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Welcome back to the Cheap Eat Nutrition recipe series! These recipes aim to prove that nutritious whole food recipes are adorable and easy for one an all.

Today’s recipe is a spicy little number, none other than spicy beetroot chips! Beetroot is an acquired taste, one that I have never been too big fan of. Beetroots however are incredible nutritionally dense source of healthy carbohydrates. Its ability to positively effect blood pressure and flow having the impact to help everyone from the elderly to high performance athletes.

If you want to learn a little more about beetroot as a superfood, check my previous short post – http://whatsuppblogblog.com/2018/01/20/snack-hack-15-beetroot-for-improved-wellbeing-enhanced-athletic-performance/

Ok, so as mentioned I get beetroots aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but this recipe could just be the mind changer! Let me know how you get on..

You’ll need

– 1 large beetroot / 2 medium beetroots

– 1 tbsp of coconut oil

– 1 to 2 tsps of chilli flakes

– 1 tsp of oregano

– Salt & pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180c

2. Half the beetroot and slice. Try to make the slices as thin as possible, this will add to them having a more chip consistency.

3. Spread chips evenly on baking tray. Take tbsp of coconut oil and coat the chips. Be sure to rub the oil in to each chip using your fingers for an even spread, (this will make difference!).

4. Sprinkle over oregano, then chilli flakes. I like to be pretty liberal with the chilli, but modify to your own taste of how hot you like.

5. Finish off by sprinkling salt & pepper. Place in the oven and check at 8 minutes. Give a stir round if some aren’t cooking as well. Heat for another 8 – 12 minutes depending on how well done you like.

6. Serve & enjoy!

Welcome back to another snack hack! These little bite size morsels are simple tips and tricks to get the maximum out of your spirit, body and mind.

Today’s hack is the anti-aging effect of high intensity anaerobic exercise. High intensity exercise is essentially physical training that causes you to go into an anaerobic state. While aerobic exercise ( long and steady paced training) means ‘with oxygen’, anaerobic means ‘without air’ or ‘without oxygen’.

Anaerobic exercise is short-lasting, high-intensity activity, where your body’s demand for oxygen exceeds the oxygen supply available. Anaerobic exercise relies on energy sources that are stored in the muscles and, unlike aerobic exercise, is not dependent on oxygen from breathing.

Examples of anaerobic exercise include:

heavy weight-lifting, all types of sprints (running, biking, etc.), jumping rope, hill climbing, interval training, or any rapid burst of hard exercise.

Other kinds of similar exercise modalities that you may well of heard of are HIT – High Intensity Training and HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training. Both of these methods, especially HIIT, are similar, but variations of a basic high intensity protocol.

Anti – Ageing

A recent study published in the journal Mechanisms of Aging and Development confirms the anti-ageing effect of high-intensity training.

Telomere shortening occurs as you age, however the factors involved are not entirely understood as of yet. The study was conducted to determine whether age-associated telomere shortening is related to habitual endurance exercise and maximal aerobic capacity.

Each of your cells has a nucleus, which contains the chromosomes that in turn contain your genes. The chromosome is made up of two ‘arms’, and each arm contains a single molecule DNA, which is essentially a string of beads made up of units called bases.

A typical DNA molecule is about 100 million bases long, and at the very tip of each arm of the chromosome is where you’ll find the telomere.

Your telomeres shorten every time your cell divides, starting at the moment of conception. If you were to unravel the tip of the chromosome, a telomere is about 15,000 bases long at the moment of conception, and once your telomeres have been reduced to about 5,000 bases, you will essentially die of old age.

The results suggest there’s a direct association between reduced telomere shortening in your later years and high-intensity-type exercises.

Human Growth Hormone

High-intensity interval-type training also boosts human growth hormone (HGH) production. A 2003 study published in the journal Sports Medicine found that “exercise intensity above lactate threshold and for a minimum of 10 minutes appears to elicit the greatest stimulus to the secretion of HGH.”

The body naturally produces growth hormone (HGH or simply GH) in the pituitary gland, and, as its name implies, it is responsible for cell growth and regeneration. Increasing muscle mass and bone density are impossible without HGH, but it also plays a major role in maintaining the health of all human tissue, including that of the brain and other vital organs.

When secreted, HGH remains active in the bloodstream for only a few minutes, but this is enough time for the liver to convert it into growth factors, the most crucial of which is insulin-like growth factor-1, or IGF-1, which boasts a host of anabolic, (building & repair) properties.

Exercise Plan

Ok, that’s the science done. Now for the practical. The exercise method I’m going to present is called the Mercola Sprint 8 protocol. The key to performing Sprint 8 exercises properly, as we’ve highlighted already, is to raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold. Keep pushing at this maximum effort for 20 to 30 seconds CONTINUOUSLY, and then rest for 90 seconds.Repeat this cycle for a total of eight repetitions and ensure you use a timer, guessing won’t cut it!

