• ¼ cup low-sugar granola*
• 2 tbsp. crushed walnuts
• ⅔ cup plain or vanilla Greek or Skyr yogurt**
• ½ cup mixed berries
• 1 tsp. raw, unfiltered honey

*We used Purely Elizabeth’s Original Grain Gluten-Free Granola

**We used Siggi’s plain 4% yogurt.

Directions

• In a mason jar or serving bowl, add 1 tbsp. of granola & ½ tsp. of honey.
• Top with ⅓ cup yogurt.
• Then sprinkle 1 tbsp. of walnuts, ¼ cup berries and 1 tbsp. Granola.
• Layer once more with yogurt, walnuts, berries and granola, then drizzle with a little honey.

Nutritional Information & Macros

Dietary Information: Vegetarian, Gluten free (if gluten-free granola is used), Contains dairy & nuts

Macros per serving

• 620 calories
• 42g fat
• 43g carbs
• 27g protein

READ MORE: 

Cinnamon Apple Yogurt Parfait with Protein Granola

High Protein Lemon Berry Chia Yogurt 

Yogurt and Your Microbiome: The Surprising Ways Gut Health Affects Your Life

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post The Berry Nutty Yogurt Parfait appeared first on Born Fitness.

I thought I knew the answers to these questions, but when I formulated all of the products for Ladder, I quickly learned that there’s a dark side of the supplement industry that has nothing to do with illegal ingredients or dangerous products.

In many cases, the “good” supplements you take might not be giving your body what you think. That’s because different types of whey proteins might make a difference in absorption.

And, more importantly, the number of loopholes on supplement labeling makes it almost too easy for supplement companies to lie about what’s on the label.

In the last 10 years, research shows that health officials have issued almost 800 warnings to dietary supplements containing dangerous ingredients. And, in nearly every case (98%), the USDA found that the ingredients in question were nowhere on the label.

If you want to make sure the label you’re reading is accurate, make sure you’re taking a product that has a third-party certification. Good options include NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Sport, and BSCG.

If there’s no third-party certification, just know that means no one has validated that what is says on the label is actually in the product.

Beyond smoke and mirrors on your protein label, here’s what you need to know about choosing between different protein powders and how to find the best whey protein for your needs and hard-earned money.

What is Whey Protein?

Whey protein is considered the gold standard protein for a few simple reasons: it’s high in protein per serving, lower in carbs and fat, and is loaded with all of the essential amino acids and high levels of the BCAAs. And, its absorption is very high, meaning your body can put that protein to work to help with muscle growth and recovery.

That doesn’t mean whey is your only protein option or that others aren’t good substitutes. After all, whey is dairy-based. So, if you have a dairy allergy, it could be an issue. If you’re just lactose intolerant (as you’ll find out), some whey options might not cause any issue.

But, if you’re looking for a convenient, affordable way to add more protein to your diet, whey protein is one of the best options you’ll find.

How Is Whey Protein Made?

Whey comes from milk and is a byproduct of the cheese-making process. When you turn a gallon of milk into a block of cheese, you add enzymes to the liquid. This causes the liquid to separate into liquid and curds. The leftover liquid is pure protein, which becomes whey.

Understanding how whey is made will help you make sense of why there are different types of whey, such as whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, and whey protein hydrolysate.

The more you process and filtrate the product, the more it makes little changes to the final version of the whey.

You’ll hear a lot of different benefits (and see that some proteins are more expensive), but most of it is just marketing hype.

Whey Protein Concentrate

Whey protein concentrate is the most basic form of whey protein. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, but there are regulations that mean whey protein concentrate can have a wide range of purity.

By law, being labeled as “concentrate” means that the product can be anywhere between 35 to 80 percent protein by weight.

This is a big deal if you’re worried about the amount of protein you’re using and absorbing. Put another way, if you scoop out 100 grams of protein powder, it can be called concentrate if anywhere between 35 and 80 grams of that scoop is protein.

That’s a pretty big range, which is why third-party certification is so important. If you don’t have someone validating the label accuracy and you see whey protein concentrate on the label, it’s harder to know exactly how much protein you’re really getting.

If the label is accurate, whey protein concentrate is a good option for most people because of its price and value.

But, it does have some limitations, if you need to consider smaller details like carbs, fats, and lactose in your protein.

If you want an idea of how whey concentrate is created, here’s a good visual: imagine liquid whey falling off a conveyor belt into a bucket. The liquid is filtered for impurities, dehydrated, turned into a powder, flavored, and there you go — delicious whey protein!

Because it’s such a simple process, whey concentrate tends to be the cheapest source of protein supplementation.

Whey Protein Isolate

Whey protein isolate, from a legal standpoint, provides a little more peace of mind about the purity of your protein. That’s because earning “whey protein isolate” on a label means that, unless your supplement provider is lying (which, unfortunately, does happen), means that your protein must be, at least, 90 percent protein by weight.

Going back to our 100-gram example, if you scoop out 100 grams of protein, then you will be getting a minimum of 90 grams of protein.

Many supplement companies tout that their isolates are more “pure.” They’ll use marketing tactics to brag about their filtration process, whether it’s ion exchange, cold-filtration, or microfiltration. All of these methods filter out different-sized particles to help you get a “clean” version of whey.

That’s not to say these don’t have different minor benefits (for example, most isolates have less than 1 percent lactose), but whey isolate is defined by protein by weight, not by filtration.

Because of the extra level of filtration and higher guarantee of protein by whey, whey protein isolate tends to have a higher price relative to concentrates. This is because whey protein isolate will have fewer carbs, almost no fat, and almost nonexistent levels of lactose. Additionally, whey protein isolate tends to have better solubility, which makes it easier to mix and creates a “smoother” drink.

Whey Protein Hydrolysate

Unlike concentrate and isolate, whey protein hydrolysate goes through a very different process.

Hydrolysate is a protein that is treated with enzymes and acids to reduce particle size and destroy “quaternary protein structures.” (That’s a mouthful, but it means removing bioactive immunoglobulins, which can help support immune function).

The origin of hydrolysis in dietary protein arose from a need to make baby formulas non-allergenic.

Research shows that whey protein hydrolysates are absorbed faster than isolates or concentrates. This is mostly due to no gastric digestion being needed for hydrolysates.

The hydrolysates also seem to increase muscle protein synthesis (MPS) quicker than other forms of protein. But, research suggests that it doesn’t necessarily result in more muscle.

That’s because total daily protein is more important for muscle gain than the speed of protein digestion. If you are focused on gaining muscle (or even losing fat), it’s more important to focus on how much protein you eat in a day than how quickly it’s absorbed. 

The speed of digestion does come with a few downsides. Whey hydrolysates tend to be more bitter because the amino acids proline and leucine are no longer being constrained in a protein structure, which means it hits your taste buds differently.

Whey protein hydrolysate is also the most expensive form of protein

What about Soy Protein?

Soy protein isn’t a variation of whey, but it’s oftentimes compared and criticized when compared to the popular dairy protein.

Most of the fear and concern are linked to phytoestrogens in soy protein. People worry that those phytoestrogens will decrease testosterone levels and not support muscle building.

But, if you decide to go the soy route (for whatever reason), the downsides are low. All soy sold in food products (except raw soy products such as edamame), including soy protein, are heat-treated before they are sold.

This heat treatment destroys select enzymes in the soy (such as trypsin), which prevents the digestion of protein in your stomach and small intestine.

Additionally, soy proteins are processed in two ways that are similar to whey.

If you’re creating a soy protein concentrate, manufacturers leech the protein with ethanol and neutralize the pH. This process removes most of the soy isoflavones, which are left floating in the ethanol and no longer in the soybean.

This is an important step because it means that soy concentrate supplements are incredibly low in soy isoflavones, and thus they are not really a concern.

As for soy isolate, the ethanol leeching is not mandatory (instead it is optional), so it’s possible that some soy isoflavones may be present.

As for the soy isoflavones themselves (let’s assume you do routinely consume them), they are not too much of a concern for male fertility and health. That doesn’t mean soy can’t have any hormonal impact. But, it does mean that you need to eat a lot of soy protein to potentially have any disruption of your hormonal levels, and it needs to be a soy protein isolate (which is less common).

For most people, having a soy protein shake per day wouldn’t come anywhere near the soy protein threshold, and, therefore, there’s not much need to worry if you choose soy as a whey protein alternative.

READ MORE: 

The Protein Guide: How Much Protein Do You Really Need? 

What is the Best Protein Powder?

The Curious Case of Why People Fear Protein

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post The Different Forms of Whey Protein And What’s Best For You appeared first on Born Fitness.

As you reduce calories and — more importantly — lose weight, things start to change in your body and brain to make you feel hungrier. While super-restrictive diets are a big reason many diets fail, other plans that might be perfectly good also feel impossible because of this hunger signaling. 

The answer isn’t to quit on weight loss (if that’s your goal), instead, it’s to be aware of the inevitable hunger increase and make sure your diet is loaded with foods that will fill you up. When that happens, and especially when those filling foods are lower in calories, you can crack the diet code and experience weight loss without all the frustration (and endless hunger).

What Foods Fill You Up?

Let’s say your daily calorie intake is about where it should be for weight loss. That means you’ll be in a caloric deficit, the scale should be changing, and — as that happens — your hunger will inevitably increase.

