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  • Sports Nutrition

    The concept of sports nutrition health involves several different
    elements in order to ensure that athletes perform to their very best
    ability.  A combination of good nutrition, physiology, and biology are
    essential to good strong muscles and overall health.  The concept of
    sport nutrition health includes extra elements such as supplements and
    strategies that are used to help enhance the body’s ability to excel
    athletically and to improve overall body composition (i.e. more muscle
    than fat).  There are many different positions in the field of sports
    nutrition health such as a sports nutritionist, registered dietician,
    or personal trainer.  All of these require special education
    backgrounds in a variety of subjects including medicine, anatomy, and
    nutrition.  The application of sports nutrition health can be seen
    largely in weight training but it is also prevalent in other sports
    such as cycling, running, or soccer to name a few.  Anywhere stamina,
    strength and endurance is needed, sports nutrition health becomes a
    major focus.

    Lose Fat, Gain Muscle: – Cardio free fat loss workouts using weight training.

    There is actually a lot of science involved
    in sports nutrition health.  The study of how amino acids work in the
    body is very important, since they play a role in muscular health. 
    Protein and protein complexes are also emphasized.  It is important to
    athletes to be very careful when taking any kind of supplement for
    sports nutrition health, and they should check with their doctor before
    doing so.  Insulin and protein levels should be checked as well as
    overall heart condition and oxygen levels.  If athletes follow a safe
    and very strict regimen, they can optimize their overall performance
    and be generally very healthy as well.  They can excel in their chosen
    sport by becoming stronger and having a leaner body mass (less fat). 
    This can help them run faster, lift more weights, and generally be
    stronger all around.

  • Weight Loss

    Many people find losing weight one of the toughest battles they will
    ever fight. But with a little bit of willpower and some knowledge,
    weight loss can be a fairly simple and pleasant experience. Many
    doctors will tell you one of the biggest and most important keys to
    weight loss is taking in fewer calories each day than you expend. In
    other words, if you eat about 2,000 calories a day but only burn about
    500, you will not lose weight. The trick is to try and lower your
    caloric intake while increasing your movement through exercise. Your
    workout routine doesn’t have to be overwhelming in fact a simple brisk
    walk each day should do as much good as a short run or sprint. The key
    is to get the muscles moving and the body into fat burning mode.
    Cutting out things like fast food and excessive sugar are also great
    ways to help boost your weight loss.

    By making
    some minor changes in your diet, you should begin experiencing weight
    loss in a matter of weeks. They key is to try and be as patient as
    possible. Remember, you didn’t gain the weight overnight, so you won’t
    lose it overnight either. A good sign that the weight will stay off is
    if you only lose a few pounds per week. This is an indicator that your
    body understands you’re trying to lose weight. Snacking is not
    forbidden when you’re trying to lose weight. In fact, eating several
    small snacks per day instead of three larger meals is often a great way
    to kick start weight loss. Before you go on any diet plan or weight
    loss plan, be sure to ask your doctor for advice and get permission so
    you can be sure you’re choosing the right lifestyle change for you.

  • Stop Smoking

    QUIT SMOKING TODAY!!

    If you are a smoker and want to quit, you should know you are not
    alone. Millions of people in the United States smoke, and millions also
    want to quit the habit. Fortunately, there are several ways you can
    stop smoking, and all are designed to make the process easier on you.
    The most common way people try to stop smoking is to do so “cold
    turkey.” This means you simply stop smoking and use sheer willpower to
    help you achieve your goal. While this method works for some, others
    find it very difficult. Nicotine gum and the nicotine patch are both
    other ways people can try to stop smoking. This method allows your body
    to ingest very small amounts of nicotine, slowly weaning you off of it,
    all the while you are not breathing in smoke and tar like you would
    with a cigarette. This process is supposed to help you quit gradually
    so you don’t withdraw and begin smoking again.

    There
    are some unconventional ways to stop smoking such as hypnosis or other
    forms of therapy, but many people are now choosing some new medications
    available. These new medicines are designed to help block the receptors
    in the brain that make smokers want nicotine. Over time, your desire to
    smoke lessens and eventually you completely quit. Of course, it’s
    almost impossible to stop smoking without support, so the use of online
    support or simply the support of a friend who is also quitting can help
    you immeasurably. With some help, most people find the process of
    quitting smoking much easier. It is also important to remember that if
    you falter and smoke a cigarette, that you should pick yourself up and
    start all over again. It is not easy to quit smoking, but it could save
    your life.

  • Hair Loss

    Is Your Hair Thin? Are You Bald/Balding?
    Learn How to Naturally REGROW Lost Hair

    Alopecia also known as hair loss: 
    Usually affects the scalp.  It is rarer and less conspicuous elsewhere
    on the body.  The hair follicle can generally regrow hair in the nonscarring
    form of this disorder (non cicatricial alopecia).  Scarring alopecia
    usually destroys the hair follicle, making hair loss irreversible. 
    The most common form of nonscarring alopecia, male pattern alopecia, appears
    to be related to androgen levels, aging, or genetic predisposition.

