in the normal range to begin with. Alpha-lipoic acid does this by increasing glucose’s sensitivity to insulin. This helps maintain your metabolic health.
Dietary Fiber
Fiber is crucial for healthy and comfortable digestion. Plants are full of fiber and carbohydrates geared towards making digestion easier.
Increasing fiber can help your body make better use of the sugars in your food. Fiber also softens stool and can help relieve occasional constipation—one of the more uncomfortable side effects of poor digestion.
Growing evidence suggests that high-fiber diets help in weight control. Fiber-rich foods can prolong the feeling of fullness after a meal. This full feeling keeps the need for mindless snacking in check and can lower the amount of unhealthy food consumed.
High-fiber foods also generally provide more nutrition than their low-fiber counterparts. By filling your belly with a fiber-rich meal, you can get better nutrition to your body and help maintain a healthy weight.
Powerful Produce – Sources of Essential Phytonutrients
Phytonutrients are already in your diet. Your just need to know where to look. Colorful fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of carotenoids. Dark green and leafy veggies are rich in bioflavonoids. Phytonutrients are also hiding in some of your favorite beverages—namely red wine and green tea.
This list of phytonutrient-dense foods can help you make sure your body gets these important plant compounds. This is by no means comprehensive, but it’s a good place to start:
Red, orange, and yellow peppers
Tomatoes
Carrots
Squash
Berries
Oranges
Broccoli, cauliflower, kale
Dark, leafy, green vegetables
Nuts and nut oils
Olive oil
Red wine
Chocolate
Turmeric, ginger, and garlic
Whole grains high in fiber
And even the best diets may fall short. So use your healthy diet as a foundation of phytonutrients and consider adding supplementation to get everything you need to live your best, healthiest life.
About the Author
Sydney Sprouse is a freelance science writer based out of Forest Grove, Oregon. She holds a bachelor of science in human biology from Utah State University, where she worked as an undergraduate researcher and writing fellow. Sydney is a lifelong student of science and makes it her goal to translate current scientific research as effectively as possible. She writes with particular interest in human biology, health, and nutrition.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AdobeStock_136046513.jpeg8001200Sydney SprouseSydney Sprouse2017-11-13 08:03:252022-07-25 00:09:26Phytonutrients 101: A Crash Course in Plant Compounds
Television transports you to foreign lands, fantasy worlds, or into pulse-pounding car chases. But getting sucked into the action may hurt your weight-management efforts. That’s because TV watching and weight gain have some interesting connections.
One study found that two or more hours of television a day ties to high body mass indexes (BMI)—adding fat—in both men and women. So if you’ve ever wondered if binge watching your favorite show is making you gain weight, the answer might be yes.
And there’s two reasons for it—activity and eating.
Time spent in front of the TV often means less time moving around. Sedentary behavior—as opposed to physical activity—contributes to weight gain. So the tie between TV watching and weight gain makes sense. But it goes beyond the comfort of the couch.
Several studies have found that watching TV while eating increases calorie intake. In one study, they found that those watching more television took in more calories from snacks or large evening meals. The findings suggest that television seems to boost snacking overall.
And some types of programming have been shown to be worse than others.
A study from Cornell University compared two types of media—an action movie and a talk show. They wanted to see which encouraged more snacking. The result? Action-movie viewers ate 98 percent more.
The authors attribute this difference to the stimulation and excitement of the movie or TV show. The constant action—and cuts to different camera angles and scenes—distracts you. Not paying attention to the food being eaten translates to mindless snacking or overeating. Anxiety and agitation caused by the action on screen may play a role, too.
Avoiding action scenes might not be enough, though.
Another study found food-related content on television increased calorie intake. And the type of food seen on a show can influence cravings, too. Another study showed that if a character finishes eating in a scene, study participants preferred sweeter snacks—those that mimic dessert—to savory ones.
It’s clear that television—and media in general—can have a big impact on your waistline. But that doesn’t mean you should turn a blind eye to the current golden age of television.
You can manage your DVR and your weight at the same time. The key is moderation, mindful eating, and healthy snack choices. Put in the effort so you don’t fall victim to the trend of TV watching and weigh gain.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AdobeStock_5278546.jpeg8011200David BakerDavid Baker2017-11-06 09:57:302022-07-25 00:11:28Good TV Might be Bad for Your Weight
Health is often understood as the absence of disease or sickness. While this definition is valid, it lacks the comprehensiveness of a broader approach. So start assessing your holistic health and wellness on a wider spectrum. This means wellness depends on more factors than simply avoiding the flu each year.
Holistic health and wellness is sustained by eight pillars: physical, nutritional, emotional, social, spiritual, intellectual, financial, and environmental.
The pillars will give you a sense of how to work toward your optimal wellness, but it’s by no means prescriptive. The path to wellness is not one-size-fits-all. The journey is unique and different for each individual.
Your biology, personality, and environment will determine what wellness means to you. That’s why your approach should be personalized. The common thread for everyone is that wellness requires a holistic approach.
So, let’s learn more about each pillar and how you can strengthen each one.
Physical
Most people immediately think of exercise when they hear “physical wellness.” Regular physical activity is an important part of the equation that can’t be ignored. But it’s not the only aspect deserving of attention.
Your body needs more than movement alone. Physical wellness also includes appropriate sleep, hygiene, and a healthy diet (more on this in the next section). If you’re evaluating your physical health, ask these questions: Are you getting enough quality sleep? And if not, what barriers keep you from achieving regular and restful sleep?
Researchers published an update to The National Sleep Foundation’s recommendations for adult sleep requirements. Their study reaffirmed the idea that adults should get at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
For college students, parents, and workaholics, this can be a tough number to meet. But simple strategies can ensure the sleep you get comes easily and goes on uninterrupted.
Tips:
Avoid screens 30 minutes before bedtime.
Incorporate a relaxing wind-down routine each night. This can include dimming lights in your home, turning on calming music, and even light stretching.
Block out unnecessary light and noise. This can be done with blackout curtains and a white-noise machine.
Nutrition
Though nutrition is intimately tied to physical health, it’s so important and must be represented by its own pillar. This is especially true because nutrition must be personalized based on age, sex, activity level, and body chemistry.
A balanced diet requires that you consume nutritional foods that feed your body and mind. The USDA recommends that during meals, adults fill half of their plates with fruits and vegetables. The other half should be dedicated to mostly grains, along with a modest portion of protein and a side of dairy.
