Top Ten Nutrients That Support Fat Loss

Certain foods are packed with massive amounts of nutrients that help you achieve a lean and muscular physique. Eating these superior foods won’t save you from a poor diet or regular over eating, but they can give that extra boost when trying to get lean, while feeling energized throughout the day.

Did you know that there are numerous plants and nutrients that can have a dramatic effect on fat loss? This list only includes the most promising nutrients that support fat loss in multiple ways. I favor nutrients that can be simply added to your diet rather than supplemented, although in certain cases it's worth it to use a more concentrated extract or supplement form.

These fantastic nutrients can help you tighten up your efforts to get lean via the following mechanisms:

Decreased fat absorption
The fat you eat is not directly absorbed into the body unless it interacts with an enzyme called pancreatic lipase. A number of nutrients inhibit pancreatic lipase, making the fat calories you've eaten irrelevant.

Suppressed food intake
Certain foods raise levels of the chemical transmitters and hormones that help you avoid sensations of hunger, while enhancing energy and motivation. Distinct nutrients such as green tea control levels of serotonin, 5-HTP, ghrelin, and dopamine to lead people to eat less.  

Enhanced energy expenditure
Your body is capable of regulating the amount of calories burned for optimal body composition, assuming you're not assaulting it with excess calories, chemicals, and processed foods. Fish oil, for example, is extremely effective at increasing energy expenditure through something called uncoupling proteins.  

Stimulating fat burning and "turning off" fat storage
Certain nutrients can inhibit the storage of fat. These tend to be antioxidant-rich nutrients that simply stop the body from storing fat, while decreasing inflammation.

All of these processes depend on those tried and true habits for fat loss: High-protein eatin', regular activity, stress reduction, and the restriction of foods that stop fat loss in its tracks (fructose, refined grains, trans-fats). Throw in high-intensity exercise and you have a formula for success.

#1: Fish Oil and CLA
The omega-3 fats from fish and conjugated linoleic acid from dairy and meat are superior fat loss nutrients. They improve insulin sensitivity by building the outside layer of cells, which makes them more receptive to insulin. They decrease inflammation—CLA is a potent cancer fighting nutrient—and have a stress reducing effect, lowering cortisol.

Most compelling, fish oil and CLA stimulate thermogenesis, or the burning of calories, by enhancing the activity of the uncoupling protein genes 1 and 3. Simply, the uncoupling proteins lead to excess calories to be burned by raising body temperature. This is why "healthy" fats don't make you fat, but can make you lose fat.

Take Away: Get fish oil and CLA from cold water fish, wild meat, pastured meat, and whole fat dairy. Eat a serving at each meal, supplementing with fish oil when necessary.  

#2: Yerba Mate/Green Tea
If you're going to take one new habit from this list, let it be that you start getting some green tea in your diet. Green tea and yerba mate come from different plants, but they both contain extremely high levels of the catechin antioxidants that promote fat loss.

The catechins inhibit lipase, decreasing fat absorption, and can suppress food intake. They also enhance energy expenditure via greater thermogenesis, improve liver function, promote the use of fat for fuel rather than carbs, and lead to the death of fat cells (apoptosis).

An example of green tea at work is a study that had overweight women go on a diet for 4 weeks to lose weight. Then for 8 weeks they strength trained and took 10 grams of green tea powder twice a day, losing nearly 10 kg of body fat compared to a placebo group that lost only 3.2 kg of fat, indicating the benefit of green tea for sustaining metabolism as body weight is reduced.

Take Away: Drink tea daily—avoid adding sweeteners or milk. Watch out for bleached tea bags. Quality green tea supplements are pricey, but can provide a profound metabolic boost, making them worth the investment.

#3: Hot Peppers
Hot red peppers have been rumored to have fat loss properties for years due to the bioactive compound capsaicin. Simply cooking with whole hot pepper or adding hot pepper extract or spice to food may decrease hunger and reduce energy intake, while stimulating fat burning and overall calorie burning in the body.

For example, in one study that had 24 individuals drink tomato juice containing 0.9 g of red pepper before a meal led them to eat less, while feeling more satisfied with the meal.

