2 Choline Natural Benefits and Signs of Choline Deficiency

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

What is choline? Its natural benefits, signs of a deficiency, and how you can boost your choline for optimal health, improved memory and increased resiliency.

So, you’ve decided to get back to the gym and finally make good on your promise to yourself to lose a few pounds, improve your fitness, and upgrade your health. If you’re already following a Paleo approach and eating a nutrient-dense diet, you’re on the right track.

However, one unsung water-soluble vitamin that you may never have heard of might make all the difference in improving fitness, strength, and the capacity to cope with stress.

Not quite a vitamin, choline is a key nutrient generally considered to be part of the B-complex group of vitamins. While it may not get the fanfare of more popular B-vitamins like niacin, folic acid, or vitamin-B12, new research is highlighting that choline may the gateway to better brain function, strength, and even increasing your resilience (your capacity to cope with stress).

Choline is used in a variety of key systems of the body, supporting optimal nervous system function, keeping your cell membranes strong, ferrying triglycerides (e.g. body fat) to the liver, and keeping your brain sharp.

Choline is also the building block for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which plays a key role in keeping your memory sharp and muscles firing on all cylinders.

Let’s take a closer look at how choline can benefit key areas of your health.

Can Choline Make You Stronger in The Gym?

Many of the positive adaptations you experience from exercise occur because of improved nervous system function.

Therefore, a great way to improve your strength and performance in the gym (and subsequently build more muscle and burn more fat) is to improve your nervous system function.

You might not realize it, but when lifting heavy weights, you don’t get stronger via hypertrophy (more muscle fibers), but rather, because of better nervous system function.

Research shows that many key adaptations to training are neurological, making choline intake (and subsequent acetylcholine production) important for improving performance and power in the gym.

A recent study examined the effects of increasing acetylcholine levels on upper-body and lower-body strength. The athletes were asked to supplement with a specific type of choline called alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (or alpha-GPC for short), a precursor to acetylcholine, in the morning and evening for one week.

After only seven days, the group adding more choline to their diet generated significantly greater power during the lower-body exercise (i.e. mid-thigh pull) compared to the placebo group.

Building more strength in the lower body by performing squats, deadlifts, lunges, and Olympic lifts is crucial for increasing lean muscle and making you a fat-burning machine.

Can Choline Improve Resiliency?

It’s tough to maintain your energy and vitality through the winter months. The shorter, darker, and colder days are more taxing on your body, requiring increased production of the stress hormone cortisol to get you through your day. Also, long days at work and constantly being on the go also increase stress hormones and can leave you tired, sick and run-down.

Choline plays a key role in supporting your resilience or capacity to cope with stress via its impact on your brain. The hippocampus area of the brain is responsible for establishing your daily cortisol rhythm, as well as converting your short-term memory to long-term.

Stress damages the hippocampus and throws off your natural daily production of cortisol, leaving you struggling to get out of bed every morning (i.e. hitting “snooze” multiple times) or “tired but wired” at bedtime and unable to fall asleep.

How do you know if this might be affecting you?

If you’ve been struggling to remember things at work, where you put your cell-phone, or what to pick up for dinner, these are all sure-fire signs stress is impacting your brain in a negative way.

Acetylcholine is one of the main building blocks for the hippocampus, so adding more choline-rich foods to your diet can help reset your daily circadian hormone pattern and ultimately improve your resiliency.

Getting older and want to protect your brain? Choline plays a key role in fighting off age-related dementia and cognitive decline.

Get More Choline in Your Diet

Your diet should always be the first place you look to ensure you’re meeting your vitamin, mineral, and nutrient needs. How do you know if you might be deficient, or have insufficient intake to meet the demands of your busy work and training schedule?

Common symptoms include short-term memory loss (i.e., you can’t remember where you left things), losing your train of thought mid-conversation, reduced reaction time, reduced appetite for exercise, increased cravings for fatty foods, irritability, mood swings, and fatigue.

Dietary choline is typically found in the form of phosphatidylcholine, a type of fat that has choline as its main building block. You’ll notice on the list below that a Paleo diet is a great way to get more choline-rich foods into your regimen.

Eggs are your best option to really boost choline intake. Each egg yolk provides over 100 mg of choline — another great reason to not be afraid of the yolk!

