All MFN blog Archives - Page 24 of 142

I have heart disease. Is massage right for me?

Kathy Flippin/5 August 2022/ All MFN blog/

According to the Heart Foundation.org about 80 million Americans have heart disease or high blood pressure. The 2010 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics update of the American Heart Association reported that 17.6 million persons in the United States have heart disease, including 8.5 million with a history of heart attack and 10.2 million with chest pain. The prevalence of heart disease increases with age for both women and men.

Heart disease requires a variety of possible treatments, including various medications and procedures. Some people with heart disease may benefit from regular massage, but there are certain types of massage that can possibly cause serious damage. You need to be sure you’re in a knowledgeable practitioner’s hands to make sure you are safe.

Can Massage Help?

A hypothetical example:

Alex is a 59-year old tax preparer who has moderately High Blood Pressure that is easily controlled with a healthy lifestyle and medications. He is married, enjoys golfing, shooting, and watching football. As Alex’s work becomes busier during tax season, he gets headaches that are frequent and intense. And when he works too much, he doesn’t have time to take care of himself like he should.

Alex’s doctor recommended that massage could help compliment his treatment plan to stabilize his blood pressure. His doctor referred him to a therapist who is experienced in working with cardiovascular patients. The doctor and therapist agreed that a relaxation massage with some trigger point and stretch techniques mixed in would be safe and beneficial for him.

After a few massage sessions, his headaches decreased. The doctor recommended a massage twice every month, but during busy season, Alex likes to go every week. The routine gives him peace of mind in knowing he’s doing everything he can to take good care of himself. For him, massage is a great antidote to the hours at his desk, and he finds himself less “grumpy” when he gets home after a hard day. When work is less busy, and Alex has more time for golf, he finds that massage gives him great relief for his low back tension, which helps his swing. Alex considers massage as part of his prescribed health routine, just like eating carefully and exercising.

What should you be careful of?

Because there are so many different types of cardiovascular conditions, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The type of massage that you have seen on TV is not the only kind out there, and in fact, may not be right for you. Your complete health history must be considered before making a decision. You must always talk to your doctor before deciding to embark on a personal massage program:

Blood thinning drugs: Cause the body to be more sensitive and in some cases, even fragile. Deep tissue done on someone taking blood thinners can cause inflammation, bruising, and tissue or organ damage. Like the wise man said, more is not always better.

High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): Massage may be just the thing to help you manage stress and subsequently your high blood pressure (just like the example above). Low blood pressure is also a concern, and because massage lowers one’s blood pressure slightly, it is not uncommon for individuals taking medication to lower their blood pressure. This would cause them to get a bit lightheaded just after receiving a massage, until the blood pressure returns to normal.

Blood Clot: Individuals with a history of blood clots (aka Thrombosis) should avoid Swedish Massage. Swedish massage techniques on someone who has a risk of blood clotting could possibly dislodge a clot and release it into the blood stream. In a worst-case scenario, this can induce a stroke or heart attack, or a lung blockage.

Pacemaker: If an individual has a pacemaker, stent, or any kind of apparatus implanted into a vein/artery which is superficial (in the neck and leg would be considered superficial, but inside the rib cage is not), the therapist must avoid pressing over that area so as not to dislodge or damage it or surrounding tissues. But massage can usually be safely done on the rest of the body.

Massage can usually be great for someone who has Arrhythmia or a disruption in the heart rate, if that is the only health concern.

An individual with any signs of Congestive Heart Failure should avoid vigorous Swedish massage or limit Swedish massage to less than 15-20 minutes. Gentle Massage on head, feet and hands is not a problem.

You must find a therapist who is experienced and knows how to keep you safe. If they don’t ask about your medications or medical history, you’re not in the right office. Interview them on the phone before you go, and check their credentials. You probably want to ask your doctor to consult with your therapist so they can discuss your options. You probably CAN have massage, but it may be different from what you imagined, or what you see on TV.

How do you choose a practitioner?

If you are seeing a cardiologist, you should definitely get medical clearance before you have a massage. You should also get guidance on what kind of massage is best, and what the risks are. You should call your therapist before your appointment to make sure they have a good understanding of what it takes to keep you safe and comfortable. Most Certified or Licensed massage therapists get instruction on working with individuals with heart disease as part of their entry level massage education. However, there are additional classes available, and each therapist has varying levels of awareness and experience. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the therapist qualifications, and what they’re going to do during the massage. While you’re receiving massage, continue to ask questions as they come up. If at any time during the massage it feels worse than a “hurts good” sensation, then it’s too much, and you should speak up. Your therapist should never encourage you to suffer through anything you don’t like during a session.

Kathy Flippin’s passion is to offer excellent therapeutic massage, and educate her clients on how they can take the best care possible of themselves. Kathy is the owner of Dynamic Touch Massage and has been a Sports Massage Therapist since 1997. Her clients include everyone from professional athletes to active grandmothers.

Cultivate Connections!

