food before bed

just wondering if anyone knows of some good food to munch down before sleep.

I allways get food craving right before bed and pig out a little. This cant be good for my digestive system right?

Im unsure what type of foods to eat.

cuberbreeze it's against all the 'modern' rules but eat carbs before you go to bed

raw milk with honey or banana is my choice

Critical Carbs
How Dietary Carbohydrates Play a Vital Role in Building Tissues, Igniting Energy and Improving Your Survival Capabilities
Ori Hofmekler
Dietary carbs are currently regarded as the culprit for most modern human diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases. Indeed, numerous studies demonstrate the association between over consumption of carbs and a high percentage of blood sugar problems, obesity and cognitive impairments among modern humans from all age groups.

Consequently, carb-bashing today is at an all-time high. Many people develop carb phobia and low or no carb diets are now the darling of the media. So it seems, the two most popular dietary methods are currently carb or calorie restriction. Most, if not all diets are based on either one or both methods.

Yet, in spite of the growing awareness of the hazards of over consumption of carbs and calories, the rate of weight gain, obesity and blood sugar related diseases is still accelerating. To make matters worse, people who follow extreme low calorie or low carb diets often face unpleasant symptoms including mental and physical fatigue, chronic cravings for carbs (in particular sweets), loss of libido and severe mood swings. Bodybuilders, who try to slim down via low calorie low carb diets, often face similar adverse symptoms in addition to loss of muscle mass and strength.

Obviously, something must be wrong with the assumption that chronic carb and calorie restriction is the practical solution for most of modern disease. Even though the idea of carb and calorie restriction may very well work theoretically, in practical terms (in vivo) it fails.

The purpose of this article is to shed some light on the critical role of dietary carbs in human metabolism as well as to challenge the notion that carbs aren't essential for human survival. Finally, conclusions are presented together with some practical methods as to how to take advantage of dietary carbs for reaching a desired metabolic potential to build lean tissue (including muscles), burn fat and increase energy production.

Maximum Oxygenation

Maximum oxygenation is a biological term that describes maximum energy production from metabolic processes that require oxygen. Active individuals, including athletes and bodybuilders, should note that maximum oxygenation is a principal key to maximum performance. The upcoming paragraph may be somewhat technical. Nevertheless, understanding this topic could mean the difference between average and superior capability to build muscles and ignite energy.

Living organisms derive most of their energy from oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions, which involve the transfer of electrons to the respiratory chain complex (an aerobic energy-yielding metabolic process that involves interaction between hydrogen protons and oxygen). Aerobic energy production requires oxygen and yields most of the energy needed for survival. In fact, the electron transfer system (oxidative phosphorylation) yields ten times more energy than the Krebs cycle itself.

Dr. Otto Warburg, one of the world's foremost leading biochemists, won a Nobel Prize for his basic work with respiratory enzymes and cellular energy production. He discovered and characterized certain nucleotide compounds and proteins, which are necessary for the actions of the respiratory chain, which, as noted, yields most of the energy needed to maintain an optimum metabolic state.

Dr. Warburg suggested that energy released in the oxidation of foodstuff may be conserved and transferred via a special mechanism for use in synthesis and growth. On the other hand, anaerobic respiration (an energy yielding metabolic process that does not require oxygen) may adversely catabolize and damage healthy tissues. Dr. Warburg and other researchers showed that there is indeed a relationship between anaerobic respiration, tissue destruction and cancer. Dr. Abram Hoffer and Dr. Morton Walker, in their book Smart Nutrition (Avery 1994), suggested that anaerobic respiration is the most primitive energy producing method compared to aerobic respiration which is a later development in the evolution of life from unicellular to multicellular organisms. It is likely that multicellular organisms did not develop until cells became aerobic.

