Die Leber, oft als "Superfood" bezeichnet, ist ein faszinierender Bestandteil vieler traditioneller Küchen und wird weltweit aufgrund ihrer ernährungsphysiologischen Vorteile geschätzt.
In diesem Artikel werden wir die vielfältigen Vorzüge, Nährstoffe, geschichtlichen Hintergründe und die Entwicklung des Konsums von Leber erkunden.
1. Hoher Eisengehalt:
Leber ist eine ausgezeichnete Quelle für Eisen, was sie zu einer wertvollen Nahrung für Menschen mit Eisenmangelanämie macht. Das in der Leber enthaltene Häm-Eisen wird vom Körper leichter aufgenommen als pflanzliches Nicht-Häm-Eisen.
2. Vitamine A und B12:
Die Leber ist reich an Vitamin A, das für die Sehkraft und das Immunsystem wichtig ist, sowie an Vitamin B12, das eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Blutbildung und der Funktion des Nervensystems spielt.
3. Hochwertiges Protein:
Leber ist eine ausgezeichnete Quelle für hochwertiges Protein, das alle essentiellen Aminosäuren enthält. Dies ist besonders wichtig für den Muskelaufbau, die Reparatur von Gewebe und den Erhalt der allgemeinen Gesundheit.
4. Nährstoffdichte Lebensmittel:
Aufgrund der Fülle an Vitaminen und Mineralstoffen wird Leber als nährstoffdichtes Lebensmittel betrachtet, was bedeutet, dass es viele wichtige Nährstoffe pro Kalorie liefert.
1. Eisen:
Leber enthält sowohl Häm-Eisen als auch Nicht-Häm-Eisen, wodurch sie eine hervorragende Quelle für dieses essentielle Mineral ist.
2. Vitamin A:
Die Leber ist eine der besten natürlichen Quellen für Vitamin A, das für die Sehkraft, Hautgesundheit und das Immunsystem unerlässlich ist.
3. Vitamin B12:
Vitamin B12, das in der Leber vorkommt, ist für die Bildung roter Blutkörperchen und die Funktion des Nervensystems von entscheidender Bedeutung.
4. Zink und Kupfer:
Diese Spurenelemente sind in der Leber vorhanden und spielen eine Rolle bei der Immunfunktion und verschiedenen Stoffwechselprozessen.
1. Historische Bedeutung:
In vielen Kulturen hat die Leber eine lange Tradition als Nahrungsmittel. In einigen Gesellschaften wurde sie sogar als Heilmittel betrachtet.
2. Heilende Eigenschaften:
In der traditionellen Medizin wurde Leber oft als Mittel zur Verbesserung der Blutqualität und zur Behandlung von Anämie eingesetzt.
3. Kulinarische Vielfalt:
Die Verwendung von Leber in der Küche erstreckt sich über eine breite Palette von Gerichten, von Pâtés bis zu Grillgerichten, und spiegelt die Vielfalt der globalen Kochtraditionen wider.
Manche mögen gebratene Rinderleber. Manche nicht. Insbesondere Leber ist ein Lebensmittel für das man individuelle Lösung suchen muss die einzelnen schmecken. Drei Optionen, die ich sehr gerne in meinem Coaching Alltag im YPSI empfehle sind:
1. Leber im Ragu:
Klein gewürfelte Hühnerleber in einer fleischbasierten Pastasauce, wie ein klassisches Ragu Bolognese mit kochen. Zu Beginn empfiehlt sich 100 g Leber pro 1000 g Fleisch.
2. Gebratene Geflügelleber:
Neben der Hühnerleber eignen sich vor allem Leber von der Ente und Gänse um diese in einer heißen Pfanne kurz scharf anzubraten. So kommt neben den Röstaromen auch der feine Schmelz dieser Leber optimal zur Geltung.
3. Pastete
Pastete oder Pâtés aus Leber, ob selbst gemacht oder aus dem Handel, die auch optional mit Aromaten wie Knoblauch, Feigen oder Trüffel verarbeitet, eignet sich auch oft als schmackhafte Variante.
Die Leber hat eine beeindruckende Geschichte als Nahrungsmittel, das nicht nur kulinarisch geschätzt wird, sondern auch einen reichen Nährstoffgehalt bietet.
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Laktoseintoleranz ist eine häufige Verdauungsstörung, bei der der Körper Schwierigkeiten hat, Laktose abzubauen, einen Zucker, der in Milchprodukten vorkommt.
Diese Unverträglichkeit führt zu verschiedenen Symptomen nach dem Verzehr von Milchprodukten. In diesem Artikel werden wir die Ursachen, Symptome und Strategien zur Bewältigung von Laktoseintoleranz näher betrachten.
Laktoseintoleranz entsteht, wenn der Körper nicht genügend Laktase produziert, ein Enzym, das benötigt wird, um Laktose in seine Bestandteile, Glukose und Galaktose, zu zerlegen.
Es gibt drei Haupttypen von Laktoseintoleranz:
Primäre Laktoseintoleranz: Dies ist die häufigste Form und tritt auf, wenn die Laktaseproduktion im Laufe der Zeit abnimmt, normalerweise nach der Kindheit.
Sekundäre Laktoseintoleranz: Dies kann aufgrund von Erkrankungen wie Zöliakie oder anderen Entzündungen des Darms auftreten.
Angeborene Laktoseintoleranz: Sehr selten und genetisch bedingt; Babys werden ohne die Fähigkeit geboren, Laktase zu produzieren.
Die Symptome von Laktoseintoleranz können von leicht bis schwer variieren und treten normalerweise innerhalb von 30 Minuten bis zwei Stunden nach dem Verzehr von Milchprodukten auf. Zu den häufigsten Symptomen gehören:
In einzelnen Fällen können Symptome auch bis zu 72 Stunden versetzt auftreten.
Vermeidung von Milchprodukten: Der offensichtlichste Ansatz ist die Vermeidung von Lebensmitteln und Getränken, die Laktose enthalten. Dies umfasst Milch, Käse, Joghurt und einige verarbeitete Lebensmittel.
Verwendung von laktosefreien Produkten: Es gibt laktosefreie Versionen von Milchprodukten, die enzymatisch behandelt wurden, um die Laktose abzubauen, was sie für laktoseintolerante Personen verträglicher macht.
Laktose: Laktasepräparate können vor dem Verzehr von laktosehaltigen Lebensmitteln eingenommen werden, um die Verdauung zu unterstützen.
Experimentieren mit fermentierten Milchprodukten: Einige Menschen mit Laktoseintoleranz können fermentierte Milchprodukte wie Joghurt besser vertragen, da der Fermentationsprozess einen Teil der Laktose abbaut.
Laktoseintoleranz ist zwar eine häufige Verdauungsstörung, kann jedoch gut bewältigt werden, indem man sich bewusst ist, welche Lebensmittel vermieden oder eingeschränkt werden sollten.
Insbesondere eine Reduktion von Entzündungen im Darm trägt bei sekundärer Laktoseintoleranz zur Steigerung der Verträglichkeit von Laktose bei.
]]>In der Welt der Ernährung und Gesundheit wird oft über Glutentoleranz gesprochen, wobei viele Menschen glauben, dass sie in gewissem Maße "glutentolerant" sind.
Doch die Forschung des renommierten Gastroenterologen Dr. Alessio Fasano legt nahe, dass die Realität weitaus komplexer ist.
Dieser Artikel wirft einen genaueren Blick auf Dr. Fasanos bahnbrechende Forschung und die Gründe, warum seine Erkenntnisse darauf hinweisen, dass niemand wirklich glutentolerant ist.
Dr. Alessio Fasano ist weltweit bekannt für seine wegweisenden Arbeiten im Bereich der Zöliakie und Glutenforschung.
Als Leiter des Center for Celiac Research and Treatment an der Harvard Medical School hat er tiefgreifende Einblicke in die Auswirkungen von Gluten auf den menschlichen Körper gewonnen.
Seine Forschung hat nicht nur zu einem besseren Verständnis von Zöliakie geführt, sondern auch die Grundlage für die Untersuchung von Glutentoleranz gelegt.
Dr. Fasanos Arbeit hebt hervor, dass Gluten, ein komplexes Protein in Weizen, Roggen und Gerste, von Natur aus schwer verdaulich ist.
Selbst bei Menschen ohne diagnostizierbare Glutenunverträglichkeiten können bestimmte Peptide aus Gluten im Verdauungstrakt verbleiben und eine immunologische Reaktion auslösen.
Dieser natürliche Prozess der Immunantwort zeigt, dass niemand im absoluten Sinne glutentolerant ist.
Ein Schlüsselkonzept in Dr. Fasanos Forschung ist der sogenannte "leaky gut" oder durchlässiger Darm.
Er postuliert, dass Gluten die Darmwand durchdringen kann, was zu einer Immunreaktion führen kann, selbst bei Menschen ohne Zöliakie.
Diese erhöhte Darmpermeabilität wirft die Frage auf, ob die Idee der Glutentoleranz überhaupt existiert, wenn selbst bei gesunden Menschen eine Immunreaktion stattfinden kann.
Die Forschung von Dr. Fasano betont auch die erheblichen individuellen Unterschiede in Bezug auf die Glutentoleranz.
Genetische Faktoren spielen dabei eine entscheidende Rolle. Bestimmte genetische Varianten können die Reaktion auf Gluten beeinflussen und erhöhen das Risiko für Glutenunverträglichkeiten.
Diese Vielfalt in der genetischen Veranlagung unterstreicht erneut, dass eine universelle Glutentoleranz nicht existiert.
Dr. Fasanos Arbeit weist darauf hin, dass hormonelle Veränderungen im Körper, wie sie während verschiedener Lebensphasen auftreten, die Wahrnehmung von Glutentoleranz beeinflussen können.
Schwankungen im Hormonstatus, wie sie während der Pubertät, Schwangerschaft oder Menopause auftreten, können zu unterschiedlichen Reaktionen auf Gluten führen.
Zusätzlich können Umweltfaktoren wie Stress und Ernährung die Glutentoleranz beeinträchtigen.
Die Erkenntnisse von Dr. Alessio Fasano werfen wichtige Fragen auf und fordern uns dazu auf, Glutentoleranz als komplexes und individuelles Thema zu betrachten.
Die Zukunft der Forschung wird wahrscheinlich darauf abzielen, die genetischen, umweltbedingten und persönlichen Faktoren besser zu verstehen, die die Wahrnehmung von Glutentoleranz beeinflussen.
Eine differenziertere Sichtweise auf dieses Thema könnte nicht nur zu genaueren Diagnosen, sondern auch zu personalisierten Empfehlungen in Bezug auf Ernährung und Gesundheit führen.
Die Arbeit von Dr. Alessio Fasano hat dazu beigetragen, das Verständnis von Glutentoleranz zu erweitern und aufzuzeigen, dass sie kein starres Konzept ist.
Durch die Berücksichtigung von individuellen Unterschieden, genetischen Faktoren und Umweltbedingungen zeigt sich, dass niemand wirklich glutentolerant ist.
Diese Erkenntnisse sollten uns dazu anregen, die Komplexität der Glutenverdauung zu respektieren und uns bewusst zu machen, dass die spezifischen Auswirkungen von Gluten auf den menschlichen Körper von Person zu Person variieren.
Und das es eben grundsätzlich keine Glutentoleranz gibt.
]]>The rotation of protein sources is important for reasons such as avoiding intolerances, a larger spectrum of amino acids and also for taste.
It is often forgotten that there is more meat than just chicken and beef and that there is more fish than just salmon and tuna.
Seafood is something that is rarely used as a protein source.
One reason for this is certainly a lack of suitable recipes.
Seafood is an excellent source of protein.
An octopus has about 16g of protein per 100g and is virtually free of carbohydrates and fat.
My personal favorite is this lukewarm octopus and potato salad.
It is easy to prepare with relatively little effort and a great change in protein source, temperature, freshness and taste.
For two people, I recommend an octopus that weighs about a kilo.
Cook the octopus in the pot
To prepare the octopus, the classic option is a pot of hot water.
The octopus, either raw or partially, is also available frozen and already pre-cooked. Rinse under cold water and then place in a large pot of salted water.
Cook the octopus in boiling water for about one to one and a half hours. Boiling means that the stove is set so that small bubbles gradually rise in the water, and not that the water fizzes.
After 1 hour, depending on the size of the octopus and whether it has already been cooked, pierce the octopus with a small toothpick. When the car is there, the toothpick simply and easily slides into the meat of the octopus.
Remove the octopus from the hot water.
Allow to cool briefly, then rinse with water and remove the skin and use a sharp knife to separate the tentacles from the head.
Cook octopus sous vide
If anyone has the option of vacuum cooking the octopus. Then I recommend the following procedure.
The three major advantages of Sous Vide cooking are that on the one hand the effort is even lower, that you can work with aromatics such as oregano and thyme during cooking, which gives an additional aromatic component. Also the texture of the octopus still final is getting better.
For sous vide cooking, separate the tentacles from the octopus at the head with a sharp knife before vacuum sealing, then place the tentacles on a cutting board and sprinkle with oregano and thyme before vacuum-sealing them in a cooking bag.
If the octopus is raw, I recommend cooking it the day before at 75° for 6 hours, then cooling the octopus in the closed bag in a bowl of ice water for 1 hour, storing it in the fridge overnight and the next day to cook the octopus again at 75° for 6 hours.
If the octopus is already pre-cooked, I recommend cooking it at 75° for 8 hours.
About 45 minutes before the octopus is done cooking peel 400-500g small potatoes and either boil them in salted water for 20 minutes or my personal method steam cook them for 30 minutes in a pressure cooker, this is the one I use.
When the potatoes are done, take them out and place them on two deep plates. And salt to taste.
Finally, in a cup, combine the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of oregano, and one or two crushed or chopped garlic cloves , and salt to taste , to make the vinaigrette for the salad.
Finally, cut the tentacles into pieces about 2 cm wide and place on the potatoes, then spread the vinaigrette over the salad and mix once with two tablespoons.
Sprinkle with some chopped parsley if you like.
