Science-Backed Fitness Tips

When looking to get fit to feel and look your best this summer, it is a bit overwhelming to browse through all the fitness advice on the internet.

Getting fit doesn’t need to be stressful or involve perusing dozens of websites and online resources that somehow give conflicting advice. Sticking to what’s tried, true, and tested by science means that you can skip the guesswork and stick to a healthy-inducing routine.

Let’s start with what you drink. You need to drink at least eight glasses of water every day. Since water makes up 60% of our body’s composition, drinking an adequate amount of fluids means that we can keep our life-giving functions going. According to WebMD, these include “digestion, absorption, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.”

Since we’re talking about liquids, an important one comes to mind — coffee. There’s no reason to fear coffee because drinking it in moderation and without any additives make it a healthy drink. According to an evidence-based study referenced by HealthLine, coffee can improve energy levels, help you burn fat, protect your liver, and help lower the risk of several lifestyle diseases. The most significant benefit of coffee is that it is high in antioxidants, which Better Health Australia describes as “preventing or reducing the damage caused by oxidation.”

If you need a quick pick me up without the excessive sweetness, consider drinking a cup of Chek Hup 2 in 1 White Coffee. This delightful variant features a full-bodied taste and has no sugar added (although you can add a few granules of its premium rock sugar, which is packed separately).

Minimizing your sugar intake is indeed one of the best things that you can do for your body. While everything we eat — fruits, vegetables, meats, rice, and the like — naturally comes with sugar, the one to watch out for is added sugar.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States characterize added sugar as “sugars and syrups that are added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared.” These sugars have no high nutritional value, thus earning it the moniker “empty calories.” Suffice it to say, eating a lot of sugar may lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other terrible diseases.

If you’re looking to cut back on your sugar intake, a healthy snack that we recommend are biscuits from Gullón. This Spanish brand literally invented the health biscuit category, so they know what it takes to make a nutritious cookie.

With many variants to choose from, you can surely find a snack that fits your taste. From its name, the “No Sugar Added” product line gives you satisfyingly pleasing chocolate and yogurt-flavored biscuits without the saccharine after taste.

The “Vitalday” product line is the ideal snack for those always on-the-go because of its wholegrain biscuits and high oleic sunflower oil content. And if you’re looking for a great companion to your coffee or tea drink, then try the “Maria” product line for its wonderfully plain and pleasant flavor.

And if you’re looking to lessen your sugar intake, might as well reconsider your carbohydrate choices. The most common carbohydrates that you see are the refined ones. HealthGuide defines refined carbohydrates as “sugars and refined grains that have been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients.” These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• White bread
• Pizza dough
• Pasta
• Pastries
• White flour
• White rice
• Sweet desserts
• Most kinds of breakfast cereals

As Filipinos, we love to eat white rice, so much so that we consider a dinner table that doesn’t have a plate of that snow-colored grain as incomplete. According to a study by Harvard School of Public Health, which was cited by CBS News: “people who ate the most rice were more than 1.5 times likely to have diabetes than people who ate the least amount of rice.”

Instead of white rice, consider replacing it with a bowl of Duru Bulgur. This grain from the Middle East is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and phytonutrients. Unlike white rice, bulgur wheat still contains its bran and germ, where many of the nutrients are naturally stored for whole grains. In other words, Duru bulgur is definitely healthier than white rice.

Serving a delicious meal with Duru Bulgur is quick and easy. Here are recipes that you can try:

• Bulgur Pilaf with Quinoa
• Seafood Paella with Bulgur
• Chinese Fried Rice with Bulgur
• Veggie Patties with Duru
• Duru Bulgur Christmas Salad
• Chicken Bulgur Arroz Caldo

To top it all off, try Berocca Performance. Not only is this product is free from caffeine, sugar, and artificial stimulants, it contains B vitamins that helps you generate natural energy from the food that you eat. With regular exercise and a balanced diet, your fitness journey will be a fruitful one. — (TGM)