L- Lucine

L-Lucine a naturally occurring amino acid, one of the essential amino acids the body don't produce:

• necessary for growth and for nitrogen balance
• help burn fat without burning muscle
• may improve protein synthesis in muscle tissue in people with insulin resistance
• may lower blood sugar levels and normalise and control insulin release and insulin function
• may increase Human Growth Hormone (HGH)

You’ll find these ingredient in many diet pills and lifting supplements. It is, of course, important to get the right amount of the stuff into the product so L-Leucine can maximize its potential.

Study by Journal of Nutrition.

They performed a 10-week study involving two groups of women. One group followed a high protein diet (which included a high dosage of L-Leucine) verses a low protein, high carb diet.

The results were interesting. Each of the women consumed about 1,700 calories per day. By the end of the 10 weeks they found that both groups of women lost an average of 16 pounds. But those that stayed on the protein rich diet (consuming a plentiful amount of L-Leucine) lost more body fat and retained more lean muscle mass then those in the high-carb group.

This supports the claims about L-Leucine and its ability to aid in weight loss while not burning muscle mass.

Foods High In Leucine

• Cottage cheese
  
• seafood, meats
  
• poultry
  
• peanuts
  
• sesame seeds
  

Take Note !!

You must have enough L-Leucine in proportion to other amino acids in order for your body to make use of what you eat. Lack of the amino acids your body will not be able to make use of the protein that you put in no matter how much protein you consume.

How to consume

Leucine stimulates insulin "storage hormone" secretion when consumed with glucose. By itself, leucine showed little effect on glucose or insulin levels. Combined with glucose, leucine significantly increased insulin secretion in a synergistic effect that was greater than the insulin response to glucose alone.

Sources & Images courtesy of:
metabolism
glucose

Water

Water is important to the mechanics of human body. Water makes up more than two thirds of human body weight. Water also plays a key role in the prevention of disease. The body needs water to regulate body temperature and to provide the means for nutrients to travel to all the organs. Water also transports oxygen to our cells, removes waste and protects our joints and organs.

• Water serves as a lubricant
• Water forms the base for saliva
• Water forms the fluids that surround the joints.
• Water regulates the body temperature, as the cooling and heating is distributed through perspiration.
• Water helps to alleviate constipation by moving food through the intestinal tract and thereby eliminating waste - the best detox agent.
• Water helps to regulate metabolism

On average, eight-ounce glasses per day will be sufficient. However, that might not be enough. The amounts really need to be tailored to meet the needs of every individual. There are factors that influence water needs. You may need to modify your total fluid intake depending on how active you are, the climate you live in, health status and if you're pregnant of breast-feeding.

Tips: To ensure you are drinking enough fill up a bottle of water and keep it on your desk at work or at home. As you drink down the water, you know that you are on the right path. The best indicator that one is drinking enough water is when urine comes out pale yellow to clear. A dark yellow color however is a sign your body is dehydrated and is concentrating the urine in an effort to conserve water.

Images&Video courtesy of :
water
vid

Food Lable

Nutrition is very important to achieve you target physique. How do you measure/check you food nutrition? Do you read the Nutrition Facts food labels when you shop? Food and Drugs Administration FDA has required these labels to be placed on food packaging. The Nutrition Facts food labels are easy to find on the back, side or bottom of the packaging. A food label should list the country of origin of the food product

Food labels carry useful information to help you make choices on the food. The food label will tell you if the food contains an additive that you may or may not want to avoid. The nutrition information helps you to compare the nutrient profile of similar products and choose the one that suits you best.

Difference between ‘use-by’ and ‘best before’

Foods with a shelf life of less than two years must have a ‘best before’ or ‘use-by’ date. These terms mean different things. The ‘best before’ date refers to the quality of the food – food stored in the recommended way will remain of good quality until that date. It may still be safe to eat certain foods after the ‘best before’ date, but they may have lost quality and some nutritional value. By contrast, foods that should not be consumed after a certain date for health and safety reasons must have a ‘use-by’ date and cannot be sold after that date. You will find ‘use-by’ dates on perishables such as meat, fish and dairy products.

