We receive lots of emails about fat around the middle and how to blitz the old belly into shape. In some people a quick tidy up of their nutrition and they melt the muffin top away, discovering abs for the first time in years! For others it can be a case of identifying a few health issues which are actively exacerbating the situation and fuelling fat storage around the middle first...
Although many of us have become a little 'carb-phobic' these days it's important to remember that in healthy quantities carbohydrates (including glucose and fructose) can be processed effectively by our body, either used for energy or stored in our muscles and liver as glycogen. For this reason one of the best times to consume carbohydrates is following exercise, when our need to replenish glycogen stores is greater.
Armed with the latest knowledge, this weeks blog offers some guidance on the nutritional changes you can implement (alongside some key stress management measures) to help support your body and mind against the negative effects of stress that many of us experience on a daily basis.
Optimal health is largely about achieving effective communication across the whole body. Our hormones play a significant role in this process and it's vital that our body listens and responds in a healthy way to the messages being conveyed. Insulin is one of the most important hormones as it's responsible for transporting nutrients into our cells for energy. It's therefore important your nutrition, training and lifestyle ultimately support insulin health.
We're all a bit carb obsessed lately what with the influx of low carb, controlled carb, carb cycling diets that have dominated the nutrition and health scene. Before you jump on the latest carb wagon it's wise to take some time to learn about carbohydrates as a group of macronutrients and how they are processed by our body. This will help you determine your needs and possibly the food choices you subsequently make regarding carbohydrates. Here at Fitter Food we have simplified the science to help you out.
When it comes to fruit we tend to observe polar opposite approaches, either people are chomping down several servings and downing pints of orange juice to get their daily vitamin C fix or they’re avoiding it like the plague as someone informed them “fruit makes you fat!” So what is the score with fruit?
A frequent question we receive about carbohydrate intake is; "what types of carbohydrates are healthy and how many should I be eating?" Most people are aware now that one of the keys to optimal health involves supporting healthy blood sugar levels so the answer to the question really involves establishing your individual carbohydrate tolerance. Essentially; how many carbohydrates can you eat without elevating blood sugar excessively? A glucose monitor is a great tool you can use to figure this out and here we explain how.