•Battling Childhood Obesity through Smart Eating
Battling Childhood Obesity through Smart Eating by Protica ResearchFinally, a positive solution regarding America’s difficult and costly campaign to stem childhood obesity is emerging. For the thousands of children and their families who are currently battling with childhood obesity, this good news is long awaited. Indeed, the risk factors for childhood obesity read like a checklist of ailments that only a generation ago would never have been linked to children and diet: heart disease, high...
•Beyond Macronutrients and the Importance of Vitamin Supplements
Beyond Macronutrients and the Importance of Vitamin Supplements by Protica ResearchMost healthy eaters are familiar with the three macronutrients that garner the most media attention within the diet world: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Indeed, some highly regarded eating programs, such as the Isometric Diet®, are designed to deliver an optimal balance of these three macronutrients. Yet what is often overlooked in a nutrition vocabulary dominated by talk of proteins, carbohydrates, and...
•Capsulized Food: The Next Step in Food Evolution
Capsulized Food: The Next Step in Food Evolution by Protica ResearchAnyone who has spent a day fasting from food, or who has even skipped a meal, knows just how much time we save when we are not provisioning and consuming meals. Of course, efficiency is not our only concern when it comes to eating. If we were to articulate our fundamental requirements for food, we would probably come up with the following: (1) it should give us the nutrition our bodies need (2) it should support our body...
•Current Dietary Recommendations in Strength Training
Current Dietary Recommendations in Strength Training by Protica ResearchEfforts to expand the limits of human strength and endurance have kept the scientist and the athlete occupied for centuries. The quest for another pound of muscle, or to lift next couple of kilos has been relentlessly pursued in the gym and the laboratory alike. As the questions and conquests became more challenging, the answers have become more elusive and complicated. Few concepts and conclusions have withstood the...
•Eating Healthy in a Time-Starved World
Eating Healthy in a Time-Starved World by Protica ResearchAmericans are literally running out of time. Achieving a work-life balance, which is still a luxury for tens of millions of working parents, has been overtaken by an even greater demand: a work-life-nutrition balance. Unfortunately, this increasing demand for nutrition has not been accompanied by a useful strategy that enables people to reclaim time from their harried lives.The result of this dilemma has been an additional layer of...
•Exposing the "Best" Source of Protein Myth
Exposing the "Best" Source of Protein Myth by Protica ResearchAn American culture that is marked by a chronic lack of time and the need to achieve is often in pursuit of the “best” something or other. These “best” lists tend to improve time efficiency they help people make quick decisions without a lot of research or “trial and error”.However, as with most inventions, there is a potentially harmful application of these very popular “best” lists. There are situations where the need to...
•Finding the Elusive Complete-Protein Source
Finding the Elusive Complete-Protein Source by Protica ResearchImages of “protein powder” containers with accomplished bodybuilders on their labels help inform consumers that protein is a critical macronutrient in strength training success. Yet what is sometimes lost in this protein-bodybuilding link is that protein is an essential component for everyone, regardless of physical activity. Even those who live sedentary lives must ensure that their protein intake is complete and balanced.The...
•Food Selection for Gastric Bypass Patients
Food Selection for Gastric Bypass Patients by Protica ResearchDieters who dejectedly complain they are figuratively “stuck” with their excess fat may be surprised to learn there is a scientifically-accurate truth to their statement. Fat cells -- which are created when the body is unable to convert excess calories to energy -- are permanent. Fat cells cannot be removed by any diet known to humanity [1]. They can, however, be reduced in size. This is the experience enjoyed by people who lose...
•Inactive Alert: Essential Proteins for Sedentary People
Inactive Alert: Essential Proteins for Sedentary People by Protica ResearchThe importance of protein in diet has been clearly established by nutritional scientists, and widely accepted by athletes. Among other vital functions, protein is indispensable for creating muscle. Just as important is protein’s essential ability to repair damaged muscles after training[i].While the value of protein in diet has been accepted and promoted within the athletic community, it has been less well...
