After exercise, it starts. The body begins the process of recovery, adapting and preparing for the next challenge. There are two basic types of recovery. The first is the restoration of fuel supplies–the carbohydrates and fats that supply energy to the working muscle. The second is adaptation, in which the structure and metabolic processes of the muscles are rebuilt and reinforced to be stronger and more efficient.

There is a window of time about 20-60 minutes after you exercise in which your muscles will readily accept the carbohydrates and protein that you consume and suck them up to be stored away as precious energy and building blocks for recovery. But if you wait too long after exercising to eat, your body become less likely to use what you eat as fuel and recovery, and more likely to run out of energy during your next exercise session, whether later in the day or even the next day.

The ideal post-workout meal is comprised of a blend of carbohydrates and protein. There are all sorts of fancy ratios used by elite athletes, but the basic rule is to eat just a little more carbohydrates than protein, and to consume about 2 calories of carbohydrate for every pound of target bodyweight. For example, if your target bodyweight is 150lbs, you should eat about 300 calories of carbohydrate, and about half that many calories of protein. A sample post-workout meal would be chicken with brown rice, yogurt with almonds, or a protein shake with a banana.

See, eating this meal soon after a workout is important, but just because you are putting the food into your body quickly doesn’t actually mean the food is being digested and absorbed by your body equally as quick.

So, while chicken, meat, fish, and eggs are all fine sources of protein that I personally eat daily, they aren’t the ideal type of protein for the meal after your workout.

These foods are solid foods, and the protein in solid foods digest pretty slowly. You may have eaten a high protein food in your post workout meal, but by the time the protein is digested and finally ready to be used by your body, a whole lot of time would have passed. So a whey protein shake will be digested by your body much quicker than a solid food for two reasons:

Liquid meals digest faster than solid food meals.

Whey protein is the fastest digesting form of protein there is.

This is what makes whey protein pretty much the official choice of most people as their post workout meal protein source.

Another six-year-long study involving over 8,000 people by a team at Nancy University in France found that those taking multi-vitamin supplements were just as likely to develop heart disease or cancer as those who took a dummy pill.

Many studies have shown that restricting the normal amount of calories consumed in many diffrent animal species leads to a longer and healthier life, for example Mice restricted to 70% of the calories they normally consume live up to 30% to 40% longer than they usually would. They also took much longer to develop dementia than overfed mice, whilst also cutting out the issues of obesity and diabetes.

With many studies linking obesity to brain ageing, the reasoning to why eating less would benefit the brain has been a puzzle until now. Italian researchers claim, the answer lies with a molecule called CREB1 which is activated in the brain by calorie restriction. CREB1 switches on another group of molecules linked to longevity called “sirtuins”.

The goal of the researchers is to now develop a pill that will activate the genetic switch without the need for special dietary conditions to help people keep their brains young.

Dr. Giovambattista Pani from The University of Sacred Heart in Rome, states that, “Our hope is to find a way to activate CREB1, for example through new drugs, so to keep the brain young without the need of a strict diet…our findings identify for the first time an important mediator of the effects of diet on the brain,” says Dr. Pani.

“This discovery has important implications to develop future therapies to keep our brain young and prevent brain degeneration and the aging process. In addition, our study sheds light on the correlation among metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity and the decline in cognitive activities,” says Dr. Pani.

According to ChinaCulture.org, cardiologist Kam S. Woo conducted research that linked a traditional Chinese meal plan with lowered instances of heart disease. MyPyramid also adds that the fresh vegetables and fruits that are staples of Chinese meals can help lower risks of stroke, diabetes, kidney stones, bone loss and cancer as well as obesity. This research proves that the Chinese way of eating is healthy and fulfilling, fights illness and prolongs life.

The people of China also don’t follow ”calories” and don’t even have a word for it. They view food as nourishment, not potential weight gain. A 1990 survey found that Chinese people consumed 30 per cent more calories than the British, but were not necessarily more active. The researchers insisted their secret is avoiding the empty calories of sugary, nutrient-free foods. Also rather than an uninspiring accompaniment to meat or fish, the people of China treat vegetables as meals in their own right, rather than add-ons, as in the West.

Not all Chinese food is authentic or healthy especially in the takeaways and restaurants in the UK. To have the best possible chance of losing weight safely and healthfully, cook fresh traditional Chinese meals and use as many nutritious ingredients as possible. Finally, talk over any diet or weight loss plan with a physician or registered dietician before changing what you eat.

