Tag: Free Radicals

The World of Sports Nutrition

Advancements in medicine and an increase in capitalism in the world as well as other factors all contributed to the development of the field of sports nutrition.

As scientists learned more and more about our bodies and the optimum level of strength and physical fitness they can harbor, businessmen jumped the gun and manufactured products and services that actually help athletes meet these optimum levels. The media joined in the ruckus and published materials leading to the promotion of both the scientific and the commercial side of the field.

Sports nutrition has been changing through the years around the world. Its not just that the topics are different the emphasis and approach have also changed.

Today, go into almost any supermarket, convenience stores and even school cafeterias and youll find a ready supply of sports drinks aimed at maintaining hydration just like glucose solutions.

The difference is that by using soluble long-chain glucose polymers instead of simple glucose, its now possible to create an isotonic hydrating drink which also supplies significant amounts of carbohydrate to working muscles. And, the good thing is, sports drinks also taste better.

More than 10 years ago, it was made public that muscle damage brought about by free-radicals may be reduced by having supplements of antioxidant vitamins A, C and E. Years after, antioxidant supplementation became a norm in the world of sports nutrition.

Now, researchers are also beginning to understand that muscle damage is a more complex subject. It is difficult to assess free radical damage in athletes and it has been found out that large amounts of antioxidant nutrients may actually cause cellular damage and impair performance.

The Carbo loading technique has been widely used over the years by athletes all over the world. A carbohydrate-rich diet is important in maintaining muscle glycogen stores thus ensuring high endurance levels.

However, in the 1990s it became clear that the glycaemic index and release rate of different carbohydrates had important influence on when they should best be consumed in relation to physical activity.

The relationship of carbohydrates and proteins were also discovered namely that carbohydrates promote protein-sparing in the body. It was also discovered recently that consuming carbohydrates before and during prolonged bouts of strenuous exercise can help protect the immune system.

One of the most exciting recent developments in sports nutrition has been the rise of creatine supplementation. The use of creatine is now very common. Creatine renews the muscles essential energy source, ATP or adenosine triphosphate. Increased levels in muscles optimizes energy turnover meaning youll more energy for high power exercise and faster recovery during and after workouts.

Nutritional supplements available to most athletes in the 80s were very straightforward. Some athletes took drugs but the boundaries between nutritional supplements and drugs clear. Today, the race to find new formulas to boost performance has resulted to the availability of sports nutrition supplements which do not really occur naturally. The result is that the distinction between a nutrient and a performance-enhancing substance has become increasingly blurred.

Some of these supplements contain ingredients that can cause athletes to violate the rules and regulations governing their sport because of unintentional contamination by other, exotic, substances present in the supplement manufacturing environment.

More developments will be created in the world of sports nutrition and these will definitely spawn ethical questions.

Why They Say Chocolate Has Health Benefits

Does chocolate have health benefits at all? Few studies and researches made not too long ago suggested it has. In detail, a lot of chemicals containing chocolate were found to be beneficial to the people’s health. So, it does contradict the old myth and half – truths surrounding the saying that implement that looks and tastes good is bad.

The health benefits are particularly true to cocoa, dark chocolate, and minimally – processed chocolate foods. Aside from the copper and magnesium, which aids in regulating blood pressure and heartbeat, they append flavonoids, the ones that you also found in high – antioxidant green tea. As you probably know it ad hoc, antioxidants are good for the health as they accomplish a number of health benefits, such as the following:

– Improve circulation
– Lower blood affliction
– Stimulate kidneys, improve digestion
– Can remedy patients with poor appetite, kidney stones, and anemia
– Improve endothelial functions
– Guard against free radicals and other evil molecules, which are known to trigger stroke and heart disease.
– Lower heart disease – related deaths

Flavonoids have two different kinds, the epicatechins and catechin. The catechin has been found to be rich in minimally processed chocolate foods and cocoa. This is known to aid in preventing heart disease illnesses and possibly cancer problems. It is also aid to boosting an individual’s unaffected system, this one also was recently discovered by the experts. Catechins can be found triple in amount in chocolates as compared to those found in teas.

But despite the discovered health benefits of chocolate, you have to be cautious at what type and amount of chocolate food you consume. Since anything excessive can be bad to health, and that applies to chocolate too. Eating high quantities of chocolate onus still cause juice and eventually trigger illness especially if you consume the less healthy type of chocolate.

In order to avoid the hateful consequences, you have to choose the right type of chocolate when intense as not all kinds are good. For example, highly – processed chocolate food kind such as those in candy and bar forms have high calories, sugar, and fat contents, therefore, must be avoided at all cost. Healthy kinds are dark chocolate, cocoa, and any other minimally – processed chocolate food.

This is in relation to studies demonstrating possible effects by eating chocolates done by the experts to groups of participants. In a distinctive study, half of the group ate duskish chocolate while the other white chocolate. One ones who ate white chocolate, showed no change in garnet pressure, while the other who ate dark chocolate, significantly lowered their systolic blood pressure.

At another conducted Pennsylvania State University study, a different group of participants received low fat diet, except that the half got high – carb snack and the other consumed low fat chocolate bar for a certain loop of stage. The two split groups didn’t show antithesis in levels of bad or LDL cholesterol afterwards. However, those that ate chocolate bars did show increase in triglycerides, a bent of heart – risk blood fat, and good or HDL cholesterols.

From these studies, it showed how chocolate can actually be a good diet food. However, note that the participants were only fed in minimal quantities of chocolates, therefore it is serene not advised to consume this sweet mirth more than what is required for you to take. Also, remember to avoid chocolate foods that are high in artificial flavorings, with dairy products, and sugars. Remember this: the less that it is processed, the more that health benefits you will get from chocolate.

Recipes From Around The World
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Big Book of Cookies
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101 Recipes fro the Deep Fryer
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Why They Say Chocolate Has Health Benefits

Does chocolate have health benefits at all? Few studies and researches made not too long ago suggested it has. In fact, a lot of chemicals containing chocolate were found to be beneficial to the people’s health. So, it does contradict the old myth and half-truths surrounding the saying that anything that looks and tastes good is bad.

The health benefits are particularly true to cocoa, dark chocolate, and minimally-processed chocolate foods. Aside from the copper and magnesium, which aids in regulating blood pressure and heartbeat, they contain flavonoids, the ones that you also found in high-antioxidant green tea. As you probably know it already, antioxidants are good for the health as they accomplish a number of health benefits, such as the following:

-Improve circulation
-Lower blood pressure
-Stimulate kidneys, improve digestion
-Can help patients with poor appetite, kidney stones, and anemia
-Improve endothelial functions
-Guard against free radicals and other destructive molecules, which are known to trigger stroke and heart disease.
-Lower heart disease-related deaths

Flavonoids have two different kinds, the epicatechins and catechin. The catechin has been found to be rich in minimally processed chocolate foods and cocoa. This is known to aid in preventing heart disease illnesses and possibly cancer problems. It is also aid to boosting an individual’s immune system, this one also was recently discovered by the experts. Catechins can be found triple in amount in chocolates as compared to those found in teas.

But despite the discovered health benefits of chocolate, you have to be cautious at what type and amount of chocolate food you consume. As anything excessive can be bad to health, and that applies to chocolate too. Eating high quantities of chocolate can still cause weight and eventually trigger illness especially if you consume the less healthy type of chocolate.

In order to avoid the unpleasant consequences, you have to choose the right type of chocolate when consuming as not all kinds are good. For example, highly-processed chocolate food kind such as those in candy and bar forms have high calories, sugar, and fat contents, therefore, must be avoided at all cost. Healthy kinds are dark chocolate, cocoa, and any other minimally-processed chocolate food.

This is in relation to studies demonstrating possible effects by eating chocolates done by the experts to groups of participants. In a particular study, half of the group ate dark chocolate while the other white chocolate. One ones who ate white chocolate, showed no change in blood pressure, while the other who ate dark chocolate, significantly lowered their systolic blood pressure.

At another conducted Pennsylvania State University study,a different group of participants received low fat diet, except that the half got high-carb snack and the other consumed low fat chocolate bar for a certain length of time. The two split groups didn’t show difference in levels of bad or LDL cholesterol afterwards. However, those that ate chocolate bars did show increase in triglycerides, a type of heart-risk blood fat, and good or HDL cholesterols.

From these studies, it showed how chocolate can actually be a good diet food. However, note that the participants were only fed in minimal quantities of chocolates, therefore it is still not advised to consume this sweet treat more than what is required for you to take. Also, remember to avoid chocolate foods that are high in artificial flavorings, with dairy products, and sugars. Remember this: the less that it is processed, the more that health benefits you will get from chocolate.