November Newsletter – The ultimate morning ritual

Monday, 16 November 2020

Dear Friends,

This year has been about learning to adapt to life in new ways.

November 17, 2020/by hphstore

Fat Loss & Nutrition, Mindset, Resources, Sleep & Recovery, Supplementation

Inositol Benefits for Brain and Body – 5 Science-Backed Health Benefits

Inositol is one of the most important vitamins you may never have heard of! It is often promoted as a general health supplement for women due to its benefits for fertility and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), as well as for relieving symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and anxiety. However, inositol benefits a wide array of conditions in both women and men, and has many other health-promoting effects.

In this article, I’ll talk about why inositol is so essential and how you can boost it in your body.

So, what are inositol benefits? Inositol is beneficial in balancing neurotransmitters, but has a wide range of other health benefits including:

Promotes quality sleep

Improves PMS and PCOS symptoms

Reduces anxiety

Reduces depression

Aids weight loss

Read on to learn more about the health benefits of supplementing with inositol, as well as when and how to take it.

What is Inositol?

Inositol is a vital nutrient produced naturally in the body and found in plants and animals. Inositol plays a part in many bodily processes. However, one of the primary reasons we use inositol here at Human Performance Hub is its vital role in balancing neurotransmitters.

Inositol and Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters relay messages between the billions of neurons or nerve cells in your brain and affect many aspects of your life, ranging from moods, productivity, stress management, memory and learning ability, sleep, food cravings, addictions, etc.

While all neurotransmitters are essential, the “big four” are:

Dopamine – impacts energy, drive, focus and motivation
Serotonin – affects mood, sleep, and immune function.
Acetylcholine – influences memory and attention span.
Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)– promotes calmness and contentment, optimal sleep and digestion

All major neurotransmitters rely on inositol to relay the messages between your brain cells. Like your phone needs a signal to work, neurotransmitters can’t do their thing without inositol.

Unfortunately, modern living, with high-stress levels, inadequate sleep, and poor nutrition, can rapidly imbalance your neurotransmitters; to be physically and mentally healthy, you need a good balance of neurotransmitters.

Inositol is an excellent balancer because it’s naturally a part of many brain chemical systems. As such, inositol can help a wide array of health conditions as well as boost good health. It is one of the first supplements I recommend to new clients.

5 Inositol Benefits Backed by Science

Here are five ways that inositol can improve your health and wellbeing.

1. Inositol Helps to Promote Quality Sleep

The great thing about inositol is that it works as an adaptogen – this means it promotes only what your body needs on an individual basis. For example, GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, slows down brain activity and puts your body in a calmer and more relaxed state. Low GABA activity in your body is linked to insomnia and disrupted sleep. Meanwhile, serotonin is another brain chemical that affects how you sleep. If serotonin is low, it can disrupt sleep.

So if you’re low in GABA and serotonin and struggle with sleep, inositol can help bring your levels back up. Alternatively, if you struggle to get out of bed in the morning due to low dopamine levels, inositol can help bring this up instead.

Learn more about how neurotransmitters and brain chemicals affect how we sleep in our blogs, The Brain Chemicals that Boost Sleep and Recovery and The Science and Sensibilities of Sleep.

2. Inositol Helps to Improve PMS and PCOS Symptoms

Inositol helps diminish the mood swings, depression, and anxiety of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and the more severe premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Taking inositol supplements can also positively improve polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) symptoms like menstrual irregularities, infertility, weight gain, high blood sugar, and unhealthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Furthermore, several studies found that daily doses of inositol reduced blood triglyceride levels, improved insulin function, lowered blood pressure, and promoted ovulation in women with polycystic PCOS(3, 4, 5, 6). It supports ovarian function so well that some nutritional supplements specifically designed to encourage fertility contain inositol.

Inositol also shows potential in boosting fertility for men. One study of 194 men showed that inositol supplementation improved sperm quality, sperm count, and fertility after three months.

