Category Archives: Nutrition

Antioxidants and Exercise

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A regular trip to the gym to push weights, take part in your favourite class or raise your heartbeat on the cardio is great as a part of your healthy lifestyle but it also puts an added burden on your immune system.  Taking steps to increase your antioxidant intake and support your immune system is a sensible choice for both spontaneous and regular gym goers.

Let’s take a closer look at why ….

Free Radicals are harmful molecules which can cause damage to healthy cells in your body if left unchecked.

Free radicals come from the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink and in many of the products that we use on ourselves and in our homes.  They are also made inside the body as oxygen is used to make energy.  The longer and more intensely you exercise, the more oxygen you use and the more free radicals are produced.  Free radicals are also generated in the body as a result of infection and inflammation – often a problem for people doing exercise.

If exercise overwhelms the antioxidant defence systems in your body and not enough antioxidants are available to fight off the free radicals this can result in damage in the body, accelerated ageing and development of disease.

So, if you exercise it makes sense to take an antioxidant supplement as well as eating plenty of antioxidant rich foods.

Antioxidants ‘quench’ free radicals to stop them causing harm to your body.

There are many antioxidants and new ones are being discovered all the time.    The following are the some of the more and less well known antioxidants.  They are either found in food or can be boosted by consumption of various foods.

Vitamins – Vitamin A (beta-carotene), C, E, K. – found in varying quantities in fruit and vegetables, especially the brightly coloured ones as blueberries, apricots, sweet potatoes and dark green leafy vegetables. So it is good to include a ‘rainbow’ of food in your diet.

Minerals – Zinc and Selenium – found in seafood, red meat, nuts and whole grains

Amino Acids– such as Glutathione, Methionine, N-acetyl Cysteine (NAC) – eat plenty of asparagus, broccoli, avocadoes, spinach, eggs, garlic and unprocessed meats to boost levels.

Enzymes – such as Co Q10, Superoxide Dismutase, Glutathione Peroxidase, Nicotanamide adenine dinucleotide – good sources are oily fish (mackerel, salmon, herring, sardine) , red meat, liver & kidney, broccoli, spinach, soy beans, peanuts & sesame seeds

Wholefoods – such as Turmeric & Garlic – superfoods with a multitude of benefits

In our modern day world it is almost impossible to get sufficient antioxidants from food  to cope with all the free radicals generated and this is made more difficult if you exercise.  Help is at hand as the supplement companies have come to the rescue with a whole range of antioxidant drinks.

At Caversham Health & Fitness we are trialing the newly launched Antioxidant & Immunity BoosterAntioxidant and Immune Booster shots from Arbonne – great to take half an hour before exercise as a shot will give you an energy and fat burning boost as well!

Arbonne’s Antioxidant and Immune Booster is a 3oz beverage shot loaded with superfruit juices such as blueberry, pomegranate, acai, grape juice, elderberry and many more.  It contains:

-       an antioxidant blend that contains additional antioxidant ingredients

-       an immunity support blend to support immune health

-       an energy blend to provide a gentle burst of energy.

Arbonne claim that their’s is different to the other antioxidant drinks in the marketplace because it is not simply an antioxidant drink.  Antioxidant and Immunity Booster also contains saccharomyces cervesiae, an ingredient with multiple clinical trials showing that it supports immune health and it has won scientific achievement awards.

Antioxidants are found in the super fruit juices as well as in the antioxidant blend; milk thistle, amia fruit, holy basil, olive, elderberry and turmeric are all powerful antioxidants that help free radicals.

And, for extra energy, Antioxidant and Immune Support Shots contain an energy boost blend that contains green tea, guarana, panax ginseng and yerba mate which provide natural energy, as well as a little caffeine.

We’ll be serving up samples before the evening classes on Monday 16th May.  If you’d like to know more please email marketing@clubchf.co.uk.

