Cholesterol is a molecule required by every cell of the body in fairly large amounts. It can be easily synthesised by these cells, or taken up by them from LDL and other ApoB lipoproteins, but cannot be broken down. Cholesterol is not soluble in water, and thus must be carried through the blood on lipoprotein particles. When the cholesterol produced or taken up by the cells of the body becomes surplus to requirements it is extracted by HDL (ApoA1 lipoproteins) and carried back to the liver for disposal as bile salts and acids (most of this cholesterol is reabsorbed and recycled, but there is also a variable amount lost in faeces). Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) is the term used for this extraction of unneeded cholesterol. Here we describe a simplified version of reverse cholesterol transport, how this has been modified by new research into HDL, and we explain the effect of raising or lowering insulin and insulin sensitivity on RCT.

This video gives a good overview of the systems we’ll be describing. (The brain has its own, largely separate cholesterol system which we’ll ignore for now).

Cholesterol and insulin

We have about 30g of cholesterol in our bodies, and synthesise well over a gram a day. Only 10% of this is synthesised in the liver, and even less if we eat cholesterol or have a reduced requirement. Our requirement goes up when we are growing (cells are expanding and new cells being made) and down when we are fasting or losing weight (when fat cells and glycogen cells are shrinking, and autophagic processes are clearing unwanted cells). Thus it makes sense, and helps to keep cholesterol in balance with requirements, that cholesterol synthesis is stimulated by insulin (the fed state hormone) and inhibited by glucagon (the fasting state hormone).[1] An additional check on cholesterol synthesis in the fasting state is the activation of AMPK by the ketone body B-hydroxybutyrate.[2] No surprises then that cholesterol synthesis is found to be increased in type 2 diabetes.[3]

If scientists want to create the early signs of heart disease in animals, they need to feed them doses of cholesterol much larger than the total capacity of the body to make cholesterol.[4] However, Jerry Stamler, one of the founding fathers of the diet heart hypothesis, found in the early 1960’s that animals treated in this way got better when the cholesterol feeding stopped – unless they were given extra insulin.[5] This vital clue was missed in the later rush to change our diets – Jerry Stamler advised the population to avoid egg yolk and replace fat with refined carbs, yet human diets never supplied the amount of cholesterol he fed his animals – unfortunately, the new, modified human diet would start to increase insulin to the high levels seen in those chickens once the diabesity epidemic got underway.

Reverse Cholesterol Transport

Fortunately our gut and liver cells make a protein called ApoA1, which the liver turns into something called a nascent HDL particle. Unlike VLDL and the other ApoB particles, which are released from the liver as large, fat and cholesterol laden spheres, HDL is produced in an embryonic state, just a few proteins with little if anything in the way of lipids (lipid-poor ApoA1), and only becomes what we call HDL by performing its cholesterol-gathering role out in the body.

If we focus on the cells believed to play the major role in atherosclerosis, macrophages (large immune cells) which can turn into foam cells if they become overloaded with cholesterol, we can see HDL at work. Macrophages clear the blood of infectious agents and damaged particles, and have a particular affinity for oxidised LDL particles (oxLDL).[6] LDL becomes oxidised if it stays in the blood too long (more likely with higher levels or small, dense particles) and is exposed to excessive glucose and fructose levels after meals, or to smoking and other oxidative stressors.[7,8,9] Brown and Goldstein, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the LDL receptor, estimated that 30-60% of LDL is cleared from circulation by macrophages. (Macrophages exposed to excess insulin increase their uptake of oxLDL by 80%).[10] The oxLDL is then broken down and the cholesterol stored – remember it can’t be broken down. As in other cells, any excess is sent to the surface of the cell, to transporters and other structures that make it available for HDL to pick up, as free cholesterol (cholesterol efflux). If this doesn’t happen for some reason, over a long period, there’s a risk of foam cell formation and atherosclerosis. (Macrophages exposed to excess insulin decrease their efflux of cholesterol to HDL by 25%).[10]

LCAT and esterification

After HDL picks up free cholesterol, this is esterified by an enzyme called lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), making the HDL particle larger. Cholesteryl ester (CE) is cholesterol joined to a fatty acid, usually an unsaturated fatty acid, which is supplied from the phospholipids also picked up from cells by HDL. The more effectively HDL can esterify cholesterol, the sooner it can return to pick up more from the macrophage (or other cell) – this is called HDL efflux capacity – and the phospholipids found in egg yolk have been shown to increase HDL efflux capacity.[11] Phospholipids, found in all whole foods, especially fatty ones like eggs, nuts, seeds, liver, shellfish, and soya beans, are good things to have in your diet; you won’t get them from eating flour, sugar, and oil.

CETP – swapping cholesteryl esters for triglycerides

HDL renews itself in the bloodstream by moving cholesteryl esters onto VLDL and other ApoB particles, in more-or-less equal exchange for triglycerides (TGs), through a banana-shaped protein tunnel called Cholesteryl Ester Transport Protein (CETP) which docks between ApoA1 and ApoB particles. HDL can then shed the TGs picked up to help feed cells along its path (as ApoB particles also do), turning them into free fatty acids and glycerol by the action of lipase enzymes. However, the CETP exchange is another place where things can go wrong. If there are too many TGs on VLDL, and too many TG-rich VLDL particles, and fats are not being burned by the body (yes, we’re talking about insulin resistance again), then the piling of TGs onto HDL via CETP will result in its recall to the liver after limited efflux.[12] Carrying lots of TGs back to the liver that made them is not a good use of HDL’s time. And the cholesterol esters being transferred to former TG-rich VLDL is what makes the “Pattern B” lipoproteins, small dense LDL, which are more likely to oxidise and more easily taken up by macrophages. LDL really, once it’s done its job of delivering fat, cholesterol, antioxidants and proteins to cells that need them, ought to be helping in reverse cholesterol transport by ferrying the extra cholesterol esters it received from HDL back to the liver. Large, cholesterol-dense LDL particles – “Pattern A” – are better at this. Small, dense LDL particles aren’t taken up as avidly by the liver, so tend to stay in circulation and oxidize. Hence the TG/HDL ratio is a critical predictor of cardiovascular risk, whether or not we factor in LDL.

The exchange via CETP action is thought responsible for the inverse relationship between levels of TG and HDL-C. Specifically, the larger the VLDL pool (higher TG level), the greater the CETP-mediated transfer of CE from HDL to VLDL in exchange for TG, resulting in TG-rich small, dense HDL which are catabolized more rapidly, leading to low levels of HDL-C. These small, dense HDL also have reduced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, the greater the increase in hepatic VLDL-TG synthesis and secretion that characterizes insulin-resistant/hyperinsulinemic individuals, the lower will be the HDL-C concentration.[12]

Fasting, weight loss, and LDL

People who are naturally lean and active and have good insulin sensitivity are at very low risk of cardiovascular disease; they tend to burn fat and have low TG/HDL ratios on any diet. Paradoxically, LDL rises sharply when such people fast for long periods.[14] Despite this, no-one as far as we know has ever suggested that not eating enough causes atherosclerosis. Of course TGs and insulin also fall, while HDL stays the same. But strangely, this rise in LDL does not happen in obese people or people with atherosclerosis.[15]

Phinney and colleagues found that LDL first fell, then rose significantly, during major weight loss. They calculated that this was due to the delayed removal of around 100g extra cholesterol from the adipose of obese people. LDL became normal when a weight maintenance diet replaced the (low fat, reduced calorie) weight loss diet.[16] Think about this – all of this extra 100g of cholesterol, 3x the usual whole body content, was eventually removed by reverse cholesterol transport. Some of it ended up on LDL, increasing the LDL count to the level where statins would be indicated according to guidelines. This did not prevent its removal. There is no “LDL gradient” that forces cholesterol back into the body. The LDL level doesn’t tell you whether cholesterol is coming or going – the TG/HDL ratio is the best guide to that.[17]

Hepatic lipase – burning fat.

