Health Articles for Bodybuilding

There are ways you can still enjoy some of the highly acidic foods you're currently eating, even if you're overly acidic.

Fruit drinks
Add sodium bicarbonate to your fruit drinks: one-half to one teaspoon per quart. This will make the drink taste smoother and richer as well as increase the pH. To improve digestibility, have these drinks first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. If you want to add protein powder, use vegetable protein, which is less acidic than animal protein. And don't drink these with protein-rich meals containing milk or meat, since they require more acid production for digestion.

Blend A Drink
If you're overly acidic, try whipping up a remedy in the blender. Throw in some enzyme-rich, alkaline ingredients, such as fresh vegetables and certain fruits. Liquefying the solid ingredients helps reduce the strain on your pancreas and other digestive organs. These liquid meals can help prevent fatigue, brain fog, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune problems, and possibly even cancer.

Wine
Wine has an acidic pH, and can cause heartburn and other digestive symptoms in overly acidic people. But if you'd still like to occasionally sip a glass, take a sodium and potassium bicarbonate mixture (Alka Seltzer) right after drinking an alcoholic beverage to blunt the acidic effects. You can also use bicarbonate to help neutralize the uncomfortable symptoms of a hangover. (If you must drink alcohol. . .then don't drink it on an empty stomach. This overwhelms the liver's ability to metabolize and detoxify the alcohol. To slow the liver's absorption of alcohol, first eat some sort of oily or fatty food. Say, a salad with an oil-based dressing, or smoked salmon.)

Coffee and tea
If you're overly acidic but simply must have your daily cup of coffee or black tea, purchase acid-free versions from specialty tea and coffee stores.

Sparkling Water
If only the bubbling varieties of mineral water are available, you can reduce the carbonation with a pinch of table salt. This not only makes the water go flat, but provides you with a more alkaline drink.

Salad dressings
Substitute Bragg Liquid Aminos for vinegar when making salad dressings. This flavouring agent can be purchased in most health foods stores. Combine it with olive oil and herbs for a delicious dressing. Or, prepare a salad dressing with half the vinegar, increasing the amount of water and oil and adding extra flavouring agents.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common repetitive-work-related injury. It's often seen in those who work on computers for many hours (keyboard or mouse) or perform repeated fine motor movements (tasks requiring grasping, pinching, gripping and so on). What does that have to do with weight training? Certain exercises aggravate carpal tunnel syndrome, which is now prevalent due to the computer's prominence in the workplace.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is the name given to the irritation and compression of the median nerve in the wrist. The nerve travels down the arm and enters the top of the forearm, where it can also be compressed. From there it travels down between the forearm muscles and into the "carpal tunnel." The floor of the tunnel is made up of carpal, or wrist, bones, and its roof is made of the transverse carpal ligament, which is part of a connective-tissue structure. The tendons of the forearm muscles, or wrist flexors, are also located in the carpal tunnel.

Some in health care claim they know why carpal tunnel occurs, but we really don't know. We do know what happens when it occurs, however. The median nerve begins to become inflamed and dysfunctional. Nerve pathology is known as a neuropathy, which makes the accurate term for the condition median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel, but carpal tunnel syndrome, or CTS, is easier for most to remember.

The median neuropathy may be more than a simple compression. It may be a neurological overuse problem—too much stimulation of the nerve.

Once the nerve is inflamed, it can be further aggravated by being pulled against the roof or floor of the tunnel for any length of time. One activity that commonly aggravates CTS is pulling blankets up to your neck at night and keeping your wrists bent or flexed for hours. People often wake up with numb fingers and hands (usually thumb, index finger and middle finger). Doctors prescribe splints to keep the wrist straight at night. That keeps the nerve more centrally located in the tunnel, away from the roof and floor.

Some exercises aggravate an inflamed median nerve. Reverse-grip bench presses are a great alternative to the regular bench press in that they reduce stress on the shoulder. The bar rests against a branch of the median nerve in the thumb area of the hand, however, and can significantly increase numbness and tingling in the hand by the next morning. The regular-grip bench press can do the same, but it seems to be reported less often. Some trainees may not feel those symptoms. They may have very thick hands, and that branch of the nerve may not be compressed to the same extent.