Strange as it may seem including vinegar in your diet could improve your blood sugar. With several studies revealing a possible way to reduce the impact of a carb-laden dish, just by adding a little vinegar. Although vinegar seems to have had a bit of a checkered past; it has also often been hyped in weight-loss diets and miracle cures — solid research has clearly shown that it can improve glycemic control.

So adding a little vinegar to your seems to work by helping to slow the absorption of sugar from a meal into the bloodstream, apparently because vinegar helps block digestive enzymes that convert carbohydrates into sugar.

Head of the nutrition department at Arizona State University, Carol Johnston, Ph.D., says “Scientific studies over the past 10 years show benefits from vinegar consumption. Vinegar decreases both fasting and postprandial (after-meal) glucose levels, she says. “It’s inexpensive and can be easily incorporated into the diet. Used in combination with diet and exercise, it can help many people with type 2 diabetes.”

Also a study carried out by Italian researchers showed that, when healthy subjects consumed about four teaspoons of white vinegar on any kind of salad dressing with any meal that also included white bread with a little less than 2 ounces of carbohydrates, there was a 30 percent reduction in the subjects glycemic response, or rise in blood sugar, compared with subjects who had salad with a dressing made from neutralized vinegar, and in 2004, a study published in Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association, found similar effects in people with diabetes or insulin resistance who consumed a vinegar solution or placebo before a heavy carbohydrate meal.

According to Carol Johnston, many people have far greater responses than others to vinegar. However, she says, “We documented small but important average decreases in hemoglobin A1C in people with type 2 diabetes — over the course of 12 weeks, taking a couple teaspoons of apple-cider vinegar daily,” she says.

Johnston also recommends using vinegar dressings that are drizzled over steamed vegetables, such as cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage. Another option is to dip small, thin slices of whole-grain bread into a mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Or, better, try sourdough bread, which contains a substance that also seems to mediate blood sugar response.

The reason Green tea is so good for you lies in the fact it is rich in catching polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant. It inhibits the growth of cancer cells whilst also killing them off, without harming healthy tissue. It is also effective in lowering your cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots.

Research shows that drinking green tea also helps the pounds melt away, even while still eating junk food. It starts by revving up your metabolism. A study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that green tea extract resulted in a significant increase in energy expenditure (a metabolism ‘boost’). The research also concluded that that over a 24-hour period, green tea increases the metabolic rate by 4%. Green tea also inhibits fat absorption and helps glucose regulation; and can also act as al glucose regulator by helping to slow the rise in blood sugar after a meal.

Green Tea has also been proven to reduce appetite. Research undertaken by scientists at the University of Chicago found that green tea caused rats to lose up to 21 percent of their body fat. The rats were injected with a green tea extract and lost their appetites whilst also consuming up to 60 percent less food after seven days of daily injections. This may have something to do with the blood sugar regulating effects of green tea.

Not only does all the above prove that green tea has major health benefits, but it contains 0 calories. By replacing your usual morning coffee with green tea, you will not only be benefiting from fewer calories but will also get your caffeine fix.

So how much do you actually have to drink to get these amazing metabolism boosting effects? Researchers say between 3-5 cups a day. However this much can be a lot for some people, so you might also want to consider green tea extract, green tea pills or a green tea patch.

Not only does soy protein help restore the muscle tissue after a heavy workout, but it can also helps reduce weight loss whilst on good weight loss program. However you need to ensure that you drink one soy protein shake in the morning along with a high fiber cereal and/or fruits & veggies and… Drink another soy protein shake as part of your evening dinner for the best possible results.

Another point to remember is to mix your soy protein in water and not milk or any other liquid to avoid the extra calories; and try to drink at least 40 grams of soy protein daily to get all the weight loss benefits of soy.

The reason Soy protein is so effective is because it contains lecthin which can help women get rid of cellulite and also helps with weight management and control during menopause. It can also give you healthier looking skin, hair and nails by supplying high-quality protein and antioxidants needed for building and maintaining the appearance of the tissue, whilst also preventing your body from storing fat.

Unlike the UK, in Japan soy foods are often consumed on a daily basis, which results in most women there not suffering from menopausal symptoms, and over 20 clinical trials have now shown that soy protein can help you have a more enjoyable and healthy mid-lifestyle by lessening the dreaded “hot flushes” and other discomforts caused due to the menopause.

Soy protein also contains L-tyrosine which helps you burn fat by improving your thyroid gland; which in return regulates your metabolism and Isoflavones; which lowers the amount of fat stored in your body while toning your muscles; which will also increase your metabolism so you can lose weight faster!

