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Nutrition and healing; how to eat to help healing

Many people don’t think of nutrition as an important factor in exercise and injury recovery, but to most health and exercise professionals, nutrition can play a vital role in injury recovery and in exercise training.   exercise program but it's equally important when you are trying to recover from an injury.  There has been encouraging research regarding the use of nutrition to enhance performance and to speed up the recovery process when injured.  Nutrition can also be a method used to counter the negative impacts of exercise-induced injuries. Energy, protein and other nutrient deficiencies should be avoided during the recovery phase of any injury.   After an injury occurs there is an inflammatory response that is initiated.  The inflammatory phase can last for up to 4 days post-injury.  During the inflammatory phase it is important to attempt to manage inflammation with nutrition.   Monounsaturated fats and omega 3 fats inhibit inflamm...

Eating Clean On A College Budget

Most college students would agree that learning how to budget while at school can be quite challenging at times.  Textbooks, courses, living expenses, transportation, laundry, and squeezing in time for a social life all often come from the same pool of money.  Not to mention that on top of this, one needs to be able to eat.  At first glance, it might appear that the only way to manage is to cut out the most costly items, and often times healthy food winds up being on the top of the list.  It seems that many students give up the idea of finding healthier foods, despite their desire to stay in shape, and opt for cheaper processed foods they can find on campus, at local restaurants or in vending machines.  But what if there was a way to eat clean on a college students budget after all?  This is one college lesson you may not want to miss. sleep .  They can go hours without eating, or find that they must grab a snack on the way to class.  Before ...

What do carbs, proteins and fats actually do? A breakdown of macronutrients

Just when you think you are eating the right things your friend quickly points out that you are eating way too many carbs.  Then again, what do they know, they have been on a no-carb, high protein diet for weeks now.  Another friend says that protein shakes are what you are missing.  So now who are you to believe?  Top 10 Signs & Red Flags of a Bad Personal Trainer   The whole concept of low-carb, no-carb, high protein, low fat, and so on and so on can make your head spin.  Everyone seems to have a different idea on what it means to eat healthy, what is the proper way to diet and how to lose weight the correct way.  The bottom line is that before one can even embark on a journey to lose weight, it is important to first understand how your body uses carbohydrates, protein and fats.  And most importantly keep in mind, that science is science. Since carbohydrates have found themselves in the spotlight the most, lets start there.  While s...

Faux healthy foods - Top health food trends examined

Supermarket shopping these days can be quite complicated. The shelves are lined with products claiming to be healthy, leaving us often puzzled on what to choose.  Smoothie shops are boasting about their Acai bowls and smoothies, leaving us to wonder what is an Acai berry anyway?  And since when did we want to have sliced avocado on everything from toast to salads to sushi?  Truth is as long as it promises to make you healthy in some way, many people will be interested and may buy into it. It's important to be an informed consumer.  Acai Bowls -  Take one look at Instagram and Acai bowls are all the rage! With their vibrant color, sweet taste and “super powers” (rich in antioxidants), who wouldn't want one?  Well before you decide to make this your everyday breakfast or snack, you might want to proceed with caution.  The truth is that the Acai berry is truly rich in antioxidants, ten times the amount found in blueberries, and ver...

The best kinds of exercise for lowering your stress - Stress relieving workouts

What do work deadlines, sitting in traffic, paying your bills, grocery lines, raising your kids and battling the bulge have in common? While there are may be many suitable answers, one of the top common denominators is: Stress!  In the United States, seven out of ten adults report feeling some type of stress daily.  Although people have different stressors, it is something that once it starts to affect us, is often hard to stop.  What sets one person off may vary from individual to individual.  Some people get stressed out over the littlest things, while others have a much higher breaking point. Regardless, stress can take a physical and mental toll on your overall health if it is not handled correctly.  exercise falls among the many tools that can help you to get a handle on the stress in your life. Stress not only affects your brain, but with so many connections to your nerves, it can be felt throughout your body.  For many, stress can manifest in sa...

Do you sit too much? Sedentary Lifestyle, Health Impacts and Solutions

Do you think you sit too much throughout the day? Do you feel like you don’t get up from your desk very much? Do you reach the end of the day and realize you feel achy from sitting so much ? Do you eat lunch at your desk and never take a break from work? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you may be living a sedentary lifestyle.  smart workouts ) you may not be getting enough activity throughout the day to counteract the effects of sedentary behaviors.  Living a sedentary lifestyle can have a negative impact on your health.   Living this lifestyle can increase your risk of having several health conditions and can even decrease your lifespan.  Americans spend 70% of their time sitting and this can lead to acquiring several unwanted (and often times preventable) health conditions. It's important to figure out ways to get more activity throughout the day in addition to leading an active lifestyle outside of the workplace.  A sedentary ...

The how, what, and why of exercise and type-2 diabetes

Diabetes is a common problem among the American population and worldwide.  Aside from the impacted life span and quality of life, diabetes is associated with an increased burden on society in relation to medical costs which has a great economic impact.  The most influential factors that have been found to be related to diabetes include genetic factors and environmental influences. While you may not be able to change your genetics you can make a change on environmental risk factors.    Risk factors Obesity and inactivity are two of the main risk factors of acquiring diabetes.   Environmental factors may be mostly modifiable which means that many people that acquire diabetes may have been able to avoid this condition and may also be able to reverse this condition with lifestyle changes.  Diet is a crucial aspect of the overall management of diabetes as well as exercise and physical activity.  Type 1 versus Type 2 Type 2-diabetes can be difficult to...