Wrist curl and reverse wrist curl can stretch the median nerve against the roof or floor of the carpal tunnel. That may be enough to aggravate the nerve, especially if you do multiple sets of high reps. Also, if the flexor tendons are inflamed and thickened, they can irritate the median nerve in the tunnel. Again, some trainees may not feel those symptoms.

There are bodybuilders who develop carpal tunnel syndrome if they have a rapid and significant weight gain after a competition. When competitors gain 30 pounds in a few weeks, there are often complaints of tingling hands. It is not necessarily those exercises cause carpal tunnel syndrome but, rather, that your body may not tolerate them well once CTS has developed. If you're experiencing symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, have a special test performed known as a nerve conduction velocity. The test can be ordered after an orthopedist, chiropractor, neurologist or medical doctor has examined you.

If you're a veteran bodybuilder or or a beginner it is pretty sure that you've heard about the supplements Creatine and Glutamine. I'm sure you've also heard many people say to take it before your workouts, after your workouts, on an empty stomach, before bed, when you get up? Everyone is so quick to give advise yet many of these people do not know what these two incredible supplements do?


Creatine was discovered in the late 1800's but was it wasn't until the 1980's that sports nutritionists discovered how useful this supplement was in building muscle. Creatine is a naturally occurring substance found in your body and in many of the foods we consume. When supplementing with Creatine, it is converted by your body to phosphocreatine within the muscles. The way Creatine works is that it carries fluid and converted phosphocreatine into your muscles resulting in bigger muscles. Results usually can be seen almost immediately (within 2-4 days). This is why so many people that workout use this supplement. Not only does Creatine help you look "bigger", studies show that Creatine increases strength and muscle endurance. Studies also show that healthy people taking Creatine gain weight not from fat, but from muscle mass. As for side effects, the most common found was cramping due to body fluids absorbed by muscle (when supplementing with Creatine, it is very important to drink a lot of fluids). As of long-term side effects, many bodybuilders and athletes have been using Creatine for the past 8-9 years with no reported side effects.


Glutamine too is a naturally occurring amino acid found in your body and in many of the foods we eat. After hundreds of tests and hours of research, Glutamine has finally gotten the recognition it deserves by the bodybuilding world as a potent nutrient in maintaining a leaner physique, and better health leading to a better quality of life. Did you know that when we hit our thirties, our bodies produce less and less growth hormone. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, supplementing your diet with the amino acid Glutamine actually increased growth hormone levels up to 430%! This increase in growth hormone stimulates our metabolism, enabling our body to burn fat at an accelerated rate. Another reason to supplement your diet with Glutamine during strenuous exercise is that our bodies use up glutamine faster than we can reproduce it. So the harde you work, the more your glutamine levels have declined. Want another reason? Glutamine also aids in recovery. You'll be able to work those sore muscles sooner than you would if you were not taking Glutamine.

In conclusion, those of you training intensely or at least want to, should definitely think about supplementing your diet with Creatine and Glutamine.

