“Before we begin,” Doc Kreis calls to the students, “please raise your hand if you do not have a bag of snacks.”

Much to his dismay, hands popped up everywhere, from the seniors in the top row to the new freshman at the bottom. It’s time to deliver his first lesson, about meal frequency – a subject that has since hit lay magazines by the dozen, but has long been taught by athletic trainers and professionals. You need to constantly fuel your body. “You are so wrong,” he informs the men and women in front of him, eagerly listening to what he was saying. “Fill your hands with snacks right now (as we tossed bags of trail mix out to those with their hands up).”

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The words triggered a flurry of action as everyone began looking in their backpacks, taking snacks off a nearby table and catching those tossed at them. It was comical watching snacks get tossed around the room. We continued until every player had snacks in their hands.

This was the first day of summer workouts for CU athletes. Players had already been running around the athletics training facilities as the sun rose; grunted through rounds of speed-strength lifting, high knees and sit-ups, sprints, bleacher runs, and ran timed intervals across the length of the football field, leaving fresh footprints in the dew-laden grass. Now, minutes later, they are gathered for an introductory team meeting, reviewing everything from alcohol to class attendance to social media to ethics in sportsmanship.

But first, the snacks. Knowing players need to refuel immediately, Doc Kreis prepared the snack bags to hold them over until their first team breakfast an hour later.

Doc, a no-nonsense trainer, didn’t believe in long speeches and jumped right into athletic nutrition, explaining what was expected of each of them and particularly, what they needed to be doing nutritionally to help enhance the training they would be receiving from him and his staff.
His challenge begins as nutrition in college sports requires attention to detail like never before. And, this was long before the 2014-15 academic year, the NCAA lifted restrictions for the first time on how much and how often Division I schools can feed college athletes. Similar loosened rules were applied to Division II.

The opening of the food flood gates pushed many schools to re-evaluate their investment in nutrition. With fewer limitations, how much food should they provide student-athletes? What could they provide? Meal frequency that Doc taught, suddenly went into overdrive. Was there a way to gain an edge in the process that would help enhance performance more than other schools.

Progress in meal frequency has been slow and had revolved more around the kinds of foods eaten by athletes, but there remains the basics, which have transferred to the non-professional exercise buffs and population. And, it is something you need to continue to be aware of. Time your food intake throughout the day into 6 meals – 3 primary meals and 3 snacks. For a 2,000 calorie per day diet, the meals make up about 400-500 calories each and the snacks 150-200 calories each. Of course, more calories if you require more, which you will if you are working out intensely. Let’s assume you arise and eat breakfast at 8:00 thus, timing would be 8:00, 12:00 (noon), and 5-6:00 pm for the primary meals and 10:00; 2:00 and about 30 minutes prior to bed time for the snacks. For more detailed information please read this article.

Water

Although you can survive for a few days without water, the body needs a constant supply for a variety of reasons.

• Water is the most important nutrient for active people.
• When you sweat, you lose water – it must be replaced. Drink fluids before, during, and after workouts. The colder the water the better.
• Water is the best choice for most workouts. However; during continuous workouts of greater than 90 minutes, your body may benefit from a sports drink.
• Sports drinks have two very important ingredients – electrolytes and carbohydrates
• Sports drinks replace electrolytes lost through sweat during workouts lasting several hours.
• Carbohydrates in sports drinks provide extra energy. The most effective sports drinks contain 15 to 18 grams of carbohydrate in every 8 ounces of fluid. Greater amounts of carbohydrates than this result in too much sugar intake and can actually cause dehydration of cells and may result in common injuries such as hamstring tears.

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Increase Your Energy with Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy.

• Carbohydrates are sugars and starches, and they are found in foods such as breads, cereals, fruits, vegetables, pasta, milk, honey, syrups and table sugar.
• Sugars and starches are broken down by your body into glucose, which is used by your muscles for energy.
• For health and peak performance, more than half your daily calories should come from carbohydrates. As a general rule of thumb, the more active you are in sports and competition the more carbohydrates you should have. Generally, a ratio of carbohydrates – fats – proteins is 55 – 20 – 25 (in percent). Some athletes do well with carbohydrates intakes of as much as 65 percent of daily caloric needs. Thus, in a very real sense, all protein diets have no place for the athlete!
• Sugars and starches have 4 calories per gram, while fat has 9 calories per gram. Alcohols and sugar alcohols are 7 calories per gram. In other words, carbohydrates have less than half the calories of fat. A meal of not more than 35 grams of carbohydrates at one time is ideal and will result in lower blood-sugar spikes thus, better fat burning. To achieve this, you must utilize meal frequency (eating 5-7 smaller daily meals rather than 2-3).
• If you regularly eat a carbohydrate-rich diet you probably have enough carbohydrate stored to fuel activity. Even so, be sure to eat a pre-competition meal for fluid and additional energy. What you eat as well as when you eat your pre-competition meal will be entirely individual.

