Motion Health & Fitness

Category: health

  • The Benefits of Whey Protein, and Why You Should Supplement

    The Benefits of Whey Protein, and Why You Should Supplement

    According to the Institute of Medicine, we all should consume between 10% to 35% of our daily calories from protein. Athletes and those who engage in regular strength training should aim toward the higher end of that range.  
     

    Though proteins are best derived from whole foods, if your diet is solid and you’re simply trying to add a protein supplement between meals, protein powder can be a useful addition to your diet.

    Most people eat about 10% of their protein at breakfast, about 20% at lunch and about 70% at dinner. However, protein intake should be spread out more evenly to increase protein synthesis, and protein powder can help you achieve that goal. What type of protein powder, you ask?

     

    Whey is one of the richest sources of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), including leucine, isoleucine and valine. These three gems have been shown to be absolutely critical for muscle growth, and even energy during workouts.

    Whey protein also provides antioxidant benefits, boosts immune function, and enhances muscle recovery and growth.

     
    Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. The most common whey protein foods include dairy foods such as yogurt, cottage cheese and ricotta.
     

    When you were a kid and read about Little Miss Muffet “eating her curds and whey,” she was actually eating cottage cheese, a great source of whey protein.

    Yet, many athletes and exercisers ingest much of their whey in the form of protein powder. However, not all whey protein powders are created equally. Some are made from concentrates, which are high in lactose.

    If you are lactose intolerant or can’t digest lactose properly (i.e., you get stomach cramps, gas and diarrhea), but you want a high-quality protein powder with excellent bioavailability, you might try a 100% whey protein isolate powder.

    The amount of lactose in whey protein isolate is quite low. The processing of whey into 100% isolate removes the lactose, lessening your chance of feeling gassy and bloated.

    What separates whey protein from other forms of protein is its digestion rate; whey digests very rapidly. In fewer than 30 minutes it can fast-track a good portion of its amino acids to your muscles, and that rapid delivery of aminos to muscle cells has been shown to be important for enhancing muscle growth.

    To be considered a great, whey protein the product MUST list whey protein isolate or hydrolyzed whey protein isolate as the very first ingredient. That’s because whey protein isolates are the purest form of protein you can get, with some being more than 90% protein. And “hydrolyzed whey protein isolate” means that high-quality whey has been pre-digested into smaller protein fragments for even faster digestion than regular whey isolate.

     

    Whey protein concentrate, on the other hand, goes through less filtering, which means fewer of the natural carbohydrates found in milk are removed. The result is a whey product that is much lower in protein content. Although most whey protein concentrates are somewhere between 70-80% protein, some can be less than 35% protein. This is why isolates and hydrolysates generally cost more.

    In order to know if a whey protein powder is top notch, you’ll need to do some math. Take the grams of protein per serving listed on the supplement facts panel and divide it by the serving size (in grams). This will give you the percentage of protein in each serving. To be considered a great whey protein powder, the percent protein per serving (or scoop) should be 80% or greater.

     
    If you are vegan, you might choose a non-dairy protein powder, preferably the organic variety. Pea protein powder and soy protein isolate are good choices. However, it’s important to recognize that not all plant proteins contain each of the nine essential amino acids (EEAs).
     
    EEAs cannot be made by the body. As a result, they must come from food. Animal-based foods have all nine of the EAAs and they are also higher in bioavailability, which is their ability to be absorbed and used by the body. Plant-based foods have lower bioavailability. 
     
    Soy is the only complete plant protein. Soy foods are also rich in vitamins and minerals. 
     
    It’s worth noting that plant proteins generally have less leucine, which is an essential amino acid. Leucine can: increase muscle growth and lean body mass, help in healing skin and bones, increase production of human growth hormone (HGH), and may help control blood sugar.
     
    However, the following protein powders are good plant-based sources of leucine:
     
    • Soy protein isolate
    • Pea protein powder
    • Peanut powder
     
    Nonetheless, because it contains all of the essential amino acids and is easily digested, whey protein (including whey protein powder) is considered the gold standard. Add in the facts that whey protein can aid wound healing, boost immune function, provide antioxidant benefits, moderate blood sugar, and might even lower blood pressure, and whey protein should be your go-to powder. 
     
    Yet, what likely matters most to athletes and weight trainers is that whey is a complete, high-quality protein that promotes muscle growth. To that end, some studies show that whey protein may be slightly better than other types of protein, such as casein or soy.
     
    When choosing a hydrolyzed whey protein isolate, make sure to select one with no additives, preservatives or artificial sweeteners. You might want a natural vanilla or chocolate flavor, for example, but you don’t need any of the other junk that may be added. If the only ingredient is whey protein isolate or hydrolyzed whey protein, you’re getting purity, without any other fillers or low-quality garbage. 
  • Sleep Is Vital to Good Health, Yet Many of Us Aren’t Getting Enough

    Sleep Is Vital to Good Health, Yet Many of Us Aren’t Getting Enough

    One-third of U.S. adults are struggling to get a good night’s rest, according to a jointly conducted web survey by Gallup and mattress retailer Casper. This suggests that nearly 84 million Americans are not getting adequate sleep.
     
    Moreover, 65% said they were unable to get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night.
     
    This sleep deficit has negative health consequences. Research confirms that not getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night, or getting poor quality sleep, increases risks for high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and atherosclerosis, which happens when fatty deposits build up in arteries. Not getting enough sleep is linked to weight gain, diabetes and inflammation, all of which can worsen cardiovascular disease.
     
    The survey of more than 3,000 adults indicated that stress is a major factor in this epidemic of sleepless. If the word epidemic sounds hyperbolic, that’s exactly how the CDC describes it.
     
    Two years of the coronavirus pandemic drove stress levels to extraordinary levels and even as that now begins to wane, new stressors seem to have supplanted it. An American Psychological Association study recently found that Americans are feeling more anxious about inflation, global uncertainty, and the war in Ukraine.
     
    Our emotional and mental states are major contributing factors to how easily we fall asleep and whether we stay asleep all night.
     
    There are strategies you can utilize to help improve your sleep. For example, 30 minutes of daily exercise improves your odds of a great night’s sleep by 30%. That’s because exercise helps work off stress and anxiety. Moving your body and raising your heart rate help ensure a better night’s sleep.
     
    Creating some form of ambient white noise, such as with a fan or noise machine that creates nature sounds, can also be calming, soothing and sleep inducing.
     
    Healthy nutrition, meditation and/or breathing exercises can also be quite helpful. For example, you can count your in-breaths or out-breaths from one to 10. You can then count them backwards from 10 to one. If your mind wanders, bring your attention back to your breathing and start counting from one again. Focused breathing is relaxing in and of itself, but it can also help stop the mind from wandering. If you practice while lying in bed, eventually you’ll fall asleep while counting your breaths.
     
    Another useful strategy is to have a specific bedtime routine that you follow every night. Varying bedtimes and wake times put your body’s internal clock, the circadian clock, out of cycle. Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, even on weekends, prevents this disruption. Changes in your sleep schedule thwart a natural sleep pattern, which throws off your circadian cycle.
     
    A regular bed time is critical for your health and wellness, as is a regular waking time. Additionally, sleeping too long can affect your ability to fall asleep that night. After a good night’s sleep, most people need to be awake around 16 hours before they feel sleepy again.
     
    Going to sleep between 10:00 pm and 11:00 pm is associated with a lower risk of developing heart disease compared to earlier or later bedtimes, according to a new study by the European Society of Cardiology. Early or late bedtimes may be more likely to disrupt the body’s circadian clock, with adverse consequences for cardiovascular health, according to the study’s authors.
     
    The incidence of cardiovascular disease was highest in those with sleep times at midnight or later (25% higher risk) and lowest in those with sleep onset from 10:00 to 10:59 pm. There was a 24% higher risk for falling asleep before 10:00 pm.
     
    When it gets dark, your brain ramps up its production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates your sleep-wake cycle. Essentially, melatonin helps you fall asleep — and stay asleep. On the other hand, light signals your brain to stop making melatonin, which helps you wake up and feel alert in the morning.
     
    Too much light just before bedtime, especially the blue light from electronic devices, can also disrupt our internal clocks. The brain’s nighttime surge of melatonin is known as melatonin onset. This naturally occurs as the sun sets and your environment literally starts to dim.
     
    However, modern humans no longer live by the sun’s daily cycle. We now have the ability to artificially keep our home environments bright at night. All that light signals to your body that it’s still daytime, which definitely doesn’t help you fall asleep. For this reason, it’s best to turn off screens and other intense lights a half-hour or so before bedtime. Reading by a dim light just before bed is a great way to ready the brain and induce sleep.
     
    Eliminating light in your bedroom is also a key requisite to a good night’s sleep. Even small sources of light, such as from your alarm clock or smoke detector can be disruptive, according to sleep research. There are tiny receptor cells in your retina that look for light intensity. Sleeping in a pitch-black environment helps ensure that those retinal receptors don’t find any light — until you’re ready to wake up in the morning.
     
    However, totally blacking out your room, such as with blackout curtains, in order to create a perfect sleep chamber may not be realistic for you. Yet, most of us can wear a sleep mask.
     
    Wearing a sleep mask could actually benefit your health. A small study at Northwestern University found that participants who slept in a dimly lit room had a continuously elevated heart rate. And in the morning, they also had more trouble getting their blood sugar into a normal range, a condition known as insulin resistance.
     
    These physiological changes happened even though their actual sleep wasn’t really disturbed. In fact, the participants generally said they slept fine. Yet, their brains and hearts knew that the lights were on, even though these people were sleeping. Even a relatively small amount of light was enough to shift their nervous systems into a more alert and activated state. The study provides evidence that sleeping with even relatively dim light exposure can be disruptive to our sleep-wake cycle.
     
    The resulting risk of chronic diseases like insulin resistance, diabetes, other cardio-metabolic problems is real. One five-year observational study of more than 40,000 women found that having a light or TV on while sleeping was associated with an increased risk of gaining more than 10 pounds.
     
    Furthermore, research shows that a lack of sleep can:
     
    • Affect cognition, decreasing focus and work productivity
    • Sap your energy and desire to work out
    • Elevate appetite and food cravings
    • Lead to more impulsive decisions, impacting food choices
    • Boost irritability, straining relationships
    • Increase stress levels (which makes sleep more difficult)
     
    In summation, for all these reasons, it’s best to:
     
    • Exercise daily, even if it’s just a walk
    • Create a cool, dark bedroom environment that’s conducive to sleep
    • Prepare for sleep by dimming lights and not using blue-light emitting devices 30 minutes before bed
    • Stop watching news or other distressing content before bed
    • Use breathing exercises when you’re having trouble sleeping
    • Keep specific bed and wake times
    • Wear a sleep mask
     
    Follow these tips, and you’ll enjoy a continually better night’s rest and, ultimately, a better quality of life.
  • Here’s Why, Perhaps, You Should Be Supplementing With Vitamin D

    Here’s Why, Perhaps, You Should Be Supplementing With Vitamin D

    Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that serves a number critical functions in the body. However, there’s a good chance you’re not getting enough of it.

    Vitamin D plays an important role in immune function. Not only does vitamin D enhance our immune systems, it also prevents our immune systems from becoming dangerously overactive. An overactive immune system leads to many autoimmune disorders in which your body can’t tell the difference between your healthy, normal cells and invaders.

    Additionally, a new study by researchers at University of South Australia finds that people with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to suffer from heart disease and higher blood pressure than those with normal levels of vitamin D. For study participants with the lowest concentrations of vitamin D, the risk of heart disease was more than double that seen for those with sufficient concentrations.

    Vitamin D is also very important for people with joint pain, and research shows that people with low levels of vitamin D may indeed suffer more joint pain. In fact, vitamin D deficiency can cause subtle widespread pain that may be misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome, including symptoms like muscle and bone aching, fatigue and weakness, a lower pain threshold, and more acute soreness after exercise that is slower to resolve.

    Though vitamin D is important for everyone, it is particularly vital for those who exercise vigorously and regularly. Vitamin D dramatically reduces muscle fatigue and studies show it decreases muscle recovery time by 20%. It can also reduce inflammation and increase muscle protein.

    High levels of vitamin D in the blood are also linked with better fitness, according to research from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. In the study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 20- to 49-year-olds with better vitamin D status also tended to have greater cardiorespiratory fitness, a measure of aerobic fitness often determined by measuring maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) during exertion.

    Lastly, vitamin D and calcium work together to protect your bones; calcium helps build and maintain bones, while vitamin D helps your body effectively absorb calcium. So even if you’re taking in enough calcium, it could be going to waste if you’re deficient in vitamin D. Ultimately, vitamin D is necessary for strong bones and it reduces the risk of fractures. If you don’t get enough vitamin D, you’re more likely to break bones as you age.

    Though your body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium, you don’t need to take vitamin D at the same time as a calcium supplement.

    But don’t forget magnesium! Vitamin D can’t be metabolized without sufficient magnesium levels, meaning vitamin D remains stored and inactive for as many as 50 percent of Americans. In addition, vitamin D supplements can increase a person’s calcium and phosphate levels even while that person remains vitamin D deficient.

    Vitamin D deficiency is more common than once suspected. Nearly 1 in 4 people in the US have vitamin D blood levels that are too low or inadequate for bone and overall health, according to the National Institutes for Health.

    The daily recommended amount of vitamin D for adults is 600 IU, but the upper limit is 4,000 IU. Some studies suggest that a higher daily intake of 1000–4000 IU is needed to maintain optimal blood levels. Going above 4000 IU may be toxic and should only be done under the supervision of a doctor or Registered Dietician.

    There are two major types of vitamin D:

    • Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) – which is synthesized by plants and is not produced by the human body

    • Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) – which is made in large quantities in the skin when sunlight strikes bare skin. It can also be ingested from animal sources

    Evidence suggests that vitamin D3 is approximately three times more effective at maintaining serum concentrations because the binding protein has a higher affinity to vitamin D3 than vitamin D2. This allows vitamin D3 to reside in the circulatory system longer and increase the concentration to sufficient levels more quickly.

    Most over-the-counter vitamin/multivitamin preparations use vitamin D3.

    Since vitamin D is fat-soluble, it is better to choose oil-based supplements or take it with food that contains some fat.

    Good dietary sources include fatty fish, fish oils, egg yolk, butter and liver. All of these contain fat.

    Vitamin D is special: It’s the only vitamin that we can make ourselves—our bodies create vitamin D in the form of a hormone when we process sunlight. When your skin is exposed to sunlight, it makes vitamin D from cholesterol. That’s why getting enough sunlight is very important for maintaining optimal vitamin D levels.

    Factors that impact the ability of the body to synthesize vitamin D through the skin include: time of year, time of day, the presence of clouds and/or smog, skin melanin content, the application of sunscreen, and geographic latitude. For example, residents at 42° N latitude or higher are unable to synthesize vitamin D via the skin during the winter months (from November through February).

    Assuming your diet is decent, if there’s only one supplement you should take for your health, it’s probably vitamin D.

  • Protein Isn’t Just Meat; There Are Lots of Non-Meat Protein Options

    Protein Isn’t Just Meat; There Are Lots of Non-Meat Protein Options

    Americans are pretty protein obsessed. So, as a result, few of us are protein deficient.

    Across the spectrum, for every gender and age group, people are eating about 15-20% of their calories from protein, which is well within the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR).
     
    The AMDR for protein is anywhere from 10-35% of total daily energy intake, according to the Institute of Medicine. On a 2,000 calorie/day diet, this amounts to 50-175 grams per day. That’s a very wide range.
     
    An average-protein diet would include 15% protein. A high-protein diet would include at least 25% protein, and the healthy range for protein extends up to 35% of daily calories, according to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. So, any diet that has an intake of 25-35% protein would be considered a high-protein diet.
     
    If you prefer measurable amounts of protein to percentages, consider the following:
     
    Sedentary, generally healthy adults need about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass, which is considered the recommended daily allowance (RDA). This means 55 grams for a 150-pound person and 72 grams for a 200-pound person. (To convert your weight in pounds to kilos, divide it by 2.2).
     
    That amount should allow protein turnover and prevent protein malnutrition; but that’s the bare minimum. Our protein requirements go up if we’re training hard, have a physical job, are injured, sick or recovering from surgery, and if we are losing protein due to chronic physical stress or poor digestion.
     
    For an athlete, the American College of Sports Medicine and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of body mass, whereas the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends 1.4 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass. Again, that’s a wide range and it provides some room for athletes to experiment. 
     
    Unfortunately, we can’t store protein like we store fat and carbohydrates, and our bodies are always breaking down and building up new proteins. This means protein is essential to our nutritional intake.
     
    It’s important to get a wide variety of protein sources because our body can’t make 9 of the essential amino acids that we require from food.
     
    I often have to remind my weight-training clients that there’s more to protein than just chicken and eggs; there are lots of excellent plant-based proteins as well. On the other hand, I have to remind vegetarian and vegan clients of these very same plant-based proteins, and to make sure that they meet their daily needs. Vegetarians and vegans just need to work a little harder to do so.
     
    What’s the difference between vegetarian and vegan diets?
     
    A vegetarian diet excludes meat, poultry, fish and seafood. A vegan diet excludes all meat and animal products, including dairy and eggs.
     
    Almost all foods actually contain protein and even though they’re not designated under the protein category, they contribute. For example, a fist-sized portion of broccoli has 3 grams of protein, a thumb-sized portion of peanut butter has about 3 grams, and a cupped handful of quinoa has about 5 grams.
     
    So, protein isn’t limited to beef, pork, poultry and fish, although these are all great animal sources.
     
    Excellent vegetarian sources of protein include: eggs; dairy, such as cottage cheese or plain Greek yogurt; and whey protein powder. These non-meat options offer a significant amount of protein.
     
    Vegan and vegetarian protein sources include: vegan protein powders, beans and legumes, tempeh, edamame and tofu.
     
    Beans and legumes deserve extra consideration because they are such excellent sources of protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Consequently, both are considered nutritional powerhouses. This makes them great alternatives to meat-based proteins.
     
    Most people are familiar with common varieties of beans, such as Great Northern, kidney, navy, pinto, white beans and black beans, for instance. Examples of legumes include peanuts, lentils, soybeans, green beans, peas, black-eyed peas and chickpeas (aka, garbanzo beans), which are used to make hummus.
     
    In addition to protein and fiber, most types of beans are excellent sources of other vital nutrients too, including potassium, selenium, zinc, iron, copper, phosphorus, manganese and magnesium.
     
    Simply put, beans and legumes are nutrient-dense foods that also happen to be low in calories (about 245 calories per cup). Yet, protein and fiber make you feel full longer, so this combination can have a double-whammy effect.
     
    A review of 26 studies found that a diet rich in beans and legumes can significantly lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, which is an important risk factor for heart disease. Additionally, eating beans has also been linked to higher HDL (good) cholesterol levels, as well as reduced inflammation, due to their high antioxidant levels.
     
    Some people may be concerned about the stomach gas often associated with beans, which is the result of a fiber known as raffinose. However, soaking and boiling beans reduces raffinose levels by up to 75 percent. Of note, canned beans, which most people are more likely to eat, come pre-soaked and boiled. The digestive tracts of those who eat beans regularly are likely well-adapted, eliminating those embarrassing emissions. If you don’t eat beans regularly, your gut flora (microbiome) will quickly adjust in about a week and any gassiness should soon subside.
     
    Though canned beans contain a significant amount of added sodium, thoroughly rinsing and draining them can cut the sodium content by about 40 percent.
     
    Beans are also inexpensive and easy to prepare, usually requiring nothing more than heating and, perhaps, seasoning.
     
    On the whole, beans and legumes are highly nutritious foods, offering numerous health benefits. They are a worthy staple of any good diet.
     
    Yet, there are many more excellent vegetarian protein sources.
     
    The following non-meat foods also contain plenty of protein:
     
    • Nuts and seeds (4-10 grams per 1 ounce serving): walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, almond butter, hemp, chia and flax seeds.
     
    • Grains (5-8 grams per cup): quinoa, brown rice, oats, millet and barley.
     
    • Soy (9-16 grams per ½ cup): tofu, edamame and tempeh.
     
    • Fruits and veggies such as avocado (4 grams per cup), dark leafy greens (about 5 grams per cup) and broccoli (4 grams per cup).
     
    • Dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese) and eggs provide 6-9 grams of protein per serving.
     
    There are many benefits to eating a well-balanced diet that includes vegetarian protein sources, including loads of fiber (which aids in digestion), and a wider variety of vitamins and minerals proven to reduce diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
     
    Here are some plant-based proteins that are also complete proteins, meaning they contain adequate amounts of all nine essential amino acids:
     
    • Tofu, Tempeh and Edamame
     
    Each of these is made from soybeans and all are excellent plant-based protein sources.
     
    A 3-ounce serving of tofu provides approximately 8 grams of protein.
     
    Three ounces of tempeh (made from fermented soybeans) contain 11 grams of protein.
     
    A 1/2 cup (4 oz) of whole edamame provides 8 grams of protein.
     
    These soy products also contain fiber, calcium, potassium and iron.
     
    • Quinoa
     
    One cup (8 ounces) of cooked quinoa provides approximately 8 grams of protein.
     
    In addition to being a complete protein, quinoa provides more magnesium, iron, fiber, and zinc than many common grains.
     
    • Amaranth
     
    This pseudocereal is a complete source of protein and has become a popular gluten-free grain alternative.
     
    One cup (8 oz) of cooked amaranth provides approximately 9 grams of protein.
     
    Amaranth is also an excellent source of manganese, magnesium phosphorus, and iron.
     
    • Buckwheat
     
    Though not as high in protein as quinoa or amaranth, the pseudocereal buckwheat is another plant-based complete protein. Despite its name, buckwheat is not a type of wheat. Therefore, it is gluten-free. Officially, buckwheat is not even a grain but rather a seed.
     
    One cup (8 oz) of cooked buckwheat groats provides approximately 6 grams of protein.
     
    Buckwheat is also a good source of many essential minerals, including phosphorus, manganese, copper, magnesium, and iron.
     
    • Spirulina
     
    A type of blue-green algae, this complete protein source can be easily added to smoothies for a boost of nutrition.
     
    Just 1 tablespoon of dried spirulina provides 4 grams of protein.
     
    Spirulina is rich in antioxidants and is a good source of several B vitamins, copper, and iron.
     
    • Hemp seeds
     
    Technically a nut, the edible whites inside of hemp seeds are referred to as hemp hearts and incredibly nutritious. Hemp hearts have a mild nutty flavor and can be sprinkled over yogurt or salads or added to smoothies.
     
    In addition to being a source of complete protein, hemp hearts are particularly rich in the essential fatty acids linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3).
     
    Three tablespoons (30 grams) of raw, hulled hemp seeds boast an impressive 10 grams of protein.
     
    • Chia seeds
     
    Two tablespoons of chia seeds provide 4 grams of protein. They’re also a good source of omega-3s, iron, calcium, magnesium, and selenium.
     
    Chia seeds can be used raw as a topping for oatmeal or salads, mixed into baked goods, or added to yogurt and smoothies.
     
    The takeaway is that there are lots of healthful, nutritious, non-meat protein sources. This is important for omnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike. Omnivores have a lot of options in meeting their protein requirements. Vegetarians and vegans just need to be more focused. 
     
    Having lots of options makes meal planning easier. After all, as the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life.
  • Sugar: The Biggest Dietary Threat to Your Health

    Sugar: The Biggest Dietary Threat to Your Health

    For decades, Americans were warned to reduce their fat and cholesterol intake in order to prevent heart disease, the nation’s No. 1 killer of both men and women. However, it is now known that sugar is the greater threat to our national health.
     
    The link between sugar and heart disease was purposefully obscured for decades. In 1964, after studies began linking sugar with heart disease, the Sugar Association (a sugar industry trade group) began funding research that cast doubt on sugar’s role in heart disease, in part by pointing the finger at fat.
     
    First, we should note the difference between naturally occurring sugar and added sugar, which is the real threat.
     
    Sugar occurs naturally in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as fruits and vegetables, grains and dairy. Consuming whole foods that contain naturally occurring sugar is okay. Plant foods also have high amounts of fiber, essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and dairy foods contain protein and calcium.
     
    Since your body digests these foods slowly, the sugar in them offers a steady supply of energy to your cells. A high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains also has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
     
    However, problems occur when you consume too much added sugar — that is, the sugar food manufacturers add to their products to increase flavor and/or extend shelf life. The added sugar in our food is generally regular table sugar (sucrose) and high-fructose corn syrup (a mix of fructose and glucose).
     
    Remarkably, sugar is the most popular ingredient added to foods in the US. In fact, about 80% of all sugar found in US foods has been added by the food industry. The top sources of sugar in the American diet are soft drinks, fruit drinks, flavored yogurts, cereals, cookies, cakes, candy, and other processed foods. 
     
    Yet, added sugar is also present in items you may not think of as sweetened, such as soups, cured meats, and ketchup. Yes, sugar isn’t merely found in sweets; it’s also added to many other processed foods, such as crackers, breads, peanut butter, and salad dressings. In fact, most processed foods contain sugar.
     
    While you might not think you’re eating much sugar, chances are you’re eating a lot more than you realize. Added sugar lurks in nearly 70% of packaged foods and is found in many sauces, snacks, most breakfast foods, and even many so-called ‘health foods’.
     
    The result: we consume way too much added sugar.
     
    Today, the average American consumes 66 pounds of added sugar each year, according to government data. That’s more than one pound of sugar each week!
     
    This is of great concern since too much added sugar is among the greatest threats to cardiovascular disease. Eating and drinking too many added sugars can also contribute to other health problems, such as type-2 diabetes and obesity. 
     
    “Sugar is actually more addictive than even cocaine, so it is probably the most consumed addictive substance around the world and it is wreaking havoc on our health,” says cardiovascular researcher James DiNicolantonio.
     
    Sugar’s impact on heart health has long been researched by Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
     
    In a study published in 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Dr. Hu and his colleagues found an association between a high-sugar diet and a greater risk of dying from heart disease. Over the course of the 15-year study, people who got 17% to 21% of their calories from added sugar had a 38% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who consumed 8% of their calories as added sugar.
     
    “Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease,” says Dr. Hu.
     
    High amounts of sugar overload the liver, potentially leading to fatty liver disease, a contributor to diabetes, which also raises your risk for heart disease.
     
    Consuming too much added sugar can also raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease.
     
    “The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke,” says Dr. Hu.
     
    Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the US. It kills more Americans each year than AIDS and breast cancer combined, according to the American Diabetes Association.
     
    More than 100 million US adults are now living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, according to a 2017 CDC report. Pre-diabetes is a condition that, if not treated, often leads to type-2 diabetes within five years. Despite the fact that more than a third of US adults have pre-diabetes, the majority don’t know it, says the CDC.
     
    Even a relatively small amount of sugar can do a lot of damage to your health. People who add 150 calories of sugar to their daily diet — from sources such as a 12-ounce can of Coke or an ounce of M&Ms — have 10 times greater risk of developing diabetes.
     
