May 28 2012
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Fitness.Wellness.Life-ness.

Blueberries and Exercise Recovery

 

A recent study published in the Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition, found that eating blueberries can accelerate muscle recovery after strength training exercise. The study found a faster recovery rate in the intervention group when they consumed a blueberry smoothie before and after exercise. The placebo group was given an antioxidant supplement. The group of athletes consuming the blueberry smoothies showed a faster rate of decreased oxidative stress on the body.

I’m excited to share this information with FM readers for multiple reasons. One, is that this study goes to show that a food you might not directly associate with fitness has been found to directly affect exercise recovery. Efficient recovery is important because the quicker we recover, the quicker we can practice/train/workout at a high intensity. The more often we do this, the quicker our improvement in our craft. You might not know exactly what foods help you reach the goals you have.  However, what we do know (and continue to find out) is that different fruits and vegetables help us meet many fitness goals we have, whether we know it or not!

This is also a great study because it shows that when looking for nutrients, it’s always better to get them through real food, rather than through supplements. If you’re looking for more vitamin c, eat fruits and vegetables that have it, etc. Sometimes we take supplements (like multi-vitamins) because we have trouble meeting the nutrient goal we may have.  For example, I believe Whey protein is very beneficial for post workout recovery, but I wouldn’t advise for it to take the place of protein coming from whole food throughout the day. Getting our nutrients from food is always the best bet. The fact that this study shows more of a benefit in this specific situation from the actual blueberries than from an antioxidant supplement, helps support this idea.

I like to tell people that a good fitness and nutrition plan literally makes your life better. Here we see that in addition to all of the health benefits we have heard about blueberries, they can also help us in fitness recovery! Stay active and eat right. You deserve it.

Reference:

Mcleay, Yanita et al., 2012 “Effect of New Zealand blueberry consumption on recovery from eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. N.p., 2012. Web. 27 May 2012. <http://www.jissn.com/content/9/1/19/abstract>.

May 07 2012
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Living healthy doesn’t have to suck. In fact, it shouldn’t.

 

Not the most academic sounding article title; I know this. But I feel that it gets right to the point. You often hear people complain about needing to lose weight, or become more active. They make it sound like shedding a few pounds, or eating better is going to be a total bummer. “I’m going to hawaii in a couple months, ughhh, I need to only eat lettuce and run on the treadmill every day” may not be too far from what we have heard people say. It’s like people think that in order to live a healthier life, they have to stop enjoying it.

 

I disagree.

 

First, we need to get it out of our head that living a healthier life has to suck. It doesn’t. If you go about it the wrong way, maybe it will. Just don’t go about it the wrong way. Simple as that. Okay, maybe it’s not so simple. But you get my point. Once you start to think a bit more positively, you’re much more likely to meet your goal/s.

 

No one said you had to be starving all day to drop a few pounds. Or that food couldn’t taste good. No one said the only way to get more fit was to spend hours on the treadmill. If someone did tell you that, you should start listening to someone else. Eat foods that fill you up but will still help reach your fitness goals. Basing your meals around veggies, fruits, lean meats, nuts/seeds, some dairy etc will keep you from being starving all day. Look up and try different “clean eating” recipes. You can enjoy your food just as much as before. If done right, you’ll STILL consume less calories than if you ate packaged/starchy/fast food all day.

If you don’t like running on a treadmill, don’t run on a treadmill! Some people like it and they make it work for their goals and that’s awesome. But if you are one of the people who has the look on their face like they would rather sit on a fire place than run on a moving rubber platform, then do another activity you enjoy! Work on your garden, take the dog for a walk, throw around the frisbee, go on a hike. There are so many things out there than get you moving and are also enjoyable.

 

Exactly how you go about these two things takes some tweaking over time, to figure out what works best for you. My point is, for now, the excuses that many people make, don’t even make sense. “I can’t eat right because I don’t like salads” or “I can’t get in shape because I don’t like running” are just excuses. No one said that was the only way to your goals. If you don’t like it, don’t do it. Find something you like and do that.

Apr 29 2012
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Fitness.Wellness.Life-ness.

