Why Whey Protein May Be Your Top Choice for Lean Muscle Mass

It’s important to make sure that you have protein once you’re finished with your workout. A hard session of toning and working your muscles causes your body to use up energy and it has to be replaced the right way.

Your body needs an infusion of protein. Protein is what helps give your muscles what they need nutritionally as well as helps with the recovery period once you’re finished with your workout.

But the type of protein that you have does matter. One of the easiest ways to get protein is through powder. What most people do when trying to lose weight and build muscle mass is they use powder to create delicious smoothies or shakes.

With all of the different types of protein powder to choose from, it can be hard to know which one is the right one. The one that sells the best and that most consumers all agree on is whey protein because of what it contains.

You’ll want to use whey protein because it’s the best when it comes to building your lean muscle mass. The reason that it’s the best is because it contains the amino acids that are specifically used to help people build muscle.

Within these amino acids, one of them stands out as very important in helping with muscle growth. That acid is leucine. This particular amino acid prompts your body to be able to use the protein that you take in.

So obviously, you’d want to choose the protein powder that offered the most benefit to your muscles. Since that’s the one with leucine, it makes whey powder the best choice.

Out of all the protein powders that you can buy, whey has the most concentration of leucine. Without the right amount of leucine in a protein powder, the process that your muscles go through during and after a workout isn’t as beneficial.

That’s because your muscles can’t put the protein to use as easily as it can when you use whey protein. Leucine is the key that stimulates your muscles to cause them to take in the protein. The more leucine that you have, the better absorption you’re going to end up getting.

What this scientific lingo means for you is that you’re going to see the results of your weight loss and your muscle building faster than you would if you chose to go with other protein powders.

When your body is able to take in the protein from the powder, you gain the muscle and not the fat. You’ll be able to see the results that you want to have quicker than you thought possible.

Consumers Using Insects as Primary Protein Source

Future menus and at home meal planning might just start including insects. As more people are becoming aware of what goes on in the manufacturing of protein from animals, there has been a shift in thinking.

This shift has seen more awareness that there are other types of protein that are good for weight loss and for building muscle mass than traditional means of protein.

Some dishes featuring insects can offer you just as much protein value as eating something like steak or chicken. While the idea of eating insects might seem disturbing to some consumers, many more, such as millennials, are open to the idea.

One of the reasons that more people are okay eating insects to get the protein that they need has to do with how meat affects the health. Eating certain types of animal protein has been linked to conditions such as heart disease, raised blood pressure and other health issues.

Eating insects as a way to get the protein you need to help with weight loss doesn’t have the same health issues attached to it as eating animal proteins do. So people can eat insects and actually be healthier than if they were to get their protein from something like red meats.

Those who want to lose weight and build muscle mass but want to follow a semi vegetarian diet can find a lot of benefit from consuming insects. They’ll get all the protein that they need without having to eat a lot of plant based proteins or large animals such as cows and chickens.

Studies have shown that you have to consume a lot more plant based proteins to get the same amount that you’d get from eating meat. So for those who don’t eat red meat, this option is also a good idea.

But that’s not the only reason that interest in insect consumption as a protein is on the rise. Many consumers are aware that insects are more sustainable than a meat option.

Some countries already practice serving insects as an alternative source of protein. You can find dishes in Australia where roasted scorpion is served up. You can also purchase snack crickets, ones that are roasted or dehydrated ants.

A serving size of crickets has an impressive 13 grams of protein and they’re low in calories with only about 120 calories. Eating insects to gain the protein to help you lose weight and build muscle mass is something that you can really sink your teeth into.

Be Careful About Which Protein You Choose Post Workout

When you want to lose weight and build muscle mass, you not only improve your health, but you improve your posture, the way that your body can move, your stamina and you even gain more energy.

After working out, there’s a lot of advice that will tell you that it’s best for you to get some protein in your system. Since no one wants to down a full meal (including protein) right after finishing up a workout, what most people do is reach for something quick and convenient that’s loaded with protein.