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Options to Build Larger Muscles

It is a myth that eating lots of protein and/or taking protein supplements and exercising vigorously will definitely turn you into a big, muscular person.

• Building muscle depends on your genes, how hard you train, and whether you get enough calories.
• The average American diet has more than enough protein for muscle building. Generally, depending on the intensity of your workout, one half to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day is a more than sufficient intake. Extra protein is eliminated from the body or stored as fat just as unused vitamins. Protein is best used as a meal enhancement between meals in your meal frequency plan.

Improvement with Vitamins and Minerals

Consuming a varied diet will give you all the vitamins and minerals you need for health and peak performance.

• Exceptions include active people who follow strict vegetarian diets, avoid an entire group of foods, or eat less than 1800 calories a day. If you fall into any of these categories, a multivitamin and mineral pill may provide the vitamins and minerals missing in your diet.
• Taking large doses of vitamins and minerals will not help your performance and may be bad for your health. Vitamins and minerals do not supply the body with energy and, therefore they are not a substitute for carbohydrates.

Green, Leafy Vegetables and More

Iron supplies working muscles with oxygen.

• If your iron level is low, you may tire easily and not have enough stamina for activity.
• The best sources of iron are animal products, but plant foods such as fortified breads, cereals, beans and green leafy vegetables also contain iron.
• Iron supplements may have side effects, so take them only if your doctor tells you to.

You Need Calcium Everyday

Many people do not get enough of the calcium needed for strong bones and proper muscle function.

• Lack of calcium can contribute to stress fractures and the bone disease and osteoporosis.
• The best sources of calcium are dairy products, but many other foods such as salmon with bones, sardines, collard greens, and okra also contain calcium. Additionally, some brands of bread, tofu, and orange juice are fortified with calcium.

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Weight and Calories

Your calorie needs depend on your age, body size, sport and training program.

• The best way to make sure you are not getting too many or too few calories is to check your weight from time to time.
• If you’re keeping within your ideal weight range, you’re probably getting the right amount of calories.
• Go to our tools section to determine your basic daily caloric intake. It is not about counting every calorie, but about being consistent. Get an idea of what you need and then, an idea of what the foods you eat are giving you. Remember, 100 calories extra each day over what is needed will result in a 10 pound per year weight gain and vice versa. Keep it simple.

The primary source of weight gain, other than lack of exercise, is sugar intake at the wrong time, and in too large a quantity. Yes, that cola, ice cream, or large plate of pasta you may be eating right now. Not all sugar is bad, but it should be eaten in moderation. Let’s explain it in lay terms. Because of the effects of sugar and other forms of carbohydrates on blood-sugar levels, we shall refer to insulin for illustration of this concept, which is a hormone produced by the beta cells of the pancreas, as the insulin level. This is because of the general appearance of the blood sugar level as it rises and falls in response to sugar intake and insulin release has a cyclic appearance.

The key is to be able to manipulate both insulin and glucagon to help you lose fat. I know many of you lean, mean, workout machine junkies may care less about body-fat reduction. While fitness junkies are already there, for a great many this is a big problem.

The segment of the population that have a fat or weight loss problem far outnumber the fitness junkies among us. This group is more concerned about losing love handles and belly fat from a recent pregnancy than how much weight to add to the next set. Even though many will admit they are overweight due to lack of exercise and overeating, they still desire to have a better body and fitness level.

With a constant on-the-go lifestyle, it is difficult to plan to always have good nutrition and so we become not fitness, but fast-food junkies. The gold standard for gaining weight. If you need eat out frequently, remember two things: (1) make wise choices for food consumption; and (2) eliminate sugar in those choices. Sugar is your enemy!

