Thermic Effect of Food – Burn Calories Just By Eating

Most people think that you need to hit the gym for hours at a time and sweat like crazy doing some form of “cardio” to burn calories. Although you will burn some calories this way it’s not actually as much as you think. In fact you may actually burn the same amount of calories eating a large meal as you do performing an hour of cardio.

Every time you eat you need to consume, digest and process this food. This requires energy in the form of calories (there is no other type). The caloric expenditure associated with food digestion and utilization is known as the Thermic Effect of Food. TEF can account for up to 10% of your daily caloric expenditure – yes that’s right 10%. So if you expend 2,500 calories in a day, 250 of those calories are burned just from eating food. For a 120lbs person this is equivalent to about 30 minutes of high intensity cross-training or 60 minutes of moderate cardiovascular training.

Different types of food require different amounts of energy to breakdown and certain foods can be consider High Thermic Foods. Protein can be hard to process and therefore has a larger thermic effect. Fat is not as hard to breakdown and has a low thermic effect.

It is even said that certain foods such as celery and cucumbers have a ‘negative caloric balance” meaning the amount of energy it requires to break them down is greater than the amount of calories they provide . It is also possibly to slightly increase one’s TEF through exercise, albeit minimally.

So the next time you look at your plate, you don’t just have to think about how many calories you are eating. Now you can also think of how many calories you are burning.

What are Alpha Brain Waves?

Alpha Brain Waves: Definition, Functions, & Benefits

Article by Brain Waves Jr. under alpha brainwaves, Brain Waves | Be the First to Comment

What are Alpha Brain Waves?

Alpha Brain Waves are a sign of relaxed activity in your brain. Alpha brainwaves are defined as brain waves that cycle between the frequency 8 Hz – 12 Hz. They are commonly produced in synchronized fashion connecting both hemispheres of your brain, though they can be found solely in the right hemisphere as well. Alpha brainwaves are the dominant brain wave activity when your body and mind are able to relax. If you have ever practiced meditation, yoga, or even felt relaxed after drinking alcohol – you have experienced alpha brain waves.

Alpha brain wave activity is common among highly creative individuals who have a clear mind or are experiencing relaxation. If you close your eyes for a minute or so, your alpha brain wave activity will significantly increase. As you open your eyes, the more stressful beta brain waves become the dominant pattern. In comparison, as a child you will have had significantly greater amounts of alpha brain wave activity than you will as an adult. Alpha brain waves have long been considered to be regarded as the healthiest brain wave range, but also the “safest” brain wave range to entrain – especially at 10 Hz (e.g. 10 cycles per second).

As an early teen or child, you likely had a dominant alpha brainwave pattern. Should you choose to experience a dominant alpha brain wave again, I recommend checking the products section. Most of the products recommended will do a nice job at increasing your alpha brain wave activity. I want to make it clear that there isn’t a single brain wave state that is “better” than the others to be in – each have their advantages and disadvantages. However, most people are lacking in at least one brain wave pattern. For the majority of individuals, alpha brain waves happen to be the lacking frequency range. Things like environmental stressors, fear, anxiety, tension, and overworking tend to deplete your alpha wave activity. Below, I will outline several benefits of alpha brain waves and also discuss ways in which you can naturally increase your alpha activity.

Benefits of Alpha Brain Waves:

Relaxing Thoughts / Relaxed Body – The alpha brainwave is produced when your body calms down and your mind is completely relaxed. Your brain’s thinking is slower, your mind is clear and you may even feel slightly drowsy. Your body has zero stress, tension, anxiety, or other feelings of being nervous. Increasing your alpha brain wave activity is a profound way to reduce your stress.

Access Creative States – If you consider yourself to have above-average creativity, chances are that you often experience an alpha brain wave state. Artists, innovative thinkers, and singers are generally found to have higher alpha activity than the average person. If you feel that your creativity is lacking, an increase in your alpha waves will feel great.

Enhanced Problem Solving – Most people cannot seem to tap their alpha waves to help them problem solve. Alpha waves integrate both hemispheres of your brain for better communication and clearer thinking. The problem with lacking alpha waves is that your left-hemisphere is pulling all the weight in solving a problem, when your right-hemisphere has a solution waiting to communicate to the left. Increasing your alpha brain waves can benefit artists, writers (for writers block), and creative thinkers. You certainly won’t feel mentally “stuck” in the alpha state. In order to tap your inner creativity, your brain must be able to produce synchronous bursts of alpha waves.

Calming, Centered Emotions – Alpha brain waves will put you in a calm emotional state. You will not feel powerful emotions, however, you will feel “content” and centered. If you are stressed out or nerved up, you likely haven’t had access to the alpha brain waves in a long time. Getting back in an alpha state will stabilize your intense emotions and you will feel good about yourself.