Shannon Briggs/3 August 2022/ All MFN blog/

Cultivate connections and build relationships within your professional field. There are enough clients and work to go around for all of us. Consider how collaborating with other professionals in your area or the periphery of your field may make you better at what you do. We are better when working together, and I believe our clients are better off.

As a Fitness professional working in the collegiate realm, this has been of the utmost importance to me and my career. Collaborating on a team to produce the best product has been a great learning experience. And let’s face it, when we work together, it expounds upon the individual ideas and makes them grander. We also get the opportunity to hear other points of view and fresh ideas.

Being able to draw on the knowledge of others is an immeasurable way to learn and grow in your area of expertise. The benefits of mentoring and being mentored by others are also invaluable. Think back to who has mentored you in your profession. How has that experience shaped your practice today? How can you pour into others to share your knowledge?

As a personal trainer, I try to build relationships with other professionals in my area. There will come a time in your career when a client presents with an issue outside your scope of practice. Having a list of reliable professionals, you can refer for your client is wonderful. This often yields better results for the client than searching the internet for a provider. And yes, I even have relationships with other trainers. Not every trainer is suitable for every person. Here is a list of the health professionals I have built relationships within my area.

Chiropractors
Acupuncturist
Counselors/therapist
Group instructors
Massage therapist
Orthopedic surgeons
Personal trainers
Physical therapist
Registered Dieticians

It has been one of my greatest privileges to work alongside a Physical therapist (PT) to graduate a client from PT to Personal training. I have learned so much about injuries and rehab and have built trusted relationships that I can refer my clients to, AND I have been referred to by those professionals as well.

An important caveat; work within your scope of practice. If the opportunity arrives to work with another health professional, obtain the proper RFI or Request For Information. This document says that the client/patient has permitted the two professionals to share information on that person. Abiding by all HIPA laws and regulations, use this information to help bring the client/patient to better whole health.

I know that what I offer as a personal trainer is not the only thing my clients need in their life for whole-body health. Sometimes possibly combining massage with our workouts is what brings their bodies to better health. Another example is counseling. It may be that the stress in life is making it more difficult for my client to reach their full potential; talk therapy may make the physical workout more productive.

If we keep in mind, as health professionals, that we are working toward the whole-body health of our clients/patients, this style of practice is not complex. If we are honest, it is the same for us. Complete whole-body health has many different facets.

Cultivate, Build, and Grow!

Shannon Briggs is a multi-passionate fitness professional and educator. She brings 30-plus years of experience to a long, fulfilling career in the fitness industry. In the past 13 years at the University of Texas at Austin, Shannon has led continuing education workshops in multiple group fitness formats and topics specific to personal training; she also has written the curriculum and manuals for numerous workshops accredited by the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Shannon is currently a monthly contributor to Campus Rec Magazine for Fitness and Wellness.

Jumpstart: 10 Quick Weight-Loss Tips

Deborah Kesten, MPH/1 August 2022/ All MFN blog/

If you’ve ever lost and then regained weight, what’s the best way to stop overeating and keep weight off for good?

Rather than starting yet another diet, try tasting, really tasting your food—or meditating for a moment before eating. In other words, think outside the diet.

Welcome to the wonderful world of overeating research!

Our original research on Whole Person Integrative Eating (WPIE)^1,2unlocks some truly remarkable reasons you overeat and gain weight—and, conversely, how to overcome overeating, overweight, and obesity. Want to reap the rewards? Here are 10 tips—from our research and that of others—that could help you overcome overeating and reduce odds of being overweight or obese.

#1. Choose Chocolate

Savoring some chocolate might remind you of something you’d like to overeat—but don’t write off chocolate just yet as a (heavenly) food that could help you lose weight (yes, you read that right). In a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers showed that it’s possible to eat chocolate and weigh less if you choose the right kind—a cocoa content that’s 70% or higher, and the right amount—an ounce a day, about the size of a credit card. (Sorry, but more isn’t better `cause if you overeat chocolate, the calorie-count climbs too high to reap the rewards.) The secret to chocolate’s metabolic mystery? The antioxidant epicatechin, which revs up your metabolism.

#2. Feed Your Senses

Here’s your excuse to buy that favorite gourmet olive oil you’ve sniffed in one of those fancy olive-oil boutiques. Scientists in Germany have linked an aroma—specifically, the scent of olive oil—to eating and weighing less. Somehow, the scent of olive oil lead research participants to feel satiated sooner than those in the canola-oil scented group. And it gets better: those in the olive-oil group lost weight, while the canola-oil folks gained weight. Can “sense-filled” dining really up your odds of eating less? Yes, according to my research on Whole Person Integrative Eating,^1,2“Sensory Disregard” is one of the 7 overeating styles we identified. To find out if aroma is a stay-slim tool that works for you, try your own experiment with scent-sory olive oil and other scintillating scents.