Depending on taste and availability, you can also add cherry tomatoes or celery cut into fine strips.
A dinner of primarily protein and carbohydrates is ready as part of the YPSI diet .
Happy cooking and bon appétit!
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]]>Like most people, we are always on the lookout for simple and delicious recipes within the framework of individual specifications.
A great dinner option as part of the YPSI diet are these nuggets.
Preheat the oven to 200° bottom/top heat.
Spread three tablespoons of gluten-free flour on a flat plate.
Whisk a whole egg in a cup with a fork until the white and yolk become a homogeneous substance of a uniform color. Then place this egg on another flat plate.
Place eight tablespoons of gluten-free cornflakes in a bag and use your hands to crush the cornflakes in the bag into crumbs. Then place these crumbs on a third flat plate.
500g chicken breast , ideally straight from the fridge, cut into smaller pieces equal to about 2 to 3 bites and salt both sides to taste.
Then roll each piece in the flour first so that all sides are coated with flour.
Then roll in the egg so that all sides are coated with egg.
And then roll in the cornflakes so that all sides are also covered with the cornflakes.
Finally, place the piece of chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bread all pieces of chicken in this form.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the chicken for 15 minutes.
Then remove the baking sheet from the oven and use two forks to turn each piece of chicken once and slide the baking sheet back into the oven.
Bake for another 10 minutes.
Then take the finished chicken aka YPSI Fried Chicken out of the oven and, depending on your individual carbohydrate needs, serve either with a dip of your choice, a salad of your choice or with mashed potatoes and a jus.
This is a tasty change to dinner consisting primarily of protein and carbohydrates.
Have fun testing and bon appetit!
Many pasta sauces are tomato based, which can get boring very quickly.
Many alternatives such as pesto are not an ideal option as they always contain a relatively high amount of fat. And as part of the YPSI diet, I clearly recommend separating fat sources from carbohydrate sources.
Alternative pasta sauces that are not based on tomatoes are a welcome change.
One of my favorite recipes is a sauce made from chicken stock.
The Italian term for chicken stock is Brodo di Pollo.
Peel a small celery, 3-4 red onions and 4-6 carrots and cut into pieces of about 2 cm by 2 cm. Add a tablespoon of ghee to the pan over medium-high heat and roast the vegetables very slowly, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Medium heat means if the stove has a control of 1-9, then setting the control to 3-4 is usually ideal, so that the vegetables do not burn on the pan.
While the vegetables are preparing, fill the largest pot you have with 1 to 3 chickens .
Personally, I use an 18 liter pot that comfortably fits three chickens.
When choosing chicken, I recommend choosing the best quality available.
I've experimented a lot here myself and the quality of the chicken has a big effect on the taste of the broth. My personal choice is free range corn chicken.
When the whole chicken or chickens are in the pot, cover them with water.
As soon as the vegetables are ready, put them in the pot with the chicken and water and add more water if necessary so that everything is covered.
Bring this pot to a boil on the stove.
Boiling is about a temperature of 85-95°. This means that the water on the surface moves slightly and there are a few bubbles regularly, but the water does not fizz.
Ideally, let this pot simmer for 24 hours.
Here a mobile hotplate is usually suitable to be used and to be placed on the balcony, terrace, cellar or garage in order to avoid the smell of the broth in the kitchen.
After 24 hours, remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool, then use a ladle or ladle to remove the chickens from the broth and set aside.
Now decant the broth into the next larger pot using a strainer.
The sieve filters the broth and is crucial to get a clear broth free of the smallest residue.
Reduce this clear, golden-brown broth by about 75% over medium-high heat.
Reducing the broth to a stock intensifies the flavor and concentration of collagen.
If you want to reduce by exactly 75%, the easiest way is to take a meter stick or ruler, wrap it in cling film and hold it in the pot to see what the current level of the broth is in the pot. For example, if the current height is 10 cm, then boil the broth until so much water has evaporated that the broth is only 2.5 cm in the pot.
Personally, I don't use a meter stick, but do this by eye.
The advantage of reducing the broth is that only the water evaporates here and all other ingredients and, above all, the aroma are then available in a concentrated form.
When the broth has reduced, I recommend either letting it cool down overnight in cold temperatures around 0° or, if necessary, cooling it in the fridge.
As it cools, the fat in the broth settles at the top, which can then be easily removed with a spoon the next day. The result is a fat-free broth rich in collagen and aroma.
While the broth is reducing, the chicken can be fleshed out, simply peeling the skin off and then using your hands to remove any flesh from the thighs, breast, and back.
Depending on the amount of chicken, this is of course suitable for several days and meals.
The stock can also be used for several meals.
Now that the two most important components of the pasta, the stock and the meat, have been prepared, it is time to finish the pasta.
Boil 300 g gluten-free spaghetti in salted water.
Reduce the cooking time indicated on the packet by 1 minute.
Alongside this, in a large skillet or another saucepan, heat about 150-200ml of the Font along with 200-400g of hand-pulled chicken, if needed.
As soon as the pasta is cooked, use a fork, tongs or cooking tweezers to add water from the pasta to the pan or pot with the stock and the chicken and leave to stand there over a medium heat for about 5 minutes so that the pasta is still tender the stock is absorbed and the pasta is glazed with stock and chicken.
Finally, season the pasta with a little salt .
I like to use Dario Cecchini's Profumo del Chianti for this.
Personally, I always use three chickens, each weighing around 1.5 kilos. The resulting stock and meat are enough for about six meals for two people. In this way, the base for this pasta can be prepared and, depending on the timing of the meals, it can either be stored in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for longer, and the final assembly of the pasta then only takes 15 minutes.
An ideal solution for a great protein and carbohydrate dinner as part of the YPSI diet .
]]>Be careful when supplementing with potassium, as high levels of potassium can cause cardiac arrest.
Or simply: be careful with potassium, because potassium is dangerous.
Something I hear regularly in this or a similar form.
Especially when someone buys potassium in a pharmacy, such references are common.
What is referred to here is hyperkalemia, which is an increase in potassium levels in the blood serum.
High concentrations of potassium in the blood are potentially life-threatening and manifest themselves in muscle weakness, paralysis, cardiac arrhythmia and even cardiac arrest.
One speaks of hyperkalemia when a potassium concentration in the blood serum of more than 5.0 mmol/L is measured. Hypokalemia is values below 3.5 mmol/L.
Mild hyperkalemia often remains asymptomatic.
With a moderate to strong increase from 6-8 mmol/L, however, sometimes serious symptoms and, in the worst case, a fatal outcome are possible.
It sounds like that at first glance. However, the real world looks different.
Especially if you consider the intake of potassium, which we have to distinguish in two forms
Oral intake of potassium – “Oral intake” means taking potassium by mouth. On the one hand from food and on the other hand from dietary supplements.
Parenteral administration of potassium - Parenteral administration is the introduction of a substance into the body bypassing the gastrointestinal tract, ie via an injection or infusion.
The distinction between these two forms of intake is crucial when it comes to increasing the concentration of potassium in the blood.
The parental supply of potassium via injection or infusion enables a much faster and higher increase in the concentration of potassium in the blood than oral supply via food and dietary supplements, since the intestine acts as a barrier here, regulating the level and speed of absorption.
The EFSA - short for European Food Safety Authority - publishes the following data on the oral intake of potassium:
For the additional intake of potassium from dietary supplements, the highest dose of potassium was determined that has no recognizable and measurable negative effects even with prolonged intake. This value was set by EFSA at 1400 mg potassium per day.
The long-term intake of 3000 mg of potassium daily in the form of a dietary supplement in addition to conventional nutrition did not lead to any negative effects (2).
Undesirable effects of excessive potassium intake can appear in different ways. These are listed below, among others (2):
For example, a dosage of 94g in a single dose would equate to an impressive 1566 capsules of a 60mg potassium supplement per capsule.
It is also interesting that all the side effects listed by the EFSA – nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea – affect the intestines. This is an indication that when potassium is taken orally via dietary supplements, the intestine as a barrier plays a relevant role in controlling the concentration of potassium in the blood.
There are no known negative effects on healthy people from a high potassium intake from conventional food (1). The healthy kidney simply excretes excess potassium in the urine.
The EFSA has set a value of 17.5 g per day as the upper limit for the acute toxicity of potassium (1). However, with known or unknown renal dysfunction, a daily intake of 5.9 g of potassium can lead to undesirable side effects such as an increase in the potassium concentration in the blood (2).
It is also crucial to note that these effects are not possible with an excessive intake of potassium from a conventional diet. Due to the dilution effect of potassium intake from conventional foods, high local concentrations and corresponding side effects are not to be expected (2).
The risk group for hyperkalemia is primarily older people with kidney disease, since the kidneys are crucial for potassium metabolism.
Before we take a closer look at potassium metabolism, here is some basic information about potassium.
Potassium is a vital, essential mineral for humans. The bulk element is a positively charged ion and the seventh most common element in the earth's crust (2).
The European Food Safety Authority – EFSA for short – has considered a number of the effects of potassium on humans to be certain.
These tested and scientifically proven effects are referred to as health claims and are as follows:
potassium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood pressure, normal functioning of the nervous system and normal muscle function.
Potassium is absorbed rapidly and with high efficiency (≥ 90%), mostly in the upper parts of the small intestine (3). The absorption of potassium in the intestine is largely independent of the amount ingested and averages between 70 and 130 millimoles per day (2,3).
The total amount of potassium in the human body is around 40-50 millimoles per kg of body weight and depends primarily on physique, age and gender (4).
On average, men have a total potassium content of about 140 g. In women, total body potassium averages about 105 g (2,3).
In contrast to sodium, potassium occurs predominantly intracellularly, i.e. inside the cell.
Potassium is quantitatively the most important cation in the cell interior. About 98% of the total potassium in the human body is found inside the cell (2,3).
In particular, hormones such as insulin, aldosterone and catecholamines, the acid-base balance and magnesium influence the distribution of potassium between the cell interior and exterior (2).
The potassium content of the cells varies depending on the tissue and reflects their metabolic activity.
Muscle contains the highest proportion of the mineral (60%), followed by red blood cells (8%), liver cells (6%) and other tissue cells (4%) (2).
Excess amounts of potassium in the body are largely excreted through the kidneys. If the potassium balance is balanced, 85-90% is excreted in the urine, 7-12% in the stool and around 3% in the sweat (3).
Body potassium is primarily regulated by the kidneys. About 90% of the filtered potassium ions are absorbed in the renal tubules. Furthermore, potassium excretion is regulated in the renal tubules and in the collecting duct of the kidneys (2,3).
When the potassium balance is balanced, about 90% of the potassium ingested is eliminated via the kidneys within 8 hours and more than 98% within a day (2,3).
This means a healthy kidney regulates the potassium level in the blood very effectively.
The regulation of potassium homeostasis via the kidneys is very precise, provided the kidney function is normal. 55% of patients with chronic kidney failure have an elevated serum potassium level (hyperkalemia) (5).
Hyperkalemia is almost always found in patients with acute renal failure, especially when the subject is exposed to extensive catabolic processes. These include operations, stress or cortisone therapy. Tissue breakdown, such as that associated with hemolysis, infection, or burns, can also lead to hyperkalemia.
Such patients with disorders of potassium homeostasis should be subject to constant monitoring of potassium serum levels and potassium intake (3).
This also closes the circle as to why the risk group for hyperkalemia is primarily older people with kidney disease.
In addition to too much, there is of course also too little potassium. Which is much more common based on the available data.
In the National Consumption Study II (NVS II, 2008), the nutritional behavior of the population in Germany was examined and shown how this affects the average daily nutrient intake with macro and micronutrients.
The intake recommendations of the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) are used as a basis for assessing the nutrient supply. A comparison between the recommended intake and the actual nutrient intake provides information about which micronutrients are more frequently undersupplied in Germany.
Of course, there may be additional individual needs. The DGE also clearly admits this, since the intake recommendations of the DGE are based on the needs of healthy and normal-weight people with normal everyday stress.
The calculated additional requirement for potassium can also be higher. The individual requirement can be above the intake recommendations of the DGE due to diet, alcohol consumption, stress and sport, for example.
In the European Union, the recommended daily dose of potassium has been set at 2000 mg. This is the amount that an average person should consume daily to meet their potassium needs.
The individual requirement can, for example, be above the intake recommendations of the DGE due to diet, consumption of stimulants, stress and sport.
Here are the DGE intake recommendations for different age groups for potassium.
Infants 0 to 4 months – 400 mg/day
Infants 4 to 12 months – 600 mg/day
Children 1 to 4 years – 1100 mg / day
Children 4 to 7 years – 1300 mg / day
Children 7 to 10 years – 2000 mg / day
Children 10 to 13 years – 2900 mg / day
Children 13 to 15 years – 3600 mg / day
Adolescents and adults 15 to 65+ years – 4000 mg/day
Pregnant women – 4000 mg/day
Breastfeeding – 4400 mg/day
Perhaps the most interesting point here is that while the general recommendation is 2000mg of potassium per day, the specific recommendation for people over the age of 15, who make up the vast majority of the population, is exactly double that, at 4000mg.
And here, too, there may be an individual additional requirement based on various factors.
When thinking of dietary potassium, the first thing that springs to mind for most people is the banana. However, that's more good marketing from the banana industry than a really relevant association based on the numbers.
Here is a brief overview of some foods that are higher in potassium:
Beef – 340mg of potassium per 100g of food
Veal Fillet – 348mg of potassium per 100g of food
Salmon – 371mg of potassium per 100g of food
Broccoli – 373mg of potassium per 100g of food
Bananas – 382mg of potassium per 100g of food
Mackerel – 396mg of potassium per 100g of food
Potato – 411mg of potassium per 100g of food
Trout – 413mg of potassium per 100g of food
Goose – 420mg of potassium per 100g of food
Milk Chocolate – 436mg of potassium per 100g of food
Wheatnuts – 544mg of potassium per 100g of food
Spinach – 633mg of potassium per 100g of food
Brazil Nuts – 644mg of potassium per 100g of food
Lentils – 810mg of potassium per 100g of food
Peas – 935mg of potassium per 100g of food
Cocoa Powder – 1500mg of potassium per 100g of food
Lima Beans – 1725mg of potassium per 100g of food
In summary, the answer is, of course, yes.