Take Away: Add hot peppers to salad dressing, veggie or meat dishes, or eggs—peppers are a hot thing in Paleo cooking. If spicy food is not your thing, capsaicin is available in supplement form.

#4: Pomegranate
The pomegranate is impressively high in rare antioxidants, ellagic and tannic acids, that have multiple fat loss effects. These antioxidants inhibit fat absorption and suppress energy intake. The pomegranate has also been shown to improve cardiovascular health  when on a high fat diet and it may have anti-tumor properties for cancer fighting.

Take Away: Eat and cook with pomegranates whenever they are available. People with heart disease or metabolic problems could benefit from a pomegranate extract or pure, organic pomegranate juice that is not sweetened or blended with other juices.

#5: The Meat Nutrients:  Glycine, Glutamine, Carnitine
Meat, eggs, and some dairy foods, such as whey protein, provide superior nutrients to aid fat loss, prevent food cravings, and maintain brain concentration. Carnitine is a potent fat burner because it is responsible for the transport of fats into the cells to be used for energy in the body. It works best when ingested with the omega-3 fats to ensure that it loads in the muscles.

Glutamine and glycine are both amino acids that raise your natural antioxidant levels, promote tissue repair and muscle building, thereby raising metabolism, while eliminating food cravings—good stuff!

Take Away: Get these three from pastured or wild meat. Strategically boosting intake can help, depending on training phase, the strength of your immune system, or cravings: Use carnitine capsules during high-intensity training phases such as with sprint intervals; go for glutamine if you are suffering cravings or difficulty sticking with your eating plan; use glycine powder in your post-workout shake to improve tissue repair and raise immunity if you feel burnt out.

#6: Seeds: Sesame, Cumin, Chia, Pumpkin, Flax, Watermelon
Seeds are jam packed with an array of nutrients that support leanness and energy, but the irresistible thing about seeds is how the improve hormone levels. Seeds tend to be high in zinc, boosting testosterone production. They also contain compounds that promote the elimination of estrogens from the body. Supplementation with flax seeds, for example, has even been shown to decrease belly fat gain on a high-fat, high fructose diet.

Take Away: Use seeds mashed into tahini, ground into a protein shake, or mixed into a buttery paste--they make any meal more delicious, especially this Flank Steak recipe.

#7: The Spice Bundle: Cinnamon, Black Pepper & Turmeric
All three of these are anti-inflammatory and there's promising, if peripheral, evidence that cinnamon, black pepper, turmeric, and various other spices support fat loss.

For example, curcumin improves enzyme activity involved in fat burning and supports the death of fat cells, even when on a high-fat diet. Black pepper raises metabolism by stimulating central nervous system and hormone activity. Cinnamon improves insulin sensitivity and makes just about any dish or protein drink more delicious.

Take Away: You can get extra antioxidant benefits from these spices by supplementing, and make it a habit to use a few sprinkles of cinnamon, black pepper, or turmeric at every meal.

#8: Fenugreek
Fenugreek is a spice that deserves special attention because it is so effective at improving insulin health and energy use, while increasing free testosterone when combined with strength training. A study of young men showed that supplementing with 500 mg a day while training for 8 weeks led to significantly greater improvements in strength, fat loss, muscle gain, and free testosterone over a placebo group.

Take Away: Fenugreek can be used in place of carbs when you need an insulin boost, such as when loading creatine or carnitine into the muscle. It also helps "grab" sugar from your blood to burn for fuel or store as glycogen so it doesn't get stored as fat. Get this benefit in supplement form, but you can also bake with it too: One study showed that bread baked with fenugreek produced better insulin response and glucose tolerance compared to regular bread.

#9: Ginger
Ginger improves thermogenesis just like hot peppers, and studies report that cooking with ginger can decrease appetite.

Take Away: Ginger is antioxidant-rich, easy to find in the grocery store, and can make a delicious difference when cooked with collards, kale, organic tempeh, or pureed with post-workout protein drinks.

#10: Garlic
Garlic has been found to increase calorie use in the body by raising the ratio of brown fat to white fat (brown fat is considered good, white is very bad).