In that case, we’d look to incorporate more foods that enhance your feeling of fullness. Research to date has found that there are three keys to achieving it. (Sadly, none of them are ice cream, pizza, or cheesecake.)

Three things that can help you feel full are protein, fiber, and water. Surprisingly, certain carbohydrates also keep you incredibly full (more on that in a moment).

If you’re trying to ensure mental sanity, adding more protein, fiber, and water will make your life a lot easier.

So, how do you make these diet changes easier? Here’s a simple way to make it happen and feel fuller and more in control of your diet (and hunger) than ever. 

High-Protein Foods That Fill You Up (And Are Lower in Calories)

Research consistently shows protein is the most filling macronutrient, so it’s great to have a serving of it at each meal. If you want to take it a step further, you could set a goal.

“We recommend approximately 0.8-1g of protein per pound of target bodyweight if you are active,” says Born Fitness nutrition coach Natalie Sabin. (Note: Target body weight is what you want to weigh, not necessarily what you weigh currently.)

“Not only is protein satiating, but it’s also muscle-sparing — meaning you’re more likely to hold on to your lean mass when you are in a calorie deficit.”

Meat, eggs, and dairy are all good sources of protein. If you’re trying to stay lower in calories, you’ll want to focus on leaner sources of protein, which means you’ll have less fat. While fat isn’t bad, it is calorically dense, with 9 calories per gram of fat (compare that to just 4 calories per gram of protein). Fattier proteins include things like ribeyes, salmon, and whole eggs. 

To stick with lower-fat protein options, you can include more poultry (like chicken or turkey), low-fat fish (most of the white fish options will work), seafood like shrimp, scallops, or crab, leaner cuts of beef (like sirloin or filets), or egg whites. 

If you are a strict vegetarian or vegan, then rice and beans, quinoa or tofu are all go-to options.

Choose Carbs That Reduce Hunger

According to the satiety index, fresh fruits and vegetables are ideal additions to your diet because they leave you satisfied for longer. Foods like potatoes (yes, white potatoes or sweet potatoes), beans, and oatmeal are all proven to quell hunger longer, which makes sense since all are rich sources of dietary fiber. So are fruits.

Researchers at Penn State University found that when subjects consumed a 125-calorie apple before lunch, they ate 200 fewer calories in the meal that followed. They also reported a greater feeling of fullness.

Add Nuts To Help You Stick on a Diet

You might think that with high concentrations of calories and fat, nuts wouldn’t be a great idea for dieters. But, nuts are a surprising success story when it comes to weight control.

According to obesity researcher and writer Stephan Guyenet, Ph.D., nuts “are less calorie-dense than they might seem because some of their calories pass through the digestive system unabsorbed.”

Basically, he means: When you eat a serving of almonds, which is about 162 calories, your body won’t necessarily take in all of those calories. Some will just pass right through you, a phenomenon that researchers attribute to the nut’s hardness and high fiber content.

This doesn’t mean you should go crazy and gob down handful after handful. There’s a big difference between “not all of the calories get absorbed” and “calorie-free.” (And let’s be clear: nuts are definitely not calorie-free.) Enjoy, but watch your serving sizes here.

Drink More Water Before You Eat

Numerous studies show that consuming water before a meal reduces calorie consumption and increases the feeling of fullness. Many people have heard the “8 glasses a day” rule, but few actually do it.

From wherever you’re starting, see if you can add three glasses to your daily regimen: one before (or during) breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

If you opt to drink during the meal rather than before, try taking a sip between bites.

If you’re doing all of these things, but still feel like you barely make it to lunch without gnawing your arm off, switch up one more thing: how often you eat.

Some people prefer to eat several smaller meals and snacks per day, while others find they do better by eating just 2 or 3 bigger meals.

As we’ve explained before, so long as your calorie total is the same, neither option is better or worse. It’s simply a matter of preference.

If you’re looking for more personalization and hands-on support, our online coaching program may be right for you. Every client is assigned two coaches — one for nutrition and one for fitness. Find out more here. 

READ MORE: 

What To Eat For Breakfast To Fill You Up

Cinnamon Apple Yogurt Parfait With Protein Granola

The Beginner’s Guide To Fat Loss

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post The Art and Science of Foods That Fill You Up appeared first on Born Fitness.

From building muscle to surviving your endurance runs, the rules of workout nutrition have completely changed. But, there’s one big problem: few people are aware of what really helps you fuel before a workout and recover afterward.

Which is why this is both your warning and a sigh of relief. The latest breakthroughs have rewritten the script, and that’s good news for anyone who likes to exercise. Gone are the days of carb-loading or rushing to have protein within 30 minutes of finishing your workout.

In fact, both nutrient timing and workout nutrition needs have liberating truth: Neither matters as much as we once believed.

So, while you might look at the past as wasted, it’s best to view these new rules for what they are: a serious fitness upgrade that makes it easier than ever to eat the right way to fuel performance, strip away fat, or even build extra muscle without all the extra, unnecessary eating.

Confusion 101: Are Sports Drinks Better Than Water?

If you really want to know why the advice has been so misguided, you don’t have to look any farther than the sports drink aisle at your grocery store.

For most weekend warriors, the need for a sports drink (think Gatorade, Powerade, or any other energetic adjective + “ade”) isn’t as real as the ads make it seem.

Yes, there can be benefits to sports drinks. But, the liquid rejuvenation is limited to a very select group of exercises that deplete their bodies of certain nutrients.

And, for most gym-goers, runners, and weekend warriors, it’s rare that you ever push your body to the point of needing the type of energy locked inside the bottle.

You see, most people’s workouts fall into one of 2 categories:

1. High intensity but shorter duration (think less than 1 hour of gym activity)
2. Lower or moderate intensity for a longer duration (think 1-2 hour runs)

In both of these cases, the only necessary hydration is water. If you want a little boost, then you might want to sip on some electrolytes (think more sodium and potassium than you’ll find in sports drinks, as well as calcium and magnesium), and a few carbs to help with hydration — but not the 30 grams of sugar packed into your favorite sports drink.

When you’re working out at a high intensity and for longer periods of time (think more than 2 to 3 hours), that’s when sports drinks offer the most benefits because they refill what is lost during that type of extreme condition.

If you regularly sweat out 2 to 3 percent of your body’s weight during long duration, intense exercise—3 to 6 pounds, for most of us—you probably need more sodium. That’s what a sports drink provides.

The same goes for the minerals you lose through heavy sweating. For example, most athletes know about electrolytes. In particular—potassium, magnesium, and sodium—are essential (and have the name “electrolyte) because your body needs them to transmit electrical signals from your brain to your muscles. This is what allows your body to function.

But, the same type of research that was used to formulate products like Gatorade was also the basis of your workout strategy. In other words, Gatorade was designed more for high-level athletes than high-level executives, mothers, fathers, and typical gym-goers.

This was the basis of nutrient timing theory: The high carb amounts. The immediate need for protein. The fear of fats slowing down recovery.

The reality? None of it was really designed for your body.

Do You Have To Eat Directly After Your Workout?

Let’s set one thing clear: What food you put into your body is still very important and determines how hard you can exercise and how well you recover.

The bigger issue is exactly what you should be eating, or maybe, more importantly, when you should be eating it.

The idea of the “anabolic window” or that you need to eat as soon as possible after finishing your workouts is one of the most misleading pieces of fitness advice that has persevered for decades.

It’s based on a fear-driven, scientifically-debunked mentality that your muscles live in an hourglass, and with each passing second of eating before or after a workout you were losing out on improvement.

For the past 20 years, the prevailing idea was that you had about 30 to 60 minutes to eat something after your workout. If not, your body would become catabolic (a state of stress) and you would lose muscle, not recover fast enough, and fail to see the benefits from all your hard work and time invested.

When you think about it, the theory seems crazy. How could the human body have such a small window for recovery?

That was the question exercise physiologist Dr. Brad Schoenfeld aimed to solve.

He reviewed a large number of studies that examined nutrient timing and set out to answer a simple question: Is there such thing as the “anabolic window?”

Turns out there is—but it’s much bigger than anyone ever suggested. And the timing of your meals after a workout isn’t even the biggest indicator of your success. (More on that in a moment.)

When Should You Eat After Your Workout?

After you exercise you burn up your main energy store of carbohydrates, also known as glycogen. So, it only makes sense that you need to refuel glycogen by eating lots of carbs to replace what was lost.

But, when food was consumed in a shorter window of time after a workout there was no significant difference than when it was consumed after a long delay.

In fact, the research would go as far as suggesting that your post-workout window is actually the entire 24 hours after you train, with the key time to eat ideally occurring anywhere within 4 hours after you finish your last set, stop your run, or end your athletic event.

Not exactly the same message as slug your protein shake before your muscles shrink.

How did this massive misunderstanding occur?

It goes back to the sports drink phenomenon. The “glycogen emptying” idea wasn’t really applicable to the average person. In reality, it takes a tremendous effort to completely deplete your glycogen stores.

Extreme marathoners can do it. Bodybuilders who train twice per day can do it. NFL athletes who play a 3-hour game can do it.

But you? It’s a different story.