Potassium can be dangerous if the concentration in the blood is high. However, this is primarily relevant for older people with kidney diseases. Since the intestines and kidneys regulate the potassium level in the blood very effectively.
Food and dietary supplements therefore have no or a much smaller effect on this than a disturbed excretion of potassium as caused by kidney disease or even a parenteral supply of potassium.
In addition, based on the data from the EFSA and DGE, a potassium deficiency is statistically much more common than a potassium concentration that is too high.
Potassium is an essential, vital mineral that performs important tasks in the body. Therefore, it should be the goal of everyone to cover their needs optimally.
Sources:
20 years ago, protein powder was primarily used for post-workout shakes. Today, protein powder is an ingredient in a variety of shakes, bowls and smoothies, as well as recipes for cooking and baking. Protein powder has become a source of protein for much more than a post-workout shake after strength training.
There are now a variety of different protein powders on the market. In addition to the classic whey or whey protein and soy protein, which fortunately has largely disappeared from the market, there are protein powders made from beef, hemp, pumpkin, peas and rice.
In addition to whey or whey protein, rice protein is the protein powder that I primarily use and recommend at YPSI.
What is rice protein?
Rice Protein is a vegan protein powder made from rice by enzymatically separating the protein from the carbohydrates. Although rice is primarily a source of carbohydrates, it is still high in protein, depending on the part of the rice grain.
How is rice protein made?
The grain of rice can be divided into three primary parts.
The largest part is the so-called nutrient tissue. It consists mainly of carbohydrates. This tissue gives the rice its primary calories.
The rice germ is the second part of the rice grain. From this, the small plant develops when the seed germinates.
The third part consists of the outer layers of the grain: the rice bran with its rice protein.
The bran is therefore the “nutrient and protein store” of the rice grain.
Rice protein powder is produced from the rice bran using special filtration methods.
What is whey?
The term "whey" comes from English and means "whey". Whey is a part of milk that is left over from cheese making.
How is whey made?
Whey is a by-product of cheese and quark production, when casein is removed from the liquid milk by so-called ultrafiltration. The lactose and fat are removed from the whey by filtration. This whey protein mass is brought into powder form through a drying process, resulting in the so-called whey concentrate.
Whey protein is a complete protein as it contains all nine essential amino acids.
What is the difference between whey isolate and whey concentrate?
Both contain plenty of protein and all the essential amino acids. The difference between the two forms is the production process, which leads to a number of advantages.
The isolate is specially filtered so that the fat and carbohydrate content is slightly reduced and the protein content is slightly increased. A finished protein powder made from whey isolate including flavor and sweetener has about 41g protein, 1g carbohydrates and 1g fat per 50g portion.
The primary benefit is this higher protein to carbohydrate/fat ratio.
The primary disadvantage is that whey isolate is less creamy and very runny.
The concentrate is also specially filtered. Substances such as certain lipid components, lactoferrins and peptide fragments, some of which are removed during the manufacture of Islolat, remain in the concentrate. The finished protein powder made from whey concentrate including flavor and sweetener has about 38g protein, 5g carbohydrates and 1.5g fat per 50g portion.
The primary disadvantage of whey concentrate is a slightly higher carbohydrate content of about 4g per serving compared to whey isolate.
The primary advantage of whey concentrate is a larger spectrum of bioactive components and a much creamier texture.
That's why we decided to use a high-quality whey concentrate for the YPSI Weide Whey.
What are the benefits of whey?
The two most important advantages of a whey protein are the balanced amino acid profile and the resulting high biological value as well as the solubility and texture of a finished whey protein shake, which is similar to that of a milkshake.
What are the disadvantages of whey?
The major downside of whey protein is that it is a dairy product and dairy is one of the most common food allergens/intolerances. Many who have drunk a few hundred protein shakes from them find themselves reacting to whey. Whether in digestion, the skin or in well-being and performance.
Experience has shown that these effects increase the more frequently whey is consumed.
Of course, this also varies from whey protein to whey protein, especially whey protein powders with a long ingredient list of 8+ ingredients or an inferior quality whey offer a greater risk of such an intolerance.
What Are the Benefits of Rice Protein?
Statistically, the two most important advantages of a rice protein are its higher tolerability. Rice is hypoallergenic. And no dairy product. And the rice protein is the smallest hurdle in terms of taste compared to all other vegan protein powders. Anyone who has already tested some vegan protein powders knows what is meant here.
What are the disadvantages of rice protein?
The biggest disadvantage of rice protein, however, is the more pronounced taste of its own and the often sandy texture. Something that we have almost completely masked with our YPSI rice protein, in which we use coconut milk powder, among other things, which results in a creamy texture that is unusually great for vegan proteins.
Is Rice Protein a Lower Value Incomplete Protein?
One of the downsides that is often cited with rice protein is its unbalanced amino acid profile and resulting lower biological value.
However, what sounds conclusive in theory in isolation is hardly relevant in practice.
For regular protein consumption, like eating chicken 2-4 hours before your workout, drinking amino acids in water during your workout, then drinking the rice protein as a post-workout shake, and then eating fish or meat again 1-2 hours after, and consider solid protein sources, for example It takes 4 to 8 hours until they are completely digested and all amino acids and peptide chains are absorbed. This spread of protein sources and intake means that the amino acid profile is balanced and the biological value is therefore high.
What do I recommend in practice?
As mentioned in the introduction to the article, my primary use and recommendation is whey and rice protein. Changing both powders, usually shake for shake instead of pack for pack or month for month, is the most effective option for most people to use the advantages of both protein powders and to minimize the disadvantages - especially the tolerability.
There is also this study , among other things, which shows that with appropriate protein consumption, rice protein is in no way inferior to whey in terms of strength training and hypertrophy.
Tolerance and taste, paired with the highest quality of raw materials, are three decisive and often underestimated factors for the optimal selection of protein powder.
Based on that, choose which protein powder to use today.
Directly there is the YPSI Premium Rice Protein and here the YPSI Weide Whey
Image: A selection of protein powders from the YPSI Supplement line.
]]>Anyone familiar with cooking and kitchen culture knows that offal such as bones, cartilage and fish leftovers are often used as the basis for broth. Both in gourmet cuisine and in all traditional cuisines from France to Russia, Japan and South America, broth made from meat and fish is indispensable as the basis for soups, sauces and stews. Many recipes come from a time when people still slaughtered on the spot and used the whole animal. Bones, skeletons, tough meat and more went into the soup pot. A good broth is not only the secret to great cooking, it's also incredibly nutritious and has numerous health benefits. In this article, you'll learn about the benefits of broth and why you should make it a regular part of your diet.
A brief history of the broth
Evidence of the existence of soup pots goes back a full 20,000 years. In India, chicken soup is commonly sold by street vendors in winter and comes in a number of different forms. Chicken soup was also a traditional dish in Jewish cuisine. It was even called "Jewish penicillin" and used to treat and prevent diseases. In Danish and German culture, large chickens were reserved specifically for making soup, and the cooked meat was saved for other dishes or added back to the soup. In East Asia, dishes like miso soup and ramen sometimes contain broth. In Greece, beaten eggs mixed with lemon are commonly added to chicken broth as a traditional remedy for colds and indigestion. Chicken soup in Hungary usually contained meat from organs such as chicken liver and heart, while in Vietnam and the Philippines, beef bone marrow was used as the basis for making beef bone broth. In the American tradition, chicken soup was made with old chickens that were too tough to roast or boil, but still made an excellent soup.
Some anthropologists even argue that in some regions of the world early humans were scavengers rather than hunters, using tools to break open the bones of carcasses left behind by large predators to reveal the nutrient-rich bone marrow.
Unfortunately, many modern cultures have lost the practice of "whole animal eating." The centuries-old tradition of constantly simmering a hot pot of bone broth on the stovetop has been lost in favor of modern convenience, microwave ovens and highly processed canned soups.
Bringing bone broth back into the modern diet offers an easy and tasty way to source nutrition from parts of the animal that were prized in traditional cultures. Today we mainly buy steaks or fish fillets and boneless chicken breasts from the butcher or in the supermarket, eat fast food on the go or have food delivered to us and even if there is ready-made broth to buy today, which can be prepared in smoothies or when cooking without spending any time can be used, the broth has disappeared from the diet of many people. Yet today, with an oversupply of industrialized food and convenience products, is a good time for a comeback.
An old saying goes: "Good broth raises the dead."
While that's an exaggeration of course, broth rightly has a good reputation. Be it beef broth, fish broth or, of course, grandma's chicken broth - they all have various positive effects. Broth is said to help with a cold and soothe a sore throat, build strong bones or stimulate love life. Scientists from the University of Nebraska attempted to test this folklore in 2000.
Some components of the chicken soup were able to inhibit the migration of innate immune cells, so-called neutrophils, in vitro (in a petri dish) and thus had an effective anti-inflammatory effect. This could theoretically reduce symptoms of the disease. Whether this effect occurs in vivo (in a living organism) is still unclear, but this preliminary data suggests that our grandmothers knew from experience, which science has yet to definitively confirm.
Broth contains minerals such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur and trace minerals in a form that is easy for the body to absorb. Boiling cartilage and tendons releases glucosamine and chondroitin sulfates, which can help with arthritis and joint pain. Fish broth also contains substances that strengthen iodine and the thyroid gland. These are just a few of the many reasons to consume broth.
Also found in broth is gelatin, which becomes noticeable as it cools and solidifies. The use of gelatin as a therapeutic goes back to the ancient Chinese. Although gelatin is not a complete protein as it lacks the essential amino acid tryptophan and contains only the amino acids arginine and glycine in large amounts, it is a supplemental source of protein. Thus, the French recognized gelatin as a nutritious food and it was used by them to feed their soldiers and the large numbers of homeless people in Paris and other major cities, or to save the population from starvation during the siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War by replacing vegetables and meat with gelatine broth with some added fat.
Gelatine is probably the first foodstuff to emerge from the invention of the "digestor" by the French Papin in 1682. A device by which the gelatin extracted by steaming bones or meat was extracted. Two hundred years ago, gelatin held a leading position in food research similar to that vitamins hold in nutritional studies today. Gelatin research, in which the French were at the forefront, continued into the 1950s. It was found that gelatin was useful in treating a long list of diseases. Babies whose milk had gelatin added had fewer digestive problems, which is because gelatin is a hydrophilic colloid. This means it attracts and holds fluids, drawing digestive juices to foods in the gut, making digestion easier.
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, one of the most important gastrosophers, was also a fan of the broth-based soup and not only evaluated its taste, but also its nutritive value and its positive effect on digestion, saying: "Soup is a healthy, light and nutritious food, good for all mankind; It pleases the stomach, stimulates the appetite and prepares the digestion.”
However, research on gelatin largely ceased in the 1950s as food companies discovered in the lab how to trigger Maillard reactions and produce meat-like flavors. In a General Foods Company report published in 1947, chemists predicted that almost all natural flavors would soon be chemically synthesized.
And then came MSG...
After World War II, food companies also discovered the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG). It is a food ingredient invented by the Japanese in 1908 to enhance the flavors of foods, including meat-like flavors.
In fact, humans have receptors for glutamate on their tongues, because it's the protein in food that the human body recognizes as meat. Any protein can be hydrolyzed to produce a base containing free glutamic acid or MSG. When the industry figured out in the lab how to use cheap proteins from grains and legumes to flavor meat, the door was opened to a flood of new products. These include bouillon cubes, dehydrated soup and sauce mixes, sauce mixes, ready meals and condiments with a meaty taste.
The soups of some restaurants are based on a soup powder base and not only in Asian restaurants and snack bars the use of MSG in many dishes is the order of the day. A number of canned soups and stews contain MSG, where it is also known as "hydrolyzed proteins" as an ingredient. The fast-food industry uses MSG and artificial meat flavorings to create sauces and condiments that lure consumers into eating bland and tasteless foods — and also into eating more of them than they should because of the stimulating taste. What is to the advantage of manufacturers and users means a disadvantage for consumers.
As homemade supplies were supplanted by cheap substitutes, an important source of minerals disappeared from the Western diet. The thickening effects of gelatin could be mimicked with emulsifiers, but the health benefits were lost. Not only that, because MSG can even make you sick. In 1957, scientists found that mice became blind and obese when MSG was given through a feeding tube. In 1969, MSG-induced lesions were discovered in the hypothalamic region of the brain. Many studies indicate that MSG is a neurotoxic substance that produces a variety of reactions, from temporary headaches (Chinese Restaurant Syndrome) to permanent brain damage.
While Asian restaurants around the world often take shortcuts and use a powdered base for sweet and sour soup. In Asia, many soup kitchens and restaurants make their own broth and sell it as soup on shop fronts and street corners. From Korea to Japan, broth is an important element in Asian cuisine. Authentic Chinese food cannot exist without the bubbling soup pot on the stove. Bones and leftovers are thrown in and mineral-rich broth is removed to complement stir-fries.
This tradition did not arise without a reason. In many Asian cultures, the use of broth is a health necessity, as only bone broth provides calcium in a form that the body can easily absorb. When meat is in short supply, the gelatin in the broth helps the body use protein efficiently.
But the interesting question is: why do consumers respond to industrially produced MSG but not to the naturally occurring glutamic acid in foods?
One theory is that the glutamic acid produced by hydrolysis in factories contains many isomers in the right-handed form, while natural glutamic acid in meat and bouillon contains only the left-handed form. For example, L-glutamic acid is a precursor to neurotransmitters, while the synthetic form, D-glutamic acid, can pathologically stimulate the nervous system.