3. Inositol Helps Lessen Anxiety

Several mental health disorders such as anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, and depression are linked to lower levels of inositol in the brain (8, 9). Inositol affects neurotransmitters and low inositol levels may contribute to decreased serotonin activity in your brain, impacting behaviour and mood. Research on inositol supplementation showed improved symptoms associated with conditions affecting serotonin and the brain.

In some instances, inositol was more effective than the most commonly prescribed medications. For example, one study found that people taking inositol had fewer panic attacks per week compared to those taking SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) anxiety medication.

4. Inositol Helps Reduce Depression

Like anxiety, inositol has benefits for depression. That’s because inositol levels are lower than average in people with depression, however, inositol increases serotonin and creates SSRI effects, similar to antidepressant drugs like Prozac. In one study of 28 people with depression, high doses of inositol (12 g/day) improved mood and all symptoms after four weeks.

These studies suggest that inositol can be as effective, if not more, when compared to SSRI antidepressant drugs for different conditions.

5. Inositol Helps Weight Loss

Inositol can encourage weight loss by improving how the body responds to insulin. Insulin is a critically important hormone for controlling blood sugar levels, and when your body has a problem responding to insulin, the resulting insulin resistance causes blood sugar fluctuations. This can lead to compulsive overeating and cravings for sugary foods in many people.

Inositol helps reduce insulin resistance by improving the body’s sensitivity to insulin. In one study, women supplemented with 4 grams of inositol per day showed improved insulin sensitivity. (14)

Recommended supplementation

It’s best if you build up your inositol levels steadily. I recommend taking 900mg – 3,6 grams every night for at least one month.

The product I prefer is our Myo-Inositol. Each cap serving has 900mg of inositol. Most people find this the most convenient and economical way to take Inositol.

Takeaway

Inositol has tremendous health benefits due to its many roles in the body. It can help with stress, anxiety, hormonal issues, PCOS, acne, trouble with focus and sugar cravings, and metabolic conditions such as diabetes, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and more. If you have any of these issues or want to help prevent them, you should add inositol to your health toolkit.

BUY HPH INOSITOL

Consultations

We’re always here to help. If you have any questions or would like advice about supplements, nutrition, or training, please book in for a consultation.

November 7, 2020/by hphstore

Fat Loss & Nutrition, Resources, Supplementation

Kickstart your day with salt and lime water for massive health benefits

Did you know you can boost your energy, immunity, gut health, and decrease belly fat with one straightforward morning habit?

October 16, 2020/by hphstore

Resources, Supplementation

Supplementation – What you need to know about Curcumin

“Spices, the friend of physicians and the pride of cooks”

Charlemagne – 8th Century King and Conqueror

September 14, 2020/by hphstore

Resources, Training & Performance

Training – The Lower and Upper Body Split

“The rule is: the basics are the basics, and you can not beat the basics!”

Charles Poliquin 5th March 1961 – 26th September 2018

August 31, 2020/by mattroanadmin

Resources, Supplementation

Supplementation: The benefits of L-Carnitine

Carnitine was first found in animal meats in the early 1900s. Over the course of the 19th century it was researched more and more where it was found that L Carnitine existed across all animal and plant tissues. In the 1980s, L Carnitine was known as a popular supplement with numerous books being written all about it. It continues to be widely used today, but its benefits are not as well known as they should be.

So, what are the benefits of L Carnitine? The main benefits of L Carnitine supplements are weight loss, energy production and healthy brain function. Numerous studies have shown L Carnitine to be effective in weight loss, whereas another form of Carnitine, ALCAR is thought to be effective in promoting brain function.

Read on to learn more about Carnitine, its different forms and how consuming supplements can benefit the body.

What Does L Carnitine Do? What is it?

L Carnitine is a combination of 2 amino acids; Lysine and Methionine. Together they create a single compound. This compound is mostly stored in the muscles (around 95%), whilst the remainder is stored in the liver and blood.

As a supplement, L Carnitine is known for two primary benefits; fat loss and brain function. It works by transporting fatty acids into the mitochondria cells. These cells act as engines, burning fats to create usable energy.

But, there are different forms of Carnitine. Be sure to take the correct supplement to receive your desired results.

What’s the Difference Between L Carnitine and ALCAR?