Joint Health: Why it’s important to YOU

 

It’s easy to forget the importance of joint health. The “hinges” in your body that allow you to move. Without joints, we would be too stiff to move! Think about it. Stand up, while keeping your ankles, knees, hips, elbows and shoulders from moving. Try to move around the room.

Go ahead, try it out. I’ll wait…

See what happens? You can’t move! That is exactly why it is so important to be mindful of joint health. You can’t do very much at all, without your joints. Every single one of us needs our joints to be healthy, to allow us to do the things that we want to do. Heck, even getting up off the couch requires your joints to work properly.

You’re convinced that joints are important. Good. But before we get into how to keep strong and injury free, let’s take a look at joint structure, to better understand what we are dealing with.

 

Joints:

Though there are different kinds of joints, they more or less do the same thing. They connect one bone to another, to allow us to move. It’s our joints that allow our bodies to bend and twist. Inside our joints there exists tendons, ligaments and cartilage. Ligaments attach bone to bone. Tendons attach muscle to bone. Cartilage is important because it acts as the cushion within the joints. It is what keeps our bones from grinding together (ouch!). This is a situation where grrrrrrinDING isn’t a good thing :p.

Osteoarthritis is when your cartilage begins to wear away. The less cartilage you have or the more damage you sustain to what you do have, the more ouchies you feel (“Ouchies” is a new medical term, look it up). This happens because of many factors. Previous injuries, getting older, losing muscle mass, being overweight, all contribute to wear and tear on joint cartilage.

How can you take care of your joints? Good question. I like where your head’s at, reader.

Strength Train: Yup, there it is again. Strength training has so many health benefits, it should be no surprise that it pops up time and time again in the topic of fitness and wellness. If you don’t work to maintain muscle mass, as you get older, you will lose it. Thus, contributing to more wear and tear on your joints. On the flip side, if you work to maintain (or better yet, gain muscle mass/strength), you work to take more stress off of your joints.The stronger your muscles are, the more they can take the wear and tear of every day life, instead of passing that onto your joints. Athletes, dancers, enthusiasts of being active, pay special attention to this point. Even if you haven’t been able to get yourself to be active, this still applies to you.

Weight Management: The more weight you are carrying around, the more weight your joints have to deal with. Think about the knees. The more you weigh, the more strain is put on your knees. Now, slow down, pat’na. I’m not here to claim that everyone should have the goal of having a six pack, or that we should all be ashamed of our bodies. I truly believe it is important to be happy with who we are and not compare ourselves too much with others. Now, I AM saying that it’s a good idea to self reflect on our own fitness level. Would it benefit our body to eat a bit better and get a big more active? Would it benefit our joints if we did get a bit more lean? Those are questions we will need to answer ourselves, on an individual basis.

Ice: You’ve seen it before. After a game or performance or intense bout of exercise, some people wrap ice around their shoulder, knee, shoulder etc. Icing joints used in intense activity can help prevent swelling, as well as manage pain. When you exercise, a joint lubricant called Synovial fluid is released into the joint. Lubricant is good for joints right? Yes. The problem is, when exercise is over, this lubricant can cause damage to cartilage. Icing gets this fluid out of your joints, when it is no longer necessary.

Food: Omega 3 fatty acids and Vitamin D can benefit joint health because they have an anti inflammatory effect, as well as can work to reduce joint pain.

Muscle Knots = Bad: The tighter your muscles are, the more stress they put on your joints. If you allow muscle knots to remain, think about the strain they put on your joints. Strain on joints = more likelihood for injury or pain. This is why massages or using a foam roller are so beneficial for joint health. Massaging or foam rolling your muscles is a great way to release the muscle knots that many of us have come to (unfortunately) become familiar with.

 

Joint health is important to everyone, unless you don’t have any joints. In which case, this is one thing you get to not worry about. But for the rest of us, with joints, we need to make sure we keep in mind how important this topic is. If you have no joint pain now, great! Keep it that way, by taking care of yourself. If you are active, pay special attention to joint health. In order to continue to perform at the best level possible, you need to have healthy joints.

