Friday, June 28, 2013

5 things to consider in your pre-workout diet


Dear bloggers,


I am not a vegetarian but have cut down on the meat consumption, and love the vegetarian diet.  As a big fan of clean eating and vegetarian superfoods, this article has lots of insight into what the body needs when it comes to working out.  

5 Keys to the Pre-Workout Meal Everyone Should Know

Written by Matt Frazier

What to eat before you work out has long been an area of uncertainty for runners and athletes.  Should we just eat the same stuff we consume during a workout or race?  What about a simple protein drink or meal-replacement shake?  Far too often, the result of my confusion has been a few swigs of Gatorade, a simple banana, or worse—nothing.

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Gatorade doesn’t cut it
A few bad bonks have pretty much eliminated the chance of my starting a workout on an empty stomach, and I’m happy to say I hardly ever drink commercial sports drinks from 7-Eleven anymore.  Having done a lot of reading on the topic of pre-workout nutrition, I present the five nutritional pillars I use to build the perfect pre-workout drink.  (Note: “drink” implies the use of water.  I didn’t list it as one of the keys, but for performance and safety’s sake, make sure you include water in your pre-workout meal.)

The 5 essentials of pre-workout nutrition
1. Consume carbohydrates and protein in a 3-to-1 ratio, and include healthy fat (but just a little).
There are few arguments about this point.  The 3:1 ratio is almost universally advocated for optimal absorption of nutrients.  For a big workout, or if you have some time to let your stomach settle, 30 grams of carbs and 10 grams of protein is great.  Otherwise, halve the amounts.  Mark Verstegen, of Athletes Performance Institute, recommends a scoop of protein powder in a half-glass of Gatorade or watered-down orange juice.

As for the fat, a teaspoon or so of healthy oil, such as flaxseed or Udo’s blend, is all you need to help deliver nutrients where they need to go.  Coconut oil is even better for workouts, as the liver treats it similarly to glucose, a carbohydrate.

2. Include quick-working, high-glycemic carbs for energy now, sustained release (but not starchy!) carbs for energy later.
I first learned about this one from Brendan Brazier’s and Vega Sport.  In many of his recipes for pre-workout drinks, Brendan uses dates (glucose) as the high-GI, instant-energy sugar, and agave nectar (fructose) for slower energy release.

Why no starchy bagels or bread?  To convert starch into usable sugar requires your body to work, and during a workout you’d like to use your available energy for movement, not digestion.  If you’re going to consume something starchy, a sprouted version is best.

3. If you’ll sweat during the workout, you need lots of electrolytes.
Lack of electrolytes can do more than just bring on a nasty bonk; in fact, it’s downright dangerous.  Hyponatremia is the condition of having too much water and not enough sodium (an electrolyte) in your system, and it has proved fatal for endurance athletes who load up on water but don’t replace lost electrolytes.

Lots of salt is lost through sweat, and you should take in electrolytes during your workout.  Coconut water contains electrolytes; so do most sports drinks and gels, so most of us get them during workouts.  But you can get a head start on electrolyte replacement simply by adding salt or dulse powder to your pre-workout drink.

4. Consider caffeinating for improved performance.
Caffeine has been shown to significantly improve performance in endurance events and workouts.  Whether you want to use it is your own decision, but it’s certainly not something you should rely on for every workout—doing so will result in increased adrenal fatigue and slower recovery afterward.

To add caffeine to your pre-workout smoothie, you can replace the water component or your pre-workout drink with brewed yerba mate or tea, or even add ground mate leaves directly to your smoothie.  Alternatively, you can drink a cup of coffee as many runners do, but that can be rougher on both your intestines and your adrenal glands.

5. Add optional superfoods to go the extra mile.
While the above guidelines should be enough to give your workout a swift kick in the ass, you can always make your pre-workout drinks even better with the addition of a few superfoods.  Chia seeds are a popular one these days, and your body will absorb them in either whole or ground form (be prepared for them to gel though).  Maca powder is another one, great for helping the adrenal glands recover from the stress of a workout.  Acai, goji, chlorella, greens powder, ground flaxseed, hemp… the list goes on.