According to this theory, the switch back from aerobic to anaerobic respiration brings the cell back to a primitive condition that may cause uncontrolled cell division and a resultant catastrophic damage to the whole organism. As you're about to see, aerobic respiration clearly depends on dietary carb utilization and the production of substrates and enzymes that serve as energy molecules. All energy molecules are, in fact, made from nucleotides. Most important, all nucleotide material, including all energy molecules, are derived from glucose that is then predominantly derived from dietary carbs.

The Essential Role of Carbs

It is commonly assumed that carbs serve as fuel and nothing more. This assumption is wrong and quite misleading since it fails to recognize the main biological functions of carbs, which go far beyond being just a sheer substrate for energy. Evidently, optimum carb utilization from food is critically necessary in order to afford full activation of two vitally important metabolic pathways, which are bound together: i) the pentose phosphate pathway and ii) the uronic acid pathway.

As you'll soon see, these pathways play essential roles in facilitating DNA, RNA and nucleotides synthesis as well as steroid hormones production, enhancing immunity and generation of energy. As such, these pathways regulate hormonal actions, rate of tissue regeneration as well as protection against DNA damage and disease. Most important, both pathways' actions depend upon dietary carb consumption and utilization.

The Pentose Phosphate Pathway

The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is an anabolic process that is derived from glucose metabolism and occurs mostly (but not exclusively) in the liver. It utilizes pentose (a five-carbon sugar) from and glucose (a six-carbon sugar).

The pentose phosphate pathway's primary functions are:

1. To generate the energy molecule NADPH for biosynthesis reaction in the cells
2. To provide ribose-5 phosphate for the synthesis of nucleotides and nucleic acid including DNA and RNA
3. To metabolize dietary pentose from the digestion of nucleic acid
4. To biosynthesize steroid hormones and fatty acids (by utilizing in NADPH)
5. To regenerate the most powerful antioxidant glutathione enzyme and thereby protect cells and mitochondrial DNA from oxidative stress and aging
6. To support the production of UDP glucuronic acid, that is essentially important for overall detoxification. Hormonal transport production of proteoglycan and glycoproteins and the synthesis of sphingolipids (lipids that are necessary for detox and neural protection)


The Adverse Effects of Low Calorie and Low Carb Diets

As you can see, the pentose phosphate pathway controls critical metabolic functions. However, in times of a desperate need for energy, such as during prolonged fasting or due to low calorie diets, the pentose phosphate pathway may shut down its main functions and instead switch into sheer energy production. It is likely that energy demand is a top priority for the body and therefore, in times of desperate need for energy, the body would suppress certain important metabolic pathways to accelerate immediate energy production. In fact, 30 percent of liver glucose oxidation can occur via the pentose phosphate pathway.

Consequently, dietary carb utilization is a factor that can significantly influence the pentose phosphate pathway's actions. Since the synthesis of glucose from protein or fat (gluconeogenesis) is in fact a limited metabolic process that occurs mostly in the liver (muscle can't produce glucose), it is reasonable to conclude that severe low carb diets, for active individuals in particular, which chronically over-restrict dietary carb consumption (under 100g of carbs per day), may adversely affect the pentose phosphate pathway due to insufficient glucose supply and increased energy demand.

The pentose phosphate pathway's actions also decreases with age, a fact that may contribute to the decline in steroid hormone production, muscle waste, increased vulnerability to disease and reduced energy production. Finally, it's important to note that insulin sensitivity is necessary for optimum glucose utilization and the activation of the pentose phosphate pathway.

Glucuronic Acid Pathway (or Uronic Acid Pathway)

The glucuronic acid pathway, or as it is called, uronic acid pathway, is also derived from glucose metabolism, mostly in the liver. Its active compound UDP glucuronic acid is a co-enzyme responsible for binding with toxins to facilitate their elimination. In that respect, UDP glucuronate conjugates with endotoxins such as bilrubine (a toxin metabolite of hemoglobin and dietary meat) as well as sulphoric acid and thereby protects the body from endotoxicity and exposure to carcinogens.