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Apr 23 2012
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What’s the Difference Between Cage-Free and Free Range Eggs? Organic?

 

 

With so much marketing and so many options at the store, sometimes we don’t know what to buy. We might sit there looking at the multiple options of the same product with the same look of confusion as when we first tried to learn geometry. Or maybe you were all geniuses at geometry. I, was not. I was like, ummm whaaaat?!

There are many products at the food store that offer so many options that we may stand there thinking the same thing I did when stepping into that summer school geometry class. I will write more about the differences between some of these food options, to better help us make informed decisions.

 

First up. Eggs.

 

Cage-free is good right? Wait, is free range better?! Hold on, what about organic? Or should I just go with conventional? I wondered these things myself. Here is the difference.

 

Cage-free means the chickens aren’t stuffed into small cages that we have seen examples of in the video clips of some egg farms. Cage-free chickens are often in an open barn type setup and they are usually allowed nest boxes and perches to lay their eggs. Now, the space can still be tight, but they aren’t packed liked sardines in cages. The actual setup depends on the farm.

Free Range makes it sound like the chickens all take group exercise classes in the sunshine. Like they all put on their addidas, matching track suits, with color coordinated sweat bands and shoes, and all go on routine jogs. Welllll, not quite. Wellll, maybe. Butttt, probably not.

Free range, according to the FDA, simply means the chickens have access to the outside. It doesn’t mean they were raised outdoors. Yes, they have access to the outdoors, but how often they actually make it out there, is anybody’s guess. Theoretically, it sounds very nice. What actually happens, is not quite as clear. Smaller farms may make it easier for the chickens to roam around in the fresh air, but unless you check with them individually, you don’t really know.

Organic eggs are what they sound like. They are produced from chickens who were fed organic feed and didn’t receive any type of antibiotic or vaccine. Also, organic eggs come from chickens never fed genetically engineered products.

Conventionally grown eggs came from chickens more than likely in tight cages, with little room to move. They may have been fed feed made with genetically modified crops, and may have received antibiotics or other types of vaccines.

 

Which ones should you buy? It really depends on how you look at the situation. Did a chicken that was raised free range, necessarily get more time outdoors than a cage free chicken? Maybe. You really don’t know unless you talk to the farmer who is a part of the process.

Me? I would like to think that if the chickens at least had access to the outdoors, that maybe a few of them ventured out from time to time. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but if there isn’t much of a difference in price between cage-free and free range, then I’ll go for the free range, to at least support the idea. I’m a big supporter of organic eating, if at all possible. Therefore, that is my usual choice as well.

 

As always, the best way to figure out how your food is actually grown, is to go to the source. Visiting farmers markets and buying directly from the farms themselves is great because you can have conversations with the people who are literally raising your food. They can explain to you how their animals or produce are raised, and you won’t have to worry about labels or marketing terms that can be misleading

 

To find a local farmer’s market near you, check out http://www.localharvest.org/.

Apr 22 2012
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Fitness.Wellness.Life-ness.

Can Food Affect My Mood?

I do not own this image. If you do, and would like me to take it down, please let me know.

Can food effect your mood?

First, that phrase rhymes, and that is kind of funny.

Second, yes, it can. Studies have shown that eating certain foods can effect the chemical and physiological functions in our brains. We don’t know exactly how this happens, but we know enough to try a few things that seem to work.

Before I get into the examples, I want to make a point. You’ll notice how the examples of the foods to eat for this topic, are already what we have heard we should be eating. It’s important to note that eating clean, nutrition foods (as opposed to over processed, fast foods) improve our health in general. Health, in a general sense, already encompasses all of the specific health examples that we would like to improve, individually. Food affecting your mood in a positive way, is just another reason to add to the million other reasons to choose good, whole foods. Eating right, allows your body to do it’s job.

Ok, enough philosophical stuff (which I believe is important to highlight), let’s get to the actual food examples!