•Not All Protein is Created Equally
Not All Protein is Created Equally by Protica ResearchAmerica’s focus on nutritious eating began to receive national attention in the 1940s when President Roosevelt introduced the RDA, or Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) model. This model, which took on the shape of a pyramid in the 1980s (and hence now goes by the term “food pyramid”), has gone through a number of iterations since its inception more than 60 years ago[i].This change and evolution of the RDA model is, in many respects, a...
•Nutrition Supplements for Aging Americans
Nutrition Supplements for Aging Americans by Protica ResearchWhile America has given birth to the song “Young at Heart”, and the phrase “you’re as young as you feel!” can be heard from coast to coast by millions of people, demographic trend point firmly toward the other direction: aging.Currently, the 65+ population comprises slightly more than 12% (35 million) of the total US population. By 2030, this percentage is predicted to almost double to just below 20% (71 million)[i]. In other...
•Protein - The Denominator Customary to All Diets
Protein - The Denominator Customary to All Diets by Protica ResearchThe Human Body is in a constant flux with the environment. Matter and molecules flow in and out, casting themselves into its complexities. Although the body lends them structure, it is the intake—the diet—that decides its physique. To control what goes in a diet is to choose what stays inside. Dietary decisions reflect an awareness of metabolism and the nutrients needed to modify it. There may be a host of diets purported...
•Protein and Endurance Sports
Protein and Endurance Sports by Protica ResearchEndurance Sports are like music concerts. They start at a low key, setting a steady rhythm and culminate into a crescendo that enthralls the spectator and the athlete. And not unlike an orchestra, endurance demands a flawless performance from every organ, testing the limits of their resilience. As each system, conducted by the human will, endures a pace bordering on fatigue, the athlete begins to hear music from the heart. What’s often...
•Protein Principles for Diabetes
Protein Principles for Diabetes by Protica ResearchDietary considerations can present a Hobson’s choice in diabetes. Even when the intake is nutritious, assimilating it can be another matter. Then there is the problem of progression of diabetic complications if one ends up with excess glucose or fat in the system. Excess carbohydrates in a meal, and the resulting uncontrolled blood sugar levels can be detrimental to any number of tissues, from the lens of the eye, to the neurons, small blood...
•Redeeming Unsaturated Fat
Redeeming Unsaturated Fat by Protica ResearchThe most dreaded word in many dieter’s vocabulary is ‘fat’. It is not uncommon to hear a dieter discuss their avoidance of eating fat as if it were something thoroughly unwholesome, or even life-threatening, like an allergen, or a contagious disease. In one way, this impassioned hatred of fat is positive. It reflects a generally understood medical truth that overindulging in fat-rich foods often causes unwanted, and unhealthy, weight gain....
•Rediscovering Protein - Corrective Action in the American Diet
Rediscovering Protein - Corrective Action in the American Diet by Protica ResearchProtein must be a part of a healthy diet for a simple reason: it is essential for life. Every single cell in the human body -- including bones, blood, skin, chemicals, and enzymes -- depend on protein for effective operation.[i]Yet while Americans are more health-conscious than ever before, the national health dialogue continues to be dominated by a cynical theme: malnutrition. Many Americans are suffering the...
•Safely Transitioning Off Meal Replacement Plans
Safely Transitioning Off Meal Replacement Plans by Protica ResearchMeal replacements have been part of the diet landscape for decades. They have helped numerous people lose weight, and more importantly, they have helped people learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy eating choices. Both quantity and quality of life improvements can be credited to the concept of meal replacement solutions. Those that have successfully relied upon a meal replacement plan can reflect fondly on how...