#3. Nix Night Eating

Call it nighttime hunger, nocturnal eating, or night eating syndrome (NES). Regardless of what it’s called, if you do a lot of overeating after you’ve had dinner or well into the wee small hours, it’s a triple weight-gain whammy! Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania reveal why: 1) your metabolic rate and digestion slow down at night; 2) consuming a lot of food at night wreaks havoc with hormones that control appetite, and; 3) eating when your body is meant to relax and restore itself busts your body’s built-in biological clock. The take-away: Simply put, human beings aren’t meant to eat a lot in the evening hours. It’s a formula for gaining weight and making it hard to lose weight.

#4. Dine by Design

When you eat in emotionally (think eating while surrounded with angry people) and aesthetically (visualize eating in your car in a traffic jam) unpleasant surroundings, my Whole Person Integrative Eating research^1,2revealed you’re more likely to overeat. So think about the atmosphere in which you’ll be eating ahead of time. As often as possible, each time you eat, design a pleasing dining experience by creating an emotional and physical atmosphere that’s as pleasant as possible.

Which leads to…

#5. Pay Attention to How You Feel

Emotional eating—turning to food to soothe negative emotions or out-of-control food cravings—is the #1 predictor of overeating and weight gain, according to my Whole Person Integrative Eating research.^1,2To get control, try this: First, commit to getting in touch with your feelings before, during, and after eating. Next, make a conscious choice to eat when your emotions are balanced—not negative. Then recognize that one of the best reasons for eating is a healthy appetite, meaning, don’t let yourself get too hungry. The bottom line: Commit to eating for pleasure, with a healthy desire for food, and experience feel-good emotions when you eat and enjoy!

#6. Eat with Others

A famous study that began in the early 1960s in the small town of Roseto, Pennsylvania, explores the influence of human relationships and social support on the metabolism of high-fat, high-cholesterol, calorie-dense foods. Amazingly, this study suggests that when social support is present in our lives, especially when we eat, what we eat is somehow metabolized differently—so much so that it can keep you from getting sick. My more recent research on overeating^1,2revealed that eating alone more often than not—what I call Solo Dining—is yet another “new normal” eating style that strongly increases the odds of overeating. When it’s time to eat a meal, invite others to join you. Share mealtimes with friends, family, or coworkers as often as possible. Or if you have a pet, consider eating at the same time as your furry friend!

#7. Don’t Diet

Although dieting, judging food as “good” or “bad,” and thinking a lot about the “best” way to eat may not seem to have much in common, they are all characteristics of the overeating style I describe as “Food Fretting.”^1,2If you see yourself in the food-fretter scenario, you’re at increased odds of overeating and weight gain. To get off the food-fretting treadmill, first and foremost, stop dieting. Instead, perceive food and eating as one of life’s greatest pleasures, and choose Integrative Eating as your most-of-the-time dietary lifestyle. Choose wisely (see “Get Fresh,” below) and enjoy.

#8. Get Fresh

If your most-of-the-time way of eating is, say, a donut and coffee for breakfast; a burger, fries, and coke for lunch; pizza for dinner; and chips as a snack, my research on Whole Person Integrative eating suggests that “fast foodism” is your main overeating style.^1,2If a diet of mostly fast and processed foods is typical for you, consider getting in touch with your inner fresh-food fairy. You can do this by replacing sugar-, fat-, and salt-laden foodish foods—ingredients that can amp up your “overeating engine”—with more fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, and nuts and seeds, and lean, free-range, chemical-free animal foods. Worth a try, don’t you think?

#9. When You Eat, Eat

Do you ever eat while watching TV? Or while working at your computer? Or when you’re driving? If you eat while doing other things, you’re doing “task snacking,” a Whole Person Integrative Eating overeating style that is linked with overeating and increased odds of weight gain.^1,2The antidote? Mindfulness eating. Give up eating while doing other activities. Instead, stay mindful, keep focused on your food, and do one thing at a time. In other words, eat when you eat!

#10. Quit Chemical Cuisine

Obesogens are the manmade chemicals—plastics and pesticides—which have found their way into our food supply and beverages. They wreak their havoc on both appetite and weight by mimicking estrogen, a hormone that can make you fat. The solution? One quick tip for avoiding “chemical cuisine” is to stay away from bisphenol A (BPA) found in canned foods, bottled beverages, meat packed in plastic, and more.

The key take-away is this: To attain and maintain weight loss…for life, think outside the diet by changing beliefs you have about dieting, losing weight, and keeping it off. Replace limiting weight-loss “think” with insights into the underlying reasons you overeat and gain weight—some of the overeating styles we just told you about. The 10 key weight-loss solutions are your first step in jump-starting a relationship to food and eating that can help you turn overeating into optimal, whole person integrative eating…and attaining and maintaining weight loss…for life.

Visit Deborah’s website, makeweightlosslast.com, for free evidence-based, credible information and education about optimal eating for weight loss and well-being. You can also visit her blog, integrativeeating.com.

Originally printed on integrativeeating.com. Reprinted with permission from Deborah Kesten.

