Protein Supplements: The Inside Guide to this Diet Addition

Protein supplements have become synonymous with exercise and muscle gain, but are they actually good for you? Commonly associated with beefy men at the gym, it goes without saying that most of us don’t really know what we’re getting into when we take protein supplements. People around the world spend billions of pounds on nutritional weight gain aids, which allegedly promise to enhance your athletic performance, decrease the risk of fatigue and change your body composition. They even suggest themselves capable of enhancing your looks. Commercial protein supplements can contain whey, soy, egg albumin or wheat, among other ingredients. Protein supplements can also be in the form of isolates, which is a pure protein source; concentrates, which are less pure; hydrolysates, which are chemically or enzymatically digested so that they are quickly absorbed; or blends which a combination of various protein sources. With so many on the market, which are actually useful to you?

So are there any benefits to protein supplements? Studies have shown that they can bolster your strength, with those who take them reportedly have 33 per cent fewer medical visits, 28 per cent fewer visits due to viral or bacterial infections, 37 per cent fewer visits due to muscle problems and 83 per cent fewer visits due to heat exhaustion. Researchers have also found that protein can help to reduce blood pressure. Supplementation with soy protein can even help to reduce the markers of prostate cancer development. Whey proteins have the capacity to enhance the immune function and antioxidant activity, as well as improving cardiovascular health. But it’s not all good news. Protein supplements aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which means that the supplement manufacturers don’t need to register their products with the FDA. This lack of monitoring could mean that contaminants could be in the products, such as arsenic, mercury and lead.The recommended daily intake of protein for adults is 0.75g of protein/kg of body weight. This means that you need around 45 to 56g of protein each day. Excessive protein intakes could lead to a build up ketones bodies, and when there is an accumulation of these, an abnormal but not necessarily harmful state known as ketosis could result. As kidneys remove these toxic ketones each day, you could lose a significant amount of water and this leads to a risk of dehydration. If you exercise heavily, this could exacerbate the problem and could put your health under serious risk.

Protein supplements for healthy adults who participate in recreational sports aren’t usually needed. If you’re active then you probably don’t require supplements and using them will be counterproductive, as the extra calories will cause you to gain weight (one gram of protein provides as many kilocalories as one gram of sugar). Athletes and vegetarians are the minority in terms of people who may need supplements to up their protein intake. Athletes, especially those who train with weights and burn a large amount of calories, may need extra supplementation. However, their need for extra protein can almost certainly be obtained through a higher protein diet, so protein supplements still wouldn’t be needed. As with any supplements or protein blends, it’s advised that you seek medical advice before beginning a course of dietary additions. You may find that your diet offers you enough of the vitamins and minerals that you need, therefore potentially putting your health at risk by overdosing on certain minerals and nutrients.

Categories: cent, fitness, Protein, protein supplements, risk, Supplements, visits

Can Your Sex Life Be Green? Tips For Sexual Success

Around 77 per cent of American households recycle, which is increasing all the time. And couples have sex, on average, around once every four days – this amounts to 85 times a year. So what do the two things have to do with one another? Sex makes you feel good, and it seems that going green has the same effect. 65 per cent of people in an environmental study stated that they felt good when they were making environmentally-friendly choices. So how do you do it? Here are some greener choices you can make in the bedroom.

Opt for soy candles

If you like to set the scene with some mood lighting, you may be surprised to learn that most candles aren’t green. Often, candles are made with paraffin wax, which is petroleum based. This means you’re actually burning fossil fuels when you burn a candle. You may think that has a limited effect on the climate concerns we all face, but when you think that roughly £2 billion is spent every year on candles that soon amounts to a lot of heat. Instead, choose candles made from environmentally-friendly sources, such as soy, beeswax or palm oil. The greenest options are those made locally to you as this eliminates the fuel to ship them to your location.

Choose a natural aphrodisiac

Although there isn’t much scientific evidence to support the use of aphrodisiacs, many people still enjoy using them. Often the mere power of suggestion is enough to feel the effects. Researchers have found that placebos can reduce the size of tumours, reduce pain and even the symptoms of depression, so you should never underestimate their power. You can find a number of natural aphrodisiacs in your own home, such as chocolate which boosts your mood and lowers your stress levels. The best way to find foods that do the trick is to look for foods which appeal to your senses – whether they smell, taste, look or feel good.

