What Is Allicin?

Overview

A powerful antibiotic, allicin is an anti- fungal compound that is found in garlic. However, it does not mean that it can be found in its natural state. When it is chopped or crushed, the enzyme alliinase performs chemically thus converting it.

Allicin may not a be a very steady complex because it slowly disintegrates when it stands and is quickly damaged when cooked. Good thing about it is that it will do a large contribution medicinally, it fights artiosclerosis. It also has the ability to dissolve fats as well as an antioxidant to some extent.

Dubbed as Mother Nature’s insecticide, allicin was discovered in 1944 by Chester John Cavallito who primarily recognized its antimicrobial activity. It has a patent for its antifungal activity in test tubes. Albeit, there were no clinical test that were performed and was never developed into a commercial drug because of its absorption inability and foul smell.

Potential Value

There are some manufacturers who attempted to prevent its typical loss so that it would not come together only until after consumption in the hope of producing it inside the body.

It is done by measuring the additional water to garlic products that contain both alliin and alliinase to identify how much has been produced. But it then revealed that actual chemical reaction inside the body is a whole lot different as that being done in a test tube. The intestinal conditions hamper its absorption because the belly acid wrecks aliinase and intestinal fluids and depletes the amount created.

The enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of alliin called alliinase, has been discovered to be irreversibly neutralized to more than lower than pH3, an acidic environment found in the stomach.

Absorption Feature

Allicin is actually not bioavailable. There was a study conducted wherein 25 participants consumed a big portion approximately 90, 000 micograms versus crushed raw garlic of ten cloves. It showed that not a trace could be detected in both the blood and urine after 1 to 24 hours of intake.

Because of its towering reactivity, allicin was revealed to be entirely metabolized in the liver. If it could have reached the blood, it would have illustrated alterations into other compounds within five minutes. Also, in the method, it could have corrode the cells in the blood that brought about them to drop the capability in carrying oxygen.

Prior to that, allicin is quickly metabolized in the blood and tissues of human beings. It is doubtful however, if it contributes to any other actions in the body such as antithrombotic or better known as, blood thinning.

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Nutrition

What To Look For In A Probiotic

By RunThaCity — 3 years ago



What you should know about probiotics

You might be surprised to learn that how you feel and even look every day is tied to your intestines. To maintain good health, your intestines must properly absorb nutrients and help eliminate waste and toxins.

Your intestines, which lie between the stomach and rectum, are part of the Gl tract or digestive system. In the small and large intestines, food is broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream, providing your celts and organs with the energy they need to function. Your intestines do this with the help of good bacteria (also called microflora).

These “good bacteria” aid digestion, promote vital nutrient production, maintain pH (acid-base) balance, and prevent proliferation of unwelcome bacteria. From the time of birth your body is inhabited by these good bacteria. Changes in diet, stress and aging and other factors can disrupt this delicate balance.

Lack of good bacteria can lead to:

Digestion issues

Poor bowel function and flatulence

A weakened immune system

Poor nutrient absorption

Low level of energy and well-being

Lack of good bacteria is so common that many health professionals recommend the use of probiotic supplements. Probiotics are good bacteria strains that limit the proliferation of unwelcome bacteria in the intestinal tract by crowding them out.

In the first decade of the twentieth century a Russian scientist, Elie Metchnikoff, suggested that the long lives of Bulgarian peasants might be a result of their consumption or fermented microorganisms which positively influenced the microflora of the colon. This discovery, together with his work in immunology, earned him the 1908 Nobel Prize for Medicine. 1 his event raised considerable interest in the study of benefits of microorganisms to humans. In 1974 the term “Probiotic” (pro – for; bio = life) was coined to describe the use of beneficial bacteria to positively influence health.

Today the scientific field agrees that probiotics offer a broad range of health benefits when taken in sufficient numbers.

Restoring the balance

Because we are conditioned think of bacteria as trouble-makers, it’s hard to accept that we may actually have too few of these organisms in our digestive system. Yet that is actually quite common. And when it happens, our bodies let us know with occasional sluggishness, irregularity, bloating, or a weaker immune system.

There is a synergistic relationship between good bacteria and our body: we provide them with a safe place to live and grow, and they help us digest, absorb our food, eliminate and maintain a healthy intestinal function. It works very well… as long as there are enough of them.

