Yes - that’s right - it’s OK and even BENEFICIAL to indulge yourself with a piece of delicious pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving!
Thinking that this is some sort of cruel joke? Well think again! As Men’s Health reports:
Eating a large slice of pumpkin pie … will give you about 8,000 micrograms of beta-carotene, an amount Roswell Park Cancer Institute shows may halve a man’s risk of the disease.
Admittedly - there are other beta-carotene-rich foods that are a lot better for your waistline. These include: apricots, carrots, papaya, cantaloupe, spinach, sweet potatoes and mangoes.
However, the holidays are a special time - and after a long and stressful year - it’s time to enjoy!
Moreover, treating ourselves once-in-while is actually advantageous in the long-run. Read the rest of this entry »
A University of Missouri study suggests that athletic men may be at risk for low bone density. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, “osteoporosis affects more than 2 million men in the United States and nearly 12 million more have osteopenia– clinically significant low bone density that is less severe than osteoporosis.” The study now suggests that men who engage in low-impact forms of exercise have a higher incidence of osteopenia.
Pamela Hinton, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Missouri’s College of Human Environmental Sciences claims that “Regular, non-weight-bearing activities, such as swimming and cycling are effective measures for preventing the leading risk factors for death and disability in our society, but the results of this study suggest that regular weight-bearing activities, such as running, jogging, or rope jumping, are important for the maintenance of healthy bones.”
Read the rest of this article by new, staff writer Denise Musumeci via our partner site: HesFit.com
While the most elite competitive athletes have the luxury of a team of coaches, advisors, and dieticians to consult with on a regular basis, the average endurance athlete preparing for an event isn’t so lucky. That’s where Monique Ryan comes in. A nutrition expert who has worked with professionals for over 20 years, Ryan has recently released an updated version of her book, Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes. The lengthy volume is a thorough, well-researched, and invaluable resource, with specific advice for athletes with a range of dietary needs according to their sport and level of training.
Ryan has divided the book into three segments. Part I has a broader focus, with an outline of general dietary needs, regardless of sport or the intensity of your training regimen. Ryan clearly outlines different macro and micro nutrients necessary for daily living, along with their roles in wellness and the best ways to incorporate them into one’s diet. But the guide doesn’t stop at food – hydration is a key element to prime health and elite performance, and Ryan offers substantive information on the intricacies of maintaining adequate hydration, from the ins and outs of caffeine to the problems associated with alcohol consumption. This section of the book is bolstered by a number of quick and easy-to-read charts and diagrams outlining nutrients, sources, and recommended intake levels, making the science of nutrition easier to digest.
Read the rest of this review at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com
The following article was written by TFS guest contributor Dr. Larry Robinson. For more about Dr. Robinson, check out the “About Dr. Robinson” section at the conclusion of the article.
1. Use the summer weather to increase your outdoor activity:
“From running and baseball games in the park to weekend getaways hiking, biking and canoeing, summer’s the perfect time to get in shape without a daily trip to the gym,” says Dr. Robinson. “Use the season to start a new sport you’ve always been interested in that can carry you through the holidays, New Year’s resolutions and colder weather.”
Of course check with your physician first if you have any physical concerns, and always start off easy. If you’re prone to heat stroke or exhaustion, take advantage of dusk and dawn to complete your fitness activity. And, as always, drink plenty of water and don’t forget the sunscreen for daytime outdoor activities.
Read the rest of this entry »
Most athletes know that lack of fluids weakens and tires them, so they take adequate amount of fluids, before, during and after competitions.
However, many do not know how much they need extra calories. They often are told incorrectly that the human body has so much fat on board that lack of calories is not a significant problem.
Researchers at the University of Wales in the United Kingdom found that moderate calorie restriction two days prior to competition slows down endurance far more than reduced fluid intake over that same period (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, February 2007). Moderate dehydration does not harm performance until a person becomes severely dehydrated. On the other hand, lack of calories stops you cold in your tracks.
Read the rest at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com
In just the past month, I have had to travel on business to three different destinations on three separate occasions. This plethora of traveling has often made it difficult to run, but since I maintain an active racing schedule, I really can’t afford to have these trips impede on the 80-90 miles of weekly running required by my training program.
After my most recent trip, I returned home fatigued and endured a series of terrible runs on the ensuing days. I’ve been spending these trips sitting around a conference table, not hiking around or digging ditches, so it was not immediately clear to me why travel is so taxing on the body.
However, after serious reflection, I identified several reasons why traveling can be perilous to a running regimen:
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The most frequent topic that I get asked about is nutrition. We are all in search of ‘the perfect food‘ or ‘the ideal diet’ to complement our training.
Furthermore, many runners, and athletes in general, are looking for the ‘quick fix’ or supplements that will lead to certain improvement. It is a topic worthy of considerable discussion, but also one that can be difficult to fully grasp and/or resolve.
However, there a few fundamental concepts (that many of us are already familiar with) that everyone should keep in mind:
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All plants contain chemicals that are healthful and chemicals that can harm us. Fortunately for us, our ancestors learned which plants are edible and healthful, and taught us to avoid those that are poisonous. However, if you eat very large amounts of one food, you can poison yourself, even though reasonable amounts are harmless or beneficial.
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According to New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), fainting passengers, dizzy from dieting, are one of the top reasons for delays on the NYC subway lines.
AM New York recently reported that the MTA found that between October 2005 and 2006, an average of 395 subway delays per month were caused by sick riders. Although the MTA does not keep official records of the sick riders’ specific ailments, transit emergency medical technicians, such as Asim Nelson, confirmed that a very high percentage of those who fainted did so because they had missed meals and/or not eaten enough.
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Being out-of-shape is almost as strong a risk factor for a heart attack as smoking. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (December 21, 2005) shows that being out-of-shape markedly increases your risk for being fat, storing most of your fat in your belly, having a high bad LDL cholesterol and high blood pressure, and having low levels of the good HDL cholesterol.
We live in a society in which 91 percent of the population develops high blood pressure, 78 percent will have high cholesterol, and 35 percent are diabetic. More than 50 percent of us die of heart attacks and strokes from these risk factors. Doctors no longer think of heart attacks, strokes and diabetes as just being due to our genes. We now consider these diseases to be caused by our behavior.
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