There are hundreds of diets and workout programs claiming they will eliminate your body fat while allowing you to enjoy your favorite foods. Surprisingly, quite a few of them work ‘IF’ you strictly adhere to their guidelines and remain disciplined with sensible calorie intake combined with exercise.

So, what’s a person to do who is attempting to maximally lose body fat? You must maintain your blood-sugar level between 70 mg/dl and 110 mg/dl. This is key to use insulin and glucagon in your favor and if you do this you will burn more fat. Biologically, it comes down to your body’s ability to regulate the two hormones insulin and glucagon in relation to your dietary intake.

How Insulin and Glucagon Affect Fat Storage
At this point, I’m going to need to get just a little technical for you to understand how and why the process works.

Insulin increases the synthesis of glycogen in the liver and the movement of glucose from the bloodstream into body cells.

How is blood sugar level controlled? The pancreas works with the liver to perform this task. When you begin eating, the pancreas releases small amounts of insulin. When a lot of glucose (sugar in lay terms) enters the bloodstream, the pancreas releases more insulin. This insulin stimulates the liver to synthesize glycogen, the storage form of glucose, i.e., your ‘cell sugar’ in the body, and stimulates adipose (fat) cells, muscle cells, and other cells to increase glucose uptake. By triggering both glucose storage in the liver and glucose movement from the bloodstream into various types of cells, insulin keeps glucose from rising too high in the blood. Individuals that have diabetes understand how critical and important this is. The take away is that as you eat more sugar, more insulin is produced and more fat cells are stimulated to take up more glucose. When this happens, i.e., the cells are full of glucose, you simply build and store more fat. Burning that fat will not happen naturally by your systems since it is overloaded as it were with sugar.

Bear with me as I attempt to explain the insulin level and glucagon secretion in lay terms. The insulin level is a representative norm for a diabetic or healthy individual who doesn’t eat too much sugar or large portions of carbohydrates at one time. Insulin levels, referred to as your blood-sugar level, typically fluctuate a little. By keeping these levels steady, it is almost impossible to gain weight or put fat on the body! And, you can do this if you don’t over eat carbohydrates and indulge in too many sweets. Insulin is secreted by the beta cells of the pancreas when your blood sugar levels are high. So, following a meal that contains mostly high sugar, rapidly digested carbohydrates, your blood-sugar level may skyrocket far past the desired level of 110 mg/dl. This will facilitate storage of glucose (blood sugar) in the muscle tissues and especially fat cells.

Tip: Limit yourself to no more than 35 grams of carbohydrates per serving then, you can keep from spiking your insulin level past 110 mg/dl.

Glucagon secretion, commonly referred to as the Glucagon Cycle, is the cycle in your body that is responsible for burning or metabolizing fat already stored on your body. Glucagon is a hormone made by the pancreas that stimulates the breakdown of glycogen in the liver into glucose, which increases blood glucose. Glucagon is secreted by the alpha cells of the pancreas when blood sugar is low. This primarily occurs between meals and when exercising. Glucagon causes the liver to release stored energy into circulation.

When the correct types of food are eaten in combination, glucagon works with insulin levels and both are in normal parameters to help you maintain a strong, healthy body that has less fat on it.

What happens when you eat a large portion of complex carbohydrates such as bread or pasta, or simple carbohydrates such as a coke, candy bar, or ice cream? The result is a spiked insulin level. For example, drinking a regular coke (typically 180 calories or 45 grams of carbs) creates a spiked insulin level for about 2-4 hours or more. The more sugar you eat, the longer the spiked level will remain. The effect can become more pronounced for persons 35 years old and older. Also, increased amounts of sugar usage will increase cholesterol in the blood. When the insulin level begins to fall, you will notice the ‘crash’ that is typically exhibited as drowsiness or sluggishness. You know, you’ve experienced it, that early morning crash you got from eating that cinnamon roll, donut, or sugar frosted corn flakes!

Eating large amounts of sugar or carbohydrates causes a double whammy. It will both spike the insulin level and cause an immediate depression of your fat burning metabolism, which makes it impossible, during the period of the spiked cycle, for your body to burn or metabolize stored fat. Thus, you’ll end up gaining unwanted pounds. Also, the intake of alcohol, since it is high in sugar, is even more exacerbated because the alcohol serves as the body’s immediate energy source leaving the sugar to be stored as fat as well.

