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Diet Beverages & Artificial Sweeteners

Diet Beverages & Artificial Sweeteners – The Scientific Truth (It May Surprise You)

There’s a hot debate whether diet beverages or soda and artificial sweeteners are healthy or dangerous.

It’s no wonder that so many people are confused (including myself) with some authorities recommending their intake over the high sugar versions, while a lot of other gurus state they are extremely unhealthy and a chemical storm that will wreck your health and cause disease.

As always, there isn’t one clear-cut answer and the issue is often debated based on ‘opinions’ or the latest meme that goes viral on FB rather than hard, honest well-designed research studies or controlled science.

In this article, I’ll dive into the honest research regarding diet soda and artificial sweeteners and whether or not they play a role (both positive and negative) in obesity and even health.

I guarantee some of the answers may surprise you. Here’s the bittersweet truth…

Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners – Good, Bad or the Devil?

Artificial sweeteners come in many different forms but the most popular typically include aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda) and saccharin (Sweet’N Low).

The use of these sweeteners actually dates all the way back to the 1800s when saccharin was accidentally synthesized (1).

These artificial sweeteners have become a staple in our diets due to the attempt to reduce excess sugar intake and the fact they are far sweeter than actual sugar, while contributing very few or even no calories.

Despite the fact they can reduce sugar intake and lower total calorie intake, aiding in weight loss, many people still see them as unhealthy.

This is partly due to the belief that consuming them induces similar hormonal and brain responses to that of sugar, in addition to potentially being associated with increased risk of disease states such as cancer. But, what does the actual science say?

‘Negative’ Research on Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners

Anything is dangerous in the right dose, even water. Yep, that’s right … Here are two examples:

• Firstly, a 28 year old woman in the USA died after drinking six liters of water in a 3 hour period for a contest, dying later that day from water intoxication.
• In 2005 a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that around 16% of marathon runners developed some level of dangerous hyponatremia, or dilution of the blood caused by drinking too much water.

So, before we continue, my question to you is, just because water can kill you in high doses, does that mean that a normal intake, i.e. 2-4 liters per day is also unhealthy?

Clearly the answer is no, it’s basic logic. However, this EXACT principle applies to diet soda and sweeteners (see the example below), although most people (especially the ones who dislike it) tend to ignore this fact.

When it comes to the limited research regarding human subjects and artificial sweeteners, there is some correlative data (i.e. weak data that draws conclusions over years) indicating that consuming artificial sweeteners may increase the risk of developing metabolic syndromes, leading to increased risk of diabetes and obesity (2, 3).

Unfortunately as with any research, the devil is in the details. Along with artificial sweeteners, the study also found associations with typical western diet staples such as meat (which we know is healthy) and fried foods.

To conclude that artificial sweeteners are a reason for obesity based on this study is speculative at best, since there are so many other factors that may be contributing.

In essence, there is in fact research associating artificial sweeteners with an increased risk of obesity, but it’s not a direct relationship. It’s a relationship confounded by many other factors that certainly contribute to obesity and negative health, rather than simply consuming artificial sweeteners.

In the world of research and science, these types of studies are often ignored and not classed as ‘real, controlled research’.

Additionally, there is some negative research regarding artificially sweetened beverages and cancer. Although there is one catch. The studies are done using rats (but again, all the people who hate diet soda or sweeteners tend to ignore this fact).

Of course, the big issue with these studies is that they simply point us in the right direction from a biological standpoint, but not direct cause and effect; more often than not, what happens in a rat does not translate to humans.

Often the effects of substances vary widely when given to humans compared to rats. Artificial sweeteners are one of these cases.

Despite the fact that some research has indicated that artificial sweeteners like aspartame are linked to cancer in mice, the doses which would be required to do so in humans would be astronomical.

For instance, the FDA has set safe daily consumption of substances like aspartame to 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (4, 5).

For a 90 kg (200 lb) individual that would be the equivalent of consuming 25 cans of artificially sweetened soda per day and would still be considered within a safe range.

Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners Cause Weight Gain – False Science?

At its most fundamental level, it’s impossible for artificial sweeteners to directly contribute to weight gain; it’s basic science and the laws of thermodynamics.

In fact, artificial sweeteners are often used in order to reduce calorie intake and thus help reduce body weight. However, many people still insist that artificial sweeteners induce an insulin response, similar to what happens when you consume sugar in one form or another.

