I went out for dinner with a friend last night and it was torture to find a restaurant where I could eat while still sticking to my carbohydrate-restricted diet. On my friend’s selection we had Mexican food, and my low-carb diet went out the window with the first corn chip. Today, in the aftermath, you can guarantee one thing—I am puffy. The puffiness and circles around my eyes are always the telltale sign of cheating on my diet.
There is a physiological reason for this horrible occurrence on my face. Carbohydrates increase insulin levels and high insulin levels increase salt and water retention, resulting in swelling, which in my case is wonderfully situated underneath my eyes. The other cause for this is food allergies, like mine to wheat and corn. Often, if you eat a food you are sensitive to, circles show under the eyes. In children these are often called allergic shiners; in adults they are just called bags.
It is not just food selection that causes stress for me and for thousands of others currently following the low-carb trend. It is challenging to have frequent meals and maintain adequate blood sugar levels throughout the day as well. With this, there is an increase in stress on the systems in the body which break down glycogen (stored sugars) into glucose to be used as energy. Studies have shown that during dieting or times of stress in general, stress hormone stores (particularly noradrenalin) are depleted. As noradrenalin is depleted, symptoms of fatigue occur and the potential for burning fat is reduced because noradrenalin is important for the stimulation of enzymes in the fat burning process.
Two products may help us avoid this problem, both of which are included in TrueLEAN.
1. Tyrosine—Stress support:
Research suggests that tyrosine acts as an adaptogen, helping the body adapt to and cope with the effects of physical or psychological stress by minimizing the symptoms brought on by stress. This is primarily due to the fact that tyrosine is a building block for norepinephine and epinephrine, the body's two main stress-related hormones. Taken ahead of time, tyrosine allows some people to avoid typical bodily reactions and feelings from stressful situations like surgery, emotional upset and sleep deprivation.
Tyrosine has been tested on humans for increasing their endurance to anxiety and stress under fatigue. It was proven in research studies that tyrosine supplementation increased performance over a control group. Tyrosine may also alleviate some of the physiological problems that are sometimes associated with the stress of weight loss.
Tyrosine for weight loss and appetite control
Brain chemicals dopamine, GABA, norepinephrine and serotonin are involved in the regulation of food intake. Dopamine, made from tyrosine in the body, is showing promise in the weight loss industry as it seems to regulate the intake of food via certain brain circuitry. Drugs that block dopamine receptors increase appetite and result in significant weight gain, whereas drugs that increase brain dopamine concentration are appetite suppressing.
How is tyrosine usually taken?
Tyrosine is best taken in doses spread throughout the day away from food with a bit of diluted juice or fruit. Typical daily dosage is 1,500 – 3,000 mg. individuals taking antidepressant medications that increase dopamine, like Wellbutrin, should not take tyrosine supplements. TrueBOOST may be an option for you if you are considering supplementing with tyrosine alone.
2. Green tea—Stress and fat burning support:
Green tea contains theanine, which is naturally calming to the brain, as well as EGCg, which has been shown in studies to maintain levels of noradrenalin by inhibiting the enzymes that break it down. This allows the body to maintain levels of noradrenalin without the stimulatory effect of excessive release of more noradrenalin. EGCg, therefore, enables a prolonged stimulation of fat release by inhibiting the breakdown of noradrenalin. Green tea also assists with appetite reduction, insulin resistance and blood sugar balance aiding weight loss.
If you are part of the low-carb craze, I would suggest that you work these two products into your plan. The research is definitely there to support their use and your energy levels and fat burning may increase as a result.