Again, I am not implying that you cannot eat sugar. It’s okay to celebrate the birthday or have a nice dessert once or twice a week. But, if you’re drinking 3 to 5 cans of soda per day, reduce it to one can or so every 2 to 3 days. Besides, these kinds of foods have minimal nutritional value and do little for your overall health when eaten in larger portions, which is in addition to the effects discussed here. Use sugar as a reward for hard work. It is very appropriate to drink something such as grape juice (4 to 8 ounces), about 20 to 30 minutes prior to your workout. For those who wish a more detailed, technical description of this process, it is included, along with graphs for a visual effect in Appendix 2.

Tip: Eat complex carbohydrates in smaller meals throughout the day. This will lessen the chance of a spiked insulin level and allow more of your food and stored fat to be burned as energy, giving you the healthy body you desire and keep your insulin level down.

Essentially, insulin and glucagon work in balance – insulin increases, glucagon decreases, and vice versa. Insulin promotes storing energy and manufacturing proteins, while glucagon promotes the release of stored energy, both glucose and fatty acids.

The big take away is that keeping your blood glucose level in check, i.e., below 110 mg/dl, will not only help, but cause your body to consistently burn more stored fat. A good diet with adequate protein and carbohydrate sources will minimize insulin spikes, increase glucagon, and ultimately promote less fat storage. Therefore, to optimize fat reduction, it all reverts to the basics – eat properly and exercise regularly. Remember to pay closer attention to the diet component to maintain an optimal blood-sugar level since it can facilitate more fat burning throughout your day.

Tip: Eliminate sugar from your diet for 2 weeks, while eating general carbohydrates sparingly and you will lose at minimum 10-12 pounds. Some clients have lost as much as 18 pounds in 2 weeks without exercise.

Note:
Illustrations of the effects of high carb intake on blood sugar levels are shown below.
In the first graph, you can observe that high-carb/sugar meals drastically increase your blood-sugar level (top two lines) from the norm (bottom two lines). So, eat less carbs/sugars at one time.

In the second graph, you can see that glucagon is optimal or in lay terms, your fat burning cycle operates at full efficiency with a low carb meal (blue line), but is drastically reduced and becomes inefficient in fat burning with a high carb meal (pink line).

We have several problems when trying to obtain adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals and also a good quality vitamin and mineral product. For decades, farmers that furnish food to the general population generally have grown that food in the same fields year after year. During this process soil nutrients that are taken up by plants gradually diminished resulting in a less nutritious plant each growing season. Over time, plant growth and yields diminished. As a result, farmers added fertilizers to the fields to enhance plant growth. However, these fertilizers were in the form of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (these three are called plant macro-nutrients).

While this process has increased yield back to normal levels, the micro-nutrients used by the plants were not replenished by the farmer each season, only the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. This has resulted in less and less vitamins and minerals in the same food products each year than there was in previous years. Thus, the vitamin and mineral content has steadily declined in the vegetables and plant products we eat each year so that to get the same amount we should, we have to eat more of them. This means eating more calories, which is what many of us do not wish to do.

The answer to this problem is to take vitamin and mineral supplements to enhance the foods we eat and to ensure that we are receiving adequate amounts of these substances. This is especially true for those who workout on a regular basis and are more active as a result. Before discussing this, lets look at the importance of vitamins and minerals and what they do. A synopsis, i.e., tables of individual functions for what vitamins and minerals do can be found at the end of this article.

Vitamins

You need vitamins for normal body functions, mental alertness and resistance to infection. These substances enable your body to process proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Certain vitamins also help you produce blood cells, hormones, genetic material and chemicals in your nervous system. Unlike carbohydrates, proteins and fats, vitamins and minerals don’t provide fuel (calories) but, they do help your body release and use calories from food.

There are 14 vitamins that fall into two categories:

Fat-soluble: Vitamins A, D, E and K. They’re stored in your body’s fat. Some fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A and D, can accumulate in your body and reach toxic levels.

Water-soluble: Vitamin C, choline, biotin and the seven B vitamins: thiamin (B-1), riboflavin (B-2), niacin (B-3), pantothenic acid (B-5), pyridoxine (B-6), folic acid/folate (B-9) and cobalamin (B-12). They’re stored to a lesser extent than fat-soluble vitamins.

