One of the many diet tips I overhear people giving out in the fitness and diet community is to eat five or six smaller meals per day. The reasoning? It speeds up your metabolism dude! Sounds about right. blog post over. Cheers.
Wait a minute. Not so fast. Lets look at some facts and use some rational thinking. Thermogenesis. What a weird word - sounds like it could be apart of star-trek or some other nerd sci-fi; what does it mean? Thermogenesis is the act of our bodies (or any mammals body) expelling heat - in our case we are talking about the amount of heat required for digestion. Supporters of the small frequent meal paradigm believe that eating many small meals spaced evenly throughout the day is far superior compared to eating a few meals a day. However if we look at some science and our new sci-fi friend thermogenesis we start to see that metabolism may not be as increased as once thought. If I divide my morning omelette into six equal parts, it will take the same amount of heat to break down the same amount of organic material in my big omelette versus my six mini pre-bird omelettes. There is no change in fuel, there is no increase in. thermogenesis.
Personally, eating every two to three hours left me raiding mom's fridge back in the day - 30 seconds post snack I would be heading to the fridge, pantry or half way through mom's intended, dinner party apple crisp. She was convinced I had tape worms stealing all my precious nutrients. Recent studies prove that snacking decreases satiety (fullness) compared to bigger balanced meals.
What is a snack anyway? 95 percent of the snacks people eat are usually processed, sugary, sweetened junk food. The snack industry didn't exist 20 years ago. Neither did flat screens you say - smarty pants. In the end, I rarely see top level athletes or fit human beings snacking on a 100 calorie bag of "crisps" or "smart crackers". All of these snacking companies are cashing in on the notion that everyone must eat every two to three hours or your metabolism will crash, blood sugars will drop to dangerous levels...I'm calling their bluff and raising the bet. Some days your body does need a snack; snacking is not bad but the way people snack is.
Most people snack on carbohydrates alone; this could lead to some undesirable effects. These carb snacks lead to an increase in insulin which promotes protein synthesis. Great I am going to build some muscles! Not so fast Arnold. Your body then looks for amino acids but your body doesn't have any because you only ate carbs so it goes after the amino acids being stored in your muscles. Include some protein and fat in your snacks in order to decrease muscle wasting (peanut butter or greek yogurt and celery, apples and cheese, nuts and fruit, fruit and jerky).
If you can take one thing away from my posts it is this: N=1. N is the number clinical and scientific studies use for population size. We sometimes get overboard when following diets or trends but we often forget to take into account what agrees with our self. If you are hungry eat, if not oh well. Your not limited to eating every few hours. In fact, more and more research is coming out on intermittent fasting and its benefits (look for a blog post soon).
Snacking is not taboo. Just make sure you get quality snacks to fuel your body. Snacking or smaller meals may be better for some people but not for others.
Cheers, Eat Well, Be Well
Mason
Sunday, 8 June 2014
Saturday, 7 June 2014
Blood Sugar Regulation, Carbohydrates and Insulin
In 2012 almost 2 million Canadians (7% of our population) reported having diabetes - undiagnosed numbers not included in this projection. We are all aware that diabetes is an epidemic sweeping across our nation. But do we know what diabetes is or why it occurs? I sometimes have a hard time figuring it out, even with a degree in human movement - this stuff can be tricky to grasp. Lets get a better understanding.
When we eat our bodies must digest food based on three macronutrients: fat, protein, and carbohydrates. However, our bodies don't view food as calories such as yourself and I. The body recognizes food as fuel instead. If you eat more fuel than your body needs, your body will have to store it somewhere. Eventually, carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars via the body's digestive process. However, too many of these sugars can be toxic to your body. Your body is able to move sugar into your muscle and liver "glycogen stores" Think of these glycogen storage sites as a dishwasher and sugar molecules as your dishes. Glycogen is stored as sugar polymers until it is needed in times of activity and energy need.
Lets talk a bit about insulin. Insulin is a hormone that allows glucose to enter your cells. But when these glycogen storage sites can hold no more, the energy is then converted into fat. So now we have a full dishwasher full of dishes causing us to fill the sink with a ton of unsightly dirty dishes (fat storage). Today as a whole we eat to many bad carbohydrates. Overtime of cells become resistant to insulin; this in the science world is known as "down regulation" Time after time of over exposure to elevated glucose (sugar) our cells become even more insulin resistant. This excess insulin and sugar is toxic, inflammatory and very damaging (free radicals). Our muscles then become insulin resistant which halts effective muscle production and inhibits fat burning due to the decrease in fat burning enzymes (lipase).
In turn this turns into a constant roller coaster of ups and downs due to insulin being secreted and energy not being able to be stored and burned correctly. This makes you crave more carbohydrates even after just demolishing an astounding amount of food. This used to happen to me after eating cereal in the morning - I would be hungry half an hour later.
How to avoid all of this? Move more. Physical activity depletes muscle glycogen stores (empty the dishwasher so you can put more dishes in). Cut back on empty calorie carbohydrates. Whooooaa he's a low carb fanatic your thinking....No, far from it. Carbohydrates are good at the right time and from the right source. Different demographics will be able to tolerate more carbohydrates than others (blue collar workers, endurance athletes, ectomorphs).
When we eat our bodies must digest food based on three macronutrients: fat, protein, and carbohydrates. However, our bodies don't view food as calories such as yourself and I. The body recognizes food as fuel instead. If you eat more fuel than your body needs, your body will have to store it somewhere. Eventually, carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars via the body's digestive process. However, too many of these sugars can be toxic to your body. Your body is able to move sugar into your muscle and liver "glycogen stores" Think of these glycogen storage sites as a dishwasher and sugar molecules as your dishes. Glycogen is stored as sugar polymers until it is needed in times of activity and energy need.
Lets talk a bit about insulin. Insulin is a hormone that allows glucose to enter your cells. But when these glycogen storage sites can hold no more, the energy is then converted into fat. So now we have a full dishwasher full of dishes causing us to fill the sink with a ton of unsightly dirty dishes (fat storage). Today as a whole we eat to many bad carbohydrates. Overtime of cells become resistant to insulin; this in the science world is known as "down regulation" Time after time of over exposure to elevated glucose (sugar) our cells become even more insulin resistant. This excess insulin and sugar is toxic, inflammatory and very damaging (free radicals). Our muscles then become insulin resistant which halts effective muscle production and inhibits fat burning due to the decrease in fat burning enzymes (lipase).
In turn this turns into a constant roller coaster of ups and downs due to insulin being secreted and energy not being able to be stored and burned correctly. This makes you crave more carbohydrates even after just demolishing an astounding amount of food. This used to happen to me after eating cereal in the morning - I would be hungry half an hour later.
How to avoid all of this? Move more. Physical activity depletes muscle glycogen stores (empty the dishwasher so you can put more dishes in). Cut back on empty calorie carbohydrates. Whooooaa he's a low carb fanatic your thinking....No, far from it. Carbohydrates are good at the right time and from the right source. Different demographics will be able to tolerate more carbohydrates than others (blue collar workers, endurance athletes, ectomorphs).
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