ApoA1 and HDL production increases the release of hepatic lipase, so in a sense ApoA1 is a fat-burning protein, which helps to explain why eating fat increases ApoA1 output.[18, 19] More lipase means lower TGs all round. So, making more HDL can lower TGs, just as making too many TGs can lower HDL – but only the latter is likely to be harmful.

Of course, a low fat, high carbohydrate diet decreases ApoA1, but this doesn’t mean it’s bad if you’re insulin sensitive and have low TGs (and low LDL) eating such a diet, as many people do; the lower lipid circulation all round probably just means that less ApoA1 will be required for equilibrium. However, the old assumption that the lower fat higher carb diet is the “Prudent” diet hasn’t aged well.

We have previously reported that apoA-I and HDL directly affect HL-mediated triacylglycerol hydrolysis, and showed that the rate of triacylglycerol hydrolysis is regulated by the amount of HDL in plasma.

The antioxidant and antiinflammatory benefits of HDL.

Reverse cholesterol transport is the core business of HDL, but it isn’t the only business; HDL is like a busy doctor with a useful bag of healing tricks trundling up and down your bloodstream. For example, HDL carries an antioxidant protein, PON1. When a fatty hamburger meal rich in lipid peroxides was fed to 71 subjects, those with higher HDL experienced a much smaller rise in oxLDL.[20]

The pre-meal HDL level was associated with the extent of the postprandial rise in oxidized LDL lipids. From baseline to 6 h after the meal, the concentration of ox-LDL increased by 48, 31, 24, and 16 % in the HDL subgroup 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, and the increase was higher in subgroup 1 compared to subgroup 3 (p = 0.028) and subgroup 4 (p = 0.0081), respectively. The pre-meal HDL correlated with both the amount and the rate of increase of oxidized LDL lipids. Results of the present study show that HDL is associated with the postprandial appearance of lipid peroxides in LDL. It is therefore likely that the sequestration and transport of atherogenic lipid peroxides is another significant mechanism contributing to cardioprotection by HDL.

Tregs or T regulatory cells are a type of immune cell that switches off inflammatory responses. They are also a type of cell that takes up HDL, and HDL selectively promotes their survival. This is a good thing.[21]

Can LDL help in reverse cholesterol transport?

The answer is yes – if it’s large LDL particles (Pattern A), not so much small dense ones. Triglycerides and VLDL, on the other hand, are no help at all.

There are two pathways by which RCT can occur. In the first, the scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SRB-1) mediates hepatic uptake of CE from HDL particles without uptake of apoA-I or the whole HDL particle [74]. In the second pathway, cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) catalyzes the transfer of CE from HDL to apoB-containing lipoproteins (VLDL and LDL) in exchange for TG from the apoB-containing lipoproteins (Fig. 1) [21, 75]. This exchange results in apoB-containing lipoproteins which are enriched with CEs and depleted of TGs, and HDL particles which are depleted of CEs and enriched with TGs. The TG-rich and CE-poor HDL particles are catabolized faster than large, CE-rich HDL (apoA-I FCR is increased as noted in Fig. 1), a finding resulting in lower levels of HDL-C in the setting of high TG levels [76]. The apoB-containing lipoproteins, now enriched in CE, can also be taken up by the liver receptors as previously described [75]. When TG levels are high, the apoB particles are TG-enriched and hepatic lipase then hydrolyzes the TGs within the TG-rich LDL to release FFAs, a process which remodels the LDL particles into smaller and denser LDL particles which can enter the arterial intima more easily than larger LDL particles, thus making them more atherogenic (Fig. 1). Small, dense LDL particles also bind less avidly to the LDL receptor, thus prolonging their half-life in the circulation and making these particles more susceptible to oxidative modification and to subsequent uptake by the macrophage scavenger receptors [12].

An unusual experiment (using a radioactive nanoemulsion mimetic of LDL) showed that LDL cholesterol is removed from circulation more rapidly in resistance-trained healthy men than in sedentary healthy men. oxLDL was 50% lower in the resistance-trained men – but total LDL levels were the same, probably as a result of increased beta-oxidation (fat burning).[22]

Why are doctors being confused about HDL and reverse cholesterol transport?

There’s a trend in mainstream medicine to be dismissive of HDL and treat reverse cholesterol transport as unimportant; LDL lowering is the thing. New evidence from genetics, epidemiology, and drug trials is increasingly misinterpreted in this way – probably because drugs that increase HDL have, with some exceptions, been failures. However, drugs that raise HDL, and lower LDL, by inhibiting CETP are not helping either particle do its job; so far, they have neither decreased nor increased the rate of heart attacks in people taking them. Drugs that raise HDL by increasing ApoA1 and nascent HDL output, like the fibrates (e.g. gemfibrozil), do decrease CHD – but only in people with lower HDL and higher TGs! Moderate alcohol use, which also increases ApoA1 output, seems to have a similar effect, though the first randomised controlled trial of this observational hypothesis is only beginning.[23, 24] Even statins help with RCT by decreasing the synthesis of cholesterol in peripheral tissues, thus leaving more room on HDL for efflux cholesterol – again, statins only seem to reduce CHD in the subgroup of people with lower HDL. Clearly reverse cholesterol transport is very important, and efficient reverse cholesterol transport can best explain why so many people with high LDL and high cholesterol do enjoy long lives free from cardiovascular disease. Some ApoA1 genes that especially promote RCT are associated with reduced CVD risk, notably ApoA1 milano – which is actually associated with low HDL, because HDL clearance is so rapid – a paradox which highlights the trickiness of measuring a dynamic process across all tissues only by what appears in the blood.[25] Efficient RCT is associated with lean genes, but it’s largely something you have to work for – eating right, exercising, and looking after yourself in various ways – including giving up smoking, or not starting – which may be why the drug industry has largely given up on it.[26]

We observed that normolipidemic smokers present higher total plasma and HDL phospholipids (PL) (P < .05), 30% lower postheparin hepatic lipase (HL) activity (P < .01), and 40% lower phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) activity (P < .01), as compared with nonsmokers. The plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) mass was 17% higher in smokers as compared with controls (P < .05), but the endogenous CETP activity corrected for plasma triglycerides (TG) was in fact 57% lower in smokers than in controls (P < .01). Lipid transfer inhibitor protein activity was also similar in both groups. In conclusion, the habit of smoking induces a severe impairment of many steps of the RCT system even in the absence of overt dyslipidemia.

The latest study on very, very high HDL – why isn’t it good?

Last year we wrote about the CANHEART study, which seemed to show adverse health effects of higher HDL. We wrote then that this was probably showing an effect of alcoholism, hereditary CETP defects, and other factors, and not an increase in heart disease. A new study allows us to look at this problem in more detail.[27]

When compared with the groups with the lowest risk, the multifactorially adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause mortality were 1.36 (95% CI: 1.09–1.70) for men with HDL cholesterol of 2.5–2.99 mmol/L (97–115 mg/dL) and 2.06 (1.44–2.95) for men with HDL cholesterol ≥3.0 mmol/L (116 mg/dL). For women, corresponding hazard ratios were 1.10 (0.83–1.46) for HDL cholesterol of 3.0–3.49 mmol/L (116–134 mg/dL) and 1.68 (1.09–2.58) for HDL cholesterol ≥3.5 mmol/L (135 mg/dL).

Those are some very high HDL levels, and not surprisingly fewer than 4% of men and even fewer women had HDL levels so high that they were associated with any extra risk.
Compare that with 40% of both men and women having low HDL levels that were associated with an equally elevated risk!
Further, the risk associated with very high HDL, though it does include cardiovascular deaths, doesn’t seem to include much increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

This is consistent with alcoholism (a confounder not measurable with accuracy, as we described in the CANHEART analysis) increasing deaths from heart failure, cancer, and other causes, and with no further benefit (but maybe not much harm overall) from CETP variants elevating HDL.[28] Furthermore, interactions between heavy alcohol consumption and genes associated with higher HDL have been noted in some populations.[29] Note that the HDL level associated with lowest heart disease and stroke incidence in this study is well to the right of the bell curve of population HDL distribution. Most of these people could have done with more HDL.
Madsen et al discuss their results soberly; although they fail to discuss the potential role of alcohol, which would explain the exact pattern of increased mortality seen well, and don’t highlight the 10-fold larger impact associated with low HDL in their study, there is nothing biased about their analysis. The European Heart Journal’s editorial was also worth reading.[30]

However, as reported in medical media, the message changed a bit.