Use your own energy to warm up

The average household spends a fortune on energy bills every year, with around half of that cost going towards heating and cooling. So why not create your own warmth? Heat up the old fashioned way and go under the covers. Beyond the many obvious benefits, sex raises your body temperature to keep you toasty, and it also burns calories.

Find a sexy scent

Scent is really important to our sexuality and arousal, but not just pheromones. Some fragrances are sexy, but we don’t always notice because we’re not taking the time to indulge in them. Woody scents such as sandalwood or cedarwood teamed with floral scents, such as jasmine or rose, can really boost the sex drive. While commercial perfumes may smell nice, 95 per cent of the chemicals used in department store brands are derived from petroleum – in fact, some have even been linked to cancer, asthma and nervous system disorders.

 

Opt for a sustainable outfit When you slip into something comfortable, choose a sustainable fabric such as organic cotton and silk, bamboo or hemp. When fabrics aren’t produced organically, they contribute to the climate change problem. In fact, 10 per cent of the chemicals used in American agriculture are used to grow cotton. So, by choosing something sustainable, you’re not only helping the environment but you can look great too. There are a number of companies now using such fabrics in the production of their clothes, so there’s plenty to choose from in the way of designs.

Categories: candles, cent, Climate Change, environment, environmentally friendly, feel, Green, Sex, sustainable

Is the Gym the New Place for a Female Orgasm?

According to a new study, women no longer need to find a man, a vibratory or a new masturbation technique to find the elusive female orgasm – all they need to do is head to the gym! This new research has found that the new place for sexual pleasure may not be an expected one, but that the findings add to data that has been largely unstudied over the years. The phenomenon was first discovered in 1953, with research showing that around five per cent of women who were interviewed stated that they had had an orgasm linked to exercise. However, they couldn’t know the exact prevalence because because most of these women volunteered the information without being asked directly. Labelled ‘coregasms’, named as such because of the connection between orgasms and exercises for core abdominal muscles, these rumours have been circulating in the media for many years. However, despite this attention from the media, little is known about this connection in a scientific manner. Researchers used surveys to gather data surrounding this issue from 124 women who has experienced exercise-induced orgasms and 246 women who has reported exercise-induced sexual pleasure. Most of the women, who had an average age of 30, were in a relationship or married. Of the women, 69 per cent of the participants were heterosexual.

Researchers found that around 40 per cent of both groups of women has experienced this phenomenon on more than 11 occasions throughout their lives, and those in the orgasm group said that they felt some sort of embarrassment when exercising in public places in case it happened again. Most of the women spoken to said that they weren’t having a sexual fantasy or thinking about someone they’re attracted to. Around 45 per cent of the women in the study said that their experience was linked to abdominal exercises; 19 per cent said it was linked to biking or spinning; 9.3 per cent was linked to climbing poles or ropes; 7 per cent was connected to weight lifting; 7 per cent to running; the rest of the experiences included a variety of other exercises, such as yoga, swimming and elliptical machines. Exercise-induced orgasms were linked to more types of exercise than the orgasm phenomenon, according to the study.

This research offers up a variety of implications regarding female sexuality. Firstly, orgasm and sexual desire have topped the list of women’s sex concerns, with around one out of every four women not reaching orgasms during sex. But this research could suggest that physical exercise may have been overlooked in clinical approaches to the female orgasm.  Secondly, scientists have been debating the evolutionary context of the female orgasm and it’s connection to sexuality and reproduction. However, if women are experiencing orgasms in situations not connected to sex, then this study could well provide details of what the orgasm does and doesn’t have to do with sex and reproduction. Exercise-induced orgasms could be one way for scientists and women in general to learn about the process of orgasm. Researchers stated that this information could well help women to learn more about how their bodies work in that regard, which could help them develop more satisfying sex lives. Either way, this information is new and exciting to researchers who have now found more data to help them understand the female orgasm. For so many women, who find reaching orgasm difficult, this study could offer real hope into better understanding from a scientific perspective.

Categories: cent, exercise, exercise induced, female, female orgasm, induced orgasms, orgasm, Orgasms, Sex, sexual pleasure, Women