Effectiveness of high-fat and high-carbohydrate diets on body composition and maximal strength after 15 weeks of resistance training

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to compare High Carbohydrates Low Fat (HCLF) and Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) diets in terms of changes in body composition and maximal strength.

PATIENTS/METHODS

The study involved 48 men aged 25 ​± ​2.5, divided into two groups, one of which (n ​= ​23) was following the LCHF diet and the other (n ​= ​25) the HCLF diet. Both groups performed the same resistance training protocol for 15 weeks. Maximal strength in squat, bench press and deadlift was assessed pre- and post-intervention. Measurements of selected body circumferences and tissue parameters were made using the multifunctional, multi-frequency, direct bioelectric impedance InBody 770 analyzer from InBody Co., Ltd (Cerritos, California, USA). The team with the necessary qualifications and experience in research performed all the measurements and maintained participants' oversight throughout the entire length of the study.

RESULTS

Both nutritional approaches were effective in terms of reducing body fat mass. The HCLF group achieved greater skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Significant decreases in body circumferences, especially in the abdominal area, were observed for both dietary approaches. Maximal strength significantly increased in the HCLF group and decreased in the LCHF group.

CONCLUSION

Holistic analysis of the results led to the conclusion that both dietary approaches may elicit positive adaptations in body composition. The two approaches constitute useful alternatives for both recreational exercisers and physique athletes with body composition goals.

Effects of Fasting on the Physiological and Psychological Responses in Middle-Aged Men

Tracking changes in the body during fasting takes into account indicators of mental well-being and physiological parameters. The aim of the study was to measure psychological and physiological reactions, along with their mutual relations, caused by 8 days of water-only fasting. Fourteen men aged 35 to 60 participated in the study, divided into two groups, younger and elder. In addition to physiological parameters, psychological data were collected using four different tests. The obtained results confirmed reduction in body weight, systolic blood pressure, resting diastolic blood pressure and glucose level, and increase in resting heart rate, cortisol and β-hydroxybutyrate concentration. However, no significant psychological changes were observed under the influence of fasting intervention. A significant interaction effect occurred for the state anxiety variable determined before and after the fasting intervention for both groups. Moreover, negative correlations between physiological (cortisol) and psychological factors of subjectively assessed stress were revealed. The only effect on cognitive ability was seen when responding to simple tasks. The study confirmed the beneficial effect of 8 days of water-only fasting on physiological variables without affecting mental well-being. The relatively high level of well-being after fasting intervention was independent of the physiological indicators of stress.

Body Loading during an Intensive Yoga Exercise Routine and a Cycle Ergometer Test

The present study compared the effects on the cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic functions of the practice of an intensive yoga exercise routine called Dynamic Suryanamaskar (DSN) and a cycle ergometer test (CET) of increasing intensity. The study involved 18 middle-aged volunteers who had previously practiced DSN. The study was conducted in two series (i.e., as CET and DSN with similar intensity) until complete exhaustion. At rest (R), at the ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT), and at the maximum workload (ML), the variables characterizing cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic functions were determined. In addition, the subjective intensity of both efforts was determined using the Borg test. No functional differences were observed in the cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic systems at similar CET and DSN intensities. Respondents experienced less subjective workload during DSN than during CET (p < 0.001). Since DSN intensifies the activity of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic systems to a similar degree to CET both at VAT and ML, but causes less subjective fatigue, this yogic practice can be used as a laboratory exercise test and as an effective training medium.

Effects of Suryanamaskar, an Intensive Yoga Exercise Routine, on the Stress Levels and Emotional Intelligence of Indian Students

The inability of an individual to identify, assess, and manage emotions and levels of stress has adverse individual and societal consequences. Previous studies have shown that yoga-based interventions can successfully treat stress, anxiety, and depression, and can enhance emotional control. The aim of the current study was to assess the effect of a specific, intensive, yoga-based intervention, Dynamic Suryanamaskar, on the levels of perceived stress and emotional intelligence in Indian male school students. One hundred and five students with a median age of 17.15 ± 1.42 years were assessed. Practice took place over 12 weeks (n = 70 workouts). The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaire and the emotional intelligence (EQ) questionnaire, developed for the Indian population, were used to measure stress and emotional levels at the start and end of the study. The Solomon four-group design was used to ensure statistical reliability. The post-study univariate analysis of covariance ANOVA between groups (p < 0.001) and the t-test for independent samples (p < 0.05) indicated that, for those using the Dynamic Suryanamaskar protocol, there was a significant reduction in stress levels and a significant (p < 0.01) increase in the levels of emotional intelligence. This study thus provides further evidence of the benefits of the practice of Dynamic Suryanamaskar.

