Friday, April 1, 2016

Muscle Facts: The Impact of Glutamine

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Not a day goes by in which some new supplement is introduced into the market. Whether promoting the growth and repair of your muscles, providing energy, increasing endurance or weight loss there is always something new. One of these such supplements is glutamine which is quite popular in the world of fitness and bodybuilding.

This amino acid is a must have for every athlete being as when combined with a balanced and nutritious diet it is great for building muscle, improving your recovery time and also helps keep your digestive system healthy.

Glutamine is popular among weightlifters, MMA fighters , bodybuilders, endurance athletes as well as fitness buffs and celebrities that use the power of glutamine to build muscle and shorten their recovery time. This is something that can be purchased by those who go to the gym in the form of glutamine supplements, protein powders and recovery formulas all which contain this powerful amino acid.

What is the Importance of Glutamine?

Many studies have shown that there are countless health benefits associated with glutamine and bodybuilding. Regardless of whether you are looking to increase muscle mass, strengthen, become leaner this should be the one supplement you do not go without.

L-glutamine is an actual component of the structural elements of RNA as well as DNA and is key in protein synthesis as well as the regulation of the levels of ammonia in your body. Fifty to sixty percent of your muscle components are made up of this compound and it is also found in your lungs, blood, tissue, liver and even brain.

Finally after two decades we realize that exercise makes our muscles release a large amount of glutamine. Your levels of glutamine storage can drop as much as fifty percent when you work out. If your workouts are intense, if you are fasting or of you have undergone surgery then these levels are literally drained. It is important not to forget the power of glutamine and stock up on it whether it be through your diet or with additional supplements.

You can find this much needed amino acid in milk, nuts and meat but these products and other food proteins only contain less than eight percent glutamine. Your body uses glutamine as food so certain activities can cause your intercellular storage areas to become consumed.

Bodybuilders, athletes or those who live an active life require higher levels of glutamine consumption and must supplement their diet as needed. Studies have shown that muscle glutamine lost during exercise can take up to twenty four hours to get back up to their pre-workout levels.

Due to intense exercise and over training many athletes have lower levels of glutamine in their body. Higher levels of training as well as intensity on combination with low levels of glutamine can have a negative effect on your immune system. A weak immune system can lead to infections as well as diseases so the right amount of intake is crucial to maintaining a strong well working immune system, proper digestion as well as muscle repair.

Researchers over the last few years have realized that the immune systems of athletes and bodybuilders are quite weak. Research has shown that in order for the immune system to be strong it is necessary that it has plenty of glutamine being as it consumes it in large amounts. If you are not consuming enough amino acids then your risk of acquiring diseases is increased you are also prone to muscle loss and decreased strength.

The Power of Glutamine and Its Benefits to Your Health

  • Protected immune system
  • Contribution of protein synthesis
  • Stimulation of glycogen formation
  • Sparing of heavy chain myosin proteins
  • Increases the levels of hormone growth
  • Has strong anti-catabolic effects
  • Helps in the digestive process
  • Better physical performance
  • Increases the speed in which muscles recover
  • Aids in the building of lean muscle

The power of glutamine is not only beneficial to your muscular system as well as the function of your immune system but it is also highly recommended for those struggling with colitis, stomach ulcers, gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome and any other illnesses which can cause the muscles to waste. It is also a great regulator of acid-bases and gluconeogenesis.

Leukocytes use this amino acid at high rates in order to help stimulate the growth of new cells. The levels of glutamine i your muscles directly impact the rate of glycogen and protein synthesis so it is obvious that this compound has quite an effect on your entire body. By adding I-glutamine to your diet you will not only strengthen your immune system but also help better your recovery time after working out.

How Much Glutamine is Needed?

Glutamine is a crucial supplement for bodybuilders and athletes and the amount of daily intake varies between five to twenty grams depending on your level of activity. This dosage can be increased or decreased as needed and taken at key points throughout the day, Some people prefer to take it before exercising others after and some right before bed.

There is a difference between glutamine and glutamic acid, gluten, glutamate, monosodium glutamate or glutathione. You can find this popular amnio in either a pill or powder form and although cycling glutamine is unnecessary it should be a supplement you continue to consume so as to keep the storage areas of your body stocked full. Do not forget the importance of the power of glutamine in your life.

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Sore and Scratchy Throat? Pull Out Your Blender — Tips from the Kitchn

Although it may start innocently enough, there’s really nothing worse than a painfully sore throat. And while sipping something warm and comforting like herbal tea, bone broth, or even a hot toddy is certainly soothing, sometimes the only thing your throat is crying out for is the exact opposite: something ice-cold to dull the pain.

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Gutsy Is The Etsy of Fermented Foods — Food and Tech News

Gut flora getting you down? Microbiome under siege? With the surge of interest in the health of our gut, Gusty, a new Brooklyn-based food startup, has set out to conquer our colon conundrums with a carefully curated selection of artisanal fermented foods delivered direct to your doorstep.