Another great option is organ meats. For example, a 3 oz. portion of beef liver provides about 250 mg of choline.

Here is a list of the best dietary sources of choline:

• Eggs – 110 mg choline per yolk
• Beef liver – 250 mg choline per 3 oz.
• Wild Salmon – 224 mg per filet (with skin)
• Pumpkin & sunflower seeds – 60 mg per cup
• Cruciferous veggies (e.g. Broccoli, Cauliflower, Asparagus) – 75 mg per cup
• Dairy – 45 mg choline per 8 ounces (note: pasteurization destroys 70-80 percent)*

It’s important to note that your dietary choline levels are linked to the rate of acetylcholine production, so ensuring you get enough choline in your diet is the first step toward upgrading your acetylcholine levels and building more strength and resiliency. If you want to quickly increase your levels in the short term, you can think about adding a choline bitartrate or alpha-GPC supplement for 4-8 weeks.

Choline is the unsung B-complex vitamin that plays a key role in so many key areas of your health. Getting fitter and building resiliency to cope with stress are two common goals for people to start the year.

Incorporate more choline-rich foods into your Paleo diet this winter – via eggs, organ meats and cruciferous veggies – and lay the foundation for getting stronger in the gym, upgrading your memory, and increasing your capacity to cope with stress.

There is no better way to kick-start your quest for better health and performance.

Watch this video – Choline Sources: How To Avoid A Choline Deficiency

Written by Dr. Marc Bubbs

Author Bio:

Dr. Marc Bubbs, ND is a Naturopathic Doctor, Strength Coach, Author, Speaker, and Blogger practicing in Toronto, Canada. He believes that diet, exercise, and lifestyle factors have the most profound impact on your overall health and performance. Marc is the author of The Paleo Project – A 21st Guide to Looking Leaner, Getting Stronger, & Living Longer and currently serves as the Sports Nutrition Lead for Canadian Men’s Olympic Basketball Team.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

Chlorella Benefits – 9 Reasons to Consume This Powerful Superfood

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Chlorella – What It Is & Health Benefits

If you’re looking for a natural way to boost your energy levels, detox your body, and clear up your skin, chlorella could be the answer. In fact, chlorella can also help improve digestion, strengthen your immune system, and speed up post-workout recovery time (for any crossfitters out there).

Of course, there’s no shortage of nutritional supplements that make tall promises and fail to deliver results. But as a single-celled green algae, chlorella is actually more of a food than a supplement—and it contains potent nutrition that your body can use right away. Chlorella is chock full of essential nutrients and is one of the riches sources of vitamin A.

This superfood’s impressive nutrient profile includes all eight essential amino acids, which makes it a complete source of plant-based protein. It’s rich in essential nutrients, including fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, iron, magnesium, calcium, and beta-carotene (the antioxidant form of vitamin A).

A single serving of 100 grams is said to be one of the richest plant sources of vitamin A, which is needed to promote detoxification and maintain healthy skin, teeth, and vision.

But one of the most unique, beneficial nutrients is called Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF).

What is CGF?

CGF acts like a growth hormone because it allows chlorella to rapidly multiply by 4 every 20 hours. And when we absorb CGF, the growth factor helps regenerate our cells.

CGF contains the nucleic acids RNA and DNA, which provide your cells with the “blueprints” (i.e., instructions) they need to repair and regenerate. And as you may already know, the healthier your cells are, the more youthful you’ll feel.

In other words, you’ll have fewer fine lines and wrinkles, a sharper memory, and a rock-solid immune system. CGF (Chlorella Growth Factor) helps regenerate cells to keep you feeling younger.

Our body naturally produces nucleic acids, but our production declines with age—which is when signs of aging begin to appear. That’s why it’s so beneficial to get nucleic acids from dietary sources, such as chlorella.

CGF contains a special nutrient of its own (called a beta-glucan). A beta-glucan is a type of fiber that’s been shown to have antioxidant activity—by destroying cancer cells and reducing tumor growth. For this reason, beta-glucans are a powerful nutrient for enhancing and supporting immune-system functions.

The power of these nutrients are only scratching the surface of chlorella’s many health benefits. Here are 9 more reasons why this little known superfood is a superior source of nutrition—that you should include in your diet every day.