For some people that’s a protein bar. For others, that’s a protein shake. After all, if it’s loaded with protein, it has to be good for you, right? Maybe. But then again, maybe not.

The foods that you choose after your workout might not be the best ones for you. In fact, they might actually be working to hinder your weight loss efforts. Many of the protein foods or drinks that you can get for use after a workout concentrate on building muscle rather than weight loss.

This means that you have to pay attention to the label. Some of them are going to have more than twice the amount of calories and protein level that you really need.

Stick to the protein that’s best for your weight loss if that’s your goal. However, if you want to build muscle mass while losing weight, then you’re going to want to choose the protein product that helps you with that goal.

The protein food for after your workout should also be in line with the amount of exercise you’re performing during it. The harder you work out, the more protein that you need.

One of the ways that your protein choice might not be so good for you is found in the type of sweetener the product contains. You can find some with real sugar and some with artificial sweeteners.

While the artificial ones are often sweeter than sugar and don’t give you the same high calorie content, artificial sweeteners aren’t right for everyone. When selecting a protein food for after your workout, look for those that are high in taste quality but lower in sugar.

Pay attention to ingredient lists that have a lot of milk content or nut butters because these can pile on the sugar. Make sure that if you use protein powder that it has quality ingredients and isn’t heavier on the carbs than it is the protein.

Watch out for powders that have a lot of unnecessary ingredients. If you do choose protein powder, it should have at least 20 grams of protein per serving. To get the most from your protein choice, make sure you consume it within 60 minutes of your workout so that your muscles get the most benefit.

Are Natural Sweeteners Actually Healthy?

As more and more people have become concerned with both the amount of sugar they are consuming, and the large number of artificial sweeteners that are being put into the food chain, attention has turned to trying to find the ‘holy grail’ of sweeteners, one that is both healthy and natural.

The trouble is that what sounds healthy might not be at all, and what has gotten a bad rap might actually be good for you.

Honey
Honey is naturally sweet and derived from the hives of bees, making it all natural. While it does have a lower glycemic index (GI) than table sugar (55 versus 70), it does have a significant impact on your blood sugar when you eat it, leaving you potentially more prone to craving sweet treats. Therefore, use in moderation.

Agave
Agave tastes similar to honey, but has a GI of only 15. It is derived from the cactus plant and can be used in the same way as honey, though it is important to note that it is higher in calories (310 vs. 250) per 100 g.

Corn
Corn has gotten a bad name due to high fructose corn syrup, that is, a natural sweetener which has become so much a part of the food industry it is being blamed as the most likely cause of the US obesity epidemic.

Corn can actually be part of a healthy diet if eaten in moderation. It is great eaten fresh from the cob with a pat of butter. It is excellent when air-popped and served with a sprinkle of cheese, or chocolate chips for a sweet treat. Studies have shown that popped corn has one of the highest levels of disease-fighting antioxidants of any food. In fact, it is said to have twice the level of blueberries.

Corn cobs are used to make the natural sugar substitute xylitol, which you’ve probably seen in sugar free gum. Corn starch is also often used as a thickener and can add some sweetness to recipes.

Corn meal, as in ground corn, is the basis for delicious corn bread or corn pudding. Provided it is not smothered with sugar, salt and gravy, homemade cornbread can be a healthy sweet or savory treat.

Corn is a naturally sweet food, but as with all things, use it in moderation.

No matter which you choose, remember the goal is always to burn more calories than you consume. Aim for a healthy diet and exercise, and sweets in moderation. Then see what a difference it can make to your health.

Are Sugar Substitutes Really Better For Us?

Now that there has been such an extreme backlash against artificial sweeteners like saccharin and Splenda, a great deal of attention is now being paid to sugar substitutes. The goal is to get a sweet taste from a natural source that is safe. So are these sugar substitutes really better for us? The answer is: It depends.

There are literally dozens of sugar substitutes that claim to be natural, healthier than sugar, and so on. The trouble is that many of these claims are unregulated. They also sound natural and safe, but can actually be more dangerous than you can imagine.

