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A Gutsy way to Lose Weight

 

 

 

The key to weight loss has always been a mystery. Every fitness guru offers their very own secret to weight loss. We have always been told that cutting fat from our diets will help you lose weight. The next we know is that everyone is talking about counting calories.  Then it’s all about ditching those carbs. But could it be that we’ve had it wrong all along and that the secret is actually already within us? More specifically, within our gut?

 

Each person has their own unique microbiome, which means that each of us responds differently to carbohydrates and fats and sugar. Therefore, any diet plan that excludes whole groups of food damages your microbiome and increases your likelihood of putting on weight.

Excluding certain food groups may help you lose weight for the first few weeks because you’re eating less and selecting carefully what you do eat. However, in the long-term, they’ll decimate your microbes by reducing their diversity and can end up making you fatter.

To put it simply, an imbalance of gut flora stops our digestive system from working properly, the calories consumed are not used efficiently and our energy levels drop. The increased fatigue means the fat-storing stress hormone cortisol kicks in, which will lead to heightened blood sugar and insulin levels. Basically, weight gain is inevitable when there is an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in our guts. Our gut craves variety, it craves variation of healthy foods. Our much-slimmer ancestors enjoyed about 150 ingredients each week and no doubt had a more flourishing microbe gardens. Most people today consume only about twenty different food varieties in their weekly diet. Most of which are artificially refined and wreak havoc on the biodiversity of our microbiome.

According to recent studies the more diverse your gut microbes, the more likely you are to be healthy and lean, and the more sparse your microbes, the more likely you are to be overweight.

Several studies have determined that gut microbiota play an important role in weight management and regulation, and the research is continually pointing us in the same direction: a healthy GI tract can help create an environment more favourable for maintaining a healthy weight.

 

Your Gut is your Second Brain

Why do people get butterflies in the stomach before going on stage or when speaking before a large gathering? Why does an impending job interview sometimes cause an attack of intestinal cramps? The reason for these common experiences is because our gut is the second brain and is interconnected with the brain encased in our skull. When one gets upset, the other does, too.

 

Your Gut is The Key to Your Immune System

Your digestion actually plays a key role in your natural immunity to diseases. This is because your gut isn’t sterile. It’s actually an entire ecosystem of bacteria and yeast — some beneficial to you, others toxic.

When the intestinal ecosystem is healthy, the good bacteria keep yeasts and other fermentation microorganisms at bay in this part of the digestive tract. An imbalance of microorganisms, results in overgrowth of fungus and other pathogens, resulting in numerous digestive disorders.

Bacteria in your gut might sound like a bad thing, but your gut actually uses bacteria to process food into energy. This helpful or good bacteria is called probiotics. Many people are not familiar with probiotics. The truth is that proper digestion is essential to your health and probiotics are essential to your gut. Therefore, the best way to ensure a healthy gut environment is to maintain sufficient colonies of probiotics, the beneficial gut microbes that absorb vital nutrients, fortify your stomach and intestinal lining, and promote overall health and wellness. Probiotics are the seeds for your microbial garden. However, it goes without saying that some form of workout is essential. Exercisers with a normal BMI have more diverse microbes than exercisers with a high BMI. They also have higher levels of Akkermansiaceae, a type of bacteria that has been linked to lower obesity rates. So sweat daily to trim your gut—and to boost your gut bacteria.

 

Taking care of your Gut

  • Remove all food toxins from your diet
  • Eat plenty of fermentable fibers (starches like sweet potato, yam, yucca, etc.)
  • Take a high-quality probiotic
  • Treat any intestinal pathogens (such as parasites) that may be present
  • Take steps to manage your stress
  • Eat as many different whole foods as possible.
  • Eat fermented foods daily.
  • Avoid Alcohol
  • Avoid junk food. However, if you occasionally eat junk food then make sure to also eat fibre rich food. Plenty of vegetables, fruit, and whole grain will help replenish good bacteria that the junk food has wiped out.

 

Diets high in refined carbohydrates, sugar and processed foods can contribute to unhealthy gut flora. Chronic stress and infection also play a key role in messing up our gut and make us fat and diabetic.

It’s interesting to note that the diabesity epidemic has neatly coincided with the increasing prevalence of factors that upset the gut flora. However, I am not suggesting that poor gut health is the single cause of obesity and diabetes, but I am suggesting that it plays a much larger role than most People think.

 

The bottom line

We’re only just beginning to understand the fascinating world of the beneficial bacteria that live within the human gut environment.  However, what we’re learning is helping us to better understand and change the way we think how our bodies function. And most importantly how our gut functions. This new understanding along with a good diet and a plan for better gut care can address several important health issues.

In addition to healthy probiotic colonies, weight management still entails a balanced diet, stress management, and regular physical activity. But keep in mind that if your gut is unhealthy, you will not be able to fully benefit from these other important lifestyle changes.