“It appears that we need to remove the focus from HDL as an important health indicator in research, at hospitals and at the general practitioner. These are the smallest lipoproteins in the blood, and perhaps we ought to examine some of the larger ones instead. For example, looking at blood levels of triglyceride and LDL, the ‘bad’ cholesterol, are probably better health indicators,” he notes.

Well yes, looking at everything is good, and TGs and the TG/HDL ratio as well as LDL will give you extra information about the likely reasons for low HDL and whether you need to worry about it. However, Denmark, where the extremely high HDL study was done, is a place where high LDL (the ‘bad’ cholesterol, remember) is associated with lower all-cause mortality in those over 50 free from diabetes or CVD at the start of the study.[31] Over 50 is when most CVD and type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, so LDL might not be all that informative unless you can look at the subclasses of oxLDL, sdLDL, particle number, and so on (of course part of the effect of LDL in Denmark will be due to that country’s higher dairy fat intake, which will also raise HDL and LDL particle size, maybe helping to explain why the association is so favourable in that population).

If we look at the PURE study, higher fat consumption is associated with both higher LDL and higher ApoA1 and HDL, with saturated fat (like all fat types) tending to improve the ApoB/ApoA1 ratio.[32] This is consistent with many other lines of evidence.

Intake of total fat and each type of fat was associated with higher concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, but also with higher HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), and lower triglycerides, ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol, and ratio of apolipoprotein B (ApoB) to ApoA1 (all ptrend<0·0001).

This is just what fat-burning does, and there’s maybe not a lot of reason to think it’s good or bad per se. What is good about it is, that fat burning lowers insulin. Insulin is what makes your cells hoard cholesterol, and it’s also one of the things that can mess with reverse cholesterol transport. If you’re making or using excess insulin, the switch to a fat burning metabolism allows the insulin to normalise and causes your cells, including the macrophages, to let go of cholesterol – and when they do, the lipoproteins are there ready to carry it away.

Takeaways

Reverse cholesterol transport manages cholesterol flux through all cells and helps us reach a healthy old age.

LDL cholesterol is not a reliable guide to the state of cholesterol flux unless TG/HDL (and HbA1c) are factored in as well. LDL may increase when cholesterol is being removed or in states where it is not being taken up by cells.

Reverse cholesterol transport can remove prodigious amounts of cholesterol from the body during weight loss.

Excessive triglycerides due to insulin resistance can impair reverse cholesterol transport, as can smoking.

Various nutritional factors found in whole food diets have been found to assist in reverse cholesterol transport (including phospholipids, CLA, and polyphenols).

HDL in the high (if not the “extremely high”) range usually correlates with efficient reverse cholesterol transport and has benefits for cardiovascular health, inflammation, antioxidant status etc, but people with HDL outside (higher or lower than) the ideal range can be equally healthy if their overall metabolic health (insulin sensitivity) is good.

The TG/HDL ratio is a good measure of insulin sensitivity, and if excessive can be improved by lowering excessive insulin levels. A low carb diet, intermittent fasting, exercise, or weight loss are all effective ways to correct the TG/HDL ratio.

References

The post How the war on Cholesterol caused our diabetes epidemic appeared first on Alivebynature - Evidence Based Reviews.

Popular, but…

For more than a decade Garcinia Cambogia has been included in various weight loss products, but exploded in popularity in 2012 when Dr Julie Chen talked about it on the Dr Oz TV show.

Unfortunately, there is an avalanche of faulty information about Garcinia Cambogia on the web that we attempt to clean up here.

Several studies on rats have demonstrated significant weight loss, belly fat reduction, and lowered blood glucose levels (4, 5, 6).

We looked at all the randomized, double-blind clinical studies on humans. Some we excluded were either too short (2 weeks), used too small a dose, or had other flaws such as a low fat, high carb diet which researchers believe had a negative impact on the results.

This chart shows the results from the most relevant clinical studies on Garcinia Cambogia, encompassing 307 participants (7,8,9,10).

All of these were Double Blind,Randomized Controlled Trials, with subjects given Garcinia Cambogia or Placebo over 8-12 weeks.

The average for these 4 studies was 4.1 pounds lost vs 1.7 for those taking Placebo.

It should be noted that studies #3 and 4 used the highest dosages of 2800 mg daily, and showed the greatest amount of weight loss compared to placebo.

Studies #1 and 2 showed the least amount of weight loss benefit, and also used the lowest amount of Garcinia Cambogia, at 1200 mg per day.

Always Look for the HCA!

HCA, or hydroxycitric acid, is the active ingredient. You need to make sure it has at LEAST 60% HCA in it – Higher is better. Also check to make sure they don’t use a lot of added ingredients – especially if they’re hard to read, nearly impossible to pronounce ingredients.

Animal and test-tube studies suggest that garcinia cambogia may also have some anti-diabetic effects, including (38, 39, 40):

• Decreasing insulin levels
• Decreasing leptin levels
• Reducing inflammation
• Improving blood sugar control
• Increasing insulin sensitivity

Garcinia cambogia may also have benefits for the digestive system. Animal studies have suggested it helps protect against stomach ulcers and reduce damage to the inner lining of the digestive tract (41, 42).

However, these effects need to be studied further before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Who Should Not Take

GARCINIA CAMBOGIA?

It  IS safe for most people. But there are a few cases where you wouldn’t want to take it:

• Pregnant
• Breastfeeding
• Alzheimers or dementia

Garcinia Cambogia boosts serotonin levels in the brain (which triggers the satisfied, full feeling that helps suppress appetite).

For this reason, it is not advised for patients with neurological disorders such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons, or other forms of dementia.

Dr Harry Preuss is  a researcher and pathologist at Georgetown University past president of the American College of Nutrition who has led 2 of the studies on HCA that showed the best results (43,44).

He says:

The 4 studies that were included in the meta-analysis referenced above noted that 1 to 2.8 grams daily were used in testing, and that 2.8 grams seemed more effective (45)

Different studies that have been performed to focus on side effects found no major side effects at dosages up to 2.8 grams daily (46).

Dosage recommendations from those studies are:

• 500 to 1000mg capsules
• 70% or higher HCA
• 3 times a day
• 30-60 minutes before meals
• taken with 8 ounces of water

70% HCA means that the manufacturer has standardized the extract to be 70% Hydroxycitric Acid by volume.

50-60% was the highest purity commercially available until recently, so has been the standard used for testing.

The higher percentage provides more total HCA per capsule, but is not more effective otherwise.

In other words, the higher HCA % is not “better”,  you just need less of it.

For proper dosage, you should lower the quantity if you use a product with HCA % higher than the 60% used in studies.

For example, the maximum recommended dosage of 3 grams per day of a 60% HCA product would yield 1800 mg of pure HCA – the same as 2 grams of 90% HCA.

**** DAILY MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED DOSAGE ****

3,000 mg  x 60% HCA =   1800mg  pure HCA
2,000 mg  x 90% HCA = 1800mg  pure HCA

With any popular diet product, there are lots of scams that sell crappy product at ridiculous prices, and some that disappear with your money.

You might want to review some guidelines by the FTC in spotting the crooks.

It is becoming more common now with Garcinia, so beware, and read some of our reviews of brands like Ultra, Extreme, Purely Inspired, Miracle, Whole Body, Natural, and Pure Garcinia Cambogia.

Amazon is super convenient, and great at making sure you get what you order. But they don’t do anything to ensure the quality of a product.