Diversifying your plate with appropriate amounts of each food group will help you acquire the necessary macronutrients for day-to-day energy, muscle growth and recovery, and other bodily processes.
Strengthening this pillar requires careful attention to your diet and appropriate supplementation. Life’s stressors and time commitments can make these tasks difficult. But nutritional improvements will help strengthen the other seven pillars of holistic health and wellness.
Tips:
Consume a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. Diversifying this portion of your plate will ensure you get the micronutrients your body needs.
Pay attention to portion sizes to help with weight maintenance and adherence to MyPlate guidelines.
Replace refined grains with their whole counterparts to ensure you get enough fiber.
Emotional
Emotional wellness encompasses the ability to navigate your feelings. This means identifying, assessing, and effectively sharing those feelings with others.
Why is this important? The ups and downs of life can take you on an emotional rollercoaster. But the better you understand, process, and manage those feelings, the smoother the ride will be.
Tips:
Create a list of those who support you and how best to contact them. When the going gets tough, it can be hard asking for help. Having this quick reference at hand may make it that much easier to reach out.
Seek out a therapist or counselor. Often a third party’s insight can help you navigate rough waters.
Journaling is an easy way to identify and process your feelings, especially if you’re not comfortable sharing them out loud. It’s always a great way to measure your progress or growth. And reminders of your past obstacles and successes will only be a few pages away.
Social
Social wellness is about connecting with others to form positive relationships. And if those falter, it’s about dealing with any conflicts appropriately.
Social relationships create support systems that can carry you through life’s struggles. Harvard’s Study of Adult Development ran for 80 years, collecting data on hundreds of participants. A recent study on a subset of this population—surviving octogenarians—investigated the connections between marital satisfaction, social lives, and happiness. Researchers found that participants who spent more time with others reported greater levels of happiness.
The impact of surrounding yourself with those that care for you can’t be understated. When the demands of life increase and stress mounts, the ability to turn to someone for support and understanding is powerful. Building and maintaining these networks take time and energy, but the work is worth the effort. And it will continue to serve you throughout your life.
Tips:
Meet new people through social networks like Meetup.com, community events, or volunteer service.
Schedule a recurring time weekly to reach out to out-of-state friends and family. Connect with someone new each week to keep those relationships strong.
Revisit the idea of pen pals and snail mail. Connecting with loved ones through handwritten communication can really strengthen bonds.
Spiritual
The spiritual pillar will look different for everyone because it’s such a personal piece of overall wellness. It will play a stronger role in one person’s life more than another, depending on how each person defines it.
Spirituality is commonly viewed as a sense of purpose, direction, or meaning, without which, values can slip to the wayside, upending life’s balance. Many cultivate their spirituality through meditation, prayer, or other activities that foster a connection to nature or a higher power.
Maintaining your spiritual wellness will look different for everyone. It’s not about a specific religion or belief system. Spiritual health is about personalizing your journey. Some people might practice mindfulness as a way of checking in with their intentions, guiding their actions, and maintaining a values-based approach to life. How you choose to strengthen your spiritual health is up to you.
Tips:
Dedicate a small chunk of time each day to yourself. Make this time a priority, free of distractions, interruptions, and major activities. This time can be used to relax, reflect, meditate, or pray.
Keep a journal. Writing regularly can help clear your mind and keep you accountable to the goals you’ve set.
Choose your top three values in life and write them down. Reflect on them often. Keeping these values in the front of your mind will help guide everyday decisions—big and small. This practice will make it easier to say “yes” to things that matter, and “no” to things that don’t align with your values.
Intellectual
Intellectual wellness is strengthened by continually engaging the mind. Doing so can help you build new skills and knowledge that inspire and challenge you, and help you grow. You might choose different ways to keep your mind sharp—depending on your mood. For some, that’s brain games and puzzles, or scholastic endeavors. Even simply engaging in intellectually stimulating conversations and debates can strengthen this pillar.
Some experience intellectual boons through self-discovery and personal advancement. Academic efforts, involvement in community activities, or other avenues of personal growth are just a few you can try.
Tips:
Look for continuing education classes through a local community college or university.
Join a book club or visit your local library and sign up for a card.
Take up journaling or another self-reflective activity.
Financial
To be financially well is to live within your means and plan for the future appropriately. It can be tough to accomplish, but small steps can pay off big-time in the long-run.
Financial wellness might sound the least exciting. But pursuing betterment in this area will surely strengthen the other pillars of holistic health and wellness. After all, financial troubles are one of the top stressors that Americans report. Taking small steps to control spending and save money can really lighten the burden on your everyday life.
Tips:
Make paying off debt a priority.
Create a budget with the help of an online system like Mint or a personal financial planner.
Set aside a fixed amount of money every month for non-essentials, like entertaining, dining out, and recreation.
Environmental
Environmental wellness is concerned with your immediate personal surroundings and the larger community where you live and work. Specifically, environmental wellness is determined by the reciprocal relationship between an individual and their environment. How do you support your environment? And in return, how does your environment support your health, well-being, and safety?
The effects of strengthening your environmental wellness can be felt personally, and by your larger local and global communities. The more you care for and respect your natural and built environments, the better they can support and sustain your daily life.
Tips:
Individual: Keep your workspace clear. A clutter-free workspace inspires creativity and productivity.
Neighborhood: Join local clean-up efforts. This could include: producing less waste, recycling, and picking up litter in your neighborhood.
Larger community: Cut back on car trips. Whether it’s combining errands or replacing motorized transport when possible, each small effort can add up to a large impact.
Build Up Your Pillars of Holistic Health and Wellness
Wellness means different things to each individual. And being well gives each person the ability to reach their personal goals. After all, when your body, mind, and soul are cared for holistically, you’re able to pursue and meet your goals with less resistance.
To determine your personalized approach to wellness, reflect on the eight pillars of holistic health and wellness. Figure out which ones most require your attention. And remember, strengthening each one will provide a great foundation for living your best, healthiest life.
About the Author
Jenna Templeton is a health educator and freelance science writer living in Salt Lake City, Utah. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Virginia Tech, Jenna spent five years as a research scientist in the nutritional industry. This work fueled her interest in personal wellness, leading her to pursue a graduate degree in Health Promotion & Education from the University of Utah. Outside of work, Jenna enjoys live music, gardening, all things food, and playing in the Wasatch mountains.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AdobeStock_163967512.jpeg8011200Jenna TempletonJenna Templeton2017-11-06 08:30:142022-07-25 00:12:09The 8 Pillars of Holistic Health and Wellness
Newsflash! Potato chips still aren’t good for you. That’s probably pretty obvious. And you already know a healthy diet and activity are important for maintaining your weight. But one large, long-term study got very specific about the worst foods for your waistline.