Strain specificity

However, not all probiotic bacteria are identical. They differ on the basis of genus, species and strain and results. Also it has been shown that organisms must both live and colonize within the gut to induce beneficial effects. Unfortunately a lot of probiotics don’t even reach the intestine and hence offer no benefits.

Viability

Probiotics are fragile live bacteria. Probiotic cultures vary and the benefit of a probiotic is not measured simply by the number of living bacteria in a pill. The beneficial effects of the presence of probiotics in the gastro-intestinal tract depend on their viability — the ability of the bacteria to survive and colonize.

In the U.S. many probiotic products arc supported by poor research, are poorly formulated, and suffer from poor quality control. Most products list bacterial genera and species but make no mention of the viability of the bacteria. Acidophilus, for instance, has only -A 53% viability, which means that only half of the bacteria you take will be able to survive.

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Nutrition

How to Create a Bodybuilding Diet

By RunThaCity — 2 years ago

So, you want to look like a Herculean champion. To get that kind of body, you need to do more than train. You need to eat like a champ, too. Timing, macronutrients, and supplementation are all key components to a bodybuilding diet. Don’t worry, it’s not as regimented as it sounds. Here’s the breakdown for everything you need to know about creating a bodybuilding diet.
Understanding Macronutrients

In order to build a bodybuilding diet, you must first understand the concept of macronutrients and how they can either make or break your nutrition.

Carbohydrates
Carbs are fuel that break down into sugars when digested. If you don’t eat the required amount of carbohydrates to fuel activity, your body will feel sluggish. If you eat too many carbs, that sugar gets converted to fat. It’s important to find balance.

Carbs are 4 calories per gram.
Protein
Protein is the most valuable macronutrient for bodybuilders, because it does more than build muscles. Protein helps repair muscles after a workout, and it can prevent catabolism, or the breakdown of muscles overtime. For bodybuilders, you should aim to eat a gram of protein for every pound that you weigh. If you weigh 180 pounds, then you need 180 grams of protein. Some people who are hard gainers will need a little more protein to help their muscles grow.

Protein is 4 calories per gram.
Fat
The body needs fat to survive. In fact, you can’t burn fat without eating it. Though you don’t need as much fat in your bodybuilding diet as you do protein and carbohydrates, fat does deserve a place in your meals. Fat is 9 calories per gram.

Knowing the above information, you figure out your ideal macronutrient ratio. For those trying to build muscle, you should aim for 30% protein, 10-20% fat, and 60-65% carbohydrates. If you’re trying to cut fat and gain muscle, cut the carb intake to 35% and up your fat and protein intake.

Determine Caloric Needs
Before you can even start plotting out meals and when to eat, you need to know your daily caloric needs. There is your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the calories you burn just breathing and functioning throughout the day. BMR is generally affected by your activity level, height, weight, and age. A 20 year old lean male is going to burn more calories than a 50 year old moderately active male even if they sit on the couch all day.

Then, we have your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), which looks again at age, weight, and activity level as well as body fat.

There’s a number of TDEE and BMR calculators online that are very accurate and can help you; but you are going to need to do a body fat measurement first to gain the most correct results from the calculators. You can either do a skin caliper test, or you can use a handheld bio-electrical impedance tool.

Using the calculation of your TDEE and BMR, you can then figure out the amount of macronutrients you need for your bodybuilding goal.

Let’s say you get 2600 calories for. You then take the macro ratios from above (30% protein, 50% carbs, and 20% fat) to see how many grams you need of each.

For example, protein = 0.30 x 2600 = 780 calories / 4 cal = 195 grams

Figure Out Your Eating Schedule
The best bodies in the world are not built from haphazard nutrition and poorly-timed meals. The standard three-meal plan won’t serve you either.

If you want to gain muscle, you go eat maintenance level calories. Everyone’s metabolism is different, based on activity level, body fat and lean body mass. Because of this, two people of the same height and weight can be completely different metabolically and well need different diets.