Brown rice syrup
For example, most people would consider brown rice to be a health food, so brown rice syrup would seem to be a healthy sweetener. This is a reasonable assumption, until you discover that it has a significant impact on blood sugar and a great deal of it is contaminated with high levels of arsenic.

Arsenic, a metal that is poisonous to humans, is found in the water where the rice grows. When the rice is processed to make the syrup, the arsenic becomes more concentrated. Arsenic can damage every organ in the body even if it doesn’t kill you outright, so this is one natural sugar substitute to steer well clear of.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
HFCS has been the mainstay of the food industry for decades as a natural sweetener. It is found in almost every packaged food on store shelves in one form or another. It is a cheap by-product of the corn industry, and cheaper than cane sugar. As the low-fat eating trend hit in the 1970s, HFCS started to hit its stride, adding more flavor to the foods that had had their fat content drastically cut. The result: unprecedented levels of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in the last 40 years in the US, far out of proportion to that experienced in other countries around the world.

Here are a few others to watch out for:

Dehydrated Cane Juice, Evaporated Cane Juice=sugar from the sugar cane plant

Dextrose=Sugar
Fructose=Sugar

Fruit Juice Concentrate=usually apple juice, very sweet already, even sweeter if it is concentrated

Honey=a natural sweetener produced by bees, but with a comparable glycemic index (GI) to that of sugar (55 vs 70), so has a significant impact on blood sugar
Your best bet for a natural sugar substitute with no impact on blood sugar and no calories is stevia. But buyer beware. Check the label to make sure it has as few added ingredients as possible. Then see what a difference it can make to your health.

Clean Eating 101 – Steer Clear Of Sugar

Clean eating is one of the latest trends for people trying to lose weight, and those who are health conscious and concerned about what’s really in the food they consume.

They’re right to be worried. Food labeling can be confusing and even deliberately misleading. There’s also all sorts of conflicting information about eating this, not that, and foods that sound healthy are often anything but.

With the rise in obesity and in Type 2 diabetes in the US, particular attention is being paid to the sources of sugar in our diets in an effort to cut down, if not steer clear completely.

Studies have shown that the average American eats around 22 teaspoons of sugar each day. The American Heart Association recommends only 6 teaspoons for women and 9 for men. In terms of clean eating, therefore, it means tracking down and eliminating the main sources of sugar in your diet.

Packaged foods
Cake, cookies, candy, and other dessert-type foods are the obvious culprits for both sugar, and a lot of chemicals, so they should be the first to go when you start clean eating. If you are going to eat dessert, it should be made from all-natural foods and eaten sparingly, with a strict observance of tight portion control.

In fact, many people who start a clean eating regimen begin with a sugar detox because research has shown just how addictive sugar can be. It creates a rollercoaster of sugar highs and lows, alters mood and increases cravings.

Those who have a sweet tooth tend to be emotional eaters who grab sugary treats when they are stressed, bored, or want to ‘reward’ themselves in some way. Think about the foods we eat at birthdays, holidays and other special occasions and you will get an idea of just how common it is in society for sweets to be used as a reward.

Healthy foods that really aren’t
A Nature’s Valley granola bar sounds like the perfect healthy snack-until you read the label and see how much sugar, salt, fat and calories it has it in. Make your own trail mix with raisins, crasins and almonds. It will be better for you and probably even cheaper pound for pound. Use fruit for dessert, such as apples and berries.

Artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes
Clean eating means eliminating these from the diet. It therefore means learning how to make your own salad dressing, ketchup and more. Read most food labels in the store and you will find these as part of the ingredients. They might be disguised as dextrose and flavorings, but they are usually sugar and trigger cravings.

Try clean eating with a view to eliminating sugar, and see what a difference it can make to your health.

How to Curb Your Sugar Cravings Naturally

Do you suffer from a sweet tooth? You’re not alone. Unfortunately, many people try to curb their sugar cravings by using artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes that sound healthy, but really aren’t.

The good news is that there are a number of all-natural ways to curb your sugar cravings without a lot of cost or chemicals.