Any brand that just popped up yesterday and will be gone tomorrow is NOT concerned with quality.

There are now dozens of new “Brands” of Garcinia Cambogia sold on Amazon that just make up a name and throw a label on some garbage product. And, they LIE about what is in the bottle!

The following quote is directly from the Dr Oz website where they warn about such deceptive marketing.

Sold Only On Web? Beware!

Our experience at ConsumerLab.com with herbal weight loss supplement suggests that you are more likely to get a bad product if it is sold only on web. Products sold in stores can also have problems (we have uncovered many), but this is less likely, probably because there is an extra layer of scrutiny by stores when deciding what they will carry, and the consequences of selling a bad product may be greater, for example, for a national retail chain, than a small web business. Products sold in mail catalogs also tend to have fewer problems than those sold only on the web. If you’re interested a supplement sold exclusively online, be particularly careful.

This doesn’t mean all products sold on Amazon are bad. It just warns that products sold ONLY on Amazon are a much higher risk for being very poor quality.

Always Look for the HCA!

HCA, or hydroxycitric acid, is the active ingredient. You need to make sure it has at LEAST 60% HCA in it – Higher is better. Also check to make sure they don’t use a lot of added ingredients – especially if they’re hard to read, nearly impossible to pronounce ingredients.

For Weight Loss, we are convinced that:

The Ketogenic Diet(47,48), preferably combined with Intermittent Fasting is the most effective way to lose weight.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can greatly increase your metabolism to make weight loss easier and faster.

As for Garcinia Cambogia, the evidence shows that:

• Garcinia Cambogia is NOT A MAGIC PILL that will melt the fat off
• Garcinia Cambogia CAN HELP you lose a few more pounds a month

The post Don’t believe the LIES about Garcinia Cambogia appeared first on Alivebynature - Evidence Based Reviews.

We chose 14 fairly common foods that research proves can be helpful for weight loss.

Some, like Eggs, Greens, Salmon and Almonds are recommended for nearly all diets.

Others like Oats, Apples, or Chia seeds are great choices for many people, but are fairly high in carbs so don’t fit well in Low Carb, Paleo, Mediterranean, Nordic, Atkins, or Keto diets.

Anyways, here’s our list and some of the science behind how they can help you  lose weight fast without depending on fad diet pills like Garcinia Cambogia.

I hope this gives you some good ideas.

1. Eggs

Government guidelines that once slammed the cholesterol in eggs now admit they were wrong.

Dietary cholesterol does NOT raise your cholesterol levels, and in fact are very nutritious. (1, 2).

In fact, eggs are one of the very best foods for weight loss.

A large egg is about 70 calories, 5 grams of fat, 6 protein, and no carbs (3).

The balanced protein and saturated fats  them very filling, and are nearly perfect for low carb dieters.

With no carbs, the score a zero on the glycemic index, so won’t raise blood sugar levels.

Simply eating eggs instead of bagels resulted in  significant weight loss for participants in this eight week study (4).

Another study showed that eating eggs instead of bagels increased feeling of fullness (satiety), and resulted in less calories consumed  later in the day (5).

2. Kefir

Depending on the type of milk used, 6 ounces of milk kefir  contains approximately

• Calories – 100
• Protein – 6 grams
• Carbohydrates – 7-8 grams
• Fat – 3-6 grams

(https://www.caloriecount.com/calories-liberty-kefir-plain-i84981)

After the fermentation process, Kefir is much lower in Carbs and Glycemic Index than milk.

It contains more than 20  different strains of friendly bacteria, including many lactobacillus and bifodobacteriam strains which are  beneficial (6).

Kefir also has beneficial yeasts which combat intestinal parasites like E. coli.

The fatty acids in Kefir are between  80-95% CLA – Conjugated Linoleum Acid  (7).

CLA helps glucose fill muscles cells more effectively,  preventing glucose from being converted to fat.

A review of 18 different clinical studies have shown CLA helps reduce body fat (8)

3. Avocados

Like eggs, Avocados have gotten a bad rap from (faulty) mainstream nutritionists until just recently.

Now that we know that “eating fat doesn’t make you fat”,  attitudes are changing and Avocados are recognized as a very healthy diet choice.

A medium Avocado has:

• Calories – 322
• Carbohydrate – 17 grams
• Fiber – 13 grams
• Sugars – 1 gram
• Fat – 29 grams
• Protein – 4 grams
• Glycemic Index – not measured

(https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1843/2)

Avocados are very high  in a particular kind of fat – monounsaturated oleic acid.

Oleic acid has been linked to reduced inflammation and been shown to have beneficial effects on genes linked to cancer (11, 12, 13, 14).

Oleic acid is converted in the body to CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), which  we mentioned for Kefir that CLA  has been shown to help reduce body fat (15)

With only 1 gram of carbohydrates as sugar and the rest being fiber which slows the absorption tremendously.

In fact, the glycemic index of Avocados is so low that the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition doesn’t even bother to calculate it (16).

High fats and fiber give Avocados a high satiety index, which was proven by research.

A study found that compared with other foods, subjects given Avocados  were  23% more satisfied and were 28% less likely to  eat for the next 5 hours (17).

They also contain nearly 20% of the RDA for potassium – an important mineral that  most people need a lot more of (18).

4. Greens

Leafy greens such as spinach, chard, collard greens and Kale are very nutrient dense, but low in calories for volume and high in fiber.

Most leafy greens have fewer than 10 calories per cup  which make them one of the very best foods for weight control.

Research proves that  including very low in energy density foods result in fewer overall calories consumed and  has been proven in many  (19).

Full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients that combat  diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer (20),

5. Wild Salmon

Fish are very high in protein, so are recommended by nearly all diet plans.

But some fish are more healthy than others, with Salmon, mackerel, trout, sardines and other oily fish being at the top of the list.

Salmon in particular is  high in  Omega-3 fat which has numerous health benefits besides combating metabolic disease (21, 22).

One study found eating farmed Salmon 2 times a week resulted in 50% higher levels in the blood of the important Omega 3 fat DHA (23).

There are noticable differences in Wild vs Farm-raised Salmon, as this table shows.

According to the  USDA, wild Salmon has 130 less calories than farm raised Salmon per serving.

These calories are mostly from fat, but not the good Omega 3 fats that we need more of (24).

Unfortunately, farm raised Salmon are much higher in Omega-6 fats.

They also have 3 times as much saturated fat.  Not terrible, but not as beneficial as Omega 3 fats.

Those on a Ketogenic diet might actually prefer the higher fat content of farm raised Salmon.  Others would probably prefer the lower calories of Wild Salmon.

6. Grapefruit

A medium sized red grapefruit has:

• Calories – 97
• Fiber – 4 grams
• Protein –  2 grams
• Carbohydrates – 26 grams
• Fat – 0 grams
• Glycemic Index – 29
• Vitamin A (79% RDA)
• Vitamin C (107% RDA)
• Vitamin A (79% RDA)
• Pantothenic acid (14.% RDA)

As fruit go, they are fairly low in calories,  with an excellent Glycemic Index, but it isn’t obvious why Grapefruit has been so popular with dieters for decades now.

The answer rests on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an enzyme that  helps muscles use stored sugar and fat for energy.

AMPK activity  is increased by exercise, but can also be activated by certain food substances such as Polyphenols and Capsacin.

Another such substance is Nootkatone,   a component found in grapefruit has been shown to significantly increase AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity (25).

Researchers found that study participants given 1/2 a  grapefruit  or the same quantity of juice before meals lost an average of  3.5 pounds over 12 weeks (26).

3.5 pounds isn’t huge, but that was from eating just 1/2 a grapefruit with no other changes.  Participants also had lower blood glucose and insulin sensitivity.

7. Apples 

The antioxidants and nutrients may help reduce risks of hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease (27).

For weight loss, a 12 week study showed women that added  one and a half large apples daily to their diet lost  on average about 3 pounds (28).

