What Do You Have To Gain?

We have previously promised a three-part series about changing one’s weight:

1. Losing weight (specifically, losing fat)
2. Gaining weight (specifically, gaining muscle)
3. Gaining weight (specifically, gaining fat)

There will be, however, no need for a “losing muscle” article, because (even though sometimes a person might have some reason to want to do this), it’s really just a case of “those things we said for gaining muscle? Don’t do those and the muscle will atrophy naturally”.

Here’s our first article: How To Lose Weight (Healthily!)

While some people will want to lose fat, please do be aware that the association between weight loss and good health is not nearly so strong as the weight loss industry would have you believe:

Shedding Some Obesity Myths

And, while BMI is not a useful measure of health in general, it’s worth noting that over the age of 65, a BMI of 27 (which is in the high end of “overweight”, without being obese) is associated with the lowest all-cause mortality:

BMI and all-cause mortality in older adults: a meta-analysis

Here was our second article: How To Build Muscle (Healthily!)

And now, it’s time for the last part, which yes, is also something that some people want/need to do (healthily!), and want/need help with that.

How to gain fat, healthily

Fat gets a bad press, but when it comes to health, we would die without it.

Even in the case of having excess fat, the fat itself is not generally the problem, so much as comorbid metabolic issues that are often caused by the same things as the excess fat.

So, how to gain fat healthily?

• Obvious but potentially dangerously misleading answer: “in moderation”
• More useful answer: “carefully”

Because, you can “in moderation” put on less than one pound per week for a few years and be in very bad health by the end of it. So how does this “carefully” work any differently to “in moderation”?

The key is in how we store the fat

Not merely where we store it (though that’ll follow from the “how”), but specifically: how we store it.

• When we consume energy from food in excess of our immediate survival needs, our body stores what it can. This is good!
• When our body is receiving energy from food faster than it can physically process it to store it healthily, it will start shoving it wherever it can instead. This is bad!

This is the physiological equivalent of the difference between tidying a room carefully, and cramming everything into one cupboard in 30 seconds just to get it out of sight.

So, you do need to consume calories yes, but you need to consume them in a way your body can take its time about storing them.

We’ve written before about the science of this, so we’ll share some links to that in a moment, but first, here are the practical tips:

• Do not drink your calories. Drinking calories tends to be the equivalent of injecting sugars directly into your veins, in terms of how quickly it gets received.
  • See also: How To Unfatty A Fatty Liver ← this is highly relevant, because the same process that results in unhealthy weight gain, results in liver disease, by the same mechanism (the liver gets overwhelmed).
• Eat your greens. No, they won’t provide many calories, but they are critical to your body not being overwhelmed by the arrival of sugars.
  • See also: 10 Ways To Balance Blood Sugars ← the other 9 things are also helpful for not putting on fat unhealthily, so using these alongside a calorie-dense diet can result in healthy fat gain as needed
• Get more of your calories from fats than carbs. Fats will not overwhelm your body’s glycemic response in the same way that carbs will.
  • Again this is about getting calories while not getting metabolic disease. See also: How To Prevent And Reverse Type Two Diabetes as the advice is the same for that, for the same reason!
• Consider going low-carb, but even if you choose not to, go for carbs with a low glycemic index instead of a high glycemic index.
  • For reference, see: Glycemic Index Chart: Glycemic index and glycemic load ratings for 500+ foods
• Need healthy fats in a snack? Enjoy nuts (unless you have an allergy); they will be your best friend in this regard. As an example, a mere 1oz portion of cashew nuts has 157 calories.
  • See also: Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts
• Need health fats for cooking? Enjoy olive oil, as it has one of the healthiest lipids profiles available, and is a great way to increase the calorific content of many meals.
  • Learn more: All About Olive Oil, And: Is Extra-Virgin Worth It?

Lastly…

Be patient, enjoy your food, and stick as best you can to the above considerations. All strength to you.

Take care!

A spoonful of pepper makes the… Hang on, no, that’s not right…

We know that spices are the spice of life, and many have great health-giving qualities. But…

1. How much is the right amount?
2. What’s the minimum to get health benefits?
3. What’s the maximum to avoid toxicity?

That last one always seems like a scary question, but please bear in mind: everything is toxic at a certain dose. Oxygen, water, you-name-it.

On the other hand, many things have a toxicity so low that one could not physically consume it sufficiently faster than the body eliminates it, to get a toxic build-up.