SIDEBAR: Meat Eaters and Coffee Drinkers
Meat eaters and coffee drinkers should be aware of the important role that glucuronate plays in overall detox, in particular with regard to the digestion and assimilation of animal protein and the neutralization of coffee acid toxin compounds.

The Uronic Acid Pathway is a primal evolutionary metabolic process that initially synthesizes Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in mammals, except in primates including humans. Nevertheless, UDP glucuronic acid's primal actions include:

* Detoxification
* The transport of fat soluble hormones and substances to target tissues for subsequent release
* The production of proteoglycans and glycoconjugated compounds such as glucosamine glycan and glycoproteins, which perform critical immune and hormonal signaling functions on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix. Some proteoglycans serve as growth factor receptors.

The uronic acid pathway also regulates the production of sphingolipids (lipids which are based on a lipophilic amino alcohol backbone rather than glycerol). Sphingolipids play an important role in transduction signals, protection against toxins, viruses and bacteria, activation of cell receptors and neuroprotective actions. The glucuronic acid pathway functions depend on the pentose phosphate pathway and therefore depends on overall glucose metabolism. Evidently, both pathways' optimal actions requires sufficient dietary carb utilization.

In summary, dietary carbs and glucose utilization go far beyond just sheer energy production. Chronic carb or calorie over restrictions may help one lose fat in the short run. However, in the long run, such dietary methods may diminish the essentially important pentose phosphate pathway with its related UDP glucuronic acid functions and thereby adversely affect critical metabolic processes including steroid hormone synthesis, nucleic acid and nucleotides production, tissue repair, removal of toxins and overall generation of energy.

Bodybuilders and athletes should never overlook the important role of carb utilization in muscular development and overall performance. Nonetheless, the question remains - how can one practically consume carbs in order to maximize all the beneficial effects without causing insulin resistance or fat gain?

How To Take Advantage of Dietary Carbs for Building Lean Tissue, Removing Toxins, Burning Fat and Igniting Maximum Energy

* Avoid prolonged low calorie or crash diets to grant sufficient energy supply necessary for optimum function of the pentose phosphate pathway and the related uronic acid pathway
* Avoid chronic carb over restriction due to prolonged very low or no carb diets. Insufficient carb utilization may adversely affect the pentose phosphate pathway and its related UDP glucuronic acid functions.
* Limit your carb consumption to one meal per day, preferably at night. That way you may be able to keep high insulin sensitivity toward the end of the day and thereby afford optimum carb utilization.
* You can opt to cycle between days of low carbs and days of moderate to high carbs. This method could be highly effective in protecting against insulin resistance and preventing fat gain, while maximizing carb utilization for overall regeneration of tissue and ignition of energy. For instance, you can incorporate a high carb day followed by two days of low carbs (high fat), followed by a moderate carb day, followed by a low carb high protein day, and so on.
* Minimize simple carb consumption. Prioritize your dietary carb intake. Always choose complex carbs with low a glycemic index and those that are naturally high in fiber. The best choices for carb food are legumes, roots, squashes, barley, oats, wild rice and quinoa. Whole complex carb food releases glucose at a slower rate than simple carb food and therefore may afford better glucose utilization with a decreased risk of insulin and blood sugar fluctuation.
* Do not eat carbs alone, in particular grains or roots. Always combine these carbs with protein or fat to decrease their glycemic effect. Carbs alone may provoke an insulin spike and a consequent low blood sugar with symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, irritability, headaches and a craving for sweets. Bodybuilders and athletes should carefully design their pre-workout recovery meals to contain a high ratio of protein to carbs.
* Eating low glycemic whole fruits such as apples, berries or kiwis on an empty stomach is ok. Nonetheless, it is highly recommended to squeeze lime or lemon juice on the top. Acid slows the rate of carb absorption. The fiber in whole fruits significantly reduces the sugar impact and effectively enhances overall detox.
* Take multivitamin and multimineral supplements as well as EFAs to facilitate optimum assimilation of all essential nutrients. A lack of even one essential nutrient may lead to severe metabolic impairment and compromise the ability of the body to utilize glucose and energy. B vitamins, in particular, are precursors to co-enzymes, which are vitally important for glucose and energy utilization. Antioxidants are necessary for protection against oxidative free radicals and overall detox. Note that active individuals, including bodybuilders and athletes, need to increase essential nutrients and antioxidant intake due to higher food consumption and increased oxygenation with their respective waste and toxin metabolites.