Bone broth ingredients and their health benefits
Traditional cultures accomplish a fundamental component of functional medicine—namely, providing the body with the whole foods and nutrients it needs to stay healthy—by literally using animals from head to toe. All parts of the animal are eaten, including the skin, cartilage, tendons, and other parts rich in gelatin. This enabled a balanced intake of all amino acids required to build and maintain essential structures in the human body. For example, bones contain an abundance of minerals, as well as 17 different amino acids, many of which are found in bone broth as proteins such as collagen and gelatin. Although the exact nutrient content will vary depending on the bones used, cooking time, and cooking method, the following nutrients are consistent in most bone broth and provide a whole host of health benefits:
collagen
The name collagen comes from the Greek "kólla" meaning "glue" and the suffix "-gen" meaning "to produce". In fact, glue was once made from collagen more than 8,000 years ago, likely by boiling the skin and tendons of animals. With over 28 different types, collagen makes up about 30 percent of the protein in the human body. It is the main component of connective tissues such as tendons, ligaments, skin, cartilage and bones. It is also present in blood vessels, the cornea and the lens of the eye. In addition to structuring, collagen also plays an important role in the development and regulation of tissue. Collagen can also benefit the joints. In one study, researchers found that athletes experienced less joint pain after taking collagen supplements. Low levels of collagen in the blood have also been linked to inflammatory bowel disease.
gelatin
As already mentioned, gelatin will form as the broth cools. This is formed when collagen is cooked. Hydrolysis of collagen is irreversible and results in the breakdown of long collagen protein fibrils into smaller protein peptides. However, the chemical composition of gelatine is very similar to its parent molecule, collagen. Several studies have shown that collagen and gelatin can improve skin health. In a 2014 randomized and controlled study, collagen consumption significantly improved skin elasticity and tended to improve skin hydration levels. Collagen scaffolds are widely used in medical applications to promote tissue regeneration and heal wounds. A study in mice found that gelatin supplementation could even protect against UV-induced skin damage.
Consuming bone broth is also an effective way to optimize the gut. This is because the gelatin absorbs water and helps maintain the mucus layer that keeps gut microbes away from the gut barrier. A healthy colon contains a single, dense layer of epithelial cells, a thick layer of mucus, and a diverse collection of microbes. Microbial dysbiosis and a thinning of this mucus layer can quickly compromise the integrity of the epithelial barrier and cause leaky gut syndrome. In people with leaky gut, microbes and dietary proteins can enter the bloodstream and trigger an inflammatory immune system response.
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of bacterial cell walls, stimulates a particularly robust immune response. Studies have shown that gelatin and glycine reduce inflammation caused by LPS. The presence of gelatin in the gut also draws fluid into the gut, which improves gut motility and supports healthy bowel movements.
glycine
Glycine is an amino acid that makes up more than a third of collagen. It also acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, binding to glycine receptors present throughout the nervous system and peripheral tissues. Signaling via this receptor is particularly important for mediating inhibitory neurotransmission in the brainstem and spinal cord. Glycine can reduce anxiety, promote mental calm, and aid in sleep. It plays a role in blood sugar regulation by controlling gluconeogenesis, the production of glucose in the liver. Glycine has also been shown to reduce the severity of heart attacks and has been shown to protect against neuronal death after ischemic stroke. It probably even plays an important role in the development of the brain in the womb and in the first few months after birth. Glycine is also important for the synthesis of hemoglobin and myoglobin, which carry oxygen throughout the blood and muscle tissues, respectively. It increases creatine levels, which leads to an increase in anaerobic exercise capacity and stimulates human growth hormone secretion, which can improve muscle repair.
Glycine receptors have also been discovered on the surface of immune cells, where they cause a reduction in immune response. This in turn leads to reduced inflammatory signaling molecules and oxidative stress, which can reduce tissue damage in the lungs, among others.
Drinking broth with meals is an excellent way to aid in digestion. Glycine stimulates the production of gastric acid, which is essential for the proper digestion of each meal. Low stomach acid (hypochlorhydria) is surprisingly common in developed countries and can lead to a number of health problems, including heartburn and GERD. Glycine is also an important component of bile acid, which is released to help digest fats in the small intestine. Bile acid is important for maintaining normal blood cholesterol levels. Glycine also protects against stomach ulcers and also stimulates the production of glutathione, the body's main antioxidant. In animal models, glycine has been shown to accelerate recovery from alcoholic fatty liver disease, protect liver cells from hypoxia, and improve survival after liver transplantation. In people with metabolic syndrome, glycine reduces oxidative stress.
glutathione
Bone broth contains the master antioxidant glutathione, which studies have shown to play important roles in antioxidant defenses, nutrient metabolism, and the regulation of cellular processes such as signal transduction, immune responses, gene expression, cytokine production, cell proliferation and apoptosis, and DNA and protein synthesis.
proline
Proline is an amino acid that makes up about 17 percent of collagen. The addition of hydroxyl groups to proline significantly increases the stability of collagen and is essential to its structure. Proline can scavenge free radicals, acts as an antioxidant, and plays a role in apoptosis, a process in which the body breaks down old cells, cleans up waste products, and recycles raw materials for use in healthy cells. Although small amounts of proline can be made in the body, studies show that an adequate amount of dietary proline is required to maintain optimal levels of this amino acid in the body. Recent evidence suggests that proline plays a role in regulating the mTOR pathway, which integrates signals from nutrients, growth factors, stressors, and cellular energy status to affect cell function and growth. Proline, along with other amino acids, activates mTOR, resulting in enhanced muscle protein synthesis. Proline is not normally considered a neurotransmitter, but it can bind weakly to glutamate receptors and glycine receptors.
glutamine
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the blood and another important amino acid in bone broth. It acts as a non-toxic nitrogen transporter and safely transports amino groups through the bloodstream to the kidney. In the kidney, the conversion of glutamine to glutamate regulates the acid-base balance due to the production of ammonium. Glutamine is one of the few amino acids that can cross the blood-brain barrier directly. Gut epithelial cells and activated immune cells use a lot of glutamine for cellular energy, as glutamine also helps maintain the integrity of the gut mucosa and gut barrier.
glycosaminoglycans
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are complex carbohydrates involved in many biological processes. They can attach to proteins to form proteoglycans, which are an integral part of connective tissue and synovial fluid, the lubricant that lines the joint. With connective tissues such as tendons, ligaments, and cartilage still attached, the bones in the broth provide our body with raw materials such as keratan sulfate, dermatan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, and glycine for bone, cartilage, and skin formation.
Our skin consists of two layers: the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis, or upper layer, is made up of keratinocytes and is largely responsible for skin barrier function. Beneath is the dermis, a dense matrix of collagen and GAGs that provides structural and nutritional support. Keratin, collagen, and GAGs are abundant in bone broth, especially when the animal's skin is involved in the cooking process. GAGs also provide additional benefits for our skin. GAG Hyaluronic Acid has been shown to promote skin cell proliferation and increase the presence of retinoic acid, thereby improving skin hydration.
Dermatan Sulfate has been shown to support cell turnover and aids in wound repair.
For joint health, lubrication from GAGs is key to a full range of motion. GAGs allow part of one bone to slide smoothly and painlessly over part of another. Rather than purchasing supplements containing glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, bone broth makes it much easier and cheaper to get these and a host of other beneficial nutrients.
bone marrow
The bone marrow is inside the bone. There are two types of bone marrow, red and yellow. Both types contain collagen. The difference is that red bone marrow is the production site for new immune cells and red blood cells, while yellow bone marrow is made up of healthy fats. It is believed that important nutritional and immune-supporting factors may be extracted from the marrow during cooking, but the bioavailability of these factors has not been studied.
minerals
Bone contains a variety of minerals, including: magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium
Copper, Potassium, Sodium, Manganese and Phosphorus. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the chemical form of energy in the body that allows work to be performed. Phosphorus is required for the formation of this compound, and ATP can only be biologically active when bound to a magnesium ion. Phosphorus nutrient deficiencies have been shown to decrease muscle performance. Both phosphorus and magnesium are found in small amounts in bone broth.
It should be pretty obvious by now that the best way to get the nutrients needed to build bone is by consuming bone-based foods. Drinking bone broth provides all of the raw materials needed to build healthy bones, including calcium, phosphorus, amino acids, and more. A lack of raw materials for bone formation can lead to a number of different conditions. For example, osteoporosis is associated with decreased levels of collagen and calcium in the bones. It is also essential for nerve conduction. When a nerve cell is stimulated, the influx of calcium triggers the release of neurotransmitters, allowing the signal to be passed on to the next nerve cell. Calcium deficiency impairs this transmission and can lead to hyperactivity, insomnia and depression.
Since the minerals listed require an acidic environment to be extracted from the bone, a dash of vinegar or other acid should always be added to the broth when preparing it.
Recipe for broth
There are now also good broths in organic quality that have been cooked for 18 hours or longer and can be bought ready-made. However, if you want to cook your own broth, you can try this recipe:
You'll need bones or fish skeletons, some meat and fat chunks, vegetables like onions, garlic, carrots, and celery to add flavor and nutritional value, and water. Fish, chicken, beef or lamb can be used. For beef and lamb broth, the meat can be browned beforehand in a hot oven to add flavor and color.
In a large stockpot or slow cooker, place the bones and meat, along with soup vegetables of your choice such as carrot, celery root, leek, onion, and parsnip, and add enough water to cover.
Tip: Personally, I use an 18l pot that can hold around 10kg of bones and a mobile stovetop so that the broth can simmer on the balcony in the fresh air.
Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar/apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to the broth before cooking to loosen more minerals from the bone.
Slowly heat the broth, reducing the heat as the water boils so that the broth is barely simmering. Then foam rises to the surface, which consists of impurities, alkaloids and lectins, which should be carefully removed with a ladle, otherwise the broth can be affected by these aromas.
For fish broth, just two hours of simmering is enough to extract the flavors and gelatin. Chicken or beef should be simmered for at least 18 hours and up to 48 hours.
Once the broth has finished cooking, use a charcoal scoop to remove any bones and soup greens.
And then it is crucial to cool the broth down as quickly as possible. The germs multiply fastest between 90° and 10°, which reduces the shelf life of the broth.
After cooling, a layer of fat forms and hardens on the surface. This layer protects the broth underneath. Skim off this layer of fat when you're ready to eat the broth. How much fat you skim off is primarily determined by how much fat you personally want in the broth at the end. The fat content primarily influences the energy content of the broth and hardly affects the taste or the content of the functional nutrients, since these are almost exclusively determined by the broth itself and less by the fat content.
And I recommend using a straining cloth, which frees the broth from small, solid parts. This affects the taste and the look. Passing creates liquid gold.
Season the final broth with salt and pepper to taste.
Bone broth will keep in the fridge for several days or can be frozen in glass or vacuum sealed containers.
Enjoy the bone broth pure or as a soup.
The bone broth can also be used as an ingredient in bolognese, ragu, goulash or other recipes.
One of my personal favorites is cooking rice in chicken broth instead of water.
Bon appétit and good luck with bone broth!
Sources:
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]]>Variation is one of the most important aspects of nutrition for a number of reasons. If you only eat eggs for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch and broccoli burger patties for dinner, you will hardly be able to sustainably implement your diet change to a higher-protein and lower-carbohydrate diet peppered with a wide range of healthy fats.
So I'm always on the lookout for workout-friendly meal options that are easy to make and taste great. And this high protein pasta salad with Skyrella is one of my current favorites.
Ingredients
nutritional values
The complete bowl contains 192g protein, 107g carbohydrates (from lentils) and 70g fat. A complete bowl is about 5 servings. One serving contains 38g protein, 21g carbohydrates (from lentils) and 14g fat.
This high protein pasta salad with Skyrella has a high protein content, hardly any carbohydrates, is gluten-free and rich in important, healthy fats and a good portion of "plant".
This High Protein Pasta Salad with Skyrella makes an excellent dinner option for most, based on the macronutrient needs of the current status and goal.
Since the High Protein Pasta Salad with Skyrella is easy to prepare and store, you can make more and then take it to work for lunch the next day.
Bon appetit!
The red lentil pasta I use is available right here on Amazon .
The original recipe for this pasta salad, which we have modified here to suit the training, comes from ElleRepublic .
Picture: The High Protein Low Carb Pasta Salad with Skyrella.
After I was constantly asked about this currently booming YouTube clip on the topic "Coconut oil is poison" in the last few days, here is my short statement:
I saw the clip myself in my recommended videos list a few days ago and took a quick look. After the statement, I quote: "Coconut oil is full of saturated fatty acids, which clog the blood vessels and lead directly to cardiac death," I turned off. The following four points are decisive for the validity of this statement:
This was an assumption in the 1990s, but has long been scientifically and empirically refuted. Likewise, the "blockage of the vessels" or, strictly speaking, is not a blockage but a thickening of the vessel wall with the clinical term Atherosclerosis or arteriosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis must be fundamentally divided into two primary types. On the one hand, the storage of cholesterol esters in the vessel wall. On the other hand, the storage of calcium in the vessel wall . Both have little to nothing to do with fat consumption.
But mainly caused by insulin resistance and a suboptimal ratio of triglycerides to HDL. The fat of interest here is the trans fat, found primarily in margarine and other hydrogenated vegetable oils, and unsaturated fats.
Atherosclerosis is statistically correlated with one of several causes of cardiac death, namely myocardial infarction. If you put in relation that well over 50% of the population have or get some degree of atherosclerosis, but only 0.07% of the population die from a heart attack every year, and that only about 20% of heart attacks are fatal, is mathematical See the correlation "atherosclerosis = cardiac death" quite nonsense.
This is a short line of reasoning for the statement "Coconut oil is full of saturated fatty acids, which clog the arteries and lead to cardiac death".
After that I switched off the clip because, from a purely statistical point of view, such a false statement at the beginning of a lecture means that the rest of the lecture's content is at a similarly low level.
Bottom Line: Coconut oil is a fat that brings benefits, such as high heat stability (crucial for frying) and high levels of saturated fat, which perform many functions in the body, such as the production of testosterone and myelin, the insulating layer of the body Annoy. Coconut oil is a good source of fat for everyday use. But certainly only that and not a new miracle cure.
……
Basically, the popularity of such a lecture in the age of polemics and populism on the Internet is certainly not surprising or new. However, it becomes destructive when listeners trust the supposedly scientific relevance of such statements and question the fact that your healthy habits - such as using coconut oil instead of milk in coffee - really make sense, although subjectively and objectively you feel much better goes.