As a result of this insulin spike, it is theorized this leads to a metabolic disorder called insulin resistance, which means that insulin isn’t able to do its job of removing glucose from the blood and storing it in various tissues of the body.

In theory, when this occurs, it can lead to further disease states such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Unfortunately for proponents of this incorrect theory, research has determined that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame don’t induce an insulin spike, despite claims.

Even if they did, a small insulin spike would not match that of an insulin spike from regular sugar, soda, ice cream, pizza etc. It’s these foods consumed over years which cause weight gain and insulin resistance, not sweetener or diet soda (6, 7, 8, 9).

Additionally, in a groundbreaking study on evaluating the use of artificial sweeteners versus just water when attempting to lose weight, the researchers revealed that consumption of artificial sweeteners was actually associated with greater weight loss and a greater ability to keep the weight off after the diet (10).

It’s very likely that consuming artificially sweetened beverages such as diet soda may satisfy sweet cravings without providing the additional calories, leading to weight loss.

Does this mean that diet soda is better than water? No, but it doesn’t appear to be worse in sensible moderation (just like water). Because it has no calories, it simply can’t cause weight gain, it’s physically and biologically impossible.

So What’s The Conclusion About Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners?

As it turns out, there probably isn’t any issue with consuming artificially sweetened beverages such as diet soda on a regular basis in moderation.

Research that has shown negative effects is fairly weak, most of it being done in rats not humans and even that has many other factors affecting the outcome, making it impossible to blame artificial sweeteners (2).

Furthermore, other research showing associations with artificial sweeteners and cancer is carried out on rats and still very early. Next, these findings are done at crazy doses that equate to say 200 cans of diet soda per day, so they are far from realistic or unbiased (4).

Lastly, research on artificial sweeteners for weight loss actually indicates a beneficial effect overall, such as reduced body weight, rather than the commonly held misbelief that they lead to weight gain. If you know even the basics of fat loss and metabolism you will clearly understand how it’s physically impossible for a zero calorie product to cause weight gain.

Despite outlandish claims from people with unbiased agendas or the ‘clean eating gurus’, artificially sweetened diet sodas are safe for you to consume and even advised if your goal is to reduce calories and body weight.

Take Home Key Points on Diet Soda & Artificial Sweeteners

Firstly, the key point is to understand that there’s not any real, strong research in a controlled setting to show ill health from a sensible dose of artificial sweeteners in humans.

Sadly, like many aspects of nutrition, it’s very easy for people with hidden agendas to twist the research or churn out random ‘facts’ that have no real evidence at all. Of course, any new meme or video always goes viral, but it doesn’t mean it’s true.

Now, am I advising you to consume artificial sweeteners or diet soda? No, but equally, should you not consume it and avoid it, if you do enjoy it? No, absolutely not.

Like everything, it depends on you. If you love it, then go ahead, it probably will help you consume fewer calories, it may reduce cravings and may actually aid in hydration (remember it’s around 98% water).

If you think that diet soda or artificial sweeteners are bad or unhealthy because they’re not natural, then you should maybe spend some time reading the science to become less biased. Of course, I will be the first to say we should focus on natural whole foods 80% of the time, but drinking the odd diet soda or using a normal intake of artificial sweeteners is also perfectly fine.

In summary, diet soda or artificial sweeteners are perfectly ok in a moderate dose, just like water. If you still want to say it’s unhealthy because rats got ill from taking in the equivalent of 200 servings per day, well you should probably not drink water either because 200 servings of water would have killed the rats far quicker than the artificial sweetener.

As with everything, remember to actually check the research and don’t trust the internet fitness/health gurus who don’t understand or even know how to read a research study…