Final Notes

Dietary carbs should be regarded as a double edge sword. Nonetheless, in times of so much confusion as to what to eat and how much, it's important to present another way of looking at food, including carbohydrate-rich foods.

Food should be regarded as a source of complete nourishment and as
such, it should satisfy three requirements:

1. Food should supply all essential and conditionally essential
nutrients
2. Food should be clean of chemical toxins. It should smell and
taste well and be fully digestible.
3. Food should supply an optimal amount of energy substrates
(including glucose) to satisfy the body's metabolic needs. Optimum
means: the right amount needed - no less, no more!

Dietary carbs are a most viable source of conditionally essential glucose as well as fiber, minerals, oils and phytonutrients. Carbs add unique taste, smell and aroma to food and are considered the cleanest and most digestible fuel. One should never dismiss the importance of smell, taste and overall satiety from food. Hunger and satiety mark the presence of most powerful neuropeptides that aside from regulating feeding cycles, also regulate hormonal secretion, sleep-awake cycles, aggression and relaxation, regeneration of tissues (growth), overall energy expenditure and rate of fat burning.

From that aspect, both sensation of hunger and satisfaction from food are necessary for maximum nourishment. Food works as a source of nutrients and also as a neurocatalyst for other numerous critical metabolic functions that regulate the rate of growth, fat burning and energy production. Chronically over restricting or eliminating dietary carbs from one's diet may lead to severe consequences including hormonal and neural impairments, stunted growth, sluggish metabolism and advanced aging, notwithstanding chronic hunger, in particular craving for sweets, mood swings, depression and fatigue.

Saying all that, carbs should always be treated as the fastest to assimilate and most aggressive component of food. As noted, they should never be consumed too often during the day to avoid insulin resistance and blood sugar fluctuation.

Finally, use your instincts and common sense. Through trial and error, you can find the right amount of carbs that your body needs. Using old dietary methods such as carb depletion followed by carb the loading will enable you to periodically consume a large amount of carbs without gaining fat. Remember, what you see is what you get, and in a related matter, what looks good, smells good and tastes good is generally good.

Regardless of what many low carb advocates say, our human body is well preprogrammed to ingest and utilize carbs. Therefore, chronically over restricting or avoiding carbs may be biologically perceived by the body as a suppression of a primal need. When you go against your true nature, your body may come back with a vengeance to reclaim what was taken away from it, and it will do so by inducing an excruciating hunger with a chronic cravings for sweets, that often leads to compulsive binging on carbs and undesirable fat gain. Do not deny your body from its primal need to eat carbs. Do not tempt to fool your body with carb substitutes and artificial sweeteners. Nothing can take the place of real dietary carbs and their critical function in your body.


NOTE: People suffering from diabetes and blood sugar related problems should consult their physician or health professional before adopting any dietary regimen.

Diet Fallacy #3. EATING LATE will make you fat

It has been commonly assumed that night is the worst time to eat. The logic: night is when the body typically slows down and therefore is more prone to gain fat. Makes sense, but is it true?

There are no conclusive studies or any evidence to prove the assumption that eating late meals causes fat gain more than eating early meals.

Studies reveal that other variables such as the frequency of meals, the glycemic index of food, calorie intake and hormonal balance are the real “power brokers” in the body’s capacity to burn or gain fat.