Based on your needs, here’s a sample meal plan that you can customize:
Meal 1: Oatmeal, sprouted grain toast, egg whites, 1 egg yolk, 1 banana
Meal 2: 1 orange, 1 whey protein shake mixed with milk
Meal 3: 1 serving of broccoli, 3-4oz of chicken breast, baked potato or sweet potato or brown rice
Meal 4: 1 whey protein shake mixed with water or milk
Meal 5: 7oz of lean beef, mixed vegetables (carrots, cabbage, green beans, etc), brown rice
Meal 6: Oatmeal, egg whites and 1 yolk

Ideally, you want each meal to be around 30-40g of protein, 50-60g of carbohydrates, and no more than 12g of fat. Meal 5 alone would pack in more than 40 grams of protein and about 60 grams of carbohydrates.

Meals 1, 3, and 5 are generally your bigger meals (larger portions). You can eat smaller meals or drink protein shakes for means 2, 4 and 6.

The important thing to take away from this sample meal plan is that you are going to want meals that digest quickly before a workout. You will want to eat carbohydrate-rich foods that are low in fat, because fat can slow digestion. After a workout, you can eat a meal or drink a protein shake to shuttle nutrients directly to the muscles that will need repair.

If you don’t have time to eat meals before a workout, or you have a schedule that doesn’t allow you to eat a meal beforehand, you can use creatine shakes, granola bars, and other options to give yourself some fuel.

Conclusion
All in all, getting the perfect body is not rocket science, but it does come close! You need to be diligent, especially when it comes to your diet. Training and dieting go hand-in-hand when it comes to bodybuilding. Remember to first calculate your daily caloric needs then figure out how much more you need to put on muscle. From there, it’s all about the timing and the planning!

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more information about bodybuilding, nutrition, and fitness.

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Nutrition

Amino Acids that Promote Growth

By RunThaCity — 3 years ago



Ornithine

What Is Ornithine?

This is one of the amino acids that promote growth which is derived from arginine. Large quantities of which have successfully raised growth hormone levels in some studies. Bucci, et al, studied the effect of 40, 100 and 170 mg/kg of L-ornithine HCl on 12 bodybuilders. Twenty- five percent of the subjects experienced significant increases in serum growth hormone levels at the two lower doses. In the other hand, half the subjects illustrated an increase in growth hormone at the highest dose.

Arginine

What Is Arginine?

Arginine is an semi-essential amino acid and is present in the proteins of all life forms. It is classified as a conditionally essential or semi-essential amino acid because under normal conditions the body can produce sufficient quantities of amino acid arginine to meet physiological demands. However, in times of stress conditions such as wound healing and trauma, the body might not be able to manufacture enough. In these cases, amino acid arginine becomes essential and is very important to ensure sufficient dietary intake of the amino acid to meet the increased physiological demands shaped by these conditions.

What Does L-Arginine Do?

Arginine although not an essential amino acid, is a vital one. In addition to contributing in protein synthesis, it plays a number of other important roles in the body. Arginine’s primary function entails the metabolism of proteins and nitrogen. It also detoxifies ammonia formed during nitrogen catabolism of amino acids through the formation of urea. It is also a forerunner in the formation of polyamines, creatine, nitric oxide, proline, glutamate, agmatin, and the arginine-containing tetrapeptide tuftsin which is believed to be an immunomodulator. Arginine is also a glycogenic amino acid. If needed by the body, it can be converted to D-glucose and glycogen or can be catabolized to manufacture biological energy.

Arginine when taken in high doses stimulates pituitary release of growth hormones, prolactin and pancreatic release of glucagon and insulin. It is also used as an immunonutrient in parenteral and enteral nutrition to aid improvement of the immune status of those suffering from burns, sepsis, and trauma.

L-Arginine Rich Foods

Arginine is predominately manufactured in the kidney. It is a main intermediary in the Krebs-Henseleit urea cycle. A much smaller amount of this amino acid is synthesized in the liver. The normal dietary intake of arginine is 3.5 to 5 grams daily and most dietary arginine comes from animal and plant proteins. Arginine of small amounts can be found in vegetable juices and fermented foods, such as yogurt and miso. Plant proteins such as soy proteins and other plant proteins are richer in arginine than animal proteins which are richer in lycine. Arginine can also be found in dairy products, meat, poultry, nuts, fish, and chocolate. Other natural sources of arginine are brown rice, raisins, popcorn, and whole-wheat products.