And that, in my view, is crucial. Pragmatism is key. If someone is subjectively and objectively doing much better with a change or habit, then it makes a lot of sense to keep it.
Even if the internet says otherwise. And the internet says something different about every topic. How flat the earth is.
Image: coconut oil.
]]>Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. The more stress you have, the potentially more cortisol is released. Cortisol is not inherently negative. Just as stress is not inherently negative. Two factors are crucial here:
A 2009 study (1) offers an interesting and viable solution to optimizing cortisol levels, in this case reducing cortisol levels, by consuming dark chocolate. In this study, consuming 40g of dark chocolate (74%) per day showed a significant reduction in cortisol and catecholamines such as adrenaline. In combination with an optimization of the microbiome, the bacteria in the intestine, which also have an effect on stress management.
A crucial point from a practical point of view, however, is the consumption of dark chocolate in the evening. On the one hand, because the reduction in cortisol over the course of the day is the most important thing here. Secondly, because dark chocolate also has a positive effect on serotonin (2). Serotonin is the neurotransmitter responsible for well-being and relaxation, as well as a crucial precursor to the deep sleep hormone melatonin.
The first counter-argument is certainly the sugar content of dark chocolate. In a 40g portion, however, dark chocolate only has about 12g of sugar and, compared to most “sweets”, has a very small effect on blood sugar levels. Depending on a person's training goal, consuming up to 40g of dark chocolate in the evening is a tool that I use regularly with clients and athletes to optimize the cortisol biorhythm and thus stress management.
Good luck with optimizing cortisol with dark chocolate!
Reference:
Image: Dark chocolate.
]]>For breakfast, in the office, on car journeys or just in between – many people in Germany consume coffee every day. While coffee has long been discredited for being harmful to health, more and more studies are now coming to the conclusion that 1-3 cups of coffee a day are not only not harmful to health, but that they even have a number of health benefits.
In fact, in a study lasting more than 16 years (1), scientists from Imperial College London were able to show that coffee drinkers live longer. This applied to all countries included in the study. The results are based on the evaluation of health data from more than half a million people in ten European countries. The analysis was based on coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers. In order to be able to view the health effects of coffee in a more isolated way, the researchers factored out many other influences such as diet or smoking.
Evidence suggests that people who consume more coffee live longer. This is especially true for cardiovascular diseases and diseases that affect the digestive tract. For women with a very high coffee consumption (more than 580 milliliters a day in Germany), life expectancy was 7 percent better and for men even 12 percent better than non-coffee drinkers.
But what is it in coffee that promotes health? There are several factors. Starting with the bitter taste. Coffee is the only bitter-tasting food, primarily alongside grapefruit and chicory, that is common and regularly consumed in our society. The bitter substances contained in coffee promote the production of stomach and bile acids and thus digestion. As a result, fat contained in food is better tolerated, which in turn relieves the liver.
Incidentally, the reason some people feel the urge to defecate after drinking coffee is caffeine-activated epinephrine and norepinephrine, which increase the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, thereby stimulating bowel movement.
Coffee also contains antioxidants that protect the DNA of human cells. In some cases, the concentration of antioxidants in 600 milliliters of coffee is 4-5 times higher than in the comparable amount of fruit and vegetables. Of course, this does not mean that you should stop eating fruit and vegetables, after all, vitamins and fiber are also very important.
Yes, coffee can be addictive and increase blood pressure. However, the dose makes the poison. What can be harmful in large amounts is sometimes essential in small amounts, such as water.
Of course, as with everything, quality also plays a role. Organic coffee, prepared with a French press or a portafilter machine, is ideal. Fully automatic coffee machines tend to form and harbor mold pores. Drink coffee with or after your meal, not before, to prevent cortisol from rising too quickly. In order to be able to fall asleep well, most people should consume their last cup of coffee before 4 p.m., as caffeine has a relatively long half-life. If you need coffee to function, you don't need coffee, you need sleep! As long as you are not addicted to coffee and use it to compensate for lack of sleep, as already mentioned, 2 cups a day are actually good for your health.
Good luck with coffee!
Source: Coffee and Work. A good combination.
Image: Coffee & Work.
]]>Christmas is around the corner again. Christmas food is always a big topic. What? How much? Yes? Or no? Or never mind?
Basically, Christmas is 2.5 days out of 365 days a year. Mathematically, less than 1% of the meals. And that's not really a big issue. arithmetically. Nonetheless, it is always a big topic.
Some of the tips I give my clients every year are:
1. Eat Protein - Protein is crucial. Not only for regeneration from training. But also for satiety and blood sugar management. The more constant the blood sugar, the less cravings and the lower the carbohydrate consumption. Marzipan balls and gingerbread are ok at Christmas. Whether 3 or 10 makes no difference from the point of view of enjoyment. However, it does make a difference in terms of body fat percentage and hips. The more constant the blood sugar and the more saturated you are, the higher the probability that it is 3 and not 10. That's why protein is so crucial. It saturates more than any other macronutrient and keeps blood sugar steady. So start every meal with protein. Whether it's eggs, roast goose, prosciutto cotto or a protein smoothie made from protein powder, frozen berries and water. Eat protein at the beginning of each meal.
2. Pleasure is important - Pleasure is a word that is often used in connection with food but rarely considered in detail. Pleasure is by definition a positive sensation coupled with physical and mental well-being. Pleasure slows life down. Pleasure reduces stress. Enjoyment leads to a number of positive hormonal and neurochemical reactions. As the German chef Harald Wohlfahrt says: “Food is the only art form that you can feel in your body.” Pleasure is good. By definition, indulgence and gluttony are mutually exclusive. Good food is good. Good food is pleasure. minimize gluttony. maximize enjoyment.
3. Use the time between Christmas and New Year's for training - There are exactly 5 days between Christmas and New Year's. These 5 days are free for many and completely planned for a few. Here it is advisable to train more than usual. To seize the time. Train more is 10 workouts in 5 days. Over a dozen of my clients are planning to do just that. Three of you even go to Vienna to train 10 times in 5 days. May this time between years be one of the most productive of the year. Time for the Strength and Mass Holiday or the Strength and Mass Holiday at home
You can find more tips in my article from last year -> “ Staying in shape over Christmas ”
Merry Christmas to all readers, relaxing holidays, good training and bon appétit!
Image: Christmas dinner.
]]>In the course of the vegan hype, legumes and in particular beans are often touted as a complete source of protein. For several reasons, however, legumes are not suitable for meeting protein requirements as an exerciser with the aim of optimizing muscle building, strength building and body fat loss, in contrast to high-quality animal protein. In addition to the problem of the lack of rotation of the protein source and thus the variation of amino acids and micronutrients, covering the protein requirement with beans has numerous other disadvantages. The following points about beans are often not mentioned by advocates of a vegetarian or vegan diet:
1. Lectins
Lectins are plant-specific defense proteins/anti-eating poisons or anti-nutrients whose purpose is to protect the plants and seeds they contain from predators such as insects, birds and mammals. Not only kidney beans, but also all other types of beans of the genus Phaseolus vulgaris (haricot beans) contain a lectin called phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Both PHA and other lectins have been shown in experiments on both animal and human tissue to produce what is known as “leaky gut ” and thus enter the bloodstream, where they can cause low-level inflammation. These are a necessary step for the development of, among other things, atherosclerosis. Leaky Gut Syndrome can also be one of the first steps towards an autoimmune disease.
2. Carbohydrate content
For the same amount of protein, beans provide significantly more carbohydrates than animal protein sources. For this reason, beans are less suitable as a protein source in a low-carbohydrate diet. Getting your protein needs from beans while maintaining/reducing your body fat percentage would only work for very carb tolerant people anyway, all other downsides of beans aside.
3. Phytates
Phytates are also anti-nutrients, which also prevent the absorption of minerals. This puts legumes, often cited as an excellent source of iron, in a different light as only up to 25% of the iron in legumes can be digested as it is bound to phytate. Compared to animal foods, legumes are a much poorer source of iron. The same applies to zinc, a very important mineral that many people who do not eat animal products lack anyway. Incidentally, cooking and roasting legumes does not appear to have any reducing effect on phytates. While in fermentation can moderately reduce the percentage of phytates.
4. Phytoestrogens
Phytoestrogens are secondary plant substances. They can mainly be divided into three classes. isoflavones, lignans and coumestans. Lignans and isoflavones are of the greatest importance for human metabolism, while coumestane is only found in minor amounts in the human diet. In their structure and function, these groups of substances are similar to the female sex hormone estrogen. Their concentration in the body exceeds the endogenously caused estrogen concentration by a factor of 100 to 10,000. Soybeans and their products are particularly rich in the precursors of the isoflavones that are active in the human body. In the case of hormone-dependent diseases in particular, excessive intake of soy foods should be avoided for reasons of precaution.
5. Less and more incomplete protein
On average, beans, peas and other legumes contain over 60% less protein per 100g than 100g of meat or fish. The Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) developed by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations is an index that clarifies protein quality. Legumes rank on average 20-25% lower than animal protein sources on the PDCAAS Index due to the anti-nutrients they contain and their low content of the two essential amino acids cysteine and methionine. Thus, even beans such as kidney beans, which contain more protein than other beans, are not an equivalent alternative to animal protein sources, as their protein is less digested and less complete than protein from meat, fish or eggs.
6. A combination with grain is nonsense
The frequently used argument that a PDCAAS of 1.0 can be achieved by combining grain products and legumes, which corresponds to the value of whey protein powder and eggs, is nonsensical. Cereals contain the inflammation-promoting gluten protein and have a high carbohydrate content. You can find out more about gluten here .
Combining an inferior and digestive protein source with a potentially inflammatory carbohydrate source to achieve the same PDCAA level as animal products makes no sense from both a performance-enhancing and health perspective. And would also stand in the way of many trainees in terms of body fat reduction due to the carbohydrate content.
7. Food volume
Even if kidney beans were easy to digest and had a complete amino acid profile, the nutritional volume of 1kg of beans alone speaks against a one-time and, above all, daily intake. Eating 1kg of beans throughout the day is work, even for someone who trains hard and has a healthy appetite. Eating 1kg of meat or fish throughout the day is relatively easy. Three 180g burger patties alone are more than half of it.
8. Poor digestion from FODMAPs
The name FODMAP stands for "fermentable oligo-, di- and monosaccharides and polyols". These are a category of various carbohydrates and polyhydric alcohols found in many foods that are poorly absorbed by the small intestine. This allows the FODMAPs to get to the large intestine instead of being digested in the small intestine. Gut bacteria in the large intestine then ferment the carbohydrates, producing gas, an effect that many people feel in the form of gas and bloating after eating legumes. Diarrhea due to an osmotic effect can also be a consequence.
A FODMAP intolerance is not the cause of small bowel overgrowth like irritable bowel syndrome, but can worsen their symptoms or be triggered by these diseases. If you type the term FODMAP list into a search engine, you will find several lists of high and low FODMAP foods. Foods high in FODMAP include kidney beans, broad beans, peas and lentils.
In a factual, emotion-free perspective, it becomes clear that beans are neither a good food nor a substitute for animal products. If you manage to cover your protein requirements with beans in the long term and without any negative side effects, you can of course do so. However, at YPSI we recommend high quality animal protein sources to our customers for the reasons detailed in this article, among others.
However, beans and other legumes can be part of the diet as they offer some benefits. In terms of content and taste. However, we advise against beans and other legumes as a relevant or even primary protein source for the reasons mentioned above.
Good luck with covering your protein needs!
Image: Kidney beans.
]]>Dairy products can be a tasty and welcome addition to our diet. However, they can also lead to digestive problems and hinder progress in terms of body fat reduction, more energy and muscle building. For several reasons, as I explain below.
lactose intolerance
Lactose is milk sugar, which is the natural form that carbohydrates are found in dairy products with no added sugar. Lactose intolerance, or milk sugar intolerance, is a metabolic disorder—not a disease—affecting people who lack or don't produce enough of the enzyme lactase.
Lactase breaks down the disaccharide (double sugar) lactose into its components, the monosaccharides (simple sugar), galactose (mucus sugar) and glucose (dextrose), so that these can be absorbed by the mucous membrane of the small intestine. A lack of lactase can have several causes. In healthy people, the lactase enzyme is produced in the small intestine from birth because we need it to process breast milk during breastfeeding. After that, the ability to digest milk was originally no longer intended, however, according to scientists, the ability to digest milk even in adulthood developed through a gene mutation (lactase persistence) around 7500 years ago in a region between the central Balkans and central Europe among dairy farmers developed. In people of European descent, lactase is mostly still produced in adulthood. However, in many cases, after lactation, enzyme activity gradually declines to about 5-10% of the original activity at birth, a process called hypolactasia, which can lead to lactose intolerance even if it was not present in previous years. Today about 60% of adults in Central Europe tolerate dairy products. In comparison, the milk tolerance in southern Europe is only about 20%. Almost total milk intolerance exists in most other regions of the world. A lack of lactase persistence is therefore only considered food intolerance in countries with widespread lactase persistence. In all other countries, this is the normal condition for adults.
If the lactase activity is too low, the lactose is not broken down or only partially broken down and cannot be fully or completely absorbed in the small intestine. This is how the unsplit lactose reaches the large intestine. There it is absorbed and fermented by intestinal bacteria, whereby lactate (lactic acid) - which ensures the inflow of water into the intestine - and gases are produced. Stomach pain, flatulence and diarrhea can result.
Lactose-free products are not much better
In lactose-free milk products, the lactose is broken down by adding lactase. Since glucose and galactose taste sweeter than lactose, lactose-free milk also tastes slightly sweet. However, treatments such as heating yoghurt, for example, can damage the lactase enzymes and prevent the lactose from being properly broken down. In addition, many products are also enriched with milk powder, which increases the lactose content. Even if this is not the case, lactose-free products do not contain zero percent lactose due to the lack of clear legislation. So even if there is less lactose, a few molecules can irritate the gut. If this happens every day or even with every meal, the intestines are constantly irritated and can no longer function properly. This reduces the absorption of nutrients and can lead to further problems.