Trade-off between sex and growth in diatoms: Molecular mechanisms and demographic implications

Diatoms are fast-growing and winning competitors in aquatic environments, possibly due to optimized growth performance. However, their life cycles are complex, heteromorphic, and not fully understood. Here, we report on the fine control of cell growth and physiology during the sexual phase of the marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata. We found that mating, under nutrient replete conditions, induces a prolonged growth arrest in parental cells. Transcriptomic analyses revealed down-regulation of genes related to major metabolic functions from the early phases of mating. Single-cell photophysiology also pinpointed an inhibition of photosynthesis and storage lipids accumulated in the arrested population, especially in gametes and zygotes. Numerical simulations revealed that growth arrest affects the balance between parental cells and their siblings, possibly favoring the new generation. Thus, in addition to resources availability, life cycle traits contribute to shaping the species ecological niches and must be considered to describe and understand the structure of plankton communities.

Importance of diet in reducing cancer incidence in Poland: a review

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in most countries in the world. In Poland, after cardiovascular disease, cancer is the leading cause of death, and the number of malignant tumors has more than doubled in the last three decades. Increased cancer mortality in the immediate future is expected to be mainly associated with lung cancer caused by smoking (both sexes), colorectal cancer (both sexes), breast cancer in women, and prostate cancer in men. It is estimated that 20 to 30% of all malignant tumors are diet-dependent, in which cases the cancer-inducing factors are the nutritional components of the food and the ‘hygiene’ of eating. Research by the Institute of Food and Nutrition in Warsaw indicates that an important factor in the prevention of cancer is also the individual’s state of awareness concerning diet. It is emphasized that running nutritional education programs, especially for children and adolescents, may help to limit the occurrence of diet-dependent cancers in Poland over the next few decades. The aim of this review is to assist the promulgation of knowledge about the importance of a high-quality diet in the prevention of cancer. The need for such knowledge is indicated by the upward trend in the incidence of these types of disease in Poland.

Body composition and nutrition of female athletes

Background

The somatic features of the athletes’ bodies partially determine their sporting level and are conditioned to a large extent by the state of nutrition.

Objective

The aim of this paper is to present nutritional status and its correlation with the somatic determinants of training athletes and physical education students.

Material and methods

This study involved 12 weightlifting players (subgroup-WL), 15 soccer players (subgroup-SP), 12 table tennis players (subgroup-TT) and 12 female students of physical education (subgroup-C). In all subjects, the age and somatic variables were recorded and the daily intake of energy, water, proteins, fats and carbohydrates was determined by 24-h dietary recalls.

Results

Although the analysis of variance did not show significant differences in somatic variables and nutrition data, post hoc analysis showed significant differences between some subgroups in terms of age, BMI, fat content (BF), fat-free mass (FFM) and the amount of water, protein and carbohydrates consumed during the day. It was also shown that somatic variables correlated with relatively expressed amounts of energy, proteins and carbohydrates consumed in individual subgroups, as well as in the whole group formed from all subgroups of studied women. In addition, there were significant correlations between somatic variables and the total amount of water consumed in the whole group and the total amount of protein consumed in subgroup C (p<0.05), as well as the total amount of fat consumed in subgroup WL.

Conclusions

In summary, it was found that the examined women used an abnormal hypoenergetic diet with too low carbohydrate content in which were more useful relative than absolute amounts of consumed proteins, fats and carbohydrates. In this unfavorable situation, dietary education of the respondents seems to be necessary.

Different types of bhastrika pranayama: repeated measures trials with different treatments to study the trend of the effects on static balance ability

Purpose. The objective of the study was to find out the trend of the effects of 4 varieties of bhastrika pranayama on static balance ability. Methods. The total of 75 male students were selected as subjects. The age of the subjects ranged 17-25 years. The participants were divided randomly into 5 groups, 15 students each. They practiced 4 varieties of bhastrika pranayama. Results. Quadratic components for overall trends were found significant in static balance ability. A significant difference was observed between linear components of the trends for the treatment groups and the control group in static balance ability. Also, a significant difference was noted between quadratic components of the trends for the treatment groups and the control group as for static balance ability. Conclusions. There was a significant difference among the adjusted post-test means of 4 experimental groups and the control group in static balance ability.

