Overeating “switches off” feel-full hormone

Have you ever heard of the hormone uroguanylin? Most people haven’t! Uroguanylin is an appetite-suppressant hormone. It’s secreted by your gut cells, telling your brain to stop eating. 

Scientists have just started investigating this hormone in relation to appetite, calorie burning, and even the generation of “brown” fat in your body – i.e. the only kind of fat that is metabolically active and actually burns white fat! So, what happened in this study? 

It appears that overeating calories stops the production of uroguanylin. In other words, you won’t be getting its “stop eating” signals. This can promote even more eating, eventually leading to obesity and metabolic syndrome. This is an example of epigenetics “gone wrong”. 

Remember what epigenetics is? The switching of genes “on” or “off” by environmental signals. In this case, overconsuming calories switches off the gene that is supposed to tell your gut cells to make this appetite-suppressant hormone. Too many calories, less uroguanylin, more overeating (Kim et at., 2016) The gene is called GUCY2C. But, with this gene inactive, overeating can lead to even more overeating.

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Can I build muscle without going to a gym?

Is it possible to gain muscle size without touching a dumbbell or any of the gym machines, only with body-weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups and squats?

For a normal person, who has never been to the gym, doing a simple push-up is a challenge. Among regular fitness freaks though, doing 30 push-ups in one go is not a problem at all. The old bodybuilding adage of ‘no pain, no gain!’ holds true. When body-weight exercises stop pushing your limit, they stop building muscle too.

According to Arnav Sarkar, strength coach and fitness trainer,body-weight exercises can definitely help beginners, but may not be able to build muscle after a certain extent. ‘Yes, it is possible to some degree, especially for beginners. The key is to make sure that you get adequate protein and calories to pack on the muscle mass. However, if you are after serious muscle size, you will need to incorporate weight training in the long run,’ he said.

After a point body-weight training, involving basic exercises like push ups, pull ups, become easy and one can do lots of reps without fatigue. At this point the intensity of each rep becomes too low for adding size and the exercises only continue to increase endurance. With weight training, one can continually keep adding weight so the resistance stays high and one can continue to keep adding size.

You can try changing the type of body-weight exercise you do. Instead of a normal push-up, you could try doing variations of it, like single-handed push-ups, clap push-ups, etc. These variations may seem incredibly difficult, but training to do them will certainly make you much stronger.

HIT training requires the use of free weights,bands and machines to provide the necessary resistance. Forced reps,negatives and the like would be very difficult to implement properly without the added resistance free weights and machines provide.

So,while body-weight exercises are great for general conditioning,they are inadequate for real muscle-building.

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Is Obesity Associated with Altered Energy Expenditure?

Historically, obese individuals were believed to have lower energy expenditure (EE) rates than nonobese individuals (normal and overweight), which, in the long term, would contribute to a positive energy balance and subsequent weight gain. 

The aim of this review was to critically appraise studies that compared measures of EE and its components, resting EE (REE), activity EE (AEE), and diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), in obese and nonobese adults to elucidate whether obesity is associated with altered EE. 

Contrary to popular belief, research has shown that obese individuals have higher absolute REE and total EE. When body composition (namely the metabolically active component, fat-free mass) is taken into account, these differences between obese and nonobese individuals disappear, suggesting that EE in obese individuals is not altered. 

However, an important question is whether AEE is lower in obese individuals because of a decrease in overall physical activity or because of less energy expended while performing physical activity. AEE and DIT could be reduced in obese individuals, mostly because of unhealthy behavior (low physical activity, higher intake of fat). 

The current evidence does not support the hypothesis that obesity is sustained by lower daily EE or REE. Future studies, comparing EE between obese and nonobese and assessing potential physiologic abnormalities in obese individuals, should be able to better answer the question of whether these individuals have altered energy metabolism.

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Alternative Static Hold Method

Here is a different method of doing static holds during your high intensity workout.
Pump out reps with one arm during seated dumbbell presses while doing a static contraction hold with the other arm.

Sit on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand. With your left arm,press the dumbbell overhead,stopping short of lockout. Hold the weight in that position while pressing the dumbbell with your right arm. Continue pressing for 5 reps,then hold in the pre-lockout position while pressing the weight with your left arm.

Continue alternating arms until failure is reached.