The bottom line is that gut health should be a priority for everyone, but if you’ve struggled with losing weight, it may very well be the piece of the puzzle that you’ve been missing. An effective, multi-strain probiotic formula like Probiotic Extra care by PlantOrigin can easily help to rebalance your gut microbiome and can help you tip the scales in your favor, allowing you to experience a happier, healthier, and more vibrant lifestyle.

 

 

 

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The truth about Garcinia Cambogia

What is Garcinia Cambogia?

Garcinia Cambogia, is a fruit and is mostly found in the Rain Forests of India, Southeast Asia, Central and West Africa, and Indonesia. This fruit is also known as Malabar Tamarind, brindle berry, and Kudam Puli. The sourness of this fruit has always been considered good for digestion. Therefore, it is found in many Ayurvedic medicines and is often used in curries.

 

It was in 1960 when a research was carried on the fruit to use it in anti-obesity drugs and supplements followed by an intensive research in 1998 and that’s when its weight loss properties were discovered by Scientists.

In addition to weight loss it can also help fight depression, lower cholesterol, and boost energy levels.

 

There are many health benefits of Garcinia Cambogia. However, consuming the whole fruit will not help with weight loss since it contains fibres and other elements which may or may not be required by your body in excess. Therefore, it is optimal to take it in supplement form.

 

Garcinia Cambogia is a natural way to lose weight and would usually not cause any side-effects. However, it is highly recommended to closely follow the instructions listed on the bottle. In addition to that drink plenty of water to remove the toxins, follow a high-fibre and nutrition rich diet to keep yourself energetic while losing  weight and do not skip meals.

 

How does Garcina Cambogia Work? And what you need to know about this fat-loss supplement.

 

Health gurus claim that Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA) an organic acid, works by making you feel full, reducing your appetite, and affecting metabolism. It’s this effect that has led many to herald it as a natural way to lose weight.  From now on for the sake of simplicity I will refer to Hydroxycitric Acid as HCA.

 

Many of us may have asked the question that “Is Garcinia legit?”

With all the knowledge we have now, this question sounds a little like me asking, you “Is a hammer legit? “Or does it work” Obviously the answer to this question depends on the hammer and the person using it, right? : HCA isn’t a miracle; it’s a tool. Anyone who has ever suffered the indignity of smashing their finger with a hammer can confirm that tools only work when you know what to do with them and then follow through on that knowledge.

Over the past years we’ve learned a lot about not only what HCA supplements do in the body, but also how you can make the most of them. Here’s what you need to know about this blockbuster fat-loss supplement.

HCA blocks a portion of an enzyme called citrate lyase, which helps turn sugars and starches into fat. If we block that enzyme, and carbohydrates get diverted into energy production rather than accumulating as body fat. Then, when you burn fat through effective training, there’s less to replace it, and your overall fat level goes down.

According to scientists HCA also seems to have an ability to help suppress appetite, but not in the same way as a stimulant-based pill used for weight loss and dieting.  Instead, it increases the level of satiety—satisfaction you receive from food therefore, making it easier to eat less

The late great nutritionist Shari Lieberman suggested that a metabolic change brought on by HCA may send an appetite-suppressing signal to the brain via the amino acid 5-hydroxytryptophan which is a direct ancestor to the so-called “happy hormone,” serotonin. Subjects who took HCA supplements, ended up with elevated serotonin levels thus indicating a connection between the two.

According to Harry Preuss, a researcher and pathologist at Georgetown University and a past president of the American College of Nutrition suggests that  “You have to take the right dose of the right product, and you have to take it properly,” You have to give enough so that it reaches the sites in the body that it needs to reach.” In recent years, Dr. Preuss has continued to hammer on the idea that maximising bio availability with HCA is crucial for its success.

Dr. Preuss, who lead the most promising human studies into HCA, points out that there are three different forms of hydroxycitrates: those which are blended with calcium, potassium, or magnesium salts. The reason to add these salts is to decrease the degradation of free HCA into HCA lactone, an inactive form of the compound. These salts, which are added at a 1-to-1 or higher ratio in most commercial HCA supplements, also help your body more easily absorb the hydroxycitrate.

According to Dr. Preuss “If you have almost a pure calcium hydroxycitrate, it’s just not going to work,” he prefers hydroxycitrate that is bound to both calcium and potassium; he says the bond dramatically increases the absorption and effectiveness of HCA.

Dr. Preuss and his colleagues put this premise to the test in a study where they followed 30 healthy but overweight people ages 21-50 over an 8-week period. All of the subjects consumed a diet of 2,000 calories per day and walked for half an hour five days per week. One group was given Super CitriMax, a patented form of HCA bound with both calcium and potassium. The other group was given a placebo. At the end of the study, the placebo group had lost an average of three pounds, but the HCA group had lost an average of 12 pounds—a whopping 400 percent more weight. Their average BMI fell by 6.3 percent; in the placebo group, it fell only 1.7 percent.