The  fiber in apples is Pectin, a soluble fiber that has been shown to  increase satiety, improve metabolic health, and decrease caloric intake, weight gain, adiposity (30,)

This low energy density,  glycemic index, and soluble fiber make it an excellent food for weight loss for most people, although the 25 grams of carbohydrate is problematic for those on Low Carb or Ketogenic diets.

8. Oatmeal

A cup of rolled oats contains:

• Calories – 300
• Fats – 5 grams
• Carbohydrates – 56 grams
• Fiber – 8 grams
• Protein – 11 grams
• Glycemic Index – 55

Oatmeal is fairly high in calories and carbs.  But they do have a fairly low glycemic index of 55 so the calories are absorbed fairly slowly.

They contain the soluble fiber beta gluten, which has been shown to increase feelings of satiation, and fight insulin resistance and hypertension (31).

Studies show that compared with standard breakfast cereals of the same calorie count, oatmeal provides more protein and fiber, less sugar, and induced greater satiety (32).

In another study published in 2013, subjects who consumed oatmeal for breakfast over 12 weeks had reduced weight, BMI, and waist to hip ratio.

A 2013 issue of Plant Foods and Human Nutrition published a study that showed oat cereal consumed for 12 weeks did associate with reduced body weight, body mass index, body fat and waist-to-hip ratio (33)

** Before I went Keto and had to cut the oatmeal, one of my favorite tricks was mixing it with Cottage Cheese.  Tastes yummy and gives you a nice balance of carbs and proteins.

9. Beef

We could list Chicken and Pork here as well, but are focusing on Beef to also address what we feel is some unfair criticisms Beef suffers from.

Research shows that eating red meat does not increase risks of diabetes, hypertension, or heart disease  (34, 35).

Other studies  show no increase in cancer risks for women from consuming red meats, and only a very minute increase in risk for men  (36, 37).

Studies show there are many benefits for eating beef, as a high protein diet can increase metabolism to burn up to 100 calories more each day (38, 39).

Other research demonstrates that increasing  protein to 30% of total calories can cut hunger and result in weight loss of a pound a week  (40, 41).

10. Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is composed almost entirely of Saturated Fats, which faulty advice has caused many people to fear unjustly.

This very healthy oil is unique in that it is nearly all  Medium Chain Fatty Acids (42).

Unlike all other fats, Medium Chain Fatty Acids  bypass the digestive system and go straight to the liver to be used for energy or  ketone bodies.

Studies show that consuming coconut oil increases metabolism  compared to equal calories of other fats (43, 44).

Another study showed taking 2 tablespoons of MCT  fats per day increased energy consumption (fat burning) by 120 calories per day  (45).

Coconut oil also helps suppress appetite.

Studies show that eating MCT fats cut hunger and participants consumed less calories throughout the day – up to 250 less in one study  (46, 47).

11. Goji Berries

One ounce of dried Goji Berry contain:

• Fiber – 2 grams
• Carbohydrates – 6 grams
• Protein – 3 grams
• Calories – 23
• Fat – 0
• Glycemic Index – 29

(https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/custom/280160/1)

Goji Berries are harvested from the Lycium Barbarum plant, from the box thorn family.

They are native to southern Europe and Asia, but most commercially produced Goji is from China, where it is also known as Chinese Boxthorn or Wolfberry.

Goji have a very good nutritional profile that includes high level of antioxidants, especially zeaxanthin (48)

• 11 essential and 22 trace dietary minerals
• 6 Vitamins
• 18 amino acids
• beta-sitosterol and other phytosterols
• 5 carotenoids, including beta-carotene and zeaxanthin, lutein, lycopene and cryptoxanthin

They have a lot of protein, high dietary fiber and  low glycemic index which makes them filling without raising blood sugar levels.

Goji berry is an adaptogen that is claimed to reduce stress levels and lowers cortisol levels which promote weight gain (49).

The ORAC value of Goji Berry, which measures antioxidant levels, is about 10x higher than other fruits like Oranges or Blueberries, and is comparable to Acai (50).

A 2011 double blind study with Rodents given Lycium Barbarum extract showed increased metabolic rate and reduced waist size compared to placebo (51).

In 2008, a 14 day study of adults given Lycium Barbarum showed improved Energy Level, athletic performance, quality of sleep, and gastrointestinal function (52).

One downside of Goji Berries is the cost – they are fairly pricey.

12. Almonds

One ounce of Almonds  contains:

• Calories – 160
• Fat – 14 grams
• Carbs – 2.5 grams
• Fiber –  3.5 grams.
• Protein – 6 grams.
• Vitamin E: 37% of the RDA.
• Manganese: 32% of the RDA.
• Magnesium: 20% of the RDA.

https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3667

Almonds are high in protein and  fiber which  has been shown to promote satiety and result in lower overall calorie consumption (53).

The also have a very low glycemic index which means those calories are absorbed very slowly, making them an approved food source for diabetics (54, 55).

Nearly all of the fats in Almonds are  mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are known to have positive effects on heart disease (56).

Research has shown consuming almonds can lead to improved metabolism, lower blood sugar levels and weight loss (57, 58, 59)

Almonds are fairly high in calories, so should not be consumed in massive quantities, but rather serve as a handy snack between meals to alleviate hunger.

13. Chia Seeds

One ounce of Chia seeds  contains:

• Calories – 137
• Fat – 9 grams
• Carbs – 12 grams
• Fiber –  11 grams.
• Protein – 4 grams.

https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3061/2

Chia seeds contain 12 grams of carbohydrate per ounce, which is fairly high, but 11 of those grams are  soluble fiber.

This makes chia seeds a low-carb friendly food, and one of the best sources of fiber in the world

This soluble fiber makes Chia seed much like Glucomannan, in that they absorb more than 10x their weight in water, and turn into a gel in your stomach (61).

Not only is this very filling, but the soluble fiber acts as a prebiotic for the beneficial bacteria in your gut – the Probacteria that have weight loss benefits  as well  (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67).

The 9 grams of fat is mostly Omega 3 fats, which have tremendous  benefits for heart health.

Chia seeds are also high in  Vitamins A, B, E, and D,  iron, magnesium, iodine, niacin, thiamine, and many antioxidants (68).

Studies show consumption of  chia seeds suppress  appetite, but so far they are inconclusive at proving weight loss (69, 70).

14. Chili Pepper

The “hot” in chili peppers is from a substance called capsaicin,

Numerous research studies and clinical trials  have shown capsaicin  gives a boost to metabolism to  increase fat burning, and also helps suppress appetite (71, 72, 73).

However, one study shows that the increased fat burning and hunger suppression is more effective for those who are not used to consuming capsaicin, and the effects diminish over time (74).

Besides weight loss, Capsaicin is believed to have these additional health benefits

• Aid digestion
• Reduce pain from Migraine headaches
• Sooth aching joints
• Support Detox

Amazon has over 1500 products that include capsaicin in the form of Cayenne (a type of chile pepper)

Final Thoughts

None of these are miracle foods that you can use to reach your weight loss goals all by themselves.

But they are all healthy choices and do have modest benefits for weight loss, proven by research.

Incorporate as many of these foods as you can into your diet in place of less healthy alternatives and you will see results.

The post 14 Best Foods for Weight Loss appeared first on Alivebynature - Evidence Based Reviews.

You may have heard that researchers and  nutritionists have admitted they were wrong about Eggs and now say that Eggs do NOT contribute to Cardiovascular Disease and are in fact good for your health.

In fact Eggs are one of the best choices for a healthy weight loss.

They are rich in healthy fats, muscle-building protein, and are chock-full of minerals and vitamins. Eggs help you lose weight in the healthiest way.

Read more below about how eggs aid weight loss.

Low in Calories

Everyone knows that reducing daily calories is the best way to slim down.  The trick is to eat foods that fill you up without too many calories

Most snack foods begin in the 100-calorie range, but a large egg is only around 80 calories. Eggs are healthier than packaged snacks; in fact, egg yolks are surprisingly nutritious (1).