The natural foods you choose
Since we are what we eat, it should come as no surprise that the more sugar we crave and eat, the more we want, in a vicious cycle that has been compared to an addiction.

The foods you choose can benefit you in 2 ways. The first is to satisfy the sweet tooth. The second is to choose foods that help regulate your blood sugar in various ways.

Naturally sweet vegetables
Vegetables are full of fiber and natural sweetness. Carrots, sweet potatoes, beets and corn are natural sweet, and starchy too, meaning they take time to digest and release their energy longer than, for example, a candy bar. For this reason, some foods are termed low carb, and others slow carb. They may be higher in carbs, but they also help maintain steady blood sugar.

Carrots are tasty on their own, or in a carrot cake. Sweet potatoes are delicious straight out of the microwave, or in a pie.

Leafy greens
Leafy greens are low in carbs and make you feel full. Some of them also contain certain minerals that regulate metabolism and can help maintain a steady supply of blood sugar throughout the day. A lot of people are not fond of the taste of broccoli, but it really is a super food that can help curb cravings.

Kale may seem like just a food fad, but there is hard science behind how it can also cut carb cravings. Eat it raw in salads or cooked lightly to preserve its nutrients.

Spinach is another superfood that can be eaten cooked or raw. It is wonderfully versatile as well, making it a perfect addition to omelets, quiches, and even the tops of homemade pizzas.

Fruit
Almost all fruits are naturally sweet. Add an apple a day to your diet as your dessert, for example, or some grapes. They are moist, sweet and filling.

If you’ve been struggling with sugar cravings, add these foods to your diet as you remove processed foods and potentially harmful artificial sweeteners. Then see what a difference it makes to your level of carb consumption.

Is It Possible To Be Addicted To Sugar?

A startling study published in 2007 in the non-profit journal PLOS One rocked the food industry and people’s attitudes toward their eating habits when it reported that in mice, sugar was more addictive to them than cocaine.

This led to a range of new studies seeking to confirm or refute the findings. Fast forward to the present day, and the evidence is growing that sugar does indeed have addictive properties.

Researchers are not yet certain of the mechanisms behind sugar addiction, but they have a couple of significant hints as to why it is possible. Some of them are physical and some are mental.

Physical addiction
From the moment we are young, we are introduced to sweet foods such as applesauce and baby foods that are made with fruit and starchy-sweet vegetables like carrots. The tongue, however, seems to be relatively primitive and can’t handle the intense sweetness of modern foods, which are loaded with sugar, sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners. The more it gets, the more it craves. If you think about your food cravings, do they start in the stomach, or in your mouth?

Mental addiction
Another physical reason for sugar addiction is that eating sweet things releases the feel-good chemical dopamine, giving you a ‘buzz’ in mood, pain levels and energy levels. This significant chemical change in the brain leads to a desire for continuing ‘happiness’, which means more sugar.

Studies have shown that the cravings produce a feedback loop in the brain. It sees the sugar as a reward, and strives to get more. The more it gets, the more it wants the reward.

Over time this leads to the brain being remodeled and re-wired to the point of addiction and poor impulse control. In addition, this can have a significant effect on mood and brain chemistry, which could be one of the reasons why a high-carb, high sugar diet is associated strongly with Alzheimer’s disease.

Artificial sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners have an impact on the sugar cravings in the brain as well. They have been used for decades under the assumption they were better for us than sugar, but research shows that they have a similar impact on sugar cravings and also affect blood sugar.

Some of them are especially dangerous because they change into harmful chemicals once they are digested. For example, aspartame has been linked to ‘holes in the brain’ in laboratory animals and methanol poisoning, which affects the brain, in humans.

Sweet tastes therefore seem to be very addictive no matter what the sources. If you’ve been struggling to curb your craving, it might be time to cut all desserts and pre-packaged foods from your diet.

Why Do We Crave Sugar?