Animal studies show garlic is particularly effective in reducing fat gain from a high-fat diet that is intended to cause obesity. Along with being called an anti-obesity food by scientists, garlic improves blood flow, decreasing risk of heart disease by lowering triglycerides, cholesterol, and reducing plaque in the arteries.

Take Away: Use fresh garlic with all meals. Consider trying raw garlic to get a larger dose of active compounds during fat loss.

Source: http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1020/Top_Ten_Nutrients_That_Support_Fat_Loss.aspx

Shoulder Pain & the Kettlebell

I use kettlebells a lot with my clients who have shoulder issues.  In this interview, Rick Kaselj and Chris Lopez talk about why it is such a great tool for shoulder corrective exercise...

Chris Lopez: One of the baseless assumption that I find is that people get scared training with kettlebells initially because of shoulder issues or maybe because of low back pains as well.
We are going to talk about the shoulder and using kettlebell why is it a great tool or equipment to use especially if you got bad shoulders if you want to get stronger shoulders.
If you will take a look at the way the kettlebell is shaped the way it fits in your arm when you are holding it especially if you are holding it on top. Unlike a common dumbbell it is not straight up and bound and the weight if the bell is not pushing straight down vertically on your arm. It is actually forcing your arm to a come a little bit further back and pull you into alignment because it’s the way it develops the weight it behind the bar not right on the top.

By doing that what it does is it automatically gives you that stretching on the rib cage, a little bit of stretching in your lat, and then you find it all automatically pushing you into alignment. It pushes your shoulder into its sock.
It is the same as where you can see your ears and shoulders are placing and you find people pressing them and do everything overhead they have the tendency to shorten their shoulders up. If your shoulders are shorten up then as you know it kind of pulls it out of the center.
So by using the kettlebell and focusing on the packing your shoulder and using that alignment with the kettlebell when you are lifting it over your head it naturally pulls you into alignment and it centers your shoulder and really gets you to focus on keeping your shoulder locked-in in its sock.
Rick Kaselj: Awesome. Thank you very much Chris, so where can people get more information on your?
Chris Lopez: It’s www.kettlebellworkouts.com that’s where you can find me, lots of great information there.

8 Natural Metabolism Boosters

There are many ways to increase your metabolism. For most people it starts with the right diet and exercise. An efficient metabolism also requires the smooth running of many complex body processes that rely on sufficient antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C and the B vitamins, and sometimes supplements are required to correct any deficiencies. There are also a variety of herbs and spices that can boost your metabolism. Here are eight of them:

Tumeric

That spice that’s in almost every curry — that’s turmeric. It has been reported to increase metabolism by increasing bile production within the body, as well as lowering blood sugar levels. Be careful with curry, though. Curries are full of creams and fats that do anything but increase your metabolism. Further Turmeric (or Curcumin) benefits are that it can help detoxify your blood and support a healthy inflammation response. Turmeric or Curcumin should be taken with peperine or black pepper to help with bioavailability.

Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne pepper helps support body fat by increasing oxygen consumption. Cayenne pepper may also support blood pressure, blood circulation, and digestion. Capsicum is a natural stimulant without the threatening side effects (palpitations, hyper-activity or rise in blood pressure) like most other stimulating agents. Cayenne’s primary chemical ingredients include capsaicin, capsanthin, beta carotene, flavonoids, and vitamin C. Cayenne Pepper is a very high source of Vitamins A and C, has the complete B complexes, and is very rich in organic calcium and potassium.

Cinnamon

It is known as an “insulin mimicker” meaning it minimizes the amount of insulin your body produces after a meal by transporting sugar molecules into cells within the body.Cinnamon also may slow down the emptying of the stomach after a large meal, leaving you to fill fuller and less likely to snack. Now, cinnamon rolls don’t count.