    Physiologic alopecia:  this form of disorder is usually temporary,
    it occurs as a sudden hair loss in infants, loss of straight hairline in
    adolescents, and diffuse hair loss after childbirth.

    Alopecia areata:  caused is unknown (idiopathic). Hair loss is
    usually reversible and self limiting.  It occurs most frequently in
    young and middle – aged adults of both sexes.

    Trichotillomania::  this refers to compulsive pulling out of one’s
    own hair; it is most common in children.

    Scarring alopecia may result from physical or chemical trauma or chronic
    tension on a hair shaft, such as braiding or rolling the hair.  Diseases
    that produce scarring alopecia include destructive skin tumors, granuloma,
    lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, follicular lichen planus, and severe
    bacterial or viral infections, such as folliculitis or herpes simplex.

    Symptoms:

    In male pattern alopecia, hair loss is gradual and usually affects the
    thinner, shorter, and less pigmented hairs of the scalp’s frontal and parietal
    portions.

    In women, hair loss is generally more diffuse; completely bald areas
    are uncommon but may occur.

    Alopecia areata affects small patches of the scalp but may also occur
    as alopecia totalis, which involves the entire scalp, or as alopecia universalis,
    which involves the entire body.  Although mild erythema may occur
    initially, affected areas of scalp or skin appear normal.

    “Exclamation point: hairs occur at the periphery of new patches. 
    Regrowth initially appears as fine, white, downy hair, which is replaced
    by normal hair.

    In trichotillomania, patchy, incomplete areas of hair loss with many
    broken hairs appear on the scalp but may occur on other areas, such as
    the eyebrows.

    Treatment:

    Tropical application of minoxidil, a peripheral vasodilator more typically
    used as an oral antihypertensive, has some success in treating male – patten
    alopecia. (discuss this with your doctor)

    Alternate treatment is surgical redistribution of hair follicles by
    autografting.

    In alopecia areata, minoxidil is more effective, although treatment
    is often unnecessary because spontaneous regrowth is common.  Intralesional
    corticosteroid injections are beneficial for small patches and may produce
    regrowth in 4 to 6 weeks.  Hair loss that persists for over a year
    has a poor prognosis for regrowth. 

    In trichotillomania, an occlusive dressing encourages normal hair growth
    simply by preventing the cause of hair loss.

    Treatment of other types of alopecia varies according to the underlying
    cause

  • Healthy Eating

    Healthy Eating

    It’s only been a couple of years ago that the US Department of Agriculture upgraded its food pyramid, considered by the federal government and many other people in the food and nutrition industries to be the definitive answer to the question of healthy eating.  But a recent revision to the pyramid reflects newer concepts of optimum nutrition for everyone.

    With the understanding that healthy eating means different things to different people, there is no single, one, revised food pyramid.  Instead, there are pyramids developed for different people, at different stages of their lives, who enjoy different lifestyles, and have different nutritional needs to fuel those different lives.

    With a series of interactive online tools, men aged two to the twilight years can customize a plan for healthy eating, including a pyramid of their own.  By supplying data such as age, level of physical activity, and the presence of certain chronic medical conditions, each man can build a pyramid that meets his very own unique needs much more appropriately than the one-size-fits-all pyramid that mostly confused us in the past.

    The basics of a diet focused on healthy eating are the same, no matter the individual characteristics mentioned above.  An abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, including nuts and seeds, supplemented by an ample amount of lean meats and dairy products and whole-grain carbohydrates should be the foundation to every man’s healthy diet.  Sugars, processed and refined foods, fats, and alcohol should be enjoyed in controlled moderation for optimum health at the dinner table.

    A food pyramid customized to meet individual needs for healthy eating will include these basic food groups but, based on the personal data supplied, will also include the number of servings recommended each day from each food group.  And one truly welcomed upgrade to the new, personalized pyramid system is that the portion sizes are defined, so there is no longer opportunity for divergent descriptions or “fudging” on the serving sizes eaten.

    In a steadily growing number of American households, the king of the castle is also the head chef.  Meal planning is made easy when a personalized food pyramid has been charted for each member of the household.  Simply add up the entire family’s allotment of portions for the different food groups, then plan and prepare meals with these quantities in mind.

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  • Lower Cholesterol

    Lower Cholesterol

    Everyone knows these days that an elevated cholesterol count spells trouble for the arteries and the heart.  And everyone seems to know someone taking a class of drugs called statins that are prescribed to lower cholesterol levels, which reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke.