Minerals

Your body also needs minerals. Major minerals that are required in larger amounts include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride. Calcium, phosphorus and magnesium are important in the development and health of your bones and teeth. Sodium, potassium and chloride, known as electrolytes, are important in regulating the water and chemical balance in your body. In addition, your body needs smaller amounts of chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc. These are all necessary for normal growth and health.

Balance

The proper balance of vitamins and minerals within your body is essential. Prolonged vitamin or mineral deficiencies can cause specific diseases or conditions, such as night blindness (vitamin A deficiency), pernicious anemia (vitamin B-12 deficiency) and anemia (iron deficiency). By comparison, too much of some vitamins and minerals can cause toxic reactions.

You can get your entire daily requirement of vitamin C by just popping a pill. You can get the same amount by eating a large orange. So which is better? In most cases, the orange, which is a whole food. The main advantage is that it will provide both fiber and also other vitamins and minerals.

Benefits of Whole Foods

Whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, lean meats and dairy products have three primary benefits you can’t find in a pill:

• Whole Foods are Complex. They contain a variety of the nutrients your body needs, not just one, giving you more value for your money. An orange, for example, provides vitamin C but also beta carotene, calcium and other nutrients. A vitamin C supplement lacks these other nutrients. Similarly, a glass of milk provides you with protein, vitamin D, riboflavin, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. If you take only calcium supplements and skip calcium-rich foods, such as dairy products, you may miss all the other nutrients you need for healthy bones.
• Whole Foods Provide Dietary Fiber. Fiber is important for digestion and to help prevent certain diseases. Soluble fiber that is found in certain beans and grains and in some fruits and vegetables, as well as insoluble fiber that is found in whole grains and in some vegetables and fruits, may help prevent heart disease, diabetes and constipation.
• Whole Foods Contain other Substances that may be Important for Good Health. Fruits and vegetables, as an example, contain naturally occurring food substances called phytochemicals that may help protect against cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and diabetes. Although it’s not known precisely what role phytochemicals play in nutrition, research shows many health benefits from eating more fruits, vegetables and grains. If you depend on supplements rather than eating a variety of whole foods, you miss the potential benefits of phytochemicals.

Benefits of Supplements

The benefits of supplements is for enhancement and to ensure adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals are obtained. The supplement you decide to use must be chosen with care. In fact, some nutrients may actually be harmful to your health when taken as a supplement. In one study, researchers found an increased risk of prostate cancer among men who drank alcohol and took beta carotene supplements.

In an earlier study, they found that smokers who took beta carotene supplements had an increased risk of lung cancer. It’s possible that alcohol and tobacco change the way your body absorbs and uses beta carotene. In addition, large amounts of beta carotene can alter blood levels of other, similar natural food pigments called carotenoids, some of which may actually be more beneficial to you than beta carotene.

Thus, while we should concentrate on obtaining most nutrients from food, those that cannot be obtained in an adequate amount or because of a hurried lifestyle can be adequately obtained from a good supplement manufacturer. At MyHealthandFitness, we want you to understand that supplements are not substitutes for good nutritious food. They are called supplements because they supplement what you may not obtain from your food(s) of choice. They can’t replace the hundreds of nutrients in whole foods you need for a nutritionally balanced diet.

We have taken the guesswork out of choosing a supplement for yourself. First we will tell you what to look for in choosing a supplement and second, why the supplements we have chosen and had manufactured for us to fit you are the best you can get.

If you do decide to take a vitamin or mineral supplement, here are some factors to consider:

Avoid supplements that provide “megadoses.” In general, choose a multivitamin-mineral supplement that provides about 100% DV of all the vitamins and minerals instead of one that supplies, for example, 500% DV of one vitamin and only 20% DV of another. The exception to this is calcium. You may notice that calcium-containing supplements don’t provide 100% DV. If they did, the tablets would be too large to swallow. Most cases of nutrient toxicity stem from high-dose supplements.
Look for USP on the label. This ensures that the supplement meets the standards for strength, purity, disintegration and dissolution established by the testing organization, U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP).

Beware of gimmicks. Synthetic vitamins are the same as so-called “natural” vitamins. Don’t give in to the temptation of added herbs, enzymes or amino acids they add nothing but cost unless they have a very specific function and are specifically or biochemically designed for ingestion with various other supplements.