The routine looks like this:

Standing dumbbell side raises-1x15-Do a static hold with your left arm at shoulder height while completing 5 reps with your right arm. Switch sides and do a static hold with your right while doing 5 reps with your left arm. Alternate like this until a total of 15 reps have been done with each arm.

rest 20 seconds

Seated dumbbell presses-1x12-Do six reps with your left arm while holding the dumbbell in the pre-lockout position with your right arm. Switch and do 6 reps with your left arm.

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L-Glutamine Benefits

If you’ve been around the world of athletics and body building long, you no doubt have heard how L-Glutamine benefits enhance performance. You also may have heard of it if you have been diagnosed with any sort of gastrointestinal problems. You may have even used it yourself, or at least considered doing so. So what are the benefits of this supplement? Some herald it as a cure all, end all, be all supplement for all people everywhere. Others claim it has no benefits, and it may have adverse side effects. So what is the truth? Lets find out. I’ve personally used L-Glutamine quite heavily in the past and had much success while doing it. However, one factor does not determine success in health and fitness, so I wanted to really dive in and find out more about this amino acid and what it can do for the human body.

What is L-Glutamine?

L-Glutamine is an amino acid produced in your body. It is in fact the most common amino acid in your muscles, making up 61% of your skeletal tissue. It is also one of the 20 amino acids encoded by the standard genetic code. It isn’t considered one the “essential” amino acids, but it can become situationally essential in times of intense athletic training or gastrointestinal disease. That is, of course, the science of L-Glutamine (if you want to know more about that science, see this Wikipedia article). But what is the stuff that you can buy in a plastic bottle at your local sporting goods and health food stores? It turns out that it can be made in two ways. Most commonly it is chemically synthesized in a lab. If you want to go the natural route, you can get L-Glutamine that has been derived from the natural fermentation of vegetables. It is significantly more expensive and your options are more limited, but if you are trying to keep things more natural that is the way to go. 

The Benefits: What Can L-Glutamine Do For You?

Whilst it will not cure every sportsman’s performance issues, many advantages can be derived from its use.

Assisting Muscle Growth

The most common use of this supplement is for muscle growth by athletes and bodybuilders.  This is due to such a large component of our amino acid make-up being l-glutamine.  Supplementing our diet when working out can greatly assist with protein synthesis.  It is not a steroid and is naturally occurring within our bodies. When the body is depleted of this amino acid during intense workouts, muscle wasting can occur.   This can cause tiredness and slower recovery periods.  Supplementation with l-glutamine allows the recovery period to be reduced enhancing the athlete’s strength program by helping to repair the muscles quicker and increase consistency. L-Glutamine is not a miracle cure for laziness or a quick fix, but as a supplement, it enhances results of our workout effort by allowing the body the much needed amino acids for lean muscle growth and healthy maintenance.

Cell Hydration

By assisting cell hydration, cell volume is enhanced thereby reducing recovery time from sporting activity, injury and wounds.  Muscle damage caused by intense workout or injury is repaired more effectively where the cell volume and hydration levels are aided by this very important amino acid.

Metabolism and Growth

Supplementing our intake with l-glutamine can massively increase levels of naturally occurring Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Metabolism is accelerated due to increased levels of HGH which allows the more efficient processing of foods and enhancing the efficient metabolism of fats.  This leads to an improvement in fat reduction and the building of lean muscle.

Gastrointestinal Health

A common ailment of over 40’s is a condition called Diverticulitis.  L-Glutamine has been effective in reducing the severity and incidence of this very painful and debilitating ailment which can thereby reduce the potential risk of colon cancer.  Ulcers and other intestinal issues respond well and its effect on the digestive system boosts the overall immune system. Way back as far as 1987 a study found that 2 million US residents suffered from Diverticulitis with another 25,000 diagnosed each year.  3,000 sufferers die from this painful condition each year. My wife suffers from this, so we know personally how bad it can be.  Remember, to please consult your physician if you feel extreme abdominal pain.  My wife suffered for many years before being correctly diagnosed and her diet is now modified along with l-glutamine to reduce the symptoms of Diverticulitis.  Surgery is sometimes indicated in extreme cases to reduce the effects, yet lifelong maintenance of this ailment is still necessary to avoid future flare-ups.

Brain Function

During my time as a student, I found the use of l-glutamine to improve concentration and help with stress and anxiety of intense study periods.  It has the ability to calm moods, improve low mental and physical energy levels, increase alertness and helps maintain interest in the subject at hand. L-Glutamine presence within the brain and spinal fluid is 10 to 15 times more concentrated than in the blood, assisting with focus, alertness, memory and intellectual performance.

Reduced Cravings for Alcohol and Sugar

By taking L-Glutamine as a supplement, it can help suppress or curb the sometimes uncontrollable cravings for alcohol or sugary foods.  It does this by helping the body to suppress insulin and thereby stabilising blood sugar levels.  This reduces the body’s draw upon muscle mass to maintain blood sugar levels in times of low calorie intake or strenuous exercise. In a similar way, alcohol cravings can be reduced and in extreme cases has led to the cure of alcoholism. As a result of the reduced cravings of sugary foods or alcohol, weight loss can occur as a fringe benefit.  Similarly, with reduced fat and improved lean muscle mass, caloric metabolism is improved.  This is due to muscle being a higher burner of calories than fat.

L-Glutamine As A Supplement

The most commonly available products are either in powdered form or tablets.  My personal preference is the tablets for convenience, yet my wife prefers the powdered form which she puts into shakes and smoothies.  Bodybuilders who take protein shakes find the powdered form easy to add to their shakes as a snack replacement. For best results, an ongoing and regular supplement 2 to 3 times daily is most effective.  Spread across the day at breakfast, before/after a workout and at bedtime is the most usual timing.  For heavy training periods or bodybuilding, between 5 to 15grams per day is common.

Side Effects

The likeliness of l-glutamine side effects is quite low due to the large component of this amino acid which is naturally produced by our own bodies on a continuous basis.  Despite our body’s large l-glutamine make-up, taking it gradually would always be the best advice.  Start with lower doses and build them up over a week or two, such that you know of any adverse side effects, should that occur. Due to the use of l-glutamine for gastrointestinal remedies, having any kind of reaction should be extremely low.

In Summary

L-Glutamine is a gentle yet effective supplement known to benefit many ailments and deficiencies.  It is not a steroid, with associated risks and side effects, but a supplement to enhance our body’s natural l-glutamine production.  During times of stress or sporting intensity, these supplements may give you the edge to perform at your peak and to recover more effectively.

Guest Article

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Key To Maintaining Muscle Strength While We Age

What causes us to lose muscle strength as we age and how exercise can prevent it from happening has never been thoroughly understood, but McMaster University researchers have discovered a key protein required to maintain muscle mass and muscle strength during aging.

This important finding means new and existing drugs targeting the protein may potentially be used to preserve muscle function during aging.

"We found that the body's fuel gauge, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), is vital to slow muscle wasting with aging," said Gregory Steinberg, the study's senior author and professor of medicine at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. He is also co-director of MAC-Obesity, the Metabolism and Childhood Obesity Research Program at McMaster.

"Mice lacking AMPK in their muscle developed much greater muscle weakness than we would have expected to see in a middle-aged mouse," said Steinberg. "Instead these mice, which were the equivalent of being just 50 years old, had muscles like that of an inactive 100-year-old."

The research was published in Cell Metabolism and involved members of the MAC-Obesity research team. The lead author is Adam Bujak, a PhD student of McMaster's Medical Sciences Graduate Program.

"It is known that AMPK activity in muscle is 'dialed down' with aging in humans, so this may be an important cause of muscle loss during aging," Steinberg said. Previous research by Steinberg's team has shown that this "metabolic switch" is turned on with exercise as well as commonly-used medications including metformin and salicylate (the active ingredient in Aspirin).

Despite the importance of maintaining muscle function and strength as we age, there is currently no treatment besides exercise. With an aging population, age-related muscle wasting and loss of muscle strength is a growing issue that shortens lives and creates a significant financial burden on the Canadian health care system.

"We know we can turn on the AMPK pathway with intense exercise and commonly-used Type 2 diabetes medications," said Steinberg. "By knowing that AMPK is vital for maintaining muscle mass with aging, we can now try to adapt exercise regimes and existing drugs to switch on AMPK in muscle more effectively. The development of new selective activators of the AMPK pathway in muscle may also be effective to prevent muscle loss with aging."

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Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by McMaster University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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