Choose an exercise such as burpees, sprints or more challenging exercises such as clap push ups or jumping lunges. If you’re already training moderately to intensely 3/4 times a week then this really doesn’t need to be done more than a once additional session to your training program. If not training at this intensity or regularity however, look to implement this protocol 3 times a week.

Thanks for reading. Please leave a like, share and comment, till next time!

Welcome back to the vitamin breakdown series! It’s been a lil while since I posted an update in the series. So, with this in mind, let’s head on back down the vitamin rabbit hole..

Today’s topic will be Vitamin B5, which is also known as pantothenic acid or (somewhat less commonly) pantothenate. B5 is a water-soluble vitamin that is found in all living cells within the body.

Pantothenic acid is an essential nutrient, meaning it can’t be produced by the body, or at least not in adequate amounts, and therefore has to be gained regularly through your diet.

Fuelling the Body

Pantothenic acid / B5, like it’s B vitamin complex chums, has a key role to play in metabolism and creating Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), the powerhouse of every cell in your body.

B5 is a component of coenzyme A (CoA),which plays a critical role in the utilisation (breaking down) of fats and carbohydrates into energy production. It helps the body to break down proteins working to regenerate muscles faster.

B5 acts to make lipids (fats), which are a source of fuel for the body and are an important constituent of the structure of cells. These processes aid in the building of stamina in the body as B5 makes accessing the energy from the food we ingest, so efficient.

Vitamin B5 is also important in maintaining a healthy digestive tract, boosting immunity in the process. It importantly works with other B vitamins in the B Vitamin Complex, helping the body use other vitamins such as riboflavin (vitamin B2).

Heart Health

Vitamin B5 has an impressive record of keeping the human heart in normal working condition. It regulates the level of cholesterol by lowering triglycerides and can also help in controlling of blood pressure.

Vitamin B5 plays an important role in the cell turnover and cell regeneration. For example, B5 helps the body generate more haemoglobin, a protein that helps carry oxygen around the body in red blood cells. It does this by acting in cohesion with elements such as iron and copper. This of course has some far reaching impacts for athletes, highlighting the need for B5 in the diet.

Nervous System

Vitamin B5 is essential for a healthy functioning nervous system throughout the brain and whole body. The energy B5 helps to produce is what fires the neurotransmitters in your brain. These neurotransmitters carry chemical signals throughout our entire body to keep every system functioning properly. Due to this role, a B5 vitamins rich diet is crucial for maintaining the health of functional and healthy nervous system.

Brain Booster

As discussed, Pantothenic acid functions in the body as part of Coenzyme-A (CoA). As part of the relationship, they’re involved in the synthesis of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, epinephrine, and serotonin, all which can effect alertness, cognition, memory and mood. It is particularly important for the synthesis of acetylcholine (ACh). Adequate levels of ACh in particular can boost focus, memory, learning, and reduce brain fog.

Stimulates Hormones

B5 acts as a synthesiser of many important components required by the human body. It has stimulating properties that help regulate the release of hormones from different glands in the body and ensures they are balanced and performing their needed tasks. For instance, it can work to be stimulating of adrenal hormones. The adrenal glands are small glands which sit atop the kidneys and control numerous important functions in the body. B5 plays a part in generating both sex and stress-related hormones produced in the adrenal glands.

Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing

Vitamin B5 has an important role in reducing stress and other serious mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. It does this by regulating the hormones responsible for causing these imbalances.

Pantothenic acid contributes to the body’s ability to regulate the stress hormone cortisol, also commonly know as the ‘fight or flight’ hormone. When experiencing times of high emotional distress, you can overproduce stress hormones, which in turn depletes vitamin B5 stores. Adding more mushrooms to your diet for instance can actually help you restore some balance.

Skin Care and Hair Health

So as we’ve seen, B5 is a stimulator and balancer for hormones in the whole body. This function helps protect the pigmentation of hair follicles and also keeps the skin looking tighter and healthy looking for longer. A healthy intake of vitamin B5 has shown properties of reducing the appearance of wrinkles and age spots on the face.

Food Sources

Deficiencies of pantothenic acid are rare, but taking too much pantothenic acid in supplement form may cause diarrhoea. As with most vitamins, food sources are best. Try and consume 2-3 servings a day of these vitamin B5 rich foods daily.