    Many people also know about age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that begins by blocking a person’s field of vision at the very center of the view and then progressing outward, until all vision is lost.  The blockage of vision is caused by a build-up of macula, which destroys the eye’s cones and receptors, making sight impossible.  In one advanced form of AMD, blood vessels in the eye grow abnormally and often leak or bleed.  AMD is the leading cause of blindness in Americans over the age of 50.  More than 10 million Americans are thought to have some form of AMD.

    In April 2008, a team of scientists analyzing data collected in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study found that statins, which lower cholesterol by increasing blood flow, have a detrimental effect on the progression of AMD.  The increased blood flow affects the arteries and veins in the eyes, where too much blood flow is already destroying the AMD patient’s vision.

    Unfortunately, statins and AMD have a lot in common, including patients who have need of lower cholesterol counts.  Some risk factors associated with high levels of cholesterol in both the bloodstream and AMD are:

    • The aging process.
    • Family history.
    • High blood pressure.
    • Being overweight or obese.
    • Consumption of a high-fat diet.

    If AMD runs in your family, don’t wait until being diagnosed with it or with high cholesterol levels.  Although it’s impossible to reverse the risk in all the factors listed above, some of them are a direct reflection on lifestyle choices.  Waiting till the vision starts to go blank before finding statin-free methods to lower cholesterol may be too late.

    It’s never too late, however, to use a healthy lifestyle to lower cholesterol counts and improve arterial health and maybe visual health, too.

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  • Heart Attack Symptoms

    Heart Attack Symptoms

    Get Back Your Health
    QUIT SMOKING TODAY!

    Ask someone what’re the most common heart attack symptoms and they’re likely to clutch at their chests with one hand, wave the other wildly in the air, all the while clinching their eyes and struggling to remain standing.  We learned these dramatic symptoms by watching the theatrics of actors on the stage and screen, acting out a heart attack with practice and perfection.

    But when it comes to a heart attack, no one wants enough practice to make perfect, whatever that’s supposed to be.  In real life, heart attack symptoms may not be as dramatic as those we see for the purpose of entertainment but they’re pretty dramatic, nonetheless, when they are happening to us.

    In the last few years, the medical establishment has determined that heart attack symptoms differ between the genders.  Men are more likely to suffer the agonizing scene depicted by professional actors while women are more likely to experience less dramatic symptoms.

    Chest pain is the most classic of heart attack symptoms but the pain varies from patient to patient.  Some men report pain in one area of the body or pain that radiates from the chest outward to shoulders and arms, up through the neck and into the face, teeth, and jaws, and down into the belly and the back.  Women don’t often report this experience.

    In addition to the overwhelming chest pains famously acknowledged as one of the main heart attack symptoms, in men particularly, is the sensation of being squeezed in the area of the chest.  This squeezing sensation has been described as a band squeezing ever-tighter around the chest area, heavy pressure settling in, or something very heavy sitting on the chest.

    Heart attack symptoms also include shortness of breath, coughing, feelings of dizziness or lightheadedness, anxiety, and fainting.  Other symptoms frequently noted include severe indigestion, nausea and vomiting, and profuse sweating.

    The degree of pain or distress associated with any of these symptoms must not be overlooked.  In many cases, the discomfort is mild but a heart attack is occurring anyway.  Some men experience what is known as a silent heart attack, where there is little, if any, associated chest pain.

    Heart attack symptoms need not be severe, prolonged, or debilitating to call for some serious measures.  Always consult your physician or seek help at the nearest emergency medical facility as soon as any symptoms become apparent.  The sooner a heart attack victim gets treatment, the more likely a happy outcome.

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  • Physical Exam

    Reverse and Eliminate Ovarian Cysts

    It’s not always easy trying to find time to work a doctor’s appointment into a hectic schedule but it’s very important to schedule and keep an annual appointment for a physical exam, especially for woman over the age of 40.

    Life changes for women just after the age of 40.  Lots of things change.  It’s because of all this change that the medical establishment urges every woman to undergo a thorough physical exam to celebrate her 40th birthday.  This particular exam may be the most important one she’ll ever have, since it’s used as a “baseline” medical profile.  Later test results will be compared against this particular physical exam to determine what is changing and to what extent.

    Shrink your Fibroids Naturally

    Breast examinations are a vital part of a woman’s traditional physical exam and are most effective when the patient performs self-exams each month between annual physicals.  Another part of a physical exam that is becoming more common is the mammography, which is an x-ray of breast tissue to help locate tiny tumors before they become cancerous.

    There’s a recently published article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, as it’s also known, that suggests women with dense breasts may fare better at physical exam time each year if they will supplement their mammogram with an ultrasound image as well.

    In a physical exam and in mammography, dense breast tissue can hide tumors.  Not detecting them as early as possible increases the risk of a harsh battle against cancer at a later date.