- See more at: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/pre-workout-drinks/#sthash.acbt682R.dpuf

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Headaches & Migraines

Everybody gets headaches, even if you don't realize it.  For some people they are more debilitating than others.  Here are a few questions a homeopath might ask you:
  1. Where in your head do you feel the pain?
  2. What makes it worse? Light, sound, or smell sensitivity?  If your headaches are worse around light, then obviously they will be better in a dark room with your eyes closed.
  3. What makes it better? Fresh air, warm shower, pressure (tightly wrapping the head), cold compress, lying down, etc.
  4. Do you get nauseous?
  5. How long have you had them?  If you can pinpoint when they started, did anything occur at this time?
  6. What else is going on in the body at the same time?
  7. Do they start a specific time of the day?
  8. How are you, in general, in direct sunlight?
Again, like with any symptoms, it is a good idea to have a full case of the patient.  This will help determine what else is going on in the body, physical or mental/emotional, and treat the patient's imbalance as a whole.  If headaches or migraines have been happening for a while then it is important to know the entire chronic picture of a patient.  Homeopaths ask weird questions such as those about body temperature, digestion, food cravings, sleep, thirst, etc.  The right remedy will bring to balance that which is out of balance.

Here are a few example of homeopathic remedies linked to the symptoms they are describing:
  • Belladonna: Face gets flushed, head feels hot.  Sound sensitivity, violent pulsating pain.  Often felt in the forehead.  Worse from pressure, worse lying down especially in a warm bed, worse warm weather.  Pupils dilated.
  • Natrum-Muriaticum: Headache in the temples or near and behind the eyes.  Extreme light sensitivity, better lying down in a dark room.  Worse in direct sunlight without protection.  Patient is thirsty.
  • Nux-Vomica: Patient wakes up with a headache.  Worse cold weather or upon getting cold.  Headache from a hangover.  Headache is affected by certain types of food and smells, worse after eating.  The Nux-V patient is often a Type A personality, so headaches can be brought on by overworking.  
Dosage depends on frequency, intensity, and sensitivity.  Remember, ask the advice of a professional, the remedy bottles give impersonal instructions.  A good starting point for acute onset of a headache or migraine is 200c, and then go up from there.  If you've been having headaches or migraines chronically then you also need to consider balancing the body in general, not only when you have the onset.  Potency and dosage for this is dependent on the patient.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Practicing Handstands

Even if you're not quite there in your yoga practice, a good start to achieving a handstand is holding the Downward Dog pose for 10 minutes or more.  Its harder than it sounds, and a great test of your patience.  You need the correct alignment and strength in your shoulders, plus core strength.  Core strength helps by keeping the legs light and keeping them up.  Always engage your inner abs whenever you can remember during yoga, these are the Mula and Uddiyana Bandhas you are activating.

In Downward Dog, you are in an upside down 'V'-shape and your gaze is between your toes.  The distance between your hands and feet should be around the same as in your plank pose.  Keep your fingers and toes spread, and equal weight distribution between arms and legs.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Add to the list of Killer Food Combos

Here are some treasures that I have been eating more of recently and will NEVER get sick of:

1. Coconut milk and Mango.  Coconut milk goes with EVERYTHING. Seriously, savoury and sweet, and is one of my inspirations for new concoctions while living in tropical Thailand.  I don't need to say anything about Mangoes, if you don't like them, I need to know why?  Please email me (or respond below).  I understand the texture can be slimy or maybe you had an overripe or underripe mango, but please don't give up on this fruit.  Trust me, your life is not complete without a succulent mango.  Under the mango tree I will live.


2. Papaya and Lime.  Classic.  I know many people are not a fan of papaya, this means that you've never had good papaya.  Papaya reminds me of the avocado of the fruit family (avocados are considered a fruit but they're not sweet), creamy and great with lime.  Make sure it's a dark orange colour.  The seeds are kind of scary looking, but they're harmless, just scrape them out.  In Thailand the fruit vendors cut it up, so I'm a bit spoiled here with the fruit.  Wash it with fresh water if needed.  This combination also goes very well with plain yoghurt.



3. Figs and Walnuts.  Mmmm.  Have to thank my sister living in the Middle East for this one.  Dried fruits and nuts are done so well there, please bring this to Thailand, without sweetening the life out of it, immediately if not sooner.  The Thai people are quite thin, in general, but I'm very concerned about Diabetes for the population, they add sugar and spice (sometimes all that's not nice..yes I teach little kids) to everything.