Researchers spent 20 years studying over 120,00 healthy people. Evaluations every four years helped the study pinpoint foods and behaviors that have the biggest impact on weight gain over time.
A More Complex Remedy
You probably already have some guesses. But before we start naming names, there were some interesting overall conclusions. They may reinforce what you know and add information to shape your healthy lifestyle.
Let’s start with the one you might guess. Highly refined or processed foods, liquid carbohydrates, and alcohol consumption were found to contribute to weight gain. But fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains showed the opposite effect—limiting weight gain.
That’s kind of a no-brainer, but the next one is less obvious. Mostly because it’s common to hear “eating less and exercise is all you need.” It’s an easy way to describe the change to a healthy lifestyle. But the study adds some nuance.
Their analysis suggests “dietary quality (the types of foods and beverages consumed) influences dietary quantity (total calories).” So it shifts the conversation from “less is more” to “the right amounts of the right foods.” Overall, it means choosing better, healthier options help keep your overall energy balance in check.
Weight Gain Can Sneak Up on You
Weight management is inextricably tied to the laws of thermodynamics. It all comes back to the conservation of energy—total energy in a system remains constant. Basically, you can’t make energy disappear. If you eat calories and don’t use them, they’re stored.
That reality makes weight gain easy over time. While a cheat meal won’t pack on five pounds of fat, constant calorie overruns impact your weight and health. And it doesn’t take much.
The study found that consistently having an extra 50–100 kcal per day is enough to add weight. Those small increases stack up over time. That’s how the average study participant gained 3.35 pounds during each four-year interval.
Findings like this underline the importance of daily dietary diligence. And shows the wisdom of taking the long-term approach of lifestyle change over quick-fix, fad diets.
Top 6 Worst Foods for Your Waistline
Now the part you’ve been waiting for—time to see how close your guesses were. Here are the worst offenders:
Potato chips: The absolute worst—of the foods in the study, at least. Increased servings of these snacks contributed a four-year average gain of 1.69 pounds.
Potatoes: You can’t have potato chips without potatoes. It’s probably no surprise that increased servings of the starchy root tacked on a four-year average of 1.28 pounds.
Sugar-sweetened beverages: Exactly one pound was added for study participants who increased sugary-drink intake.
Unprocessed red meats: The study found an 0.95-pound average gain for those who increased red-meat servings over four years.
Processed meats: You hear about how bad these are for your health. And the study found processed meats accounted for 0.93 extra pounds on average.
Alcohol: An additional drink each day meant participants added 0.41 pounds, on average, over four years. Again, that’s almost half a pound for each drink you add per day.
How did you do? Hopefully the clues above about starches, refined grains, and processed foods helped you out. Or maybe you were tipped off by other studies that have found similar results about these types of food.
The authors suggest the satiating inability of starches and refined grains may be to blame. Since they don’t make you feel as full, you eat more to fill yourself up. That could account for the constant extra calories that can really add up.
Foods to Stock Up On
The study didn’t just have bad news for carb cravers. It also identified some of the food types that showed positive effects on weight over each four-year period. Here’s what they found:
Yogurt: Kind of surprising that this was the study’s best of the best. The authors admit it could be confounding factors or maybe the bacterial benefits could be to blame. Other research over two decades has linked calcium-rich foods and weight. Whatever the cause, the results showed a four-year average of -0.82 pounds for participants that increased servings of yogurt.
Nuts: Nothing crazy about this one. Nuts are constantly mentioned as a part of a healthy diet. The study showed an average of -0.57 pounds for these protein-packed snacks.
Whole grains: Unlike their processed cousins, whole grains showed a four-year average of -0.37 pounds.
Vegetables: This large variety of this category might explain why vegetables only accounted for an average of -0.22 pounds. But that’s still another reason to eat more vegetables.
The results probably reinforce your ideas about what a healthy diet looks like. The authors list some reasons why this group of foods showed benefits for keeping weight gain in check. And it goes beyond simple calories.
The study suggests satiety may to blame again. With higher fiber content and slower digestion speeds, these foods make you feel full. And if you’re eating more whole grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables, you may not feel the need to fill up on other more processed, higher calorie foods.
Time to Start Healthy Habits
Diet is only a piece of a healthy lifestyle. And this study took a look at behaviors and habits that impacted weight gain over time, as well.
Health isn’t as simple as diet and exercise. But physical activity did have a huge, positive impact. Across all groups, physical activity accounted for a four-year average of -1.76 pounds. So, those who got moving fared well in the battle against weight gain.
A sedentary activity—watching television—had the predictably opposite effect. Study participants added 0.31 pounds per hour, per day. Some of this was tied to the snacking that happens during television session. Either way, it gives binge watching a new meaning.
For most of us, sleep is a pretty physically idle experience. But your sleep was tied to positive outcomes. Those whose nightly sleep averaged less than six hours or more than eight hours showed more weight gain.
The study’s advice might sound familiar—eat a fresh, healthy diet, sleep, and get off the couch. But it adds some complexity to the common “just eat less and lose weight” idea.
And whether your guesses about the foods were right, it’s a nice reminder. Checking your progress towards a healthy lifestyle can have an impact. The authors say repeated assessment over time is important. So use the information to make changes and build your health lifestyle.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/AdobeStock_163161392.jpeg8001200David BakerDavid Baker2017-10-30 10:03:382022-07-25 00:15:46The Worst Foods for Your Waistline
Bones and your skeletal system are often misunderstood. They do a lot of heavy lifting to support your body and give it shape. But that’s not all. Your bones do much more to make your body healthy and strong. And they’re more alive than you realize. Learning about your bone anatomy is the first step to properly supporting your bone health.
Basic Bone Anatomy
Skeletons can remind us of sickness and death. They often symbolize danger or poison. But your bones are alive and well. And solid bone health starts at the cellular level.
Your skeleton is full of cells—each with a specialized job to do. The cells in your bones create everything from new bone to the blood pumping through your heart. But the main focus here will be on the structural components of your bone anatomy.
There are three types of cells that help maintain bone integrity. Their names tell us important information about their function. It is important to understand how bone cells operate. Knowing how your bones function can explain how braces straighten teeth and how broken bones heal.
