Weight Management
Research shows that losing as little as 5% of body weight loss can provide better health.
Excess body weight, especially around the abdomen, is not only an uncomfortable nuisance, but it also keeps the body in an inflammatory state which has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease, type II diabetes, and several types of cancer.
Many people want to lose weight to look and feel better, but few realize that 5-10% of body weight loss can do wonders for our overall health.
So, instead of aiming for an almost unachievable goal such as finally becoming a skinny mini, go for something more beneficial and realistic, which is, modest weight loss.
Nutrients that support weight loss
Get help to curb hunger and burn fat
One principle of weight gain is simple — energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, and adjustments are required for weight loss to happen. The energy equation of reducing calorie intake (less energy in) and increasing exercise (more energy out) is usually viewed as the best way to overcome this imbalance.
While calorie reduction and exercise are key components of a healthy weight loss program, the nature of weight management is more complex. It can be necessary to seek help curbing the appetite or promoting fat burning – and several natural nutrients from plant extracts are shown to do exactly this:
Moro blood orange
Moro blood orange contains the compound anthocyanin researched by scientists to promote healthy weight loss.
It is shown to help you lose belly fat by reducing both visceral and subcutaneous fat. In fact, preclinical studies had results of nearly 50% abdominal fat reduction.
Capsaicin in red chili
Capsaicin is a compound in red chili peppers that can help burn energy by activating a type of body fat called brown adipose tissue.
This major “thermogenic” compound increases resting energy expenditure (metabolic rate), so that more calories are burned even when the body is at rest.
Lemon verbena & hibiscus
The botanicals lemon verbena and hibiscus have numerous medicinal properties.
Multiple studies show that the combination of these natural plant extracts can encourage weight loss in promoting satiety. You feel satisfied, so you won’t overeat and stray from your plan.
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Thermo Weight Control
Promote thermogenesis and keep burning fat.
This is for you if you are interested in a red chili extract that stokes your fat metabolism
This novel weight management formula can:
- Promote healthy fat-burning for energy
- Encourage thermogenesis for a healthy weight
- Offer fenugreek seed fiber (galactomannan) for digestive comfort
- Provide a perfect partner for low-calorie diets and exercise plans
It contains Capsifen®, which is a patented red chili extract clinically studied to encourage
thermogenesis; your body’s ability to burn fat for energy.
Improve insulin sensitivity
The absolute most effective way of restoring insulin sensitivity is to reduce calorie intake.
Even a moderate cutback of excess calories can markedly improve insulin sensitivity. Therefore, the first consideration to successful long-term weight loss should involve a moderate reduction in calorie intake, at least long enough to restore insulin receptor sensitivity to more youthful ranges.
Get a good night sleep
A night of non-restorative sleep tend to lead us to eat more the next day.
An underlying cause involves changes in brain activity that increase our desire for high-calorie foods that cause weight gain. Other factors linking weight gain to sleep deprivation are increases in hormones like ghrelin that stimulate hunger and decreases in leptin which suppresses appetite.
Restore brain serotonin
When serotonin floods the brain, satiety normally occurs. A serotonin deficiency has been associated with the carbohydrate binging that contributes to the accumulation of excess body fat.
Obese individuals have low blood tryptophan levels, which in turn can indicate that their overeating patterns may be related to a serotonin deficiency in the brain.
Weight
Nutrients that promote weight loss
Several natural nutrients offer support for reducing appetite, promoting satiety, and enhancing fat-burning:
Moro orange
Moro blood orange contains the compound anthocyanin researched by scientists to promote healthy weight loss. It's been proven that obese adults taking Moro orange extract juice noticed significant reductions in BMI (body mass index).
Research showed the results of these and other moro orange components may work together to inhibit fat storage: Reduced fat accumulation by about 50%, decreased adipocyte size, and regulated gene expression of adipose tissue (modulated gene expression changes caused by a high-fat diet).
Capsaicin red chili
Many people ask, “Why am I not losing more fat pounds when I am eating less and watching my calories?” One reason is that the body adapts to lower calorie intake by burning less energy when we’re at rest.
Scientists have long searched for a solution to increase resting energy expenditure (metabolic rate). The keep the body burning fat you have to encourage thermogenesis — the metabolic process where stored fat is turned into energy.
Capsaicin is a compound in red chili peppers that does exactly that. It helps burn energy by activating a type of body fat called brown adipose tissue. This major “thermogenic” compound increases resting energy expenditure so that more calories are burned even when the body is at rest.
