All About Nutrition
How to Prevent Indigestion This Holiday Season
For many of us, the Christmas season is a time for excesses and indulgences, not least with regards to what we eat. Not surprisingly, cases of indigestion spikes up around this time. Avoid the discomforts of indigestion by following these five tips.
- Watch out for harmful compounds. Indigestion is hastened by sulfites, a type of preservatives commonly used in dried fruits and other processed foods, and aspartame, an artificial sweetener most often used in soft drinks and other carbonated drinks. Other commonly added food substances you should avoid are nitrites, nitrates, and monosodium glutamate (MSG).
- Drink more water than usual. If you eat more food during the holidays, it’s only reasonable to increase your water intake as well. Proper hydrations is necessary to maintain good bowel movement, plus it will also help prevent headaches from hangovers.
- Know your food triggers. Some people are more susceptible to indigestion caused by foods such as tomatoes, onions, milk, coffee, and chili. If you notice experiencing a feeling of bloating and tiredness every time you take any of these (or any other food triggers), make a note to avoid them in the future.
- Mind what you eat. The holidays is a busy time but with lots of food available. So not only are people less likely to pay attention to what they eat, the food most commonly available – alcohol, chocolates, and aged foods most notoriously – are not good for the digestive system. If possible, bring a healthy snack you can munch on anytime.
- Stock up on fiber. The more we eat, the more we need fiber to regulate our bowel movement and improve our metabolism. Fiber, especially from fruits, vegetables and whole grains, releases digestive enzymes that break down food before it ferments in the digestive tract.
Benefits of Whey Protein
Whey is a protein extracted from milk and is the leftover by product in the production of cheese. It remains as the most popular protein supplement for bodybuilders because whey is the fastest digesting kind of protein. This means that the body immediately uses it upon consumption to repair muscles that have been broken down by working out and by training. Other than that, there are several other more benefits of taking whey.
Burn fat while maintaining muscle
We all know that cutting calories is what makes you lose weight. However, by taking whey on a low calorie diet, you can maintain muscle while losing body fat because whey typically has low fat and carbohydrate contents together with lots of proteins. This means that most of your daily calorie intake is composed of whey protein instead of fats and carbs. You’ll be losing weight while trimming down body fat content as well.
Curbs appetite
Hunger and appetite often sabotages any diet. Protein is a nutrient that helps you feel satiated and full. Hence, you’ll be feeling less hungry than usual. By taking whey, you’ll be consuming a lot of protein while taking fewer calories than other high protein foods. The typical whey protein powder has less than 150 calories while having about 24 grams of protein. You’ll be able to curb your hunger while keeping your daily calorie intake low.
Makes you stronger and bigger
Whey protein has essential amino acids that aid muscle building and recovery. This means that taking whey after a hard day in the weight room aids in getting your strength up for more gains because the amino acids and the fast-digesting protein helps your muscles to recover from training to keep your strength up for another day’s grind at the gym.
Anti-cancer
While it is not a cure for cancer, a study published in the Anticancer Research showed that protein might actually aid in the fight and prevention of cancer particularly for colon and prostate cancers.