References

1. The Pursuit of Sweet. (2017, March 06). Retrieved June 14, 2017, from https://www.chemheritage.org/distillations/magazine/the-pursuit-of-sweet
2. Lutsey, P. L., Steffen, L. M., & Stevens, J. (2008). Dietary intake and the development of the metabolic syndrome. Circulation, 117(6), 754-761.
3. Nettleton, J. A., Lutsey, P. L., Wang, Y., Lima, J. A., Michos, E. D., & Jacobs, D. R. (2009). Diet soda intake and risk of incident metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Diabetes care, 32(4), 688-694.
4. National Toxicology Program. (2005). NTP report on the toxicology studies of aspartame (CAS No. 22839-47-0) in genetically modified (FVB Tg. AC hemizygous) and B6. 129-Cdkn2atm1Rdp (N2) deficient mice and carcinogenicity studies of aspartame in genetically modified [B6. 129-Trp53tm1Brd (N5) haploinsufficient] mice (feed studies). National Toxicology Program genetically modified model report, (1), 1.
5. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.). Food Additives & Ingredients – Additional Information about High-Intensity Sweeteners Permitted for use in Food in the United States. Retrieved June 14, 2017, from https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm397725.htm
6. Møller, S. E. (1991). Effect of Aspartame and Protein, Administered in Phenylalanine‐Equivalent Doses, on Plasma Neutral Amino Acids, Aspartate, Insulin and Glucose in Man. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 68(5), 408-412.
7. Wolf-Novak, L. C., Stagink, L. D., Brummel, M. C., Persoon, T. J., Filer, L. J., Bell, E. F., … & Krause, W. L. (1990). Aspartame ingestion with and without carbohydrate in phenylketonuric and normal subjects: effect on plasma concentrations of amino acids, glucose, and insulin. Metabolism, 39(4), 391-396.
8. Horwitz, D. L., McLane, M., & Kobe, P. (1988). Response to single dose of aspartame or saccharin by NIDDM patients. Diabetes care, 11(3), 230-234.
9. Teff, K. L., Devine, J., & Engelman, K. (1995). Sweet taste: effect on cephalic phase insulin release in men. Physiology & Behavior, 57(6), 1089-1095.
10. Peters, J. C., Beck, J., Cardel, M., Wyatt, H. R., Foster, G. D., Pan, Z., … Hill, J. O. (2016). The effects of water and non-nutritive sweetened beverages on weight loss and weight maintenance: A randomized clinical trial. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 24(2), 297–304. http://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21327

https://www.rudymawer.com/blog/diet-beverages-scientific-truth-may-surprise/

What To Do When You Eat Healthy But Can’t Lose Weight

“Help! I can’t lose weight even though I eat real food. Most of my meals include lean protein and lots of veggies. The other foods I eat are fruits, low fat dairy, nuts, beans, and whole grains. I rarely eat sugar or junk food. Why can’t I lose weight?”

That’s an email from a reader of this website, and I’ve received countless ones like it. Many clients make a similar statement at the beginning of our working relationship about eating right but not being able to lose weight. The first course of action I tell them to take: “For the next week record everything you eat and drink; nibbles, tastes, and sips count. You don’t need to record the calories, just what you eat. For example: chicken breast, mixed veggies, a handful of M&Ms, and a cup of green tea, or whatever the case may be. Record every item.”

A week of this practice leaves many flabbergasted. Turns out they in fact do not eat the way they proclaimed in the initial email/conversation. A sleeve of Girl Scout cookies snuck its way onto the list, several slices of pizza, daily trips to the candy bowl at work, a bottle of wine on Friday night followed by a pint of ice cream, and the occasional 20-ounce soda appeared on the food log.

Sometimes people forget, or simply omit, certain foods and drinks from memory. By recording everything for a week, they see their food and beverage consumption in black and white, so there’s no denying what’s really going on.

This is why one of the first steps I recommend for someone who claims to have trouble losing weight is to record their food and drink intake for a week to get an idea of their average consumption (this works for building  muscle and improving overall health, too). This hard data provides a framework going forward. How do you know what to correct if you don’t know where you need the most improvement? The food log provides this answer.

This exercise is not meant to conjure feelings of guilt for the foods you eat. Using the example from above the woman was quick to declare, “I feel terrible about myself and how much I failed” when sharing the food log with me. The purpose of the food log is to make you aware of what’s going on. This is a judgement-free exercise. We see what’s really happening (via the food log) and decide on the simplest changes to implement first.

My response when she declared to have “failed” was: “No, you didn’t fail and you shouldn’t feel bad. We have data and know what’s going on. Now we can make simple changes so you can get the results you want.”

Here’s what we do.

Having Trouble Losing Fat? Try This.

If you’ve tried counting calories and other typical diets, you may want to try this simple approach. More often than not, it works.

