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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles

Brushing Up on Vitamin D

We all know Vitamin D as the "sunshine vitamin", due to the fact that our body makes it upon sun exposure. Specifically, when sun shines on our skin, Vitamin D3, the 'active' form, is made. Vitamin D3 has many roles in the body, including bone health, and prevention of cancer and autoimmune diseases such as insulin-dependent diabetes and multiple sclerosis.  Deficiencies of this vitamin are common, with studies estimating deficiencies in 40-100% of elderly men and women in the US and Europe. Deficiencies are common in those with limited sun exposure, impaired digestion, and low intake. Get Your Levels Checked! Ask your doctor to monitor your Vitamin D3 levels. Recommended levels are between 30-100ng/mL, or 70-250nmol/L (Lord and Bralley, Laboratory Evaluations for Integrative Medicine, 2008).  Good food sources of the vitamin include seafood, lean meats, and eggs. Aim for some daily sun exposure to really boost your...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles

Listen to Your Gut

Listen to your Gut to get that hard body: What does the Stomach and a little acid have to do with it? You may be wondering why I’d write an article about the stomach, the acid it makes, and what this has to do with training, nutrition, and shedding fat. After all, aren’t training, nutrition and fat loss just about "cardio and strength training"? Doesn’t it just involve showing up at the gym a few days weekly? What on earth would the stomach have to do with all that? You’d be surprised. In this article, you’ll learn a few things about what the stomach does, why it’s important to health and fat loss, and how to improve its function if problems are brewing. The study of digestive function has become a passion of mine over the past year, simply because so many of my clients present with digestive dysfunction and illnesses related to it. I suppose you know you’re a nerd when these things excite you! Collectively, the health...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles, Training Articles

Three Types

There are 3 Types of Authors: Which are you working with? The purpose of this article is to bring to your attention the three types of authors, coaches, advisors, etc out there in any industry. Why? Because there are people in every industry on this planet who are marketing their services and products to you and it's important to learn how to evaluate them. Your success is determined in part by the people you learn from, and take advice from - so choose your author carefully! Author #1: Has never tried it - but writes about it, or tries to teach it. The absolute best example of this is the never-ending flexibility debate in the training world.  You will read almost everywhere, from many 'experts', that flexibility training either doesn't reduce exposure to injury, or, even more ridiculous, that it should not be performed prior to strength training.  Yet, these coaches/authors/academics have typically never trained flexibility properly themselves, and certainly have not used it in the real world with...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles, Training Articles

Results Come to Those Who Prepare

Ever wonder why the first month of your training goes smoothly, but then you find many of your old injuries returning? Or, you begin your season with perfection only to find yourself stiff, sore, and tired within 3 months? Contrary to popular belief, injuries and fatigue should not be a normal part of training in the gym or on the field. However, there are many reasons why they occur so frequently. Training is inappropriate to the level of the athlete. This basically means that you end up ‘in over your head’. If you are a beginner to the gym and using programs designed for athletes with 10 years of lifting experience, you’ll usually end up hurting yourself. Too much, too soon. Ever been on a team where you show up on day one of training and get your ass run into the ground? Seems innocent enough, until the next day, when you wake up to a nice pair of pulled hamstrings. Most people don’t know how to remedy this,...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles

Top Nutritional Mistakes Keeping You Sick, Tired, and Obese

This article has been brewing inside of me for months now.  Perhaps as a result of reviewing hundreds of food journals over the past few years, or from what I've learned as a result of teaching hundreds of people in my nutrition classes.  Certainly this article is inspired by the success clients have had once they learn a few things and shift their nutritional habits a bit.  Either way, my intention with this article is to highlight the main nutritional mistakes people are making that contribute to sickness, fatigue, and obesity, and to provide you with simple solutions to change this. On a regular basis, I get the opportunity to review 3 day food journals from all of my clients, which demonstrate very clearly the connection between what goes into their mouth, and their state of health and vitality.  In addition, over the past year I've had the opportunity to teach nutrition/wellness classes to large groups of people within the corporate world.  What has become glaringly obvious is that...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles

Garlic does a Body Good

Garlic's impressive track record to date begs the question: Just what is it about this "cure-all" superfood that makes it so invaluable to our bodies? The secret lies in its high antioxidant and vitamin content, along with two key chemical constituents: allicin and ajoene.When the garlic clove is broken or crushed, as it is in a garlic press, the chemical alliin is converted into allicin and ajoene. As allicin decomposes, it generates a potent antioxidant that reacts with free radicals in your body. The formation of ajoene, on the other hand, occurs when allicin is dissolved in various solvents, including edible oils. It is most stable and abundant in macerated garlic (crushed or chopped garlic in edible oil). As with allicin, ajoene functions as an antioxidant, has anti-clotting properties (potentially reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke), antibacterial and antifungal properties, and has been shown to be effective in inhibiting tumor cell growth. Garlic contains many therapeutic ingredients that help it enhance immune function: • 17 amino acids, the building...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles, Training Articles

How to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

Nutrition has truly become a source of fascination for our society. This is excellent news, really, because it means most of us are interested in improving our diet, overall health, energy levels, and physique. However, when I begin nutritional coaching with athletes and clients, something very interesting happens. I learn about the assumptions, or beliefs that they have. Generally speaking, people make several assumptions: In order to achieve success in the gym, on the field, or to lose body fat, anything resembling 'junk food' must be eliminated entirely and somehow avoided forever. That a certain level of starvation must occur to reach their goals (when preparing for a figure show, many people ask me if lettuce is all that I eat). That 'willpower' is required in abundance in order to eat well, and that they lack this 'willpower'. That a healthy diet means no fat, no sugar, no alcohol, no cheese, no fun..... And the good news?? None of the points above are correct. I am not invalidating anyone's...

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Posted by in News, Nutrition Articles, Training Articles

Dr. Berardi: When Exercise Doesn’t Work

Greetings sports fans - tonight I am posting an article that will forever change the way you think about nutrition and training. This article was published by Dr. John Berardi, who is known globally for his specialty in performance nutrition. Specifically, his ability to translate research into real-world results with thousands of athletes and weekend warriors alike. In reading this article you will come to your own conclusions - my intention here is to help you understand why all that training you've been doing lately hasn't resulted in the physique changes you expected! When Exercise Doesn't...

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