Sally Albin, Nutritional Therapist

Water: Increase performance, improve weightloss, stay healthy

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Staying hydrated is one of the most important thing you can do while using the gym – in fact, not just the gym but everyday!  I have written about hydration before but after speaking to members, it seems that hydration is still a subject that people seem to skirt around. They eat healthy and train very well but they still miss out on the basics…. Water!

Few facts on hydration

 

Chart taken from Lucozade website

 

When we workout our body produces heat. For the best performance our body temperature needs to be kept within safe limits approximately 37/38°C. For our body to stay at this level we sweat. Sweating removes heat from the body by evaporation.

It’s so vital to keep replace replacing all the fluids lost during sweating to maintain hydration – otherwise we will become dehydrated and performance will suffer. Just a 2% drop in body weight through dehydration can reduce mental (i.e. concentration, reaction time) and physical performance.

  • 67% of the body is water
  • 75% of the brain is water
  • 75% of muscles are water
  • Blood is 83% Water
  • Bone is 22% Water

Water has a major role in almost all bodily functions:

  • Regulates body temperature
  • Helps digestion
  • Carries oxygen & nutrients to every cell
  • Lubricates joints
  • Takes toxins away from the body

Studies have shown that dieters frequently mistake thirst for hunger pangs. Dieters have found that having a glass of water reduces the hunger pangs and regularly drinking water helps to reduce food intake.

Dieting can cause the body to produce more waste products which in turn requires the body to need more water to remove it.

Tips for remaining hydrated

It’s all too easy to forget to drink water during the day, so here are a few tips:

  • Make sure you drink enough water before, during and after high physical activity
  • Always start your day with water. Have one or two glasses first thing in the morning. We tend to forget how much water we lose during the night.
  • Having a glass of warm water mixed with freshly squeezed lemon can help the digestive system kick in and help get things moving in the morning!
  • Don’t wait till you are thirsty to drink this is normally too late you are already dehydrated. Sometimes thirst is not a reliable measure of hydration because of medical or health conditions.
  • Always have a bottle of water with you throughout the day at your desk, in the car, in your bag and drink at regular intervals through the day.
  • An easy calculation to use is 0.0333 x bodyweight (kg) to get your water requirements in litres.

Jason, Fitness Manager

Diary of a Fitness Manager Getting Healthy – Entry 5

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Ok…Its time to call in the professional!

I have booked an appointment with our nutritional therapist Laura De Le Harpe. I am seeing her for my first consultation on Wednesday and included in this is food allergy testing.

I know I am in for very good service just from seeing her nutritional analysis paperwork. It goes into so much detail including looking at symptom  analysis and then considering how this could be linked to my nutrient requirements, lifestyle and diet analysis.

I have filled in my 3 day diet sheets and am just waiting till Wednesday to find out what sort of state I am in!

Laura De Le Harpe is a Nutritional Therapist who works out of Caversham Health and Fitness on Wednesday evenings which can be booked through reception.

What is Nutritional Therapy?

Nutritional Therapy can help you achieve optimal health, have sustained energy, mental clarity, stable moods, and be pain-free and fit for life.

Through the application of nutrition science and an understanding of how the body works, nutritional therapy aims to treat the underlying causes of poor health and not just the symptoms.

We are all unique. What is sustenance for one person may be poison to another. Our inherited genes may determine the health issues we face, but these are often only ‘switched on’ by our environment, diet and lifestyle.

What is involved in Nutritional Therapy?

The process begins with an assessment and initial consultation.

Prior to our first meeting, Laura will ask you to complete and return a questionnaire about your health, symptoms, lifestyle and eating habits as well as a signed copy of our terms of engagement.

The first consultation lasts an hour to an hour and a half. At the end of the consultation you take away a personalized plan covering diet, lifestyle and supplementation. This will address your health priorities and will be realistic and achievable for you. Laura will give you practical advice on what to do at home and may also suggest diagnostic testing depending on your situation.

Taken from Laura’s Website www.nutritionalbenefits.co.uk

Diary of a Fitness Manager Getting Healthy – Entry 4

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Week 4 & 5

Weight: Let’s no go there!