Kelp

Kelp is a natural thyroid stimulant, which may support metabolism. Kelp, as well as other seaweeds, raise metabolism in two ways: they affect the thyroid gland and they increase basal metabolic rate (the speed at which your body burns calories while at rest). Iodine, an important component of kelp, has a direct effect on basal metabolic rate. Kelp is believed to stimulate a thyroid hormone which is responsible for boosting metabolism. By returning the iodine levels to normal, it can help alleviate low-grade hypothyroidism. Kelp contains large amounts of potassium, and naturally varying amounts of trace minerals, which may be useful in maintaining proper glandular function and metabolism. Some medications for high blood pressure can increase potassium levels in the blood. Taking Kelp along with some medications for high blood pressure might cause too much potassium in the blood.

Ginger

Studies by ICMR(Indian Council of Medical Research) show ginger supported the digestion process by absorbing the necessary nutrients into the system and regulated the metabolism cycle. The gingerol is the majorly active component in ginger. Such active components in ginger activate the muscular activity in the digestive track and stimulate the chemical reactions in the digestive system. Ginger is an important ingredient used in the traditional Ayurvedic medicines to support the metabolism and digestive system. Researchers have found that ginger may help settle the stomach during times of occasional nausea, motion sickness and morning sickness.

Yerba Mate

A stimulant similar to caffeine, this herb can also increase blood pressure. Yerba Mate is also is a good source of antioxidants. It also contains many nutrients like potassium, chromium, iron, niacin and magnesium. Yerba Mate suppresses your appetite and increases energy levels, therefore stimulating the ability to burn unwanted calories faster. Yerba Mate contains a content named mateine, which increase metabolism and energy. It also help you to get rid of allergy symptoms, act as a gentle diuretic and colon cleanse, nutritionally speed up the healing process and decrease stress. Yerba mate can be used in as a tea drink. It is also found in a supplement pill or energy drink. Those who are on blood pressure medication or are sensitive to stimulants should avoid Yerba Mate.

Green Tea

Green tea is a thermogenic agent, which means, that you may burn more calories. Green Tea is also a stimulant which contains powerful antioxidant, as well as, caffeine. The antioxidants found in green tea also aids in energy production. It can also be found in capsules for those who do not wish to make tea. The chemical in green tea, or Green Tea extract, known as EGCG (or epigallocatechin gallate) is known to speed up your metabolism, among many other benefits.

Bitter Orange

Bitter Orange which is an extract of Seville oranges is a stimulant and works on receptors in fat tissues.

Achieving Optimal Body Composition: Carnivores vs Vegetarians

By Poliquin™ Editorial Staff

Source:  http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/847/Achieving_Optimal_Body_Composition_Carnivores_Vs_V.aspx

Get the best body composition and health by eating a diet that optimizes hormone levels. From a sports performance perspective, meat is an essential part of the ideal diet, but so are abundant vegetables and certain fruits. Research shows that the best approach to diet, especially for strength and power athletes, is to combine the best of both vegetarian and omnivorous eating!

You’ll get the optimal hormone response for body composition by including the following in your diet:
1)    Grass-fed, organic and wild meats.
2)    A daily dose of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and bok choy
3)    A daily dose of high-antioxidant fruits such as blueberries and raspberries
4)    Adequate fat that includes a majority of omega-3 fats as well as saturated and monounsaturated fats
5)    Protein to meet your body composition and health needs. Higher protein and low-glycemic carbs will produce best results, but based on age, gender, and goals, protein needs will vary.
6)    Supplement to avoid deficiencies in nutrients that will alter optimal hormone production and keep you from making gains from training. Everyone needs to get enough B vitamins, omega-3 fats, vitamin D, zinc, and magnesium. Vegetarians need to pay special attention to B12, calcium, and iron, especially females.

What Does It Mean To Have Optimal Hormone Levels?
Optimal hormone levels for body composition and success in strength and power sports come from having adequate anabolic hormones such as testosterone, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), while minimizing the cortisol stress response. You want to create an anabolic environment during and after exercise, and for nutrition can help keep the whole endocrine system working like a well-oiled machine.

For example, higher cortisol is okay in the morning to get you going, but you want it to be low after training and in the evening so you can sleep. You need melatonin and serotonin up at night to be able to sleep deeply so that growth hormone can do its magic to repair tissue and muscle overnight.

Your cells need to be as sensitive as possible to insulin because if they are, insulin will actually improve the anabolic effect of food and training. But, too much insulin is a bad thing because your cells will become resistant, and you will get fat.