4. Goat feta cheese and Avocado.  I guess anything goes well with avocado.  And goat feta cheese.  Velvety deliciousness all around.  Avocados are not the most appealing looking fruit.. they definitely look like alligator pears, but inside they are pearls.  They go well in smoothies, salads, and just plain in my belly.


My choices are limited for creativity in the kitchen, based on what I can find in the current country I'm living, but there are some tropical delights that I wouldn't be able to find this consistently back home.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Depression and Homeopathy

This is a broad topic for one blog entry, along with all mental illness, so I will span it out.

Homeopaths are more interested in symptoms of a condition you are feeling, and less on the name of the condition.  We want to see which symptoms have manifested, and the more unique they are, the more it describes you as an individual.  Everyone gets stressed, our job is to find out WHAT stresses you out, and HOW your body responds to stress. Depression is a difficult thing to treat, since it doesn't have an explicable pattern at which it occurs.  It is not considered a very dynamic disease.  It's just always there.  The best thing to do, if possible, is notice what makes it better or worse.  For example:
  • Time of day - worse first thing in the morning when you wake up, or worse before going to bed and you can't sleep.  
  • Does it help if you're alone, or around people?  
  • Do you get emotional or keep it in?  
  • What triggers it, any specific thought?  
  • When did it start? 
  • Are you on anti-depressants?  
It is a good idea to go to a professional regularly so they have your full case and know any other issues (physical or mental) occurring in your body also.  This way other issues can be treated, and you can be strengthened as a whole, which should help with the depression.  Physical conditions can cause mental symptoms and vice versa.

Here are a few examples of Homeopathic remedies used to treat characteristic symptoms associated with depression, specific to the patient's case:
  1. Sepia - Could be used for Post-partum Depression.  Patient wants to be left alone, cries a lot.  Exercise helps with the depression (biologically speaking, exercise will always help with endorphins).  Worse in the evening.  Craves chocolate (who doesn't though)
  2. Pulsatilla - It helps the patient to be around people.  Depression is worst first thing in the morning.  Patient sleeps a lot, is very moody (happy, sad extremes). The Pulsatilla digestive system is sensitive.  Patient is thirst less. 
  3. Natrum Muriaticum - patient is sad with unresolved grief to due death or loss of a loved one.  These patients usually keep their emotions in, and cry when they are alone.  Headaches or migraines could be an associated symptom.  Loss of appetite when stressed.
There are lot of symptoms treated by each of these remedies, and many more remedies that treat symptoms associated with depression.  It's always helpful to tell everything to a homeopath, so they can figure out which way to best balance your immune system.

You may find that a patient gets physical symptoms as manifestations of their mental/emotional state.  For example, there was a case of a little girl who wet her bed every time she heard her parents arguing.  You wouldn't necessarily call this depression, but it made her sad, and her body reacted with a physical symptom.  The correct homeopathic remedy will target the entire imbalance of the body, physical and mental/emotional.

Homeopathic First Aid

A few homeopathic remedies for first aid and travelling:

  1. Arnica - Injuries from falling.  Good for bruising, sports injuries, if you fall and hit your head.
  2. Apis - Insect bites.  This includes bees, mosquitoes, scorpions, etc.
  3. Arsenicum Album - Food poisoning (diarrhea or vomiting).
  4. Aristolochia - Eye injuries.
  5. Calendula - Cuts and scrapes, even a first degree burn.
  6. Nux-Vomica - Hangovers (not exactly first aid, but it is important).
There are many more, stay tuned for more on this topic.  Also, please consult a Homeopath for the correct potency and dosage, instructions on the bottle ask you to take way more than necessary.  A good starting potency for acute emergency situations is 200C.  One dry dose is typically 1 or 2 pellets.

Mulberry and Heart Disease

High blood pressure is asymptomatic, as is high cholesterol, and neither have a proper medical treatment besides surgery or high dose pharmaceutical drugs.

Cholesterol drugs, such as Lipitor, eliminate all cholesterol, good and bad (sex hormones are made of cholesterol).  This leads to low sex drive, plus reliance on drugs because your body is unable to make the good cholesterol.  So what can you do?

There are many all natural treatments, but before you start taking hundreds of 'natural' remedies, a simple solution is a tea made of Mulberry leaves.  Not only do Mulberries help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, but also blood sugar levels.
When buying teas, it's always fun to see what is grown locally.  Organic or local produce is a great idea to get the maximum benefit of fruit and vegetables, but not necessary.