Sunday, April 04, 2021

Can probiotics help you lose weight? Here's what you need to know

Losing weight is a tedious process that takes many things into consideration. From your hormones, stress levels to your diet and fitness routine, many factors can determine your weight loss goals. In addition to that, your digestive health may also impact your body weight in many ways, which is why, many believe that probiotics can aid in the weight loss process. 

Gut bacteria and body weight

Our digestive system contains several microorganisms that helps break down the foods that cannot be digested by the body, turning them into butyrate, a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid.

A human gut consists of many bacteria including bacteroidetes, firmicutes, actinobacteria, fusobacteria, verrucomicrobia, proteobacteria, and cyanobacteriatwo, of which bacteroidetes and firmicutes influence much of your body weight. According to many researches, people with obesity have more of firmicutes and less of bacteroidetes as compared to people with a healthy weight.
That said, people who are overweight and obese have different gut bacteria composition than people who are not overweight.

How can probiotics affect body weight?

Probiotics are live microorganisms that have many health benefits. While our body is full of different bacteria, probiotics are the good and helpful bacteria that help in keeping our gut healthy.

It produces acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which are short-chain fatty acids that help in influencing our appetite, inhibiting the absorption of dietary fat and promoting the excretion of unwanted fats with the feces.

Probiotics also regulate your appetite. It contains appetite-reducing hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY) that help you burn more calories. Additionally, it can also reduce fat storage in the body, which is often the source of weight gain.

Do probiotics promote weight loss?

According to a 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis that included 105 articles and 6,826 participants also found that probiotic treatment could help cut down body fat, waist circumference, and BMI.

Probiotics are associated with the production of short-chain fatty acid, which help decrease body fat storage. Apart from that, it improves insulin sensitivity and also keeps inflammation at bay. Further, probiotics are known to influence appetite and can rev up metabolism, promoting weight loss.

Probiotics can also prevent weight gain

Beside helping you lose weight, probiotics help in preventing unnecessary weight gain. According to a weight loss study, taking probiotic reduced weight gain and fat gain in people following a high calorie diet.

However, it is also important to note that use of probiotic supplements can also lead to antibiotic resistance and other adverse effects on health. As per National Library of Medicine, probiotics supplements often contain high amounts of probiotics of the same species. Therefore, taking supplements may lead to the transfer of resistant genes to infectious pathogens.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Weight loss: How many calories can walking 10,000 steps burn?

1. How many calories can walking 10,000 steps burn?

How many of you think that hitting the 10K mark on your fitness band is enough to maintain your health? Well, most of us.

The idea of walking 10,000 steps per day originated in 1965 when a Japanese company developed a pedometer called 'Manpo-Kei', which means '10,000 steps meter'.

The goal became a famous one because it was easy to remember and way beyond the daily steps for most people. The best part about the 10,000 steps goal is that it's challenging but achievable at the same time. But is walking 10,000 steps a day enough? It totally depends on your goals. Here in this article, we will delve into how many calories can 10,000 steps help you burn and can it help you lose weight

2. Calories burned by 10,000 steps

Most people burn around 30-40 calories per 1,000 steps, which means they will burn around 300-400 calories by walking 10,000 steps. But this is just an estimate. Though every step you take burns calories, the exact amount is highly individualised.

The calories burned depends on your weight, height, fitness level, pace and the area you are walking in.

3. Exercising is important

Exercising regularly is important to maintain a healthy body weight. As per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, people must aim to achieve 150 minutes of moderate to intense exercise per week, which can include walking too. The other recommendation for this is walking 10,000 steps a day.

To get a more accurate measurement of the calories burned by walking 10,000 steps, experts recommend using a measurement called metabolic equivalent (METs). One MET is the amount of energy used when we sit still.

Brisk walking at just over 3 miles in an hour is around 3.5 METs while walking uphill is about 6 METs.

4. MET or other activities

Sedentary—Uses 1.5 or fewer METs. Examples include sitting, reclining, or lying down.

Light intensity—Uses from 1.6-3.0 METs. Examples include walking at a leisurely pace or standing in line at the store.

Moderate intensity—Uses from 3.0-6.0 METs. Examples include walking briskly, vacuuming, or raking leaves.