Lactose isn't the only problem with milk
However, lactose intolerance is not a milk protein allergy. The milk protein allergy or cow's milk allergy is an active immune reaction due to a real allergy to cow's milk protein (primarily casein). This is more common in infants than in adults. There are also indications of connections between casein and exorphins. Exorphins are peptides that impede digestion and, similar to phytoestrogens, inhibit reproduction.
Basically, the primary problem with dairy products is lactose. The secondary problem is milk protein, especially the casein. 80% of milk protein is casein. The remaining 20% are whey proteins. Contrary to popular belief, casein is not a slow-digesting protein, but slows down digestion due to micelles. You can observe this effect if you pour milk into vinegar, for example. The casein flocculates. Casein is absorbed slowly because it slows gut motility and turns into an almost fiber-like mush. Tolerance is very poor. Undigested peptides remain in the gut and increase levels of inflammation, which over time atrophies intestinal villi and impairs nutrient absorption.
In my articles and books, I recommend dairy products such as skyr or quark, as long as you can tolerate them. In this case, they are a good and tasty source of protein. Experience has shown that casein as part of dairy products is better tolerated than pure casein, particularly as calcium caseinate in the form of protein powder. However, if skin blemishes, diarrhea, digestive problems or the YPSI skinfold measurement indicate that you cannot tolerate dairy products, you will fare much better without them. Goat's and sheep's milk are also much better tolerated than cow's milk, for example, because they contain less casein than cow's milk - but almost as much lactose. Nut "milks," such as almond or cashew milk, are a good alternative for people who have a hard time digesting real dairy products.
Good luck with or without dairy products!
Image: milk.
]]>Winter is coming. After coffee and tea, hot chocolate is certainly the most popular hot drink this time of year. Hot chocolate has its origins in the Mayan culture. After the Spaniards brought the cocoa plant to Europe from South America in the 16th century, cocoa was offered in German pharmacies in the 17th century for the following purpose:
"Cacao strengthens the stomach, makes life spirits quicker, dilutes the juices and blossoms, helps to lust for Venus, strengthens the head, relieves pain and its praise both as food and as medicine cannot be described enough."
In European aristocratic circles, it quickly became a fashionable drink, which was said to be particularly digestible and to have all sorts of healing and aphrodisiac effects. Crucial to the spread of cocoa as a luxury food was the discovery that it becomes more aromatic when sweetened with cane sugar and suits the tastes of many.
In addition to sugar and cocoa, milk is also a main component of hot chocolate. However, sugar and dairy are not at the top of the list of foods I recommend for our clients and athletes. Many better alternative solutions have emerged in recent years. One of my favorite solutions is the "Hot Greens Chocolate" based on a recipe from YPSI A license trainer Florian Rau. In which the cow's milk is replaced by almond milk and the cocoa/sugar mixture by greens with stevia. The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients
preparation
– Pour the almond milk into a cup.
– Stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons chocolate flavored greens, depending on taste.
– Boil the water in the kettle and pour it into the cup with the almond milk and the greens.
– Stir in vanilla drops or cinnamon to taste.
- Complete!
The Greens are a blend of antioxidant-rich vegetables, fruits, grasses, algae and other plant extracts with a very high nutrient density. Compared to many Greens products, Dynamic Greens has a very wide range of ingredients and an excellent taste.
Roasted almond milk with its slightly nutty, marzipan-like taste is also a good choice for regular almond milk. Another variant is to use the espresso-flavored greens for a pleasant coffee note instead of the chocolate-flavored greens.
The hot greens chocolate with its three main ingredients also contains almost no calories, no carbohydrates, no gluten, no lactose and is vegan.
To the hot greens chocolate!
Image: Almond milk, greens, and the finished greens hot chocolate in the middle.
]]>Anyone who has dealt with nutrition knows that consuming carbohydrates increases blood sugar. In addition to carbohydrates and proteins, five other hormones can also increase blood sugar.
What is blood sugar?
From a chemical point of view, blood sugar is not just any sugar, but a very specific one, glucose or dextrose. There are other types of sugar in the blood in small amounts, but blood sugar is always the glucose in the blood.
What do we need blood sugar for?
The sugar in the blood is an important source of energy for our cells. They absorb sugar from the blood. There it is then converted into the energy carrier ATP by glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, which supplies all of our inches with energy.
Where does blood sugar come from?
There are three primary sources of blood sugar:
1. From food - We don't eat much pure glucose directly, but we do eat "regular" sugar, lactose and starches like rice and potatoes. All of these carbohydrates contain glucose. Carbohydrates are broken down during digestion, producing glucose, among other things, which is then absorbed through the intestines.
2. From the glycogen stores - If we do not eat for a long time, glucose, which is mainly stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen, is released back into the blood. Glycogen is a storage form of glucose. If we have a need for glucose between meals or through activity, glycogen is primarily broken down again from the liver and glucose is released. This is one of the mechanisms by which blood sugar levels are regulated.
3. Through gluconeogenesis - Glycogen stores only last for a limited period of time. If we eat too little food over a long period of time, fat and protein will also be broken down. Our body can produce small amounts of glucose from both fat and protein. This process is called gluconeogenesis and means something like “formation of new glucose”.
Who regulates blood sugar levels?
There are five hormones that raise blood sugar, but only one that lowers it. The primary reason for this unequal number is that low blood sugar carries significantly more acute dangers than high blood sugar. And that over the past millennia, a lack of food has been a much greater challenge than a surplus.
Insulin - lowers blood sugar levels - Insulin is also known as the hormone of energy storage. Insulin promotes the flow of glucose into the cells. Consequence: blood sugar level drops. Insulin promotes the build-up of glucose stores, glycogen, primarily in the liver and muscles. And insulin inhibits the build-up of glucose from protein, gluconeogenesis. However, insulin also promotes fat gain.
Cortisol - Increases Blood Sugar Levels - Cortisol helps prevent low blood sugar levels. They directly and indirectly promote gluconeogenesis.
Glucagon - Increases Blood Sugar - Glucagon increases blood sugar. Many effects are opposite to those of insulin. It is also referred to as the hormone of energy supply. Glucagon promotes the breakdown of the glucose store glycogen in the liver. This releases glucose. Glucagon promotes fat loss. After a meal we have much more insulin in the blood than glucagon, and the ratio is more balanced when we are hungry. Glucagon is proportional to cortisol.
Adrenaline and Noradrenaline - increase blood sugar levels - Two hormones of the adrenal medulla The hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline - also known as catecholamines - are released during stress, anxiety, physical activity and other exertion and lead to the depletion of glycogen stores.
Somatotropin – increases blood sugar levels – Also known as growth hormone. The hormone produced in the pituitary gland helps, among other things, to prevent blood sugar levels that are too low.
As explained in detail in the article “ Hypoglycemia – another form of stress ”, cortisol is the driving force behind stabilizing blood sugar levels, especially when “not eating” for a long time. And in this way, cortisol can also cause fluctuations in blood sugar levels.
The diagram at the beginning of the article shows some excerpts of the blood sugar reaction of YPSI A license trainer Michael Haase based on the CGM measurement (continuous glucose monitoring) over 6 days. CGM systems are devices that measure the level of glucose in the tissue fluid of the subcutaneous fat tissue every five minutes around the clock. And so it allows to determine a curve of the course of blood sugar levels in reactions to certain foods and situations.
From left to right, the blood count shows the following meals and situations
Stremel salmon with peppers and tomatoes - true to the motto " animal for breakfast " this is a breakfast variant that I would like to recommend. And those in the diagram with the combination of moderately fast-digesting proteins, some fats and some vegetables result in the lowest blood sugar increase.
Strawberries – despite the higher carbohydrate content of 40g, 500g of strawberries have very little effect on blood sugar levels.
Whey protein - Certainly a surprise for many, the whey protein shake has a greater effect on blood sugar despite its low proportion of carbohydrates due to the larger amount of very quickly digestible protein.
Rolls with sausage and cheese as well as fruit - A combination that some call a "classic breakfast" has a clear effect on blood sugar given the carbohydrate content of 60g.
Stress, no food intake – No food intake coupled with a stressful situation at work has a clear effect on blood sugar. Since this increase is not due to food, it is the blood sugar-raising hormones, such as cortisol released in a stressful situation, that raise blood sugar regardless of food intake.
In summary, the key point here is that stress without food intake and therefore no carbohydrates and proteins has the greatest effect on blood sugar in this comparison. And so the optimization of the cortisol level, among other things through regular meals, is crucial to stabilize the blood sugar.
Good luck in optimizing your blood sugar level!
Image: Some excerpts of the blood sugar reaction to certain foods and situations by YPSI A license trainer Michael Haase based on the CGM measurement.
]]>One of the most common reasons for the JoJo effect is: Eating carbohydrates (again) too early. Too soon means eating them before you earn them. Earned usually means your body fat percentage is still too high and your muscle mass and activity level are too low to store carbohydrates as glycogen in your muscles or liver. Which in turn means that these carbohydrates are primarily stored as body fat.
With the YPSI skin fold measurement, however, not only can the body fat percentage be determined as a percentage, but based on the 13 individual skin folds it can also be observed at which points the body fat is reduced - or built up - faster or more slowly. Since each skin fold allows statements to be made about a specific metabolic process and parts of the hormonal balance, it can happen that the total body fat percentage is actually still too high to consume more carbohydrates, but the two skin folds that directly correlate with carbohydrate tolerance are so low that it is useful and necessary to increase the amount of carbohydrates in the client's diet in order to make better progress.
These two skin folds mentioned are the shoulder blade and hip folds. A high scapula crease is linked, among other things, to genetic carbohydrate tolerance. This will not change significantly due to the current diet. Someone who is genetically closer to an Inuit than an East African will generally have significantly more energy and lose body fat faster on a diet rich in fish, meat, healthy fats and plants than carbohydrates, while someone with a high carbohydrate tolerance will tends to require more carbohydrates to have more energy and make faster progress.
The hip crease, on the other hand, is related to blood sugar fluctuations triggered by current diet and lifestyle. It's the crease that yields the fastest results when our customers follow their diet and lifestyle goals.
Based on the development of these two skin folds, you can determine even more precisely which nutritional strategy is right for you at the moment. It is another advantage that the YPSI skinfold measurement has over other body fat measurement methods.
The YPSI skinfold measurement is the success accounting of many trained YPSI trainers. It is part of Module 4 , the first module of the YPSI Trainer A license. You can find details on the measurement in my article “ The YPSI skinfold measurement – The best bookkeeping for personal trainers ”.
Have your skin folds measured by a YPSI trainer and show you whether you are on the right track and whether your current lifestyle and diet are a good basis for body fat reduction - and what needs to be changed to move forward.
If you want to have your skin folds measured, you can find a YPSI trainer near you right here via the YPSI trainer search
All YPSI A license trainers and many YPSI B license trainers offer the YPSI skinfold measurement.
If you would like to learn the YPSI skinfold measurement yourself in order to be able to use this tried and tested tool for success accounting, register here for the YPSI nutrition, hormones & skinfold measurement (module 4) seminar:
Good luck with the YPSI skinfold measurement to determine the individual carbohydrate tolerance!
Image: Spaghetti Bolognese.
]]>Carbohydrates are probably the most misunderstood of the three macronutrients. Partly because carbohydrates come in all sorts of forms and needs vary greatly from person to person, there is a lot of confusion about what is actually a simple topic. Low carb, paleo, if it fits your macros, counting calories, intermittent fasting... there are many nutritional approaches. Some recommend avoiding carbohydrates altogether, while others propagate only the number of calories has to be right, then the amount and type of carbohydrates would not matter. Both are only partially correct if the goal is not only weight loss but also high mental and physical performance. Because not only the amount, but also the type and timing of carbohydrate intake is crucial for optimal effects on body composition and, above all, on physical and mental energy levels.
A test that anyone can easily follow is to eat a large amount of carbohydrates, such as a bowl of pasta, and see how you feel afterwards. The feeling will be more like "siesta/ digestive sleep" than "let's go/ I'm full of energy". Depending on the time of day, however, this can be the opposite of what you actually want to be in. A midday slump after a carbohydrate-rich meal is a common phenomenon that impairs mental performance in many workplaces or schools.
There are three reasons why consuming carbohydrates in the evening rather than in the morning is beneficial.
1. Neurochemical . Serotonin is the neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) of harmony and well-being that is released when we eat carbohydrates. Hence the saying “chocolate makes you happy”. Being relaxed and in a harmonious state before going to bed promotes falling asleep. Serotonin is also a precursor to melatonin, the hormone that puts you to sleep. More on serotonin here .
2. Glycogen Storage. Glycogen is carbohydrate in its stored form in the body, where it serves as fuel for muscle work. Only the muscle that stores the glycogen can use it. This means that if you train your legs and then consume carbohydrates, you fill up the glycogen stores in the leg muscles, where the glycogen stays until the legs are used again. Only the liver can release glycogen back into the bloodstream when needed. Glycogen resynthesis is higher at rest or in the evening, because then the parasympathetic nervous system is dominant. This is therefore an optimal time to replenish the glycogen stores if necessary.
3. Hormonal. In contrast to the morning, the stress hormone cortsiol should be reduced in the evening so that we can fall asleep and sleep through the night. A high cortisol/adrenaline level paired with a low GABA/serotonin/melatonin level are the cause of insomnia from a hormonal point of view. Carbohydrates lower cortisol and therefore make the most sense from a hormonal point of view in the evening.
Carbohydrates are not bad per se. Carbohydrates are necessary. It is crucial to adapt consumption to requirements in order to avoid negative effects such as tiredness at the wrong time or body fat build-up. That means you have to earn your carbs. More about carbohydrates here.
Good luck with carbohydrates in the evening!
Picture: Ice cream, certainly not the first carbohydrate source I recommend, but definitely one of the most popular.
]]>Snacks are small snacks that play an important role in optimal energy levels, physical and mental performance, muscle maintenance and growth, and body fat reduction. I have already explained in detail why it is important to eat something regularly in the following article – hypoglycaemia, another form of stress .