Relationship between blood pressure and physical performance

Background: Changes in blood pressure during subjects’ exercise are individually different. The reasons of these differences are unknown. Aim of the study: The aim of this paper is to investigate the rate of changes in cardiovascular system at rest and at physical load which enhance systolic blood pressure (SBP) = 200 mmHg in people with different physical performance. Material and methods: The studies included 18 soccer players and 14 students who do not practice any sport, whose age, body mass, body height and BMI have been similar, and who at baseline were measured systolic blood pressure (SBPr), diastolic blood pressure (DBPr) and heart rate (HRr). Then, the subjects performed exercise on a cycloergometer with increasing intensity in which at the level of the systolic blood pressure = 200 mm Hg (SBP200) were measured DBP200 and HR200. In terms of resting and exercise time the size of the mean arterial pressure (MAPr, MAP200), pulse pressure (PPr, PP200) and rate-pressure product (DPr, DP200) were calculated. Moreover the power achieved in PWC170 test (W and W/kg) and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) (ml/min and ml/min/kg) were also calculated. Results: Soccer players have reached a higher power in PWC170 and higher VO2max and lower HR200 and DP200 (p<0,001), as well as lower values of HRr (p<0,01) than students however SBP, DBP, MAP and PP registered during rest and during exercise did not differ between the groups. Among the players power reached at PWC170 (W) correlate negatively with DP200 – (p<0,05) and VO2max (ml/min; ml/min/kg) also correlated negatively with HRr (p<0,05, p<0,01). Among students power reached at PWC170 (W, W/kg) and VO2max (ml/min, ml/min/kg) correlate negatively with HR200 and DP200. Moreover VO2max (ml/min/kg) correlate negatively with HRr. Conclusions: Studies have shown that, despite differences in physical performance of both groups, there were no significant changes in blood pressure at rest or modified during exercise. However, at extremely high increase in SBP improved economization in function of the heart and circulatory system independent of the size of physical performance of the subjects were observed.

The dynamics of sexual phase in the marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata (Bacillariophyceae)

Sexual reproduction represents a fundamental phase in the life cycle of diatoms, linked to both the production of genotypic diversity and the formation of large-sized initial cells. Only cells below a certain size threshold can be sexualized, but various environmental factors can modulate the success of sexual reproduction. We investigated the role of cell density and physiological conditions of parental strains in affecting the success and timing of sexual reproduction in the marine heterothallic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata. We also studied the dynamics of the sexual phase in still conditions allowing cell sedimentation and in gently mixed conditions that keep cells in suspension. Our results showed that successful sexual reproduction can only be achieved when crossing parental strains in the exponential growth phase. Evidence was provided for the fact that sexual reproduction is a density-dependent event and requires a threshold cell concentration to start, although this might vary considerably amongst strains. Moreover, the onset of the sexual phase was coupled to a marked reduction in growth of the vegetative parental cells. The crosses carried out in physically mixed conditions produced a significantly reduced number of sexual stages as compared to crosses in still conditions, showing that mixing impairs sexualization. The results of our experiments suggest that the signaling that triggers the sexual phase is favored when cells can accumulate, reducing the distance between them and facilitating contacts and/or the perception of chemical cues. Information on the progression of the sexual phase in laboratory conditions help understanding the conditions at which sex occurs in the natural environment.

Health benefits and risk associated with adopting a vegetarian diet

A vegetarian diet may be adopted for various reasons that can include ecological, economic, religious, ethical and health considerations. In the latter case they arise from the desire to lose weight, in tackling obesity, improving physical fitness and/or in reducing the risk of acquiring certain diseases. It has been shown that properly applied vegetarian diet is the most effective way of reducing body mass (expressed as BMI), improving the plasma lipid profile and in decreasing the incidence of high arterial blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke, metabolic syndrome and arteriosclerosis. In addition, improved insulin sensitivity together with lower rates of diabetes and cancer has been observed. Some studies have however found that a vegetarian diet may result in changes adversely affecting the body. These could include; hyperhomocysteinaemia, protein deficiency, anaemia, decreased creatinine content in muscles and menstrual disruption in women who undertake increased physical activity. Some of these changes may decrease the ability for performing activities that require physical effort. Nevertheless, on balance it can be reasonably concluded that the beneficial effects of a vegetarian diet significantly, by far, outweigh the adverse ones. It should also be noted that the term 'vegetarian diet' is not always clearly defined in the literature and it may include many dietary variations.