Step 1: Track everything you eat and drink for the next week. Do this during a typical week; for example, don’t do this if you happen to be traveling or on vacation. You want a picture of an average week of eating.

Step 2a: Using the results from the food log, identify the simplest changes to make that will lead you in the right direction (e.g., fat loss). Perhaps you realize you eat processed foods and snacks at lunch during the week. A simple change would be to take a real food lunch to work each day, and bring healthy snacks (e.g., nuts and fruit, Greek yogurt, etc.) to keep on hand too.

Convenience oftentimes (i.e., most of the time) wins over what’s “best,” so set yourself up for success and have good stuff within easy reach.

Step 2b: Get enough protein. Build your meals and snacks around a good source of protein, and aim for .7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. (If you’re obese use that guideline for a lower bodyweight you’re trying to attain. E.g.: if you weigh 230 pounds and want to get to 180, use 180 to calculate the .7-1 gram guideline.) You’ll have to track and count this at first, but after a couple weeks you’ll know how much protein the foods you eat most often have and it’ll be much easier.

Step 3: Implement the changes from Steps 2a and 2b, and keep another food log for a week or two. This way, once again, you know exactly what’s going on. Ideally you’ll have successfully practiced the simple change from 2a and increased protein intake every day of the week.

Helpful tip: I’m not suggesting you should avoid your favorite not-super-healthy foods (I despise labels like “cheat” or “dirty” — there’s just food) because that oftentimes leads to binge eating or disordered eating habits (and I know from years of personal experience with both). You can still enjoy things like pizza or ice cream or whatever you enjoy most. Either enjoy those foods less frequently and/or control the portions.

For example, I used to order a small pizza and eat the entire thing. Now, I split a small pizza and have a salad on the side. This way I’m still enjoying a favorite food, but not in the unnecessarily large quantity I used to. It’s not about depriving yourself and trying to be super disciplined and avoiding certain foods — just be smart and keep things simple by limiting the frequency you eat them, or decrease the portions.

Are you the kind of person who wants something sweet every day? Find ways to indulge your sweet tooth by either a) limiting the portion size as discussed above or b) choose lower calorie substitutes. Pay attention to the term “lower calorie substitute” and notice I didn’t say “healthy.” A lot of “healthy” dessert recipes still have the same number of calories (sometimes more) than the “unhealthy” foods they replace.

Some argue the Justin’s option is “better for you,” but the calories are the same. Don’t let marketing or nutrition gurus fool you into believing the “healthier” version will help you lose fat and improve your health. Even though you may be eating better-for-you foods with the “healthier” options, calories matter when weight loss is the goal.

An example for lower calorie substitutes: swap out ice cream for a pudding cup or a few squares of chocolate, or whatever the hell your taste buds prefer. Drink your favorite diet soda to appease your sweet tooth. Lately I’ve been wanting to chow down on cookies and ice cream; while I enjoy these foods once or twice a week, I don’t want to get in the habit of eating them every day. I’ve been drinking a calorie-free soda a few times per week and that tames my current sweet tooth. (Diet soda may increase the craving for sweets for some people, but for others, like me, it’s nice when I want something sweet.)

Nutrition can be simple, if we allow it to be. It doesn’t have to be a stressful all (eat “perfectly” all the time) or nothing (slip up and then continue to make poor choices because you “screwed up anyway”) mentality.

The goal with nutrition should be to develop long-lasting, sustainable behaviors. The changes you make today need to be changes you can continue to practice a year from now. This way the improved body composition and health results you achieve next month will be maintained next year. You can count calories or macros or use traditional dieting methods if you prefer, but if you’ve tried those methods to no avail or want to try something simpler, give the alternative above a try for a few months and see what happens.

Note: want more detailed nutrition information than I provide here? Go to those who know their stuff: Precision Nutrition, Alan Aragon, Leigh Peele, Georgie Fear.

Related Article: 5 Health and Fitness Principles That Don’t Suck

What About People Who do Eat Healthy And Can’t Lose Weight?

Rarely, in my experience, has someone actually eaten nothing but meat, veggies and fruits, whole grains, and other real foods as shown via a food log and claimed they couldn’t lose weight. If this did happen it was usually because they were eating larger-than-realized quantities of calorie-dense foods like nuts, nut butters, and things like coconut oil (there’s this current obsession with coconut oil being deemed a “superfood” and some women are convinced they need to put it on, and in, everything).

