Source: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/lose-weight.html
How to Sleep and Lose Weight at the Same Time?
By Ruth Tan, Benefits of Honey
“A daily spoonful or two of honey taken prior to bedtime can help us sleep better and lose weight at the same time”.
Now, I expect what I just said to stir up an upheaval of emotions for most of you. How can something so sweet be any good when you are closely watching your weight? Doesn’t it sound all too stupid to consume more calories before you sleep when you are trying all day to lose weight and reduce calories in your meals? Doesn’t everyone know that our body metabolism rate at night is low, so we should avoid eating too late if we want a flat tummy? Surely, this must be one of those baseless old wives’ tales about dieting or some quick fix that’s central to all fad diets.
Hang in there, what you are going to read is going to transform your thinking about body metabolism, confront you to take quality sleep more seriously, and change the way you talk about this all-too-common yellow liquid called, honey.
A revolutionary approach to fat metabolism, the Hibernation Diet believes that honey is the most ideal food that can provide a fuelling mechanism for the liver at night due to its 1:1 ratio of fructose to glucose. Mike McInnes, a pharmacist and the author of the Hibernation Diet, rediscovered the principles of human metabolism and the critical role of liver glycogen in recovery physiology that have been overlooked or ignored by the medical and sport science faculties.
Our brain constitutes only 2% of our entire body mass, yet it’s the most energy demanding organ, burning up to 20 times the fuel of any other cell in the body. And it can only store energy in a very restricted form. The liver is the only organ that can both store and release glucose for fuelling of the brain. Hence ensuring enough storage of liver glycogen amount during the 8 hours of night fasting is so critical. If we go to bed with a depleted liver, the brain triggers the release of stress hormones – adrenalin and cortisol in order to convert muscle protein into glucose required for the survival of the brain. And the overproduction of stress hormones not only works against our efforts to lose weight but in the long run (day after day, week after week, month after month...) can also lead to conditions such as obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, poor immune function, hypertension, depression and other distressing health problems.
When we talk about our plan to lose weight, we have to understand that our body burn four types of fuel – body fats (adipose), fats within muscle tissue (triglycerides), glucose from liver glycogen, and glucose from muscle glycogen stores. The burning ratio during exercise or aerobics is 20% fat to 80% glucose. And during resting metabolism (sleep) this is reversed to 20% glucose and 80% fats!
We have to know that body fat (adipose) is the fuel used to provide the energy of recovery physiology (sleep metabolism), and this fat is exclusively body and not muscle fat. Take for example, for a sedentary person who does not exercise, 2400 calories are required in 1 day (24 hrs) for survival. Thus metabolic rate is 100 calories/hr. Overnight consumption during 8 hrs of sleep is 800 calories. And if resting metabolism rate is 20% glucose and 80% fat, then during the night fast, 160 calories of glucose (in brain and red blood cells, mostly in brain) and 640 calories in fat (body fat).
If this person visits a gym and expends 1000 calories, the ratio is 20% fat and 80% glucose, ie 200 calories of fat and 800 calories of glucose. In exercise, fat is sourced from both muscle fat (triglycerides) and body fat (adipose tissue) in equal amount. Thus the body fat consumed during exercise is only 100 calories, which is about only 11g or less than 0.5 ounce! In recovery state (during sleep), metabolism rate may be low, but it’s healthy, and it burns body fats. Hence, if we just go after measuring metabolism rates in our strife to lose weight, we miss the point.
The problem for a lot of us is, we cannot optimise body fat metabolism (20%:80%) overnight when we go to bed with a depleted liver. We activate stress hormones which inhibit glucose metabolism, which in turn inhibits fat metabolism. The incredible news is, metabolism stress can be easily prevented by eating honey prior to bedtime as it provides adequate fuel for the liver during the night fast. Honey intelligently restocks the liver selectively without digestive burden and forms a stable supply of liver glycogen which our brain demands for the 8 hrs of night fast -when we sleep.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Eat Honey and Sleep to Lose Weight
Source: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/hibernation-diet.html
Discover the Incredible Use of Honey in Hibernation Diet
By Ruth Tan, Benefits of Honey
The recent revolutionary Hibernation Diet created by a British pharmacist and a nutrition expert caught my attention by making a powerful connection between poor sleep and obesity. It advocates incorporating mild resistance exercise and a healthy, balanced, and wholesome diet void of highly refined, processed foods such as white bread, pizza, burgers, chocolates, beer and sugar, and suggests taking a generous spoonful or two of honey at night, either as a warm drink, a smoothie or straight from the jar. This fascinating honey hibernation diet promises to help us sleep and lose weight at the same time by using our biology and working with our bodies, rather than against them – “recovery biology”. A new approach to fat metabolism, it requires no straining from aerobics exercise, no wearing out on a treadmill and no pounding it out in the gym. Sounds too easy, too miraculous or too far-fetched to be believable?