Why do I recommend preparing and taking away snacks and not "real" meals like bodybuilders or fitness models do? The main reason is that snacks are the much simpler and more efficient solution. And are therefore more likely to be implemented by customers and athletes. 3 main meals with 2-3 snacks per day are much easier to prepare and consume in everyday life than 6 complete meals. Meal prep is time consuming and transporting meals in Tupperware is not something that every customer and athlete can do for a variety of reasons.
Below are three options for snacks that don't take much time and that can be taken to the car or the office, for example.
1. Macadamia nuts. Macadamias contain healthy omega-3 fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Their positive properties on cognitive performance make these very high-fat nuts (72 g fat / 100 g) an ideal snack. The total fat requirement per day for most people is between 50-100g, so limit the amount of macadamias you snack on to 1-2 handfuls three times a week to avoid overshooting and consuming too many calories from fat consume. You should pack the nuts airtight once you've opened the bag to ensure a longer shelf life. Salted nuts have a slightly longer shelf life and are fine too. More on nuts in a diet here .
2. Coconut Yogurt. Milk, especially cow's milk, is one of the most common intolerances. It is primarily casein (milk protein) and lactose (milk sugar) that many people cannot tolerate and that are potentially pro-inflammatory. And thus negatively influence regeneration, increase in training and body fat loss. Coconut milk is the better hypoallergenic alternative. Yoghurts made from coconut milk are now also available. With a handful of berries, they make a quick and easy snack.
3. Exogenous ketones. Ketone bodies can replace glucose from the breakdown of carbohydrates and thus serve as the primary source of energy for the brain and the entire body. In contrast to endogenous ketones, which are produced in the body in the state of ketosis by the body itself in the liver via the process of ketogenesis, exogenous ketones are supplied from outside. Exogenous ketones are manufactured in powder or liquid form containing ketone salts and ketone esters. They are excellent for increasing energy levels and stabilizing blood sugar. I go into more detail on exogenous ketones in this article .
This was a small selection of snacks that I recommend depending on your status, goal, everyday life and budget. As always, the customer's goals determine the measures. If your goal is to compete successfully in a bodybuilding competition, meal prep will be inevitable. However, the snacks presented are ideal for general high physical and mental performance and have already proven themselves in numerous before & after transformations .
Good luck with snacks in everyday life!
Image: Macadamia nuts in their shells.
]]>With a glycemic load of 2, a glycemic index of 25 and 8 g of carbohydrates per 100 g, raspberries can easily be part of a low-carb diet. I generally like to recommend raspberries and berries as a snack between meals – for example with skyr or nut butter. Raspberries are a good source of antioxidants. Antioxidants are chemical compounds that slow down or completely prevent the oxidation of other substances. They catch free radicals in the organism and inactivate them. This reduces oxidative stress, which is associated with the aging process and the development of a number of diseases and degenerative processes.
Another option is to use raspberries in your Post Workout Shake (PWO Shake). For most customers, this shake consists of water and protein powder. If the customer's body fat percentage is low enough and the goal is to build muscle, carbohydrates such as maltodextrin are added. Raspberries can also be part of any PWO shake.
Why raspberries in the PWO shake?
There are three reasons for this:
Antioxidants – As mentioned earlier, antioxidants promote cellular health. But they do even more. Antioxidants are involved in removing the metabolic waste products produced during exercise. This allows the body to repair tissue that is damaged during exercise more quickly. This reduces muscle soreness.
Taste - Basically, the PWO shake should taste good, because in addition to its task as a protein supplier, the aim of the shake is to reduce cortisol and thus reward yourself for the training. Both difficult when the shake tastes modest. Anyone who has ever tried a PWO shake with raspberries compared to a regular shake will notice the difference in the better taste.
Texture and Temperature - Using frozen raspberries and a blender will change the texture and temperature of the PWS. The shake becomes creamier and cooler. A bonus especially on hot days when it comes to taste and faster hydration.
As with training, the same applies to nutrition: variation is important! Try raspberries in your post-workout shake for less soreness and more flavor.
Good luck with raspberries in the post workout shake!
Image: Raspberries.
]]>A question that I am currently being asked very frequently is: What does optimal nutrition and training during Ramadan look like?
What is Ramadan?
The word Ramadan is Arabic and is derived from the root ramida or arramad, meaning "scorching heat and dryness" (especially of the soil). Ramadan is the month of fasting for Muslims and the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. According to Islamic belief, the Koran was sent down there. As one of the five pillars of Islam, Ramadan has an important meaning for Muslims.
In addition to the spiritual part, the "internal fasting", the "external fasting" in Islam discussed in this article consists of the Muslim not eating or drinking anything from the beginning of dawn until sunset, i.e. generally no food takes and abstains from having sex with the spouse. Only after sunset
Ramadan 2017 begins on May 27th and ends on June 24th, 2017. The month of Ramadan advances by 10 or 11 days per year each year and gradually progresses through all the seasons. Thus, in the course of his life, a Muslim will experience both winter fasting with shorter days and longer summer fasting days where fasting becomes more difficult. If a fixed season were fixed for fasting, it would mean permanent advantage for some of the followers of Islam in different parts of the world and permanent disadvantage for others.
Muslims “travelling” are also allowed to make exceptions due to their particular physical strain (in the past people mostly traveled on foot). For athletes, this route is permitted at least for away games. Egypt even have a legal opinion (fatwa) prepared. This came to the conclusion that the team "is on a national mission" and the players therefore exceptionally do not have to observe Ramadan.
For those who are celebrating Ramadan, here are some tips on how diet and exercise can be optimally adapted to this project:
– Adjust training volume. The solution is not not not to train, but to do fewer total reps/volumes. For strength training, for example, 5×5 would be a good training system to maintain strength without becoming too physically weak.
– Amino acids & electrolytes to break the fast. Dehydration is a big problem if you don't drink. Even mild dehydration will result in reduced performance. Therefore, it makes sense to take in electrolytes and water first in order to rebalance the fluid balance. In addition, the amino acids take on other more important tasks. You can get the YPSI AminoElectrolyte Complex here.
– Fast digesting food. Easily digestible meals are ideal for breaking a fast. Optimally, fat and carbohydrates should not be combined and high-fiber foods should be avoided to enable faster digestion.
– Eat, exercise, eat, sleep. This should be the sequence for a practicing Muslim after sunset on training days.
– Not getting up extra for breakfast. As people often go to bed late during Ramadan and the only chance to eat before sunset that same day is to eat before sunrise, having breakfast at this time would disrupt sleep. Instead of interrupting your sleep, I recommend skipping breakfast here.
– The training goal is maintenance. Not progression. No top performance can be achieved under the given circumstances. The goal is therefore to maintain personal performance over Ramadan. Then it can be progressively increased again.
- Drink, drink, drink. 1 liter of water per 25 kg of body weight is a good daily goal. Add 1 liter during training. Since fluid intake occurs only after sunset, more must be drunk in less time.
– Liquid, solid, liquid, solid meal on break days. Then sleep. Maximum nutrient absorption and hydration are the goal in order to be optimally prepared for the next day. Eight hours of sleep should also be the goal during fasting, if possible. An amino-electrolyte drink or a protein shake with frozen raspberries is ideal as a liquid meal.
Basically, fasting is a beneficial measure to give the stomach and intestines a break and tap into stubborn fat stores. Optimally, however, the body is regularly supplied with protein (in liquid form). Anyone who fasts during Ramadan should therefore maximize their fluid and protein intake after sunset and follow the tips above in order to avoid any loss of performance and negative effects on body composition and then be able to make constant progress again.
Good luck with optimal nutrition and training during Ramadan!
Image: The Moscow Cathedral Mosque.
]]>Ketosis refers to a special state of their metabolism that was originally normal for humans - before agriculture and thus carbohydrates came up in larger quantities. In this state, the concentration of ketone bodies (more precisely: acetoacetate, 3-hydroxybutyrate, acetone) in the blood and between cells increases. The ketone bodies become the body's primary source of energy. And thus replace glucose as an energy source from the breakdown of carbohydrates. The body now produces the energy by breaking down fatty acids into so-called ketone bodies (ketones for short) in the liver and using these as an energy supplier. Ketones are also a brain nutrient — without the need for sugar. The brain is normally supplied with energy via glucose, i.e. sugar that results from the breakdown of carbohydrates. This is why you sometimes hear the myth that the brain needs sugar in order to function. However, when there is no more glucose available, the body switches to ketosis. Otherwise, mankind would probably have died out long ago, since carbohydrates were not always available in the past and the body had to fall back on fat reserves and thus ketones in times of hunger. In contrast to normal fatty acids, ketones can cross the blood-brain barrier and serve as an energy source for the brain and the entire body. This new (actually old) and natural brain food changes thinking: Easier. alert. More quickly. more creative.
Exogenous ketones
In contrast to endogenous ketones, which are produced in the body in the state of ketosis by the body itself in the liver via the process of ketogenesis, exogenous ketones are supplied from outside. Exogenous ketones are manufactured in powder or liquid form containing ketone salts and ketone esters.
Why exogenous ketones?
In short: to increase energy levels and stabilize blood sugar. The liver lacks the enzyme 3-ketoacid-CoA-transferase without being able to obtain energy from ketone bodies. However, in other organs, such as the central nervous system, the brain or the muscles, the ketones can be metabolized by means of ketolysis (breakdown of the ketone bodies). While ketogenesis (creation of ketone bodies) produces ketone bodies from broken down and activated fatty acids (acetyl-CoA), ketolysis converts them back to acetyl-CoA. This then enters the citric acid cycle (also known as the Krebs cycle or citric acid cycle) and is metabolized there, creating energy. This energy is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the universal and immediately available energy carrier in our cells and is important for the regulation of energy-supplying processes.
The ketogenic diet is something that I recommend/use for about 80% of my clients because they are the most efficient in everyday life and sports. As a snack, the exogenous ketones fit very well into the daily routine and have the advantage that they do not bring the body out of ketosis like many other snacks would. Based on previous studies and reports, they induce ketosis even faster and thus an optimal metabolic state for potential fat burning.
Finally, one more point is crucial: exogenous ketones are not a “magic weight loss get shredded supplement”. I view exogenous ketones as an inefficient "fat loss" supplement. In order to lose body fat, sleep, lifestyle and diet have to fit. This process can be accelerated through training and supplements. However, exogenous ketones belong in the premium high performance snack category. And are the best in this category that I have used as an efficient snack to date.
Good luck with exogenous ketones in your diet!
]]>Nuts have been an important part of human nutrition since time immemorial. At YPSI we recommend them to our customers as a snack, for example between breakfast and lunch, to keep blood sugar levels constant.
However, nuts are the only food that is limited in quantity for our customers right from the start. The reason for this is that usually too many nuts are eaten. In addition to the macros, for example, 100g of cashew nuts already contain a good 500 kcal. and approx. 45g fat, the food intolerance factor also plays a major role with nuts.
Among other things, nuts contain phytates to protect against consumption. Phytic acid, which occurs in nature as phytate, is a kind of plant protection agent or plant pesticide. Phytate can insolubly bind minerals such as calcium and magnesium, but especially iron and zinc. These are then no longer available to the body, so they cannot be digested (which, however, can also prevent an excess of iron). The digestive enzymes pepsin and trypsin are also blocked by the phytate, which humans need to digest proteins.
However, phytate also has antioxidant effects and delays the digestion of starch, so it can have a regulating effect on blood sugar levels.
If nuts are stored improperly or for too long, mycotoxins (mould toxins) can develop. These can be toxic even in small amounts. For better preservation, some types of nuts are roasted and salted, so they keep longer.
Incidentally, peanuts are not nuts, but legumes, which have a pro-inflammatory effect due to their high content of linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid) and are therefore not recommended by us.
The rotation of the nut variety is also crucial to avoid intolerances caused by excessive consumption of the same variety. It is better to eat walnuts on Monday, cashews on Tuesday and Brazil nuts on Friday than cashews all three days.
Bottom Line: If stored properly, consumed in small amounts, and rotated regularly by variety, nuts make a very good addition to the diet. The high proportion of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants as well as their blood sugar stabilizing properties make nuts an ideal snack. Our recommendation is a handful of nuts three times a week
Good luck with nuts in your diet!
Image: The hazelnut is a nut that is native to our latitudes.
]]>Researcher Hans Selye coined the term “stress” in 1977. According to brain researchers, whether something is individually classified as a stressor depends on the experiences people have had. It depends on whether something is new or familiar, what feelings are associated with it and how the corresponding situation is evaluated. By definition, stress to me is giving something more attention than it deserves.
Stress can be many things, or there are many things that can stress us individually. For some, it's stressful when they're not allowed to talk. It is stressful for the other person when he has to talk. Modern road traffic, for example, can be perceived as stressful. According to stress researchers, today we have over 100 times more stress at work and in everyday life than our grandparents' generation. Constant availability, information overload and radiation from technical devices are modern stressors to which our grandparents were not exposed for a large part of their lives. Likewise, pollution and toxins such as plastic or chemicals in our food are stressful for our bodies.
All of these are stressors that you have more or less control over, because most of them cannot be avoided entirely due to external factors, the behavior of other people or job-related circumstances. We can only control our reaction to them and the extent to which we expose ourselves to these stressors.
But as different as the stressors are, the reactions that are subsequently triggered in the body are still the same as they have been since the earliest human history. In 1915, the stress researcher Walter Cannon used the term “ fight or flight ” to describe the physical reactions to a subjective assessment of danger. If something stresses us, a chain of reactions is triggered in the brain.
The nervous system signals the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline and puts the body into an alarm mode. Among other things, blood pressure, pulse and muscle activity increase and intestinal activity is inhibited. About ten minutes after the adrenaline release, the cortisol release follows. The stress hormone cortisol is produced in the adrenal glands and acts like a milder type of adrenaline. It is designed to protect the body from the negative consequences of too long and high activation by adrenaline. Cortisol is a vital hormone and, when released in the right amount at the right time, is a very useful hormone. But high cortisol levels over a long period of time are also unhealthy.