Deborah Kesten, M.P.H., is an award-winning author, specializing in preventing and reversing obesity and heart disease. Her expertise includes the influence of epigenetics and diet on health, Lifestyle Medicine, and research on the Whole Person Integrative Eating dietary lifestyle to treat overeating, overweight, and obesity. She and her husband, behavioral scientist Larry Scherwitz, Ph.D., collaborate on research and writing projects.

References:

Scherwitz L, Kesten D, “Seven Eating Styles Linked to Overeating, Overweight, and Obesity,” Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing 1, no. 5 (2005): 342–59.
Kesten D, Scherwitz L. “Whole Person Integrative Eating: A Program for Treating Overeating, Overweight, and Obesity,” Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal 14, no. 5 (October/November 2015): 42-50.

Body Image and Disordered Eating

Karli Taylor/29 July 2022/ All MFN blog/

Nearly 8 million individuals in the US currently have a diagnosable eating disorder. Though that is a big number, it’s not big enough to guarantee that everyone reading this knows someone who is impacted.

Here’s the thing, that number DOES NOT include those with more subtle disordered eating symptoms. This broadens the scope quite a bit.

What if we looked at diagnosable eating disorders as the far end of a spectrum?

Let’s call the other end, healthy intuitive eating.

What does that mean? Healthy intuitive eating means that you eat when you are hungry. It also means that you eat what you are hungry for, and you stop when you feel satisfied.

There are people that fall on that far end. Truly. I have even met one or two! They are not unicorns- possibly the closest living things though.

Let’s label everything in the middle as “disordered eating”. This would include behaviors like overeating, food restricting, skipping meals, over-exercising, overly rigid eating schedules and so many more.

The majority of people, that I know anyway, lie somewhere in that space. Would you agree? Where do you fall?

The big difference between eating disorders and disordered eating is that the latter is typically not lethal and is not all-encompassing.

The big similarity is that more often than not, individuals impacted have a poor body image.

Body image is how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind. It encompasses:

What you believe about your own appearance
How you feel about your body
How you sense and control your body as you move.
How you physically experience or feel in your body.

Many of us internalize messages starting at a young age that can lead to either positive or negative body image. Let’s clarify what that means.

Positive body image is a clear, true perception of your shape; seeing the various parts of your body as they really are. Body positivity involves feeling comfortable and confident in your body, accepting your natural body shape and size, and recognizing that physical appearance says very little about one’s character and value as a person.

A negative body image, on the other hand, involves a distorted perception of one’s shape. Negative body image involves feelings of shame, anxiety, and self-consciousness. Those with negative body image are constantly comparing themselves to others without recognizing that they are essentially comparing apples to bananas… oranges aren’t far enough away… In such comparisons, they determine their perceived self-worth or value.

As with disordered eating, body image concerns can affect most of us. Recognizing the positive in our bodies can have a huge impact on both of these things. When you are stuck in a spiral of negative self talk, try thinking about things that your body can do. It is easy to judge your looks by looking through unrealistic lenses, but what if you took a moment to appreciate the amazing machine that you possess.

Webinar with Karli Taylor and Christine Conti

Karli Taylor is an entrepreneur and leader passionately working to shape the nation’s fitness and wellness industry through innovative programming that can be incorporated into any lifestyle. Karli has been in the industry for over 20 years. Beginning as a group exercise instructor and personal trainer, she worked her way to an executive position at a fitness chain in the northeast where she worked behind the scenes for 5 years, until her love of teaching drove her to leave the corporate office for the gym floor. She is the co-founder and creator of BarreFlow, through which she certifies fitness professionals around the globe.

4 Simple Ways Your Fitness Routine Can Benefit from Self-Care

Sheila Olson/27 July 2022/ All MFN blog/

When you think of taking care of your health, exercise is one of the first things that comes to mind. You know you need to stay active and stay in shape to protect your body, but what you may not realize is that you also need self-care to protect your mind. Combining self-care and fitness is the best wellness move you can make. Here are some ways to do it.

Start Working Out More at Home

Sticking to your fitness goals is important. If getting to the gym causes you stress or interferes with your schedule, though, you may want to think about building a gym at home. It’s easier than you think, and can make getting those daily workouts in easier on your schedule. You can use any extra space you have, whether it’s your garage, a spare room or a basement, and quickly set up a workout space in your home. The equipment you fill it with will hinge on your needs and the amount of space available, but for most people, basic workout equipment, like a jump rope and dumbbells, is enough to get a good workout at home and stick to their budget.

Consider Holistic Wellness Practices

A regular fitness routine will help keep your body in shape. Working out can help enhance your mood as well, but it’s not really enough to manage your mental health. You also need to find ways to help your body recover after all that effort, which is where holistic self-care practices come in handy. Incorporating practices like acupuncture, Pilates, massage and chiropractic treatment can be beneficial for relieving stress and helping keep your emotions in balance. Yoga is another practice that complements most physical fitness routines, and it improves strength and flexibility in your body. Runners can use beginners poses such as downward facing dog and pigeon to help build more muscle and keep joints flexible, all while reducing stress.

