Increase your insulin sensitivity to get lean and build muscle:

Carbohydrate restriction is bad news

Insulin can make you fat or lean and muscular. It all depends on whether you are insulin resistant or have good insulin sensitivity. Without optimal insulin sensitivity, not all the protein you eat will get to your muscles. Instead, a lot of it will end up as fat.

Because they are not aware of this physiological fact, many people tend to avoid insulin by eating a continuous low-carb diet. Avoiding insulin not only doesn't solve the problem, it also impairs your muscle growth.

The only smart option is to optimize insulin sensitivity and start using carbohydrates to build muscle. So instead of worrying about carbs and insulin, make them both work for you. Here are 5 nutritional strategies you should use:

1 - Eat protein and fat first

Whenever you sit down to eat a meal, make sure you eat some protein, vegetables and fat before you even put the first bite of ciabata bread, pasta or rice in your mouth. Eating carbohydrate-free foods first leads to lower glucose and insulin levels after eating. Instead of dreading carbohydrates, eliminate some of their fat-building potential by moving them to the end of the meal.

Studies have shown that eating protein, vegetables and fats before carbohydrates leads to significantly lower blood sugar levels - 29 percent, 37 percent and 17 percent in blood samples taken 30, 60 and 120 minutes after the meal, respectively.

As an added bonus, eating your food in the order described after lunch will also make you much less sleepy, as eating some protein at the beginning of the meal will affect the production of the sleep-inducing neurotransmitter serotonin.

Eat carbohydrates first after your workout

There is one time of the day when you should think about carbohydrates first and that is around your workout. You want an insulin surge that maximizes nutrient uptake into your muscles (carbohydrates and fast-digesting protein) during and after your workout. You need carbohydrates to build muscle efficiently. Remember.

The message: To control insulin, eat your protein, veggies, and fat before you even put the first carbs in your mouth. However, during the window of opportunity around exercise, reverse this strategy and eat your carbs first.

2 - Use cyanidin 3-glucoside

Cyanidin 3-glucoside (C3G) is a naturally occurring anthocyanin found in many types of dark berries. When isolated and taken in exponentially larger amounts in supplement form, it has powerful blood sugar lowering properties.

One of dozens of laboratory experiments conducted with C3G showed a dose-dependent reduction in blood sugar levels of 33 and 51%, leading the study authors to note how favorably it compares to blood sugar-lowering pharmaceuticals.

C3G acts slightly differently to other insulin modulating substances or protocols as it appears to be a potent AMPK modulator, leading to increased glucose and fat uptake specifically into muscle cells, which again is great news for athletes and anyone wanting a better body composition.

Aside from being a powerful blood sugar lowering agent, C3G also increases adipokinectin levels while lowering leptin levels, both of which lead to less body fat. People who take C3G can eat more calories and watch them end up in muscle cells instead of fat tissue.

The message: Take 2,400 to 3,600 mg of C3G 30 minutes before your biggest meals of the day or pre-workout meal.

3 - Pour vinegar over everything

Whenever you eat a salad, use vinegar as a dressing. Vinegar not only dampens the glucose and insulin response to carbohydrates, but also increases insulin sensitivity.

Several studies have confirmed this and one study reported that vinegar increased insulin sensitivity by an impressive 34% 60 minutes after a meal. Vinegar does this because the acetic acid suppresses disaccharidase activity.

In another study, 29 subjects were divided into three groups: one with type 2 diabetes, one with prediabetic symptoms and one group of healthy subjects. All groups were given apple cider vinegar before a meal. The results were quite impressive:

• All three groups showed better blood sugar levels after taking vinegar than after taking a placebo
• In the diabetes group, blood glucose levels improved by 25%
• The group with prediabetic symptoms even had lower blood glucose levels than the group with healthy volunteers
• The group with prediabetic symptoms benefited the most, as their blood glucose levels were almost halved

A follow-up study also showed that continued use of vinegar led to an average weight loss of 2 pounds within 4 weeks. Another study found that in people suffering from type 2 diabetes who took two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar before going to bed, fasting blood sugar levels were reduced by 4 to 6 percent the next morning.

The message: Use vinegar on your food. Or take two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before your largest, most carbohydrate-rich meals, but not before meals around exercise.

4 - Use psyllium seeds like a grandpa

Sure, psyllium will boost your bowel movements, which I refer to as the Fed-Ex treatment that makes you "deliver" efficiently wrapped packages on time, but psyllium will also reduce your post-meal blood sugar levels.

In one study, 34 men with type 2 diabetes were divided into two groups that took either 5 grams of psyllium or a placebo twice a day for 8 weeks. The psyllium group showed after-lunch blood glucose levels that were 19.2 percent lower than the placebo group and all-day blood glucose levels that were 11 percent lower than the placebo group.

The message: Take a teaspoon of psyllium seeds twice a day with water. Although there are some benefits to taking it before a carbohydrate-rich meal, the blood sugar-lowering effects appear to be somewhat independent of meal timing. Avoid taking before meals immediately before and after exercise.

5 - Use fish oil

Google any disease known to mankind and you will find either studies or logical conclusions supporting fish oil as a treatment.

Insulin sensitivity is no different, except perhaps that there is a tremendous volume of studies supporting the use of fish oil in improving this condition. This link is so strong, in fact, that fish oil is said to have similar effects to exercise on blood sugar. New research conducted with 344 subjects also suggests that fish oil in combination with exercise has a synergistic effect on lowering blood sugar levels that goes beyond the individual effects of fish oil and exercise.

Furthermore, it was shown that fish oil not only increases the insulin sensitivity of the cells, but also reduces the secretion of insulin by the pancreas.

The message: Take a minimum of 3 grams of a combination of DHA and EPA (omega-3 fatty acids) for therapeutic purposes (reducing blood sugar levels, fighting inflammation). Also, fish oil should not be taken before meals immediately before and after exercise.

References

1. Alpana, P., et al, Food Order Has a Significant Impact on Postprandial Glucose and Insulin Levels, Diabetes Care July 2015 vol. 38 no.7 e98-e99.
2. Anderson, James, et al, Effects of psyllium on glucose and serum lipid responses in men with type 2 diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, Am J Clin Nutr October 1999 vol. 70 no. 4 466-473.
3. Johnston, Carol S., et al, Vinegar Improves Insulin Sensitivity to a High-Carbohydrate Meal in Subjects With Insulin Resistance or Type 2 Diabetes Care, January 2004 vol. 27 no. 1 281-282.
4. Grace, et al, Hypoglycemic activity of a novel Anthocyanin-rich formulation from Lowbush Blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton, Phytomedicine, 2009, May: 16(5): 406-415.
5. Muldoon, et al, Concurrent physical activity modifies the association between n3 long-chain fatty acids and cardiometabolic risk in midlife adults, J Nutr. 2013 Sep;143(9):1414-20.
6. Sasaki, R, et al, Cyanidin 3-glucoside ameliorates hyperglycemia and insulin sensitivity due to downregulation of retinol binding protein 4 expression in diabetic mice, Biochem Pharmacol. 2007 Dec 3;74(11):1619-27. Epub 2007 Aug 10.

from TC Luoma | 09/14/15

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/5-ways-to-turn-food-into-muscle-not-fat