If this is the case — someone is eating mostly real food but can’t lose weight* — I look for the simplest solution, and this one seems to work well: reduce the amount of fat-dense foods (put a serving size of nuts in a bowl instead of eating from the container, for example); omit fat-dense foods (stop putting coconut oil on everything, for goodness’ sake); swap a fat-dense food for a protein-rich food (Greek yogurt instead of full-fat cheese). These are simple ways to reduce calories, thereby allowing weight loss to begin.

And if by some chance you’ve been convinced to put butter and coconut oil in your coffee — stop doing that. Boom. You just eliminated hundreds of calories from your daily intake. (And avoid such health and fitness bullshit going forward.)

*Note: if you have unexplained weight gain, weight loss, or reducing calories isn’t producing weight loss, go see your doctor. Get blood work and see if there’s an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.

Another Option: Stop Focusing on Weight Loss

Guess what: you don’t have to focus on losing fat. You can focus on something else like, oh, I don’t know, getting stronger and eating things that make you feel great. Instead of thinking about all the foods you “shouldn’t” eat focus on the abundant variety of awesome foods you can eat. Instead of looking at exercise as a means to just burn calories it can be something you do to feel awesome and unleash your body’s potential.

Believe it or not, fitness doesn’t have to be about getting abs, a rounder butt, torching fat, or fixing flaws. I’m not saying those goals are bad — you should do whatever the hell you want with your body — but those things can be a means to an end instead of an end themselves. In other words: make getting stronger in the gym a priority and eating more of the things that are great for you the focus in the kitchen. Allow weight loss to be a side-effect.

http://www.niashanks.com/eat-healthy-cant-lose-weight/

5 Healthy Snacks That Kill Sugar Cravings -- With Thomas DeLauer, CEO & ...

How to Stop Binge Eating and Emotional Eating for Life!

WHY Sugar is as Bad as Alcohol (Fructose, The Liver Toxin)

Cravings Sweets After Eating

Sugar cravings often strike after a meal, despite feelings of fullness. Habits, brain, chemistry and your diet’s makeup cause you to crave sweets. You can learn to fight the cravings, but only after you understand why they occur.

Significance

Adam Drewnowski and Allen S. Levine write in the "Journal of Nutrition" in March 2003 that added sugar and fat make up more than 50 percent of the typical American diet and contributes to the obesity epidemic. Craving sweets after a meal can hamper weight loss efforts. You try to deny the craving, only making it more pronounced. If you indulge the craving, stopping with a small serving may be impossible for you.

Expert Insight

Drewnowski and Levine point to evidence that regular consumption of foods high in sugar and fat leads to "neurochemical changes" in the brain--hardwiring you to crave these types of foods. Food cravings often are a result of habit and association--if you have always had something sweet after a meal, you do not feel closure unless you meet that need. Sweet treats often are associated with rewards and positive feelings, so you feel good when you eat them.

Another cause of post-meal sweet cravings has to do with the mood-elevating brain chemical, serotonin. When serotonin is low, feelings of depression and sadness set in. You crave something sweet because sugars and simple carbohydrates prompt the body to release serotonin, improving your mood. Uneven blood sugar levels cause you to crave sweets after a meal as well. If you fail to balance macronutrients at your meals and eat primarily carbohydrates, your blood sugar levels soar--only to drop suddenly shortly after the meal. Your body seeks the "high" again, causing you to crave sugar.

• 

Considerations

Deprivation also can set you up for cravings. If you are following a strict diet and avoiding all sweets, you can make cravings worse by denying your desire to satisfy your sweet tooth. Professor Peter Rogers from the University of Bristol notes in the online resource ScienceDaily.com that the desire to eat foods, such as chocolate, combined with a knowledge that they should be eaten in moderation causes you to crave them more.

Solution

If your cravings are due to deprivation, allow yourself a small sweet--perhaps a cookie or a miniature candy bar. Sometimes, however, this sets you up for binging, in which case it might be best to go cold turkey for a few weeks. Over time, if your cravings are due to habit, they will subside. Make sure you are consuming adequate nutrition and calories during the day. Try to make each meal contain a serving of protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates such as whole grains. Techniques such as brushing your teeth immediately after eating or chewing a piece of minty, sugar-free gum also may help cut the desire to consume sweets after a meal. If you must have something sweet--opt for fresh or dried fruit, which offers nutrition along with natural sugars.