You need adequate testosterone for training drive, tissue repair and recovery, and you want to minimize estrogen for metabolism and overall health. This is true for men as well as women, but women have more estrogen and much, much less testosterone than men. Still, ladies will be leanest and healthiest if you support estrogen detoxification and get the small boost in testosterone that is available to you through diet and training.

Why Is Meat Necessary For Optimal Hormone Levels?
It is possible that a very carefully planned vegetarian diet could produce optimal hormone levels for strength and power athletes, but we have no research-based evidence of this. On the contrary, there is abundant evidence that omnivores have higher testosterone than vegetarians, and it’s certainly easier to get all the nutrients from meat, such as creatine, carnitine, omega-3 fats, glycine, taurine, and carnosine,  which will give athletes a competitive edge over vegetarians. Greater work capacity, strength gains, faster recovery, more explosive power, and better endurance capacity are all benefits of these animal-derived nutrients.

Research suggests there is something about the protein from meat that leads to greater muscularity, leanness, and the outcome of better athletic performance. For example, a study that compared strength and muscle gains in men doing resistance training who were either on a vegetarian diet or an omnivorous diet, found that the meat eaters lost 6 percent fat mass, gained 4 percent of muscle, and increased Type II fiber (these necessary for strength and power athletes) by 9 percent relative to the vegetarians.

It’s possible that aside from elevating testosterone, the reason meat eating promotes optimal muscle development is that animal protein is of a higher quality than that which is gotten from vegetables. Research suggests that even if the amino acids in the vegetarian diet are in the same ratio and quantity as an omnivorous diet, the body is just not as efficient at using them to make the amino acid derivatives that are so essential for muscle growth, tissue repair, and hormone production.

Any imbalance in the amino acids, which is very common since the most important ones are found in extremely limited quantities in vegetables (for example, glycine and glutamine), can throw off the homeostasis in the body. A common outcome for vegetarians is elevated homocysteine, which is a serious risk factor for heart disease, and decreased muscle mass development.

Not only do you want to avoid an imbalance in amino acids, you want to make the most of the protein you eat. The higher the protein intake—especially if protein intake exceeds carb intake—the lower the total testosterone. But, it’s not that simple, because what really matters is the amount of testosterone that is not bound to sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG makes testosterone unavailable for anabolic purposes and SHBG will be much higher when you eat more carbs, and it’s also much higher in vegetarians. The key is to get quality animal protein for low SHBG and higher free testosterone. ?

Eat Fat and Cholesterol for Optimal Testosterone Levels
Testosterone is made out of cholesterol in the body via a complicated process, meaning eliminating cholesterol with low-fat eating will lower your anabolic environment. Eating enough cholesterol is not a problem for most people, and this is not a situation in which more is better. You just need some cholesterol.

Eating healthy fats is the best way to get it and raise testosterone. A number of studies have shown that eating between 30 and 40 percent of the diet from fat, of which the majority is monounsaturated and saturated, will produce the highest testosterone levels.

Vegetarians tend to consume less fat overall, and they eat significantly more polyunsaturated fat, which is not beneficial for testosterone production. Low saturated fat and high polyunsaturated fat in the typical plant-based diet is a primary contributor to lower testosterone.

Eat Low-Glycemic Carbs For Results with GH, IGF-1, and Estrogen
Eat low-glycemic carbs such as vegetables, nuts, and some fruits to support an anabolic fat loss environment. All staples of a healthy vegetarian diet, the high vegetable, fruit, and nut intake is the reason for reports that vegetarians eat more nutritious diets or have lower disease risk. Think about how the average omnivorous Westerner eats—nonorganic grain-fed meat (possibly fried), lack of veggies and fruits, refined carbs, lots of processed and additive-filled foods—and you can see why the average vegetarian diet results in less disease and lower body composition.