    Additionally, people who consume a diet high in fructose risk damaging their immune systems, a new study suggests. The study shows that fructose, which is commonly found in sugary drinks, sweets and processed foods, causes the immune system to become inflamed.
     
    Furthermore, researchers say that consuming too much added sugar (as well as artificial sweetener, fast foods, fried foods, processed foods, and alcohol) can harm your gut microbiome.
     
    The American Heart Association (AHA) has long suggested that men consume no more than nine teaspoons (36 grams) of added sugar per day. That’s close to the amount in a 12-ounce can of soda. Women are advised to limit added sugars to no more than six teaspoons a day (24 grams).
     
    However, the average American still eats about 17 teaspoons (19 for men, 15 for women) of added sugar a day, according to the CDC. That’s about double the recommended limit for men (nine teaspoons) and two-and-a-half times the limit for women (six teaspoons). This doesn’t include the sugars that occur naturally in foods like fruit or dairy products.
     
    In other words, American adults consume an average of 77 grams of added sugar per day. Again, that’s more than two times the recommended amount for men and two-and-a-half times the recommended amount for women. 
     
    Recognizing the problem, the AHA now recommends that sugar intake be limited to less than 6% of daily calories, and the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee agrees.
     
    Yet, roughly 90% of Americans still get more than 10% of daily calories from sugar, and the top 10% of sugar-consumers ingest a whopping 40% of their calories from sugar!
     
    Beverages are the leading source of added sugars, accounting for 47% of the total. Examples of sugary beverages include regular soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened waters, and coffee and tea beverages with added sugars.
     
    The US ranks third in the world in sales of sugary drinks. In 2013, the average American drank just over 38 gallons of soda a year — or about eight 12-ounce cans a week. 
     
    Reading food labels is one of the best ways to monitor your intake of added sugar. Total sugar, which includes added sugar, is often listed in grams. Note the number of grams of sugar per serving as well as the total number of servings. The package might only say 5 grams of sugar per serving, but if the normal amount is three or four servings, you can easily consume 20 grams of sugar. That’s a lot of added sugar.
     
    By simply being more aware, you can substantially reduce the amount of added sugar in your diet. It would certainly be worth your while.
  • Stress Management Key to Life Management

    Stress Management Key to Life Management

    In 2018, Americans ranked among the most stressed people in the world, according to a Gallup Poll. Americans reported feeling stress, anger and worry at the highest levels in a decade, according to the survey.
     
    At the time, about 55 percent of adults said they had experienced stress during “a lot of the day” prior, compared with just 35 percent globally. About 45 percent of the Americans surveyed said they had felt “a lot” of worry the day before, compared with a global average of 39 percent.
     
    Mind you, this was pre-pandemic.
     
    Stress is problematic because it affects all of the body’s organ systems, including the brain and nervous system, the cardiovascular system, the musculoskeletal system, the immune system and the digestive system. Stress can even affect our perceptions, thoughts, beliefs and feelings.
     
    There is mounting evidence that chronic stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system can lead to long-term physiological dis-regulation, resulting in problems such as increased blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias, digestive problems, chronic headaches, back aches and sleep disorders, as well as psychological disorders such as chronic anxiety, depression or both.
     
    While stress is often unhealthy, we often habitually and automatically react to it in ways that are also unhealthy.
     
    About 38 percent of adults in 2017 battled an illicit drug use disorder, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is stunning.
     
    This included use of illegal drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco, and the misuse of prescription drugs.
     
    Food is often used to cope with stress and emotional discomfort. Many people eat whenever they feel anxious or depressed. Food is often used as a means to fill an emptiness inside. Foods high in fat and sugar, the so-called comfort foods, are most commonly used to deliver stress relief.
     
    Yet, there are other unhealthy strategies that people utilize to cope with stress. One is to simply deny that there is any problem at all. Another is workaholism; if one feels stressed by family life, working provides an excuse to not be at home.
     
    These are all examples of maladaptive coping attempts; while they may give some relief in the short run, they can compound stress in the long run. They don’t ultimately make us healthier or happier. Your body can tell you some important things, if you’re willing to listen to it rather than tuning out.
     
    It is not the particular stressor itself but how you perceive it, then how you handle it, that will determine whether or not it will lead to stress. Your perception and how you handle the stressor makes all the difference in how much stress you will experience. If we can change the way we see, we can change the way we respond, thereby significantly lowering our stress, as well as its short- and long-term consequences for our health and wellbeing.
     
    In the end, we are well-advised to stop reacting to stress and to instead start responding to it. Responding to stress with greater mindfulness instead of reacting to it habitually and automatically can dramatically reduce the negative effects of stress.
     
    We can become more resistant to stress, more resilient, if we build up our resources and enhance our physical and psychological wellbeing via meditation, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and a sense of deep connectedness with others, to name four of the most important.
     
    This bears repeating. Healthy coping strategies include: meditating, exercising regularly, practicing yoga, praying, sharing your feelings with close friends, and having hobbies or interests that take your mind off your troubles. People who do these things tend to be stress hardy.
     
    Having a healthy strategy to manage pressure or stress can reduce our dependence on the common maladaptive coping strategies that we so often resort to, and get stuck in, when we feel tense.
     
    Greater resilience in the face of stressors and reduced stress reactivity are characteristic of people who practice meditation regularly. This has been demonstrated in a large number of studies.
     
    This is why I practice meditation daily, and why I teach it to others. If you’re interested in beginning a meditation practice, reach out and let me know. I have many years of experience and can help you get started.
  • Sean Kennedy: Health & Happiness Coach

    Sean Kennedy: Health & Happiness Coach

    Though my professional titles have long been Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (what a mouthful!), I’ve long thought of myself as a Health & Happiness Coach.
     
    I’m less interested in helping people build a physical monument to themselves (or their egos) than I am in helping them be happier, more confident and more self-fulfilled. I try to get people to focus less on the amount of fat or muscle on their bodies and more on reducing stress, improving self-esteem, sleeping better, lowering blood pressure and resting heart rate, developing better mobility and balance, and building stronger bones, ligaments and tendons, as well as muscles.
     
    A single workout increases neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline, and these mood boosters can also improve your memory and focus for up to three hours afterwards. Research shows that exercise even lowers anxiety levels, and it does it rather quickly — in about 10 minutes. So, exercise helps your mental health, as well as your cognition. Even a brisk walk can help boost your neurotransmitters and mood.
     
    Scientists at Duke University Medical Center tested three groups with depression. One was prescribed exercise; one was prescribed Zoloft; and the third was prescribed a combination of the two. Remarkably, the group that just exercised had the best results. And exercise seemed to do a better job of keeping the depression symptoms from coming back.
     
    Indeed, exercise has a multitude of positive effects; it even helps your brain grow new neurons. During a process called neurogenesis, new neurons (brain cells) develop in the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for learning information, storing long-term memories, and regulating emotions.
     