Top 10 B5 rich foods

1) Chicken Liver
3 oz: 8.3 mg

2) Sunflower seeds
1 oz: 1.98 mg

3) Salmon
3 oz: 1.9 mg

4) Avocados
1 fruit: 2 mg

5) Sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup: 1.1 mg

6) Corn
1 cup: 1.18 mg

7) Broccoli
1 cup: 0.52 mg

8) Mushrooms
1 cup: 1.3mg

9) Cauliflower
1 cup: 0.71 mg

10) Yogurt
1 cup: 1.45 mg

Other sources include;

▪ egg yolk

▪ organ meats, beef, salmon, chicken, duck, lobster and turkey

▪ vegetables such as broccoli, avocados, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and kale

▪ peanuts

▪ soybeans

▪ wheat germ

▪ legumes

Deficiency

You should be able to get all the pantothenic acid you need by eating a varied and balanced diet. If you take supplements, don’t take too much as this might be harmful.

The NHS website states taking 200mg or less a day of pantothenic acid in supplements is unlikely to cause any harm should you be feeling deficient.

Symptoms of a vitamin B5 deficiency may include:

• fatigue

• depression

• irritability

• insomnia

• stomach pains

• vomiting

• burning feet

• upper respiratory infections

• muscle cramps

People at a greater risk of developing a vitamin B5 deficiency include alcoholics, women on oral contraceptives/ birth control pills, people with severe malnutrition, and people with impaired absorption of vitamins and minerals due to certain medications or intestinal disorders.

Alrighty, thanks for seeing this through once again! If you liked the post please show the love by giving a like a comment. Till next time.

So today’s short post is about whether the staple of many a health (or unhealthy) individual’s snack box, the peanut, is cancer causing. This question peaked my interest when I read about aflatoxin, a natural toxin produced by certain strains of mold. Aflatoxin it turns out, can be rife in peanuts. As I am a tad partial to a spoonful of peanut butter here and there, this left me feeling a tad bit worried. Time for a little further investigation..

So our offending culprit Aflatoxin, is also known as Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Aflatoxin is reported to be a no less than a ‘potent’ carcinogen and is known to cause liver damage (!). If an animal is exposed to aflatoxin in great amounts or over a long period of time, it can cause liver failure and liver cancer. Aflatoxin consumption has also been shown to stunt growth in children.

People can be exposed to aflatoxins by eating contaminated plant products (such as peanuts) or by consuming meat or dairy products from animals that ate contaminated feed.

Peanuts grow underground which can be the perfect breeding ground for these molds. As part of their life cycle, molds produce and excrete various substances, and these strains excrete aflatoxin.

Similarly, when stored in warm humid silos for periods of time, peanuts can also become contaminated. Peanuts aren’t the only affected crops either. Aflatoxins have been found in pecans, pistachios and walnuts, as well as milk, grains, soybeans and spices.

If the infected peanuts are made into a product such as raw peanut butter, the aflatoxin also becomes part of the product.

Are we protected?

Roasting kills about 50 percent of the aflatoxins present in nuts. Additional to this, hand sorting after roasting to remove discoloured/rancid looking nuts further reduces the number of contaminated nuts that make it to market, according to the International Food Safety Network.

There are limits on the level of aflatoxins that can be in foods imported into the UK and the rest of the European Union (EU) and some products might need to be tested. It seems a little unclear from what I’ve read however as to how this checking takes place.

A few years ago, Consumers Union , an organisation in the United States, looked into aflatoxins in peanut butter. They found that the amounts detectable varied from brand to brand. The lowest amounts were actually found in the big supermarket brands and the highest levels were found in peanut butter ground fresh in health food stores.

This is probably as processing peanuts through heating, roasting, boiling, or pasteurising the peanut product can reduce the molds, which are killed by high heat, and thus reduce potential aflatoxin exposure.

Staying safe

So although it’s (somewhat) reassuring that there is government and industry recognition of this issue, like most things, your own preventive measures can be put in place to better reduce the risk.

Firstly, I’d say that home made nut butters are generally a far healthier option anyway, as you can be sure they don’t include hidden nasties such as sugars and vegetable oils. When making nut butters though, ensure you roast your nuts, (sorry), first. Also look through fresh peanuts, removing any wrinkled and shrivelled ones.

Also remember to always refrigerate your peanut butter to prevent aflatoxin from growing in potentially warm humid conditions in your kitchen. Lastly, and a bit randomly, eat ellagic acid, that can be found in strawberries, grapes and raspberries. This is as ellagic acid has been found to protect against aflatoxin in the body.

Conclusion

Anyone eating peanuts, peanut butter, and peanut products, whether raw or cooked, may take in a little aflatoxin. The point is not to be scared of eating raw peanuts or peanuts in general but to avoid long-term or high levels of exposure. Eating a handful of raw peanuts a few times a week probably won’t expose your body to enough aflatoxin to cause ill effects; eating raw peanut butter three times a day for years may. Till next time.