Most people don’t’ go to the gym completely fasted or do workouts that completely tap-out your energy reserves (even if you feel exhausted). And yet, those were the test conditions used to determine what to eat after your workout.

While it might feel like your body needs food immediately, the ROI of rushing to or even forcing food into your system is minimal: you won’t see added strength, additional muscle, faster fat loss, improved endurance, or a boost in recovery.

The new rules of nutrient timing focus on the bigger picture. If you want to perform and look your best, then you need to consider three factors: what you eat before your workout, what you eat after, and what type of activity you perform.

Need help understanding the proper foods to fuel your body? Our coaches can create a plan for you. Find out more here.

How to Fuel Your Workouts The Right Way

Just because the timing of your post-workout meal has been reduced from urgent to “apply on your time,” doesn’t mean the entire concept of nutrient timing is dead.

In fact, it’s just the opposite. There’s never been a clearer idea of exactly what you should be eating to help your body. And the biggest breakthrough is clear. Protein is the new carbs.

It used to be that you needed to fuel up with carbs prior to your workout and then replenish after your workout. This all ties back to glycogen as a primary source of energy and fuel for your body. Most research tested the benefits of using carbohydrates as fuel and then tested different amounts of carbs.

But, even that rationale was a bit flawed. Nutrient timing should focus on three aspects that help improve your performance and appearance.

Glycogen replenishment: Glycogen is your fuel. The more you have the harder you can push your body for longer periods of time.

Protein breakdown: If you want to gain muscle, protein synthesis (anabolism) has to be greater than protein breakdown (catabolism).

Protein Building – Protein Breakdown = Muscle Growth or Loss

So, it only makes sense that you want to slow the breakdown process.

Protein synthesis: Eating protein after a workout is supposed to optimize the other side of the same equation by increasing muscle protein synthesis, the process that helps you repair and rebuild muscle.

Combined, all three of these factors influence how hard you can train (endurance, strength, work capacity), how well you recover, and your ability to build muscle and burn fat. So it only makes sense that what you eat should target any or all of these goals.

Do Carbs Help Your Workouts?

Carbs are a great source of fuel for your body. But, eating more carbs doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have more energy. And that’s because depleting glycogen is actually very difficult.

For example, let’s say you did a full-body workout of 9 exercises, performed 3 sets of each exercise (so 27 sets total), and pushed at a high intensity of 80 percent of your 1 rep max. That’d be a grueling workout, but when researchers tested this exact protocol, they found that it only depleted about one-third of total glycogen stores.

Even crazier? When a similar workout was tested and followed with no food, about 75 percent of the depleted glycogen was replenished within 6 hours.

So what’s going on? Your body is protective of your energy. The more you deplete your glycogen, the faster resynthesis occurs. The higher your intensity, the quicker you recharge. Even in marathon runners and endurance athletes, complete resynthesis is usually complete within 24 hours.

That’s not a call to avoid carbs. They are important and necessary, and if you’re exercising they need to be a part of your plan.

But, the extreme nature of pre-workout (carb-loading) and post-workout (insulin-spiking) carb needs were overblown. You don’t need to fuel up with hundreds of grams of fuel pre, during, and post-workout because you’re not tapping out your glycogen.

When your tank is empty, you’ll know it without question. So, your ideal carb plan will ultimately depend on the type of activity you perform.

How Much Protein Should You Eat After a Workout?

When eating protein and carbs was compared to carbs alone, it instantly became clear that protein is your body’s best friend. Adding protein improved recovery, muscle protein synthesis, and protein breakdown.

But most interesting? When protein and carbs (25 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbs) was compared to just protein alone (25 grams), there was no additional benefit in terms of muscle protein synthesis or muscle protein breakdown when the carbs were added.

The verdict: Protein is the new king of workout nutrition.

And it doesn’t end there. While we know that protein is important for preventing muscle protein breakdown and fueling muscle protein synthesis, and some carbs (but not too much) are good for glycogen, how much you eat around your workout should not be your primary consideration.

Research shows that the most important dietary factor for performance and appearance was not how much protein or carbs you had before or after your workout, but rather how much you ate in the entire day.

In essence, even if your pre- or post-workout nutrition was less than optimal (say, if you’re in a rush to get to work), as long as you still ate the right amount of nutrients (proteins, carbs, and fats) for the entire day, then you would still see benefits.

The Best Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition Plan

Timing nutrition around your workout is a good idea for both fueling your performance and helping recovery. But, you don’t need to stress the timing as much as we once thought. Instead, the urgency of nutrition depends more on the activity you perform and whether you eat something before you exercise.

When you enjoy a pre-workout meal, that will determine what you need after a workout. That’s because eating before your workout ensures that your insulin, amino acid, and glucose levels are still going to be high several hours after the workout.

Most mixed meals will keep your insulin levels high enough to stop protein breakdown for 4-6 hours. A 45-gram dose of whey protein will do the same for about two hours. Most studies have shown that if you eat protein before, immediately after, or several hours after your workout, your muscle protein synthesis will be about the same.

Translation: choose a pre- and post-workout nutrition approach that works for you.

If you don’t like to eat before a workout, then don’t. But you’ll want to emphasize that post-workout meal more because you won’t have protein or carbs in your system.

If you do like a meal before exercise, there’s no rush to refuel immediately after. Not to mention, if you load up on carbs (such as with oatmeal or some fruit), depending on your type of activity you might not even need post-workout carbs.

The closer your meal is to the training bout, the longer your window following the session. And both are dependent on your primary training goal. Meaning there isn’t a gold standard for what you should be eating around your workouts. Instead, you should fuel your body based on the type of activity you perform.

And remember, as long as you consume enough protein by the end of the day, your body generally has no trouble growing new muscle tissue, recovering, or having the energy needed to push through and become better.

To help you figure out your needs, use the activity chart below — based on the latest research — to help determine exactly what you need for your body and your goals.

The Ultimate Guide to Workout Nutrition

Your Goal: Endurance Sports

Examples: Long-distance track and cycling events, marathons, basketball, soccer, MMA

What to eat: Carbohydrates for replenishing muscle glycogen, maintaining stamina, and maintaining energy during your event.

What to remember: It’s easy to argue that nutrient timing is most important for endurance athletes because of the duration and demands of the activity. Performance is the main goal, therefore making carbohydrates more important as a fuel source during the activity and after for recovery. Protein, while useful for minimizing protein loss, is not as essential in the moment for these athletes, but is still important for recovery and retention of muscle.

Your Nutrition Plan

• The Focus: carbs and protein
• The dose: 0.2-0.25 g/lb target bodyweight for both protein and carbs

During your workout

• For every hour of endurance activity, consume 8-15 g protein and about 15-30 grams of carbs. Liquids and gels are usually best for this.

Your Goal: Strength/Power Sports

Examples: Olympic weightlifting, football, powerlifting, bodybuilding, high-intensity intervals

What to eat: Protein for optimizing muscle recovery and growth and minimizing muscle damage

What to remember: Based on the length of time and type of activity, muscle glycogen is not depleted to the extent of endurance sports. Protein is important for supporting strength and muscle growth while minimizing muscle damage and loss. Carbohydrates are important, but less so, and are generally taken care of by meeting total daily calorie and macronutrient goals.

Your Nutrition Plan

• A balanced, full meal consisting of carbs and protein, 0.2-0.25 g/lb target bodyweight for both protein and carbs

Your Goal: Weight-Loss

Examples: Any type of activity geared towards losing weight. This is your typical cardiovascular type of activity (walking, treadmill, stairstepper) or weight training. NOTE: This is not high-intensity work or something like CrossFit, which is more likely to fit into the strength or endurance categories.

What to eat: Fewer calories (calorie deficit) and more protein

Want a personalized fat loss plan? Our coaches can create a plan for you. Find out more here.

What to remember: The most important thing to keep in mind is you must burn more calories than you bring into your body. Create a calorie deficit first, and then worry about dialing in your pre- and post-workout nutrition.

Your Nutrition Plan

• Eat a balanced, full meal consisting of carbs and protein, 0.2-0.25 g/lb target bodyweight for both protein and carbs

Your Next Steps

Remember that nutrient timing should focus on three core aspects: glycogen replenishment, protein breakdown, and protein synthesis. And rather than stressing over timing, focus on giving your body the proper nutrition based on what type of activity you perform.

Have questions? Share them in the comments below.

Or if you’re looking for more personalization and hands-on support our online coaching program may be right for you. Every client is assigned two coaches — one for nutrition and one for fitness. Find out more here. 

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post What to Eat Before and After a Workout appeared first on Born Fitness.

I’ll never forget the words from my immunologist. It was the same speculation I heard a week earlier from my oncologist, right after a relieving conversation where she shared that I didn’t have cancer. If I’m being open, this was the third time I’d heard about my overachieving immune system, as the words echoed what my rheumatologist had suspected, as well. 

Now, before you think this is about some rare disease or a catchy headline, I’m sharing my story because it’s an important lesson for you and how you can protect your health. In the face of coronavirus concerns and immune system hype, I’ve watched helplessly as supplement manufacturers have blatantly lied about the realities of “boosting” your immunity.

For more than 20 years, I’ve suffered from inexplicably high fevers without any answers. My fevers would last for more than 60 days and run upwards of 104 degrees, forcing me into delirium, causing me to lose upwards of 30 pounds, and leaving me a shell of a human. 