We don’t want this to turn into a chemistry lesson, but it is important to distinguish between the two main forms of Carnitine, namely L Carnitine and Acetyl-L Carnitine (abbreviated as ALCAR).

The different chemistry of carnitine means it has a different effect on the body and operates differently. In terms of function, these 2 mains forms can be distinguished:

L Carnitine – known to be good for fat loss and exercise performance.
ALCAR – known to be beneficial for brain and cognitive health.

Quite simply, ALCAR means that there is an acetyl group. This is where 2 carbons, 3 hydrogens and 1 oxygen have been thrown together onto Carnitine. Think of it as a Lego structure, you have 2 red bricks, 3 yellow bricks and 1 green added onto a central piece. It is this difference which changes the function of ALCAR.

Top L Carnitine Benefits

Fat Loss

Most of the early research of Carnitine was done on energy production and fat loss with L Carnitine. There is a general consensus that it has a good effect on this. A good way to illustrate how L-carnitine works is to think of a power plant.

In your body, you have mitochondria in almost all of your cells. The mitochondria are the furnaces using fuel for energy but to produce energy you need fuel. L Carnitine is the vehicle which delivers fuel to the powerhouse.

More specifically, L Carnitine brings fatty acids to the mitochondria so that the mitochondria can use them for energy production. As such, it can be useful to consume this supplement quite early on in your fat loss journey.

For this same reason, it has been used to good effect for exercise performance. Particularly endurance exercise which is heavily reliant on fat as fuel for the muscular work performed. By getting fats to the mitochondria more effectively, the energy production is more efficient as a result.

Brain Support

We’ve already discovered that using L Carnitine is great in the early stages for fat loss and exercise performance. But in the long term, there are other great benefits for your brain health and support.

Our daily lives are more than ever characterised by stress, inflammation and toxins, which means the cells of our body can be damaged and poorly-functioning. Thus, we need to support our bodies. In the context of Carnitine, we provide support for our brains!

We know that L Carnitine is good for energy supply, and we know that brain tissue and performance can suffer from lack of energy resources. However, L Carnitine struggles to get into the brain unless it is in the form of Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR).

The brain has, in effect, a filter which means only certain substances in the blood can get through to the brain cells. This is a built-in protective system for the brain to prevent just anything getting in. ALCAR is able to pass this filter and exert a positive influence on the brain. In fact, ALCAR has several lines of decent research supporting its use for neurological health, whether that be with dementia, Alzheimer’s or cognitive decline in ageing.

Acetyl-L Carnitine has several influences in the brain which mean it is protective. As mentioned previously, energy supply is important for brain tissue and ALCAR is a great form of carnitine since it is actually able to get to the brain to supply energy.

ALCAR also has other ‘neuroprotective’ effects not just through energy supply. It is an antioxidant which helps to prevent free radicals (and toxins) from causing damage to brain cells. It also fortifies the mitochondria’s defences.

Internal Communications

Neurotransmitters are like the brain’s accelerator and brake pedals. They send messages between the cells of the brain where they either speed up, slow down, or modulate activity of the brain. This can affect your focus, alertness and wakefulness.

Of the 7 major neurotransmitters, Acetylcholine was the first to be discovered and is the one which we will briefly look at here. Since Acetyl-L Carnitine is made up of an ‘acetyl’ group attached to carnitine, it is able to provide acetyl groups to make the acetyl-part of Acetylcholine. This is important for improving alertness, memory and focus.

Acetylcholine irregularities have been linked with Alzheimer’s, showing the importance of this neurotransmitter for brain function .

When to Take L Carnitine

It is best to take a direct concentrated form of Carnitine. Many supplements contain it but they also contain numerous other ingredients and so this can lessen the effectiveness.

In scientific literature, the doses vary from 0.5g to 4g. From whatever dose you start at, it would be a good idea to titrate up. For example, start at a moderate dose (e.g 1g per day) and build up depending on how you respond to it.

In terms of when to use it, it is probably most optimal to take earlier in the day and before exercise. This way, you get the benefits at the right time. For example: