December 31, 2015

In the newsletter sent out yesterday, number 3 of the nutrition tips article was not properly transcribed by my team. Here is the revised and correct version.

3. Hold back on Simple Carbs and Excessive Complex Carbs

Simple carbs and excessive complex carbs are the key contributors of leptin and insulin resistance. This can occur over time from the breakdown of excessive sugar intake when eating simple and complex carbs.

The primary cause of this leptin and insulin resistance is the level of fructose that people take in such as refined drinks or excessive fruit juices or even high fructose corn syrup added to packaged products. The second cause is the break down of sugar such as complex carbs like grains. As a result, stick to complex carbs like leafy greens and cruciferous veggies such as brussel sprouts and broccoli. Around 30-40% of carbohydrate sugar is broken down by the liver. This is a potential precursor to laying down dangerous visceral fat around the organs and a contributor of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.

There are signals sent to the brain that trigger sensations of fullness or hunger. These signals come from the hormones leptin and ghrelin.

Leptin is a hormone that triggers the sensation of feeling full. Ghrelin is a hormone that triggers the sensation of hunger. Simple and excessive complex carbs can foul up the circuitry of maintaining proper signaling and levels of both ghrelin and leptin, causing the body to feel constantly hungry, never feel full and the normalized level of leptin stays elevated.

Specifically, eating an excessive carbohydrate intake at any time during the day can lead to leptin resistance which fouls up leptin signals. When the leptin levels rise this triggers the feeling of being full. This is typically a trigger to stop eating. However, when an individual becomes resist the signals are not cued. The outcome is that leptin is elevated and doesn't come down to its base or normalized level.

Instead of eating excessive carbs, eat protein and healthy fats to help normalize leptin levels. When leptin levels are normalized, this allows your body to feel the sensations of hunger and therefore ghrelin will work properly.

In regards to ghrelin, continually eating during the day without fasting for 2 - 3 hours, the body never realizes that it's hungry - thus ghrelins sensitivity is negated. Consequently, athletes should eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and be judicious with pre and post workout fuel (addressed in later blog post) while also ensuring a 2-3 hour no-eating window. Don't graze!

Finally, don't eat excessive carbs at night. Instead eat protein or a small amount of fat. For instance, if you like dark chocolate, have a little along with yogurt or cheese.

Ten years ago, I would not have recommended this. Yet, currently science is so strong on the ketogenic diet and the benefits of cutting out sugar. I'll talk about the ketogenic diet in an upcoming blog post.

Happy New Year