1. Go to bed and get up on a regular schedule.
2. If your sleeplessness stems from worry or grief, try to correct what’s bothering you, accepting that you may not be able to change your situation overnight, but by taking one step at a time positive changes can be achieved. A pastor, counselor, or trusted friend may provide support through the difficulty.
3. Don’t drink alcohol before bedtime—and don’t smoke. Alcohol can disrupt sleep patterns and make insomnia worse. Nicotine also contributes to wakefulness.
4. Avoid eating a heavy meal in the evening. The evening meal should be the lightest of the day. Don’t drink large amounts of liquid before retiring. In addition to the discomfort of having a heavy meal sitting in the stomach to be digested, the process of digestion requires energy; energy utilized in this way detracts from the energy needed to fuel the process of repair and restoration vital to optimal body function.
5. Eliminate caffeinated beverages.
6. Avoid daytime naps, even when you are tired.
7. Spend an hour or more relaxing before you retire—read. listen to music, or take a warm bath. Try to fill your thoughts with something that will soothe and uplift mind, body, and spirit.
8. If you are unable to fall asleep after twenty minutes, get up and dosomething rather than lying there trying to fall asleep. But don’t bring work to bed. If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep, try reading for a short time. Meditation, counting sheep (or flowers, or whatever appeals to you) or reconstructing a happy event or narrative may lull you back to sleep.
9. Avoid reproaching yourself. Don’t make your sleeplessness a cause for additional worry. Insomnia is not a crime. Sleeping exactly eight hours is sometimes not possible. Avoid setting up a chain of thinking in which frustration and anxiety keep you fretting over lost sleep.
10. Avoid being a clock watcher. Turn the clock to the wall if you can’t helplooking at the time and worrying. If these commonsense tips don’t work the first night, they may start working over a week’s time.

This vitamin is well known to all. Its name, ascorbic acid, means no scurvy acid, stemming from the discovery that citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, and limes prevented death from scurvy during the long ocean voyages in which stores of fruits and vegetables were depleted well before the journey’s end. Vitamin C is water-soluble, and is thereby susceptible to leaching out of food during the cooking process. Less time in cooking and using less water will assist in preserving the vitamin content of the food. One must also be mindful to keep containers closed tightly when storing vitamin C products, such as orange juice, in the refrigerator. If lids are left open or not used at all, the vitamin C will oxidize away. There is an endless controversy regarding the benefits to be gained from megadose supplementation of this vitamin. Supplementation is a personal choice, but should never be a substitute for a healthy diet. In general, toxicity due to an overdose does not develop, because once the cells are saturated with the vitamin, the excess is excreted as waste. Megadosing on water-soluble vitamins could result in pretty expensive urine. Cigarette smoking interferes with the use of vitamin C in the body. Extra vitamin C can normalize blood levels but cannot protect against the damage caused by smoking.

Vitamin C and its food sources:

• All citrus fruits: oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes
• Bell peppers, both red and green; hot green chilis are also high if you can eat them uncooked.
• Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower
• Cantaloupe (1/2 melon), papaya, kiwi, strawberries, mangoes, tomatoes, blackberries, raspberries, watermelon, pineapple
• Collards, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, spinach, cabbage, Swiss chard, asparagus, and potatoes
• A serving is generally considered to be 1/2 to 1 cup; 1 cup cooked of the leafy green vegetables. The food listed at the beginning of each grouping contains the most vitamin C per serving.

A new study has found a way to make the rush hour commute a little less stressful.

The team at Royal Holloway, University of London discovered that plugging into your MP3 player on crowded public transport actually shrinks the area you perceive as being your personal space.

Participants were asked to listen to music they enjoyed and rate how close a stranger could get to them before they started to feel uncomfortable.

Those plugged into their headphones tolerated much greater proximity to the stranger than those who didn't have musical accompaniment.

We should point out this effect was only seen with music evoking positive emotions, so best save the Radiohead for another time.

Want to know how to take the edge next time you're in a pressure-packed hoops game? Reserve a John Wall Dance.

New research from Indiana University found that expressing your emotions during a sporting event gives you a psychological advantage.

The study of more than 500 athletes found most reported positive benefits from letting feelings come to surface.

"Displaying emotion can help people relax in situations where they are under a lot of stress" says psychologist David Nias, MD.

Swearing at the referees is not recommended, though

How do I prepare my body if I want to start going on a water fast once a week?

Whatever your reasons may be for doing water fasting, it's best you possess the right amount of caution. It may have worked tor someone you know, but that doesn't guarantee the same for you. Licensed physical therapist and weight loss expert Annand Mcndoza, Jr., PTRP, stresses that the body wasn't designed to handle total food deprivation. If you're ready to handle the physical consequences of lower metabolism, decreased muscle mass, and diminished glycogen stores that all make you less energetic, then water fasting can do you good. Keep these in mind when you want to run purely on H2O:
1. Learn bow to conserve your energy. "Reduce overall physical activity because your overall energy will decline during your fast," Mcndoza says.
2. Condition your body that hunger is all in the mind. "Gradually reduce your solid food portions throughout the week to allow your body to adjust," advises Mcndoza. This would prepare you to steer clear from complications such as dizziness or nausea.