Treat Pain Through Self-Care and Exercise

If you suffer from chronic pain, you can combine self-care and fitness to find relief. The trick is to find simple workouts that get your body moving while helping your mind feel calm.

Yoga is also a good choice here, but you can also try doing tai chi. This slow, intentional practice is especially effective for seniors looking to decrease pain symptoms and decrease their fall risk.

You can treat more than arthritis with exercise and self-care, though. Studies have also shown that regular physical activity can help Alzheimer’s patients, and exercise may even play a role in preventing this debilitating condition. Research around this is still limited, but one thing that’s for sure is that adults who exercise are less prone to other chronic health conditions. Heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers can all be prevented with the right fitness routine.

Help Yourself Age Well with Fitness and Self-Care

Older adults who are looking to stay in their best shape also need to factor self-care into the equation. Without self-care, you are leaving your body and mind vulnerable to the effects of chronic stress. Consistent levels of high stress can leave older adults struggling with heart disease, anxiety and other health issues. Staying active is a great way to care for your well-being, but you also need to make sure you are taking time to really enjoy life. Practicing daily mindfulness can help all adults live more fulfilling lives. Being mindful means taking time to pause and reflect on your life, and to be thankful for the things that make you happy. In between workouts, take a 15-minute break to meditate or to write down what you’re grateful for.

Physical fitness can go a long way in preserving your overall health, but it’s not the only wellness habit you should commit to for a better life. Finding ways to work self-care into your fitness routine and your everyday life can change your body and mind in many positive ways, so make time for more self-care, and keep working toward those health and fitness goals.

Sheila Olson has been a personal trainer for five years. She created FitSheila.com to spread the word about her fitness philosophy and encourage her clients to stay positive. She incorporates mindfulness and practices for reducing negative talk into her sessions.

References

Commercial Sports Foods: A Matter of Preference

Nancy Clark, RD/25 July 2022/ All MFN blog/

“I thought I was supposed to use gels during long runs. Can candy work just as well..?”

“Are electrolyte tablets the best way to replace sodium loses from sweaty workouts?”

“I get diarrhea when I use some commercial sports foods…help!”

If you are among the many athletes who have no idea which commercial sports foods are best to support your workouts, welcome to the club! Advertisements have led many active people—from serious competitors to anyone who breaks a sweat—to believe that pre-workout drinks, energy gels, and electrolyte replacers (among the many other commercial sports foods) are a necessary part of a sports diet. Guess what? Real foods can often work just as well.

While there is a time and a place for commercial sports foods, many athletes needlessly spend lots of money on them. The purpose of this article is to help you become an informed consumer, so you know what these products are (convenient, expensive)—and what they are not (essential for all exercisers). Whatever you do, test them during training, so you can learn if they settle well in your gut. You don’t want surprises during competitions!

Pre-Workout Supplements

When you feel low on energy and are dreading your afternoon training session, pre-workout products that promise explosive energy, sharp focus, and incredible results can be very tempting to buy. While simply eating a heartier breakfast, lunch, and pre-exercise snack can help prevent an afternoon droop, many athletes fail to appreciate the power of food. Instead, they look for “magic.”

The “magic” ingredient in most pre-workout products is caffeine. You could just as easily get stimulated with coffee or NoDoz. True energy comes with eating a pre-exercise banana, granola bar, or carb-based snack.
The best pre-workout snacks digest easily and don’t talk back to you. Standard supermarket foods (e.g., toast, oatmeal, animal crackers, dried pineapple, dates, banana, even a swig of maple syrup) are likely more familiar to your gut (less likely to cause intestinal upset) than unfamiliar commercial sport fuels.
Some pre-workout products tout they are sugar free, as if sugar is evil for athletes. Sugar (carbohydrate) is a true energizer in comparison to caffeine, which is just a stimulant. Carbs + caffeine will offer a better workout (for those who tolerate caffeine, that is)!
Some pre-workout products contain creatine, vitamins, beta-alanine, and/or other stuff that looks good on the label. The dose may be inadequate to make a significant difference in your performance. Do your homework to learn what is an effective dose.
Buyer beware, pre-workout products are poorly regulated. Who knows what the products contain. Claims that sound too good to be true should raise an eyebrow. Be sure your choice says NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport on the label.

Gels

During hard exercise lasting 1 to 2.5 hours, you’ll perform better if you consume ~30 to 60 grams (120-240 calories) carbohydrate per hour. Take your choice of gel, sport drink, or gummi bears!

During extended exercise lasting more than 2.5 hours (ultra-marathon, long bike ride), you want to target 60 to 90 g carb/h (240-360 calories), depending on the intensity of your exercise, your body size, sport, and intestinal tolerance.
Most gels offer 100 calories (25 g carb) in the form of some type of sugar, such as maltodextrin, sucrose, fructose, or glucose. The Nutrition Facts on the gel’s label can you help determine the right amount to consume.
Many athletes love the convenience of gels because they come in a good portion-size and are easy to carry. Others dislike them due to their consistency. For some athletes, gels digest poorly because they contain a type of sugar that can trigger bloat, diarrhea, and undesired pit stops. Always experiment with new gels during training!!!
Some popular alternatives to the 100 calories of carb (sugar) in a gel include gummy bears, Twizzlers, Swedish fish, gum drops, peppermint patties, maple sugar candy, even chocolate (though it melts in hot weather). The trick with choosing “real food” is to figure out how to carry it. Pockets help.