Vigorous-intensity—Uses from 6.0+ METs. Examples are walking very quickly, running, taking an aerobics class, or shoveling snow.

5. Calories burned with METs

Formula: Energy expenditure (in kcal/min) = 0.0175 x MET x weight (in kg)

So, if a person weighing 68 kilograms walks on a flat surface at a pace of 3 mph, using around 3.5 METs, he would burn around 4 calories per minute, which means 400 calories per hour.

People nowadays use smartwatches and different apps to calculate their steps and calories burned, but it's always better to cross-check the number with the equation given above.

6. Can walking 10,000 steps a day help you reach your weight loss goals?

The first step to losing weight is creating a calorie deficit, which means burning more calories than you consume. Most people need a calorie deficit of around 500 calories per day to lose half a kilo per week. Thus, people aiming to lose weight should exercise for at least 150-200 minutes per week and walk 10,000 steps per day to achieve their weight loss goals.

7. The study

According to a 2018 study, people who walked 10,000 steps a day lost more weight than people who walked 3500 steps per day.

8. Walking 10,000 steps

Walking is one of the safest and easiest exercises. But if you are someone who does not do any exercise, starting with 10,000 a day can be difficult.

It's best to stay as active as possible before trying to achieve the target of 10,000 steps per day. Elderly and overweight people should gradually increase their steps, aiming for extra 1,000 steps per day each week until they reach their goals.

On the other hand, when people constantly achieve their goal of walking 10,000 steps per day, they should swap walking activity with a higher MET, like jogging or swimming to burn more calories.

The best benefit of taking more steps per day is it can also reduce mortality from any cause. 

9. Verdict

Walking 10,000 steps was just a market slogan and not science-backed. As per studies, more movement, which can be measured by more steps or any other physical activity is important for good health. Overall, adopting a healthy lifestyle and staying active every day is the best way to lose weight healthily.


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Sunday, May 24, 2020

Can you lose weight by drinking 8 glasses of water every day?


Can drinking water help you to lose weight?
One constant advice that we often come across when it comes to weight loss is to stay hydrated and drink lots of water. In fact it is touted as the simplest and most beneficial way to stay hydrated as well as healthy. It keeps you energised, revitalized and sustains organ functionality. With summers reaching its peak, staying hydrated should be a priority.

Looking for easy tips to stay in shape
Meeting your water intake, precisely, making sure you drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water without fail every day can be the key to losing fat for good and staying in shape.

Link between hydration and weight loss
One of the biggest differences hydration does is on your calorie burning. For optimum weight loss, it is important you burn more calories than you consume. Drinking water can actually help you do that. Having 0.5-1 Litres of water every day increases the energy expenditure at rest, simply meaning that you burn calories faster. Even if you don’t make any other changes, this can be a good enough start.

Drinking water helps you to stay in shape
Secondly, water ensures that all of your organs stay in shape. It smoothens up the path for digestion, roots and eliminates all waste, toxins from fat and makes sure any excesses are taken care of. When the digestive system is in clean, good shape, root causes of weight gain can be ruled away.

What happens when you drink water before meals ?
Drinking water before your meals can help in making sizeable differences as well. Water quenches your thirst but is also a good way of cutting down on untimely cravings. Having it before meals can ensure that you eat in moderation and in a way, reduces your appetite. Studies from the US have proven that adults who had water before breakfast (or soon after waking up) lost 44% more weight than those who didn’t.

It is a zero calorie drink
There are a lot of reasons when it is suggested that you swap out your soft drink for water, or drink some when you feel those hunger pangs kick in. Water naturally is a zero-calorie hydrating drink which takes care of your overall calorie intake, as compared to sugar-laden beverages. In the long run, it can also help cut down the risk of obesity and weight gain.

Conclusion
Now that you know that having more water can be one of the easiest ways to stay in shape, there’s no need for you to ignore your water intake.

Having 8-10 glasses of water every day is good for you. However, depending on your requirements and needs (for example, if you have an athletic lifestyle), your intake can wary.

One of the other ways you can match your intake is by including hydrating fruits and vegetables. However, make sure you avoid drinking in excess as well, which could induce toxicity.

Be physically active
Including enough physical exercise and making other dietary swaps should not be ignored as well. Water is only one of the things helping speed up weight loss.


This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement


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