Misconceptions

If you seek to cut out sugar, eliminating cookies, cakes and candy may not be enough. Manufacturers add sugar to all sorts of products, from bread to salad dressings--so read food labels carefully. Artificial sweeteners may offer you a sweet taste with little or no calories, but they do little to curb your cravings. A 2004 study at Purdue University showed that artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body’s ability to count calories, setting you up to consume more calories overall. Also, because artificial sweeteners exhibit sweetness hundreds of times more intense than sugar, they may cause you to crave sweeter and sweeter products.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/77144-crave-sweets-after-eating-meal/

The 10-Day Sugar Detox Diet (To Reset Your Body and Brain)

If sweet is sweet then what is sugar? Diabetes, cancer, dementia, depression, acne, infertility, heart disease. Doesn’t sound too sweet.

According to some researches, the average American consumes about 152 pounds of sugar a day.The average American man weighs 195.5 pounds, the average American woman weighs 167lbs. In the 1960s the average American man weighed in at 167lbs and the average American woman at 141lbs.

The Big 10

It is very interesting that, more than 600 people tried out Mark Hyman M.D’s diet, and they lost 4000 pounds in 10 days. The question that everyone should ask themselves is, when was the last time you lost 7 pounds in less than two weeks? And how hard did you work? This diet promises no cravings, no bland foods or boring diet, no deprivation-simply rewire the way you think about food. The diet was created by Dr. Hyman to be full of sugar addiction-reversing foods that will reset your body and brain and let cut sugar from your diet and regain your life.

10-Day Detox Diet

Here are the top 10 big ideas for detoxing from sugar and refined carbs that will work for you in just 10 days.

Decide To Detox

Cold Turkey

An alcoholic cannot have “just one drink”, the same is for you. You just have to stop. Stop eating all forms of sugar, all flour products, and all artificial sweeteners because they slow metabolism, spike cravings and store fat. For 10 days you will avoid any foods that come in a box, package, or can that have a label. Instead stik to real, whole, fresh foods.

Don’t Drink Your Calories

Liquid sugar calories are worse than solid food with sugar or flour, according to Doctor Hyman. It is proven that, one can of soda a day increases a kid’s chance of being obese by 60 percent and a woman’s chance of type 2 diabetes by 80 percent.

Protein Power

Protein helps balance blood sugar and insulin levels by being a “carb-free” source of energy. Start the day with whole farm eggs or a protein shake. Use nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, chicken, or grass-fed meat for protein at every meal. Protein helps you stay fuller longer because it breaks down more slowly while delivering the energy we need. 4-6 ounces – about the size of your palm – is the average serving size.

Unlimited (Good) Carbs

You can eat all of veggies-just not the starchy ones like potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash or beets. But feel free you eat as many greens, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, asparagus, peppers, green beans, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, and artichokes you like for 10 days.

Fight Sugar With Fat

Fat makes you feel and look full. It also balances blood sugar and is a necessary part of your cellular structure.

Prepare For Emergencies

A maze of fast food joints and vending machines will have anyone’s head spinning, especially when blood sugar levels are dropping. Dr. Hyman weighs in:

“You need an Emergency Life Pak. I have one with me all the time, filled with protein, good fats, and good snacks so I never have to make a bad choice. Here’s what’s in mine: Packets of Artisana nut butters and coconut butter, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, salmon jerky or turkey jerky, a can of wild salmon or sardines and unsweetened wild blueberries.”

Distress or De-Stress?

The stress hormone, cortisol, makes you feel hungry, and it causes belly fat storage, and can lead to type 2 diabetes, taking deep breaths activates the vagus nerve which shifts metabolism from fat storage to fat burning, and quickly moves you out of your stress state. Just follow Dr. Hyman’s Five Deep Breaths exercise:

“Simply take five slow deep breaths – in to the count of five, out to the count of five. Five times. That’s it. Do this before every meal. Watch what happens!”

Douse Inflammation

The two hidden food sensitivities that most people have, are gluten and dairy. Most people crave these allergens. They may be tough to quit, even for just 10 days, but give it a shot and you’ll see you have renewed energy and relief from cravings.