Electrolyte tablets

Electrolytes (electrically charged particles, most often known as sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium), are minerals abundant in food.

For sweaty athletes, sodium (a part of salt) is the main electrolyte of concern. Salty foods enhance fluid retention and help keep you better hydrated than plain water, which goes in one end and out the other.
Many electrolyte replacers are lower in sodium than you may think. By reading food labels, you’ll discover a slice of bread can have more sodium than 8-ounces of Gatorade.
Athletes who sweat heavily might lose about 500 to 1,000 mg sodium in an hour of vigorous exercise. Some options for replacing these sodium losses include:

*Commercial Sports Food*	*Sodium (mg)*	*Salty food*	*Sodium (mg)*
Propel Electrolyte water, 8 oz	105	String cheese, 1 stick	220
Gatorade, 8 oz	110	Beef Jerky, 1 oz	600
Gu Salted Caramel, 1 gel	125	Salt sprinkled on food, ¼ tsp	600
Nuun, 8 oz	175	Broth, from 1 cube Herb-ox	1,100

Replacing sodium is most important for athletes who sweat heavily for extended periods in the heat. Yet, these athletes generally consume foods that contain sodium before, during and after exercise. For example, football players who refuel from morning practice with a high-sodium ham and cheese sandwich with mustard and dill pickles can bypass the Gatorade at lunch.
Consuming 500 mg. sodium before you exercise helps retain fluid, delay dehydration, and enhance endurance. Sprinkle salt on that pre-exercise omelet, pasta, or sweet potato before you exercise in the heat!

The Bottom Line

While commercial sports foods have their time and place for intense exercisers, not every athlete needs to pay the price for pre-wrapped convenience.

Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD counsels both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes in the Boston-area (Newton; 617-795-1875). Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook is a popular resource, as is her online workshop. Visit NancyClarkRD.com for more info.

Heart Disease is Preventable and Reversible through Nutritional Intervention

Dr. Joel Fuhrman/22 July 2022/ All MFN blog/

Heart disease is devastating to both our health and our economy. It is the number one cause of death in the country. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounted for 32.1 percent of deaths in the United States in 2013 – one out of every three deaths is due to this preventable disease.¹ A significant number of research studies have documented that heart disease is easily and almost completely preventable (and reversible) through a diet rich in plant produce and lower in processed foods and animal products.^6-9

As the prevalence of CVD escalates, medical costs are rising rapidly. The American Heart Association has projected that by 2030, 40.5 percent of the US population will have some form of cardiovascular disease, and the direct medical costs attributed to cardiovascular diseases will triple compared to 2010 costs.²

Risk factors for heart disease are commonplace for U.S. adults:32.6 percent have hypertension, 13.1 percent have total cholesterol above 240 mg/dl,³ 9.3 percent of U.S. adults have diabetes,⁴ and 68.5 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.⁵ As a result, it has become considered normal in our society to have atherosclerosis, and to die from cardiovascular disease. If you eat the standard western diet that most people eat in the modern world, you will surely develop heart disease and may die from it.

Fighting heart disease: Superior nutrition versus drugs and surgery

In 2015, I published a scientific article in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine demonstrating, with survey data and case histories, the dramatic weight loss and cardiovascular benefits possible with a Nutritarian diet. Respondents who started out obese lost an average of over 50 pounds two years after the switch to a Nutritarian diet. After one year, in those who started out with hypertension, there was a 26 mm Hg average reduction in systolic blood pressure. In respondents who were not taking cholesterol-lowering medication, there was an average 42 mg/dl decrease in LDL cholesterol, and an average decrease in triglycerides of 79.5 mg/dl.¹⁰

The surgical interventions commonly used to treat heart disease, such as angioplasty and bypass surgery are futile. The COURAGE trial and additional studies conducted since have documented that patients undergoing those invasive procedures do not live longer or have fewer heart attacks compared to those receiving medical therapy with modest lifestyle changes.^11-12 Surgical interventions are not long-term solutions to heart disease; they merely treat a small portion of a blood vessel, while cardiovascular disease continues to progress throughout the vasculature.

Drugs that treat hypertension and elevated cholesterol carry serious risks and do not stop heart disease from progressing. Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are known to increase the risk of diabetes, impaired muscle function, cataracts, liver dysfunction and kidney injury. ¹³ Each different class of blood pressure-lowering medications is associated with its own risks and side effects. ACE inhibitors commonly cause a persistent cough; diuretics are linked to increased risk of diabetes; beta blockers are associated with increased likelihood of stroke; calcium channel blockers may increase risk of heart attack and breast cancer; and ARBs are associated with increased risk of lung cancer.^14-20

The risk associated with these treatments is unacceptable when there is a safe, effective alternative —smart nutrition and exercise – that can actually reverse heart disease and obliterate the need for risky and even futile medical care. Atherosclerotic plaque can be reversed, and cholesterol lowered without drugs or surgery.