    Exercise also promotes brain plasticity by stimulating growth of new connections between cells in many important cortical areas of the brain.
     
    Yes, exercise even leads to a happier, healthier brain!
     
    The physical, emotional and mental benefits of exercise are numerous. So, there are bountiful reasons make regular exercise part of your weekly or even daily life.
     
    Yet, our wellbeing can be affected by more than just exercise.
     
    For example, there is a vital connection between the brain and the gut, where 90% of our serotonin receptors are located. The truth is, the foods we eat not only affect our physical health, but also our emotional wellbeing.
     
    Ultra-processed foods and foods that contain chemical additives negatively affect our gut health and increases our risk of illness. Ultra-processed foods, such as fast foods, are typically cheap, and they’re scientifically designed to be extra tasty and make you overeat. Even worse, ultra-processed foods are known cause inflammation and disease.
     
    On the other hand, a recent study found that fiber might be linked with a reduced risk of depression, especially in pre-menopausal women. Previous studies had already suggested the benefits of fiber for mental health. The link between dietary fiber and depression may be partially explained by gut-brain interactions, since fiber improves the richness and diversity of gut microbiota. It’s theorized that changes in gut-microbiota composition may affect neurotransmission.
     
    Additionally, according to the Cleveland Clinic, protein consumption (from foods like fish, beef, chicken, turkey, tofu, beans, eggs and unsweetened yogurt) has been linked to higher levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, the brain chemicals that play a role in your mood, motivation and concentration.
     
    So, our diets can indeed affect our mood state and mental wellbeing, as well as our physical wellbeing.
     
    Finding healthy ways to manage our stress is also very important. The stress hormone cortisol is known to interfere with immune functioning and even the workings of the cardiovascular system. In fact, stress is an underrated, yet profound, factor in the development of cardiovascular disease. Stress exacerbates cholesterol levels, raises blood pressure and heart rate, and it often creates the kind of pressure that prevents a person from engaging in enough healthy self-care activities.
     
    So, it’s important to find healthy ways to mitigate and manage stress. Lowering your stress levels with relaxation techniques, such as meditation, can reduce your risk of health problems.
     
    However, people often turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as food, alcohol, drugs and impulsive shopping to cope with life’s stresses. Yet, these things ultimately make our stresses even worse in the long run. Meditation, on the other hand, can be helpful in managing stress and anxiety, as well as a variety of other health conditions. Research studies have shown that regular meditation can actually change the physical structure and cognitive function of the brain.
     
    Ultimately, true wellness requires a comprehensive, holistic approach, where all of these factors are considered and implemented.
     
    It may seem intuitive or self-evident that being unhealthy could make someone unhappy, and there’s evidence to support that notion. A study at George Mason University found that the degree to which a disease disrupts daily functioning is associated with reduced happiness. According to the lead author of the study, “these results support the notion that health status is one of the most important predictors of happiness.”
     
    A study of the “Economic Determinants of Happiness,” based on data gathered by the U.S. Census, revealed that health is a far more powerful determinant of an individual’s happiness than his or her income, marital status, age or any other factor. In fact, self-described “healthy” people are 20 percent happier than average, while “unhealthy” people are 8.25 percent less happy.
     
    Okay, but how about the inverse? Can being happy make you more healthy?
     
    According to researchers at Southern Methodist University, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that people’s overall sense of life satisfaction and typical levels of happiness are linked to physical health.
     
    And, according to Harvard Medical School, scientific evidence suggests that positive emotions can help make life longer and healthier.
     
    Furthermore, according to Northwestern Medicine, happiness lowers your risk for cardiovascular disease, lowers your blood pressure, enables better sleep, improves your diet, allows you to maintain a normal body weight through regular exercise and reduces stress.
     
    Clearly, happiness and health are interrelated. And most research suggests that the connection between happiness and health is bidirectional. This means that greater wellbeing leads to better physical health, and better physical health leads to greater wellbeing. One thing leads to the other.
     
    This is why I have always taken a “whole-being” approach to health and wellness. We can’t simply focus on having a little less body fat, bigger biceps or a better butt and expect to be necessarily healthier and/or happier. Certainly, seeing improvements in your physique can be positive and uplifting. But adequate sleep, good nutrition and stress reduction are also vital to our overall wellbeing.
     
    Seeing verifiable improvements in your biomarkers (i.e., blood pressure, resting heart rate, LDL cholesterol, etc.) is not only a clear indication of improving physical health, it also gives you a big boost emotionally and mentally — even if your biceps don’t get any bigger or your butt doesn’t necessarily look better.
     
    Ultimately, exercise, a nutritious diet, meditation, and other forms of self-care can make us healthier, happier, and mentally sharper, all of which are very worthwhile pursuits.
     
    If you’d like help in forging a healthier lifestyle, please reach out to me. It could very well make you happier, too!
  • Diet vs Nutrition

    Diet vs Nutrition

    While many people continually “go on a diet” (and then another and another), everyone has a diet. I’ve never gone on a diet, but I’ve always had a diet. As I always say, diet should be viewed as a noun, not a verb. It’s a thing you have, not an action you take. Every action has a reaction (intended or otherwise), so any diet plan you initiate can quickly be halted in favor of something else.
     
    If you instead think of your diet as part of your lifestyle, you’re much more likely to stick to it. 
     
    Everyone has a diet, but not everyone gets good nutrition. In the minds of many people, low-calorie means healthy. Yet, this isn’t necessarily true.
     
    For example, a rice cake has just 35 calories. Yet, it is almost entirely devoid of fiber and protein. Though a rice cake has very few calories, it also has very little nutrition, not to mention that it’s entirely processed.
     
    On the other hand, an avocado, which grows on a tree, is both calorically and nutritionally dense. An avocado can weigh anywhere from 8 ounces to 3 pounds (48 ounces). So, serving size matters.
     
    One cup (8oz) of sliced avocado has 234 calories and 21 grams of fat, most of which is monounsaturated. It is packed with fiber (10g) and potassium (more than a banana), and is also a great source of vitamin-C, folate and B-6. Additionally, it has virtually no sugar (despite being a fruit) and very few carbs (for those who care about such things).
     
    In short, an avocado is loaded with healthy fats, fiber and various important nutrients.
     
    Yet, some people would choose a nutritionally lacking rice cake over an avocado simply because it is lower in calories. Bad move. Caloric content and nutritional content are not necessarily related. 
     
    No one thinks of a Big Mac as health food. Yet, you could eat three Big Macs a day and still lose weight. Don’t believe me? Well, a Big Mac has just 550 calories. Eat three a day and you’d ingest just 1,650 calories. Since the average American now eats a whopping 3,660 calories per day, eating one Big Mac for breakfast, lunch and dinner would cut that average intake by more than half. Do that, and watch the pounds melt away!
     