Of all the things I expected to find out —  cancer, infectious disease, the plague (that’s what I called my mysterious illness) — a “boosted immune system” was the last thing on my mind. But, this became my reality once I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder.

If you want to really understand what you can do to work with the natural functions of your body, it’s important to know that a “boosted” immune system is not what you think and not what you want. Instead, it’s time to rethink sickness and disease — and follow these science-backed recommendations to help you stay as healthy as possible.

How Your Immune System Really Works

It didn’t take the outbreak of coronavirus to make you worry about your immune system. The multivitamin industry is a multi-billion dollar business. From Vitamin C gummies to antioxidant drinks and zinc lozenges, there’s no shortage of options that promise to protect your immune response.

The only problem is, like most supplements, there’s a lot more smoke (read: marketing) than substance. 

With a few exceptions, most vitamins and minerals won’t do anything for your immune system unless you are severely malnourished and deficient. And, we’re not talking about missing your daily fruits and vegetables. We’re talking about you living in a perpetual state of sickness.

The idea that you can pop a pill, drink a fizzy potion, chug kombucha, super-charge with billions and billions of probiotics, mainline IV cocktails, or do anything else to “boost” your immune system is…well…how can I put this clearly…

It’s bullshit.  

This is not doom and gloom or a haters anthem. Just the opposite. There are a few impactful things you can do (without spending money) to protect your immune system. But, there just happen to be many (many) more potentially useless options that don’t. 

A quick disclaimer: if you take multivitamins, Greens drinks, or other supplements for a variety of other reasons — or just to fill the gaps in your diet — there’s no need to stop if it works for you. This is just about what you can really do to help support your immune system.

Here are 8 truths that will change the way you think of your body, save you money, and  — most importantly — make it easier to course-correct and take care of yourself both before and after you get sick. 

Immune System 101

Your immune system might be the most impressive design of the human body. You have two different components that protect you from disease — the innate and the adaptive. 

Your body has a first line of defense, like your skin and mucous membranes. Once a disease passes through, that’s when your innate immune response kicks in. These the proteins and cells that fight against any disease or infection by increasing inflammation (yes, inflammation can be a good thing — more on this later) to create a protective barrier aimed at preventing the spread of any infection that has penetrated your body.

The easiest way to think about this is imagining the behind-the-scenes magic your body works after you get a cut anywhere on your body and you need to heal with simultaneously preventing the creation or spread infection.

On the other hand, the adaptive immune response is what you probably think about as your immune system. This how your body responds when you get sick and your body quickly works to recognize the disease, create antibodies or immune cells, and defeat the infection, bacteria, or virus. 

This function (and limitations) of your adaptive immune system is both what makes coronavirus so dangerous — and what makes your immune system so fascinating. 

If your body has no way of recognizing a disease (this is what makes a virus novel), then you’re going to get sick. But, assuming your body can overcome the disease and create immune cells to overcome the infection, your newfound immunity (the cells) stays in your body forever.

It’s why many doctors believe that it might be impossible for you to suffer from the exact infection twice. Once it’s learned, you’re protected. That’s also why you shouldn’t worry about being inside weakening your immunity. It’s not how your body works. 

It’s the same mechanism that allows vaccines to be effective. The disabled version of the bug is introduced into your body, you “learn it” and creates the methods to defeat it, and then you can use this newfound defensive mechanism to keep you safe. 

Therein lies the most important part of your adaptive immune system. You have to adapt to the disease, and to do so you must come in contact with it.

But, you can’t improve your immune system’s database without fighting infections first.

An Immune “Boost” Is Not Good For You

Your immune system can’t be easily manipulated. Anyone that tells you they can “boost” one part of your immune system is lying. Not to mention, doing so could be a massive mistake. 

Think about the story of my autoimmune disease. As my doctor’s made painfully clear, I have a “boosted” immune system. When I get sick, my body responds by triggering high fevers. This is a natural reaction.

Despite what you might think, a fever is a good thing. It’s your body’s way of fighting disease by heating up your internal system, making the illness uncomfortable and vulnerable so you can kill it off.

But, my reaction is broken. It’s a supercharged response that means my body heats up even hotter — and there’s no off-switch. So, I stay hot — long after the original bug has been killed, and my entire body suffers as a result. This, in a nutshell, is what happens with all autoimmune conditions (but not all result in symptoms like fevers).

Now, apply that same concept to your own body. When you think about boosting your immune system, you probably imagine being healthier, feeling stronger, and recovering faster.

But, when your immune system is actually boosted and working — much like my fevers — the “effectiveness” would result in you being miserable. 

Think about when you’re sick. The aches and fevers and even the snot (yeah, I just wrote snot) are not the symptoms of sickness; they are all a byproduct of your innate immune system at work.

The same goes for allergies. The itchy eyes and burning throat are your immune system reacting, learning, and fighting.

So, if you truly boost your immune system, you would intensify those uncomfortable symptoms. 

Safe to say, unless your body is in fight-mode, you don’t want an overactive (AKA “boosted”) immune system because that’s what causes autoimmune disorders, a disease to which there is no cure.

Instead, you want a healthy, functioning immune system that knows when to fight infection when it’s needed, can relax when it’s not, and is able to maintain a strong barrier against disease. To make this your reality, stop looking for boosts and start focusing on the things take make it harder for your body to function normally.

Stress Is The Original Immune System Killer

If you really want to help your immune system, start by looking at your stress levels. Whether you feel it or not, stress disarms your immune system and prevents it from working at its normal levels. 

As far back as the 1980s, breakthroughs in the stress-immune system relationship occurred in research that focused on students and how their immune systems were suppressed leading up to exams. The research found that your T-cells (the fighters that protect you against everything from viruses to life-threatening diseases like cancer) decrease in the face of stress. 

There was also fascinating research at Carnegie Mellon, which found that people who had less stress in their lives were better able to fight off the common cold when exposed to the virus. Similar responses immunosuppression was mimicked in other stressful situations, including studies that show people in difficult relationships heal slower if they suffer cuts or other wounds. 

So what’s happening? A great immune system is one that isn’t being dragged down by life (as opposed to “boosted” by pills). Better health starts with seeing big-picture immune sabotage, and (thankfully) they are all easy concepts to understand

Your immune system has an army of cells that keep you happy (T and B cells are your main immune fighting cells). And those cells produce an immune response that produces cytokines (friendly protein cells that help your body) and antibodies that destroy foreign pathogens. 

Unfortunately, stressors shut down your natural immune response, which means your fighter cells can’t function as they normally do to keep you healthy. 

If you need to destress, 10-15 minutes of meditation is a great place to start. If you’re new to it, try. an app like Stop, Breathe & Think, Calm, or Headspace.

Not feeling your inner zen? Here are two additional options with science on their side.

Stress-relief option 1: Take 2 deep breaths when you feel your heart racing, or before you answer a call or have a meeting. According to the Program on Integrative Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, the deep breath will make you sound more confident and reset your heart rate to reduce stress.

Stress-relief option 2: Grab coffee with your friends. Researchers at the University of Bristol in England discovered that when stressed-out men consumed caffeine by themselves, they remained nervous and jittery. But, when they caffeine-loaded as part of a group, their feelings of stress subsided.

Count The Hours You Sleep — Or Else

Sleep deprivation is the other part of the 1-2 combo that can knock out your immune system. If stress stresses out your immune system, then sleep deprivation exhausts your body into making mistakes that leave you vulnerable. 

A lack of sleep can prevent your immune cells from making their way to your lymph nodes (where they help you fight disease) or confuse your body and make it harder for them to create the right antibodies to fight back against infection.

How bad can it be? One study showed that regularly sleeping only 6 hours per night makes you four times more likely to catch a cold compared to sleeping 7 hours per night. And the risk gets even worse if you sleep fewer than 5 hours per night.

If you need help improving your sleep, here are a few simple guidelines that can make it easier to fall (and stay) asleep.

• Go to bed around the same time every night
• Time your sleep in 1.5-hour increments. This is a full cycle, so it will help ensure you don’t wake up in REM sleep, which could leave you groggy and tired.
• Sleep in a colder room than your preferred “room temperature.” Some research suggests between 60-70 degrees.
• If possible, exercise earlier in the day.
• Don’t consume alcohol before you sleep. (Yes, we realize this might be tough sometimes.)
• Limit screen time about 1-hour before you sleep.
• Clear your mind. Either watch a comedy, do a puzzle, or journal right before you sleep. This will trigger a part of your brain that will help “calm” your thoughts so it’s easier for you to fall asleep.

Movement Might Be The Best Medicine

If you go back in time just 10 years ago, many people believed that exercise actually weakens your immune system. Turns out, nothing could be farther from the truth. 

Whether you lift weights, run, cycle, or walk — any type of exercise, especially when combined with more sleep and less stress — is a key part of keeping your immune system functioning well.

Exercise works in many ways to make sure your immune defensive systems can act quickly and effectively, and it can even help offset stress or sleep difficulties. (This all assumes that you’re allowing for proper recovery.)