Natural honey when taken prior to bed is believed to be able to fuel the liver, speed up fat-burning metabolism, ease stress hormones and help us get a better night's sleep. This oldest natural sweetener also contains a wide variety of vitamins, including vitamins B6, B1, B2 and B5, and minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, sodium and zinc, anti-oxidants and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.
This is what I learnt about the Hibernation Diet: due to its 1:1 ratio of fructose to glucose, honey is the most ideal food that can provide a fuelling mechanism for the body at night, keeping blood sugar levels balanced and letting your recovery hormones get on with burning fat stores. This proposition that honey reduces blood glucose level was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food in April 2004. However, to most people, eating before bedtime, in this case eating sugars seems to defy common sense. Moreover, eating late at night is often discouraged by many people who believe that during bedtime, metabolic rate is low and the body cannot burn calories and would easily put on weight. Being a honey enthusiast, I naturally wanted to know more about how the hibernation diet works scientifically for the good of the body.
I read that when sugars are absorbed from the gut into the blood they are first absorbed by the liver, which is the only organ in the human body with the fructose enzyme to process this sugar. In the liver the fructose is converted into glucose, stored as liver glycogen or human starch, and released only if and when blood glucose falls.
Fructose also triggers the glucose enzyme in the liver allowing the liver to take in as much glucose as it requires. This has been referred to as the Fructose Paradox. In other words, fructose lowers the Glycemic Index of glucose; fructose enters the liver and opens the gate for glucose entry preventing a rapid rise in blood glucose. This natural blood glucose regulator found in fruits, vegetables and honey, regulate blood glucose levels and stabilize blood glucose to maintain a regular supply of glucose to the brain.
Some simple questions that the hibernation diet expert asks to check if the liver has fuelled up well for the night:
- Do you wake regularly during the night?
- Do you have night sweats?
- Do you experience acid reflux during the night?
- Do you get up to go to the bathroom during the night?
- Do you feel nauseous in the early morning?
- Do you wake up exhausted?
- Do you have a dry throat in the morning?
- Do you get night cramps?
- Do you feel weak in the early morning?
If “yes” is the answer for any of these questions, it could mean that instead of burning fat and repairing muscles, your body has produced a stream of stress hormones while you've slept.
The hibernation diet also goes on to explain how fructose in honey fuels the brain which is the most energy demanding organ, burning up to 20 times the fuel of any other cell in the body. We become exhausted after having to concentrate for a lengthy period. That’s why we often hear that mental exhaustion is worse than physical exhaustion. The brain needs glucose to survive, however glucose occupies a large amount of storage space and there is no room in the brain. And the liver is the only organ that can both store and release glucose into the circulation. This is why looking after your liver glycogen amount by ensuring that the liver and the brain are well provided for both in the day and at night is so critical. Any fall in blood glucose is detrimental for the brain. The adrenal glands to be activated and the adrenal hormones if overproduced can lead to conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, poor immune function, depression and other distressing health problems.
What I find inspiring to read is that we burn an amazing 70% fat during rest, 35% during low level exercise, 20% during moderate exercise, and a low 10% during intense exercise. During sleep we should burn fats. However, if the liver is not fuelled prior to bed, we release stress hormones from the adrenal glands which raise our heart rate and blood pressure. These hormones instead of burning fat, degrade muscle and bone. The liver must deliver 10 grams of glucose every hour -- 6.5 to the brain, 3.5 to the kidneys and red blood cells. As the liver capacity is only 75 grams, most people go to bed with a depleted liver, activating the adrenal glands and do not recover. And if you do not recover you do not burn fats. The hibernation diet essentially aims to encourage people to reap the benefit of your body's own natural recovery system and optimize their recovery biology or fat burning biology, as explicitly termed by the author who believed that this diet is not only to a healthy weight but unlocking energy resources you never know you had. So, if you interested to have a more in-depth account of this honey diet, check out the book "The Hibernation Diet" in which you will find details of the suggested diet plans for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the different types of resistance exercises described in clear steps.
