Michelle Obama – The Right to “Bare” Arms – Continued
The Muscle-Insulin Connection
While this concept might sound alien, to protect from muscle loss we need to regulate our insulin levels. As we age, this becomes a much great challenge because our insulin receptors do not work as well.
If we can prevent wild swings in blood sugar, we can avoid an inflammatory response and thereby prevent our insulin levels from going too high or too low.
• If they are too low, we cannot nourish our muscles and they begin to break down.
• If insulin levels are too high, we put a lock on the body’s ability to burn fat for energy, and the body will store the fat instead.
We can avoid these swings by following these simple rules.
1. Do not overeat at one sitting. Space meals and snacks evenly throughout the day.
2. As much as possible, eliminate sugars and starchy foods, which actually stimulate appetite.
3. Follow the anti-inflammatory diet of quality proteins, good fats, fruits and vegetables.
4. Add omega-3 essential fatty acids to our diets, which help “sensitize” our cells to insulin. The correct balance of EFAs enables the receptors to respond to even small amounts of insulin, helping us to maintain healthy blood sugar levels and ensuring an adequate uptake of sugar and amino acids into cells to build muscle and minimize fat storage.
5. Add a Niacin Bound Chromium supplement to help preserve muscle mass.
6. Add anti-oxidant rich foods and supplements to your daily diet.
Strong Arm Tactics
Three of my favorite ways to keep upper arms toned are working with free weights in conjunction with either Pilates or yoga.
The end result of following the anti-inflammatory diet will be the prevention of free radical-induced inflammation. There will be a great improvement in our physical appearance, decreased wrinkling and sagging of the skin, increased energy levels, elevated mood, better brain function, decreased body fat, greater muscle mass and stronger bones.
As an active researcher, I welcome your comments and suggestions.