Recent research found that regular exercise:

• Helps the overall health of your immune system
• Decreases your risk of illness
• Helps mediate the correct inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses
• Delays the onset of age-related immune decline

Even better, a review of studies found that movement truly is medicine. From the study conclusion:

Contemporary evidence from epidemiological studies shows that leading a physically active lifestyle reduces the incidence of communicable (e.g., bacterial and viral infections) and non-communicable diseases (e.g., cancer), implying that immune competency is enhanced by regular exercise bouts.

When you exercise, your body recognizes stress. Even though it’s good stress, it’s still a strain on your body, so you produce neutrophils and lymphocytes (the T-cell and natural killer cells we mentioned earlier), which flow throughout your body to keep you strong, fight off invaders, and help create antibodies when necessary.

In other words, exercise helps spark more activity in these cells for about 3-4 hours, which means your body is both more likely to find and disable potentially harmful germs and diseases.

As an added bonus, the cells perform “immune surveillance” and patrol your body searching for infection.  

It’s likely the reason why people who exercise regularly (at least 5 times per week) miss nearly 50% fewer days from sickness than those who don’t. 

What’s more, exercise has been shown to help decrease stress and improve sleep. In other words, exercise might be the first domino to keeping you healthy because it’s insurance for the other two vulnerabilities (stress and sleep) that weaken your normal immune system function.

Here are bodyweight workouts that can help you get in your movement in any situation or location.

Protein Protects (Much More Than Muscle)

We’ve mentioned how protein plays a role to help keep your body safe. You might think of protein as the key ingredient in muscle building (it is), but — when you look at the bigger picture — protein plays a vital role in every cell in your body. This includes your immune system and helping create the cells that help fight disease.

Proteins are a key component of the very antibodies developed by your immune systems designed to keep you safe. Eating protein ensures that your body has enough of the raw materials needed to allow your immune system to respond to bacteria and viruses in your body.

Proteins (cytokines, in particular) also help ensure that your immune system doesn’t go overboard and start working too hard. It’s all part of a system designed to give your body what it needs and prevent it from targeting your healthy cells. 

High-quality complete protein options include:

• Dairy products, such as milk, cheese/cottage cheese, and yogurt
• Whey protein
• Eggs
• Seafood and fish
• Beef
• Chicken
• Bison
• Pork
• Pea Protein
• Soybeans
• Blended meals (beans and rice)
• Vegan protein powders with multiple protein sources

If You Supplement, Focus on Vitamin D

While no one supplement can even come close to providing the benefits of good sleep, less stress, and consistent exercise, there is one vitamin that appears to be more important than others. 

More research is still needed, but a lot of emerging data — especially since the COVID-19 pandemic — has suggested that Vitamin D deficiency is closely linked to immune system vulnerabilities. 

One study found that taking higher levels of vitamin D (in older individuals) led to a 40 percent decrease in respiratory infections over the course of a year. 

This makes sense because Vitamin D is thought to play a vital role in both your innate and adaptive immune response (although scientists are still studying to learn how it all works). And Vitamin D plays an essential part in producing antimicrobial proteins that fight back against sickness, especially in the respiratory tract. 

Plus, unlike many vitamins and minerals which can be produced by your body naturally or are rarely deficient, Vitamin D deficiency might impact more than 1 billion people worldwide. 

To support your body naturally, try to get about 15-20 minutes of sun per day. If that’s not happening, look towards natural food sources such as:

• Fatty fish rich in Omega-3’s, such as salmon or mackerel (or you can use cod liver oil)
• Whole eggs
• Mushrooms
• Milk fortified with Vitamin D

Otherwise, you can use supplements that offer at least 2000-3000 IU of Vitamin D3. (Just be sure to ideally look for products or brands that are NSF Certified for Sport.)

You Booze, You Lose (That’s Your Immune System Speaking)

You won’t hear us telling you to completely avoid alcohol (life happens, and that includes rough days and celebrations). But, if you’re consistently drinking in essence, then your immune system is the one that’s suffering.

If you look at the research (there’s a lot of it), too much alcohol — and binge drinking moments — prevent the normal functioning of your immune system, and it leaves you more susceptible to everything from upper respiratory infections to slower recovery from cuts and muscle injuries.

And, to add insult to injury, it might also alter your gut microbiome in a way that weakens your immune system. 

If you find yourself drinking every day — or drinking too much when you go out, take the old 1-2-3 method to establish more control.

• Step 1: Carve out non-drinking days. This is a commitment and a way to create guardrails and build habits. (If you know you drink every Friday night, don’t start by removing that day. Make it easy to succeed and build from there.)
• Step 2: Remove alcohol from your home. Just like a dieter who struggles with dessert, increasing the difficulty of accessibility makes it easier to drink less.
• Step 3: Track your drinks, so you can hold yourself accountable and be honest about how much you’re drinking and how much you need to cut back.

If you love technology, you can try out the Less Drinks app and see if that helps.

The Bottom Line: How to Protect Your Immune System

Remember, no matter how well your immune system functions, if you come in contact with a novel pathogen or virus, you still might get sick. In situations like battling COVID-19, your best line of defense is being smart about your social contact, avoiding touching your face, and washing your hands frequently. 

And, while you can’t prevent yourself from getting sick or boost certain aspects of your immune system, you can be sure to do the little things that won’t weaken your immune system or leave you unnecessarily vulnerable. 

If you need help creating a plan designed for your lifestyle, check out our online coaching program. Simply fill out an application, and you’ll be assigned 2 coaches who will assess your exact needs, create habits that are easy to master, and build a customized plan that will upgrade your fitness and nutrition.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Why Boosting Your Immune System Makes You Feel Sicker appeared first on Born Fitness.

For decades, people have used collagen topically in anti-aging creams. But recently there’s been a spike in collagen everything: pills and powders, whey-collagen supplement combos, bone broth, and other collagen-infused products.

Why the surge?

Collagen comes with some lofty health claims. Some suggest that taking just a single serving (about 2 tablespoons) of collagen powder per day can do everything from improve your workout performance, to strengthen your muscles, to lubricate your joints, to even improve your gut health

But at $50 for a one-month serving — double the price of most protein powders — there’s a hefty price tag to go along with all that big talk…only some of which is backed by science.

Should you buy in?

The results are mixed.

If you’re looking FOR COLLAGEN TO boost your workout, don’t believe the hype.

But if you’re hoping for healthier skin, the right product (not all collagen is created equal, so be sure to look at the label) might help you save money you might spend on other worthless products.

Here’s a guide that explains what collagen can do for you, with buying tips to help you make sure you don’t buy a collagen product that uses smoke and mirrors to sell you inferior ingredients.

What Is Collagen, Exactly?

Collagen is a fibrous protein that helps make up the connective tissues in your body. That means collagen is in your skin, hair, joints, bones, muscles, veins, and organs, explains Jonathan Valdez, R.D.N., owner of Genki Nutrition and a spokesperson for the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

More than 30 percent of your body’s structural protein is collagen, adds NYC-based registered dietitian Laura Cipullo, R.D., C.D.E.

All collagen is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. Your body uses these amino acids to repair its tissues (think: muscles, bones, and joints), explains registered dietician Mary Ellen Phipps, M.P.H., R.D.N., owner of Houston-based Milk & Honey Nutrition. Basically, collagen is the glue that holds those tissues together and help them withstand stretch, Phipps says.

So it makes sense that products are trying to find ways to improve collagen, especially when you consider that collagen decreases when you get older.

Where Does Collagen Come From?

Like almost everything, you do not need a supplement to get collagen.

Collagen can be found in animal proteins like eggs, chicken, bone broth, and dairy, says Maggie Michalczyk, R.D.N. Your body will also naturally make collagen from certain amino acids and vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, vitamin C, and copper, she says. In fact, vitamin C is necessary for collagen formulation, so being deficient can harm your body’s natural production.

“The body’s collagen synthesis naturally decreases as we age, which means that, over time, our bodies aren’t producing collagen as quickly as they once were,” explains Valdez.

After about 25 to 30 years of age, your collagen levels start dropping by about 1 percent per year, which means that our bodies aren’t repairing themselves as fast as they once did, Michalczyk says.

Some blame that decrease in collagen production for their achy joints, slower muscle recovery, and sensitive stomachs.

“As the production of collagen decreases, some people anecdotally report symptoms like slower wound healing, greater instances of joint pain or an increase in frequency of broken bones,” says nutritional therapy practitioner Alexandra Rains, C.N.T, co-founder of Bonafide Provisions.

Ok, So Should I Take a Collagen Supplement?

When you learn that collagen decreases over time, it’s logical to conclude that, “Ok, well I’ll just take a collagen supplement. Problem solved.”

Unfortunately it’s not so simple.

“The studies done on oral ingestion of collagen are very limited and there’s a lot of false information out there,” says Valdez.

For starters, there’s no research that shows that the collagen we consume automatically gets turned into the collagen in our tissues.

Quick science refresher: Collagen, like all proteins, is made up of amino acids. The collagen you consume in a collagen powder is going to be broken down into those amino acids with the help of enzymes in the stomach, says Keri Gans, M.S., R.D.N.

That’s where we lose control of the process. Because just as you can’t eat cake and tell your body where to store fat, you have no say how amino acids will be used.

Instead, the amino acids derived from breaking down ingested collagen (or any other protein you eat) are distributed throughout the body based on which area needs them the most.