Discover the Incredible Use of Honey in Hibernation Diet
By Ruth Tan, Benefits of Honey
The recent revolutionary Hibernation Diet created by a British pharmacist and a nutrition expert caught my attention by making a powerful connection between poor sleep and obesity. It advocates incorporating mild resistance exercise and a healthy, balanced, and wholesome diet void of highly refined, processed foods such as white bread, pizza, burgers, chocolates, beer and sugar, and suggests taking a generous spoonful or two of honey at night, either as a warm drink, a smoothie or straight from the jar. This fascinating honey hibernation diet promises to help us sleep and lose weight at the same time by using our biology and working with our bodies, rather than against them – “recovery biology”. A new approach to fat metabolism, it requires no straining from aerobics exercise, no wearing out on a treadmill and no pounding it out in the gym. Sounds too easy, too miraculous or too far-fetched to be believable?
Natural honey when taken prior to bed is believed to be able to fuel the liver, speed up fat-burning metabolism, ease stress hormones and help us get a better night's sleep. This oldest natural sweetener also contains a wide variety of vitamins, including vitamins B6, B1, B2 and B5, and minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, sodium and zinc, anti-oxidants and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.
This is what I learnt about the Hibernation Diet: due to its 1:1 ratio of fructose to glucose, honey is the most ideal food that can provide a fuelling mechanism for the body at night, keeping blood sugar levels balanced and letting your recovery hormones get on with burning fat stores. This proposition that honey reduces blood glucose level was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food in April 2004. However, to most people, eating before bedtime, in this case eating sugars seems to defy common sense. Moreover, eating late at night is often discouraged by many people who believe that during bedtime, metabolic rate is low and the body cannot burn calories and would easily put on weight. Being a honey enthusiast, I naturally wanted to know more about how the hibernation diet works scientifically for the good of the body.
I read that when sugars are absorbed from the gut into the blood they are first absorbed by the liver, which is the only organ in the human body with the fructose enzyme to process this sugar. In the liver the fructose is converted into glucose, stored as liver glycogen or human starch, and released only if and when blood glucose falls.
Fructose also triggers the glucose enzyme in the liver allowing the liver to take in as much glucose as it requires. This has been referred to as the Fructose Paradox. In other words, fructose lowers the Glycemic Index of glucose; fructose enters the liver and opens the gate for glucose entry preventing a rapid rise in blood glucose. This natural blood glucose regulator found in fruits, vegetables and honey, regulate blood glucose levels and stabilize blood glucose to maintain a regular supply of glucose to the brain.
Some simple questions that the hibernation diet expert asks to check if the liver has fuelled up well for the night:
- Do you wake regularly during the night?
- Do you have night sweats?
- Do you experience acid reflux during the night?
- Do you get up to go to the bathroom during the night?
- Do you feel nauseous in the early morning?
- Do you wake up exhausted?
- Do you have a dry throat in the morning?
- Do you get night cramps?
- Do you feel weak in the early morning?
If “yes” is the answer for any of these questions, it could mean that instead of burning fat and repairing muscles, your body has produced a stream of stress hormones while you've slept.
The hibernation diet also goes on to explain how fructose in honey fuels the brain which is the most energy demanding organ, burning up to 20 times the fuel of any other cell in the body. We become exhausted after having to concentrate for a lengthy period. That’s why we often hear that mental exhaustion is worse than physical exhaustion. The brain needs glucose to survive, however glucose occupies a large amount of storage space and there is no room in the brain. And the liver is the only organ that can both store and release glucose into the circulation. This is why looking after your liver glycogen amount by ensuring that the liver and the brain are well provided for both in the day and at night is so critical. Any fall in blood glucose is detrimental for the brain. The adrenal glands to be activated and the adrenal hormones if overproduced can lead to conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, poor immune function, depression and other distressing health problems.
What I find inspiring to read is that we burn an amazing 70% fat during rest, 35% during low level exercise, 20% during moderate exercise, and a low 10% during intense exercise. During sleep we should burn fats. However, if the liver is not fuelled prior to bed, we release stress hormones from the adrenal glands which raise our heart rate and blood pressure. These hormones instead of burning fat, degrade muscle and bone. The liver must deliver 10 grams of glucose every hour -- 6.5 to the brain, 3.5 to the kidneys and red blood cells. As the liver capacity is only 75 grams, most people go to bed with a depleted liver, activating the adrenal glands and do not recover. And if you do not recover you do not burn fats. The hibernation diet essentially aims to encourage people to reap the benefit of your body's own natural recovery system and optimize their recovery biology or fat burning biology, as explicitly termed by the author who believed that this diet is not only to a healthy weight but unlocking energy resources you never know you had. So, if you interested to have a more in-depth account of this honey diet, check out the book "The Hibernation Diet" in which you will find details of the suggested diet plans for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the different types of resistance exercises described in clear steps.
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