As a result of the recent obesity epidemic in the US, scientists have turned their attention in the past few years to the question of why we crave sugar. The answer has come in part from studies of laboratory animals, and humans, leading to some startling findings.

The tongue
Early man had tongue receptors that could taste sugar, but the modern trend towards making everything very sweet seems to trigger even more cravings for sweet things, and a desire for greater levels of sweetness. Prior to sugar becoming more widely available in the 17th century, humans consumed an average of 7 pounds of sugar, usually in the form of sweet foods like honey, per year. Now in the US it is about 125 pounds of sugar annually.

Artificial sweeteners have actually make the problem worse, with so-called high-intensity sweeteners (HIS) approved by the FDA, such as aspartame, many times sweeter than natural sugar, which therefore boost the craving.

The brain
The brain is also re-wired as a result of sugar consumption, leading to cravings. The mechanism isn’t completely understood, but it appears to be a vicious cycle of craving, reward, greater craving, an even bigger reward needed, and so on. The ‘reward’ aspect is both physiological and psychological.

We are rewarded when we eat sweets because they raise dopamine levels in the brain. We can describe dopamine as a ‘feel-good’ chemical that elevates mood and naturally relieves pain. Therefore, sweet things make us feel good. The ‘sugar high’ from eating sweets is therefore not just blood sugar, but mood as well.

We are also rewarded when we are younger. Our parents reward us with dessert if we eat all our dinner. We are rewarded at our birthdays and holidays with sweet treats. We even reward ourselves with food when we complete a task. If we are stressed, many people often manage that stress with food, drink, or both.

The trouble is that the more sugar you get, the more you want, until you start to crave it in the same way that an addict craves a fix.

If you’ve been struggling with a sweet tooth and cravings for sugary foods, it might be time to try a sugar detox to eliminate all sweet things from your diet for a few days to see if you can curb the cravings. Also try to find other ways to reward yourself that don’t involve food or spending money. Then see how much less stressful and more enjoyable life can be, free of the sugar habit.

Can I Use Wearable Tech Without Being on a Fitness Plan?

Wearable tech, while the market is definitely being geared towards health and fitness plans, is usable for a lot of other reasons too. It’s absolutely not just for people who are on a fitness plan.
Not only are there different types of wearable tech available for different things, but they’re incredibly adaptable depending on what you need them for.
Just because they boast a particular feature, too, doesn’t mean that’s all that they’re capable of when it comes down to it. They tend to have more than one and while it might not be primary, it’s still there and still available for use by everyday people and not just those who hit the gym five nights a week and then jog on their weekends.

They can be used for:
Communication
Wellbeing (not fitness)
Gaming
Awareness
Smartwatches

You can definitely wear a smartwatch without being on a fitness plan – these give you a way to stay in the loop without having to have your phone in your hand at all times. You can see messages, know when your phone is ringing, get reminders and even view your gallery on some of them. You don’t need to be exercising for them, you just need to own a smartphone that you can link it to and a wrist that you can strap it to and you’re ready to go.

Virtual Headsets
This is a newer addition into the market, but not a new concept. Many people would say that gaming is an opposite to being on a fitness plan, considering most of it is spent sat down and fiddling with q controller or mouse, so you can definitely use this without the need to go jogging. It might make you a little more active, but you don’t need to be exercising to get the most out of it. It’s definitely designed for fun more than anything else.

Stress Trackers
These are more likely to take off in the start of 2016, but there are a few littering around on the market place at the moment. They aren’t geared towards fitness alone, but can be used in conjuncture with other plans – if you’re at risk of high blood pressure, or you don’t get enough oxygen, these can help you monitor it during your everyday life with reminders on when to breath properly or when to try and lower the stress that you’re feeling.

Wearable tech is not just for people who are active and trying to get fit and healthy but they can be adapted for everyone. They’re very diverse and the market is always expanding, adding in a new type of device that does something.
There is definitely something that is available for everyone without the need to worry that you’re misusing it or that you can’t join in on the hype because you don’t feel the need to work out more than three times a year (which is definitely acceptable when there’s things like virtual headsets on the market).