Lemon verbena and hibiscus
The botanicals lemon verbena and hibiscus are rich in polyphenol with numerous medicinal properties and unwanted side effects. Extracts from a blend of lemon verbena leaf and hibiscus flower can increase satiety hormones to help curb appetite.
Multiple trials showed that the lemon verbena-hibiscus combination promoted weight loss: 5% within two months and trim the waistline by more than 2.5 inches. Moreover, the results also showed that it supported healthy cardiovascular biomarker levels in overweight and obese subjects.
These extracts work best when combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
Saffron
In a study of 60 healthy mildly overweight women on an unrestricted diet, 176.5 mg of saffron stigma extract daily for eight weeks produced an average weight loss of about 2 pounds. Much of this weight reduction was attributed to a reduction in snacking frequency.
Sphaeranthus indicus and garcinia mangostana
Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia, where it has been used traditionally as a treatment for diabetes.
Another medicinal plant, known as East Indian globe thistle (Sphaeranthus indicus), has demonstrated anti-inflammatory, blood glucose-lowering, and lipid-lowering activities in preclinical studies.
Placebo-controlled trials have noted the efficacy of S. indicus plus mangosteen for increasing weight loss in subjects with overweight and obesity.
Gynostemma pentaphyllum
Compounds extracted from gynostemma have been shown to activate adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, AMPK, a critical enzyme that regulates cellular metabolism and other cell functions.
In a randomized placebo-controlled trial that included 80 participants with obesity, 450 mg gynostemma extract per day for 12 weeks resulted in decreased body weight, total abdominal fat area, body fat mass, percent body fat, and BMI.
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) refers to a group of nutrients from linoleic acid, which is found primarily in meat and dairy products.
CLA has been shown to have many benefits for weight management, the immune system, cardiovascular protection, blood sugar maintenance, lipid profiles, and body composition.
White kidney bean extract
White kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) contains a compound that inhibits α-amylase, a digestive enzyme required for the conversion of starch to smaller sugars. By inhibiting α-amylase activity, white bean extract can reduce carbohydrate digestion and absorption, and has been reported to lower post-meal spikes in blood glucose levels.
A meta-analysis that included 11 clinical trials with a combined total of 573 participants found white bean extract (at a dose of at least 1200 mg per day for a minimum of four weeks) promoted weight loss in overweight and obese individuals. In addition, three trials examining the effect of white bean extract on fat loss reported significant reductions in fat mass in participants taking the extract.
Multimodal approaches to make the weight plan work
Choosing to eat less and exercise more is not enough to help most people remove excess body fat and keep it off. What is needed is a comprehensive program to target the many factors that contribute to excess body fat.
Such a comprehensive fat-loss program should include improving insulin sensitivity, achieving youthful hormone balance, controlling the rate of carbohydrate absorption, increasing physical activity, normalizing brain serotonin, restoring energy expenditure rate, adopting a long-term healthy eating strategy, and more. Find weight loss strategies here:
Support the restoration of insulin sensitivity
The absolute most effective way of restoring insulin sensitivity is to reduce calorie intake. Severe calorie restriction to under 1,500-1,800 calories/day significantly enhances insulin sensitivity, as documented by the dramatic lowering of fasting glucose and insulin blood levels. (8-12)
Even a moderate cutback of excess calories can markedly improve insulin sensitivity. Therefore, the first consideration for successful long-term weight loss should involve a moderate reduction in calorie intake, at least long enough to restore insulin receptor sensitivity to more youthful ranges.
The use of nutrients, hormones, and drugs that enhance insulin sensitivity should also be considered. As previously implied, a lot more than just eating less is needed to lose weight.
Restoring hormone balance to a youthful level
Often it can be quite difficult for ageing men to lose inches off their waistline particularly if they are deficient in free testosterone, but especially in the presence of excess estrogen. (13-15) Low levels of dehydroepiandro-sterone (DHEA) can also contribute to undesirable fat accumulation in men and women. (16)
A comprehensive blood test panel can inform about free testosterone and estrogen (estradiol) levels so that a physician can if needed, prescribe a topical testosterone cream and an aromatase-inhibiting drug to help restore a man’s sex hormone profile back to a youthful range.
The same blood test panel can also detect DHEA blood levels to enable one to take the proper dose of the dietary supplement. Another hormone that can lead to weight gain when it’s not at optimal levels is the thyroid. Thyroid hormones are essential to maintain healthy metabolic rates.
Those looking to achieve optimal thyroid function should consider Triple Action Thyroid to support this. Attempting a weight loss plan while facing a thyroid hormone deficit can be particularly challenging.