Success stories (two of numerous)

Ronnie weighed over 300 pounds when he wound up needing emergency quadruple bypass surgery. Three years later, he was back for an angioplasty and three stents, but his chest pain returned within one month of the surgery. Working with Dr. Fuhrman in the Ask the Doctor Community, Ronnie lost 140 pounds and went off all medications. He runs and plays sports and has served as an inspiration to family members who have also lost weight and begun to live healthier lives. Read his story.

Julia had three heart attacks within three months. After her fifth angioplasty, she still had constant chest pain. She was on 10 different daily medications, suffered migraines, and, at the age of 60, could not walk even one block. Today, Julia has lost 105 pounds, and now enjoys every day pleasures like exercise, gardening, and playing with her grandchildren. She went from a “cardiac cripple” to a healthy, happy woman. Read her story.

Like Ronnie and Julia, over the last 20 years hundreds of my other patients with advanced heart disease have demonstrated that dramatic reversal of advanced disease can even occur in a relatively short time.

Following the lenient recommendations of the American Heart Association and wearing a red dress pin do not form an effective strategy for protecting you or your loved ones against heart disease. Also, drugs and surgery do not cure heart disease. A health-promoting, nutrient-dense (Nutritarian) diet, that I have designed and advanced over the years (coupled with exercise) is dramatically effective and protective for preventing and reversing high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes — as well as heart disease — because it removes the primary dietary cause of heart disease, while providing the most protective and life-span promoting diet-style. For more information, check out my book, The End of Heart Disease.

Everyone needs to know that heart disease can be avoided; and those who already have heart disease deserve to know that they can reverse their disease. Conventional medical care does NOT protect against heart disease-related death. Only a Nutritarian diet can offer dramatic lifespan-enhancing benefits against both cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Originally printed on DrFuhrman.com. Reprinted with permission.

Joel Fuhrman, M.D. is a board-certified family physician, six-time New York Times bestselling author and internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing, who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional methods. Dr. Fuhrman coined the term “Nutritarian” to describe his longevity-promoting, nutrient-dense, plant-rich eating style.

References

Xu J, Murphy SL, Kochanek KD, et al: Deaths: Final Data for 2013. Natl Vital Stat Rep 2016;64:1-119.
Heidenreich PA, Trogdon JG, Khavjou OA, et al: Forecasting the Future of Cardiovascular Disease in the United States: A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation 2011.
Mozaffarian D, Benjamin EJ, Go AS, et al: Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2016 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation 2016;133:e38-e360.
American Diabetes Association: Diabetes statistics [http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/]
Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, et al: Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. JAMA 2014;311:806-814.
Ornish D, Brown SE, Scherwitz LW, et al: Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart disease? The Lifestyle Heart Trial. Lancet 1990;336:129-133.
Ornish D, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, et al: Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease. JAMA 1998;280:2001-2007.
Esselstyn CB, Jr.: Updating a 12-year experience with arrest and reversal therapy for coronary heart disease (an overdue requiem for palliative cardiology). Am J Cardiol 1999;84:339-341, A338.
Esselstyn CB, Jr., Ellis SG, Medendorp SV, et al: A strategy to arrest and reverse coronary artery disease: a 5-year longitudinal study of a single physician’s practice. J Fam Pract 1995;41:560-568.
Fuhrman J, Singer M: Improved Cardiovascular Parameter With a Nutrient-Dense, Plant-Rich Diet-Style: A Patient Survey With Illustrative Cases. Am J Lifestyle Med 2015.
Boden WE, O’Rourke RA, Teo KK, et al: Optimal medical therapy with or without PCI for stable coronary disease. N Engl J Med 2007;356:1503-1516.
Trikalinos TA, Alsheikh-Ali AA, Tatsioni A, et al: Percutaneous coronary interventions for non-acute coronary artery disease: a quantitative 20-year synopsis and a network meta-analysis. Lancet 2009;373:911-918.
Hippisley-Cox J, Coupland C: Unintended effects of statins in men and women in England and Wales: population based cohort study using the QResearch database. BMJ 2010;340:c2197.
Simon SR, Black HR, Moser M, et al: Cough and ACE inhibitors. Arch Intern Med 1992;152:1698-1700.
Bangalore S, Messerli FH, Kostis JB, et al: Cardiovascular protection using beta-blockers: a critical review of the evidence. J Am Coll Cardiol 2007;50:563-572.
Gupta AK, Dahlof B, Dobson J, et al: Determinants of new-onset diabetes among 19,257 hypertensive patients randomized in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial–Blood Pressure Lowering Arm and the relative influence of antihypertensive medication. Diabetes Care 2008;31:982-988.
Wassertheil-Smoller S, Psaty B, Greenland P, et al: Association between cardiovascular outcomes and antihypertensive drug treatment in older women. JAMA 2004;292:2849-2859.
Group PS, Devereaux PJ, Yang H, et al: Effects of extended-release metoprolol succinate in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery (POISE trial): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2008;371:1839-1847.
Li CI, Daling JR, Tang MT, et al: Use of Antihypertensive Medications and Breast Cancer Risk Among Women Aged 55 to 74 Years. JAMA Intern Med 2013.
Sipahi I, Debanne SM, Rowland DY, et al: Angiotensin-receptor blockade and risk of cancer: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Lancet Oncol 2010;11:627-636.