Chlorella Health Benefits

1. Chlorella Detoxifies Heavy Metals

Chlorella has the ability to bind and safely remove heavy metals from the body, which is a natural process known as chelation. We’re exposed to heavy metals (such as mercury and lead) via our environment (from pollution in the air we breathe and chemicals in the tap water we drink).

Heavy metals are toxic to our system. They can cause serious neurological damage when they accumulate in our tissues. A few common symptoms of heavy-metal toxicity include anxiety, memory loss, confusion, chronic fatigue, migraines, and insomnia. If you remember the Mad Hatter from Alice and Wonderland, he went “mad” from mercury poisoning.

As you can see, heavy metals have no place in our bodies. That’s why it’s important that we support our natural detoxification process with nutrients that can improve their elimination.

2. Chlorella Alkalizes Your Body

Chlorella is an alkaline food, which means it helps alkalize your blood once it’s been metabolized. To remain in optimal health, your blood should never be too acidic or alkaline. But many of the foods most people eat regularly are highly acidic, such as animal protein.

That’s why it’s important to increase the alkaline foods in your diet whenever possible: To help maintain a balanced blood pH. Chlorella helps balance acidity in the body, which is especially needed after a strenuous workout!

As an alkaline food, this plant protein can also help alkalize your body after an intense workout. During strenuous activity, your body naturally produces lactic acid, which helps you produce energy.

When it’s being produced regularly, lactic acid can build up in your muscle tissues and cause lactic acidosis. By including alkaline foods in your post-workout smoothie, you can help neutralize this acidity.

3. Chlorella Helps Skin Look Younger and Brighter

In order to have brighter, younger-looking skin, you must have healthy cells. As mentioned above, CGF provides the body with nucleic acids to speed up cellular repair and regeneration—which leads to healthier skin.

CGF can also help speed up the healing of wounds, and may be helpful for reducing the swelling and redness associated with acne breakouts.

4. Chlorella Promotes Weight Loss

In a recent study performed on individuals who were at risk for lifestyle factors (such obesity, diabetes, and heart disease), the regular intake of chlorella was shown to lower blood glucose, reduce cholesterol, and reduce body-fat percentages.

Now, that isn’t to say that this supplement is a miracle weight-loss pill; it isn’t.

However, the high concentration of nutrients found in chlorella can help support several of your body’s functions that result in weight loss, such as detoxification and blood-sugar balance.

5. Chlorella Speeds Up Muscle Recovery

Animal protein may be your go-to source of amino acids, which aid in tissue repair after a workout. But you may also want to consider taking chlorella to help speed up the recovery time of muscles.

As mentioned above, this plant protein is unlike most plant foods. It contains all 8 essential amino acids, which are needed for optimal recovery from exercise—including the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) needed for building muscle.

For this reason, chlorella can be an ideal addition to your post-workout routine, which supports and accelerates your recovery time.

6. Chlorella Boosts Energy

Chlorella contains a nutrient called chlorophyll, which gives plant foods their dark green pigment. Chlorophyll is considered “plant blood” because it gives plants life by allowing them to absorb energy from light—a process known as photosynthesis. Chlorella contains chlorophyll, which will energize the body at a cellular level.

But chlorophyll has also been shown to energize the human body by promoting adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis, which is our primary energy molecule.

So it can help energize the body at a cellular level, which is essential for reducing chronic fatigue.

7. Chlorella Improves Digestion

Chlorella contains fiber and magnesium, two essential nutrients for healthy digestion. Fiber is needed to help eliminate “sweep” toxins from the intestinal tract; meanwhile, magnesium promotes muscle relaxation.

Since your GI tract is made entirely from muscle tissue, increasing the magnesium in your diet can help relieve constipation and other digestive issues.

8. Chlorella Supports Immune System

As mentioned above, the beta-glucans found in CGF have incredible health benefits—when it comes to defending your body against disease.

But chlorella offers extra nutritional support with vitamin C and zinc—two other nutrients that are required for immune health. If Mother Nature had created a multivitamin, you can bet it would be this.