Benefits of L-Arginine

Arginine has a maximum potential in preventing or reducing cardiovascular diseases, by stimulating a compound that relaxes the blood vessels called nitric oxide. It is also used to enhance memory, eliminate depression, improve sleep, control stress, prevent aging, relieve arthritis, manage allergies, promote hair growth, cure impotence, fight cancer, reduce herpes, combat fatigue, and stimulate the immune system. The normal supplemental dosage of arginine per day is 2 to 8 grams.

Does L-Arginine Help Muscle Growth?

Investigated in numerous studies with conflicting results, this is one of the amino acids that promote growth. Take for example, in one study, 6 subjects were given 6 grams of arginine. They all experienced a 100% increase in plasma levels without any growth hormone release. Other researchers administered it to 12 young and 5 elderly non-obese adults, all of whom had a body mass of less than 30. The subjects participated in three trials: resistive weight-lifting exercise with no placebo, 5 grams of arginine supplementation prior to exercise and 5 grams of oral L-arginine only.

Lysine

What Is Lysine?

Lysine is an essential amino acid which is vital to human health but cannot be synthesized by the human body. This is the reason why amino acid lysine must be obtained from your food diet. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and proteins are greatly needed by the body for muscle growth. Lysine plays an important role in the production of a nutrient that is responsible for converting fatty acids into energy and helps lower cholesterol.

What Does Lysine Do?

Lysine also shows to help the body in absorbing and conserving calcium. It also plays a vital role in the formation of collagen, an important substance for the bones and connective tissues that includes the skin, cartilage and tendon.

Insufficient lysine in the diet may cause health problems such as kidney stones that may develop other health problems including loss of appetite, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, agitation, slow growth, anemia, reproductive disorders, and bloodshot eyes. However, it is very rare to get insufficient amounts of lysine through the daily diet. Lysine deficiency would normally only apply to vegetarians and certain athletes who are in frequent vigorous exercise. Vegetarians would get the best source of lysine in legumes such as peas, lentils, and beans.

In foods such as pastries, cookies, doughnuts, and cereals, the browning reaction involves lysine. In this process of lysine and sugar being combined makes it in a way difficult for the body to absorb lysine, resulting to low lysine intake in cereals and baked goods diet. Good food sources of lysine are those foods rich in protein which includes meat, cheese, nuts, eggs, certain fish, soybeans, fenugreek seed, and spirulina.

What Is Lysine Used For?

Lysine can be used in the treatment of genital and mouth lesions caused by herpes simplex virus as well as shingles caused by herpes zoster viruses. Lysine supplements taken can speed up recovery time and reduce the possibility of repeated breakouts of the herpes infection. Amino acid lysine also improves the absorption of calcium from the digestive tract and avoids loss of calcium in the urine, which some researchers have speculated that bone loss associated with osteoporosis can be prevented through the help of lysine. In studies where lysine has been combined with arginine showed that it increases the activity of bone-building cells and improves production of collagen.

Some forms of lysine or lysine bound to anti-inflammatory medications may help ease pain following an episiotomy, a medical procedure performed during labor that is a procedure of cutting the vaginal area to enlarge the vaginal opening and facilitate delivery. Lysine of these forms may also relieve painful periods and migraine headaches.

How Much Lysine To Take

Most people need about 1 gram of lysine per day. For athletes and people recovering from major injuries such as burns may be required a greater amount.

Does Lysine Promote Muscle Growth?

One of the amino acids that promote growth, lysine may work to release growth hormone. In a study of 15 healthy male subjects, there was a
separate consumption of lysine as single nutrients did not significantly increase growth hormone compared to the baseline. In another study of normal young males, oral administration of 1,200 milligrams of L-lysine did not raise serum growth hormone levels.

Glycine



What Is Glycine?

Glycine is a protein amino acid that can be found in the protein of all life forms and is important in the body’s construction of proteins. Glycine is the simplest amino acid in the body that is not optically active. In contrast to other amino acids, glycine can be found in both enzymes and proteins. Although glycine is found mostly in proteins, glycine is also found in plants. It is estimated that the normal diet should include two grams of glycine daily.

What Does Glycine Do?

Since amino acid glycine can be sufficiently produced by the body to meet physiological requirements, it is considered a nonessential amino acid. However, it is of key importance in the synthesis of proteins, purines, peptides, nucleic acids, porphyrins, hemoglobin, creatine, glucose, one-carbon fragments, L-serine, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and other amino acids.