To top it off, the HCA group experienced an almost double boost in serotonin levels compared to the placebo group. Higher serotonin levels are associated with fewer cravings, as well as a greater sense of calm. In a second similar study, Preuss and his colleagues tested 60 people, and this time, the HCA group lost an average of 10.5 pounds compared to the placebo group, which lost an average of 3.5 pounds.

“Perhaps the most remarkable result was in appetite control,” Preuss says of the second study. “The placebo group had no change, but the HCA group had a 16 percent reduction in the amount of food they ate per meal!”

The lesson here is that how you take HCA matters. As such, Preuss has taken the new wave of HCA popularity as an opportunity to remind us all about how to get the most out of this supplement, most recently in a paper he co-authored for the Alliance for Natural Health in 2013 titled “Garcinia Cambogia: How to Optimize its Effects.

Here are some of Preuss’ recommendations:

  1. Choose a preparation that is at a minimum 50 percent HCA and is not composed wholly of calcium salts: Make sure potassium (K) and/or magnesium (Mg) is present. If the product has a low lactone content, that is even better.
  2. Be sure to take an adequate dose. For a Ca/K preparation used successfully and reported in a peer-reviewed publication, the dose of extract was near 1.5 g, three times per day before meals. In this 60 percent HCA preparation, that approximates 0.9 g of HCA prior to each meal.
  3. Take the preparation on an empty stomach, i.e., 30-60 minutes before each meal.
  4. Remember, “If you don’t comply, don’t complain.” Take the right dose at the right time.

Note that he says “near” 1.5 g three times daily. Why not exactly 1.5? Given that HCA supplements come in a range of potencies and mixtures, it can be hard to be exact. Aim for the 1.5 g benchmark, but don’t be obsessive.

 

 

Garcinia cambogia may interfere with the following medications and supplements: iron, potassium, calcium, antidepressants, statins, montelukast (Singulair), and warfarin (Coumadin).

Garcinia cambogia is available in capsules, tablets, powders, and liquids. Capsules should be taken on an empty stomach, 30 minutes to an hour before a meal.

 

Garcinia cambogia may cause a decrease in blood sugar levels. People who have diabetes should discuss this with their doctor before taking the supplement.

People with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia should not take garcinia cambogia because it increases acetycholine levels in the brain. Many people with these conditions are given medications to lower acetycholine levels.

 

 

To Yoga Or Not?

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I’m sure several of you must have debated on starting a yoga routine. Many of us opt for a more rigorous exercise regimen instead of yoga simply because we want to lose weight and lose it quickly. However, yoga is now becoming the number one exercise choice. Combining yoga with a gym workout is optimal.

Yoga is essentially a spiritual discipline based on an extremely subtle science, which focuses on bringing harmony between spirit, mind and body.

According to scientists, everything in the universe is just a manifestation of the same quantum firmament. One who experiences this oneness of existence is said to be in yoga.

Yoga is believed to have started with the very birth of civilization. The science of yoga has its origin thousands of years ago, long before the first religions or belief systems were born.

Before the start of a new exercise or activity, it’s crucial to gather accurate information and answers to all our questions. So let’s begin with some important questions.

 

Which yoga is right for me?

First of all we need to determine the kind of workout that you desire. Do you want a strenuous, sweaty workout? Or do you want to take advantage from yoga’s restorative and healing powers. Are you looking for a spiritual experience? Or simply relief from your back pain and a desire for a more flexible body.

 

What are your personal needs?

Do you want personalized attention or do you prefer working out with a group?  Do you work better when pushed or desire a compassionate approach? Be completely honest with yourself about plausible physical, financial, and time limitations.

It is critical to shop for a yoga style that is most suited and is perfect for your needs.

You may not even know what you’re looking for until you start trying on different yoga styles. However, after some trial and error you’ll find the yoga style that’s right for you. Pay attention to how your body feels during and after class.

The pace and level of practice should be challenging but not stressful or overburdening, and you should feel more relaxed. Also pay special attention to the emotional and mental changes that take place throughout class. You should feel inspired and look forward to the next class. The best indicator will be your desire to continue with the yoga class.

 

What will yoga do for you?

There are numerous benefits that are linked to regular practice of yoga. After four to six months of regular yoga practice you will notice a general improvement in your health. The most visible benefits of yoga are:

Less anxiety and a better mood

Less stress

Better control over medical conditions affected by stress

Better management of rheumatoid arthritis

Better balance and flexibility.

Less back pain

Lower blood pressure

Increased confidence

 

Studies have also linked yoga with improvements in the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Migraines and much more.

 

Indulge yourself in Yoga & let it become your new passion!
“A man who never made a mistake never tried anything new”

~ Albert Einstein