    In their report, researchers also suggest women with exceptionally dense breasts supplement an annual mammography with an MRI scan, for the most thorough screening available.  MRIs are expensive and health insurance companies may not cover them for this purpose.  Still, women who have extremely dense breasts, personal or family histories of breast cancer, or suspicious mammogram readings in the past may consider the additional expense, about $1,000, well worth the price for a year’s peace of mind.

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  • Diet to Lower Cholesterol

    There are no real tricks to devising a diet to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight.  In fact, it seems so easy many people are convinced it just won’t work.  Not for them, anyway.

    What’s the trick?  If you want a diet to lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, and stabilize your weight at a healthy level, you’ll need to eat a diet high in nutrient-dense, natural foods.

    You’ll need to avoid fast foods and pre-prepped and processed foods like the plague.  After all, the industrialized nations of the world are said to be plagued with an obesity epidemic although the general public doesn’t seem to take issues of excess weight with the same degree of seriousness as the plague.

    The third step to the trick of a diet to lower cholesterol and improve vital signs throughout the body is to get a moderate, but regular, amount of physical activity every day.  It’s hard to convince some people that regular exercise is truly a part of a healthy diet but every diet book written thus far includes serious discussion of the value of regular exercise.

    What are those nutrient-dense, natural foods?  Fruits and veggies eaten as close to raw as possible.  Think salads, sautés, stir-fry, and steamed.  Nuts and seeds are fruits, too, so don’t leave these nutritional powerhouses out.  All fruits and vegetables begin to lose nutrient value when exposed to heat.  In other words, over-cooking leads to less nutritious fruits and vegetables.  The more gently cooked, or raw, the fruits and veggies, the more nutrients are consumed.

    Many of the ingredients required to make mass-produced food products from factories are not available to the home cook.  Many of them didn’t even exist twenty years ago.  Our bodies rely on a digestive system that was perfected many, many generations ago.  We simply do not have the ability to digest many of these ingredients so they sometimes accumulate in our bodies in quantities that become toxic.

    A diet of fast foods, refined, processed, pre-made, ready-to-eat, single serving, grab-and-go food choices doesn’t provide the necessary nutrients to fuel the body so we stay hungry.  Hunger is our body’s way of saying I need some fuel now.  A diet to lower cholesterol and feed healthier living in general will contain a minimum, if any, of this type food products.

    The sweaty part of a diet to lower cholesterol involves no less than 30 minutes of moderate exercise three days a week.  Thirty minutes can be done all in one session or broken down into several smaller exercise sessions throughout the day.  Moderate exercise means you can maintain a conversation with an exercise partner.

    Even though this is a diet to lower cholesterol, following it faithfully will relieve symptoms of almost every chronic disease known to modern man.  It’s a diet the entire family can follow so meal planning and preparation don’t have to be grueling affairs.

    This diet to lower cholesterol does work.  And it will work for everybody.

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  • Osteoporosis and Bone Health

    Want to be a few inches taller?
    This guide can add inches in just 6 weeks!

    Ellen Evans, associate professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois, published the findings of a study that suggests a diet based on lean meats and low-fat dairy products is much more effective in staving off the onset of osteoporosis than the diet recommended by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) recently updated food pyramid.  Osteoporosis is a painful and crippling degenerative disease of the skeletal system that strikes elderly women with more vigor than other segments of the population.

    The University of Illinois study recruited 130 participants, all middle aged and overweight, to take part in the 12-month study.  Half the study group was assigned, by random, the diet of lean meats and low-fat dairy products while the other members of the group ate according to the guidelines in the USDA food pyramid.  Active weight loss was the focus during the first four months of study, with the remaining eight months of study allocated for weight maintenance.

    Since osteoporosis is diagnosed by the loss of mineral content and density in the bones, each of the study participants was tested for mineral density and content at the outset of the trial and at four-month intervals throughout.  The disease is also associated with fractures of the hip and spine so each study participant was scanned from head to foot at the beginning of the study and at four-month intervals also.

    During the course of the study, the group eating according to the food pyramid experienced a decline in healthy bone tissue, which threatens osteoporosis, while the group eating the lean-protein diet enjoyed stable bone density and mineral content through the full course of the study.  The research team suggests the lean-protein-based diet was naturally high in calcium and protein and many foods in it are fortified with vitamin D, all nutrients required for optimum bone health.

    In times past, a diet high in protein was thought to be harmful to bone health because this type diet often produces a higher than normal level of calcium in the urine.  This process of leaching out minerals from the bone is called demineralization.

    The University of Illinois research team disproved this belief, using radiolabeling to determine that the excess calcium in the urine doesn’t come from the bones at all.  Instead it comes from food intake.  The lean meats diet boosts the body’s digestive system to absorb and process calcium more effectively than the food pyramid diet does, providing yet another reason why the high-protein, low-fat diet is much better in protecting against the onset of osteoporosis than the diet described in the food pyramid.

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