Athletes will have best results by rounding out diet with green leafy and cruciferous vegetables, berries, some fruit, nuts, and seeds because they help detoxify estrogen, while supporting GH and IGF-1 levels. Estrogen is a problem for both male and female athletes because of all the environmental estrogens we are exposed to that enter the body and act like regular estrogen, hampering anabolic response, metabolism, and performance.
Excess estrogen can lead to cell damage and cancer development and is linked to increased risk of breast and prostate cancer. Another reason science often finds vegetarian diets to be healthier is that they can help eliminate estrogen, and a better body pH, which is preferable for health.

You also want to block an enzyme called aromatase that turns testosterone into estrogen in the body, and this is best done by ensuring you have adequate zinc, b vitamins, selenium (a mineral), and green tea and citrus flavonones (antioxidants). Eating to block aromatase requires the best of an omnivorous diet since bioavailable zinc comes from animal sources, selenium from animals, nuts, and fish, and the rest from plants.

Low-glycemic carbs are best for GH and IGF-1 because when you eat high-glycemic carbs and have a big insulin spike, the body stops producing GH. When insulin and blood glucose are low, the body will produce more GH, which will trigger the liver to release IGF-1 (muscle also releases IGF-1 during training when you do eccentric-enhanced lifts or manipulate tempo).

The take away is that there are nutrients only found in animal sources that will enhance performance for strength and power athletes, and that can help everyone achieve optimal body composition and hormone balance. Animal protein is more bioavailable as seen by increased strength and mass gains in various studies, making an omnivorous diet a good choice, especially if you include the best of vegetarian nutrition. Loyal vegetarians can do the same—supplement with the best nutrients  (creatine, carnitine, glutamine, etc.) that give your meat eating competitors the edge.

References:
Craig, Winston John. Nutrition Concerns and Health Effects of Vegetarian Diets. Nutrition in Clinical Practice. 2010. 25(6), 613-620.

Aubertin-Leheudre, M., Adlecruetz, H. Relationship Between Animal Protein Intake and Muscle Mass Index in Healthy Women. British Journal of Nutrition. 2009. 102(12), 1803-1810.

Stephens, F., Marimuthu, K., et al. Vegetarians Have a Reduced Skeletal Muscle Carnitine Transport Capacity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2011. 94(3), 938-944.

Venderley, A., Campbell, W. Vegetarian Diets: Nutritional Considerations for Athletes. Sports Medicine. 2006. 36(4), 293-305.

Baquet, A., Evereart, I., et al. Effects of Sprint Training Combined with Vegetarian or Mixed Diet on Muscle Carnosine Content and Buffering Capacity. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2011. 111(10), 257-280.

Persky, V., Chatterton, R., et al. Hormone Levels in Vegetarian and Nonvegetarian Teenage Girls: Potential Implications for Breast Cancer Risk. Cancer Research. 1992. 52(3), 578-583.

Forbes-Ewan, Chris. Effect of Vegetarian Diets on Performance in Strength Sports. Sportscience. 2002, V6.

Campbell, W., Barton, M., et al. Effects of an Omnivorous Diet Compared with a Lactoovovegetarian Diet on Resistance-Training-Induced Changes in Body Composition and Skeletal Muscle in Older Men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1999. 70. 10321029.

Janelle, K., Barr, S. Nutrient Intakes and Eating Behavior Scores of Vegetarian and Nonvegetarian Women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 1995. 95, 180-186.

Allen, N., Key, T. The Effects of Diet on Circulating Sex Hormone Levels in Men. Nutrition Research Reviews. 2000. 13, 159-184.

Ingenbleek, Y., McCully, K. Vegetarianism Produces Subclinical Malnutrition, Hyperhomocysteinemia, and atherogenesis. Nutrition. 2012. 28, 148-153.

Volek, J., Kraemer, W., et al. Testosterone and Cortisol in Relationship to Dietary Nutrients and Resistance Exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology. 1997. 82, 49-54.

Key, T., Roe, L., et al. Testosterone, SHBG, Calculated Free Testosterone, and Oestradiol in Male Vegans and Omnivores. British Journal of Nutrition. 1990. 64, 111-119.

Habito, R., Montalto, J., et al. Effects of Replacing Meat with Soyabean in the Diet on Sex Hormone Concentrations in Healthy Adult Males. British Journal of Nutrition. 2000. 84, 557-563.