Body fat: Not good

Basically not good past two weeks, have been very run down lack of energy just feeling a bit rubbish and that is down to not having the right foods in the house and the biggest problem for me is lunch times. Going down to Waitrose or Tesco’s and seeing all the lovely looking sandwiches and not much else.

Bread and I really have a love hate relationship. I love bread and bread hates me. Just feel so energetic if I don’t have it and eat salads, meats and vegetables but that’s in a perfect world. One of the biggest problems I have is its all or nothing for me so in the beginning it was all but now it’s nothing!

Mark Willis one of our Personal Trainers here at the gym said to me about the 80/20 rule so I looked into it and here are the basics, more to follow as it is very interesting.

“The point of the 80/20 Rule is that you need to focus primarily on the critical 20% to achieve 80% satisfaction. Of course this is a general rule, not an irrefutable statistic; for some actions, the breakdown may be closer to 90/10 or 70/30. But the point is the same, and it can be eerily accurate when you measure the variables in your life.

The challenge, however, comes from identifying that critical 20%. With some areas that have measurable metrics, such as the number of clients, amount of income and time spent on each of your services, it’s a no-brainer. But it can be difficult to take the same analysis and apply it to your daily life, especially when you have a lengthy to-do list with lots of items that still need to get done.”

Taken from http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2010/01/14/pareto-principle-80-20-rule/

But this is it I have to get focused as I will never achieve my goal if I do not focus some of my time on them. Say 20%?

Jason, Fitness Manager

Diary of a Fitness Manager Getting Healthy – Entry 3

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  • Weight 12st 1lb
  • Body fat levels: 18.5%

While on the subject of weight and body fat. Always try to take your body fat levels at the same time everyday. I take my weight first thing in the morning and body fat using bioimpendance scales around 4pm as this is your most stable time for your body fat as it’s always higher first thing in the morning.

Exercise wise I have managed to get in one game of squash (Which did end up being 1hr 40 min’s!) and use the gym once but have managed  to get out for 3 hour+ walks at a fast pace to the shops then loading my backpack up with groceries the walking home again (5-10kg bag!) Need to do  more resistance (weights) as I need to increase my lean muscle mass

Diet wise I have been better making a food plan is helping but I am going to have to write down everything I am eating for a week just so I can look to see spacing’s between meals, amounts and time of eating. I need to do this as I am leaving too bigger gaps between meals so when I get to my main meal I am eating a lot more than what I need to. Its having an effect on my blood sugar and it’s not helping with my energy levels.

So blood sugar (Blood Glucose is the official term) levels are mainly governed by a hormone called insulin. All carbohydrates we consume are broken down into simple sugars. But starchy foods like potatoes and bread contain long chains of simple sugars that get broken down quickly causing blood glucose to spike. Processed foods, sweets and chocolate are already simple sugars so the carbs in them do not have to get broken down so they have a more or less immediate effect on blood glucose levels. As soon as our glucose levels rise this is detected by the hypothalamus gland which monitors blood levels. Then insulin is released into the blood stream to try and stabilize the glucose levels by driving it into the muscles and the liver any left over is converted into fat and stored.

So with weight gain that is why it comes on gradually. Each time we cause blood glucose to spike insulin is storing it as body fat only a little bit a time but still it keeps adding up!

On the flip side if you miss say breakfast and don’t eat till lunch time that’s around 14 hours with no food, now your glucose levels are going to feel very low and you are a lot more likely to make some bad decisions for your lunch as your energy levels are going to be very low and you are going to want some simple carbs (Sweets, chocolate?) and then your blood sugar levels are going to leap up, hence why it’s best to eat small amounts every few hours.

http://www.annecollins.com/weight-loss/food-cravings.htm Interesting facts on cravings

http://www.naturalnews.com/001978.html on ways to keep blood sugar levels down.

Jason, Fitness Manager

Click here for entry 2