Amino acid Glycine performs as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and spinal cord. It plays vital roles in the method of prevention for muscular degeneration, repair of damaged tissues located throughout the body, and improvement of glycogen storage. Glycine is an important amino acid because if needed, it will synthesize and convert from serine and threonine to fulfill its physiological processes.

Glycine is a solid water-soluble substance that has a sweetish taste and is also known as amino acetic acid, glycocoll, sucre de gelatine, and aminoethanolic acid. Its one-letter abbreviation when spelling out protein structures is G and its IUPAC abbreviation is Gly.

Glycine Rich Foods

Glycine can also be found in natural food sources. Natural food sources containing high amounts of glycine includes fish, beans, dairy products, and meats. Here are food sources of glycine that are based on a serving size of 100 g and the amount of glycine contained is expressed in milligrams:

Vegetable Products

Seaweed, spirulina (dried) 3100 mg

Nut and Seed Products

Seeds, cottonseed meal (partially defatted, glandless) 2380 mg

Seeds, sunflower seed flour (partially defatted) 3080 mg

Seeds, sesame flour (low-fat) 3430 mg

Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels (roasted without salt) 2410 mg

Legume Products

Soy protein concentrate (produced by alcohol extraction) 2690 mg

Peanut flour (defatted) 3150 mg

Soy protein isolate (potassium type) 3600mg

Soy protein concentrate (produced by acid wash) 2690 mg

Soy protein isolate 3600 mg

Shellfish and Finfish Products

Fish, cod, Atlantic (dried and salted) 3010 mg

Poultry Products

Chicken, broilers or fryers, skin only (cooked, roasted) 3250 mg

Turkey, all classes, skin only (cooked, roasted) 3140mg

Turkey, young tom, skin only (cooked, roasted) 3210 mg

Beef Products

Beef, cured, breakfast strips (cooked) 2610 mg

Pork Products

Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, ears, frozen (Cooked, simmered) 3140 mg

Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, ears, frozen (raw) 4400 mg

Veal, Lamb, and Game Products

Veal, variety meats and by-products, liver (cooked, braised calf liver) 2290 mg

Luncheon Meats and Sausages

Beef, cured, corned beef, canned 2260 mg

Egg and Dairy Products

Egg, white (dried) 2840 mg

Snacks

Snacks, pork skins (plain) 11900 mg

Sweets

Gelatins, dry powder (unsweetened) 19100 mg

Beverages

Gelatin, drinking, orange flavor (powder) 9670 mg

Does Glycine Promote Muscle Growth?

It may be the non- essentials but this is also one of the amino acids that promote growth. Glycine is contained in gelatin protein and is an important component of collagen. Although much of the early research revolved around its ability to increase strength in athletes, more recent studies have documented that it can indeed raise growth hormone levels in humans. As a matter of fact, researchers have concluded that the explanation why it has been found to increase muscle strength in many studies may be the result of its growth-hormone-boosting capabilities.

Glutamine



What Is Glutamine?

Glutamine is an amino acid that allows for improved immune system and brain function, balanced blood sugar levels, digestive tract health, and increased muscle mass.

What Is Glutamine Used For?

Glutamine is used as fuel for immune system and intestinal cellular replication. Maintaining the proper levels of glutamine supports immune system activity while strengthening the intestinal lining. In addition to this, glutamine is important to replenishing glycogen (stored energy) in muscle tissue, and maintaining muscle mass and strength.

Glutamine also plays an important role in maintaining healthy brain function as a source of energy for the nervous system, a key factor in the production of brain neurotransmitters, and an ammonia detoxifier.

Does Glutamine Promote Muscle Growth?

An abundant protein block- builder, this is one of the amino acids that promote growth. Glutamine is the most copious in human muscle and plasma. It directly regulates both the production and wearing-down of protein and immune cell activity. When about nine healthy subjects consumed two grams of oral glutamine 45 minutes after a light breakfast, there were eight out of the nine that subjects experienced elevated plasma growth hormone within 90 minutes. These findings demonstrate, the study authors wrote, that a surprisingly small oral glutamine load is capable of elevating hormones for development.

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