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Browse published articles attributed to Sushant Kumar, with full-archive search.
We have discussed Ketosis through our various blogs & webinar conducted on 15th December’2019. In brief, keto diet follows a high fat (70% to 80%), low carbohydrate (5% to 10%) & moderate protein intake (15% to 30%). Such a diet allows your body to produce ketones out of fat which is used as fuel instead of glucose (derived from carbohydrates).
Have you ever wondered why some people don’t gain even a single pound after consuming so many bananas & rice, but you seem to gain weight by just having a potato? Maybe it is your genetic predisposition to carbohydrates. Just because you are carb tolerant, doesn’t mean that you should do away with carbs.
Have you ever wondered why you are so efficient in a sprint but cannot realise your full potential in a marathon? Why does this happen? Your individual genetic variation & genotype impacts your sporting & endurance performance.
Have you ever gone to a restaurant in Spain before 9 pm? You would have found the place deserted & empty? Spanish people have a habit of having dinner late at night, between 9 pm & midnight.
During many processes throughout the body, tiny molecules called free radicals are naturally produced that collide & react with other molecules & change their properties. These free radicals serve some purpose but also react with DNA, A & oxidative substances causing damage & metabolic ageing. There is a balance between production & accumulation of these free radicals & organism’s capacity to manage those endogenous & exogenous antioxidants. Disturbance in this balance is called Oxidative Stress. The amount of oxidative stress determines whether it will lead to good or bad response.
Ask any runner or athlete & they will tell you that optimal & superior performance in running & other endurance activities are dependent on many variables. Some variations such as physical training & nutrition are within their control while others such as age & genetics are not.
Some countries have relaxed lockdown norms & gyms & fitness centres are functioning. However, a lot of countries have still imposed restrictions which have narrowed options for workout which can be undertaken. Although a handful of people have built a small gym at home or have started using resistance bands for weight/resistance training, a larger portion are still perplexed about how they should maintain their workout regime.
Understanding your genetic profile can help you eat smarter & healthier since not all the people digest fats in the same way. In continuation to our earlier blog, wherein we discussed how genes can help us decide which fats to consume, our next two articles would throw light on specifics about genetic relationship with saturated & polyunsaturated fat levels.
A warm cup of coffee is a part of daily routine for most people across the world. As daylight saving fights with our sleeping patterns, most of the folks in the U.S run to grab a cup of coffee to kill that drowsiness. However, in case of some individuals, even a small amount of caffeine is enough to keep them up during the night. Why is it that caffeine affects people in different ways? The answer lies in our genes. We have inbuilt genetic factors that enable us to self regulate our caffeine intake.
DNA + Environment + Triggers + Change = war & peace within your cells. You can win the DNA triggered inflammation by modifying expression of inflammation genes.
We have discussed insulin resistance & sensitivity in our previous blog. Briefly, Insulin is a hormone made in pancreas used to regulate blood sugar levels & use the same to generate energy. We encounter insulin resistance when our body does not produce enough insulin which directly impacts various metabolic functions. In turn this creates difficulty in absorbing glucose & sugar accumulation in our blood stream. This increase in the blood sugar level is not that much to create diabetes. This is called pre-diabetes stage. However the tricky part sometimes is it does not trigger symptoms.
We all go through phases of less physical activity! The reasons can be many, right from professional commitments, household chores, professional & personal travel, injury & illness. There are times when you cannot find time to workout. Even athletes take breaks in between, specifically during off season break with periods of less or no physical activity for days to weeks. Throughout these inactive times, we have been told that all the muscle gain & toning begin to wane out. Does this short term layoff mean all the hard work we did at home /at the gym goes in vain?
We have discussed gluten in our earlier blog. Before discussing whether gluten intolerance is a result of our genes or not, let us discuss briefly about gluten. Gluten is a protein naturally found in grains such as wheat, rye, barley & spelt. It acts as a binder which holds food together & adds a stretching quality. Gluten is usually associated with wheat & wheat containing foods that are abundant in food supply. However, most of us have doubts about its place in a healthy diet. Gluten creates problems in case of certain individuals.
Over the last 1 month, we have been writing content on genomics & the role it plays in our overall fitness. Today, we are going to discuss the basics about genes & its types.