•The Business Traveler’s Diet Problem: Staying Fit When on the Run
The Business Traveler’s Diet Problem: Staying Fit When on the Run by Protica ResearchDespite the fact that accurate nutrition information can be accessed by almost anyone with an Internet connection or a library card, the 21st century has picked up where the last one left off: one dominated by poor eating habits.The reason for this national dietary deficiency is not due to any single source or kind of nutrition misinformation. Nor can it be said that a lack of interest or effort on the part...
•The Danger of Curbing Hunger Artificially
The Danger of Curbing Hunger Artificially by Protica ResearchUnhealthy eating is a harmful problem in America, and contrary to a very outdated perception, this harm is not limited to those who suffer from obesity[1]. In reality, according to the Directors of Health Promotion and Education, the majority of Americans exhibit unhealthy eating habits, with just over one in four women and only one in five men claiming to eat the minimum five daily servings of vegetables and fruits[i].In response...
•The Glycemic Index and Dieting
The Glycemic Index and Dieting by Protica ResearchThe field of nutrition is awash with charts, tables, diagrams, models, acronyms, and abbreviations; more than the average person can memorize. As such, one often comes across someone who has simply burnt out trying to keep track of how much to eat, when to eat it, how to find the calories from fat, the RDI, the DV, and so on. There is an overkill of useful information within the nutrition field, and it can ironically provoke one to grow weary...
•The Isometric Diet and Balanced Health
The Isometric Diet and Balanced Health by Protica ResearchThe concept isometric has been a part of the health care vocabulary for decades. The most common application of the term, until now, has been with respect to physical exercise. Taken from the Greek root word Iso, meaning equal, the familiar term Isometric exercises involves applying equal weight to achieve strength goals.Fairly recently, health researchers have discovered another innovative application of the isometric concept in the...
•The Profect Solution for Diabetics
The Profect Solution for Diabetics by Protica ResearchDiabetes, which affects more than 6% of the US population or over 18,000,000 people [i], is diagnosed when the body is not creating or effectively utilizing the hormone called insulin. As a result, much-needed energy from sugar, starch, and other sources are not being exploited as effectively as they should. This can lead to severe adverse health consequences, including nerve, ocular, and kidney problems [ii]. While genetics and...
•Turning an Addictive Snack into a Complete Meal
Turning an Addictive Snack into a Complete Meal by Protica ResearchThe proliferation of fast food restaurants, convenience stores, and vending machines in virtually every corner of residential America has created a serious nutritional problem. “Snacking” – a harmless-sounding verb that deceptively implies something unobjectionable – has reached addictive proportions[i].The manifestation of this addiction goes beyond mere obesity something that is widely considered to be a severe public...
•Unchaining Yourself from an Unhealthy Food Addiction
Unchaining Yourself from an Unhealthy Food Addiction by Protica ResearchThe cry of “I have no willpower!” often emerges from the consumers who jokingly surrender to their lack of will when it comes to eating something clearly unhealthy. However, scientific nutritional research has identified that something much more serious – much more dangerous – is often at work here. For many people, what they perceive as a harmless lack of willpower is actually an addiction an addiction to chemicals that...
•Understanding Amino Acids and their Importance in Diet
Understanding Amino Acids and their Importance in Diet by Protica ResearchThe importance of protein in a healthy diet is well known to nutritional scientists, and widely understood by the general population. Indeed, every bodily system is directly or indirectly supported by protein. For example, protein supports the structural development of cells, helps ensure the integrity of tissue, aids digestion, carries hormones, and strengthens the immune system[i]. More recently, however, the...
•Why Many Fat Free Diets do not Work
Why Many Fat Free Diets do not Work by Protica ResearchMost people understand that it is wise to limit the amount of fat grams in their daily diet. The dietary reference intake amount for an adult ranges from 20% to 35%[i] of daily calories; or about 44 to 55 grams per day[1]. Since a single slice of pecan pie carries with it 27 grams of fat, and a mere tablespoon of thousand island salad dressing contains 8 grams of fat[ii], it is not surprising to see more and more people checking food...
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