WHAT'S THE BEST HOME EXERCISE TO STRENGTHEN MY BACK? I AM PRONE TO PROLAPSED DISK DUE TO MY JOB.

While performing multiple sets of squats and deadlifts in your routine adds more brawn to your back, prep your body first via core engagement exercises, says strength and conditioning expert Hercules Callanta, CSCS. Its a lot easier done than said. Through diaphragmatic breathing, you'll have a fully engaged core throughout the movement so minimize inhaling through your chest. "This will force you to make your abdomen protrude during inhalation. When you've learned this, learn to draw your abdominal area in when exhaling," says Callanta. "Exaggerate this, exhaling as much air as you can while drawing the abdomen in as deeply as you can," he adds. Remember to use this with your other exercises, as well, because it keeps your core ready for anything. When you're just about to exert effort, don't forget to breathe only through your nose and exhale through your pursed lips as you go for that pump.

WHAT EXACTLY CAUSES YOU TO HAVE SINGAW WHAT DOES IT MEAN IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE? AND, HOW CAN I AVOID THEM?

Among all your body parts, your mouth doesn't really have the cleanest of reputations — especially in the literal sense. "The mouth is replete with microorganisms, so any break or cut in the integrity of the soft tissues causes these kind of sores " explains Armin G. Segarra, DMD. The healing process can be tricky, given the mix of the wet environment and microorganism ever-present in your mouth. And if you have vulnerable tissue or infectious microorganisms in your mouth—or even hormonal imbalances in your body—then multiple sores can mess up how you enjoy every bite of your meals. Suck it up for a few days. It will resolve by itself.

I WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WORRYING ABOUT WORK, WHICH MAKES ME TIRED THE NEXT DAY. HELP!

Warning, this is going to sound like psychotherapy. You need to establish a "worry window" during the day, says Todd Farchione, PhD, director of intensive treat program at Boston University's center for anxiety and related disorders. "To stay calm throughout the day, which can make you less likely to wake up in a panic at night, schedule 15 minutes in the afternoon or early evening (just not right before bed) to be your worry window. Whenever worry pops up throughout the day , promise yourself that'll you'll deal with it, but only during this pre-assigned time. This can keep you focused through the day." When it's time to look at your worries? Farchione recommends running through each worry with questions that suggest objective realities like "How likely it is that this fill-in-the-blank-catastropher would happen?" Only use facts and not feeling, as evidence. Doing this would restore calm and perspective for a good night's sleep. If you do wake up during the night, jot down worries on a piece of paper so you wont forget what you need to address next day.

Nothing beats fresh food, but let's face it: as winter settles in, frozen meals tend to creep onto our grocery lists. Don't fret entirely. According to the UK-based Institute of Food Research, fresh veggies can lose up to 45 percent of their health-enhancing nutrients the minute they're picked, so whether they're frozen when harvested or sold fresh, the benefits are essentially the same.

You know you need to brush and floss two to three times a day to protect your pearly whites, but scientists are now beginning to understand how your diet can fight cavities and build strong teeth. Nibble on these foods daily for a truly healthy smile.

Apples
The tart fruit increases your flow of saliva, rinsing away bacteria and keeping your mouth moist.

Soya and eggs
Protein-rich foods replenish cells, which helps keep blood flowing to the nerve endings inside your teeth.

Carrots, celery and bell peppers
Crunchy vegetables cleanse and stimulate your gums. They also contain vitamin C, which regenerates collagen, the basic ingredient of gum tissue.

Dark chocolate
Recent studies show that the sweet stuff contains chemicals that fight plaque build-up (but go for at least 80 percent cocoa, or the added milk and sugar will negate the effect).