Because major organs like the heart and brain use collagen to function, it’s likely that you won’t immediately notice differences in your muscles, joints, or bones, says Phipps. But chances are you won’t really feel it in your heart and brain, either.

Think about it this way: B vitamins have been shown to be good for your heart, but we don’t feel  better when we take a B-vitamin supplement, or eat lean meats or green leafy vegetables (which are rich in those vitamins).

Is Collagen Good For Skin Health?

If there’s an area that’s most promising, it’s collagen’s ability to help skin health. Most evidence surrounding oral collagen supplementation shows that it can improve skin complexion and reduce so-called imperfections.

For example, a recent review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology found that supplementing with oral collagen increased skin hydration after eight weeks, which suggests that taking collagen can help you beat dry, cracked winter skin.

Another study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that supplementing with collagen was effective at reducing the appearance of cellulite in women.

Is Collagen Good for Joint Aches and Pains?

If Collagen’s role with skin health is the most proven, then consider the potential for improving joint health as the most promising.

While there are very few studies performed — which means we need more time (and research) to know with certainty if collagen will help most people, type II collagen (aka collagen peptides) has shown more upside than other more common supplements, such as glucosamine and chondroitin.

According to Examine.com, a leader in supplement research, “The collagen in joint cartilage is 80–90% type-II collagen. Current research suggests that undenatured type-II collagen (UC-II) may reduce swelling, joint pain, and stiffness in cases of moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis and both juvenile and adult-onset rheumatoid arthritis.”

A study in the Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition found that people with joint pain or mobility who took collagen for 4 months significantly improved joint function. Other research published in Current Medical Research and Opinion suggests that collagen supplements may lessen joint pain among college athletes. And more research published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology Research found that collagen may decrease joint stiffness and pain in women.

Your move: because research is still young, if you’re dealing with pain and swelling, Valdez recommends that you go see a doctor or physical therapist before trying to “fix” the problem through a supplement or other nutritional change.  

How Does Collagen Affect Bone Health?

While collagen may be good for your joints, claims that collagen is beneficial for bone density are unsupported.

For example, in a study published in the journal Maturitas, researchers found that collagen supplements did not improve bone health in postmenopausal women with osteopenia (a precursor to osteoporosis).

Another study published in the Journal of Agricultural And Food Chemistry did find that collagen increased bone density and had a beneficial impact on osteoporosis…in rats. Until there is evidence that collagen can improve bone density in humans, it’s best to set your expectations low.  

Will Collagen Improve Your Workout Performance?

Like most supplements (creatine and caffeine being exceptions to the rule), there’s no magic pill hiding in collagen.

Many of the claims of boosted workout performance are based on one study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, which suggested that taking collagen supplements may help preserve lean muscle in older women. There were many limitations within the study: it only involved nine healthy women over the age of 70, all of whom were given collagen supplements for 15 days.

The bigger issue: It’s likely those subjects would experience benefits from consuming any kind of protein, Gans says. Why? Because older women typically under-consume protein, and consuming protein has been found to help preserve lean muscle mass.

So if your goal is to build muscle and chase PR’s, you could just as easily supplement with a cheaper alternative such as whey protein, which also tends to have 15 to 20 grams of protein per scoop, compared to the typical 10-gram serving in collagen products. The choice is up to you and your budget.

What About Collagen and Gut Health?

We’ll keep it simple: like most products related to gut health, there is more speculation than science. There aren’t any studies that show collagen has a positive effect on gut health.

The Buyers Guide: Good Collagen vs. Ineffective Collagen

If you decide you want to try a collagen supplement, it’s important to know that all collagen is not created equal.

Collagen can come from multiple sources, such as gelatin, or in different variations such as hydrolyzed collagen or undenatured collage. Your GI tract will break down these proteins, meaning what you put into your mouth won’t necessary have any value after it goes through the digestive process.

Research in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacological Research found that digestive enzymes break down hydrolyzed collagen. And something like gelatin is rendered almost useless.

Your option: either buy a product with the specific type of hydrolyzed collagen — “type II collagen” (sometimes labeled UC-II) — that has been shown to have benefits in research, or stick with a product that is purely collagen peptides. Both of these variations are more likely to make it through the digestive process and still provide value for your body.

If it doesn’t have type II specified or use collagen peptides, you should have less confidence that the product will deliver on its promises, no matter what the label claims.

To ensure that any supplements you take — collagen or otherwise — contain what they actually say they do (and nothing else), your best bet is to choose a tub that has been third-party tested by a company such as NSF International. You should see this mark right on the label, says Phipps.

However, people with sensitive stomachs may experience some discomfort like heartburn or nausea, says Valdez. So if you find it’s hard on your GI system, try a brand with fewer ingredients, take smaller servings, or consider stopping the supplements altogether.

How to Get More Collagen Naturally

While collagen supplementation may be beneficial for some, you don’t need to buy a product to add collagen to your diet. Your steps can be as simple as:

• Regularly eating vitamin C-rich foods such as citrus fruits, dark leafy greens, strawberries, and blueberries. Vitamin C is critical to collagen production, Gans says. That’s because vitamin C deficiencies are linked to a decline in natural collagen production, so prioritizing the vitamin may help keep your collagen levels up.
• Eating foods high in vitamin A, such as sweet potatoes, carrots, and spinach can also help. Much like vitamin C, vitamin A helps your body maintain its collagen levels.
• Eating protein-rich foods at meals and snacks, Gans says. Great options include animal proteins, eggs, and dairy.
• Making your own bone broth or stock. Valdez says that bone broths and homemade soups are jam-packed with collagen. You don’t need to go out and buy a bone broth mix from a store. You can make your own by simply putting bones (could be from chicken, beef, pork or a mix) into a large pot with water and veggies like carrots and celery. Add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and let boil for several hours. The real trick: the longer you let it boil, the more collagen you’ll receive from the broth (that’s what makes bone broth different from regular stock). If you want to max out the collagen you pull out, cook the bones on low for at least 24 hours. You can make bone broth quicker (say, a minimum of 6 hours of slow cooking), but less cook time means less collagen. And be sure to keep the heat on low to prevent the breakdown of the collagen, which makes it less “usable” by your body.

READ MORE: 

What is the Best Protein Powder? 

How Much Protein Do You Really Need? 

Do Carbs Actually Make You Fat? 

The post What is Collagen Good For, Really? appeared first on Born Fitness.

Why chai? Because it’s delicious.

Why protein — do you even need to ask?

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• ¾ scoop vanilla whey isolate protein powder* 
• ¼ cup full-fat Greek or Skyr yogurt, plain
• 1 tsp. Gaia vanilla chai maca powder**
• 1 tsp. honey, raw and unfiltered
• 1 tbsp. almond butter 
• 1 medium frozen banana
• Ice cubes 
• Cinnamon, for garnish

* We used BlueBonnet 100% all-natural whey isolate, vanilla creme flavor.

**If you have regular maca powder, then you can add 1 tsp. maca powder and ¼ tsp. cinnamon, ¼ tsp. ground ginger and a dash of each of the following: allspice, cloves and cardamom.

Directions

1. Add all ingredients in a high-power blender.
2. Pulse until smooth.
3. Serve and enjoy immediately.

Nutritional Information & Macros

Dietary Information: Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Contains nuts & dairy

Macros per serving

• 341 calories
• 9g fat
• 26g carbs
• 39g protein

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Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Chai Protein Shake with Maca Powder appeared first on Born Fitness.

Not all protein bars are created equal.

And — if we’re being blunt — most bars that are labeled as being “healthy” have more in common with a candy bar than a handful of kale or a protein shake.

This is the health industry, where it’s much easier to slap buzzwords on a label than, you know, actually provide you with what you need.

But rather than let you be frustrated by marketing tactics (they exist in every business and with every product), we want to make your life easier. Because there are many good protein bars on the market.

We’re here to make it easy for you to identify the real deal from the real duds.
That doesn’t mean you have to earn a Ph.D. in nutrition. Just follow these five rules and no matter what bar you select, you can feel good that you aren’t wasting your time (and calories) on a crappy candy bar.

5 Rules for Identifying Good Protein Bars

Rule #1: Sugar is NOT the first ingredient of a good protein bar

This rules seems obvious, but here’s why it’s so important:

1. Most people don’t look at the actual ingredients. They just scan things like “calories” or “protein.”

2. Most people don’t know the order of ingredients reflects the quantity in a product. If sugar is first, that means there’s more sugar than any other ingredient.

3. Sugar has lots of different names so it’s easily to be fooled. So if the first ingredient is dextrose, high fructose corn syrup, maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, or turbinado, well, that means “sugar.”

And don’t think that just because a bar looks like it’s made up of whole foods that it’s lighter on the sweet stuff.

“Even if you see these nuts and raisins through the label, the bar [can have] a sugar coating,” says Valerie Goldstein, a registered dietitian and owner of Eating to Fuel Health. “It just looks like a glob of nuts, so it looks very innocent. But even these ‘whole food’-looking bars have to be held together by something. Usually that’s sugar syrup.”

If you want to make sure the bar really is healthy, the bar’s primary ingredients should be a protein source, a fruit or vegetable, or healthy fat source like nuts.

Protein, fat, and carbs consumed with fiber (which you’ll get from fruits or grains) all take longer to digest than simple sugars, so they’ll keep you feeling fuller, longer. That means you don’t need sugar to be energized; you just need a good source of fuel.

The benefits of having good “primary” ingredients (the proteins, fruit/vegetable, or healthy fat source) are part of what distinguishes a good protein bar from a snack bar. Those nutrients have been shown to have a beneficial effect on your weight and waist line too.

For every 10 grams of fiber you eat, you’ll have as much as 4 percent less fat around your belly. Monounsaturated fats, like those found in nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish, have been shown to help people lose belly fat, according to a 2013 study. And a research review published in Nutrition in 2015 found that Americans who eat a high-protein diet have lower BMI and waist circumferences.

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Rule #2: Good protein bars have 10 grams of protein — or more.

This rule comes with what should be an obvious “if.”

If you’re using the bar as a protein supplement or meal replacement, you want at least 10 grams—or, ideally, even more,

“The biggest thing I tell people is, ‘Know how you plan to use the bar,'” says Anthony D’Orazio, director of nutrition and physique at Complete Human Performance, LLC. “If I’m looking to replace protein specifically, I’m looking for around 20 grams of protein,”

That means the bar’s first ingredient will likely be a protein source. Whey isolate, casein, pea, or egg protein are all high-quality choices.

Soy crisps will appear on a lot of protein labels and “count” as protein, but they aren’t the highest quality source. So if “soy crisp” is the first ingredient, even though a bar might have a high amount of protein, it’s probably not the best choice.

If you’re not using the bar as a protein supplement, you can get away with having the lower protein total. In fact, D’Orazio sometimes supplements his breakfast with a lower-protein bar that’s higher in fat and carbs. Why?

“I’m using it as a quick source of healthy fat,” D’Orazio says. “The main ingredients are peanut butter, rolled oats—ingredients people would recognize.”

Rule #3: Aim for less than 15 grams of sugar

Remember how we said many protein bars are really just candy bars disguised as something good for you?

Well, here’s the proof.

Did you know that Gatorade’s Whey Protein Bar has 29 grams of sugar? And CLIF Builder Bars have 1 more gram of sugar 21g) than they do protein (20g)? Compare that to the Met-RX Big 100 Colossal bar. Lots of protein (30g). But loads of calories overall (400), and 32g of sugar.

What in the what?

Before you freak out about sugar, know that it’s not the terrible villain it’s made to be. And there are many great bars out there (RX Bar comes to mind) with more than 10 grams. The catch? If the bar contains more than 10 grams of sugar, most of that should come from fruit or other natural sugar sources like lactose.

Why are natural sugars better?

Lactose from milk products and fructose from fruits, like all sugars, contain 4 calories per gram. But unlike refined sugars, these natural sugars come paired with the other nutrients you get from fruit or dairy—things like Vitamin C, potassium, calcium, Vitamin D, and other things that help your body function.

Good protein bars are oftentimes defined by their nutrients. It’s what helps separate a healthy bar from a candy bar. And refined, added sugars don’t deliver the added nutrients.

Added sugars also can hurt you in the long run. People who consume more than 21 percent of their daily calories from added sugars have double the risk of death from heart disease compared to people who consume just 10 percent of their calories from added sugars, according to a 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Internal Medicine. 

Rule #4: Watch out for sugar alcohols

Sugar what?

No, the bars don’t have booze in them. Sugar alcohols are a category of artificial sweeteners.

They have names like xylitol, sorbitol, isomalt, and glycerol. You’ll find them in all kinds of things labeled “sugar-free.” And for some people, they can lead to a pretty unhappy stomach, depending on how you react to them.

“That’s real person-specific. I personally don’t have an issue with them, but they can give other people digestive issues,” D’Orazio says.

Just as with the whey concentrate, he says, you have to pay attention to how the ingredient affects you. If the bar produces something less like a feeling of fullness and more like a feeling like you have to run to the bathroom, then you’re going to want to steer clear of it.

Rule #5: Look for protein bars with fewer than 400 calories.

Good protein bars are supposed to be supplements—something you use to shore up a weak spot in your diet, just like protein powder or a multivitamin. They’re meant to supply nutrients, protein, or calories you might not otherwise get from your diet, or if you find yourself busy and missing meals.

When a bar weighs in at 400 calories or more, that’s more calories than you’d get from eating a Whopper, Jr. or half of a Chipotle bowl. And a bar isn’t necessarily “healthier” than those options.

For example, some popular bars have 200 calories only deliver 6 grams of protein, but a hard-boiled egg will give you 7 grams! And it’s less than 80 calories. So if you can eat whole food, eat whole food. But of course that might not always be possible.

“Maybe it’s difficult to pack a meal because you’re on a job site and don’t have access to a refrigerator,” D’Orazio says. In those cases, bars do offer you some advantages. “They’re portion-controlled and pre-measured. They supply the sort of nutrition you might not get at a drive-thru window.” (But even then, the 400-calorie “rule” is still a good guideline to follow.)

“It’s hard to overeat if you only bring what’s necessary. If you plan to eat two bars—and you bring two bars—you can use them as a tool to help control yourself. You control your intake with a mobile package of food.”

READ MORE: 

What is the Best Protein Powder?

Is Sugar Bad for You?

The Fastest Way to Do More Pushups

The post Good Protein Bars, Decoded: 5 Signs a Bar is Worth Eating appeared first on Born Fitness.

But then, taking your body into ketosis — the process by which the body runs on fat because you don’t have enough carbs/glucose — is a rich resource for the seemingly unbelievable. This is, after all, a dieting method that requires you to purchase special test strips to examine your urine in order to confirm if you have “achieved” ketosis. (Yes, seriously.)

So is the keto diet effective? Yes and no.

The claims about keto superiority for fat loss and muscle gain are significantly inflated.

But that doesn’t mean the diet is without value.

To help you determine if the keto diet is the right approach for you, we dig into your biggest keto diet questions—and some you probably hadn’t even thought about asking. In the end, should you decide that going keto is best for you, you’ll at least know how to do it properly (most people don’t), understand what it’s really doing to your body (ditto), and be aware of the risks involved.

What is a ketogenic diet?

In a traditional ketogenic diet, you eat 80 percent of your daily calories from fat. The remaining 20 percent is divvied up between protein and carbohydrates—but most of it protein. Typically, carb intake is capped at 20 grams per day, or less than what you’ll find in a single apple, according to Andy Galpin, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., C.P.T., associate professor of kinesiology and director of the Biochemistry & Molecular Exercise Physiology Lab at California State University, Fullerton.

This number is far lower than what you’ll find with most low-carb diets, which generally max out carb intake at about 45 percent of daily calories, according to a review from Tulane University. For someone following a 2,000-calorie diet, that works out to as much as 225 grams per day.

But, don’t forget the most important part — it’s not the low carbs that surprises most people. After all, keto is known as the low-carb diet. What you need to remember is that the ketogenic diet is also surprisingly low in protein.

Why? As you’ll learn, taking your body into ketosis means having your body run on fat for fuel, and protein can be converted into glucose in your body. That means you need to keep protein levels lower to truly establish a state of ketosis.

Why do ketogenic diets go so low with carbs?

Carbs and glycogen (or carbs stored in the liver and muscles) are the body’s preferred and most efficient energy source. Once you deplete them, your body must find other energy sources.

When you cut carbs so drastically — as one does on a keto diet — you can put the body in a state of ketosis. What does that actually mean? Your liver is forced to convert fat into fatty acids and ketones — compounds the body can use to produce ATP, a.k.a. energy, Galpin explains.

It’s this process that truly separates the ketogenic diet from other low-carb approaches such as Atkins, and why the diet revolves around such a high intake of dietary fat: without it, your body cannot produce the ketones needed to keep you up and running.

To determine whether the body has truly entered a state of ketosis, you’d need to test yourself for high levels of ketones, Galpin notes. That’s why people who go keto have to urinate on at-home test strips.

If your body is not in a state of ketosis, you’re technically just following another low-carb diet.

Which means your body is not running on ketones. And all that carb-depletion isn’t going to work the way you intended.

Through ketosis, your body becomes what many refer to as “fat adapted,” meaning your body adjusts to what you’re giving it and uses fat for energy.

In a world of quick fixes and promises, this usually is not a quick process. Research suggests that it usually takes several weeks to occur, according to ketogenic diet researcher, Antonio Paoli, M.D., director of the Nutrition & Exercise Physiology Lab at the University of Padova in Italy.

What happens in the process of becoming fat adapted? Expect extreme fatigue, brain fog, and sluggish exercise performances. After all, your brain is the primary user of your body’s carbs and glycogen. Without that fuel, your entire central nervous system feels the effects.

In fact, it’s those effects on the neurological system that first popularized the keto diet. According to a 2014 review published in the Journal of Lipid Research, ketosis alters the activity of mitochondria in the brain of those with neurodegenerative conditions, which helps cut down on the frequency and severity of seizures.

Is a keto diet good for fat loss?

For those who are looking to cut their body fat percentage or improve exercise performance, the keto diet comes with mixed results.

In one Nutrients study, male cyclists who followed a keto diet for four weeks decreased their body fat percentages and improved their VO2max levels (the amount of oxygen they could take in and use in a minute), but their max power decreased.

Other studies suggest that following a ketogenic diet can allow the body to burn a larger percentage of calories from fat instead of carbohydrates and glycogen when participating in endurance events such as marathons and triathlons, according to a 2017 review in the Strength and Conditioning Journal.

But some of this is very misleading. According to nutrition researcher Alan Aragon, you’re not actually burning more body fat.

You see, when you eat more fat your body is going to burn more fat. This causes an increase of “fat oxidation,” which can easily be interpreted as an increase in fat loss.

But when protein and calories have been balanced (as in, you’re comparing diets where total calories and protein are the same — but fat or carb intake is difference), there is no difference in fat loss between a keto diet and a non-keto/higher carb diet.

“To lose weight on the diet, you still have to consume fewer calories,” Galpin says.  “There are no physiological shortcuts. Calories still matter, and while they aren’t the only thing that matter for fat loss, you still have to maintain a caloric deficit to lose fat.”

Paoli notes that a ketogenic may aid in cutting calories by increasing satiety, but that potential benefit is not yet definitive.

Is a keto diet good for building muscle?

Unfortunately for people who have body-comp goals (think: ditching fat and muscling up), research consistently shows that in order to lose fat without also losing a significant amount of lean muscle, daily protein intake has to be higher than what a traditional ketogenic diet offers.

After all, with only 20 percent of your daily calories coming from carbs and protein combined, there isn’t a lot for muscle-building protein. A 2015 review published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism showed that, in order to retain muscle mass while cutting calories, protein intake should be set at about 25 percent of total daily calories. And why must protein be so low on a keto diet? It all has to do with preventing side effects (which we’ll get to in the next section).

Just as important, keto research to date seems to indicate no performance benefit among those performing high-intensity activities such as sprinting and weightlifting, according to the review authors. This is due to both a decrease is fast-acting carb availability as well as a recruitment of slow-twitch endurance-based type II fibers over fast-twitch power ones.

It’s worth noting, however, that a lot of the studies on keto done to date have suffered from at least one big design flaw.

“A major problem with the research on the ketogenic diet is that a huge chunk of the it doesn’t establish whether study participants are actually in ketosis,” Galpin says. “Researchers often don’t draw blood to determine a state of ketosis and instead assume that participants were eating few enough carbs and enough fat that they were.”

What about side effects – is a keto diet safe?

When it comes to protein, a keto diet puts people in a sort of “screwed if you do, screwed if you don’t” situation.

While a low protein intakes can cause the body to lose muscle mass, too high of a protein intake can cause the body to spring out of its state of ketosis, Paoli says.

Basically, breaking down protein for energy is easier than producing ketones and using them for energy. So, if that is an option, your body is going to take it.

But a far bigger issue is that eating too much protein during a ketogenic diet can put your body in a state of ketoacidosis, in which keto acids (ketone-containing acids) accumulate and decrease blood pH, Galpin says.

When this occurs, symptoms include nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst and confusion. In very rare cases, “extreme ketoacidosis” can be fatal.

While some may think a keto diet gives them license to go crazy on greasy, processed foods and still lose weight, it’s important to focus on getting dietary fats from whole, natural sources including red meat, eggs, avocado, nuts, olive oil, and dairy (although many forms of dairy have sufficient carbs to kick you out of ketosis, FYI).

It’s worth noting that, since these high-fat foods tend to be low in fiber, a person who does go keto should work with a dietitian to keep their fiber intake at a level that prevents constipation and GI issues such as diverticulitis, Galpin says. He adds that most keto dieters require a fiber supplement to get enough fiber without going overboard on carbs.

Lastly, having a high protein intake can also increase keto-dieters’ already-elevated risk of developing kidney stones. Note that a high protein diet alone is not a precursor to kidney problems like many people believe. But, adding high protein + a keto diet approach can potentially lead to kidney stones.

What else should I know if I want to go keto?

The keto diet has a lot of very interesting research around brain health and fighting autoimmune diseases. For people that struggle with a variety of health problems, the nature of the diet is promising. And for those that don’t mind the fairly rigorous rules, it can be a very effective approach for fat loss — just like several other diet methods.

At the same time, there’s no getting around it: the keto diet is incredibly tough to follow. Researchers have found that to be true even when adults attempt the diet to control their epilepsy. If people who have such a high degree of motivation have trouble following the protocol, you have to ask yourself a simple question: how well do you think you’re going to do following the rules of the diet?

Research has shown over and over again that your success on a diet depends entirely on how consistent you can be.

So if you can’t stick to it for a long period of time, then another option might be a better fit.

After all, nutrients don’t occur in isolation—they are found in whole foods that, generally, contain some mix of the three macros. So it can be difficult to find high-fat foods that don’t put you over your protein or carbohydrate goals. And since fat is an energy dense macro, packing nine calories per gram, it’s also easy to go overboard there and wind up gaining weight, rather than losing it.

If you choose the ketogenic diet, keep a cheat sheet of ways to stay on track. Reminders like “overdoing it on protein can snap you out of ketosis” will help make sure that your efforts pay off. Or how even one carb “cheat” on the ketogenic diet can cancel out any purported benefits of the eating plan. If you’re going to see success with the ketogenic diet, you have to do it to a T — and it’s best to do so under the supervision of a physician or registered dietitian, according to Paoli.

READ MORE: 

Healthy Fat: Which Foods Should You Really Be Eating? 

The Protein Guide: How Much Protein Do You Need?

Do Carbs Actually Make You Fat? 

The post What is the Keto Diet? (And Should I Try it?) appeared first on Born Fitness.

The information below is a purely scientific analysis of the benefits you receive from different types of amino acids. In general, if you receive enough protein in your diet, you probably don’t “need” to supplement with additional aminos.

I’ve experienced (non-scientific) benefits from taking additional BCAAs, whether it’s with recovery or muscle growth. Therefore, they are typically part of my training routine, especially when following an Alpha-style diet, such as the one prescribed in Man 2.0. 

Did you know: glutamine for the purpose of building muscle tissue in healthy people is wholly unsupported.

To determine if you should add amino acids to your diet, read this and decide for yourself. -AB

Do You Need To Supplement with Amino Acids?

By Kurtis Frank and Sol Orwell

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)

Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are a collection of three amino acids with a side chain that is branched. They are leucine, isoleucine, and valine (usually in a 2:1:1 ratio).

They are marketed mostly to athletes during periods of caloric deprivation, as these BCAAs are found in all protein sources. Their niche lays in the fact that sometimes you only want these three amino acids and all the others merely add unwanted calories.

Leucine itself is known to be an anabolic factor and signal for muscle protein synthesis, and in the presence of inadequate nutrition (you’re eating less than normal) this anabolic signal appears to stall muscle cell loss.

This anabolic effect does, however, extend to most cell types rather than just muscle. While BCAAs tend to be high in leucine, all complete protein sources contain enough leucine to provide a benefit.

When looking at studies, comparing BCAAs to no protein intake makes it appear that BCAAs do benefit you. However, the limited studies comparing BCAAs to another protein source showed that BCAAs were no better.

While the nutritional label on BCAAs may not list any calories, this is because the FDA allows anything under 5 calories (per serving) to be listed as 0 calories.

BCAAs may have a role in preserving skeletal muscle mass during periods of severe caloric deprivation, but that is not something most people experience (and again, can be mitigated by consuming protein). The decision to use BCAAs may come down to a decision between 30 calories and 120 calories.

The bottom line: BCAAs will save you some calories, but their benefits over other protein sources is marginal, at best.

Essential Amino Acids (EAAs)

Essential amino acids are in a grey area between BCAAs and whole protein sources, and rather than giving only the three BCAAs they give all amino acids that have the aforementioned essential status.

The most practical usage of essential amino acids would be to supplement the diet of a vegan who generally under-consumes protein and is not otherwise using protein supplementation. Additionally, they confer the same benefits as BCAAs, although with a slightly higher caloric content.

Practically speaking, however, the previous choice between 30 and 120 calories has now become a pedantic 80 calories and 120 calories. Practical situations in which EAAs are useful are highly limited to times where every calorie becomes critical.

The bottom line: EAAs are useful if you have no source of protein. Otherwise, hard to see any additional benefit.

Glutamine

Glutamine gets special mention here due to its popularity as a standalone supplement.

When looking at isolated muscle cells, glutamine introduction above normal levels appears to cause dose-dependent increases in muscle protein synthesis. It is from this information, as well as the clinical usage of glutamine in burn victims (to aid in tissue regeneration) that glutamine is marketed as a muscle building agent.

At this moment in time, glutamine for the purpose of building muscle tissue in healthy people is wholly unsupported. (Sorry supplement industry.) Glutamine deficiency, the prerequisite for glutamine actually building muscle, is probably more uncommon in nonclinical settings than scurvy.

That being said, because the intestines sequester glutamine so much the supplement does indeed make a good intestinal health supplement (which can also just be mimicked by protein sources with a high glutamine content such as casein).

The bottom line: Do not bother with a glutamine supplement. You will get enough via protein sources. However, it might help with intestinal health and your immune system.

Want to know more about Protein?

The following articles will tell you:

• How much protein you really need.
• The best sources of protein for your body.
• How to decide what protein supplement to purchase.

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post Do You Need Amino Acids? appeared first on Born Fitness.