    However, you’d be missing lots of important nutrition on the Big Mac Diet. McDonald’s signature sandwich has minimal calcium, potassium and fiber, and zero vitamin D. However, it is loaded with sodium (44% of the daily value) and has 11 grams of saturated fat (53% of the daily value). Eat three a day and you’d be ingesting an enormous amount of salt and unhealthy fat.
     
    Oh, and one Big Mac also has nine grams of sugar. Eat three of them and you’d intake 27 grams of sugar, which is above the 24-gram daily limit recommended for women by the American Heart Association.
     
    Yet, on this Big Mac Diet you’d lose weight, and that would ultimately have a positive effect on your health. Scientific evidence shows that losing just 10 pounds can decrease hypertension, improve good cholesterol (HDL), lower triglycerides, decrease insulin resistance, reduce inflammation in blood vessels, improve or reverse sleep apnea, and increase energy and vitality.
     
    That said, there are better, healthier ways to lose weight than the Big Mac Diet. 
     
    The point is that calories and nutrition are not synonymous. You can eat a low-calorie diet that is not healthy. More to the point, you can eat a low-calorie diet and not necessarily be healthy.
     
    On the other hand, you can eat a very healthy diet featuring high-calorie foods that are packed with nutrition (i.e., avocados, nuts, nut-butters, salmon, whole-fat yogurt, etc.). Additionally, high-calorie foods are more filling than most low-calorie foods (like rice cakes), meaning you might ultimately eat less.
     
    Low calorie foods are not necessarily nutritious, beneficial or preferable. And high-calorie foods are not necessarily unhealthy or to be avoided. The goal should be to maximize nutrition at each and every meal, even if you also seek to limit calories.
     
    If you need to lose weight to be more healthy, you can do this by eating healthy, whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, a wide variety of animal- and/or plant-based proteins, plus whole grains (There’s more than just wheat, people! Try spelt, millet, amaranth, quinoa, black or red rice, whole oats, etc.).
     
    And, yes, you can indeed lose weight by including healthy, high-calorie foods in your diet. You just need to limit your total caloric intake. To do that, you need to track your daily caloric input. And you should also know how many calories you need each day.
     
    As the Twinkie Diet proved, you can eat an unhealthy diet and still lose weight. The Big Mac Diet would be no different.
     
    By the same token, you can have a healthy diet and still gain weight, if your caloric intake is higher than your needs.
     
    To lose weight, it comes down to quality and quantity. You should aim for higher quality foods, and a lower quantity of them, each day.
  • What Is Your Heart Rate Monitor Really Telling You?

    What Is Your Heart Rate Monitor Really Telling You?

    Wrist-based heart-rate monitors are all the rage the days; many of my clients wear them to the gym each day. Yet, aside from the fact that these wrist-based heart-rate monitors are less accurate than the chest-strap versions, especially as you work harder (some models can be off by several beats per minute according to new research), they don’t offer users any perspective.
     
    What does it truly mean if your heart rate is 135, 145 or 155 beats per minute? Unless you know your maximum heart rate (MHR) and what percentage of it you’re working at, that info is useless.
     
    The well-known calculation of 220 minus your age to calculate MHR has long been known to be quite inaccurate. Yet, unfortunately, it remains a common standard for maximum heart rate calculations. For example, a 40-year-old person would subtract 40 from 220, indicating a maximum heart rate of 180 beats per minute.
     
    Known as the Fox formula, this classic maximum heart rate calculation was developed for untrained healthy adult males, though it was also considered valid for untrained healthy adult females and children.
     
    The Fox formula originated in the late 1960s, when William Haskell, an exercise physiologist who is now at Stanford University, and Sam Fox, a cardiologist, came up with a formula to determine the maximum heart rates of people who were having treadmill stress tests for heart disease.
     
    However, it was not really a scientific effort. Rather, it was a suggestion, based on a decidedly non-random and small sample of people. When Haskell and Fox proposed the formula, they never intended to give an absolute number for athletes or people who are used to exercising vigorously.
     
    Yet, it’s now recognized that that an individual’s maximum heart rate can vary widely from what that formula predicts — by as many as 30 beats per minute higher or lower.
     
    In essence, the Fox formula is as likely to be wrong as it is to be right. In fact, this formula’s reliability is 0.51. In other words, it’s reliable about half the time.
     
    The Tanaka formula for maximum heart rate is more accurate. It was developed based on studies of thousands of test subjects, can be used for all age and gender groups, and is considered to be more reliable than the Fox formula.
     
    • Fox: Maximum Heart Rate (beats/minute) = 220 minus Age
    • Tanaka: Maximum Heart Rate (beats/minute) = 208 minus (0.7 x Age)
     
    Using the Tanaka formula, a 40-year-old person would multiply 40 by 0.7, which equals 28. Then they would subtract 28 from 208, indicting a maximum heart rate of 180 beats per minute. You may remember that this is the same figure determined by the Fox formula. However, this is a coincidence, not the norm.
     
    For example:
     
    50-year-old
     
    • Fox formula: maximum heart rate = 170 (220 minus 50)
    • Tanaka formula: maximum heart rate = 173 (208 minus 35)
     
    30-year-old
     
    • Fox formula: maximum heart rate = 190 (220 minus 30)
    • Tanaka formula: maximum heart rate = 187 (208 minus 21)
     
    Ok, so now you can calculate your maximum heart rate. What does that mean? How does that help you?
     
    Reaching your MHR doesn’t mean your heart will explode! And it doesn’t guarantee a heart attack either. People train at this level for brief periods during their workouts every day, and they do it again and again and again.
     
    Most well-trained, fit people can maintain their maximum heart rate for just 1-2 minutes. Yet, world-class athletes may sustain their MHR for 3-4 minutes. On the other hand, a person who is quite out of shape may only be able to sustain their maximum heart rate for about 10 seconds or so.
     
    Yet, the ability to sustain MHR is just one measure of your fitness. How quickly your heart is able to recover from high-intensity exercise, during periods of lower heart-rate work or rest, matters a lot. The ability to recover (lower) your heart rate quickly is also an important measure of fitness.
     
    Familiarity and experience with exercise matters. Someone who works out regularly may be very accustomed to briefly pushing their heart rate to 85, 90 or even 100 percent. Yet, someone who is sedentary may find that pushing their heart rate to 70 percent is excruciating and scary. It’s all about perspective.
     
    It’s important to recognize that you can’t improve or increase your maximum heart rate with exercise. MHR is determined by genetics and age; as we get older, our MHR declines. Furthermore, not every 30-year-old will have the exact same maximum heart rate, nor will all 40-year-olds or 50-year-olds, etc. The calculation is an approximation, not a scientific assurance.
     
    What’s important is not what your maximum heart rate is, but what heart rate you can sustain for an extended period. Someone with a MHR of 190 isn’t necessarily more fit than someone with a MHR of 180. Person A, with the 190 MHR, may only be able to sustain 70 percent of that. Meanwhile, Person B, with the 180 MHR, may be able to sustain 85 percent of that. Person B is more fit, which is what matters — not an age-determined MHR.
     