How the Human Body Changes As It Ages

Jill Roberts/20 July 2022/ All MFN blog/

The human body undergoes a lot of changes during its lifetime. From infancy to old age, there are biochemical processes in the body that define these changes.

Some of them are visible externally, such as the greying of hair, skin becoming less supple, etc.

But beneath all of this, some processes happen to make all of this possible.

Why Women Should Lift

Carla DiGirolamo, MD, CF-L1, PN-1/18 July 2022/ All MFN blog/

Just a generation ago, women’s weight-lifting was largely isolated to professional athletes and competitive body-builders. Men have been lifting weights for years, but it has not come into the mainstream for women until the past 10-15 years.

Some of the barriers to the barbell for women may include fear of injury, lack of accessibility to an environment where they can learn and lift weights safely, and even more compelling are concerns about body image: “I don’t want to get too bulky”. Today, we know so much more about the overall health and athletic performance benefits of weight training. As more women have flooded competitive and professional sports and with the emergence of CrossFit and other resistance based group fitness classes, weight training has become commonplace in women’s organized sports and recreational fitness programs. But still today, the barriers to the barbell still exist with many misconceptions about risk of injury and body image concerns.

The Effect of Aging on our Muscles and Joints

Being a well-rounded athlete includes not only endurance, flexibility and agility, but also muscular strength. Our muscles move our skeleton, protect our joints, are a major source of energy expenditure and play an important role in blood sugar management. Like our heart and lungs, our skeletal muscles need exercise to stay healthy so they can continue to carry out these functions for our entire lives. Over time, especially into the menopausal years, women begin to lose muscle mass and bone density. Decline in estrogen levels increases the rate of bone loss and joint laxity leaving us more vulnerable to injury and fractures. With the loss of muscle mass, our metabolism slows and activities may become limited. But it doesn’t have to be this way. One important weapon to combat these natural changes is the all-mighty barbell!

Health Benefits of Weight Training

As young women, weight training helps performance across a spectrum of recreational and professional sports and builds a solid foundation of lean body mass, strength and functionality for the future. Starting from puberty, bone density increases until it peaks in our early 30’s. Weight-bearing exercise, along with sound nutrition, optimizes bone density development to prevent osteoporosis and fractures later in life. Into our 40’s, 50’s and beyond, weight training and attention to nutrition and recovery can not only slow the loss of bone density and muscle mass that comes with menopause, but may even result in continued improvement– especially if weight training was not started until later in life. Increasing and maintaining muscle mass in this age group also affords stability to joints such as shoulders, knees and hips thus preventing injury. But what if I’m already in my 60’s and beyond and I have never lifted weights before? Is it too late to start? Absolutely not! At age 89, my mother started doing deadlifts and chair squats with gallon milk jugs. Weight training for beginners can start with weighted household items, progress to dumbbells and to group classes such as Boot Camps, Crossfit and other similar type classes. In all age groups, like with any new sport or activity, beginners should focus on strict technique and mechanics with an experienced coach or instructor before increasing load and intensity.

A Word about Body Image

When I started weight training in the mid-1980’s, skinny was in. I was always self-conscious about doing too much leg work because my legs became very muscular. So I stopped training my legs – for literally decades. And now I am paying the price. But through Crossfit I have regained a lot of what I could have developed in my younger years. Today, I very much regret surrendering to the societal ideal at the time. Because “society” doesn’t have to contend with my personal struggle to start rebuilding leg strength after age 45. Fortunately, today is different, “Strong is the new sexy”. But the body-shamers and the haters still exist and feel compelled to impose their beliefs and ideals on others. But the truth is that your strongest, healthiest, most confident self is your most beautiful self – not some societal ideal. So whether you are 18 or 80, grab those weights and give your body the gift of strength that will keep you healthy, active and living life to the fullest for years to come.

Fit Pros: Offer menopausal and perimenopausal women an individualized approach to training, nutrition and wellness as a Menopause Health and Fitness Specialist.

Dr. Carla DiGirolamo is a double Board-Certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Reproductive Endocrinologist who specializes in the care of reproductive age and mid-life women. Carla completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brown University Medical School/Women and Infants’ Hospital and her Reproductive Endocrinology training at the Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School. She is a North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Certified Menopause Practitioner and has been featured in multiple podcasts and speakerships at various events discussing the physiology of the hormonal changes of menopause, hormone therapy and functional fitness training.