Common in ageing women is a condition termed “estrogen dominance,” which is too much presence of estrogen in the system in relation to progesterone levels. An excess of estrogen can cause women to gain weight and in turn, make it difficult to keep the excess weight off.
Restoring hormone balance in ageing females requires the intervention of a healthcare practitioner with specialized expertise in prescribing bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
In the case of men, they are more fortunate, as almost any doctor can prescribe the proper dose of testosterone (and aromatase-inhibiting drugs, if needed).
Controlling the rate of carbohydrate absorption
Finally, in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study examining how heart disease develops in adults, revealed that higher fiber consumption predicted less weight gain more strongly than did total or saturated fat consumption. (17) Something to know is that not all fibers are created equal.
Beta-glucans slow post-meal elevations in blood sugar and insulin levels. Like other foods rich in soluble fiber, beta-glucans can help improve blood glucose metabolism while helping to lower serum lipid levels. (18,19)
Alternatively, taking supplements to help support healthy glycemic status before each carbohydrate-rich meal may also help reduce the glucose-insulin surge that contributes to obesity.
Increase your physical activity
The type and intensity of physical activity tend to vary among individuals. The purpose of making increased physical activity a priority when it comes to weight management is to encourage everyone seeking to achieve optimal fat loss to engage in some form of increased physical activity.
Seeing fast and meaningful results would make anyone stick to a good exercise program aimed at keeping fat levels down.
Just a modest increase in physical activity, as a part of their new weight management regime, should produce a reduction of fat mass, especially in the abdomen, remarkable enough to motivate even sedentary individuals to find ways to become more consistently physically active.
Restoration of brain serotonin
When serotonin floods the brain, satiety normally occurs. A serotonin deficiency has been associated with carbohydrate binging that contributes to the accumulation of excess body fat. (20) Obese individuals have
low blood tryptophan levels, which in turn can indicate that their overeating patterns may be related to a serotonin deficiency in the brain. (21,22)
Furthermore, recent research reveals that chronic inflammation and immune system over-activation appear to play critical roles in obesity. (22,23)
While inflammatory cytokines like interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) are made and released in body fat, an enzyme called indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase is activated by IFN-gamma, which then degrades tryptophan in the body. Tryptophan is needed to produce serotonin in the brain.
In fact, human studies suggest that obese patients have decreased plasma tryptophan levels that remain low, independently of weight reduction or dietary intake. (20,21)
This altered tryptophan metabolism reduces serotonin production and contributes to impaired satiety, which in turn is what contributes to increased caloric intake and obesity.
When obese patients were given 1,000 mg, 2,000 mg, or 3,000 mg doses of L-tryptophan one hour before meals, a significant decrease in caloric consumption was observed. Most of the reduction in caloric intake was in the number of carbohydrates consumed and not the amount of protein consumed. (24)
With this, to embark on a comprehensive weight-loss program it would be a consideration to add this safe form of tryptophan to your daily program in starting doses of 500 mg before meals, two to three times per day.
Those at a greater age had always found it difficult up until now to lose significant body fat stores, even when following a low-calorie diet, restoring youthful hormone balance, ingesting fiber, and aggressively exercising.
The missing link for successful long-term weight loss was a safe method to boost resting energy expenditure, which function is to burn off stored body fat.
With the availability of fucoxanthin and pomegranate seed oil, ageing humans can safely boost their metabolic rate and, for the first time, obtain meaningful results when following sensible steps to maintain healthy body weight. (25,26)
Eat to live a long and healthy life
An interesting Life Extension finding five years ago wrote that the effect of a higher cooking temperature of food had an enormous impact on the longevity of those eating it. (Over 250 degrees). Overcooked foods damage our body’s proteins, while foods cooked at lower temperatures have been shown to facilitate weight loss.
So just changing how your foods are prepared could help you in your goal of shedding body fat and, at the same time, protect against age-related disease (see “Eating food cooked at high temperature accelerates ageing,” Life Extension, May 2003). Solid scientific evidence shows that excess calorie ingestion accelerates the onset of degenerative disease and the ageing process itself.
This is on top of the addition of promoting an accumulation of body fat. Women in the fucoxanthin studies consumed 1,800 calories/day and still lost considerable body weight over a relatively short time period.
With the help of the various processes described in this blog post, the rapid reduction in body fat one may see should provide a strong motivational basis to initiate more sensible food intake patterns.
It is never too late to change one’s lifestyle in a manner that promotes better health while melting away excess body fat. Now that a safe and proven method of boosting resting metabolic rate is finally available, ageing humans can embark on a fat-reduction program with a high degree of confidence in enjoying long-term results.
