It’s three o’clock in the afternoon and you have a few more hours of work to wind up at the office before you head for home. Yet you think you can barely go on any longer.
You are drowsy and desperate for a nap. You reach for the donut you bought while you were out walking after lunch.
Sound familiar? Studies now suggest that is exactly the thing you should not be doing. Apparently it is protein, and not sugar, that keeps us up and alert.
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that protein activates the cells that are responsible for keeping us awake and help us burn more calories. These cells called orexin cells or hypocretins are basically a type of excitatory neuropeptide hormones.
Orexin cells or hypocretins are responsible for stimulating food intake, wakefulness and energy expenditure. Reduced activity of these special orexin cells causes narcolepsy as well as conditions of weight gain. (1)
The findings of the study were published in the scientific journal Neuron (November issue) has deeper implications in terms of understanding sleep disorders and obesity. It was found that orexin is affected by different nutrients to different degrees. Nutrients found in proteins such as egg whites stimulated orexin neurons more than other nutrients found in any other food.
We have always known that sleep patterns and health are intertwined with body weight, but now orexin cells which are affected by the type of food we eat also plug into the wakefulness and body weight issues.
Scientists were able to highlight the orexin cells which are usually hard to find and then introduced different nutrients to them and waited to see the resultant excitability of these cells. They found that amino acids stimulate orexin cells considerably.
It was particularly interesting because the same group of scientists had earlier observed that glucose blocks the orexin cells and thus the level of wakefulness reduces drastically. This had helped them explain post-meal drowsiness.
The researchers then studied the interactions between sugars and protein and discovered that proteins were stopping the glucose from blocking orexin cells, or in other words, nullifying the glucose effect. (2) This goes to show why it is smarter to eat an egg or other protein-based snack mid-afternoon rather than going for that donut to combat sleepiness.
According to the lead researcher, Dr Denis Burdakov of the Department of Pharmacology and Institute of Metabolic Science, “To combatobesity and insomnia in today's society, we need more information on how diet affects sleep and appetite cells. For now, research suggests that if you have a choice between jam on toast, or egg whites on toast, go for the latter! Even though the two may contain the same number of calories, having a bit of protein will tell the body to burn more calories out of those consumed.” (2)
Read more: http://www.empowher.com/wellness/content/sleepy-3-don-t-reach-out-sugar-based-foods
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