Even so the notion that eating late causes fat gain is deep rooted. The reason: for most people, who typically eat several meals during the day, any additional meal including a late meal maybe “one too many”. The result is an overwhelming overloading effect on the body often involving fat gain. Does it mean that eating late is a bad idea? Quite the opposite. If daily food intake is planned properly and the evening meal turns to be the main meal, then eating late could be highly rewarding.

There is a substantial amount of evidence that we humans have adapted well to nightly eating. We carry the same genes of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, who were primarily busy gathering or hunting during the daily hours and eating during the nightly hours, while at rest.

Indeed, our body is biologically preprogrammed to work around the circadian clock (i.e. active during the day and relaxing at night). Our inner clock is controlled by two antagonistic autonomic nervous systems: the SNS, with its highly alert “fight or flight” state, responsible for action and reaction to stress during the day, and the PSNS, responsible for relaxation, digestion and sleep during the night. (See Top Ten Diet Fallacies, Fallacy # 1). For that matter our body digests and utilizes nutrients better at night while at rest, than during the highly stressful hours of the day.

Furthermore, night is the time when growth hormone (GH) reaches a peak level. (Peak secretion during non-REM, SWS deep sleep). GH is known to be a potent muscle and bone builder and a fat burner. Late meals, if applied correctly could be most anabolic.

Note that GH actions can not be effectively finalized without the interference of insulin. Late meals, may well take advantage of max GH spike during the night, providing the nutrients required for actually facilitating GH actions, thus promoting protein synthesis in the muscle tissues and fat burning (in particular, abdominal fat).

In conclusion, do not betray your biological destiny. Don’t deny yourself from eating late meals. If you do, your body may come back with a vengeance, to reclaim what was taken away from him, often inducing chronic cravings for food at night, which may result in nocturnal bingeing. Finally, late meals often have a relaxing effect on the body, preparing you for sleep. If nothing else, late meals can help bring a happy end for a tough day.

Ori Hofmekler

i m certainly asking why not? when i hear another one of those dietary myths. Good post. Prague are you on the paleo diet or is it gluten free? I would be interested to know how you account for your carb intake.

I can only speak from personal experience: The earlier you stop eating (6pm or 7pm latest), the better you will feel the next morning. You need to give your body time to rest and work on other things besides digestion.

For me, this is not a myth and I won't even bring up any more points on why I subscribe to the idea. I just know I feel better.

Raw Honey is great right before bed. It is a mild sedative too. A good place to start would be two Tablespoons of raw honey. The banana or ACV would be good too since it is a good source of potassium.

So guys do you think that banana from time to time is not a bad thing?

I dunno. But personally I eat a banana almost every day or prob like 4 times a week.

warren im the same. I eat before bed all the time but the times i do restrain myself a few hours before, the more rewarding the folling day is. You are completely awake from the moment your eyes open.

valderama

i'm very close to paleo diet; basiacally i combine Warrior and Antiestrogenic diet - the already contain paleo diet principles and treat the carbs issue better imho

the undereating/catabolix/detoxifying principle is the essential principle of WD and i have the best experience applying it

i undereat during the day to optimise the energy utilisation and overeat during a 3-4hour window from 20 to 23 after the workout usually - this way you also multiply the anabolic effect of you post-workou meal - this window is also great time to use before meal/post workout supplements like l-glutamine, carnitine, creatine, ALA,...

i stay very low on the food chain during the day and incoroporate some cooke meal at the overeating period

undereating during the day and eating raw optimises HGH production and allows you to stay very lean

the way Ori treats the carb issue seems to me very intelligent - i tried to go zero carbs for some longer time but the body haunts you which was a sign for me i should eat some carbs, however i limit them to 1 portion per day, at night, after workout; during recovery days i go like 2 times very low carbs and usually sunday i eat multiple carb-meals for the annabolic effect

this diet is very well suited for active people, the mental alertness due to undereating was a huge change in my life, i'm much more effective; when i see colleagues at work after the lunch they're dead - i stay active and alerted

from the estrgenic diet i took many principles about food combinations and incorporation antiestrogenic foods: i attach some tips from Hofmekler again

Ori Hofmekler
What You Absolutely Should and Shouldn’t Do To Boost Your Sex Drive and Enhance Performance


1. Eat meat. Meat is high in the amino acid Arginine and the minerals Zinc and Iron that are essential for sexual performance.

2. Make sure you eat complete protein such as eggs, cheese or meat. Missing even one of the eight essential amino acids in your diet may cause deficiencies of enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters or catalysts that regulate healthy sexual performance. Amino acid deficiencies can lead to impotence and infertility.

3. If you’re a vegetarian, make sure you combine legumes or beans with whole grains as a source of complete protein. For example, black beans and rice or humus with pita bread are complete protein foods.

4. Minimize your eating during the day to mostly raw fruits and vegetables. This ensures a daily detoxification of your body’s harmful toxins. It will also protect your tissues and blood vessels from the daily assault of free radicals. Protection from toxins and free radicals is imperative for healthy blood circulation and sexual performance. Detoxification is the first line of defense against aging. It will rejuvenate sexual desire and overall performance.

5. Take Arginine. Arginine, as noted, is vital for the production of Nitric Oxide, which regulates vasodilation and erection. Arginine is also an important amino acid that plays an essential role in sperm count and mobility. Taking supplemental L-Arginine is a good idea as long as you balance it with Lysine in a safe ratio of 1:2 (1 Arginine to 2 Lysine)

6. Eat protein on an empty stomach during the day to ensure a healthy supply of amino acids to your brain. Deficiencies of free form amino acids such as Tyrosine, or Methionine may compromise your ability to deal with stress and may eventually lead to sexual dysfunction.

7. You can also take supplements of free form amino acids such as Tyrosine and Methionine on an empty stomach (to insure assimilation). Take it together with B vitamins that are co-factors in the production of brain neurotransmitters.

8. Bee pollen is food for sex. Bee pollen can help boost your sperm count. Bee pollen isn’t just a fancy item in health food stores. Bee pollen is made from millions of particles of a semen-like substance. Pollen’s natural primal role is to fertilize.

9. Avoid diets that are very low in fat. Fat is the building block for your sex hormones. When you try to lose weight, be smart. Keep fat on your plate. It makes your food tastier and your life sexier.
10. Using essential fatty acids such as Flaxseed and Primrose should be your top priorities. Essential oils are the precursors of Prostaglandins (hormones on the cellular level that regulate performance and potency related functions).

11. Hydrogenated oils may put the brakes on your sex life. Stay away from rancid fats or hydrogenated oils. They may interfere with healthy fat metabolism and may adversely affect sexual performance. Stay away from food that smells stale or funky. Check the ingredients on the back of the label.

12. Aphrodisiac food is for real. Any food that you believe is an aphrodisiac may be so. The placebo affect is real. If you believe that chocolates or passion fruit, fertile eggs, figs, nuts or wine are aphrodisiacs go for them. Follow your instincts.

13. Eat beans. They are high in proteins, minerals and polysaccharides that can fuel your sex machine. Some beans contain the protein L. Dopa that is associated with boosting libido.

14. Take multi-vitamins & minerals daily. Vitamins and minerals are essential for the complex of biological actions (enzymatic hormonal and neuro-action that regulates healthy sexual performance).

15. Eat almonds. Almonds are believed to be a most aphrodisiac food. They’re naturally rich in the minerals Zinc, Manganese and Copper. The above minerals are precursors for the antioxidant enzyme SOD that is essential for sexual potency. Almonds are rich in good fats, protein, and phytonutrients. This nut in its raw state has an alkalizing affect on the body. Almonds were regarded in the past as a symbol of male genitals and overall fertility. The high content of zinc makes this nut an extremely potent supplemental food for an active male.

16. Take extra Vitamin E to ensure maximum protection from free radicals and oxidized fat. Vitamin E helps maintain the integrity of your blood vessels as well as your brain cells that play an active role in sexual performance.