Some foods carry the date they were manufactured or packed, rather than a ‘use-by’ date, so you can tell how fresh the food is. For example, bread and meat can be labelled with a ‘baked on’ or ‘packed on’ date. You should:

• Check the ‘use-by’ or ‘best before’ date when you buy food.
• Keep an eye on the ‘use-by’ or ‘best before’ dates on the food in your cupboards. Don’t eat any food that is past its ‘use-by’ date, even if it looks and smells okay.

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Food_labels_explained


OVERVIEW

The information in the main or top section no.1-4 and no.6 on the sample nutrition, can vary with each food product it contains product specific information (serving size, calories, and nutrient information). The bottom part no.5 contains a footnote with Daily Values (DVs) for 2,000 and 2,500 calorie diets. This footnote provides recommended dietary information for important nutrients, including fats, sodium and fiber. The footnote is found only on larger packages and does not change from product to product.

SERVING SIZE

First area to look at is the serving size and the number of serving in the package. The serving size on the food package influences the number of calories and its nutrient listed on the top part of the label. Pay attention to the serving size, especially how many servings there are in the food package. Then ask yourself, "How many servings am I consuming"?

CALORIE

Calories measure of how much energy you get. By controlling the amount of calorie you consume you able to manage the weight you desire. Each amount per serving equal to calories given.

NUTRIENTS

Limit this nutrient. Eating too much fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, or sodium may increase your risk of certain chronic diseases, like heart disease, some cancers, or high blood pressure.

Understanding the Footnote on the Bottom of the Nutrition Facts Label

Note the * used after the heading "%Daily Value" on the Nutrition Facts label. It refers to the Footnote in the lower part of the nutrition label, which tells you "%DVs are based on a 2,000 calorie diet". The amounts circled in red in the footnote--these are the Daily Values (DV) for each nutrient listed and are based on public health experts' advice. DVs are recommended levels of intakes. DVs in the footnote are based on a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet.

The Percent Daily Value (%DV)

5%DV or less is low and 20%DV or more is high This guide tells you that 5%DV or less is low for all nutrients, those you want to limit (e.g., fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium), or for those that you want to consume in greater amounts (fiber, calcium, etc). As the Quick Guide shows, 20%DV or more is high for all nutrients.

REFERENCE http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ConsumerInformation/ucm078889.htm#seeimage2

Fats

A balancing act
Sharon Kam

NUTRITION vs TASTE. A perennial challenge. And chances are, Taste and those who root for it will end up the heavyweight champs. Pun intended. In a food haven like Malaysia where a vast variety of food is available any time, any day, anywhere, it is an extreme tussle with temptation when choosing what goes into our bodies.

Our eating habits have evolved with growing affluence and unfortunately, have become more unhealthy. We are not only eating more. We are also eating more of the wrong kinds of food.

Carbohydrates, protein, fat are the three main macronutrients which contribute to the calories or energy we need. It is recommended that we should only consume 55-70% of carbohydrates, 20-30% protein and 10%-15% of fat.

But for many Malaysians, the consumption of protein and fats has increased while consumption of carbohydrates has decreased, says Family Health Development director at the Health Ministry Datuk Dr Narimah Awin.

"We suspect Malaysians are eating way too much fats but exactly how much, we do not know yet," she says, adding that this will be revealed when an ongoing National Diet Survey is ready year-end.

While we eat too much, we have also become less active compared with past generations which has brought on an imbalance between what we eat and how much we eat with how physically active we are. Eating habits and physical activity decide how healthy we are. But only 11.6% of Malaysians do adequate exercise.

http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=8909

As what mention above, fat is bad !! Not everyone has a clear image about fats and most people that wish to change their sedentary life style to a healthier tend to remove fats, sugar and even carbs. Firstly let us have a look at the food pyramid. Most country has different type of food pyramid. On the left side is Malaysia food pyramid and as for the other side is Japan food pyramid.

  The Japanese diet has been known for centuries as one of the healthiest due to it's high levels of nutrients and antioxidants. 