Look for expiration dates. Supplements can lose potency over time, especially in hot and humid climates. If a supplement doesn’t have an expiration date, don’t buy it.

Store all vitamin and mineral supplements out of the sight and reach of children. Put them in a locked cabinet or other secured location. Don’t leave them sitting out on the counter or rely on child-resistant packaging. Be especially careful with any supplements containing iron. Iron overdose is a leading cause of poisoning deaths among children.

Store supplements in a dry, cool place. Avoid hot, humid storage locations, such as the bathroom.

Explore your options. If you have difficulty swallowing, ask your doctor whether a chewable or liquid form of the vitamin and mineral supplements might be right for you.

Play it safe. Before taking anything other than a standard multivitamin-mineral supplement of 100% DV or less, check with your doctor, pharmacist or a registered dietitian. This is especially important if you have a health problem or are taking medication.

High doses of niacin, for example, can result in liver problems. In addition, supplements may interfere with your medications. Vitamins E and K, for example, aren’t recommended if you’re taking blood-thinning medications (anticoagulants) because they can complicate the proper control of blood thinning. If you’re already taking an individual vitamin or mineral supplement and haven’t told your doctor, discuss it at your next checkup.

See the following tables for good food sources of vitamins and minerals.

Table 1: Vitamins

Table 2: Minerals

If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, or you wake up feeling tired and not refreshed, you may be suffering from insomnia. Insomnia is a symptom that can be caused by a variety of factors such as, stress, anxiety, depression, disease, pain, medications, sleep disorders or poor sleep habits. Your sleep environment and your health and fitness habits can also play a role in your sleep problems.

Some medications can lead to insomnia as well. These are common over-the-counter medications and can include medications for cold and allergy (some antihistamines and decongestants), high blood pressure (antihypertensives), heart disease (betablockers), thyroid disease and birth control (hormones), as well as asthma and pain medications (containing caffeine).

Some common sleep disorders can also cause poor sleep. These disorders range from restless legs syndrome (a creepy, crawling sensation in the legs only relieved by movement) to a bed partner’s sleep apnea, i.e., a breathing disorder with loud snoring and brief periods when breathing stops.

Insomnia may be experienced for a few days or, for two to three weeks, or it may be chronic, lasting for three weeks or more. Chronic insomnia is more difficult to treat, and doesn’t go away on its own. You may need to see a physician or sleep specialist.

Many people experience insomnia, particularly women before and at the onset of the menstrual cycle, during pregnancy and menopause.

Do You Have Insomnia?

Forty-eight percent of Americans report insomnia occasionally, while 22 percent experience insomnia every or almost every night.*

Women are 1.3 times more likely to report insomnia than men.
People over age 65 are 1.5 times more likely to complain of insomnia than are younger people.

Divorced, widowed and separated people report more insomnia.

Diagnosing Insomnia

Before you can treat insomnia, you need to identify its cause. You will have to contemplate your own mental and physical state regarding this. Also, your doctor may ask about your mood. Are you depressed? Are you anxious? Are you severely other otherwise under stress? Could your insomnia be caused by pain, medications, or disruption in your life due to travel across time zones, or working non-traditional shifts? Could caffeine, alcohol, nicotine or spicy foods play a part in your difficulty sleeping? Questions you answer with a “no” may help point to a diagnosis of the primary cause of your insomnia.

Impact of Insomnia

Insomnia can have a very serious impact on the quality of your life, productivity and safety:

• People with insomnia are four times as likely to suffer from depression than are people who sleep well.
• Lack of sleep due to insomnia may contribute to illness, including heart disease.
• Safety in the work place, at home, and on the road may be affected by sleepiness.
• People with insomnia may miss more time from work or receive fewer promotions.
• After a poor night’s sleep, many people report accomplishing fewer daily tasks and enjoying activities less.

What will Insomnia Cost You?

Researchers can estimate specific direct and indirect costs to the nation due to insomnia. Direct costs include dollars spent on insomnia treatments, healthcare services, hospital and nursing home care. The most recent annual estimate of the direct costs of insomnia is nearly $14 billion! That’s a lot of money but is there a personal cost?