Osteoblasts
The builder cells of the bone (osteo = bone; blast = germ, grow). Their name literally means bone growth. Osteoblasts make new bone and rebuild old or broken bones. These cube-shaped cells stack like building blocks. When osteoblasts come together, they secrete a flexible material called osteoid. Blood vessels and nearby bone cells deposit calcium and other mineral salts in the osteoid to make it hard and strong. After the osteoid hardens, those osteoblasts are stuck and they transform into another type of bone cell—osteocytes.
Osteocytes
Mature bone cells (osteo = bone, cyte = cell). They come from osteoblasts that have stopped making new bone. Osteocytes grow long branching arms that connect them to neighboring osteocytes. Through these connections they can exchange minerals and communicate through cell-signaling pathways. Osteocytes monitor the bone and detect mechanical stress. They tell osteoblasts when sections of bone need reinforcement.
Osteoclasts
The opposite of osteoblasts. Osteoclasts (osteo = bone, clast = break) break down bone. But this kind of bone breaking isn’t bad. Osteoclasts make room in and on bones for muscles and blood vessels. They also recycle old bone so new, healthy bone can replace it. This keeps bones strong and resistant to mechanical stress. Osteoclasts are large cells outlined with a ruffled border. Their wrinkled exterior grips tightly to bone. These cells secrete hydrochloric acid which strips minerals like calcium and phosphate from the bone. This process is called osteolysis (osteo = bone, lysis = break apart).
It’s a team effort between all these cells to maintain your bone health. Osteoblasts and osteoclasts perform opposite roles but work together to make your bones strong. When a bone is broken, osteoclasts remove the broken pieces and smooth any jagged edges. Osteoblasts add new bone to fill in the gaps.
It is difficult to see bone cells at work. But your teeth work like bones do, and provide a good example.
To straighten crooked teeth, the bones in your jaw are constantly being broken down and repaired. Braces apply pressure to your teeth and jaw. This pressure stimulates osteoclasts to get rid of bone in the wrong place. Then osteoblasts put new bone in the right place. The result is a beautiful smile of straight teeth.
Role of Bones in the Body
You may have heard that without your bones, you’d be a puddle of flesh and blood. And it’s true.
The skeleton provides the framework and support your body needs to stay rigid and upright. Bones serve as attachments for muscle groups. They act as levers and allow for muscle flexing and extension. These important muscle attachments help us to walk, run, sit, and stand.
Your bones also protect your vital organs from harm. They can absorb the impact of injuries and shield the organs underneath them. Think of all the vital organs your rib cage protects. Your skull is a case for your invaluable brain.
And you would be unrecognizable without your bones. While the muscles in your face and neck are responsible for facial expressions, the bones underneath give your face shape. The position of your cheeks, your chin, and nose are all determined by your skeleton.
Advanced Bone Anatomy: Lengthening and Strengthening
You try to avoid stress, pressure, and tension as much as possible. But these three forces compel your bones to grow and develop. Your bone anatomy makes this possible. Mechanical stimulation triggers osteoblasts and osteoclasts to reinforce the bones in your body. This kind of stress is good, it makes bones stronger.
To lengthen, bones need to be pulled on by the muscle groups attached to them. Regions of bone called growth plates are near the ends of the long bones in your body. Growth plates are sections of active bone tissue. When your muscles tug on the ends of long bones, they provide the necessary stress to encourage bone growth. Osteocytes sense the tension in the growth plate and direct osteoblasts to lay down new bone tissue. When this happens too quickly in children, it can lead to a nagging, dull pain. This constant discomfort is often referred to as growing pains.
Bones grow in length, but they also increase in thickness. Exercise thickens bones, making them stronger and harder to break. Athletes have often been recognized for having longer than average leg bones. Longer legs, especially thighs, may be seen in athletes because they constantly apply pressure to their bones from frequent exercise.
Eventually, our bones stop growing in length when growth plates slow down their activity. For women, this occurs around age 16. For men, it’s about age 19. Between ages 25 and 30, most people will reach their peak bone mass. Maintaining bone mass after age 40 is important and part of a healthy lifestyle.
Bone Health Maintenance
The best way to protect your bones is to fortify them with healthy habits. Diet and exercise are two of the best ways to help maintain your bone health.
By far the most valuable mineral to your bones is calcium. When calcium stores are lacking, your body pulls it from your bones to use elsewhere. To safeguard your bones, eat a diet rich in calcium.
This essential mineral is found in milk, yogurt, and cheese, but also in green leafy vegetables and soft-bone fish. Some foods make it difficult for your body to absorb calcium. Soda and carbonated beverages decrease the amount of calcium absorbed by the intestines. Evaluate your diet and see if you can include more calcium. When in doubt, taking a multi-mineral or other supplement with a calcium component is always a great idea.*
Another critical component to your bone health is magnesium. Besides being one of the minerals in found in bone, magnesium stimulates the thyroid to secrete calcitonin. Calcitonin is a hormone that helps preserve bone strength by channeling calcium from your bloodstream to your bones. Not only does magnesium help strengthen your bones, but this key mineral can help maintain healthy muscle function.*
Vitamin D is also a critical player in bone health. Vitamin D allows our bodies to absorb the calcium in our diets. Your body can make its own vitamin D when skin is exposed to the sun. And some foods and dairy products are fortified with vitamin D. They can help you get what your body needs. But those still falling short should consider taking a supplement with vitamin D.*
Bone Health Throughout the Lifespan
Bones provide your body with strength and mobility throughout your whole life. Maintaining these important organs will keep your bones working for years to come. Even though bones stop growing in length before age 20, cells are actively repairing and replacing themselves every day.
Bone cells regenerate at a pretty remarkable rate. It’s a myth that you only get one skeleton during your lifetime. In fact, your skeleton completely replaces itself every two to 12 years—depending on your age. It turns over more quickly when you are young, and slows as you age. Without this regeneration, bones weakened by prior fracture or constant mechanical stress would never fully mend. Instead these regions grow to be stronger than ever.
This constant regeneration and turnover should give you hope. Every day is a new opportunity to help out your skeleton. So it’s never too late to develop habits of diet and exercise that will strengthen and protect your bone health.
More Bone Fun Facts
Learn these 11 bone anatomy facts and share them the next time someone tells you that skeletons are spooky. It will remind them that bones aren’t scary—they’re awesome.
Your bones are vascular. This means blood vessels run to your bones and deliver oxygen and nutrients to bone tissue. Nutrients are brought to your bones in the bloodstream. They are necessary for making bones hard and strong.
