Dietary Prevention from Soft Tissue Injuries

Nagging sports injuries occur from overuse of a specific movement which effects deep stabilizing fibers called connective tissue. Connective tissue is made of thin collagen based fibers that mature and organize together to support an organ such as the liver, which helps detoxify and eliminate waste from the body, or structure, such as tendons and ligaments which help fixate bones and muscles for structural stability. The most common soft tissue injuries include pain related to the shoulder, neck, elbow, wristnd lower back. Rest from overuse is a mandatory cure towards healing the body but also a nutritional diet rich in antioxidants, proteins, and vitamins helps potentiate the healing process by neutralizing degrative molecules that slows down the healing process. Adding the following types of food slightly above the recommendation daily amount will help prepare the body fight injury quicker and return you back to an active lifestyle considerably faster.

Carrots contain Vitamin A which is necessary for the development of rods during eye development and immune system.

Tofu contains geinstein which is a hormone producing antioxidant

Eggs contains protein filled with amino acids lysine and proline which its nitrogen based needed to build collagen fibers.

Strawberries, blackberries and other citrus fruit contain vitamin C and antioxidants which help support collagen formation and prevent degradation of related connective tissue.

Citrus fruit examples include oranges, pineapples

Please consult your physician prior to any dietary changes

The Resisting Staph

After my research with New York City Department of Health Bureau of Communicable Diseases, I encountered the drug resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, otherwise known as a staph infection. Staph Infections are skin infections that are difficult to get rid of in close communities. They develop opportunistically through skin abrasions forming pus filled layers below the skin. The deeper the infection travels below the skin, the more destruction it can cause to the body. Self examinations to identify physical appearances include pus, rashes, redness, and swelling aid in containing a possible outbreak. Staph spreads by skin to skin contact and more commonly by sharing equipment, uniforms, and towels. Prevent contamination by washing your hands, covering abrasions, and keep your belongings personal. For all my martial artists...keep clean and fight dirty!!

Genetic Testing Available to Enhance Your Health

Is it humanly possible to enhance your performance naturally?  As an amateur athlete I continually become discouraged by the professionals who do choose to intoxicate themselves with performance enhancing drugs.  These were once prime athletes who ate the right foods, conditioned themselves daily, procured efficient rest, and sacrificed their bodies & mind to perform at a top level in their sport.  Now potential Hall of Famers are lost due to accusations, denials, and half witted confessions promoted on national television.

Now I must restate the initial question.  What can we do as workout novices, amateur trainers, and new year's revolution enthusiasts achieve our individual goals without the unnatural addition of performing enhancing drugs while not being over consumed by our vanity or performance plateau?  Eating a healthy balanced diet, acquiring natural supplements & vitamins including both fat and water soluble, and understanding what your body is allergic to or can digest are important factors we all should consider.  These factors are fundamentally supported by our genetics.

Genetics are not limited to determining your future child's eye or hair color.  It's not even restrained to predispositional health risk factors such as cancer.  Enhancing your health according to your personal genetic material is innovative, safe, and personalized.  Lifestyles have been changed by the advancements of Inherent Health.  As athletes we can recharge our fitness and overall health through genetic analysis in order to perform at the highest level.  Their weight management program gives us athletes an opportunity to take charge of what foods galvanizes our performances and hurdle the plateau that occurs during our workout progression.

I truly recommend managing your weight with the genetic testing of Inherent Health at www.inherenthealth.com or you may access other natural system kits for weight management, Carbohydrate Reducer, Fat Trimmer, and Better Balance at http://www.amway.com/Shop/Product/Category.aspx?dsnav=N:4294965506-4294966655

So I guess at the end there's no need for performance enhancing drugs especially if there are genetically natural alternatives.

Draining Energizing Drink

In my efforts to maintain an alertness during night time studies, i submitted myself to external stimulus.  With so many energy drinks or supplements on the market its difficult to keep on top of which product has the highest efficiency without debilitating side effects.  Embarrassing to admit, my scientific educational background was not ready for what i would uncover.

In 1981, Reagan and Rumsfeld looking for an alternative from pure sugar, chemically engineered a sugar product containing three naturally occurring neurotransmitters that exist in the human brain, however, occurring at high concentrations individually can become toxic and develop free radicals.  These two master mind politicians decided to make a sugar involving all three excitatory neurotransmitters which yield high toxicity for the public specifically marketed towards diabetics under the brand name Nutrasweet otherwise known as the chemical Aspartame.  Series of tests were conducted demonstrating it neurotoxicity by federal regulating agencies however Aspartame was still filtered into the public in most carbonated sugar sweetened drinks.  What motivations would elected politicians and federal consumer protection agencies benefit from inconspicuously adding this neurotoxin into the public's favorite commercially produced beverages is up for debate.  It's not surprising due to this particular introduction of crack cocaine into the urban Los Angeles, New York, and Miami areas.

