nutrition Archives - Page 23 of 31

Keep the Goal

Maurice D. Williams, MS/28 September 2018/ All MFN blog/

I think you’d agree that we are in an age of information overload. Between internet search engines and social media, ALL the advice and opinions are available to you. It is really easy to get caught up in the shiny object syndrome. It is hard to Keep the Goal.

The noise of everything can become too loud! And it’s hard to tune out that noise.

But I’m here to remind you today to stay focused on your goal(s). If you’re doing something that’s working, don’t change it up because of a shared article you read on Facebook about a new wonder food or supplement! Yep, don’t go down that rabbit hole…

Is your goal weight loss? Then, take daily actions that are focused toward that – clean whole foods, weight and cardio training, hydration, stress management and good sleep. If the goal is performance for an endurance race, follow your training plan. If the goal is pain management, do the required exercises. Even your goal is just basic movement and get in the gym 3x/week, stick to that, ok?

It’s a simple concept, but it’s not easy to execute when everything is so loud and in your face. Quiet the noise and keep things out of your face by staying laser focused on you.

So, stay focused on the goal and take the daily necessary steps to get there. If you aren’t sure what those are, hire a coach (like me) who can help you get there.

In conclusion, Keep the Goal!

Originally printed on Move Well Fitness blog. Reprinted with permission.

Maurice D. Williams is a personal trainer and owner of Move Well Fitness in Bethesda, MD. With almost two decades in the industry, he’s worked with a wide range of clients, including those with health challenges like diabetes, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, coronary artery disease, lower back pain, pulmonary issues, and pregnancy. Maurice is also a fitness educator with Move Well Fit Academy and NASM.

The Debate: Is Sugar Evil or OK for Athletes?

Nancy Clark, RD/13 September 2018/ All MFN blog/

Sugar is a total waste of calories. I don’t touch the stuff.

I have such a sweet-tooth. My day is grim without some sugar in it.

Before I compete, I eat a spoonful of honey to boost my energy.

If you are like most of my clients, you are confused about the role of sugar in your daily sports diet. The anti-sugar media reports sugar is health-erosive, yet sports nutrition researchers claim sugar is performance enhancing. That might leave you wondering: Should I eat sugar or avoid it?

To address this conflict, I’ve summarized a sugar debate published in 2018 in the Journal of Progressive Cardiovascular Disease. The article, critique, and editorial do a good job of examining the question: Have the ill effects of those toxic white crystals in your diet been over-emphasized? Here is some information to help you better understand the two sides to the Sugar Wars debate.

Sugar is Evil⁽¹⁾

Sugar is not an essential nutrient. Our bodies can make sugar (glucose) from the dietary fat and protein that we eat, or by breaking down our body’s muscle and adipose tissue.

• The average American eats about 100 pounds of sugar per year; that’s 2 pounds a week and contributes abundant empty calories.

• Populations with a high intake of added sugars tend to have health issues. Reducing added sugar to less than 10% of total calories reduces risk of overweight, obesity, and tooth decay.

• Dietary sugar drives up blood sugar. Routinely consuming 150 sugar-calories each day (i.e., one can of soda) increases the risk of developing diabetes by 1%. Much of this sugar is hidden in packaged foods.

• Metabolizing added sugar (with no nutritional value) requires vitamins and minerals. With very high sugar consumption (and low intake of other nourishing foods), one could become nutrient depleted.

• Trading empty sugar calories for nutrient-rich calories is a no-brainer. Limiting sugar intake does not harm anyone.

Sugar is OK for People Who Are Fit⁽²⁾

• Sugar consumption increased from less than 10 lbs. per person per year in the late 1800’s to about 100 pounds per person per year by World War II. Consumption remained relatively flat until 1980. Our health also improved between 1880 and 1980—so is it fair to say that the increase in sugar hurt our health?

• Sugar (and starch—a string of sugar molecules linked together) is in breast milk, dairy foods, fruit, honey, potato, wheat, corn, quinoa, and all grains. People around the globe have consumed these “carbs” for years. So why now do sugar and starch suddenly become responsible for creating human obesity and diseases?

• The fear-mongering terms of unhealthy, toxic and poisonous are simply unscientific. People who lack knowledge about physiology accept this disease-mongering, anti-sugar rhetoric. But the fact is no one food is healthy or unhealthy.

• Our present state of poor health is not because our diets are unhealthy or that we consume sugar, but because we are physically inactive. Low levels of physical inactivity reduce our ability to metabolize sugar optimally, and that explains the true cause of obesity and metabolic diseases.

• In terms of diabetes, blood sugar, not dietary sugar, matters. The rise in blood sugar that occurs after eating is not pathological but rather the failure of the muscles and liver to take up the sugar. That is, it’s not what you eat, but what your body does with what you eat.

• Physical activity affects appetite and energy intake. If we are too inactive and live a sedentary lifestyle, energy intake gets dissociated from energy expenditure. We can easily eat more calories than we burn. Lack of physical activity negatively impacts metabolic health.

• A maternal effect impacts both pre- and post-natal development. Children of inactive mothers are born increasingly predisposed to inherited childhood obesity and Type II Diabetes. This increases with each passing generation.

Concluding comments⁽³⁾

Lack of physical activity, more so than sugar, is the greater threat to our health. Given that so many people are overfat and underfit, a diet low in sugars and starches is likely a good idea for them. But for sports-active, fit people—who are at lower risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity—sugar and carbs are not toxic but rather a helpful way to enhance athletic performance. The one size diet does not fit all.

No one is suggesting that athletes should eat more sugar, but rather understand that, as an athlete, you can embrace a sports diet that includes an appropriate balance of carbohydrate (sugars and starches) in each meal. Strive for a healthy eating pattern that includes 85% to 90% quality foods and 10% to 15% whatever. Some days, whatever might be an apple; other days, it might be a slice of apple pie.

Addendum: If you are fearful sugar will harm your health, note that fear-mongering relies on cherry-picked scientific information that can prove what the messenger wants to prove. Fear-mongering messengers have created a general distrust of Big Food, and have shaped opinions that support raw foods, super foods, whole foods, organic foods, and clean eating. While a plant-based diet based on unprocessed foods with no added sugar is ideal, I commonly see athletes who take the advice to the extreme and eat “too clean” (orthorexia). That is not healthy, either.

My suggestion: Enjoy a balanced variety of foods, in moderation. The US Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting added sugar to less than 10% of your total calories (about 250+ sugar-calories per day for an active woman who might require about 2,500+ calories a day) Enjoying a daily small sweet seems better than routinely “cheating” with sugar-binges. Does the age-old advice to enjoy a balanced variety of foods—with a sprinkling of sugar, if desired—seem a reasonable goal?

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD counsels both casual and competitive athletes at her office in Newton, MA (617-795-1875). Her best selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook and food guides for marathoners, cyclists and soccer players offer additional information. They are available at NancyClarkRD.com. For her popular online workshop, see NutritionSportsExerciseCEUs.com.

References

This article is based on information from the Journal of Progressive Cardiovascular Disease (August, 2018)

DiNioloantonio JJ, O’Keefe JH. In critique of “In Defense of Sugar: The Nuance of Whole Foods. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2018.07.006
Archer E. In Defense of Sugar. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2018.07.013
Lavie CJ. Sugar Wars -Commentary From the Editor https://doi.org/10.1016/j. pcad.2018.07.007

Self-Care Is Good For Your Mental Health

Henry Moore/11 September 2018/ All MFN blog/

Stress and addiction are closely linked together. In fact, stress is one of the key factors⁽¹⁾ of addiction initiation, maintenance, relapse and treatment failure, according to Psychology Today. It is important to differentiate between chronic stress and normal stress. Normal stress can be healthy and even seen as pleasant. However, chronic stress can have harmful effects on your physical and mental health.⁽²⁾ One of the biggest sources of chronic stress is in the workplace. As a result, chronic stress can cause employees to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as drugs and alcohol.⁽³⁾ Luckily, self-care can help you cope with this stress in a healthy way.

Mental Benefits of Self-Care

Self-care has a number of key health benefits. In its most basic form, self-care is simply taking care of yourself. Exercising, for example, can prevent several diseases and disorders including heart disease.⁽⁴⁾ However, self-care also has a number of mental benefits as well.

Taking time away to take care of yourself provides you with a way to recharge your batteries. After a long, hard day at work, coming home and taking a relaxing bath can be akin to hitting the reset button. This makes you able to withstand everyday stressors better and enables you to stay focused and more productive when you are working.

But, now that you know the benefits of self-care, how can you actually implement it in your everyday life?

Sleep

Sleep is important for our mental and physical health, but it is very often overlooked. According to ResMed, sleep helps you heal damaged cells, boost your immune system, and recharge your heart and cardiovascular system for the next day.⁽⁵⁾ On top of these physical benefits though, getting the correct amount of sleep also has tons of mental health benefits. No one feels 100 percent when they haven’t had enough sleep.

Sleep deprivation can prevent you from focusing, make your irritable, and cause you to crave unhealthy foods. It is hard to deal with even basic, everyday stress when you haven’t had a good night’s sleep. To help you get the sleep you need, it is important to have a set sleep routine and schedule. While it might seem like you can get more work done if you stay up, it is generally a much better idea to get the sleep you need and come back to your work later.

Take a Break

Taking a break can be helpful when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed. No one can concentrate on one task for long, especially if it isn’t a task that is fun or exhilarating. So, instead of trying to focus on a task for longer than you could do accurately, take regular breaks. This can help you stay focused while you do work and decrease the amount of stress you’re under, especially at work. We recommend taking at least one break an hour and possibly even more if the task you’re doing is particularly difficult.

Eat Healthily

Eating healthy can improve your physical and mental health. Healthy food helps to boost your mood and can keep you from being stressed. Keeping healthy snacks close at hand and having regular meals can greatly enhance your overall mood and your mental stability.

Self-care can do wonders for your mental health and can prevent relapse. By preparing your body to handle stress well, you can keep your outlook positive and handle whatever the world throws at you.

Henry Moore is the co-creator of FitWellTraveler. The site blends two of his favorite subjects (travel and health) to provide readers with information about how to get the most out of both.

References:

What is INFObesity & Do You Have It?

Ashley Koff, RD/10 September 2018/ All MFN blog/

We want better health, and so we seek better nutrition and health information, and we share that information. And then we seek and we share, some more. And we seek and we share, and we seek and we share and… we become INFObese – the unhealthy condition of having too much nutrition and health information.

To be clear, information is not the problem and not all information is bad or wrong. Actually there is a lot of better quality nutrition information today.

But just like the fats we eat, while some information is needed, even essential, for our bodies to run better, too much overwhelms, weighs down, and interferes with our body (and mind) running better.

Too much nutrition information is a health risk. Do you have INFObesity?

Assess your current nutrition information load to find out if you suffer from this condition:

Grab a piece of paper.
Draw a bull’s eye with five circles (like a dart board).
In the center circle, write “Me Today”. This circle represents who you really are right now. Write down your likes, dislikes, lifestyle, health status, choices, and resources.
In the next circle, write “My Health – Top 5”. This circle represents who you are based on the top 5 things that are most important to your current health status and health goals.
In the next circle, write “Me, Myself, and I”. This area represents the roles you play in your life currently like friend, spouse, ballerina, and more.
In the next circle, write “You Don’t Really Know Me”. This area is how a company would target you if they didn’t know you on a personal level (so by your age, gender, where you live, your household role, your work).
In the final circle write “You Don’t Know Me at All”. The outer circle is not targeted to you at all.

Image courtesy of ashleykoffapproved.com

Now on a separate piece of paper, jot down all the sources of nutrition and health information that you encounter in a week. Your neighbor, your guardian, a tweet, a magazine article, a TV commercial, a package of food, a yoga instructor, a dietitian or doctor’s advice.

Now assign each of the sources to a place on your bull’s eye. What does your picture look like?

When most of your information comes from sources in the first two circles (the bull’s eye and the next circle), you are doing better. You can still have too much information, but at least you are getting information specific to who you really are right now and to your personal health goals.

Look at the rest of your bull’s eye. Are you taking in highly-targeted information more often? Or are there more sources in the outer circles than the inner ones? And are there too many sources overall? You likely suffer from INFObesity.

The good news is that now that you have assessed your current information status, we can address what needs attention. But first, keep what is already better. Make sure to note and keep the sources that fall closest or are in the bull’s eye. And to rely on their information more often. To reduce your INFOload and improve its quality, could you get rid of some of the sources on the outer circles, could you choose different sources, more targeted sources, more often?

Want better help? Stop guessing what your body needs to run better (based on non-targeted or less targeted information). The better nutrition membership tools will help you assess your current nutrition and health so that you can see what your body really needs to run better. Then additional tools, including the weekly #Do1ThingBetter challenges will help you make better, not perfect, choices more often. (You can join The Better Nutrition Membership to have unlimited access to these better tools and support from me and other members.)\

Originally printed on ashleykoffapproved.com. Reprinted with permission.

Ashley Koff RD is your better health enabler. For decades, Koff has helped thousands get and keep better health by learning to make their better not perfect nutrition choices more often. A go-to nutrition expert for the country’s leading doctors, media, companies and non-profit organizations, Koff regularly shares her Better Nutrition message with millions on national and local television, magazines and newspapers. Visit her website at ashleykoffapproved.com. Ashley is also available for nutritional consultations.

6 Steps to Total Life Transformations

Maurice D. Williams, MS/4 September 2018/ All MFN blog/

One of the things I am most passionate about is helping people achieve things they thought were previously impossible. Hence, the amazing thing about working with people in fitness is that once they start to achieve those “impossible” feats, it trickles over into other areas of life.

Someone who loses 50 pounds or conquers new feats of strength for the first time suddenly gets a promotion at work, gains the confidence to quit their job and start that business they’ve been dreaming about. Furthermore, they might even leave a relationship that made them unhappy and wasn’t serving them.

It’s truly incredible to witness these total life transformations over and over again. And I believe it comes down to following these 6 steps to total life transformations:

1. Identify your impossible goal. What’s that thing you’ve been dreaming about but haven’t committed to or verbalized?

2. Commit to a deadline. Write it down, yet, make it non-negotiable too. Look at the goal and deadline every day so that it sinks in and become a part of you!

3. Reverse engineer the steps it’s going to take to achieve that goal. So, ask for support from a friend or coach if you’re not sure.

4. Ask yourself “what will it cost me to achieve this goal?” Will it cost money, time, or giving up things you enjoy like television? Also, make sure you’re willing to commit to the cost no matter what.

5. Ask yourself “who do I have to become to make this happen?” Do you need to become a morning person, more independent, or figure out a way to eliminate excuses from your vocabulary? You MUST check in on yourself every day to ensure you are becoming who you need to achieve the goal.

6. Find someone who believes in you and get them to hold you accountable. Very few people achieve goals entirely on their own. As a result, having a coach to support you is one of the BEST things you can do. They will give you honest feedback, help identify your blind spots, and help you strategize when you feel like your plan isn’t working.

So, now it’s your turn!

In conclusion, give it some thought (or maybe you know right away) then share with me your IMPOSSIBLE GOAL! It is only by setting, working toward, and achieving the “impossible” that we truly live an extraordinary life.

As a result, I’m anxiously awaiting!

Originally printed on Move Well Fitness blog. Reprinted with permission.

Sports Nutrition Questions

Nancy Clark, RD/16 August 2018/ All MFN blog/

Athletes have many questions about how to fuel for top performance. The Internet abounds with answers—but how do you what’s valid? Here are some trust-worthy answers, based on research presented at the American College of Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting (May 2018; www.ACSM.org).

FUELING DURING

Do elite athletes, such as professional soccer players, consume the recommended 30 to 60 g carb (120 to 240 calories) per hour during moderate/high intensity training?

Likely not. A soccer study indicates the players barely consumed half that amount (17 g carb (~70 calories)/hour of moderate intensity training and only 14 g (~55 calories) per hour during high intensity training). Soccer players—and other athletes in stop-and-start sports—want to experiment with consuming the recommended amount of fuel. They’ll likely learn they can have greater stamina and endurance at the end of their games—and that can be their winning edge.

FUELING AFTER

Does enjoying a recovery snack after training actually impact on the next day’s exercise session?

Yes, according to 8 female collegiate tennis players who enjoyed 680 calories of recovery food (an apple, a banana, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, and a bagel) daily for 4 weeks after high intensity strength and power training. They reported being able to train hard the next day with 10% less perceived effort compared to sessions without the recovery snack. No one “got fat”; there were no differences in body composition. Knowing that the food was available contributed to better-quality training sessions. Whether psychological or physiological, eating within an hour post-exercise made a positive difference. Perhaps you want to make refueling a consistent habit?

HYDRATION

When training in summer heat, what’s best to drink?

In a simulated heat wave study, trained athletes exercised lightly for 3 hours in each of 4 trials. They drank either 1) room temp water (20 degrees C) as desired, 2) cold water (4 degrees c) as desired, 3) no fluid replacement, or 4) full replacement of sweat losses with programmed drinking. Obviously, those who drink nothing suffered the most heat strain. Those who drank ad libitum (as desired) consumed enough to prevent dangerous levels of dehydration. The athletes drank more of the room-temperature water. Preliminary findings suggest the cold 4°C water blunted thirst. Be careful about how much ice you put in your water bottle?

I’m afraid of becoming dehydrated when I train hard in the heat. I plan to push fluids. How much is too much to drink?

While drinking an extra-large volume of fluid before endurance exercise might seem advantageous, the question arises: would doing so actually trigger a diuretic effect and, thus, not provide the desired benefit (hyper-hydration). To test that theory, subjects drank 5, 10, 15 or 20 ml/kg of a sodium-containing beverageThat’s about 12 to 50 ounces (350 ml to 1,400 ml) for a 155-lb (70 kg) athlete. The data suggest that the athletes retained about half of what they drank, regardless of the volume consumed. Thus, if you will be exercising in the heat, tank up as tolerated.

ALTITUDE

How much harder do you need to work when exercising in the summer heat at altitude?

In order to meet the combined demands of increased blood flow to the skin (to dissipate body heat) plus transport of adequate oxygen to the exercising muscles, the heart has to work about 17% harder than at sea level during 30 min of moderate intensity exercise. If you are a fit, healthy person who is just exercising at altitude or just exercising in the heat, the heart works about 10% harder. No wonder exercising at altitude and/or in the heat is tiring! Programmed eating and drinking can help provide the extra energy and fluids needed to support the extra effort. Hikers and skiers, plan ahead…

CONCUSSIONS

As a soccer player, I am fearful of getting a concussion. Can I do anything with my diet to help protect my brain from damage?

An effective way to reduce the harmful response to traumatic brain injuries is to routinely consume oily fish (omega-3 fats) during training. Unfortunately, a study with 112 football players (none of whom took fish oil supplements) indicates only 1% of them consumed adequate dietary omega-3s. They would be wise to enjoy more tuna sandwiches, grilled salmon, and other oily fish, as well as take fish oil supplements.

INJURIES

What can I do to reduce my risk of getting injured?

You want to eat well on a daily basis and stay in peak physical condition. Fit individuals have a lower injury risk. A study with Navy SEALs suggests having good knee strength and flexible hamstrings, as well as strong leg muscles, are important factors to reduce the risk of lower-leg muscle & bone injuries.

You also want to maintain an appropriate body weight—not too thin! Among female collegiate athletes, those with components of the Female Athlete Triad (amenorrhea, stress fractures, and/or restrictive eating) experienced more injuries than those who ate enough calories to support normal menses and strong bones. Eat enough!

WEIGHT

I eat less than my teammates but I am not losing weight. How can that be???

The less you eat, the more the body down-regulates to conserve energy. A study with collegiate female athletes reported those eating ~1,600 calories a day, as compared to their peers who ate 2,100 calories, conserved energy via a lower resting metabolic rate and reduced thyroid (T3) level. Try getting out of “hibernation” by eating a bit more and enjoy better energy? Consulting with a sports dietitian can help guide this process. To find your local sports nutrition professional, use the referral network at www.SCANdpg.org.

NITRATES

I’ve heard that beets, arugula and nitric oxide supplements can enhance athletic performance by improving blood flow to muscles. Could they also help my grandpa who gets tired when walking?

Likely yes. A promising pilot study in older adults (average age, 78 years) showed that chronic nitric oxide supplementation (40 mg, 3 times/day) was well tolerated and associated with increased ability to walk more efficiently. We need more research to better understand the impact of dietary nitrates and nitric oxide supplements on physical activity and health among elderly people. Till then, we can all enjoy more beets, arugula, celery, and other foods rich in dietary nitrates. They help youthful athletes as well as their grandparents.

Nancy Clark, MS, RD counsels both casual and competitive athletes at her office in Newton, MA (617-795-1875). Her best selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook and food guides for marathoners, cyclists and soccer players offer additional information. They are available at www.NancyClarkRD.com. For her popular online workshop, visit www.NutritionSportsExerciseCEUs.com.

7 Tips to Avoid Obesity as You Age

Holly Klamer/14 August 2018/ All MFN blog/

As humans age, we are prone to obesity, which can cause a variety of other health problems and make it difficult to live a healthy and active life overall. Luckily, there are many things you can do to prevent obesity in old age, even if you haven’t always been healthy in the past. If you’re transitioning into retirement or living in senior communities, now is the perfect time to start living a more healthful lifestyle.

1. See your doctor regularly

As you age, it becomes absolutely crucial that you attend regular doctor’s appointments. Working with a doctor to manage your health is one of the best ways to prevent obesity. Your doctor can assess your own personal health challenges, as well as existing positive health practices, to help you develop a routine. Doctors can also help you develop a health management plan that is rooted in science and the latest technological developments, as opposed to the fad diets and exercise plans you might hear about online and in magazines. Additionally, doctors can help you catch any health problems you may encounter early on, so you can treat them and get back to health quickly.

2. Find an exercise routine you like.

It’s very important to exercise regularly, but for many people, it’s hard to find the motivation to exercise because they just don’t enjoy it. A good way to combat this is to take the time to find a form of exercise you really enjoy. There are so many different types of exercise to choose from, so if you don’t enjoy running or going to the gym, don’t worry – there are plenty of other ways you can stay fit. Look into local workout studios to see what types of classes they offer, and you can also check to see if there are any senior sports teams in your area. Even just going for a walk outside in an area you love can be a great way to stay healthy. Exercise burns calories and keeps the muscles and bones strong, so it prevents obesity from setting in. Additionally, exercising regularly will boost your mood and lower your likelihood of developing a serious health problem in the long run.

3. Drink water

Drinking water is one of the best ways to prevent weight gain, no matter what you like to eat. Water flushes out your system, so it helps you process the food you’re eating efficiently. If you’re exercising, drinking water can also help you lose weight more quickly than drinking sugary energy drinks. Water is a great way to quench your thirst without the calories that come with soda, coffee, or tea. It’s also very easy and cost-effective to drink. If you struggle to remember to drink water, carrying a water bottle around with you is an easy way to make it into a habit.

4. Eat a healthy breakfast.

Eating breakfast is crucial to jump-starting your metabolism for the day, so the body can burn calories effectively later into the afternoon and evening. If you don’t eat breakfast, your body gets hungry and starts storing the calories you consume, making it difficult for you to burn them off later. Keeping healthy, easy breakfast options on hand is a good way to ensure that you include this meal in your routine for the day. Examples of good breakfast options include fortified cereal, fruit and greek yogurt, or scrambled eggs, just to name a few.

4. Make it difficult to be lazy.

You’ll find that you’re more motivated to stay active and participate in healthy activities, such as exercising or spending time with friends, when you don’t have easier, more tempting options in front of you. For example, not having a TV in your home is a good way to ensure you don’t watch too much of it, and you won’t spend too much time relaxing on the couch. Figure out what your own personal weaknesses are and just make it hard for you to access them.

If you have a senior in your life that’s transitioning into retirement living, you can work with them to make sure that they have plenty of healthy activities accessible to them. Encouraging your senior to live a healthful lifestyle will ensure that they feel supported during this potentially challenging transition.

6. Keep track of what you’re eating.

You don’t necessarily have to count calories, but keeping a record of everything you eat every day is a great way to live healthier. Keeping a food journal forces you to be aware of everything you’re eating, and typically results in making healthier decisions. It also psychologically reinforces your positive decisions, encouraging you to stick to a healthy diet in the long term. Additionally, keeping a food journal makes it easy to talk to your doctor about your diet so you can make changes if necessary.

7. Keep your stress levels in check.

High stress levels will increase your chances of becoming obese, so it’s important to keep a handle on your stress levels as you transition into old age and retirement living. There are many things you can do to reduce stress levels – be sure you’re getting enough sleep, take time to relax and participate in hobbies, and socialize with friends and family. Actively managing your stress levels will make it more difficult for you to gain excess weight, and it’ll also help you stay healthy in other aspects of your life as well.

It’s very important for anyone to manage their weight, but it’s particularly important for seniors to do what they can to prevent obesity. Obesity can result in a variety of other health problems, and an older body won’t be able to fight off illness or injury as well as it once might have. It’s very important to work with a health professional to prevent obesity.

Holly Klamer is a connector with Senior Guidance and Senior Living Help that help provides comprehensive resources on various senior living options. She loves working in the ever-changing world of digital and is fascinated by the role content plays in today’s marketing.

How To Dairy Better

Ashley Koff, RD/24 July 2018/ All MFN blog/

What is dairy? Butter, buttermilk, cheese(s), yogurt, milks, cream

Quality Goals: Grass-fed/finished, organic, whole/full-fat

Grass-fed Benefits….

man with food rich in protein showing thumbs up

Sports Nutrition Update from the American College of Sports Medicine

Nancy Clark, RD/10 July 2018/ All MFN blog/

Staying on top of the latest sports nutrition information is a challenge. That’s why I attend the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). ACSM is a professional organization for sports medicine doctors and health-care providers, sport dietitians, exercise physiologists and sport science researchers. More than 3,000 ACSM members gathered in Minneapolis (May 2018) to share their knowledge and latest research. The following summarizes a Sports Nutrition Update session presented by many leading exercise scientists from around the globe.

Fat vs. Carb

Gareth Wallis PhD, Univ. Birmingham, UK

Which will better enhance athletic performance: A high carbohydrate or a high fat sports diet? Despite growing interest in a high fat sports diet, research does not support it for athletes who exercise at high intensity. Rather, research supports consuming 3 to 4.5 grams carbohydrate per pound (7-10 g carb/kg) body weight per day to be well fueled for hard training and competitive events.

Grains, fruits and veggies are obligatory if you want to exercise hard. Some athletes eat a high fat diet for training and then switch to carb-loading before a competitive event. Bad idea. The enzymes involved in metabolizing carbohydrate become less active, so the muscles are less able to access carbs for fuel when it is needed for winning sprints and surges.

Protein for Athletes

Nicholas Burd PhD, Univ Illinois and Trent Stellingwerff PhD. Canadian Sport Institute

If you want to build muscle, when is the best time to eat protein: before, during or after you lift weights? It might not actually matter because resistance exercise stimulates a muscle-building effect that is most robust within the first 4 hours but lasts for 1 to 2 days. You need not carry a protein shake around the gym! More important is to pace your protein intake evenly throughout the day.

Resistance exercise is far more potent than a high protein diet for increasing strength and muscle gains. That said, most athletes could expect to see only a gain of about 2 pounds (1 kg) of muscle in 13 weeks. That’s not very much compared to what they really want to see.

Maximal anabolic (muscle-building) effects are seen with about 25 to 30 g protein per meal. More precisely: 0.75 g protein per pound of body weight per day, or 0.1 to 0.2 g protein per pound per meal in young men. More than that has little or no further benefit. However, these recommendations do change with age. If you are >50 years old, you should target an additional 10 grams of high quality protein (milk, egg, fish, soy) per meal. That’s just a little bit more: a glass of milk or 1.5 ounces of meat-fish-chicken.

Despite rumors, protein does not damage the kidneys nor cause a decline in kidney function. Even people with chronic kidney disease should consume the RDA for protein (0.8 g/kg). A high protein diet also does not cause bone loss. Bone is 40% to 50% protein (collagen).

Over-consuming protein is not only a waste of money but it also stresses the environment. As athletes, we need to take a holistic and whole-foods approach to our diets. Natural protein-rich foods, as opposed to processed supplements, are best (if compatible with your training schedule) because they offer a complex and complete matrix that is more effective than processed proteins. One example of the benefits of whole foods can be seen with eggs. A whole egg promotes 40% greater muscle protein synthesis in the 5 hours post-exercise as compared to eating just the egg white (van Vliet AJCN 2017). Nutrient interactions seem to facilitate a more robust response when compared to eating isolated protein.

Sport Supplements

Eric Rawson PhD RD, Messiah College

There is no one single sport supplement that works for all athletes. To better understand why, we need a more specific scientific approach to studying supplements based on age, sex, body size, training status, and genetics. That would help us give better advice to target groups of athletes, rather than simply make population-wide recommendations. Many athletes take multiple supplements, so research with “stacked” supplements would also be helpful. Here’s some of what we do know:

Creatine enables an athlete to lift harder in the training room—and build more muscle. But not everyone is a responder. For example, 3 of 11 subjects in a research study had a strong positive response, 5 had a slight response—and 3 did not respond at all (Syrotuik, Bell 2004). Why not? Maybe their daily diets impacted their baseline creatine levels?

Creatine is found in meat and other animal proteins. When a meat-eating athlete goes on a meat-free lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet (milk, eggs, beans) for 26 days, his or her creatine levels will drop. (Lukaszuk, 2005). To normalize the level, athletes could take creatine monohydrate supplements (the most effective form of creatine).

Caffeine is a known energy-enhancing sport supplement. Your response to caffeine will depend on your genetics. Caffeine works best when you are starting to fatigue. Athletes can consume it in coffee, tea, soda, gels, gum, and pills, preferably consumed with carbs.

Sodium bicarbonate is used by some athletes to buffer the lactic acid that builds up during intense bursts of exercise. Research suggests peak response times can vary widely, from 40-165 minutes. (Jones 2016 ISSN). This variability makes it hard for exercise scientists to offer firm recommendations; hence, outcomes vary. Sub-elite athletes seem to respond better then elite athletes. Because sodium bicarbonate easily causes nausea and vomiting, a solution it to take it in gastro-resistant capsules.

Fluids and Hydration

Linsday Baker, R&D Principal Scientist, Gatorade Sports Science Institute, Pepsi Co.

When you sweat, you lose proportionately more water than sodium, hence sodium levels in the blood increase with dehydration. The amount of sodium you lose in sweat varies from a lot to a little, related to both sweating rate and how well you are acclimated to exercising in the heat, among other factors. A high concentration of sodium in your blood stimulates thirst.

Thirsty athletes have three ways they deal with replacing fluid losses: hit-or-miss ad lib drinking as desired; drinking to quench thirst; and drinking on a set schedule. The effectiveness of these strategies depends on the individual athletes, availability of fluids, the weather, and exercise intensity and duration. If you happen to have a lot of tattoos, take note: tattooed skin may sweat less and excrete saltier sweat.

Nancy Clark, MS, RD counsels both casual and competitive athletes at her office in Newton, MA (617-795-1875). Her best selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook and food guides for marathoners, cyclists and soccer players offer additional information. They are available at www.NancyClarkRD.com. For her popular online workshop, see www.NutritionSportsExerciseCEUs.com.

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