So all in all it seems that Soy Protein is the way forward for the women of today!

The researchers recruited healthy people who were either overweight or obese and put them on a strict diet that would lead them to lose 10 percent of their body weight. They then kept them on a diet for a year to maintain that weight loss. The researchers then found that the metabolism and hormone levels had not returned to the levels they where before the study started.

Obesity researcher at Hammersmith Hospital in London - Dr. Stephen Bloom, quoted that the study needed to be repeated under more strict conditions, but continued to add, “It is showing something I believe in deeply ; it is very hard to lose weight, and the reason being, is that our hormones work against us.”

The study which took place at the University of Melbourne looked at the volunteers eating between just 500 - 550 calories a day and proved, their hormone levels changed in such a way that it increased their appetites, and made them hungrier than before they started the study.

The volunteers where then put on diets for a year that would help maintain their weight loss, however a year later the volunteers had gaining the weight back despite the maintenance diet, on average gaining back half of what they had lost.

Further study into this showed that the hormone leptin,  tells the brain how much body fat is present. When leptin falls, the volunteers appetite increased and their metabolism slowed down. A year after the weight loss diet, the hormone levels were still one-third lower than they were at the start, and leptin levels had increased as volunteers gained the weight back.

The results show Dr. Leibel quoted, that weight loss “is not a neutral event,” and that isn’t an accident when more than 90 percent of people who have lost weight put it back on. “You are putting your body into a circumstance it will resist,” he quoted. “You are, in a sense, more metabolically normal when you are at a higher body weight.”

Over the past 40 years people who suffer with obesity have more than doubled globally, with more than 1.5 billion adults (above the age of 20) and 45 million children under the age of five overweight or obese; yet  925 million were underfed according to the Red Cross. These figures were denounced as a ‘shocking’ demonstration that the world produces enough food yet people still go hungry.

The Red Cross claimed it was a ‘double-edged’ scandal that fewer people died of malnutrition than those that were being killed by ‘excess nutrition’.

Bekele Geleta a member of the Red Cross quoted: ‘If the free interplay of market forces has produced an outcome where 15 per cent of humanity are hungry while 20 per cent are overweight, something has gone wrong somewhere.’

One in 11 deaths in the UK alone are now linked to obesity, which causes diabetes, heart problems and many other illnesses; and with recent figures suggesting by 2030 nearly half of men and nearly as many women in Britain will be classed as obese,  something must be done soon.

America is also spending over 10 million dollars an hour on obesity related healthcare and there are more overweight children in developing countries than in developed countries, so this fast growing worldwide epidemic seems to now be getting out of hand.

Head of policy at Christian Aid Alex Cobham,  quotes: ‘A rise in the numbers both of obese people and people in hunger on the face of it seems counter-intuitive.

The reason most people become overweight or obese is due to taking in more calories than they need on a regular basis.The key to beating this is understanding it - those extra calories are converted into extra weight. However the weight gain can differ from one person to another due to factors like metabolism, health issues and lack of exercise.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health are claiming that people who eat chocolate and other sweet treats at least three times in any one given month could live up to a year longer than those who stay away from it all together, or those who eat far too much of it.

Also according to the University of Cambridge people who love chocolate (specifically dark chocolate) could also be reducing the risk of many illnesses which include heart disease, diabetes and stroke. It helps release chemicals in the brain that reduce inflammation that could lead to heart disease.

Also one of the biggest reviews ever to be carried out in this sweet subject found that consuming at least two squares of dark chocolate every seven days where linked to a 37% fall in the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. Those with a sweet tooth also saw a 29% drop in the chances of having a stroke in comparison with those who ate fewer than two pieces of chocolate a week.

Scientist have also found that dark chocolate contains an ingredient that boosts muscles in the same way as a running machine in the gym could do. This has only so far been tested on mice however, but they are looking at if the compound would have similar effects on us humans in the hope that it could counteract age related muscle wasting in the future.

Another great benefit to dark chocolate is that it has a low glycemix index, similar to that of oatmeal. This means that the sweet substance won’t send your blood sugar to spike and then crash, and the low glycemic index is not the only good news! Anyone who needs to watch their blood sugar will find that the antioxidants in dark chocolate and cocoa may aid the circulation of unhealthy blood vessels that could later develop into diabetes.

As well as all the great benefits to our health, most people will find that chocolate actually makes them feel good… but why is this exactly? Researchers have found that chocolate contains more than 500 natural chemical compounds, some of which have been categorized as mood-lifting and pleasure-inducing, resulting in chocolate being the number one comfort food.