Monday, March 8, 2010

Time Your Eating to Maximise Performance For a Sport

By James Redwood

When exercising it is important to have all the energy that you need for your session, and we can often be tempted to eat just before hand if we are feeling peckish. Eating immediately before doing exercise is not healthy as it will not provide the body with the full energy gained from this food. And an athlete must have energy that equals what he consumes before and during his exercise. The most important source of fuel for muscles is carbohydrates that is stored in the form of glycogen. That's why you should eat after doing exercise to be good during the next session.

You should eat before you exercise by about 1 to 4 hours (The ideal time to get your meal fully digested) and it depends on the nature of your meal. Exercising on a full stomach is really bad as you will feel nausea and cramping and other stomach symptoms. If you push yourself hard, your body will even make you vomit, as the energy your stomach needs is binge diverted to your exhausted muscles. If you have an early exercise or race, you should get up early to get your pre exercise meal. If you were late you should drink something that gives you energy because drinking is easier for the stomach to digest. It will take about 20 to 30 minutes. But don't ever eat or drink just before your exercise.

Glucose is the best energy source for human body, so you must include rich carbohydrates food in your meal and it must be easily digested, such as: breads, fruits, pasta and drinks. Sometimes eating sugar (glucose) 30 minutes before exercise is very helpful but it varies from one to another, so you should experiment with it by yourself because sometimes the sudden increase in blood glucose has a bad effect on the performance, that's why you should find out what works for you.

Caffeine is great because it is a powerful stimulant for the Central nervous system. So drinking coffee or one of the many energy drinks on the market is useful before the exercise. Although caffeine is again dependant on the individual and has many dramatic side effects for some. There are some people that are sensitive to caffeine and can experience these side effects such as: headache, nausea and muscle tremors. Also excessive caffeine has strong diuretic effect that may cause dehydration which will decrease your performance.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Good Fats Vs Bad Fats - What You Should Know

By Jonnie Blaylock

Most people today who wish to lose weight resort to paying close attention to their daily meals. First on the list of the things they avoid is fat. For many people, the assumption on nutrition is simple - if you're trying to reduce the size of your belly you should avoid eating meals that contain fat. This is not true. Although few people realize this, removing this from your diet can result in many unhealthy side effects.

Just like other nutrients, our body requires a daily intake of fats in order to function effectively. Amongst many other roles, fats are required for the maintenance of our body cells and is utilized in the transmissions of signals through our nerves as well as the absorption of nutrients. Avoiding them is therefore a big mistake.

The problem with a person's dietary needs is not the fact that fat is included in a diet but more on the type that is found in the diet. Simply put there are two types of fats that can be found: good and bad fat. Like the name suggests eating meals that contain good fat is important in order to stay healthy whilst foods that contain bad types are bad and unhealthy for you sometimes resulting in heart diseases, possible cancer and annoying weight gain.

Instead of avoiding fat, a better approach to losing weight is to study and learn the differences between these two groups. By being able to recognize what these various meals are, you will be able to ensure a more balanced and healthier diet.

The Good Fats
So what are good fats? Good fats are meals which are high in unsaturated fats. These might be either monounsaturated fats or polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fat is vital to healthy human growth. Its presence reduces the amount of bad cholesterol found in the body whilst increasing the levels of good cholesterol (yes there is a difference).

Regardless of the type of unsaturated fats, both provide a wide range of health benefits. Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). Polyunsaturated fats are also found to perform similar actions.

Some good sources of polyunsaturated fats include vegetable oils and sea foods. These fats are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which greatly reduce the risk of person developing heat conditions amongst others. Sea foods such as salmon, mackerels and catfish are very rich sources of this.

Monounsaturated are just as important. They can usually be identified by their tendency to solidify when cooled. Examples of these include nuts such as cashews, walnuts, hazel nuts and peanuts. Monounsaturated fats are also very good oxidants and a rich source of vitamin E.

The Bad Fats
On the other side of the health scale are the unwanted fats. The kind known as saturated fats. It is these that are responsible for the increase of negative cholesterol levels. People who eat these types of meals will not only tend to gain fat at a much faster rate, they also will increase their risk of developing heart conditions and diseases.

Examples of saturated fats include meals such as meat, dairy, eggs and sea food. Alongside these animal products, saturated fats can also be found in plant produces such as coconut oil, eggs, meat, palm kernel and some sea foods. If you plan on losing weight or burning fat then you will need to reduce the amount of these fats that you consume. Saturated fats are dense in calories and thus provide people with fat more than they require.

There are various ways of limiting the amount of bad fats in your diet. You could substitute oils that are high in saturated fats when cooking for those that have low fat contents. Instead of using coconut oil or palm oil you can instead cook your meals with olive oil or canola oil. You should also opt for dairy product with low fat content. This will reduce the amount of unsaturated fat which you consume in your diet daily.

One way of identifying the type of cooking oil which you are using is to read the writing on the packaging. Most companies will let you know exactly what type of fats are contained within.

Finally, it is a good idea to avoid eating junk meals that have been fried or produced with saturated fats. Chips and chocolates for instance might be appealing, but they contain a high concentration of these negative fats.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Do You Know How Important Dietary Nutrition Is?

A poor diet can have serious implications to the health on an individual, with the possibility of deficiency diseases developing over time. This is why dietary nutrition is important to each and every person, especially those involved in strenuous activities.

The key factor to remember is that dietary nutrition is a combination of several nutrients that are essential to keeping the body in optimum form and ensuring that all bodily functions happen without causing any complications. Chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular deficiencies, as well as obesity, are the result of a lack of proper nutrition.

As part of a balanced diet, the following nutrients play an essential part in daily life: carbohydrates, fats, minerals, protein, vitamin and water. All the nutrients are required by the body in a balance, as too much of one or too little of the other can cause health problems.

Carbohydrates are the energy-providers, readily absorbing in the blood and contributing to the sugar level. However, in terms of dietary nutrition, they are not essential to the human diet as the content of vitamins and minerals is quite low. However, having enough fiber as part of dietary nutrition is good for the digestion system in the body, helping to reduce the chances of constipation and diarrhea.

The fast food generation has developed a taste for fatty solids, which play havoc with an individual's dietary nutrition. While certain fats are good, like omega-3 and omega-6 found in fish, most fats are detrimental to health and over time can cause serious complications in the body. Fats have been attributed with heart conditions, obesity, variations in cholesterol levels and many other health problems.

A key component of dietary nutrition is protein and calcium. Referred to as the building blocks of the body, protein and calcium keep the bones strong and help in body growth. White meat, like chicken and fish, are high in protein and should form an important part of any diet. Similarly, milk and cheese can help in ensuring your body is strong to face up to the demands of the world, as well as strengthen your immune system.

The importance of dietary nutrition lies in understanding what each nutrient does for your body and how it can play an essential part in maintaining an active lifestyle. Additionally, having a balanced diet that is a combination of all necessary nutrients can help avoid life-threatening diseases and help towards a longer, healthier life.

Dietary nutrition information has become a big part of daily life, with restaurants and food outlets having to display the details so that customers can make a better choice of what they plan to eat. So, learn about the essential nutrients that your body needs, and use the dietary nutrition information to make a better lifestyle choice by improving your health.

Christine Crotts enjoys searching through garage sales for unique gems and jewelry. Christine has written a site containing reviews on gold cross necklace, as well as 14k gold cross necklace.