    It’s important to remember that your heart rate has variability when you’re exerting yourself, such as when you’re working out. Most exercisers can’t simply pin their heart rate at 70, 80 or 90 percent of MHR. That’s because heart rate fluctuates throughout exercise. Your heart rate may rise quickly at the onset of a workout, then level out at a lower number. As you continue to workout, it may, over time, begin to climb again. And the harder you work, the more your heart rate may continue to rise throughout the workout.
     
    This is why you should pick a target heart-rate zone for your workouts, so that it doesn’t go to low or too high.
     
    The target heart rate during moderate intensity activities is about 50-70% of maximum heart rate, while during vigorous physical activity it’s about 70-85% of maximum, according to the American Heart Association.
     
    Of course, you can push your heart rate higher for brief periods and then allow it to recover. This is the essence of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which is used not only by athletes but also by older folks and those with chronic conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease.
     
    Lastly, another important determinant of fitness is resting heart rate. The average resting heart rate is usually between 60 and 80 beats per minute, though it can even be as high as 100 bpm. Yet, some athletes have resting heart rates as low as 30 to 40 bpm. So, exercise can indeed lower resting heart rate, and this is important because every heart has a pre-determined number of beats from birth. The slower we get there, the better!
     
    In 2013, a team of Danish researchers published16 years of work on just under 5,200 men in the journal BMJ Heart. The researchers determined that higher resting heart rates correlated with a greater chance of dying.
     
    Those participants who ranged between 71 to 80 beats per minute had a 51 percent greater chance of dying prematurely than those with a resting rate of under 50 beats. At 81 to 90 beats per minute, that risk was double. And over 90, it tripled.
     
    So, there’s a lot more to the heart-rate story than just the number flashing on your watch.
     
    In conclusion, if you’re using a heart rate monitor while working out, it’s important to calculate your maximum heart rate, and to know your target heart-rate zone, as well as your resting heart rate. Once you know all of these things, then you’ll have some context for that heart rate number popping up on your watch.
  • Good Habits Can Have a Domino Effect

    Good Habits Can Have a Domino Effect

    We all have various reasons that we work out, assuming we do so at all. For some, it’s to relieve stress and anxiety. Some may feel a great sense of pride and accomplishment afterwards. For others, working out may be a vanity project that provides a sense of confidence and the ability to fit into tight jeans or proudly wear a tank top or a backless dress.
     
    Yet, health outcomes, not simply appearance, should be your main motivation. It’s well established that the health benefits of exercise go beyond the physical. Once you make exercise part of your routine, you may notice a host of psychological benefits, such as feeling more energized, less stressed, and sleeping better.
     
    As you begin to notice how much better exercise makes you feel, the more you’ll want to do it regularly. At that point, exercise becomes a habit. What’s most important is to perform the activities you really enjoy, which will help you adhere to your program.
     
    It’s said that old habits are hard to break and new habits are hard to form. This is especially true with exercise. If you’re not in the habit of exercising, remaining physically inactive is effortless. To create the habit of exercising, however, takes a lot of resolve, determination and effort.
     
    The more consistent an action is, the more likely it is to become a habit. This means that exercising every day is more likely to result in habit formation. One useful idea is to schedule your exercise for a given time each day, as you would with a personal trainer. Accountability is critical to maintaining your schedule and forming a habit.
     
    As Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit notes, “When people start habitually exercising, even just once per week, they start changing other, unrelated patterns in their lives, often unknowingly. They often start eating better, becoming more productive, smoking less and feeling less stressed. It’s not completely clear why. But, for many people, exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread, positive change.”
     
    Researchers asked some study participants to write down what they ate once a week. This keystone habit, food journaling, created a structure that helped other habits to flourish. Six months into the study, these participants had lost twice as much weight as the other study participants.
     
    Unfortunately, 42 percent of Americans are obese, according to the CDC, and another 30 percent or so qualify as overweight. So, roughly three-quarters of our population has an unhealthy bodyweight. Because of this, many people view exercise solely as a means of weight loss. But there’s a whole lot more to it than that. The mental and emotional components of exercise cannot be emphasized enough.
     
    Exercise has been shown to increase grey matter in the brain, according to research published by the Mayo Clinic. Exercise also promotes brain plasticity by stimulating the growth of new connections between cells. Consequently, exercise improves cognitive ability and memory. 
     
    Furthermore, exercise releases chemicals, such as endorphins and serotonin, that improve your mood. As noted, exercise not only enhances self-esteem, it also reduces anxiety and depressed mood.
     
    “There’s good epidemiological data to suggest that active people are less depressed than inactive people. And people who were active and stopped tend to be more depressed than those who maintain or initiate an exercise program,” says James Blumenthal, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Duke University.
     
    Yet, there’s no denying the impact that exercise can have on our physical health and our ability to function well, aka, perform our activities of daily living.
     
    Don’t wait until your doctor tells you to exercise! At that point, too much time will have been lost.
     
    More than 1-in-3 adults, about 92.1 million people, have at least one type of cardiovascular disease, which is preventable.
     
    In fact, many forms of chronic illness are preventable. According to the CDC, the health-risk behaviors we can change include: lack of exercise/physical activity, poor nutrition, tobacco use and excessive alcohol use. These four behaviors cause much of the illness, suffering and early death related to chronic diseases and conditions. In essence, they are bad habits that can be corrected.
     
    It’s important to remember that health is not just about food and exercise. Everyone would benefit from things such as meditation, learning a new skill, developing a new hobby, and/or growing your social network. Each of these things can make you a healthier person in measurable ways. 
     
    If you’re new to exercise or haven’t done it in a long time, start slowly. Don’t take the attitude that you can get fit today or even this week. Allow your body time to adjust to the demands you’re placing on it. Your exercise routine should be progressive, growing in either intensity or duration as your fitness level gradually improves.
     
    The physical effects of exercise — such as weight loss, lower blood pressure or a lower resting heart rate — take time and patience; you may not see your numbers move for weeks to months.
     
    The mood boost from exercise, however, is often immediate, offering near-instant gratification. Alleviating mood disorders, such as anxiety or depression, may take longer, but the mental and emotional effects of exercise are often immediately tangible.
     
    The most important takeaway is that good habits can have a domino effect, with one healthy change leading to another and so on. After committing to a few healthy acts, we’re less likely to back-step and commit unhealthy acts. After all, no one wants to undermine their own progress.
     
    Start with the easiest change you can think of; pick the low hanging fruit first. Once you’ve created a healthy daily habit that lasts a couple of weeks, add another easy-to-achieve step. View these changes as rungs on a ladder; take them one step at a time. Be consistent and be progressive. But don’t take on too much, too soon. 
     
    Small victories lead to a sense of pride, achievement and accomplishment. These are all empowering and rewarding feelings. Ultimately, one good change will lead to another.