Thirty years later we have discovered Aspartame influence in America and deteriorating effects after consumption with noticeable side effects.  After Aspartame is chemically broken down, by products concentrations of methanol are produced which deteriorates hippocampal functionality related to memory.  This is counter productive since most beverage consumers drink these products to stay awake , be alert, and recall information recently digested.  

after i drank two 8.5 ounces of red bull within 2 hour time period i was alert and capable to accomplish the tasks n front of me.  however once i woke up after an uncomfortable rest, i couldn't recall everything i was reading from the night before and lost majority of the day because of the mental saggy feeling i was getting.  My warning is to be aware of the beverages containing Aspartame and use only natural sources to awaken your alertness.  Eat fresh fruit, do some stretches, and try jogging as natural energizer enhancers.

Blood Type Food Based Diet

Is it too far fetched to say that dependent upon your blood type, you are able to digest foods better?  The type of food you eat, the better your body can break it down and circulate it throughout your body.  Proper food digestion is the purpose of eating.  Food sustains life, not as primordial over-indulgence just because we live in a society of quantity.  Early Greek philosophers suggested four different types of phlegm (bodily fluid) determined personality traits. These philosophers were not too far off. The following chart suggests diet profiles for each body type.

	Diet Profile	Allowed	Limited	Food to avoid for Weight Loss purpose	Food that help with Weight Loss
Type O	High Protein: Meat eaters	Meat fish vegetables fruit	grains beans legumes	wheat corn kidney beans navy beans lentils cabbage Brussels sprouts cauliflower mustard greens	kelp seafood salt liver red meat kale spinach broccoli
Type A	Vegetarian	vegetables tofu seafood grains beans legumes fruit		meat dairy kidney beans lima beans wheat	vegetable oil soy foods vegetables pineapple
Type B	Balanced omnivore	meat (no chicken) dairy grains beans legumes vegetables fruit		corn lentil peanuts sesame seeds buckwheat wheat	greens eggs venison liver licorice tea
Type AB	Mixed diet in moderation	meat seafood dairy tofu beans legumes grains vegetables fruits		red meat kidney beans lima beans seeds corn buckwheat	tofu seafood dairy greens kelp pineapple

 *chart taken from Dr. Lam, MD http://www.drlam.com/blood_type_diet/*

Current research shows that the quality of food influences the body's mechanisms and possibly, as Greek philosophers theorized, effected personality.  Aren't you happy after eating food anyway??

Too Much Muscle Mass???

Bone bearing activities reduce the risk of osteoporosis and promote the stimulation of red blood cells in the bone marrow.  Beta lymphocytes (disease fighting cells) are differentiated from red blood cells during its maturation in the bone marrow which is further promoted via exercising.  Other than denser bones and disease prevention, weight lifting (a bone bearing activity) is used for muscle development.  When is there too much mass muscle?

Muscles mass is the motivation most body builders, exercise enthusiast, and gym non-frequenters need in order to contribute to their own personal health development.  On the contrary, muscle mass should not diminish flexibility.  Muscles that become to massive may effect poor circulation comparative to fat buildup leading to high cholesterol and heart disease.  Flexibility and lean muscle mass allows proper circulation for regulatory systems in the body, and eliminates body structure rigidity.

Inability to touch your toes or scratch your back are clear indicators of extremely tight muscles that should be attended to with equal effort stretching.

Sport Drinks: What's better?

Exercise physiology says that we need to fuel our bodies to activate its potential, particularly for the activity it will engage in.  This theory makes actual sense.  However, what doesn't make sense are the types of fuels we consume enabling our bodies to be capable.  Regardless of the exercise we engage in, once we sweat our bodies need  to be replenished with the electrolytes it lost.  Electrolytes are positively or negatively charged elements which assist cell regulation throughout the 11 body systems (ex. central nervous, endocrine, & digestive).  Decrease your chances of dehydration by ensuring your sports drinks contain the following:

• sodium (Na⁺)
• potassium (K⁺)
• chloride (Cl^-)
• calcium (Ca²⁺)
• magnesium (Mg²⁺)
• bicarbonate (HCO₃^-)
• phosphate (PO₄^2-)
• sulfate (SO₄^2-)

Gatorade, VitaCoco, Powerade, etc contain a significant percentage of these electrolytes however what differentiates each brand is the amount of artificial sugar or sweetener used to enhance the drinks' flavor contents.  Gatorade and Powerade contain 35 and 46 grams of sugar respectively in a 20 fluid ounce container while VitaCoco contains 11 grams in a 8.5 fluid ounce container. If a person doubles the serving of VitaCoco, the amount of sugar does not equate in comparison to Gatorade or Powerade.  

With the latest NYC regulation on sugar content at chain restaurants, I think it is fair to know the amount in our sport drinks so we dictate the choice of how much sugar we need.