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11 Spicy Dishes to Heat Up Your Weekend — Recipes from The Kitchn

Don’t reach for your standard, go-to recipes this weekend. Instead, spice things up by trying something new in the kitchen. Even better, try a recipe with a little heat.

These 11 recipes have just enough spice to keep things interesting without sending you in search of a glass of milk to quell the fire. And if you are tentative when it comes to spicy food, remember that you can easily adjust the seasonings to your liking.

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Feeling Down? Activate Your Happy Hormones

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Now who does not want to feel good? Of course everyone does and when there are times that you think you are feeling down but could not really understand the reason why, then it’s time to step back and try to tap into your biological mood changers.

The human body is unique in the sense that if some part may not function properly, other parts would function together to help compensate and here are some proven tips on what to do the next time you start to feel under the weather.

You may want to start your day with activating your serotonin or your ‘happiness’ hormones that regulates our memory, mood and behaviour.

The body requires an amino acid to called tryptophan to produce enough serotonin hormones in the brain to help you feel ‘happy’ and natural foods that help activate tryptophan are cashews, free range or organic whole eggs, legumes, lentils, grass fed meat, tempeh, tofu, chia seeds, oily wild-caught fish, organic cheese, buckwheat and oats.

If you may have a little room to spare for some additional carbohydrates in your body, you may want to add these into your diet as well as these helps increase your serotonin hormones as well.

Studies have proven that carbs help the brain’s uptake tryptophan and increase serotonin levels that affect your mood.

The lack of vitamin D is known for its link to Seasonal Affective Disorder which ails people who were subjected to long periods of winter months and have little exposure to sunshine and makes for gloomy dispositions and depressing moods.

Soaking some sunshine into the body is highly beneficial and is strongly recommended. Food sources of vitamin D are oily fish, liver, full fat dairy products and egg yolks.

You can also increase your serotonin levels by moving around, be it a short walking activity or a regular exercise routine, outdoor walks give you the chance to interact with your environment and allowing you some time to break the monotony of a daily humdrum.

Also make sure to get some sleep. This may help out a lot in allowing the body to rest and allow the brain to also recharge. So when you start to feel down, try  clearing your schedule to take some rest, maybe cook dinner early and turn off your phones and spend some ‘me’ time to catch up on reading and unwind, then try to get a full length of uninterrupted sleep and surely you will feel better the following day.

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4 Snack-Packing Tips for Long Flights — Travel Tips from the Kitchn

Last week I returned from a trip of a lifetime. My fiancĂ© and I spent almost two weeks soaking up the beauty of South Africa. It was a such an incredible vacation that we’re already plotting our return, if we’re ever so lucky in the future. The only negative part was, well, the flight. I’ve been on 10- and even 12-hour flights before, but this was by far the longest I’ve endured. Book the nonstop from New York City’s John F. Kennedy airport to Johannesburg’s O. R. Tambo airport, like we did, and you’re in for a solid 15-hour flight.

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Tuberculosis Research Labs Are Now Using Rats

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We often associate rats as being scourges of society – pests that are always not welcome inside our homes, but science has found a way for them to contribute something to mankind that we might someday appreciate.

What we would have thought as disease carrying vermin – giant rates are now being used in East African prisons to help determine people who may be positive with tuberculosis and have so far been highly successful in doing so.

This revolutionary detection system uses the rats’ heightened sense of smell to sniff out disease, according to a Belgian non-government organization APOPO, who is currently taking the lead in this initiative having some 50 fully trained African giant pouched rats.

The rats were trained for nine months in the group’s headquarters in Morogoro, Tanzania and can sniff through 100 sputum samples in 20 minutes, which would take up to two days for the conventional methods.

The testing process poses no harm or danger to the rats as the phlegm samples are placed in a heated autoclave to kill potential pathogens that could pose any risk or harm to the rats or their handlers, where the samples are lined up and the rats are made to do their work in sniffing the samples.

The slides where the rats are found to hover over for more than three seconds are the ones suspected with tuberculosis and are sent to the laboratory for further analysis.

Laboratory technicians claimed that the rat tests are extremely accurate and APOPO confirms that accuracy rating is at 100 percent.

The rats however, could not determine normal or drug-resistant strains and would need to have the samples turned over to the laboratory for this.

APOPO recently reported that they have so far screened some 344,919 samples for tuberculosis and were able to treat 39.920 cases.

APOPO US Director Charlie Richter, said that they believe this TB detection technology will be a good alternative to speed up mass screenings, as well as help save health programs from millions of dollars in annual mass screening processes.

“We aim to expand the program to all prisons, shantytowns and factories in high TB-burden countries, as well as with high risk groups who have HIV/ AIDS, thus improve and save lives around the world at a low cost,” Richter said.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one third of the world’s population is positive for tuberculosis and is a leading cause of deaths for persons with HIV.

Image Credit: Maarten Boersema/APOPO’s HeroRATs 

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