Don’t be too scared of all carbohydrates:  Tryptophan is a non essential amino acid, found in most protein rich foods. When it enters the brain, more serotonin is produced. As we know (or are about to learn), serotonin elevates our mood. Fish and Vitamin D have been shown to increase serotonin in the brain. So where do the carbohydrates come into the equation? I’ll tell you, my friend. Even though tryptophan is found in many protein rich foods, other amino acids are more easily transported to the brain. When you eat carbohydrates, they seem to help tryptophan get to your brain. Therefore, improving mood. If you were to go TOO low on carbohydrates, this would negatively effect the amount of tryptophan that would get to your brain, which may make you feel like this :( .

If you have a friend or family member who cut out almost all carbs from their diet and seemed to not be in the greatest mood. Mayyyybe this is why. Make sure you make smart choices of where your carbs do come from. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains will give you the carbs your body needs, and will also contribute other nutrients and fiber as well.

Omega 3 fatty acids: Studies have shown that Omega 3s may help protect against depression because of the affect they have on neurotransmission in the brain. This hasn’t been a directly proven link, but foods such as fish, flaxseed and walnuts have other health benefits as well. Might as well give it a shot!

Eat breakfast: Studies have shown that eating breakfast not only helps more energy and better memory throughout the day, it can also positively affect our mood. Here is another one. We all know we should be eating breakfast. If you don’t; start. If you already do, good job, champ.

Folate and B12: A spanish study found a correlation in low intake of folate for men, and women with a low intake of vitamin B12, with depression. Whether these low levels of vitamins lead to depression, or are depressed people eating less of these nutrients, remains to be seen. However, it still is a good idea to get enough of these nutrients.  Folate can be found in nuts, fruits and especially dark green vegetables. You can find B12 in lean animal products.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D helps the brain produce serotonin. How much you need, depends on man factors, including where you live. One recommendation is to shoot for 600 IU (international units) a day, from food. Vitamins from food are always better than from a supplement. However, I still believe multi vitamins are a good idea.

Check your caffeine intake: Caffeine can make depression worse for some that have it, depending on how sensitive they are to it. Also, if you consume too much, or too late in the day, this can affect your sleep. Not good sleep = not good mood. I’m not good at math, but I know that equation is true. If you’re at risk for depression, chill out on the caffeine for a few weeks and see how you feel.

“But if I don’t have caffeine in the morning, don’t talk to me cause’ I”ll be in a bad mood.” If you were thinking that as you read the previous paragraph, then maybe this is just the right advice for you ;) .

Chocolate: I know some readers were thinking “Yeah yeah, get to the CHOCOLATE, that’s good for mood right?! That’s an excuse to eat chocolate, right?! Give me a reason to eat more chocolate!!!”

Don’t lie, I know some people were close to thinking that.

Actually, yes, chocolate seems to be linked to better mood other than simply for the reason that it makes you happy because you like the taste. However, don’t go finding any chocolate you can, and shoving it in your mouth just yet.

Make sure to choose dark chocolate, to get the most health benefits. The higher the cocoa content in the dark chocolate you choose, the better for you. Polyphenols have been shown to be linked to improved cognitive function, and they are found in high amounts in dark chocolate. Chocolate also contains neurotransmitters called, phenylethylamines. Phenylethylamines promote feelings of attraction and giddiness (teehee). And, for what it’s worth, chocolate and sex have been shown to activate the same parts of the brain (another appropriate place for the phrase “teehee”).

There you go. Another example of how eating a balanced diet of real foods, positively effects your body’s ability to function how it should.

Here’s to taking control of our lives and making sure we are in a good mood as often as possible!

I do not own this image. If you do, and would like me to take it down, please let me know.

Reference:

Elaine Magee. “How Food Affects Your Moods.” Web MD, 15 December 2009. Web. 22 April 2012.

Other random places I have read information but can’t remember exactly where, woops.

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Apr 16 2012
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Fitness.Wellness.Life-ness.

Laugh. It’s Good for You.

 

What you eat and how active you are, are big contributing factors to your overall health. However, there are many other factors as well.

 

Humor, is a big one. Laughing has a great positive physiological affect on the body. For a change of pace, I wanted to share this hilarious commercial that I saw over the weekend. It makes me laugh every time I watch it. The randomness is so great.

 

Enjoy

 

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