17. Stay away from excess sugar. Insulin insensitivity may cause blood sugar fluctuations that adversely affect energy production. Insulin insensitivity may also compromise neuro and circulatory actions that are BR>imperative for healthy performance.

18. Coffee can boost your libido. Coffee boosts dopamine. Dopamine is a major neurotransmitter that is correlated with keeping the level of blood testosterone from dropping.

19. Hot chocolate is an aphrodisiac. It has both stimulating and sedative properties. Cocoa is a powerful anti-oxidant for your brain cells. Chocolate and cocoa liquor was considered to be most aphrodisiac by the Aztecs and later on by the Spanish conquistadors.

20. Eat fish and seafood. Fish is high in essential fatty acids especially omega 3 in it’s most active forms - DHA and EPA. Essential fats are important for healthy prostoglandins balance and thus are vitally important for sexual performance. Seafood is considered to be aphrodisiac food because of its high content of zinc, protein and especially iodine.

21. Your libido needs iodine. The mineral Iodine plays an indirect role in healthy sexual performance. Iodine interacts with protein L-Tyrosine to produce Tyroxine, the thyroid hormone that regulates body heat and cellular energy production. Iodine deficiency may slow down the thyroid gland. Low thyroid is corrected with low testosterone and low libido.

22. Overtraining may lead to impotency. Do not overtrain. Overtraining can exhaust all bodily systems. Too much physical or mental stress may lower your testosterone level. Overstressing yourself may take away your appetite as well as your sexual desire.

23. Be romantic – don’t rush. Play it right. Let the fire build itself up. Make love – don’t just have sex. You know.

24. Be hungry – hungry for life!!!

25. Follow a daily cycle of undereating and overeating. Every day represents a complete cycle of events. Take advantage of the The Warrior Diet, it will ensure your best performance. Daily detoxification through the undereating phase will help you stay young, lean and maintain your vigor higher. Overeating at night will compensate you with the unrestricted pleasure of complete nourishment. You’ll learn how to trust your instincts and control stress. You will in time maximize your potential to be at your best. Following this daily cycle will naturally force your body to redesign itself. That’s when you’ll learn your real self-image. You’ll have more energy at your disposal. Your sex appeal will be boosted and so will your performance.

26. Stay away from crash low calorie diets. A sudden drop in your daily calorie intake may cause a decline in sex hormones and a lagging libido.

27. Stay away from long-term no-carb diets. Carbs in the form of whole grains are powerhouses of vital nutrients such as oils, vitamins & minerals, antioxidants, essential fiber and polysaccharides that help maintain healthy performance. The germ of grains is considered by many nutrition experts to be one of nature’s most potent foods. All life forces of a plant are condensed in the germ. From that point of view, any life-bearing food is a potent fertility enhancer. Carb nourishment is important for relieving stress and calming down. Carbs also help maintain healthy Thyroid function. Optimum thyroid functions and managing stress are necessary for healthy performance.

28. Wine is aphrodisiac. A glass of wine can calm you down and from that perspective wine is good for sex. Wine is traditionally served to celebrate romantic moments.

29. Do not binge drink. For men, heavy alcohol drinking has a diminishing effect on testosterone and sperm count. Alcohol may send a man to sleep instead of making love.

30. Alcohol may have the opposite effect on women. Due to its highly estrogenic stimulation and the calming down feeling associated with drinking, many women feel sexually aroused after a couple of shots of liquor.

thanks for that clarification prague. diet is an ongoing experiment for me i went gluten free a week or two a go then dropped all grains a couple of days a go just to see how i felt. the result is i feel absolutely fantastic and my hair seems to have improved a little too. i have had a very slow improvement for about six months by wounding with garlic and using anti bacterial creams specifically a 2% ketocanazole cream and azelaic acid. Anyway I m grateful to you for bringing the gluten issue up I m going to stay gluten free for the foreseeable future and will trial and error on other sources of carbs particularly rice and potatoes aswell as legumes. Its funny alot of the maladies ive suffered from in my life can theoretically be linked to gluten or carb intake. All cautiously optimistic.

