According to a survey done by Statstita.com, most common resolutions are health related. Do you see your resolution in the infograph below?
From increasing the efficacy of exercise to stress management, our pure products can help you to achieve your health related resolutions. In the next 3 issues of our newsletters, we will talk about how your favorite SEI MEE TEA products can help you with these important resolutions.
Today’s topic is “metabolism”—because the top three resolutions are related to metabolism: Exercise, Eat Healthy, and Lose weight. Let’s take a look at what really metabolism is:
What is Metabolism? Why is it important?
According to National Cancer Institute, metabolism is “the chemical changes that take place in a cell or an organism. These changes make energy and the materials that cells and organisms need to grow, reproduce, and stay healthy. Metabolism also helps get rid of toxic substances.”
This definition may be a surprise to you.
Healthy metabolism means much more than “lose weight or burn fat”—it is directly related to the status of your entire system. Metabolism is thousands of chemical reactions that keep the 100 trillion cells in your body alive and healthy. These chemical chain reactions, or pathways, take place inside each living cell. These reactions in human cells, or “cell metabolism,” can be divided into “catabolic reactions” and “anabolic reactions.” Catabolic reactions convert nutrients to energy, and anabolic reactions lead to the synthesis of larger biomolecules, which uses energy.
Why metabolism slows down as you age?
As we age, our metabolism slows down naturally. The main causes include a less active lifestyle, loss of muscle mass, and decreased hormones, such as growth hormone, insulin, testosterone, and estrogen, which are involved in anabolic processes.
How do I stop or prevent the slowdown of metabolism naturally?
AMPK, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, is found inside every cell and serves as our body’s master metabolic regulator. AMPK delays the onset of muscle weakness and mitochondrial dysfunction. [1] Learning how to turn AMPK on and off can help improve metabolism. Examples of actions to boost AMPK and revitalize aging cells include:
Drinking Green Tea
Green Tea intake induces AMPK activation and modulates the expression of genes involved in metabolism. [2] And great news for those who would like to avoid caffeine—a study shows Green Tea with less or without caffeine is also effective. [3, 4] EGCG, Green Tea’s most prominent antioxidant, was observed to reduce obesity in mice through AMPK activation [5].
Best Time to Drink
Studies observed that Green tea catechins (EGCG, EGC, and EC) have been shown to peak in the blood about 1-1.5 hours after ingestion.[6,7]
Depending on the purpose, you may want to choose the best time as follows:
- To enhance the efficacy of exercise and endurance during the exercise—1-1.5 hours before exercise
- To curb your excessive appetite—1 hour before mealtime
To get the maximum effect on blood sugar increase and/or on fat absorption during mealtime —1 hour before mealtime.
Do Resistance & Aerobic Exercise
Regular exercise increases AMPK activity. [8] Exercise triggers the enzymes and signaling molecules so that fat and muscles communicate with each other and make more energy available.
Include Intermittent Fasting
AMPK is turned off every time you eat. Between meals, about three to four hours after each meal, or during intermittent fasting, AMPK turns back on. [1,9] Green Teas (Edible Green, Hojicha, and Matcha) are allowed to be drunk during intermittent fasting. Sleep quality is also important for healthy metabolism—there is enough evidence that sleep deprivation has a significant impact on metabolism. [10] Not eating right before bedtime also helps increase sleep quality.
Take Adaptogens
Adaptogens are natural compounds or plant extracts that increase the adaptability, resilience, and survival of organisms to stress. Adaptogens promote cell survival and resilience in stress by triggering signaling pathways and help regulate metabolism and homeostasis. [11]
Choose Gut Healthy Foods
Improving your gut health means improving your overall health including a stronger immune system and improved metabolism. Our roasted brown rice coffee alternative is one of the fiber-rich plant-based whole foods that can nourish your gut health. Find more about its health benefits here.
Key to Success: Focus on Actions
If your resolution is “to lose weight,” focus on the physical actions and the other health effects the actions are creating, rather than focusing on “the decreased numbers on the scale.” This year, focus on understanding how your body works and supporting the chain reactions in the system with your actions—this small different approach may make it easier and more fun to stick to the resolution.
References
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5233441/
2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-015-1033-8
3. https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/19346
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25844091/
5. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2018.01366/full
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12376503/
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8988640/
8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14707764/
9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23615258/
10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2929498/ 11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7756641/