The number of bones in your body actually decreases as you age. Newborn babies have close to 270 bones in their tiny skeletons. As they mature, smaller bones fuse together to form more complex shapes. The human skull is made up of 22 bones that fuse together as we grow. By adulthood, humans have only 206 bones in their bodies.
Red blood cells are constantly circulating in the bloodstream. However, their origins are less well known. Bone marrow, the thick substance at the center of bones, produces red blood cells. There are two types of bone marrow—red and yellow. Red bone marrow forms red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Yellow bone marrow can be converted into red bone marrow in the case of severe blood loss.
The femur (thigh bone) is the longest and strongest bone in your body. Some experts have hypothesized that the femur is stronger than a piece of steel of the same weight. The shortest bone is the stapes (bone of the middle ear).
While still considered part of the skeletal system, teeth are not bones. Bones and teeth have a lot in common. They are both hard, white, and packed with calcium, but there are a few differences that distinguish the two. Teeth do not have the regenerative powers of bone tissue. Teeth are unable to heal themselves when broken. Bones, on the other hand, have a network of cells at their disposal designed to heal cracks and make them stronger.
Collagen is a protein found in bones that helps them withstand tension and pressure. Collagen is also an important protein in your skin. It gives skin elasticity and helps your bones absorb shock.
Even though they lack collagen, teeth still manage to be stronger than bone. Teeth are the hardest part of the body and are made primarily of a protein called dentine. Dentine is covered completely by hard tooth enamel, and it is this enamel that makes teeth so strong.
In the animal kingdom, skeletons are quite rare. Close to 97 percent of all animal life is invertebrate. That means they lack a spinal column. Humans are in the minority. It is our spinal column and the joints attached to it that allow us to walk upright.
Of the 206 bones in your body, 106 (more than half) are found in your hands and feet.
If you can speak, you owe a lot to a very unique bone. The hyoid bone is responsible for holding your tongue in place. You can feel your hyoid bone by gently pressing near the top of your throat. The hyoid bone is completely surrounded by muscle and the esophagus. This bone is special because it is the only bone in the body not attached to another bone.
Bones are considered organs. Taken together they provide no fewer than six essential functions to your body. These include: support, movement, protection, blood-cell production, nutrient storage (mostly iron, calcium, and magnesium), and hormone production.
As you can see, bones are much more than stiff, static structural elements. They provide many functions you need to live a healthy life. Start thinking more about bone anatomy and doing everything you can to look after your bone health.
About the Author
Sydney Sprouse is a freelance science writer based out of Forest Grove, Oregon. She holds a bachelor of science in human biology from Utah State University, where she worked as an undergraduate researcher and writing fellow. Sydney is a lifelong student of science and makes it her goal to translate current scientific research as effectively as possible. She writes with particular interest in human biology, health, and nutrition.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Workout-AdobeStock_119467506.jpg418835Sydney SprouseSydney Sprouse2017-10-23 10:31:092022-07-25 00:16:23Bone Health: Understanding Bone Anatomy
In today’s world of powerful technology, many people feel the urge to simplify and get back to nature. To experience the health benefits of outdoor recreation, it’s necessary to unplug and recharge in the wilderness. Those who are able to soak up everything nature has to offer find out why being outside is important—it comes down to health.
Long before smartphones and self-driving cars, Japan deemed “forest bathing” an essential part of its national health program. With forest bathing, the soaking isn’t literal. Bathing takes on a new meaning—immersing yourself in the natural environment.
The concept stems from Japanese Shinrin-Yoku Forest Therapy, and goes back to 1982. Over three decades later, the goal of forest bathing is still to reintroduce people to the healing power of nature. Much study and research has confirmed what the Japanese have long believed—nature benefits wellbeing in many ways.
The popularity of forest bathing has risen in the United States, particularly in metropolitan areas. Individuals, families, and friends have taken to the woods together for therapeutic hikes and nature walks. But forest bathing isn’t the only thing you can use the outdoors to improve your wellbeing.
There are so many ways you can take advantage of the benefits of nature. We’ll leave the how to you—hint: it starts with putting down your phone and experiencing the outdoors. We’ll supply the why. Here are 10 reasons why being outside is important to improving the health of you and your family.
1. Relieve Stress
Getting outside can help you escape the stress of work or school. Stress can tear up a healthy mind and immune system. High levels of stress at work and school are associated with depression, obesity, and high blood pressure. Stress is unhealthy when not managed properly. Luckily, there is a natural stress reliever right in your backyard.
Spending time in nature relieves stress in teens and adults. Bloodstream levels of the stress hormone cortisol are lowered after time spent outside. For a group of male students in China, those who spent their break from school hiking and camping returned with lower cortisol levels than those who spent time in the city. And these lower cortisol levels persisted for several days after their retreat to the wilderness.
The results suggest regular trips outdoors are a reliable way to manage stress. Experiences in nature are low cost and accessible to everyone. For the next long weekend, choose to spend time in nature over a trip to the city. You will reduce your stress load and return feeling rejuvenated.
Pro tip: Nature can help create more job satisfaction. Office workers with window views are more satisfied and less stressed at work. If you don’t have a window, take time every day to look outside and feel the stress-busting effects of nature views.
2. Strengthen Immunity
Staying indoors can have a negative impact on your immune health. The immune system works best when challenged regularly. That doesn’t happen when we spend time indoors.
Healthy doses of nature will help prepare your body fight. Here’s how it works.
A study published in 2010 evaluated the effect of forest bathing on immune function. For a group of Japanese adults, a three-day trip to the forest increased the number of white blood cells in their blood. These levels of white blood cells stayed elevated for more than 30 days after their adventure in the woods. White blood cells are crucial to your immune system. They help your body battle germs by recognizing pathogens and harmful intruders with the help of antibodies.
In the general population, studies have shown that attention is almost uniformly enhanced by exposure to natural environments. A study published in 2009 found that the same holds true for children with attention deficits. Spending twenty minutes walking in a nearby park was sufficient enough to elevate attention performance in children with ADHD. This so-called “dose of nature” could prove to be a more natural solution to attention deficits in children.
The same effects can be seen in adult attention. Views of nature from an office window and breaks from work in the outdoors have both been shown to increase productivity and concentration.
For a significant boost in focus and creativity, escape to the woods for longer periods of time. Creative problem solving and cognitive function can be boosted by nearly 50 percent after spending several days exploring the outdoors. Wilderness retreats may help you tackle a big assignment or personal goal. If you’re still wondering why being outside is important, it can enhance your creativity.
4. Helps Develop a Healthier Diet
Looking for a hobby to get you outside? Gardening is a great way to increase your time outdoors. Not only does gardening keep you active, it provides you with access to healthy fruits and vegetables on a regular basis.
Outdoor recreation has long been associated with a healthy lifestyle. But being active in your garden also lets you can reap the healthy dietary rewards of your labor and get exercise at the same time.
Anxiety and depression can be crippling. Coping with mental illness is difficult and methods vary from person to person. Most physicians and therapists recommend regular exercise in addition to therapy and medication. Getting that recommended exercise outdoors can help ease emotional and mental pain while improving mood.
There are several physical responses our bodies have to being in nature. Sitting outside can reduce blood pressure, lower heart rate, and decrease cortisol levels. When we are outside our body slows down, helping us feel peaceful and calm.
Our minds work in a similar way. Spending time outside improves mood and reduces feelings of anxiety. We can focus better in nature, and our improved concentration can help us address feelings of stress and anxiety. Self-esteem can also receive a boost after time spent wandering outdoors.
Peace and mental clarity is a big reason why being outside is important. Find it by adding time in nature to your mental healthcare regimen.
6. Aids in Weight Management
Nature offers beautiful views and fresh air, so choose an exercise regimen that will get you outside. Research at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that more than one third of American adults are obese.
Exercise and proper diet are the two most effective ways to stop the spread of obesity. You can burn 149 calories each half hour of walking in the park, and 372 calories every half hour by riding your bike. To encourage kids to get exercise outside, find a fun activity to do as a family. Increase your time walking, biking, running, and playing outside and lower your risk of obesity. Take your exercise outside the gym and enjoy all the health benefits nature has to offer.
7. Better Your Short-Term Memory
Nature could be the answer to remembering names, not forgetting your keys, and taking better notes in class. There is growing evidence that both short-term and working memory can be improved by time spent outside.
At the University of Michigan, a simple experiment backed this theory. Two groups of students were given a memory test and then assigned to take a walk through a garden or down a city street. After their walks, the participants performed the memory test again. Those who walked through the garden improved their scores by 20 percent. No consistent improvement was observed in the participants who walked in the city.
Natural scenery and garden views calm our minds and help us focus. Urban settings are full of traffic, street noise, lights, and lots of people. These things pull our attention in several directions. This makes it hard to sharpen our focus and recall things we just learned. Pondering new information in a peaceful, natural setting may help enhance your short-term memory.
8. Improve Vision
Your eyes provide another reason why being outside is important. A study following Australian school children linked time spent outside and better vision. Of the 2,000 children followed during the study, those who spent more time playing outside significantly reduced their risk of becoming nearsighted. This suggests that outdoor activity has a protective effect on the eyes of children.
These results are striking because the same was not observed in children who spent time playing indoor sports. Being outside in fresh air and sunlight protects growing eyes more than equal physical activity indoors.
Dim indoor lighting makes it difficult for young eyes to focus on an image. This causes the eye to change shape in order to see clearly. The ample light of the outdoors keeps kid’s eyes from working harder than they need to. So when encouraging play time and exercise, take the fun outside and protect your child’s eye health.
9. Fight Nature Deficit Disorder
We’re spending more time inside than ever before. Computers, tablets, cell phones, and video games hog our attention and keep us from getting into nature. That’s especially bad for our children.
Playing outside encourages kid’s creativity, builds their attention spans, and increases their desire to explore. The book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv outlines this growing pattern. Louv coined the term nature-deficit disorder to explain what happens when kids spend too much time indoors.
Recent findings show children ages 8-18 spend more than six hours each day with electronic media. A study published in 2002 found that 8-year-old children could better identify Pokémon characters than plants or animals in their neighborhoods. As children spend less time outside, unhealthy habits begin to form.
Children who spend little time outside are at risk for developing chronic health problems. Diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and depression are common companions of a sedentary indoor lifestyle. Help your family learn healthy habits and encourage playing outside over electronic devices.
10. Increase Longevity
A 2015 study followed 108,630 American women to determine the relationship between nature and longevity. Women who lived near parks, lawns, trees, and forests had significantly lower mortality than women living far from nature. The results held regardless of urban or rural settings.
The longer life expectancy associated with living near vegetation could be caused by several factors. Air quality is known to increase longevity and is better in areas of more dense vegetation. Being close to parks and nature trails can encourage more frequent exercise, which helps maintain heart health. Time spent outside also increases social engagement and can improve mental health.
Whatever the exact cause, getting outdoors will help you live happier and longer—and that’s the ultimate reason why being outside is important. So, when establishing a place to live, pick a location where you and your family have regular access to nature.
Get Healthy, Get Outdoors
Find time today to venture outside and take advantage of the health benefits of the outdoors. Replace time spent inside on electronic devices with a bike ride or a walk to a local park. Take up forest bathing or gardening as a new hobby. And remember outdoor recreation can be enjoyed alone or as a family.
There’s no wrong way to get outside and so much to be gained by exploring the natural world. You know why being outside is important. It’s time to reconnect with nature. Your body and mind will thank you for it later.
About the Author
Sydney Sprouse is a freelance science writer based out of Forest Grove, Oregon. She holds a bachelor of science in human biology from Utah State University, where she worked as an undergraduate researcher and writing fellow. Sydney is a lifelong student of science and makes it her goal to translate current scientific research as effectively as possible. She writes with particular interest in human biology, health, and nutrition.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/AdobeStock_163045191.jpeg8001200Sydney SprouseSydney Sprouse2017-10-16 09:24:342022-07-25 00:20:4610 Reasons Why Being Outside is Important
Your brain is powerful. You can even use it to think about how the brain itself works. But this power doesn’t make your brain immune to factors that impact the rest of your body. Lifestyle and environment can affect your brain health. Luckily, there are nutrients for brain health shown to support cognitive function.
You’ll read about a handful of the most important nutrients for your brain. And you’ll find brain foods that contain these key nutritional components of maintaining cognitive health.
Healthy Lipids
For a long time, dietary fats (lipids) have been connected to brain health. Originally, lipids’ effect on the cardiovascular system was thought to facilitate that connection. But more recent research shows beneficial dietary fats have more direct actions on the brain.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (like DHA from fish oil) normally make up cell membranes throughout your body. And like other saturated fats, they’re fundamental building blocks for your brain cells. That’s part of the reason fish is often called a brain food.
But fatty, cold-water fish aren’t the only food you should turn to for healthy lipids for supporting brain health. Add these options to your brain health shopping list:
Avocados
Nuts (almonds to walnuts and everything in between)
Seeds
Plant-based oils
Soybean
Flavonoids
The antioxidant effects of flavonoids are well-established in a test-tube setting. But these plant compounds—like cocoa, ginkgo, and grape-seed extracts—have more complex actions in the body that is are continually being researched.
Some flavonoids show promising results in maintaining healthy brain function. Quercetin—a flavonoid that’s a major component of ginkgo biloba extracts—has been shown to maintain memory and learning abilities in some studies. Further research on the subject is needed.
Flavonoids come from a variety of colorful plant foods. That provides ample options for packing your diet with flavonoids. Try these:
Berries
Dark chocolate
Dark green, leafy vegetables
Grapes
Tea
Plums
Broccoli
Carotenoids
Like their phytonutrient cousins, carotenoids are pigments, providing color to fruits and vegetables. The yellows, reds, and oranges bringing warm color to your diet come from carotenoids.
Some powerful members of this phytonutrient family—lutein and zeaxanthin—are more known for supporting eye health than the brain. But research has shown ties between these carotenoids and maintaining normal, healthy cognitive function.
Other carotenoids are sought out by the brain. They are used as antioxidants to help protect your brain from oxidative stress.
To help in your brain’s quest for more carotenoids, turn to:
Carrots
Pumpkin
Spinach
Sweet potatoes
Red bell peppers
Tomatoes (canned and raw)
Kale
B Vitamins
Adequate levels of the B vitamin folate are essential for brain function. The proof? Folate deficiency can lead to neurological and cognitive issues.
Clinical trial results have deepened the connection between folate and cognitive function. These studies have shown folate supplementation—by itself or in conjunction with other B vitamins (B6 and B12)—to be effective at maintaining healthy cognitive function during aging.
Finding folate and other B vitamins is fairly easy. Seek out these foods:
Legumes
Spinach
Broccoli
Asparagus
Enriched grains
Beef, seafood, and eggs (for vitamin B12)
Bananas, potatoes, and nuts (for vitamin B6)
Vitamin E, or α-tocopherol
Looking up brain foods will often lead you to nuts and fish. Part of that, as you read above, is thanks to healthy fats. But many nuts also pack an important vitamin payload. They are often packed full of vitamin E.
This powerful antioxidant also has studied links to cognitive performance. One example that sticks out is an association between dipping serum levels of vitamin E and poor memory performance in older individuals.
So, remember to add these good sources of vitamin E to your menu:
Nuts
Plant oils
Green vegetables
Blackberries
Broccoli
Sunflower seeds
Calcium and Magnesium
Your brain works so well because of the interconnectedness of your neurons and their ability to communicate. Two minerals—calcium and magnesium—play a big role keeping communications flowing.
You know them better for bone health benefits. But these minerals help your brain, too. Calcium aids proper functioning of nerve cells and helps control the flow of neurotransmitters. Magnesium plays a role in impulse transmission. And it also helps your brain unlock all the benefits of B vitamins by catalyzing their transition to active forms.
Luckily, these mighty minerals are widely available in your diet. Calcium can be found in dairy products, beans, oranges, cabbage and kale. Magnesium is available in nuts, whole grains, milk, meats, and green, leafy vegetables.
Other Nutrients for Brain Health
Here’s a short list of the other nutrients with researched roles in brain health:
Alpha lipoic acid has been shown to maintain memory and cognitive function.
Caffeine is more than a pick-me-up for your brain. There have been ties between caffeine consumption and the brain’s processing abilities.
Zinc is an essential mineral that is found in the front part of your brain. More study is needed to determine mechanisms, but a lack of zinc has connections to numerous neurological issues.
Curcumin is a strong antioxidant that seems to protect the brain from lipid peroxidation and nitric-oxide-based radicals.
Several gut hormones or peptides—like leptin, ghrelin, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) and insulin—have been found to support healthy emotional response and cognitive processes.
Energy Production
The brain runs your body. And it takes a lot of energy to maintain proper operation. Healthy macronutrients are necessary to fuel your brain and provide the energy it needs.
The mechanisms involved in the transfer of energy from foods to neurons are likely to be fundamental to the control of brain function. Processes that are associated with the management of energy in neurons can affect brain plasticity.
Far-Reaching Impacts of Good Brain Nutrition
Lifestyle and diet have long-term effects on your health. That means they are likely underestimated for their importance to public health—especially when it comes to healthy aging.
But those factors are important to your brain.
The gradual and sometimes imperceptible cognitive decline that characterizes normal aging can be influenced by the nutrients you feed your brain through a healthy diet. So, properly fueling your brain to tackle your daily tasks should go hand-in-hand with long-term maintenance efforts. With so many delicious options, the burden of eating brain food shouldn’t be too hard to bear.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Brain-food-AdobeStock_163465410.jpeg557835David BakerDavid Baker2017-10-09 13:27:482022-07-25 00:21:26Food for Thought—Nutrients for Brain Health
You’re never alone. Your body is always crawling with trillions of microbial friends. That’s not a bad thing. All of them make up your microbiome—a word you hear a lot, but might not completely understand. Defining microbiome is actually pretty simple. It’s the collection of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses mentioned above. But don’t let the simple definition fool you. The microbiome is an expansive topic to discuss.
If this is your first time hearing about the microbiome, stay calm. There’s no reason to pull out the sanitizer. You shouldn’t feel gross or unclean. And your skin shouldn’t crawl because you’re an ecosystem for trillions of bacteria and microbes.
The microbiome is a normal part of a healthy life. Many studies suggest that your community of microbes could even play a large role in your health.
If you’re still a little uneasy, an introduction to your microbiome might help. So it’s time to go beyond defining microbiome and introduce you to your bacterial buddies.
A Bit of Basic Bacteria Biology
Other microbes live in your microbiome, but bacteria are the most studied, dominant portion. They’ll mostly be the focus of our attention moving forward. And basic information about bacteria is a great place to start the deeper discussion of the microbiome.
The first thing to know about bacteria—there’s a lot of them. Bacteria rule the earth, even though you can’t see them with your naked eye.
They make up the largest percentage of life on earth. Bacteria weigh more in total than all the humans on earth. One estimate puts the total number of bacteria at about five million trillion trillion. That’s a number so big it doesn’t even have a name. But it’s a five with 30 zeroes after it.
Second, bacteria are in the prokaryote domain. They’re single cells with a primitive outer membrane, no specific cellular parts, and no distinct nucleus. All the ingredients for life—DNA, proteins, and more—float around in the cytoplasm (a cellular liquid).
You fall under a different biological umbrella. Humans, animals, and other complex cellular life belong in the eukaryote domain. That’s because we’re multicellular organisms with membranes around our cellular organelles (cell parts with specific functions) and nuclei.
Your Body and Bacteria
Now that the basic biology is out of the way, it’s time to focus on the bacteria and microbes you interact with. Let’s start with the numbers.
While there’s more bacteria than about anything on earth, that’s not exactly the case with your body. Old estimates had microbiome cells outnumbering yours 10-to-1. Recent research suggest the ratio is closer to 1-to-1. That’s a tenth of what was once thought, but that means you’re still living with trillions of bacteria.
And there’s a great variety of bacteria and microbes inhabiting the communities created by your body. For example, your skin, nose, mouth, ears, and armpits all have very different inhabitants. There is even a difference in who is living between your toes versus other parts of the feet. Your gut—the place our mind goes first when say microbiome—can contain 40,000 different strains and species alone. This diversity is important, because it creates competition for space and food.
Like any lifeform, bacteria are selfish. They don’t live with you because they’re heroes and helpers. Bacteria’s biological imperative is to provide for themselves and their descendants. Luckily, your body has evolved to use the selfishness to its advantage. This creates a win-win situation (symbiosis). The bacteria get food and the body uses compounds produced by the bacteria.
These mostly productive relationships make it easy to think of bacteria as good or bad. That’s an oversimplification of the situation, though. There are some black-and-white cases—pathogenic bacteria that are out to harm you. But the majority of fall into a grey area because most are typically harmless or provide a slight benefit.
How you view specific bacteria (good or bad, healthy or harmful) has a lot to do with location. In one area of the body, a strain of bacteria can be beneficial—aiding in digestion or healthy immune function. In another area, that same type of microbe can cause problems. Sheer numbers can also present issues. For example, a weakened immune system can allow a strain of bacteria to multiply and grow to a population that’s problematic.
And the bacteria don’t suddenly decide to turn from heroes to villains. That’s not how they work. Bacteria act about the same all the time. They’re always selfish. And they’re always trying to multiply. But when they’re in the wrong place—where condition aren’t favorable for symbiosis—or they grow to large numbers, the microbes can wreak havoc.
But if bacteria are mostly harmless, and we shouldn’t call them good or bad, what’s the deal with probiotics? There are certain strains of bacteria that research has shown to provide benefits in certain situations. But in the context of your total bacteria—the trillions of cells and thousands of strains—those are rare, specific cases. That’s why it’s important to get probiotics that are tested and proven to survive in the right bodily environment and demonstrate benefits.
Finding Your Microbiome
Most people hear “microbiome” and think about the gut. Your lower digestive tract is packed with microbes. But it’s not the only place you can find different communities of diverse bacteria.
Let’s go through them:
Gut: Your stomach doesn’t contain much bacteria. High acidity creates an uninviting environment where few can survive. Your intestines are a different story—mostly because that’s where food stays for the longest time. The gut microbiome has been extensively studied, so we can name many of the bacterial categories you’d find in your intestines.
Both the small and large intestines are packed full of a variety of microbes, but Bacteriodetes (another category of bacteria) are very prevalent. And you’ll find distinct populations of bacteria in the small intestine and the large intestine, with different strains dominating each.
Skin: Your body’s largest organ has its own community of bacteria and microbes. If you’re a germaphobe, this confirms your worst fears. You really are covered with bacteria. All the folds, nooks, and crannies of your skin provide ample space to develop diverse microbial communities. Remember, the vast majority are harmless in normal circumstances. And most of them can be categorized as Actinobacteria (a category of bacteria).
Ear, Nose, Sinuses, and Throat: Each of these regions contains bacteria that can thrive in that particular environment. But they’re mentioned together because they’re all connected. And they intersect with the mouth, as well.
This is not a comprehensive list of your body’s bacterial communities. They’re in your sex organs, lungs, and about any hospitable place they can find. The gut gets most of the attention, but researchers are looking more closely at other areas. That research will help us get to know our microbiomes better, and help us meet more of our bacterial buddies.
The Making of a Microbiome
You’re shaped by the ecosystem in which you live. Your microbiome is the same. But in this case, you’re the ecosystem.
That’s why everyone’s microbiome is unique. Yours is shaped by the experiences you have—starting at birth. Natural birth or Caesarean section will impact an infant’s microbiome. Your diet and environment impact your body and the bacterial friends that live with you. Age is also an important differentiating factor.
With the array of variables and huge variety of bacteria in your body’s ecosystem, it’s difficult to identify every strain of bacteria “normal” or “healthy” people will have. Mapping out your specific microbiome regularly over time is time consuming and overwhelming. And doing it once doesn’t tell you much. But talking more generally provides the information you need without listing thousands of bacterial strains.
Basically, the bacteria that coexist with you are the ones able to find a biological niche. They’re best able to adapt and survive in your specific conditions. In this way, you’re somewhat in control of your microbiome. And somewhat is the keyword. It’s not as easy as selecting your preferred bacteria, because you can’t control everything. We do know that good habits— sleeping well, exercising, and eating a healthy diet—encourage a beneficial microbiome.
But bacteria are living things. They’re competing with trillions of others for space and food. You can influence the results of this competition, but you can’t totally fix the game. And for those same reasons, your microbiome is constantly changing.
What Can the Microbiome Do for You?
The simple answer—your microbiome does a lot. And research is revealing more and more about what it does for you and your health.
This example tells you quite a bit: Mice raised without a community of bacteria—born and raised in a sterile environment—don’t exhibit the same type of growth as mice with a microbiome. Germ-free mice also show deficiencies in behavior and other health issues not seen in normal mice.
In general, your microbiome helps with digestive processes, immune function, maintaining a healthy weight, nervous system function, and more. But that’s another story. You can dive deeper into the ways your bacterial buddies help out your health in the next article in our microbiome series.
https://askthescientists.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/AdobeStock_145714011.jpeg6331200David BakerDavid Baker2017-10-02 13:04:052022-07-25 00:21:58Defining Microbiome: Meet Your Bacterial Buddies
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