Weight loss- by name itself appears simple – you eat less, eat healthy, burn more & indulge in more physical activity both-exercise & non-exercise(NEAT) related. However, there are folks who may face challenges in burning that extra pounds &/or maintaining weight loss. To make the matter worse, people may regain weight after shedding that extra fat. So what is the reason behind it? Is it diet? Lack of physical movement? Genes or something which you are not very well aware of: Genes- Environment interplay?
While fat composition of our body has different types of fat, visceral fat is primarily linked to negative impact on our health. We have discussed about importance of fat & different types of fat in our earlier blog. Visceral fat is the tissue behind your abdominal wall & over internal organs of your body as compared to subcutaneous fat which lies unde eath your skin. Visceral fat is metabolically active & secretes the following: Hormones which alter how we process fat & sugar. Inflammatory molecules that can damage blood vessels, muscle & other tissue.r
Dopamine, in simple terms, means happiness or reward you get from doing something you like. In scientific language, Dopamine is body’s chemical release due to its release in response to food, drugs, some achievement, sex or rewarding social interactions. It plays a variety of roles like control of movement, regulation of fluid balance & blood pressure and boosting motivation. Dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter (nerve signalling molecule), conveys electrical messages by moving between neurons.
When we talk of workout, one size fits all standard solution is not something we endorse. Every individual is unique & responds to workout differently. A specific weight training schedule would have a different impact on each individual. Some people fatigue earlier than others (folks having more of a fast twitch muscle fibre in their total muscle composition). There can be a lot of reasons that are attributed to the different & distinctive impact of a particular workout schedule on muscle fibre of different individuals.
A warm cup of coffee is a part of daily routine for most people across the world. As daylight saving fights with our sleeping patterns, most of the folks in the U.S run to grab a cup of coffee to kill that drowsiness. However, in case of some individuals, even a small amount of caffeine is enough to keep them up during the night. Why is it that caffeine affects people in different ways? The answer lies in our genes. We have inbuilt genetic factors that enable us to self regulate our caffeine intake.
We all are different from the colour of eyes, curls of your hair to your skin complexion. This is attributed to genetics. We have come a long way in understanding the impact of our genes on how we look & how our bodies work. Before digging into nutrigenetics, let us first need to understand the basics of genetics. Gene & Genotype
We have briefly discussed Leptin in our earlier blog. Today we are going to discuss Leptin in detail & the role of genetics. Leptin is a hormone secreted by our fat cells (adipose tissues). It plays an important role in energy balance & regulation of body weight. Leptin’s main function is to interact with Brain & signal how much chemical energy is stored as fat. Based on this signal, the brain alters how much energy we take from food & expend on processes which are not required for immediate survival such as growth & reproduction.
DNA + Environment + Triggers + Change = war & peace within your cells. You can win the DNA triggered inflammation by modifying expression of inflammation genes.
-Lactose intolerance is a digestive disorder caused by inability of the body to breakdown & digest lactose, the main carbohydrate in dairy products. It can happen at any age. There can be many reasons for people becoming lactose intolerant & genetics do play a role. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, about 65 % of the world population is Lactose Intolerant. In eastern part of Asia, the number is 90%.
Physical exercise comes in a number of forms & shapes. However, every form involves movement of muscles. How do your muscles work? How are your genes involved? We have discussed in detail how our muscles work in our earlier blog.
In our previous blog we discussed the science behind movement. This blog will explain the science behind recovery after we have done our workout. Post workout recovery is the most important aspect of exercise performance since the results you get from training depends on how you allow your body to recover. Appropriate recovery from training allows you to train at higher volume & intensities and overcome injury & overtraining. Let us discuss how our genes are involved in recovery.
Metabolism describes the way our body controls intake, storage & utilization of nutrients. Our body’s metabolism is an intricate system that involves stomach, brain, heart, pancreas, kidney, brown fat, white fat & many more tissue types. We feel hungry for a lot of reasons. The biggest one occurs when our body detects lack of readily available nutrients. We need energy to power our brain, heart, skin & every other tissue in our body & we get that energy from the food we eat. However, it is not efficient to eat only when we need energy.
Histamines are chemicals our immune system makes & helps our body get rid of something bothering us: allergy or allergens. Histamines start the process that get these allergens away from your body or off the skin. They can make you itch or sneeze or whatever that makes you get rid of that undesirable thing. When you have allergies-some of your triggers -pollen or dust are harmless. However your immune system considers them as a threat & responds. Although your body’s intention is to keep you safe, histamine’s overreaction can give you all those familiar symptoms.