Sound Sleep

College students were deprived of just 2 of the recommended 8 hours of sleep. This led to a rise in hunger hormones, a decrease in appetite-suppressing hormones and huge cravings for refined sugar and carbs. When you don’t sleep you look for energy, and reach for high-sugar products that give you a boost, and a crash. Sleep is the best way to ensure cravings are kept at bay.

http://gofitstayfit.com/10-day-sugar-detox-diet-reset-body-brain/

10 Healthy LATE NIGHT Snacks (Under 100 Calories)

How to Spot a Fad Diet?

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JUICING

Can fruit and vegetable juices really sharpen your edge and turbocharge vitality? Experts weigh in on the trend—and tell you how to do it right.

 

With the influx of health nuts and fitness junkies slamming back cold-pressed juices, you'd be hard-pressed not to think about juicing. But, is it healthy and beneficial enough to be storming the juice bar or cranking out your own concotion; or is it just a health fad?

Well, you already know that diets packed with fruits and vegetables reduce your risk for chronic conditions and diseases that can lead to an untimely death; but produce also plays a key roll in weight management. And odds are good you're not getting the five servings a day recommended by the USDA. (In fact, CDC data shows only a third of US adults eat two-plus fruits, and about a quarter get three-plus veggies, daily. Yikes.) So to close up that gap, most experts agree that juicing can help pack more nutrients into your day. There’s some research (like this study in the journal Nutrition) that supports that recommendation as well.

Still, it’s not as simple as chugging juice. Here’s what nutrition experts say you need to know.

Can Fruit Make You Fat? >>>

1. Supplement, don’t cleanse. Nutritionists largely agree that juicing can offer a low-fat, nutrient-rich jolt of energy when added to already healthy, balanced diets—but as far as the cleanse-for-weight-loss meal replacement trend? Skip it. Juice digests quickly, and can cause the type of extreme hunger that leads to overeating and binging. “Drinking juice in lieu of eating food is not healthy or sustainable, no matter how nutrient-packed,” says Marjorie Nolan Cohn, RD, a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Juice cleanses (read: fasts) can also lead to unstable blood sugar, headaches, and lightheadedness. So, yeah, your workouts aren't going to happen; or you'll be so exhausted during them you won't have the energy to keep up and can up your odds for injury.

2. Pick the right ingredients. Certain vitamins are more easily absorbed as juice, like vitamin C and Bs, while others, like vitamin A, E, K are best taken through the full digestion process, says Cohn. And some vegetables, such as tomatoes, actually provide more nutritional value when cooked, points out Kelly O’Connor, RD, LDN, a registered dietician at Baltimore-based Mercy Medical Center. Keeping all this in mind, these best bets that will maximize nutrition: leafy greens (spinach, collard greens, swiss chard, kale, mustard greens), kiwi, papaya, grapefruit, red bell peppers, broccoli, strawberries, oranges, asparagus and garlic. Cherie Calbom, MS, CN, author of The Juice Lady’s Big Book of Juices & Green Smoothies also favors parsley, blood-pressure-lowering beets (combine with carrot or apple to enhance taste), inflammation-fighter ginger root, potassium-packed cucumbers, and antibacterial lemons. Avoid overly mushy or tender fruits, like bananas (if craving potassium, use half) and peaches, which can make your juice too thick and mushy, says Cohn.

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3. Find the perfect mix. Warning: Vegetable juice might not knock your socks off at first, so you’ve got to experiment. Plot how you'll keep a variety of produce stocked, then have fun with it. Start with two cups of greens, which can taste bitter, balanced by one piece of fruit. Then, play around with the ratio, adding cayenne pepper or cinnamon for extra seasoning if desired. (Still not sure where to begin? We asked the experts for their favorite combos—grapefruit-orange-kale-cucumber for Cohn and carrot-apple-ginger for Calbom.)

4. Sip fast. Whipping up batches of liquid vitality for the week, or even day, isn’t most potent. “Guzzle that juice immediately,” says Cohn. “By changing the texture and integrity of fruits and vegetables from solid to liquid and removing protective skins, the foods quickly start to lose nutrients.”

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http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-drink/should-you-be-juicing

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How to Eat to Build Muscle?

In order to get bigger, it only stands to reason that you need to eat more—food provides calories, which are the building blocks of new muscle. But how much more and what?

For most men, you won’t need much more—300 to 500 calories per day and you’re looking at roughly a pound gain per week. Of course, there are mitigating factors: If you’re overweight, you’re better off at a calorie deficit (meaning you might eat the same number of calories but you’re working out more, or you may also reduce what you eat) until you lean out. However, “if you’re in too much of a caloric deficit, your body will not have the nutrients it needs to recover from the training, re-build the muscles, and support muscle growth,” says Adam. On the other hand, if you have trouble putting on mass, you will need to boost those calories, but only to the point where you gain muscle, not fat. In either case, it can be
a process of trial and error; seeing a sports nutritionist might be worthwhile if you’re serious about hypertrophy.

Now, to the “what.” Contrary to popular belief, a bodybuilding diet is not all protein, all the time. A growing body needs carbs, too, which are the primary fuel for being able to work out that intensely in the first place. “I stick within 50 to 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 20 to 35 percent from fats, and aim for 1.4 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram (note: not pound) of bodyweight,” Gochnour says. For a guy who weighs 175 pounds, that works out to 111 to 135 grams of protein per day. For reference, a 5-ounce chicken breast contains 44 grams, a cup of Greek yogurt contains 17 grams, and two large eggs contain 12 grams.

There’s also the question of when to eat. You’ve probably heard a lot about pre-workout meals and even more about that post-workout “anabolic window,” in which if you don’t eat, you might as well have skipped your workout for a Netflix binge instead. Good news: Unless you’re an elite athlete or bodybuilder training for competition, this is largely rubbish. “If you want an intense workout, having fuel in the tank leads to better workouts, but if your last meal was within one to two hours, you are probably primed fine,” Gochnour says. “In my experience training recreational athletes, people make gains just fine eating three meals
a day and having snacks without worrying about rushing home to have their protein drink.”

That said, if you like (or need) the energy boost that comes from a carb-focused pre-workout snack or drink, go for it. Ingredients like caffeine and creatine can also provide benefits, for energy and for recovery, respectively. As for post-workouts, if your next meal is many hours away, a pre-made bar containing both protein and carbs is convenient for replenishment.

How to Eat to Get Strong

As you might expect, you don’t need as much of a surplus of calories to build strength as you do size, most likely no more than 300 extra per day. And oftentimes when you’re starting
a strength workout, there may be some leaning out to do, which means a slight calorie deficit instead. A lot of the guidelines here are the same, in terms of carbs and fat (50 to 65 percent and 20 to 35 percent), but you can err on the lower side of the protein input, at 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight—and frankly, that alone might account for reducing the surplus of total calories.

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How Much Cardio Should I Do to Build Muscle and Burn Fat?

If your aim is to put on muscle and you’re eating to sustain growth, it’s counterproductive to break a sweat on the treadmill or go for a bike ride, right? Actually, no. “Cardio holds many major benefits for people who wish to build a lean physique and there are very rare circumstances in which you should avoid it completely,” Adam says. Your personal circumstances will dictate how much you need, though. For example, if you have some fat to shed, you’ll want enough sessions to facilitate that—up to three 45-minute steady-state workouts (like running, biking, or swimming at a consistent pace) or 15-30 minute high-intensity interval (HIIT) sessions. On the other hand,  if you’re a hard-gainer (a.k.a., skinny), you want just enough cardio to strengthen your heart and get the blood pumping to those hard-worked muscles to facilitate recovery. That might mean moderate-intensity 10-minute steady-state bouts as a closer to your lifting routines.

As another option to get it all in, Adam recommends “cardioacceleration,” in which you perform one minute of HIIT exercises, such as jumping jacks, during your rest between sets in your lifting session. “Studies have also shown that performing cardio between sets allows for better recovery due to increased blood flow,” he says. This brings more oxygen and nutrients to those working muscles and a better muscle “pump,” which physically stretches the muscles and can lead to actual growth. “You may see a slight decrease in your ability to perform your next lifting set when you first start adding cardioacceleration into your routine, but after you get used to it, you’ll see the opposite effect start to happen due to the aforementioned benefits,” Adam says.

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/how-build-muscle-basic-guide-beginners-0

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