Cortisol increases during physical exertion and primarily via the hormone glucagon, which is produced in the islet cells of the pancreas, increases the blood sugar level in order to provide the body with readily available energy in the form of glucose. Glucagon breaks down glycogen, i.e. glucose/carbohydrates in their stored form, in the liver and promotes glyconeogenesis. Glyconeogenesis is a catabolic process in which the body converts the protein in the muscles into glucose. So muscle is broken down to generate energy. However, this form of energy generation is practically irrelevant in practice, since only about 3g of glucose per hour can be produced from protein. If the blood sugar rises again due to the released glucose, the hormone insulin is released from the pancreas. Insulin is the antagonist of glucagon and lowers blood sugar again by stimulating the transport of glucose into the cells. When blood sugar levels drop too low because the body's stores are depleted and there is no replenishment from food or drink, hypoglycemia occurs. A condition that the body will try to ward off with a food craving.
Another form of stress
Hypoglycaemia, commonly known as low blood sugar or hypoglycaemia, describes in medicine a blood sugar level that is too low or a glucose concentration in the blood that is too low.
The definition of hypoglycaemia is based on non-diabetics, since diabetics by definition have a different glucose tolerance due to their underlying disease. In severe cases of diabetics, the so-called sugar shock is spoken of. This is severe low blood sugar with unconsciousness, which can even lead to death if the blood sugar levels are very low over a long period of time. Sugar shock can occur in diabetes mellitus as a complication in connection with an excessively high insulin intake, often in connection with missing a meal or long and heavy physical exertion.
Hypoglycaemia during exercise in healthy people is associated with a sudden drop in performance, dizziness and generalized nausea, and is dubbed "the man with the hammer" or "the hunger pangs" especially by endurance athletes. Causes are...
...a blood sugar level that is unbalanced by the intake of carbohydrates too soon before exercise, which then falls more quickly during exercise.
…a drop in blood sugar levels due to not eating enough or not at all before exercise.
...a very long endurance exercise (e.g. triathlon, marathon) with insufficiently filled glycogen stores without the supply of carbohydrates during exercise.
As already mentioned, these processes are biochemically related to the hormones cortisol, adrenaline, glucagon and insulin, which are released one after the other like a wave and thus regulate the blood sugar level.
So, the state of hypoglycemia occurs when we do not eat for a long time and can be accelerated by intense physical exertion. Not eating for a long period of time is stressful for our body. Fasting is unnatural. No animal fasts voluntarily. Regular meals are crucial to avoid hypoglycemia. How regularly depends on your goal. If your goal is maximum hypertrophy, it's up to 8 meals a day. Three meals and two snacks are enough for maximum physical and mental performance and efficiency in everyday life. With less, you run the risk of developing hypoglycemia and getting caught in the vicious cycle of high cortisol, insulin secretion and food cravings.
Since high cortisol values, which are noticeable in the YPSI skinfold measurement & analysis in a high abdominal fold, suppress appetite and increase blood sugar, a high hip fold can also be measured even with a low-carb diet - which is otherwise primarily associated with a too high related to carbohydrate consumption. This also explains why you can get fatter without eating. Everyone knows such people. The human body and the hormonal system is complex and body fat reduction cannot be reduced to pure calorie consumption.
Eating the right things (animal protein, vegetables, healthy fats) on a regular basis is an easy way to consistently stabilize your blood sugar and avoid exposure to the stressor hypoglycemia.
Good luck avoiding hypoglycemia!
Image: Regular meals as a basis for stabilizing blood sugar levels are one of the most important principles of optimal nutrition that we use very successfully with all our customers, athletes and before'n'after transformations.
]]>The tip “Eat gluten-free” is included in my first book “Your best training” .
This is a practical tip that is easy to implement and has immediate positive effects for many people. However, the theory and the background to this are a bit more complex.
Gluten (from Latin Glūten = "glue") is an adhesive protein found in the seeds of many types of grain. When grain flour is mixed with water, the gluten from the flour forms a rubbery and elastic mass - the dough. Due to this property, gluten is of crucial importance for the baking properties of the flour. Classic rolls and loaves of bread can only be baked with flour containing gluten. Without the gluten, the dough would not be able to stabilize its curved shape and you could only make flatbread out of it. The gluten content in flour today is many times higher in industrial bread baking than it was 50 years ago, due to grain breeding methods that increase yield and simplify baking. So a morsel of bread 50 years ago had as much less gluten as a morsel of bread today. But not only bread and rolls contain gluten.
Foods containing gluten
Any type of pasta, pizza, baked goods such as cakes, muffins, donuts, cookies, pretzels that are not specifically labeled as gluten-free contain gluten. Breakfast cereals such as muesli or similar products often contain cereals containing gluten. Not to forget beer , which is made from barley or wheat, at least according to the German Purity Law. Gluten is also commonly found in certain dairy products, processed meats, peanut butter, marinades and sauces, energy/protein bars, cheese, fried foods, vegan meat substitutes, some ice creams, beverages like instant coffee or root beer, and more.
Most of it has no permanent place in an optimal diet anyway. But even as a free meal once a week, you should only eat what you can tolerate without problems. At first glance, that sounds like you're not allowed to eat anything anymore. However, there are a lot of better and also tastier alternatives. And not everything needs to be avoided, as will be explained later in the article. Furthermore, it depends on your individual carbohydrate tolerance how often you should consume carbohydrates for optimal body composition and a high energy level. This can be easily determined with a YPSI skinfold measurement & analysis by a certified YPSI trainer in your area.
What problems does gluten cause and why does it cause them?
Gluten is a mixture of two types of reserve proteins (storage proteins in seeds, roots and tubers) from two different groups, the prolamins and the glutelins, which every grain contains. Prolamines are soluble in alcohol whereas glutelins are soluble in the alkaline range. However, gluten is not just gluten. Below is the composition of gluten in different types of grain:
Wheat contains gliadin (group of prolamins) and glutenin (group of glutelins),
Rye contains secalin and secalinin
Barley contains hordein and hordenine
Oats contain avenalin and avenin
The prolamins are mainly responsible for the symptoms of celiac disease, a gluten intolerance that results in chronic inflammation of the lining of the small intestine. As a result, nutrients are poorly absorbed and remain largely undigested in the intestine. However, it is now assumed that gluteline can also cause problems and should therefore be avoided.
However, only one in nine people with gluten intolerance actually has celiac disease and whether grains can be tolerated also has to do with the preparation method, even with celiac disease. For example, 8 out of 10 people with celiac disease tolerate bread baked from sourdough without acute noticeable symptoms. This is because the lectins (plant's own defense proteins/anti-eating toxins) are changed by fermentation, soaking and long dough processing. Since the gluten component gliadin in wheat is a lectin, it can increase the permeability of the intestinal barrier. The intestine would become leaky, something that is referred to as leaky gut syndrome. Toxins, bacteria, undigested nutrients and metabolic products get directly into the organism via the damaged intestinal mucosa and can cause a wide variety of complaints. Many texts only refer to the wheat prolamin gliadin as the culprit, but at the same time there are warnings about rye and barley.
Gluten is not just gluten
Oats also contain gluten. However, not the form of gluten that causes problems for most people. For example, the prolamin fraction of oats differs in amino acid sequence from those of other grains and does not appear to be equally harmful. However, oats are not yet recommended for gluten-free nutrition in German-speaking countries, since contamination from cereals containing gluten – so-called cross-contamination – cannot be ruled out. Unless you buy oat flakes that are specifically gluten-free in a health food store. For many times the price of regular oatmeal. Scientists who are serious about it might say that oats technically contain gluten. In practice, however, it is not. The German Celiac Society considers it to be a possible part of a gluten-free diet if carefully introduced into the diet. A baker would hardly count it among the group of gluten-containing grains from an artisanal point of view, since oats do not have the appropriate baking properties. However, oat flakes (and also beans, peas and lentils) should always be soaked before consumption to render the lectins they contain harmless. This happens, for example, with porridge or oatmeal .
How sensitive are you to gluten?
Ultimately, it is not so important why someone does not tolerate gluten, but which foods they can eat and which they should avoid.
If you don't already know if you can tolerate gluten, here's a simple test to check your sensitivity to gluten: Don't eat anything containing gluten for a week. Then eat only foods containing gluten for a maximum of one day – feel the difference. If stomach cramps, reddening of the skin or impurities, flatulence, diarrhea, brain fog, tiredness, etc. occur after consumption or the next day - in short: if you feel worse than before consumption of the corresponding products, stop the test if necessary and eliminate them products from your diet.
There are plenty of gluten-free alternative carbohydrate sources such as quinoa, amaranth, rice or oatmeal, and even gluten-free flours such as buckwheat flour (it's gluten-free despite the word "wheat") for baking.
You can also do the same test with sourdough or spelled products. It is the simplest, cheapest and most reliable indicator to determine an acute or permanent intolerance.
Conclusion: Gluten is not just gluten. Wheat in its current form is the biggest problem for many people. Lectins can be rendered less effective by special treatment. Your carbohydrate intake should be limited to sources that you can tolerate. The amount should be based on your activity level, current body fat and muscle mass, and genetic carbohydrate tolerance. The YPSI skinfold measurement & analysis provides the best information about the last three points.
To learn more about gluten, book a seat at the YPSI Live Webinar on Gluten & Body Comp on March 6, 2021
Good luck with determining your gluten sensitivity!
Image: Breakfast cereals containing gluten.
]]>Humans lose half a liter to two liters of fluid per night through respiration and sweat.
About 70% of our body is water, that's 70kg of water for a 100kg adult. And even losing a small portion of this water can significantly reduce physical and mental performance, which is why staying well hydrated is important for everyone.
A study from 2008 showed that 3% water loss through sweating during training leads to a loss of strength of up to 19%.
The fact that water also has a strong impact on our mental performance can be concluded from the fact that our brain consists of 85% water. Everyone knows the situation in which they haven't drunk anything for a long time, especially in summer when the temperature is higher, which promotes water loss and mental performance is significantly reduced.
The Rosbach drinking study showed the following results with a minimal increase in water intake per day:
Information processing speed increases by 6% – The speed at which information is processed in the brain increases by 6% compared to before. Thus, the ability to think faster through increased drinking is one of the central results of this study.
Memory span increases by 9% – This means study participants are able to hold more varied details in their minds to process. This ability is called "Memory Span". Increasing the memory span makes it easier to deal with more complex issues and to think more logically.
The working memory of the brain shows an increase of 15% - The increased drinking volume promotes the own working memory of the respective study participants the most. Our working memory in the brain is the center for processing conscious information and an important basis for our intelligence performance.
Water represents the medium in which the biochemistry of the body takes place. Every one of our trillions of cells contains water and resides in an aqueous medium. So it's hardly surprising that we've evolved mechanisms to keep the body's water content fairly constant.
Putting this in relation to our water loss during sleep, one of the easiest ways to increase physical and mental performance in the morning is to replace the water loss immediately after waking up. To compensate for water loss more quickly, you can add a pinch of salt to the water.
These are two more reasons why each of our customers and athletes starts each day with a glass of water with Himalayan salt and lime juice.
Good luck with optimizing the water balance and increasing physical and mental performance!
Image: Water with lime juice & Himaalya salt (Photo: Tamara lever)
]]>Christmas is around the corner. And like every year, at YPSI, around this time, our customers ask us what they can eat over the Christmas holidays. In principle, every customer gets at least one free meal per week - regardless of their current body fat percentage. However, one meal is certainly not enough over Christmas. Nor does she have to. What then is the solution to enjoy Christmas Eve and the following holidays and still continue to make progress?
Here are three tips on how you can find the best balance between enjoyment and progress during this time:
1. Gluttony or not? In the back of most people's minds, Christmas is gluttony. How many meals does Christmas include? It's only five. Dinner on December 24th. As well as lunch and dinner on December 25th and 26th. Five meals. Not 20. And statistically, only 3 of those meals are unscheduled for most. Off-plan means a combination of lots of carbs and fats plus some protein. In total, you eat over 1000 meals a year. Does three meals make a difference? No. Enjoy it. And then the motto is "Back to Business".
2. The breakfast stays! From a Christmas point of view, breakfast is certainly the least important meal. A good start to the day is important for having energy and burning body fat. And to stabilize blood sugar and thus maintain well-being during the day. It is therefore important that the breakfast options remain as specified. Which breakfast I generally recommend can be found in this article – Eat animal for breakfast .
3. Take advantage of the holidays and the days after to vacation the squats . After the holiday season, glycogen stores are full and the week after Christmas is the quietest week of the year for most. More time is more time to use. What fits better than the squat vacation? With full glycogen stores, a rested nervous system, and more time on your hands, 18 sessions of squats in 6 days is excellent for boosting your workout, improving squat performance & technique, and adding a new twist to your workout. The Carpe Diem version of Christmas meets squats.
Exceptions are not only important from a psychological point of view and confirm the rule if they remain exceptions. As long as you don't overdo it, avoid alcohol to some extent and use the extra free time during the holidays to optimally increase your training frequency and recover, you can start the new year stronger and with more energy.
Happy Holidays, Happy Holiday Squats, and Happy Holidays Staying in Shape!
More tips for Christmas here -> Eating and training at Christmas - Here's how...
]]>Another book recommendation suitable for the Christmas season.
The YPSI A license trainer Roy Epple from Leonberg has published the "Wohlschmecker" cookbook with 44 delicious recipes without grain, without sugar and without cow's milk.
More and more people are reacting to sugar and grain ingredients such as gluten, resulting in numerous challenges in everyday life. With cow's milk there is also the problem that the consumption of cow's milk can increase many complaints enormously.
The effects of excessive consumption of grain, cow's milk and sugar are described in the Wohlschmecker cookbook including literature.
With the "Wholesome" recipes you have another building block to make a change in diet more successful and sustainable through more variety in eating.
The "Wohlschmecker" cookbook is available in a practical display format for the kitchen.
The zucchini baguettes and the vegetable bolognese are my personal favourites.
Have fun and success with the recipes!
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