Since a meal containing eggs usually made up of three eggs, you’ll be consuming a little over 240 calories, maybe 300 of you add a heaping serving of vegetables.

However, keep in mind that frying eggs in butter or oil can add around 50 calories per teaspoon.

One large egg equals 80 calories, and a complete meal of 3 boiled eggs and vegetables is only around 300!

Feel Fuller Longer

Because of high protein content, eggs are not only filled with nutrients, but they will help you feel fuller longer as well (2).

Foods that are high-protein rank highly on the Satiety Index, a scakle that evaultatues how full one feels after eating a meal (3). This means they suppress appetite and make you feel less inclined to snack.

Foods with a lower protein content often don’t leave you feeling as satisfied. In fact, several studies have showed that people eating meals with the same calorie content as egg meals report feeling less full than those who consumed a high-protein food, such as eggs ( 4, 5).

This reduces daily thoughts about snacking by up to 60 percent, and cuts the desire for night snacking by fifty percent (6, 7).

Eggs rank high on the Satiety Index scale and may help those who consume them feel fuller for a longer period. High-protein foods such as eggs might also banish the urge to snack less.

Speed up Your Metabolism

Because eggs contain the ideal ratios of essential amino acids, your body can efficiently use egg protein for metabolic rate and body maintenance.

In fact, due to the thermic effect of food, which is the energy your body requires to break down food, eating high-protein foods can raise metabolism to the effect of 80-100 calories a day (8, 9).

Thermic effect is higher for protein and lower for fats and carbohydrates (10, 11). Therefore, eggs can make you burn more calories than foods with a lower protein content.

A high-protein diet including eggs might raise your metabolism by up to 80–100 calories per day. This is because more calories are utilized to metabolism food protein.

Start Your Day the Right Way

Breakfasts including eggs are the best choice for those trying to lose weight, and studies of overweight women have shown that breakfasts including eggs aid weight loss more than other breakfasts, including those that contain the same amount of calories.

Women who consumed eggs instead of bagels felt fuller and ate less calories over the next day and a half.

A study including men showed similar results, reducing calorie intake for the 24 hours following an egg breakfast (12).In fact, eggs breakfasts can result in 65 percent more weight loss over a two-month period (13, 14).

Egg breakfasts also resulted in more stable blood glucose levels and the body’s insulin response. Eggs were also shown to suppress the hunger hormone known as ghrelin(15).

Yet another study, this one including 30 healthy, fit young men compared the effects of three common breakfasts types.

These three breakfasts were eggs with toast, cereal with milk and toast, and a croissant with orange juice. All breakfasts were tested during different times of the day as well.

Not surprisingly, the breakfast containing eggs led to a greater feeling of fullness, greater meal satiety, and less hunger overall.

Additionally, men who had consumed eggs for breakfast ate 270-470 calories less for lunch and dinner (16).

The reduction in calorie intake was unintentional by the men involved in the study.

Eating eggs for breakfast may subconsciously lead to healthier food choices for up to 36 hours.

Affordable and Easy

It is easy to add eggs into your daily diet.

Eggs are sold at the vast majority of grocery stores, are inexpensive, and only take minutes to prepare.

Eggs are easy to fry, bake, boil, or prepare as an omelette, and taste great any way you make them.

In fact, a two-egg breakfast omelette containing vegetables may make for one of the best ways to enjoy a breakfast conducive to weight loss.

There are hundreds of  great egg recipes to try.

Eggs are affordable, readily available, and are easy to prepare.

Final Thoughts

• Eating eggs is easy if you’re trying to slim down a little.

• Eggs make you feel fuller longer and keep you from eating too many calories a day.

• Eggs are a great source of key vitamins and minerals.

• Eating eggs for breakfast may be the key to your weight loss.

The post Why Eggs are GREAT weight loss food appeared first on Alivebynature - Evidence Based Reviews.

Why has intermittent fasting (IF) become so popular in the past few years?

One of the main reasons is simplicity. There are a million and one diets that involve specific foods or nutrients, but IF skirts all those details. Let’s see what the main types of IF are, and what the evidence shows about weight loss and other health effects.

Also known as time-restricted feeding,[1] IF alternates periods of normal food intake with extended periods (usually 16–48 h) of low-to-no food intake. This approach lends itself to different variants, including those:

• Alternate-Day Fasting (also known as Alternate-Day Modified Fasting). This diet can take different forms: you can eat over 12 hours then fast for 36 hours; you can eat over 24 hours then fast for 24 hours; or you can eat normally over 24 hours then eat very little (about 500 kcal) over the next 24 hours.
• Eat-Stop-Eat. You fast or severely restrict calories for 24 hours, either at regular intervals (two days per week in the 5:2 Diet) or just from time to time.
• Random Meal Skipping. You skip meals at random throughout the week.
• Feeding Window. You can only eat during a set period of time every day (from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m, for instance).

Should you decide to try intermittent fasting, pick a variant you think you can stick with for at least a few weeks.

Yes, IF can lead to weight loss,[2] but all variants may not be equally efficacious. For instance, simply skipping breakfast led to weight loss in one study[3] but not in another.[4] In both studies, the control groups were provided with a standard breakfast, such as oatmeal, but neither group was restricted in what they could eat the rest of the day.

It’s also possible that people with more weight to lose may benefit more from an IF approach, but one thing is sure: if you compensate for the meals you skipped by eating more later in the day, or the next day, or the next, you won’t lose weight. The weight-loss equation is simple: you need to ingest less calories than you burn. IF is just one way to make this happen, but it is a way that some people find easier than the more common “eat smaller meals” approach.

To lose weight, you need to burn more than you eat — or, conversely, to eat less than you burn. Some people find this goal easier to reach through intermittent fasting than through the traditional “smaller meals” approach.

The body of evidence on IF is still relatively small, but a growing number of studies have reported improvements in various health markers aside from weight, notably lipids.[1] Further, those studies suggest that IF may provide unique metabolic benefits over the “eat smaller meals” approach.

The most intriguing of those benefits, but also the most debated, is a longer life. Fasting can kick-start some regenerative processes in the body,[5] and extended lifespans from caloric restriction have been reported in many animal models[6] (but not all[7]). Keep in mind, however, that those animals were either fed low-calorie diets or rotated through periods of fasting for most of their lives. It is unknown if IF can extend the lifespan of human beings, and if it can, which variant is best and how many weeks, months, or years are required to make a difference.

Assessing the potential metabolic benefits of IF is a long-term endeavor. As a systematic review of the literature noted in 2015,[8] preliminary evidence looks promising, but solid research is still sparse, so that “further research in humans is needed before the use of fasting as a health intervention can be recommended”.

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There are many different diets and plans that are popular for weight loss.

One that has recently been getting a lot of attention and I am personally using is called intermittent fasting

When you fast for short periods of time, it helps you to cut down the total calories you eat in a day.

And as an added bonus, it helps optimize the way some hormones work to signal your body for fat storage.

You can read about 6 Ways to do Intermittent Fasting, but the three most popular ones are:

1. The 16/8 Method: Skip your breakfast throughout the week and eat only during an 8-hour feeding window, like from 12 noon to 8 pm.
2. Eat-Stop-Eat: Do your fast once (or twice) every week for a 24-hour period. An example would be not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.
3. The 5:2 Diet: Eat just 500-600 calories for two days of the week, but eat regularly the other 5 days.

With any of these methods, it is important that you don’t compensate by overeating during the non-fasting periods.

Adhering to sensible calorie consumption during the non-fasting periods will lead to a reduction in your total caloric intake, which will allow you to lose weight and fat around your belly (2, 3).

How Intermittent Fasting Influences Your Hormones for Fat Storage

Body fat is actually the result of how the body stores energy (calories).

When you haven’t had anything to eat for awhile, the body makes several hormonal adjustments so  the energy it’s already stored as fat is more  readily available.