 The Healthy Japanese Diet: A Diet of Longevity and Good Health http://www.suite101.com/content/the-healthy-japanese-diet-a34961#ixzz1B94Y2Gz2

"The Japanese diet is the iPod of food," says Naomi Moriyama, co-author of Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen, "it concentrates the magnificent energy of food into a compact and pleasurable size."  

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/diets-of-world-japanese-diet

In Malaysia food pyramid, poultry and fish are in the same category same as for fats and sugar. Fish and poultry has different benefits and obviously fish is more beneficial. If fat and sugar is in  the same category it means that fat is categorize as unhealthy.

Now, not all fat is bad. Fats are an essential part of healthy eating so it’s good for you to eat a certain amount of the healthier fats. Fat is important for our body processes. We should consume some fat inour  diet. Fat protects the organs, keeps and helps our body absorb and move nutrients around. It also helps hormone production. Some fats are better than others and having too much of any type is not a good idea.

Dietary fats are classified by their structure. Different types of fats react differently inside the body. Saturated fats (found mostly in animal products) increase blood cholesterol, which is a risk factor in coronary heart disease. Mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to lower blood cholesterol.

Healthier fats

Healthier fats include monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats - omega-3 and omega-6. These fats reduce the 'bad' LDL cholesterol in the blood and increase the 'good' HDL cholesterol. This helps to lower the risk of getting heart disease.

Unhealthy fats

Unhealthy fats include saturated fats and trans fats. Too much saturated and trans fat contributes to the build up of fatty material, called plaque, on the inside of your blood vessels and is a major cause of heart disease. These fats can increase LDL cholesterol in our blood that leads to the plaque. Lowering saturated fat in the diet will help to lower LDL cholesterol.

  

We can still consume fat and be aware with the type of fats. Always control the portion size of a meal because to much of everything is not good.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate (CH₂OH) is a very complex topic and debatable, most of the info that I will share here will be for general population. Main source of energy comes from carbohydrate. It provides fuel and energy for muscle contraction. Carbohydrate breaks down  (glucose, fructose and galactose)

Carbohydrate divided into 2 type :

1. Simple Carbs
2. Complex Carbs

Simple Carbs are quick energy source. Sugar/ glucose is the major kind of simple carbs. Glucose is the basic source of energy for all living things. Simple carbs are absorbed and converted to energy very quickly and provide a rapid source of energy. Sugar derive from few type of sources :

Sucrose also known as table sugar, beet sugar, or sugar cane.

Fructose known as fruit sugar. Most plants contain fructose.

Maltose  known as malt sugar. Found in grains.

Lactose commonly known as milk sugar.

Complex carbs are a better choice in the diet. It take a bit longer to be digested and absorbed into the body. They also take longer to breakdown and therefore provide energy at a slower rate than simple sugars. Type of complex carbs

Starch supplies the body with long, sustained energy. All starchy foods are plant like grains, legumes and some vegetables.

Dietary Fiber is the part of the plant that the body can't digest. Yet it is an important part of a healthy diet. It adds bulk to the diet and keep us feeling full faster, helping to control the weight. Fiber helps digestion and helps prevent constipation  Source of fiber would be  bran, whole-grain foods, raw vegetables and fruit (especially the seeds and skins), legumes and nuts.

Carbohydrate break down into a simpler form called glucose. Glucose is absorbed into the blood stream and is used for immediate energy needs by the cells. Excess glucose  is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle tissue. It is stored with water, in the ratio 1 gram of carbohydrates to 3 grams of water. If blood glucose levels drop too low, the body can use this stored glycogen to replenish the supply. When energy needs are met and the glycogen stores are filled, any excess glucose can be converted to fatty acids and stored as fat tissue. The fat tissue has unlimited storage capabilities.

Conclusion 

Chose good carbs/ complex carbs  in the diet. Not no carbohydrate as diet. Don't be mislead by fad diet. Most individual that follow the low carbs/ zero carbs diet lose weight due to water that contains in the carbs.