Optimal Athletic Performance – Interestingly enough, if you are an athlete, you could significantly improve your performance by entraining some alpha brain waves. There is published evidence showing that just before a golfer hits their best shot or a basketball player sinks a shot (think LeBron and Kobe), alpha activity bursts in the left-hemisphere of their brain. Elite marksmen also have shown a significant burst of alpha wave activity before perfect shots.

Also unique is the fact that the EEG’s (brain wave measurement) of pro-athletes are very likely to display the alpha rhythm, whereas newbie athletes and even decent athletes do not demonstrate any alpha activity. The best brain wave to entrain for peak performance has been widely considered to be 10 Hz (i.e. 10 cycles per second). I encourage athletes to give some alpha entrainment a shot and see if it puts you “in the zone.”

Reductions of Fear, Tension, Stress, Nervousness, Anxiety – Increasing your alpha brain waves automatically leads to decreasing your fears, tension, stress, nerves, and anxiety. If you have ever gotten so caught up in a stressful or fearful state, that you literally “forgot how to relax,” then having the ability to increase your alpha brain waves would feel like you’ve been given a miracle drug.

Everything Seems to “Flow” – Being able to access “flow” means that you are able to tap a state of mind where all of life’s events seem to pass quickly and all challenges are easily and quickly overcome. “Flow” is a period of time when you do not have any resistance or problems. You are in a mental state with optimal brain wave stimulation – you are not thinking too rapidly as to stress yourself out, yet you are also not thinking too slow as to be tired; you are right in the middle between the two. You feel “balanced” and understand that you are in a desirable state of mental functioning.

Ability to Tap “Super Learning” – The ability to learn quickly and effortlessly has been described as the phenomena of “super learning.” Basically, your brain is able to remember and recall information with less effort than normal. Alpha waves will allow your brain to retain large quantities of information. This is due to the fact that both hemispheres of your brain are integrated and communicating with each other.

Improved Immune System Functioning – Your alpha waves are responsible for amping up your immune system. They have been linked to health, recovery from sickness, and serve as protection from stress-related illnesses. Stress can quickly ramp up damage on your immune system if you go long periods without taking some time to relax; thus increasing alpha activity.

Think Positive – Research indicates that due to the calm, wellbeing as a result of increasing alpha brain wave activity, positive thinking and positive emotions also result. I can personally testify for this one – after having gotten caught up in stress for a prolonged period – my thinking became increasingly positive after a few sessions of alpha entrainment; likely resulting from increased mental peace and calmness.

Alpha Brain Waves = Natural Antidepressant – Alpha brain waves allow for increased release of an important neurotransmitter called “Serotonin.” Serotonin production usually drops to lower than normal levels in your brain when you feel depressed. In fact, most antidepressants nowdays aim to increase low levels of serotonin in the brain (do a search for “SSRI’s” to find out more). For these reasons, it makes sense that alpha brain waves may help ward off your blues.

Internal Awareness – Alpha brainwaves are associated with an increased awareness of your self: body and mind. Where as beta brainwaves cause the mind to focus more on external events, the alpha brainwaves enhance the overall awareness of one’s self.

People with Higher than Average Amounts of Alpha Brain Waves

Outgoing People, Extroverts – Generally, if you are more outgoing and consider yourself extroverted, you have more alpha brain waves than introverts. The consensus seems to be that if you have plenty of alpha activity, you are more than 3X as likely to be outgoing. It makes perfect sense – introverts are less comfortable during social interaction – whereas being social comes natural for extroverts.

People who Meditate – If you practice meditation, then you have definitely accessed the alpha brain wave state. Each time as you close your eyes to meditate, you experience a surge of alpha brain wave activity. If you want to naturally increase your alpha activity, try meditation.

As a Child – As a child, you tend to experience much greater activity in the alpha range. As you age, your brain shifts away from alpha to another range (commonly the beta range). It is important to recognise that even though you are not still a child, you can still have access to alpha waves. The majority of the adult population would benefit from increasing their alpha brain waves.

Certain Fats May Cause Dementia

A recent study published in the Annals of Neurology journal suggest that some fats may be linked to the development of dementia in later life.
The study tracked the fat intake of 6,183 women over the age of 65 for four years while periodically giving them mental ability tests. Changes in memory and abstract thinking were recorded over the course of the study.
Results showed that women who consumed a diet higher in saturated fats were 60 percent more likely to score lower on tests than those who consumed less saturated fats. The study also found that women who consumed a diet higher in mono saturated fat were 44 percent less likely to score low in the tests.
Not surprisingly, lead author in the study, Dr. Olivia Okereke suggests “People might consider making changes or substitutions in their diet, switching out saturated fats in favor of monounsaturated fats.”
Source Annals of Neurology

Hemp Seed is Natures Perfect High Protein Food

Hemp seed is amazing in so many ways. Hemp’s amazing oils aside, hemp protein is the gift of the vegetable world. No where else in nature can someone get a more complete protein source from one place. In addition, hemp seed is second only to soy for total protein content.