valderama wrote:thanks for that clarification prague. diet is an ongoing experiment for me i went gluten free a week or two a go then dropped all grains a couple of days a go just to see how i felt. the result is i feel absolutely fantastic and my hair seems to have improved a little too. i have had a very slow improvement for about six months by wounding with garlic and using anti bacterial creams specifically a 2% ketocanazole cream and azelaic acid. Anyway I m grateful to you for bringing the gluten issue up I m going to stay gluten free for the foreseeable future and will trial and error on other sources of carbs particularly rice and potatoes aswell as legumes. Its funny alot of the maladies ive suffered from in my life can theoretically be linked to gluten or carb intake. All cautiously optimistic.

Hey valderama,

It sounds like you're really benefiting from a gluten-free diet.

When you have eaten gluten foods in the past, how have you felt? What physical symptoms did you get? I'm curious because I'm also experimenting w/phasing out gluten from my diet.

i cant really say that i felt terrible eating gluten products in fact they often gave me an energy lift when i needed it, its really more the maladies i have suffered for example i had chronic acne as a teenager i saw a homeopath who said i should stop drinking cows milk I did and the acne went within a week and never came back. The acne and the milk intolerance could both be down to the gluten. Also I suffered eczema particularly inside the knees and elbows again could be gluten intolerance. From time to time i have had blood round my ring to be blunt again could be gluten. A different homeopath actually said I was gluten sensitive at one point. I was also very slow in growing but fortunately had a late growth spurt which saved me another sign. Holy crap now that I ve written all this down it appears I could well be a celiac and I ve never been tested! I cant and dont really want to go into much detail about the way I feel within myself because its only been a couple of weeks but will report back if your interested. the last couple of days I ve noticed my hair looks a little thicker on top of the gains I ve noticed this year, could be due to my regimen but it could just be removing gluten and redcuing insulin. Anyway i dont want to be overly confident but i ll continue down this road and see what happens. Hope thats of some help though it may be too specific to me. I was grateful to Prague because he mentioned the estrogenic nature of gluten so I thought it was worth an experiment.

valderama wrote:i cant really say that i felt terrible eating gluten products in fact they often gave me an energy lift when i needed it, its really more the maladies i have suffered for example i had chronic acne as a teenager i saw a homeopath who said i should stop drinking cows milk I did and the acne went within a week and never came back. The acne and the milk intolerance could both be down to the gluten. Also I suffered eczema particularly inside the knees and elbows again could be gluten intolerance. From time to time i have had blood round my ring to be blunt again could be gluten. A different homeopath actually said I was gluten sensitive at one point. I was also very slow in growing but fortunately had a late growth spurt which saved me another sign. Holy crap now that I ve written all this down it appears I could well be a celiac and I ve never been tested! I cant and dont really want to go into much detail about the way I feel within myself because its only been a couple of weeks but will report back if your interested. the last couple of days I ve noticed my hair looks a little thicker on top of the gains I ve noticed this year, could be due to my regimen but it could just be removing gluten and redcuing insulin. Anyway i dont want to be overly confident but i ll continue down this road and see what happens. Hope thats of some help though it may be too specific to me. I was grateful to Prague because he mentioned the estrogenic nature of gluten so I thought it was worth an experiment.

Hey valderama,

Yes, please report back w/anything you notice. I'm really interested to see how your gluten-free experiment goes.

will be gald too, let me know how you go aswell will be interesting to compare results.

back to the OP's question --> your answer depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying to get some sleep then food items with serotonin would help (unfortunately that would mean some carbs, hopefully complex). If you are hypoglycemic (waking up hungry in the middle of the night) then eat some protein with fiber to slow down digestion - but work on your adrenals as it is a sign of weakness there.