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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles

Inside the World of Gut Bacteria and Probiotics.

  The human gut and its role in our health has become an area of intense research over the past decade - for excellent reason. You may have heard the statement “we’re more bacteria than we are human” due to the fact that we have roughly 10x more bacteria than human cells in our body. The ‘normal’ gut has hundreds of bacterial species, each of which has profound effects on our health and well-being. Some of these species are considered good, and beneficial, while others are detrimental when conditions allow them to grow out of control. The gut plays major roles in digestion, metabolism, immunity, protection from infection, and regulates 80% of our immune system. Granted the scope of our gut and its relationship to the rest of our body, I’m always surprised at how poorly people treat it (usually secondary to having no education on the subject). There are a few kinds of bacteria to understand first, let’s take a look at those. Each type as a ‘time...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles

THORNE AMINO ACIDS

This article on amino acids has been long-time coming – it’s part one of several! Among the supplements I recommend to my clients, amino acids (AA’s) are high on the list, for several reasons - some of which I’ll cover here. Let’s start with the basics. Many people aren’t familiar with the term amino acids, or, aren’t aware of what they are. There are three key players in the nutritional world of macronutrients (macro = something large-scale, nutrients = substances that provide nourishment essential for growth). Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats. Collectively, these three macronutrients (often referred to as macro’s) provide the bulk energy we need to function. Try exist without them and you’ll quickly find yourself grumpy, fatigued, and sick. Protein can be broken down further into what are called amino acids - 20 of them, specifically. 8 are categorized as ‘essential’ because they cannot be made by the body, and thus must be obtained from the diet - these 8 will be the focus of this article. Essential...

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Posted by in Nutrition Articles, Training Articles

Make a Comeback (featured in STRONG magazine)

Slash your recovery time with these four science-backed supplements. Written by Ashleigh Gass, MS, CSCS, CCN, CNS, CISS N & the STRONG Editors Dietary supplements are a hot button topic these days. With sports nutrition becoming more mainstream, a lot of us are wondering if popping the right pills can really help with everything from muscle building to a faster recovery, and if so, which ones are best? Although numerous studies have recently questioned the quality and reliability of some brands of pills and powders, plenty of science still backs the benefits of supplementation when it comes to post-workout recovery, particularly when supported by a sound nutrition strategy. Check out the full article here: View PDF...

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Posted by in Nutrition Articles, Training Articles

Featured in STRONG Magazine

This article was just released in STRONG Fitness magazine, in their digital training guide for this quarter. HOW DO YOU GET PUMPED UP FOR A GOOD WORKOUT? Do you throw some high-energy tracks on your playlist and blast it on your drive to the gym? Or do you watch the latest viral fitspo video circulating the Internet? Or are you like a growing population of fitness buffs that turn to a pre-workout formula to help get you through the grind? Check out the full article here: View...

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Posted by in Nutrition Articles

Great Guts 2: Gallbladders are good!

A little while back, I wrote an article called "Great Guts", where I covered the basics of our gastrointestinal (GI) system, otherwise known as the "second brain", and the "enteric nervous system". Ever wonder why our GI system is referred to as the "second brain"? It's because this organ system has its own, independently working lymphatic and nervous systems - and a huge amount of whole-body resources dedicated to it (2). In "Great Guts", I focused primarily on the big picture of the GI system, covering the basics of structure and function as a whole, the importance of its health, and a bit about what can happen when it's sick. Briefly, I outlined some steps necessary to improve it, which included food and supplement strategies. A few clients as of late have inspired this next article. On the positive side, clients whom, after restoring healthy gut bacteria, have finally rid themselves of allergies and asthma, while reducing inflammatory markers and losing fat (around the abdomen, mainly). On the "makes...

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Posted by in Ashleigh In The News, Nutrition Articles

Rebuttal to recent general media articles “Skip the Supplements” and “Herbal Supplements Are Often Not What They Seem”.

Ashleigh Gass, MS, CSCS, CISSN, CCN, CNS. Recent media articles “Skip the Supplements” and “Herbal Supplements Are Often Not What They Seem” caught my attention and inspired this rebuttal. Even though some of the information presented in these articles was correct, we weren’t given any information about the other side of the story. This is significant - because the other side of the story would have given consumers an opportunity to learn about hundreds of excellent nutritional supplement companies and their respective products. Yet again, the general public was left flapping in the breeze of misleading, incomplete nutrition articles geared towards “poo-poo-ing” the nutritional supplement industry. Perhaps these articles were written with the intention to “protect” the public from purchasing supplements from certain companies, or to discourage people from taking nutritional supplements in general. If the former is correct, the articles would have had far greater value if they’d pointed out the many companies following stringent manufacturing practices. If the latter is correct and the articles were written to...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles

SLEEP: The Magic Bullet of Fat Loss

Approximately 1/3 of Americans get less than 6 hours of sleep/night, while only 7-8% sleep 8 hours/night. Basically, this means almost everyone is sleep deprived. And sleep deprivation, particularly when chronic, (meaning you get less than 6 hours/night, every night) leads to big problems. Big problems like obesity, cardiovascular risk, metabolic risk, premature aging, and even cancer. Really want to fall off your seat? Know that 81 of 89 studies looking at sleep deprivation have all had the same finding: lack of sleep increases obesity by 55%. Think about that for a minute. You could be doing ‘all the right things’, like eating your vegetables and meats, taking good supplements, weight training, etc, and still have over 50% risk of becoming obese if you aren’t sleeping properly. This is important to know! Additionally, we’ve all know that it takes discipline to eat well and workout, long-term. Well, guess what? Sleep deprivation has been shown to increase impulsivity, and cause people to become less likely to work for something that...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles

Healthy at Home: Nutritional Strategies for Kids Heading Back to School

As 'back to school' rapidly approaches, many parents are making inquiries about keeping their kids healthy during the school year. This boils down to questions such as: What sort of meals and snacks should they be eating? How do I get them to make healthier choices? Well, the answers are simple: the same meals, snacks, and healthier choices as you, fluff ball. You are the parent - take the lead. Seriously. It's entertaining to have conversations with parents who disassociate their eating habits from those of their kids. Nutritional habits are formed in the household, within the family unit. As parents, it's critical to take as much responsibility as possible for ensuring the nutritional habits formed will be beneficial for life. Nutrition forms the foundation for childhood growth and development, which then sets the stage for adulthood. We want healthy kids, then healthy adults, free of diseases related to: Excess body fat Compromised gut health Immune compromise Chronic inflammation As a society, we're knee deep in trouble right now....

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Posted by in Nutrition Articles

Preventing The Afternoon Energy Crash n’ Crave

Many of the new clients coming to see me struggle with energy levels and cravings, particularly in the afternoon. Between the hours of 3-5pm, many people feel lethargic, irritable, and ready for a nap. Unfortunately, the modern day North American office environment does not permit napping on desks - thus, we must consider alternate strategies! Please realize one important aspect of the symptom “low energy” - chronic illness of all kinds (gut dysfunction and autoimmune conditions, for example) have low energy associated with them. Therefore, if you suffer from chronically low energy levels, please seek out a qualified health care practitioner to rule out major disease. In my experience, the afternoon energy crash (often combined with food cravings) is caused by the following: 1 . Poor sleep habits 2 . Poor food choices leading to chronic nutrient deficiencies and blood sugar dysregulation 3 . Complete lack of strength training exercise POOR SLEEP HABITS Research consistently shows that sleeping a s long as possible (between 7-9 hours/night) provides stress relief,...

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Posted by in Nutrition Articles, Training Articles

Gather your food and HUNT down your workouts!

Gather your food and HUNT down your workouts! Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls - we love your questions, and we get them all day long. "What do you eat, when do you eat, what amounts do you eat, what do you eat prior to training, during training, after training……". "What do you train on certain days, how do you do this, that, or the other, how do you build abs, how do you build legs, what about your butt, how do you get that…….." You get the idea. Over time, we will be providing you with intelligent information to assist you with all of your questions. In this article, we offer very simple, highly effective starting points. Enjoy! Hunt and Gather your Food. Sort-of. Traditional Hunter-gatherer societies obtained most, or all food from wild plants and animals, collecting eggs, nuts, fruits, and seafood. Of course nowadays we cannot obtain exactly the same food our ancestors did (and, thankfully for most of us, we don't have to hunt it...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles

Great Guts

Gut health, or lack thereof, is a hot topic in medicine today. Rightfully so, as proper gas-trointestinal (GI) function is critical to all aspects of body function and ad-equate nutritional status. Failures of the GI system can manifest as diges-tive diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and colorectal cancer (3). Autoimmune diseases can originate from GI dysfunction, and include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, chronic dermatological conditions, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), allergies, asthma, schizophrenia, and autism (1,3). In my work with clients, I’ve found that most people aren’t really aware of their gut - until things go wrong. This makes sense, since we don’t ‘see’ our gut on daily basis. We go about our days eating and drinking, taking for granted that all of our meals end up getting digested and put to use. That is, until things go wrong and we begin experiencing common GI symptoms: bloating, cramping, gas, constipation, diar-rhea, and insomnia. Let’s review GI anatomy real quick in order to gain...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles, Training Articles

How Do I Accomplish My Fitness Goals Over The Holidays?

Did you know that half of the annual weigh gain in America takes place during the holiday period? Furthermore, a recent study found that most of this weight is retained indefinitely. Rather sobering when you realize that the average American gains 3lbs/year, while losing 1 percent of muscle mass/year after the age of 25. Thinking that through, if your lifestyle is largely sedentary, in 5 years you would have lost 5 percent of your muscle mass, and gained 15 lbs of fat. It's the perfect storm formula for insulin resistance, diabetes, abdominal obesity and a really big behind! The motivation to BEGIN, continue, and SUCCEED with fitness over the holidays has to come from a strong inner fire. A determination that come January, you are going to look and feel better than you have in months. A realization that, this holiday season, you can enjoy the food, family, and festivities, while kicking butt in the gym. Here are a few tips that will help you succeed. Sick with simple...

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