Hemp seeds can contain up to 36% protein. In the 1950s, scientists worked to determine lab models for foods, the vegetable protein model was derived from hemp seed and was called edestin. The protein in hemp seed is comprised of approximately 65% of edestin and can be found only in hemp seed protein. Edestin aids digestion, is low in phosphorus and is considered the backbone of human cellular DNA. The other one third of hemp seed protein is Albumin, another high quality globulin protein similar to that found in egg whites.

One of the common arguments against hemp is that soy has a much higher total protein count than hemp seeds. But hemp seed protein is free of the tryspin inhibitors which block protein absorption that is found in abundance in soy. Hemp protein is also free of oligosaccharides found in soy, which cause stomach upset and gas.

Hemp protein contains all 20 known amino acids including the 8 essential and 2 semi-essential amino acids (EAAs) our bodies cannot produce. Proteins are considered complete when they contain all 9 essential amino acids in a sufficient quantity and ratio to meet the body’s protein requirements. This makes hemp seeds perfect for vegans, vegetarians or anyone who is looking to reduce the meat content of their diet, hemp seed protein can supply all of the protein requirements without the bad fats in meat and without the stomach upset from soy.

This makes hemp seed the perfect high protein food. With a complete collection of amino acids, with ultimately the best digesability of any vegetable protein, with the added bonus of Essential Fatty Acids, lacking the items found in soy that cause gas, hemp is truely the perfect vegetable source for a high protein food.

If you are looking for a high protein food for a high protein diet but you would rather not eat meat, or are not interested in bulking up on whey or soy, hemp as a high protein food is perfect for you. With just a couple of handfuls equalling a full days worth of protein, it is the ultimate high protein food.

Amino Acid Profile of Hemp Seed:

Aspartic Acid 5.303%. Tyrosine 1.484%

Glutamic Acid 9.257% Valine 2.364%

Serine 2.830% Methionine 1.194%

Glycine 2.479% Cystine 0.824%

Histidine 1.406% Isoleucine 2.269%

Arginine 6.262% Leucine 3.551%

Threonine 1.969% Phenylalanine 2.192%

Alanine 2.289% Lysine 1.821%

Proline 2.029% Tryptophan 0.678%

Homemade Protein Bars

I just wanted to share with you my recipe on how to make your own protein bars cheap, rather than going and spending like £40 for a 1 months supply, plus most of these ingredient you probably use anyway so it’s a versatile option as well.

This recipe is by no means a fixed code of religious order and can be adjusted the way you see fit, I’m just giving an example of what worked for me…
Ingredients & amount

-Wholegrain Oats : 6 oz
-Natural Peanut Butter ( Smooth or Crunchy) : 1/3 Cup
-Protein Powder : 6 scoops
-Honey (Preferably Natural) : 3 – 4 Tbsp
-Milk (Preferably Skimmed) : 3 – 4 oz
-Mixed Nuts : 2 oz
-Olive Oil : Spray accordingly

And a tray (preferably glass)

This makes 10 bars

1. First of mix the oats and protein powder in a mixing bowl.

I use Optimum Nutrition Cookie & Cream flavour Whey Protein, however, Chocolate flavour is preferred by most. ON Whey Protein have 24g of protein per scoop, and roughly 140 calories.

2. Add 1oz of the mixed nuts into the mixture. I use Granola Fruit & Nut it has raisins and all the popular nuts

3. Add the peanut butter to the mix

4. Add 3 Tbsp of Honey and stir into the mixture

5. Add about 3 oz of milk making sure the mixture is not too runny and not too dry , then add 1 Tbsp of honey and stir adding rest of milk if mixture is still dry.

6. Get out a glass (preferably) tray and spray it with the olive oil so that the mixture does not stick to the tray when you put it in the fridge.

7. Put the mixture into the tray and even it up, placing the remaining nuts on top.

8. Put the whole mixture in the fridge for roughly 30 minutes, then take out and cut into 10 even pieces.

9. Lastly place in the fridge again and eat when you need to 🙂

Like I said this recipe is just an example you can experiment with them how you please ( coconut flakes, sliced fruit etc) just make sure it’s healthy…. -__-

Here is the nutritional information on the
Cookie & Cream Bars

1 Bar =