9. Chlorella Internally Deodorizes

Since chlorella promotes natural body detoxification, it can help clear toxins and bacteria from your digestive system that promote body odor. Chlorophyll is also said to act as a natural internal deodorant, which eliminates bad breath by cleansing the colon of odor-causing bacteria.

Not All Chlorella is Created Equal

Chlorella contains a tough outer shell (known as the cell wall), which protects all of its life-giving nutrients. Unfortunately, this cell wall is impossible for the body to break down, so it must be cracked or broken for the human body to use any of its nutrients.

When looking for a chlorella supplement, always be sure the nutrition label states that it is “cracked cell wall” or “broken cell wall.” A high-quality supplement should only be processed by using pressure to extract the nutrients—not chemicals or high temperatures that can destroy its nutrients.

Chlorella grows in Taiwan, China, and Japan, but most of its supplements are sourced from freshwater pools in Japan.

Since radioactive chemicals are found in Japan’s water supply, it’s important to ensure that your supplement undergoes routine testing for toxicity and heavy-metal contamination. Although chlorella can help detoxify heavy metals from your body, it’s not ideal to consume a supplement that’s already laden with chemicals.

How to Add Chlorella to Your Diet?

Chlorella can be added to your diet in powdered form, capsule, or tablet form. While you may initially find algae to have a strong, potent flavor, you can still make it taste amazing (and mask the flavor) by blending it in a smoothie.

My personal favorite combination adds coconut water, avocado, pineapple, banana, spinach, parsley, and romaine lettuce.

Watch these 2 videos –

What is Chlorella Anyway? | Fresh P

What is CHLORELLA + How to Use It | Thrive Market

Written by Brandi Black

Author Bio:

Brandi Black is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and the creator of Feel Best Naked, a health blog for women who want to clear up their skin, lose the muffin top and make the bloat disappear. After years of experiencing (and then healing) her own unbalanced hormones, she’s now obsessed with helping other women feel spectacular in their own skin with natural remedies for hormone balance.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

Spirulina Benefits – 9 Reasons to Consume This Powerful Superfood

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

You may have heard of spirulina, or even set eyes on the startling, blue-green color it produces in smoothies. But what exactly is this emerald superfood made of? Do the rumored spirulina benefits stand the tests of science?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Spirulina, a blue-green freshwater algae, that grows in many exotic locales across the world from Mexico to Hawaii, is bursting with well-researched benefits.

9 Spirulina Benefits

Even if you’re a well-seasoned spirulina consumer, some of the following benefits might still surprise you:

1. Spirulina Fights Candida

While candida, a type of microflora, is naturally found in the intestines of healthy adults, it can become problematic when it begins to overtake other species of microflora in our guts.

Unfortunately, this occurs easily in individuals eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) due to its high sugar content, which feeds the spread of candida. Spirulina is an antimicrobial agent that can help balance the microflora in your gut.

If you’re suffering from an imbalanced microflora, spirulina may be another weapon in your arsenal against the bacteria. In several studies, spirulina has been found to fight candida overgrowth by increasing the efficiency of the immune system and acting as an antimicrobial agent.

2. Spirulina Improves Immunity

You may want to add some spirulina to that vitamin C-rich orange juice you typically sip on when you start to get sick.

In addition to containing a wide range of vitamins and minerals that support a healthy immune system, spirulina contains immune-boosting polysaccharides, or complex carbohydrates, which lend our immunity an additional boost. It has also been found to stimulate the immune system by producing immune cytokines, which are signaled when the body begins to fight off an infection.

3. Spirulina Detoxes Heavy Metals

Heavy metals that are often found in drinking water, such as arsenic or lead, can have a detrimental effect on health. Just a few of these effects include hair loss, liver cirrhosis, and anemia. Spirulina can detox the body of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals found in drinking water.

Researchers looking for alternative treatments to heavy-metal poisoning (specifically arsenic, in this case), discovered that compared to patients receiving a placebo, those taking spirulina had a 47 percent decrease in arsenic levels.

4. Spirulina Lowers Cholesterol

Spirulina has also been shown to reduce high cholesterol levels.

A study of 30 participants with high cholesterol and hypertension revealed that just eight weeks of spirulina supplementation significantly reduced total serum cholesterol.