Below are some of the things that happen to your metabolism when you are undergoing a fast:

• Insulin: Insulin goes up when we digest food. When we fast, insulin in the body falls sharply. Fat burning is made easier with low levels of insulin.
• Human growth hormone (HGH): Levels of growth hormone shoot up in the body during a period of fasting. This increase can be by as much as  5 x higher.  Growth hormone helps you to lose fat while also gaining muscle, along with other positive benefits (5, 6).Growth hormone  can aid fat loss and muscle gain, among other things (7, 8, 9).
• Norepinephrine (noradrenaline): Your nervous system delivers norepinephrine to your fat cells. This makes them break down your body fat into free fatty acids that can then be burned for energy(10, 11).

Incredibly, despite what you may have heard  from proponents of the traditional 5-6 meal diet, short-term fasting appears to actually stimulate fat burning.

Of note, two studies have shown that fasting for about 48 hours or so boosts metabolism up to 14%(12, 13). However, fasting periods that are longer can suppress metabolism (14).

Short term fasting can be an excellent tool – it induces many changes including reduced insulin, more growth hormone and increased metabolism

Intermittent Fasting Helps You Reduce Your Calorie Intake

The primary reason that intermittent fasting assists with weight loss is that it helps you to consume fewer calories.

While calorie counting is normally not necessary with intermittent fasting, it is true that the weight loss is mostly due to the overall decrease in calorie intake.

Each of the protocols involves missing meals during the fasting periods. Unless you offset this deficit by eating a lot more during the eating periods, you will be taking in less calories.

According to this recent study, intermittent fasting can lead to an astounding amount of weight loss. In this 24 week long study, it was shown to reduce body weight up to 8% (2).

When looking at the actual rates of weight loss, people dropped about 0.55 pounds per week using intermittent fasting, but dropped up to 1.65 pounds per week using alternate-day fasting (2).

Participants lost up to 7% of their total waist circumference, which clearly shows that they lost fat around their belly.

These are fairly dramatic results that prove intermittent fasting can be very effective for weight loss.

More than just weight loss, the rewards of intermittent fasting are are also numerous positives for metabolic health such as lowered blood pressure.

These benefits may even include the prevention of chronic disease and a increase lifespan
(15, 16).

Bottom Line: Intermittent fasting is a simple way to restrict the amount of calories that many people find is easier to follow. Studies indicate that it can help you shed weight and belly fat.

How Intermittent Fasting can help you retain muscle mass

A nasty side effect of crash dieting is often a significant loss of muscle mass(17).

It is interesting that studies indicate less muscle loss from weight loss with Intermittent Fasting as opposed to other methods (18).

Another study showed a standard calorie restriction diet resulted in 25% of the weight loss to be muscle, vs only 10% of weight loss of those using intermittent fasting(18).

A third study had participants eat the same number of calories as usual, but have them all in a huge dinner and nothing else. Surprisingly, they lost body fat and increased muscle mass as well as many other positive changes in total health. (19).

Research indicates that Intermittent Fasting may result in less muscle loss for each pound of fat loss, as compared to non fasting diet plans

It is easier to eat healthy meals with Intermittent Fasting diet

For many people, the simplicity of meal planning is a huge benefit with Intermittent Fasting.

For example, with the 16/8 plan, you only have to plan 2 meals instead of 3 So there is less preparation, and you are more flexible when and where you have to be.

With the 5:2 plan, you only need to plan 500 calories for 2 days. the other 5 days you eat your normal diet, without having to plan for reduced calories.

No matter how well a diet works on paper, REAL people have to stick to it, and the simpler it is, the more likely you will be able to.

Intermittent Fasting is often much simpler than other diets, so is easier to stick to.

Final Thoughts

When it’s all said and done, intermittent fasting can be a helpful tool for weight loss.

In addition to making it easier to lose pounds, it often results in less loss of muscle mass and other improvements in body chemistry.

Its not for everyone, but many people are finding it beneficial. You can read more about Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting here.

The post Benefits of Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss appeared first on Alivebynature - All about NAD+.

Protein is a crucial part of a weight-loss plan.

In fact, increasing your protein intake is more effective than taking Garcinia Cambogia for weight loss.

Research demonstrates that eating protein keeps you feeling fuller for a longer period of time, preventing you from consuming extra calories (1, 2, 3).

Because of that, adding protein to the first meal of the day can help you lose weight.

Is Breakfast Really Necessary?

People often think that skipping breakfast will make them gain weight.

While current research shows that eating breakfast doesn’t affect your weight (1), it may be important for improving mental clarity in some people (4, 5).

Of course, the foods that you eat for breakfast are key.

Eating a conventional sugary cereal may taste good and fill you up, but consuming a high-protein meal may help you lose weight.

Researchers say not to worry about skipping breakfast when it comes to weight loss. However, they may not be factoring in the weight-reducing benefits of a high-protein meal.

How You Can Lose Weight by Eating Protein

One of the best things you can do to lose weight is eat protein.

Your body burns more calories to process protein than it does to metabolize fat or carbohydrates (6).

Eating protein also prevents you from getting hungry soon after you’ve eaten.(7)

Studies show that eating protein can help reduce total calorie consumption and late-night snacking (8).

One study with had women increase their protein intake from 50-30% of their total calories for a 12 week period.  This resulted  in them consuming 441 few calories, and losing 11 pounds on average (9).

Consuming protein can also help you keep the weight off once you have lost it.  This study found that dieters regain 50% less weight just by increasing protein up to  18% of calories  (10).

Increasing your protein intake is very likely to help you lose weight and keep it off

Eat More Protein in the Morning to Eat Less in the Afternoon

Many researchers are investigating the ways in which eating protein early in the day influences calorie intake later on.

Some results indicate that eating more protein for breakfast helps people eat less up to 135 fewer calories later in the day  (11)

Eating a high-protein breakfast can actually alter the motivation and reward signals in the brain, making people less likely to be driven to eat in order to feel better (12).

Consuming protein also triggers signals that control hunger, making people feel more satiated and be less inclined to snack or overeat (13).

Many studies have proven that increasing protein intake at breakfast can cause a drop in hunger  hormone ghrelin and an increase in  hormone peptide YY that signal fullness   (14).

Studies show that a high protein breakfast can influence these hormones all through the day (15, 16).

Protein for  breakfast has a great influence on the appetite hormones, and leads to less calories consumed throughout the day.

How You Can Lose Belly Fat by Increasing Your Protein at Breakfast

Eating more protein, especially at breakfast, leads to decreased hunger throughout the day, and  you can lose belly fat .

Increased consumption of healthy protein is inversely related  to lower belly fat percentages  (17, 18).

In one study, obese teenagers lost 4% of their bodyweight over three months by eating fewer grains and more eggs during the first meal of the day compared with .2% for teens who continued to eat a carbohydrate-based breakfast (19).

Another study demonstrated that a group of participants that ate eggs for breakfast  lost  61%  more BMI  than those eating the same number of calories, but bagels instead of eggs (20).

Consuming a high-protein breakfast can play a big role in reducing body fat, especially for obese individuals

You Can Get a Metabolism Boost From Protein

A faster metabolism helps you burn extra calories and lose weight more rapidly.

When you eat carbs or fat, your body doesn’t have to burn as many calories in order to metabolize those nutrients. You burn up to 30 percent more calories when your body is processing protein (21).

You can increase your calorie burn by up to 100 calories per day by eating more protein. You  boost your metabolism by cutting out some carbs and fat and replacing those calories with  protein. (22, 23).

A high protein diet can also help prevent muscle loss during calorie restriction, and partly prevent the reduction in metabolism that often comes with weight loss, often referred to as “starvation mode” (24, 25, 26).

One problem with extreme calorie restriction diet is reduction in metabolism – as you eat less, your metabolism slows and you burn fewer calories(27, 28,)

High protein intake helps prevent muscle loss and slower metabolism that results, so you can continue to burn more calories per day (29, 30, 31)

Eating more protein can preserve muscle mass and improve a sluggish metabolism when you’re eating fewer calories in an attempt to lose weight.

What Breakfast Foods are High in Protein?

In addition to being extremely nourishing, eggs contain high levels of protein.

People who replace toast, oatmeal or cereal with eggs typically consume less over the next day and lower their BMI. (32, 33, 34).

Some other great protein sources are fish, seafood, beef, chicken and some dairy products.

Some ideas that can get you started with a high-protein breakfast are:
• Scramble eggs in a healthy oil such as coconut or olive oil, and add a hearty helping of vegetables. Peppers, mushrooms, spinach and onions are nutritious and tasty options.
• Make an omelet, adding vegetables and cream or cottage cheese.
• Break up soft tofu and sauté it with spinach and kale. Add nutritional yeast and dairy-free cheese.
• Scoop Greek yogurt into a bowl with fresh or frozen berries, wheat germ, hemp hearts, chia seeds and almonds.
• Make a shake or smoothie with a frozen banana, strawberries or blueberries, and almond milk. Add a scoop of whey protein to make it a filling meal.
• Whip up some protein pancakes.

One of the easiest ways to incorporate more protein in your breakfast is to eat eggs. Other high-protein options can add variety.

Final Thoughts: Eat More Protein at Breakfast

Most people are better off eating breakfast rather than trying to skip it to save calories.

If you eat breakfast to start the day, make sure that it includes protein.

In the studies that demonstrate the benefits of eating protein for breakfast, participants ate at least 20 grams of protein during the meal.

The post Protein at breakfast increases Weight Loss appeared first on Alivebynature - All about NAD+.

Most of the weight loss supplements we review work for a small percentage of the people that use them.

But the one I am going to talk about today really stands out for the wide range of people it helps.

It is called Glucomannan, or Konjac Root, and is a type of soluble fiber.

What is Glucomannan?

40% of the the elephant yam (Konjac Root) is Glucomannan.

In southeast Asia it has been used for centuries in herbal mixtures and traditional foods like tofu and konjac jelly.

It is also the only ingredient in shirataki noodles, which accounts for the numerous health benefits ascribed to this japanese favorite (1).

Besides being used as a supplement for diet, It is used in production of foods as a thickener or emulsifier (2).

Glucomannan is one of the most absorbant dietary fibers and will aborb 50 times its weight in water.

If you open a single capsule of glucomannan into a large glass of water, it will turn into a mass of gel.

This incredible viscosity and absorption capacity is key in its ability to promote health and weight loss (3).

Bottom line: Glucomannan is a water soluble fiber with unequaled absorption capacity. It is rapidly becoming a key addition to many weight-loss products.

Soluble Fiber

Glucomannan is a soluble fiber.

Soluble fiber is not digestible by our bodies, but do get digested by the “good” bacteria (Probiotics) in our guts (4).

In the stomach and intestine, it absorbs water, kind of like a sponge, and gives you a feeling of fullness (5).

It also slows absorption of other nutrients, reducing the rapid spike in blood sugar that tends to happen after (carb-heavy) meals (6).

The combined effect of increased fullness and slowed absorption of nutrients helps decrease appetite level and cause an automatic reduction in food intake (7,8).

After the stomach, soluble fibers travel to the large intestine, where they becomes food for the healthy bacteria.

The healthy bacteria break it down, use it for fuel and turn some of it into short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which  prevents fat gain in animal studies (9, 10).

Although the mechanisms aren’t entirely understood yet, feeding the friendly bacteria (prebiotics)  has been shown to aid in weight loss (11, 12).

As with other Soluble fibers, Glucomannan has the following benefits for weight loss:

• Very low calories
• It promotes a feeling of fullness (satiety), so you eat less (13).
• Reduces the amount of fat and proteins absorbed  (14).

Conclusion:  Glucomannan aborbs 50x its weight in water to form a gel which promotes fullness.  Your body cant digest it, but the “good” bacteria in your gut do

An Excellent Prebiotic

In addition to the effect Glucomannan has for weight loss and health by itself, it is also an excellent Prebiotic(15).

Prebiotics are foods that our bodies cannot digest by themselves, but are digestible by the beneficial bacteria (Probiotics) in our guts and serve as a food source to stimulate their growth (16).

Probiotics are the “good” bacteria in our guts that strengthen our immune systems and improve many aspects of our health (17).

Not only do Probiotics have a huge impact on our overall health, research is showing the improvement in our gut health can result in significant weight loss (18,19,20,21).

In particular, researchers are focusing on Lactobacillus Gasseri as the Probiotic that has the most impact on weight loss (22, 23, 24, 25 ,26).

Soluble fibers have weight loss benefits by themselves, and are doubly effective to combine them with a weight loss specific Probiotic like Lactobacillus Gasseri.

Conclusion: Soluble Fibers such as Glucomannan serve as food sources (Prebiotics), for Probiotics such as Lactobacillus Gasseri. Depending on the individual, taking Glucomannan with Lactobacillus may increase its effectiveness.

Research on Weight Loss

A study was performed in 20 obese individuals. They were instructed to take either a glucomannan supplement or placebo (27).

The glucomannan group took 1g of glucomannan, three times per day, 1 hour before each meal.

They lost 5.5lbs (2,5kg) in a period of 8 weeks.

Another study with 200 overweight or obese individuals found that glucomannan led to weight loss of 12 pounds (4,5kg) in a period of 16 weeks (28).

I should also point out that both groups drastically reduced their LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and their triglycerides.

There have been a few other studies that show similar results, where taking Glucomannan results in significant weight loss for overweight individuals. (29, 30, 31).

Since it is a soluble fiber that absorbs water, it makes your stool “bulkier” and makes your food travel faster through the intestine (32, 33).

Conclusion: Like other soluble fibers, glucomannan absorbs water in the stomach and contributes to satiety. It may also promote reduced calorie intake and weight loss via several other mechanisms.

Other Health Benefits

A meta analysis of 14 other studies showed that Glucomannan appears to improve body weight, blood glucose levels, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides (34):

• Lowers blood sugar by 7.4 mg/dL
• Lowers total cholesterol by 19 mg/dL
• Lowers LDL cholesterol by 16 mg/dL
• Lowers triglycerides by 11 mg/dL

There are also studies showing that Glucomannan can significantly help with constipation (35,36)

Bottom line: These studies indicate that glucomannan could help lower your weight, risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease – 3 of the biggest health risks americans face today.

Dosage and  Side Effects

In general, Glucomannan is considered safe with no side effects other than possible minor stomach discomfort, flatulence, or diarrhea. These are not common.

Since Glucomannan expands to 50x its volume, it is suggested to use smaller quantities than with other soluble fibers.

1 gram taken 2-3 times per day before meals is the recommended quantity (37).

One area of concern – the Canadian Health board requires companies to label Glucomannan products with a warning to take it with 8 full ounces of water to avoid the possibility of choking if it gets stuck in the throat (38).

It is important to take before meals, otherwise it is not effective (39, 40).

Glucomannan can also interfere with the effectiveness of some drugs like  sulfonylurea. This is not an issue if it is taken an hour before ingesting Glucomannan.

Conclusion: Glucomannan is dietary fiber, not a drug. Possible side effects are minor stomach upset.

Where to Buy

There are many different choices of  Glucomannan on Amazon.

Unlike with Probiotics, where the “live” bacteria are actually dead, or Garcinia Cambogia, where the claimed 80% HCA is actually 5-10%, with Glucomannan, there is very little difference in the quality of products.

The different products are also all priced about the same, so its a lot simpler to purchase Glucomannan and not be worried about getting ripped off.

We also sell the Nature’s Way brand in our store for the same price as you find on Amazon.

Final Thoughts

Besides exercise, we always recommend a low carb or Ketogenic diet as the most important step  for weight loss.

But if you  are at  a weight loss plateau, or want a little extra boost in your weight loss efforts, you might give Glucomannan a try.

You also might want to try  Glucommanan as a Prebiotic in combination with the Probiotic Lactobacillus Gasseri.

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