Calorie restriction: Intermittent fasting
The effects of intermittent fasting in people have been proven to improve in all these areas:
The intermittent fasting group in this trial lost a little weight over 12 weeks, while the three-meal/day control group did not lose a statistically significant amount of weight. This study did not find a significant effect on metabolic risk markers. (27)
What we have long known about time-restricted eating (intermittent fasting) is that it does not induce much weight loss in those who do not also reduce their overall calorie intake.
The preponderance of published evidence supports the benefits of intermittent fasting, including improved glycemic markers such as fasting insulin, which can impede weight loss when elevated. (28-30)
A cocktail of the following nutrients has been proven to mimic calorie restriction:
- Omega-3s
- CoQ10
- Quercetin
- Resveratrol
- Vitamins D and K
- Lycopene
- Astaxanthin
- Citrus bioflavonoids
- Anthocyanins
- Lipoic acid
For further results of improved life longevity, it is possible to take onboard both the cocktail of supplements with intermittent fasting daily.
A 2019 study was designed to examine the effects of intermittent fasting on weight loss and metabolic risk markers.
Intermittent fasting requires a particular body type and metabolism. Therefore, for those of you who may not fancy fasting for 14-18 hours per day, there are other options that contribute to alluding to a similar effect on the body that only involves supplements.
Hence, thanks to a recent study’s findings, we can tell you that there is a mix of nutrients that when taken together have the same effect as caloric restriction.
Green tea’s wonderful weight loss abilities
Green tea is rich in polyphenols and is well known for its anti-inflammatory effects. (31,32)
Meta-analyses and reviews of randomized controlled trials indicate green tea extract may have a small, positive impact on body weight and fat mass in overweight and obese adults. (33-36)
The best results have been reported for those taking green tea extracts for at least 12 weeks. (34)
Reducing glucose levels and insulin-induced lipogenesis
Reducing adipocyte triglycerides and the glucose-3-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme, thus helping inhibit the conversion of glycerol to triglycerides.
Reducing immune-mediated inflammatory-molecule (CRP) binding to leptin, thereby reducing leptin resistance.
Sleep and weight loss
It is a promising idea to get into the swing of consistently having enough sleep. Human research links sleep loss with weight gain. (37,38) So a good habit to get into this year is implementing a high-functioning sleep schedule.
Let us talk about your sleep habits. A study published in 2014 looked at sleeping habits and obesity incidences over thirty-two years starting from 1977. Bearing in mind, the technology we have now which impacts our sleep cycle negatively was not present when this study started.
Time spent in front of display screens, especially late at night, was dramatically less back then than it is now. (39)
The analysis of the data showed: relative to seven-to-eight-hour sleepers, very short sleepers had 30% greater odds of being overweight or were twice as likely to be obese.
Similarly, short sleepers (5-6 hours) had 20% greater odds of being overweight or 57% greater odds of being obese. (Long sleepers had 20% greater odds of being obese, but no greater odds of being overweight.)
The findings are not surprising. The prevalence of very short and short sleep has gradually increased in recent decades. The authors of this study concluded: “Inadequate sleep was associated with overweight and obesity for each available year.”
Moreover, on sleep and weight loss, the link between hunger the day after having inadequate and non-restorative sleep is a strong one. We can now tell from epidemiological evidence that there are links between sleep loss and obesity. (40)
One epidemiological study found that older adults sleeping less than five hours per night are at approximately 40% greater risk of becoming obese compared to those sleeping seven to eight hours per night. (41)
An underlying cause involves changes in brain activity that increase our desire for high-calorie foods, in turn causing weight gain.
Other factors that have been shown to link weight gain to sleep deprivation are increases in hormones like ghrelin which stimulate hunger and decreases in leptin which suppresses the appetite. (42)
How to improve your quality of sleep through supplementation
Consistent findings from human trials support the role of standardized ashwagandha in enabling more restful sleep. The primary active components of ashwagandha are withanolides. Ashwagandha doses provide up to 30 mg of withanolides. (43-46)
The fourth study used a higher concentration ashwagandha extract that provided 42 mg of withanolides in one nighttime dose.(45)
The trick here is to not expect immediate results, as the study published in July 2020 showing weight loss in response to R-lipoic acid lasted about 5 and a half months.
The best option when making a New Year’s resolution is to cut out a few surplus calories, increase physical activity, and consider some form of time-restricted eating for potential lifesaving benefits.
Managing your weight loss expectations will enable more of you to stick with a program that may add many healthy years.
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