The researchers also found this effect was even more pronounced in participants with the highest cholesterol levels, and that when supplementation was stopped, cholesterol levels returned to baseline.

One of the best aspects of this study? There were no adverse side effects of spirulina supplementation.

5. Spirulina Lowers Blood Pressure

In the same vein, researchers at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico discovered that spirulina intake decreases blood pressure and plasma lipid concentrations. This occurs due to its ability to help produce and release nitric oxide, which acts as a vasodilator, expanding the blood vessels.

The study also suggested that spirulina decreases the release of a vasoconstrictor (a no-no when we talk about blood pressure, as vasoconstrictors further tighten blood vessels, thus increasing pressure.) Spirulina helps expand blood vessels, lowering blood pressure

It seems spirulina is able to knock down blood pressure with a one-two combination of vasodilation and hindered vasoconstriction.

6. Spirulina Improves Allergies and Sinus Problems

If you’re experiencing the sniffling, itching, congestion, or discharge common with allergies, spirulina can possibly provide relief.

A 2005 study found patients given 2,000 mg of spirulina experienced protective effects against allergic rhinitis by lowering the immune reaction that is responsible for the above symptoms. In this case, spirulina supplementation reduced the activity of a particular cytokine present during reactions by 32 percent.

7. Spirulina is Anti-inflammatory

Inflammation can cause a host of problems, and it’s specifically dangerous when it comes to cardiovascular health. Spirulina works to fight this inflammation by protecting antioxidants and enzymes that play a role in lowering inflammation levels, such as glutathione peroxidase and selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase.

The more spirulina you ingest, the better your chances of fighting DNA damage and inflammation.

Interestingly, studies show that spirulina “dose-dependently” inactivates free radicals that cause DNA damage and reduces inflammation levels, hinting that the more spirulina ingested, the greater its anti-inflammatory activity.

8. Spirulina Helps Prevent Aging

As we saw earlier, spirulina helps protect potent antioxidants, like glutathione, from the damaging effects of environmental damage and inflammation. However, spirulina is also rich in an array of antioxidants like as beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, and lutein.

These antioxidants, members of the carotenoid family of phytonutrients, are some of the most potent forms of antioxidants when it comes to protecting skin from DNA damage.

9. Spirulina Fights Cancer and HIV

Spirulina has clearly demonstrated its ability to boost the immune system, warding off viruses and bad bacterial overgrowth.

It turns out this ability may be so potent that it can even help prevent cancer. One study found that spirulina-treated pancreatic cells significantly decreased the spread of human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. It also stated that this effect was dose dependent, meaning more could definitely mean better in terms of effects.

Supplementing with spirulina can help your body fight HIV, cancer and other viruses.

In addition, researchers have also found that HIV patients supplementing with spirulina experienced a significant increase in a form of white blood cells that fight infection.

They also found that the spirulina essentially caused the immune system to stabilize rather than continue to degrade, as is commonly seen in HIV. Remarkably, longer-term supplementation over a 13-month period caused a lowering of the HIV viral load!

As you can see, there are remarkable spirulina benefits. As a daily supplement, the sky really is the limit as to what beneficial effect this unassuming algae can give.

How to Eat Spirulina

Spirulina’s earthy taste might be off-putting to some if taken straight in powder form, but there are several other ways to sneakily incorporate this green.

Add to sweet smoothies for an extra nutrient boost.

Mix spirulina with water, fresh lemon juice, a dash of maple syrup, stevia, and a smidge of salt for a quick, post-workout recovery drink.

Add spirulina as a healthy boost to homemade salad dressings and rich desserts like Paleo brownies.

Spirulina can also be taken in tablet form in you’re in a hurry. The bottom line remains: however, you take this mighty algae, your body will thank you for it.

Watch the following 3 videos –

Green Smoothie Recipe with Spirulina

Chocolate Spirulina Brittles (Raw/Vegan/Paleo)

HOW TO USE SPIRULINA | 3 different recipes by Simply Quinoa

Written by Megan Patiry

Author Bio:

Megan is an inquisitive nutrition and wellness writer harboring an editorial love affair with the decadent and the nutritious. She is a dedicated researcher in all areas of ancestral health, a certified specialist in fitness nutrition, personal trainer, and professional almond milk latte addict.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook