The Key to Looking and Feeling Younger

one key ingredient for good health

one key ingredient for good healthI was asked the other day what would be the one key piece of advice I’d give to someone if they wanted to “improve their fitness”. Wow. What a question. There’s so much that it can cover.

I immediately thought of “get enough sleep”, but then that’s not a particularly easy piece of advice to follow for some people.

“Exercise more” is another obvious one that comes to mind, but again, that could mean many things to many people.

I came up with a few more sage pieces of advice which I’ll probably share with you another day, but none of them hit the spot. Some of it was too running specific, some of it wasn’t necessarily easy to implement, some of it didn’t take into account everybody’s life circumstances. The one piece of advice I arrived at,  the one thing that everyone can do, the one thing that could help anyone take the first step towards looking and feeling younger, was something that is sitting right under our noses, and costs next to nothing.

And that something is…………WATER folks. Simple, cost effective and something that many of us need reminding of from time to time!

So, what’s so great about water?

  • If you’re well hydrated, your skin will look fresh and clear – because it will help to flush toxins out of the body, and it will increase blood flow to the skin
  • Water can aid in weight loss, by ensuring maximum uptake of nutrients from your food. Often, your body’s cry for food is a cry for micronutrients -(vitamins and minerals) not the bulky macronutrients -fat, protein and carbs. In short, water can make you want to eat less
  • It helps to eliminate waste from your body in a number of ways, including through the bowel, often eliminating feelings of bloatedness
  • Drinking enough water helps with muscle function and improves sporting performance
  • Water aids in disease prevention (it has been shown to decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45% and bladder cancer by 50%)
  • It just makes you fell better
  • It’s pretty cheap and readily available

 And did I say it aids in weight loss?

  • Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Next time you reach for a snack, think again, and go for water instead. You’ll be surprised how far a glass of water can go towards satisfying your hunger.
  • Enough water ensures your body can metabolise fat effectively. Water ensures your kidneys are functioning effectively, which in turns ensures your liver is able to remove toxins and waster from your blood. With your liver switched to maximum efficiency, it can better metabolise fat.
  • Water is a great substitute for high energy drinks such as shakes, smoothies, soft drinks, sports drinks. Swap these for a cool glass of water with a slice of lemon, and you’ll be saving calories big time.

What about fitness?

  • An inadequate amount of water will impair muscle function, leading to a less functional you
  • Too little water will cause your body to slow down, and you’ll lack energy
  • Dehydration leads to a reduction in blood volume, impairing performance
  • You won’t be able to regulate your body temperature efficiently if you are dehydrated
  • As your brain is over 70% water, you can expect to experience headaches if you aren’t well hydrated

If you are chronically dehydrated, leading to the impaired performance outlined above, you can’t train at your optimum level, which means you can’t realise your true fitness potential.

A few tips on staying hydrated

Water Tip #1. Drink the stuff. Even though fish do naughty things in it, you have to drink it to feel the benefits! Tea and coffee count. The caffeine in tea and coffee do act as a very mild diuretic, but the balance is overwhelmingly tipped towards hydration rather than dehydration after a cup of coffee. For caffeine to dehydrate you, you have to consume a lot of it, in a short space of time

Water Tip #2. Add a slice of lemon and/or some mint to your water to make it more interesting. The lemon will also help to stimulate hydrochloric acid

Water Tip#3. Carry water with you throughout the day. Better still, set an alarm to go off every hour. Get up and walk to the water cooler. Pour yourself some water, and drink it! Delicious

Water Tip #4. Limit the amount of water you drink at meal time. Whilst some people will recommend that you fill up on a big glass of water before a meal to help you to eat less, the water will only serve to dilute the hydrochloric acid necessary for the break-down of food.

Water Tip #5. Get into the habit of having a big glass of water when you wake up, or have some hot water with lemon juice for an extra digestive boost

Bonus Tip: For expert advice on health and fitness, train with us. Leave your details here, and we’ll give you a call.

Run Faster: Make sure you have enough calcium

We all know we need calcium for strong teeth and bones, but did you know that calcium is also needed for the life preserving functions of muscle contraction, (including the heart) blood clotting, nerve function and the release of certain hormones and enzymes?

Because calcium is necessary for the maintenance of life, it is leached from the bones if the amount in the blood in insufficient for these life preserving functions. You can still live without brittle bones, but you can’t live without a heart beat, so the body very cleverly prioritises the function that calcium is directed to. If there’s insufficient calcium circulating in the blood, the body takes it from it’s storage cells, the bones and teeth.

Calcium and Cola Drinks

As an aside, a highly acidic diet can  cause calcium to be leached from the bones. Your body will  act to maintain a blood pH of 7.4. If you have a highly acid diet, your body will draw down on stored mineral salts, including calcium, which act as a buffer to the acid and work to restore blood to a pH of 7.4. Lots of things can cause a drop in blood pH (ie a rise in acidity) including cola drinks. Therefore chronic use of cola (and to a lesser extent other soft drinks) can lead to brittle bones. And that includes the diet varieties as well! You can flush the acid away with water, but for every can of cola you drink, you’d need to take in 15-25 times that amount in water. (Then spend an awful lot of time in the loo).

Calcium and Muscle Function

Here’s the interesting bit for we exercise types. You should be sure to have enough calcium in your diet, and good gut health, to be able to contract your muscles.Below is a very abridged and simplified version of how calcium acts in skeletal muscle contraction.

  • The brain sends an electrical impulse to the muscle. A lot of biomechanical reactions need to take place for the message to get to the muscle safely, but, amazingly, in most cases it does.
  •  After receiving the message, the muscle shortens. This action is explained by what is know as the sliding filament theory.
  • Within a muscle fibre, there are two different types of filaments, actin and myosin. These filaments are layered one on top of the other, as in the picture below.
  •  When the right biochemical reactions take place, cross bridges form between the actin and myosin filamines, and the actin gets pulled by the myosin, so the two filaments are pulled closer together and the muscle shortens.

For all of this to happen, calcium is needed to “unlock” the active sites on the actin filament which the myosin attaches to. The myosin heads continue to reattach further and further along the actin, causing a more forceful contraction of the muscle.

 

actin and mysin

 

The muscle stops contracting when the release of calcium ions stop. You need adequate magnesium for this, but that’s a biochemistry lesson for another day.

Suffice is to say, if you want to run fast, make sure you have enough calcium in your diet.

 

How Much Calcium?

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Check out some calcium rich foods here

 

Reference: https://www.osteoporosis.org.au/about-osteoporosis

 

 

 

Burn an extra 160 calories a day and lose weight

foods to boost your metabolism and lose weight

foods to boost your metabolism and lose weightDon’t obsess about what not to eat. Here are eight foods which could actually help you to lose weight by eating them! You could also take a look at other ways to boost your metabolism and lose weight. 

 

Green Tea

Green tea will really get your metabolism firing. Chose it over black tea or coffee for it’s flavinoids and antioxidants, as well as for it’s thermogenic properties. Simply put, it will boost your metabolism. The amount of extra calories you burn isn’t huge – one cup will help you burn up to an extra 60 calories, but every little bit helps to lose weight.

 

Low Fat Yoghurt

Good quality, unsweetened, plain yoghurt is packed full of live bacteria called probiotics, which help your gut process food more efficiently. Yoghurt is also a good source of protein and calcium. Seemingly inexplicably, a 2005 study showed that including low fat yoghurt in a reduced calorie diet had a greater effect in helping people to lose weight,  than a reduced calorie diet which did not include yoghurt. Over a 12 week period, people who were in the group which ate yoghurt lost about 1.8kg more weight than the other group, and also lost 81% more fat around the stomach than the non-yoghurt eaters.

 

Cinnamon

Cinnamon has been shown to control the spike in blood sugar experienced after eating a high sugar meal. It seems the cinnamon slows down gastric emptying, releasing the sugars into the blood more gradually. This can make you fell full for longer, helping you to lose weight.  Think of it along the same lines as the difference between eating oats for breakfast vs coco pops!

 

Garlic

Well-known as a broad spectrum anti-microbial (kills all sorts of little germs and bugs), Korean researchers found that rats given a high calorie diet as well as a garlic supplement did not gain as much weight as rats who weren’t given the garlic supplement. When exercise was thrown into the mix, the garlic was even more effective in preventing weight gain.

To get the most out of your garlic, crush the fresh bulb and leave it to sit for 10 minutes before adding it to your cooking. This helps it to retain about 70% more of its beneficial compounds. Crushing the garlic releases the beneficial enzymes trapped in the cells of the plant. The enzymes boost the levels of the healthy compounds in garlic, which peak about 10 mins after crushing.

For best results, add the garlic in at the last minute, so it is cooked only lightly.

 

Hot Peppers

Researchers testing a compound related to capsaicin, found in chili and other hot peppers, showed the compound could boost your metabolism. The study found an increase in calories burned after a test meal.

The extra boost in metabolism amounted to about 100cals for a 50kg women, to about 200 cals for a 90 kg man. Not insignificant. That’s about 25% of the calorie deficit you need to find (500cals) each day if you want to lose 500gms in weight a week. I’ll take that.

 

Ginger

Similar to the capsaicin in chili peppers, ginger can boost your metabolism after you’ve eaten it, as well as aid digestion and decrease appetite. Add some grated fresh ginger to your stir fry, or make a yummy ginger tea by infusing in sliced fresh ginger in hot water. You can also add it to your favourite baking recipes.

 

Vinegar

Recent studies suggest that the acetic acid in vinegar may switch on genes that release proteins that break down fat. Participants in a Japanese study who drank 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar daily for 12 weeks, were able to lose weight, and  lower their visceral fat (fat surrounding organs) and waist circumference significantly.

Dark Chocolate

No article on the magical properties of foods would be complete without the mention of dark chocolate! Someone can always come up with some reason for eating chocolate. Here’s a study by Nestle researchers which shows that dark chocolate can aid in weight loss by reducing stress hormones.

 

What do you think?

 

 

Running For Healthy Skin

Start running for healthy skin

Start running for healthy skinHow is it that some women have glowing, healthy, smooth looking skin?

Many of them can thank their parents for blessing them with good genes. But even if you weren’t so lucky, there’s a few things you can do to improve the look of your skin – without spending a fortune.

 

You can run, and you can exfoliate.

 

Running for healthy skin

Running helps nourish skin cells by improving circulation and increasing blood flow to them. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the skin cells, and it helps carry away waste products. By increasing blood flow, you’re giving your cells a flush out.

Running can also decrease stress, which will help to ease conditions exacerbated by stress, such as acne and eczema. The reduction in stress will help to smooth out some of those tension lines and worried looks on your face as well!

 

Exfoliate for healthy skin

Exfoliating helps to remove the outer layer of dead skin cells. It reveals to the world the brighter skin beneath this layer of dead cells. And you don’t need to buy expensive lotions and potions for exfoliating to be effective.

Here’s a simple recipe you can throw together from ingredients in your own kitchen.

 

Olive Oil Exfoliant

3 tablespoons rock salt
1.5 tablespoons olive oil

Mix together, then rub into your body in circular motion. Best done in the bath or shower as it can get quite messy.

You can try adding herbs to the mixture such as sage or basil.

For a face scrub, you should use salt that has been partially ground.

 

Picture: Stuart Miles: freedigitalphotos.net

 

 

 

Why Do You Run?

uplifted 3d figure stuart miles resizedA while ago now I wrote a post entitle “The Value of Fun Runs”. It gave a summary of some of the fun runs around Sydney, their entry fee, and cost per km and a short summary of the good bits and not so good bits of each run.

Impossible to quantify in dollar terms, of course, is the overall sense of well being running in an event such as yesterday’s “Sydney Running Festival” (or the Bridge Run as the festival is more commonly referred to).

What price do you put on being able to run across Sydney’s iconic harbour bridge on a fabulous sunny morning-not too hot(unless you’re finishing the marathon at midday), sun sparkling on the water, surrounded by friends, or at least like minded people. It’s mornings like this that serve to remind you of why you run. Simply put, it makes you feel good.

 

From our youngest runner, to our oldest, from our novices to our experienced runners, all felt uplifted after the race. I’m not trying to turn a simple run across the Harbour Bridge into some kind of religious experience, but running in a run such as this certainly is something to remember.

 

Some of the comments I heard from our runners after the race will give you a sense of what I’m talking about.

 

  •  “I wasn’t going to stop running because I really wanted to know I could do it” from 6 year old Saxon
  • “That’s the furthest I’ve run. Ever!” 11 year old Luca
  • “Dav and I heard there was 100m to go and we just bolted. You should have seen how fast our legs were goingD” 9 year old Wilson
  • “I’m wearing my number like a badge of honour” one of our nearly 50 year old first time fun runners.
  • “It was a spectacular day to be running across the bridge this morning” Bernice – another of our soon to be 50 year old runners
  • “That was awesome” – just some random person I heard in the recovery village
  • “Just going to brag about my 29 year old” from a friend of mine texting me about her son’s first marathon.
  • “Yay me” from Tara, after her first half marathon

 

No need for me to say any more, really, but I’d love to hear your comments on why you run.

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The low down on cholesterol

heart rate

 

Finding out about cholesterol can be a little confusing. First of all, what is it? Secondly, why is it bad for us? Is it all bad for us? Do we need it for anything? What can we do, short of medical intervention, to keep cholesterol in check?

This straight forward guide to cholesterol will help you keep yours at a healthy level.

 

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a fat which is waxy in texture. It finds its way around the body in the blood and is found in all the body’s cells. It’s essential for the smooth functioning of the body. Whilst some cholesterol is taken in through the diet, about two-thirds of cholesterol is manufactured by the body in the liver.

 

What do we use cholesterol for?

Cholesterol is produced by the liver and also made by most cells in the body. It is carried around in the blood by lipoproteins – more about them later. The body uses small amounts of cholesterol for:

  • the integrity of cell membranes
  • manufacturing hormones including oestrogen, testosterone and adrenal hormones
  • aiding certain metabolic processes, such as your body’s production of vitamin D
  • helping the body digest fat and absorbing nutrients, via the production of bile acids

 

 LDLs, HDLs and VLDLs

  • Low density lipoprotein (LDL). This is what’s known as the bad cholesterol. It carries most of the cholesterol that is delivered to the cells, and when it reaches high levels in the bloodstream, it can clog up your arteries.
  • High density lipoprotein (HDL), is called the ‘good’ cholesterol. It helps remove excess cholesterol out of the cells, including cells in the arteries.
  • Very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). All of the lipoproteins are made up of cholesterol, protein and fats. VLSLs contain the highest amount of triglycerides of all the lipoproteins, which make them the worst type of cholesterol.

 

Blood Cholesterol Levels

It is recommended that cholesterol levels should be 5.5 mmols per litre IF there are no other risk factors present. If there are other cardiovascular risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure or pre existing cardiovascular heart disease, you should aim for a level of 2 mmols per litre of blood. Around about half of all Australian adults have a blood cholesterol leverl above 5mmol/l. Have you had yours checked lately?

 

HDL/LDL Ratio

This is the ratio of good cholesterol (HDL) to bad cholesterol (LDL). The ratio is determined by dividing the LDL cholesterol into the HDL cholesterol. For example, if a person has an HDL cholesterol of 50 mg/dL and an LDL cholesterol of 150 mg/dL, the HDL/LDL ratio would be 0.33. The goal is to keep the ratio above 0.3, with the ideal HDL/LDL ratio being above 0.4.

 

Which foods contain cholesterol?

  • Eggs
  • Animal products that are rich in fat such as meats and full fat dairy foods.
  • Prawns and other shellfish
  • All foods from animals contain some cholesterol. Foods from plants do not contain cholesterol.

 

Dietary tips for lower cholesterol

Generally, cholesterol from food has very little effect on the blood cholesterol level; the amount of saturated fat you eat is far more important. That’s good news if you’re looking to throw another shrimp on the bar -b this summer, as shellfish are generally low in saturated fats and are a good source of omega-3s.

 

Foods to avoid – I’m sure this list won’t surprise you

  • Fatty meats
  • Processed meats like salami and sausages
  • Snack foods like chips
  • Most takeaway foods, especially deep fried foods
  • Cakes, biscuits and pastries.

 

The dietary “do’s” of cholesterol

  • Increase the amount and variety of fresh fruit, vegetables and wholegrain foods you have each day.
  • Choose lean meat (meat trimmed of fat or labelled as ‘heart smart’).
  • Limit fatty meats, including sausages and salami, and choose leaner sandwich meats like turkey breast or cooked lean chicken.
  • Have fish (fresh or canned) at least twice a week.
  • Replace butter and dairy blends with polyunsaturated margarines.
  • Include foods in your diet that are rich in soluble fibre and healthy fats, such as nuts, legumes and seeds. The fibre will help to “mop up” cholesterol
  • Limit your cheese intake.

 

Cholesterol Cutting

Foods

  • polyunsaturated oils such as sunflower oil and safflower oil
  • oats
  • legumes
  • alfalfa sprouts (YUM)
  • garlic and onion

 

Plant Sterols

Plant sterols are found naturally in plant foods including sunflower and canola seeds, vegetable oils and (in smaller amounts) nuts, legumes, cereals, fruit and vegetables. Some margarine and milks have concentrated plant sterols added to them. Margarines enriched with plant sterols may help lower LDL cholesterol.

 

Cholesterol lowering lifestyle tips

  • Lower your triglyceride levels by cutting out alcohol, and if that doesn’t seem possible, reduce your alcohol intake to no more than one or two drinks a day. Avoid binge drinking.
  • Don’t smoke. Smoking increases the ability of LDL cholesterol to get into artery cells and cause damage.
  • Exercise regularly, and by regularly, I mean daily. At least one bout of exercise which will get you huffing and puffing a bit. Include more incidental exercise in your day. Getting up from your desk and having a walk around for a couple of minutes has been shown to reduce blood triglyceride levels. Exercise increases HDL levels while reducing LDL and triglyceride levels in the body.
  • Lose any excess body fat. Being overweight may contribute to raised blood triglyceride and LDL levels.
  • Control your blood sugar levels, particularly  if you have diabetes. High blood sugars are linked to an increased risk of atherosclerosis (‘hardening of the arteries’).

Is better hydration the secret to improving my running performance?

For most of us, the answer is a resounding yes. 

[EDIT 2019: current research shows loss of body weight is not a great measure of dehydration and it’s effect on your performance]

A conversation with a client the other night prompted me to analyse my own fluid intake during races. It was surprisingly little, even though I’m well aware of the value of hydrating. It’s interesting how you can overlook the little things.

Dehydration resulting in a loss of just 1% of your body weight can cause a loss in performance. Levels of up to 3% are quite common in sports of around 1 hour duration, and you can reach this level quite quickly if you go into an event under hydrated. Studies have shown when dehydration causes a 3-5% loss in body weight, work capacity decreases by as much as 35-48%. One of our runners weighed in before and after the SMH half marathon to find she’d had a 2% loss of body weight-probably more as she was weighed in the clothes she ran in, which would have retained some of her sweat, therefore weighing more.

To find out how much fluid you lose during an exercise session you need to weigh yourself naked before and after the session, or if not naked, in the same dry clothes before and after.  Weighing yourself before you exercise, then weighing yourself afterwards in the same clothes will give you a false reading, as the clothes you run in will most likely retain some of your sweat, giving you a heavier reading. Take the difference of your pre-exercise and post exercise weights, then add 100 gms for every 100mls of fluid taken in whilst exercising. This will give you the amount of fluid you have lost during exercise. Each kg of weight lost represents 1 litre of fluid lost. You should measure this long term, and take note of temperature and humidity as well as exercise intensity, and use it to predict how much fluid you should take in during the course of an exercise session.

How do I know if I am  dehydrated?

If you’ve lost more than 2% of your body weight using the method above, you’ve definitely moved into a dehydrated state, and remember just a 1% loss of body weight can cause a loss in performance. Other signs and symptoms include

  • Thirst/dry mouth
  • Headache
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Fatigue and tiredness. Literally feeling like you could just stop running and go to sleep.

Other more serious signs and symptoms include vomiting, tingling of the limbs, muscle cramps, difficulty breathing and death.

Most if not all of these could be put down to something else, but if you get a few of the symptoms, it’s worthwhile doing an analysis of your fluid intake during a race. Think about how much you drink prior to the race as well as during. You’d be lucky to take in 150mls from each of those little plastic cups you scoop up at the water stations (I have just measured one about 3/4 full).

How much fluid should I take in to perform at my peak?

This depends on a number of factors. To get a true idea of how much fluid you should take in during a race, you need to go through the pre and post workout weighing procedure over a period of time to predict how much fluid you are going to lose, given a certain set of circumstances. Things that effect your dehydration rate include:

  • temperature and humidity
  • exercise intensity
  • how used you are to the conditions
  • clothing
  • baseline hydration status
  • individual differences

Pre-race hydration

You should go into an event well hydrated. The colour of your urine is a good indication of your hydration status. If it’s clear, you’re well hydrated. If it’s like tea, then start drinking. For a week or so prior to your event, be very conscious of the colour of your urine, and adjust your fluid intake accordingly.

Fluids on the day

Keep in mind that each person’s needs will be different, but as a rule of thumb you should go for:

  • 500-600mls of water of sports drink 2-3 hrs before the start. In reality, this means having about a glass and a half of water when you get up. This will give your body time to pass any excess water out of your system before the race.
  • 200-300mls 10-20 minutes before the race
  • 200-300 mls every 10-20 minutes to maintain fluid loss at less than 2%

If you don’t normally drink before the race, be a little cautious about going all out on these recommendations first up, but you should be working towards around about these amounts over a period of time. Practice on your long runs first, then try it in a race.

If you don’t normally grab a drink at every stop, do so. Even if you just take a couple of mouthfuls each water station, that will help, but taking in a couple of cups would be better.

If you’re a bit scared of changing what you consider to be a proven formula, even if on analysis you realise you’re not taking in nearly as much water as indicated above, at least make sure you go into race day well hydrated. Do the wee test. Make sure you drink enough water for your urine to be running clear the day before the race. Even if you do nothing else, you will most likely see an improvement in your performance through this alone.

Reference: National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Fluid Replacement for Athletes J Athl Train. 2000 Apr-Jun; 35(2): 212–224.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1323420/ sited June 24th 2013
 Image courtesy of Marcus / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

DISCLAIMER: Any information contained in this document is obtained from current and reliable sources and is solely for the purpose of interest and information.  Individuals receiving this information must exercise their independent judgment in determining its appropriateness for their particular needs. The information and training advice is general in nature and may not be suited to the recipient’s individual needs. Medical advice should always be sought when starting an exercise program. As the ordinary or otherwise use(s) of this information is outside the control of the author, no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to the effect(s) of such use(s), (including damage or injury), or the results obtained. The author expressly disclaims responsibility as to the interpretation of the views contained in this article, ordinary or otherwise. Furthermore, the author shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. The author shall not be responsible for any damages resulting from use of or reliance upon this information. Readers of this document are solely responsible for compliance with all laws and regulations applying to the use of the information, including intellectual property rights of third parties.