Consider, for example, the €50 banknote that was nearly withdrawn from circulation because one of the dyes used in it was found to be toxic. However, the note remained in circulation after scientists patiently explained that a person would have to eat many thousands of them to get a lethal dose.

So, let’s address these questions in reverse order:

What’s the maximum to avoid toxicity?

In the case of the spices we’ll look at today, the human body generally* has high tolerance for them if eaten at levels that we find comfortable eating.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have (or may have) a medical condition that may be triggered by spices, go easier on them (or if appropriate, abstain completely) after you learn about that.

Check with your own physician if unsure, because not only are we not doctors, we’re specifically not your doctors, and cannot offer personalized health advice.

We’re going to be talking in averages and generalizations here. Caveat consumator.

For most people, unless you are taking the spice in such quantities that you are folding space and seeing the future, or eating them as the main constituents of your meal rather than an embellishment, you should be fine. Please don’t enter a chilli-eating contest and sue us.

What is the minimum to get health benefits and how much should we eat?

The science of physiology generally involves continuous rather than discrete data, so there’s not so much a hard threshold, as a point at which the benefits become significant. The usefulness of most nutrients we consume, be they macro- or micro-, will tend to have a bell curve.

In other words, a tiny amount won’t do much, the right amount will have a good result, and usefulness will tail off after that point. To that end, we’re going to look at the “sweet spot” of peaking on the graph.

Also note: the clinical dose is the dose of the compound, not the amount of the food that one will need to eat to get that dose. For example, food x containing compound y will not usually contain that compound at 100% rate and nothing else. We mention this so that you’re not surprised when we say “the recommended dose is 5mg of compound, so take a teaspoon of this spice”, for example.

Further note: we only have so much room here, so we’re going to list only the top benefits, and not delve into the science of them. You can see the related main features for more details, though!

The “big 5” health-giving spices, with their relevant active compound:

• Black pepper (piperine)
• Hot pepper* (capsaicin)
• Garlic (allicin)
• Ginger (gingerol)
• Turmeric (curcumin**)

*Cayenne pepper is very high in capsaicin; chilli peppers are also great

**not the same thing as cumin, which is a completely different plant. Cumin does have some health benefits of its own, but not in the same league as the spices above, and there’s only so much we have room to cover today.

Black pepper

• Benefits: antioxidant, anti-cancer, boosts bioavailability of other nutrients, aids digestion
• Dosage: 5–20mg for benefits
• Suggestion: ½ teaspoon of black pepper is sufficient for benefits. However, this writer’s kitchen dictum in this case is “if you can’t see the black pepper in/on the food, add more”—but that’s more about taste!
• Related main feature: Black Pepper’s Anti-Cancer Arsenal (And More)

Hot Pepper

• Benefits: anti-inflammatory, metabolism accelerator
• Dosage: 6mg gives benefits, 500mg is a common dose in capsules
• Suggestion: if not making a spicy dish, consider using a teaspoon of cayenne as part of the seasoning for rice or potatoes
• Related main feature: Capsaicin For Weight Loss And Against Inflammation

Garlic

• Benefits: heart health, blood sugar balancing, anti-cancer
• Dosage: 4–8µg for benefits
• Suggestion: 1–2 cloves daily is generally good. However, cooking reduces allicin content (and so does oxidation after cutting/crushing), so you may want to adjust accordingly if doing those things.
• Related main feature: The Many Health Benefits Of Garlic

Ginger

• Benefits: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-nausea
• Dosage: 3–4g for benefits
• Suggestion: 1 teaspoon grated raw ginger or ½ a teaspoon powdered ginger, can be used in baking or as part of the seasoning for a stir-fry
• Related main feature: Ginger Does A Lot More Than You Think

Turmeric

• Benefits: anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer
• Dosage: 500–2000mg for benefits
• Suggestion: ¼ teaspoon per day is sufficient for benefits; ½ teaspoon dropped into the water when cooking rice will infuse the rice with turmeric (which is very water-soluble), turn the rice a pretty golden color, and not affect the flavor. Throw in some black pepper as it increases the bioavailability of curcumin up to 2000%
• Related main feature: Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold

Closing notes

The above five spices are very healthful for most people. Personal physiology can and will vary, so if in doubt, a) check with your doctor b) start at lowest doses and establish your tolerance (or lack thereof).

Enjoy, and stay well!