Indirect costs – such as work loss, property damage from accidents, and transportation to and from healthcare providers – are estimated at double the direct costs near $38 billion. One conservative report places total costs at up to $55 billion. A National Sleep Foundation survey calculated that lost productivity alone from insomnia topped $28 billion! So, you can observe that insomnia will cost you, perhaps more than you realize. This is especially true if you are trying to maintain a fit lifestyle for while its difficult to workout on a regular basis, it is particularly hard if you try to accomplish this task with reduced sleep levels on a daily basis.

Would you recommend treating insomnia with medication?

This is highly individualistic and should be determined by both yourself and your physician. However, following is some general information that you should familiarize yourself with and then, can discuss with your physician to determine if medication is the proper thing for you. Treating insomnia with medication is the most common treatment for these sleep problems. Twenty-five percent of Americans take some type of medication every year to help them sleep.

Medications May Be Taken When:

• The cause of insomnia has been identified and is best treated with medication.
• Sleep difficulties cause problems in accomplishing daily activities.
• Behavioral approaches have proven ineffective and the person is unwilling to try them. (See section, Treating Insomnia Behaviorally.)
• A person is suffering insomnia-related distress and beginning behavioral therapy.
• Insomnia is temporary or short-term.
• Insomnia is expected or occurs in association with a known medical or biological condition (e.g. Premenstrual Syndrome) or an event such as giving a speech or traveling across time zones.

General Medication Treatment Guidelines

Treatment with medications should:

• begin with the lowest possible effective dose
• be short-term, if used nightly
• be intermittent, if used long-term
• be used only in combination with good sleep practices and/or behavioral approaches

Hypnotics, Antidepressants and Anxiolytics

Prescription medications that promote sleep are called hypnotics. These are the most effective sleep aids available.

The particular medication prescribed to treat insomnia should depend on a patient’s diagnosis, medical condition, use of alcohol or other drugs, age, and the need to function when awakened during the usual sleep period. If the cause of the sleep problem is depression, an antidepressant could be the best solution. Anti-anxiety drugs (anxiolytics) are prescribed if anxiety is related to insomnia.

However, you should be aware that some antidepressants cause insomnia, so patients should be sure to discuss their sleep problems with their doctor. Also, some antidepressants (the tricyclics) may worsen restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movements (characterized by jerking legs during sleep).

Increasingly, some sedating antidepressants have been prescribed in low doses for insomnia. However, many experts believe that in the absence of clinical depression, there is little evidence to support the use of these drugs for insomnia.
What are the various types of hypnotics?

Among the prescription hypnotic drugs, a group of hypnotics called benzodiazepine agonists were developed in the l960’s. These sleep-promoting drugs have since proven effective and safe. Benzodiazepine agonists can be either benzodiazepines or nonbenzodiazepines; each has a different chemical structure. All hypnotics induce and maintain sleep. The benzodiazepines agonists work by acting at areas in the brain believed to be involved in sleep promotion. They are the drugs of choice because they have the highest benefit and the lowest risk as sleep-promoting drugs.

Hypnotics differ by half-life as well as chemical structure. Half-life refers to how long a drug is active in the body. Drugs that have a shorter half-life are effective in the body for a shorter time. A shorter half-life is usually preferred so that daytime functioning is not impaired the next day or after waking. The benzodiazepine triazolam has a short half-life, as do the non-benzodiazepines zolpidem and zaleplon.

Hypnotics also differ in the dose range over which they are effective. Scientists have established the effective dose range for each hypnotic. Dose becomes a problem when higher doses than those established as effective are used. Use of high doses increases the risk of rebound insomnia. Rebound insomnia occurs when a person stops taking the medication and experiences one or two nights of insomnia that is worse than they experienced before treatment. It only occurs with short half-life hypnotics and can be avoided by gradually tapering the dose. Consult your physician before increasing your dose or stopping high dose treatment.

How Effective Are Hypnotics

Studies have examined data on the effectiveness of hypnotics and have concluded that they are effective and reliable for:

• shortening the time it takes to fall asleep
• increasing total sleep time
• decreasing the number of awakenings
• improving sleep quality

Please note however, that these conclusions are based upon studies of short-term use of hypnotics that include appropriate doses in comparison with a placebo or sugar pill. Some studies demonstrate little decrease in the effectiveness of hypnotics over the course of months.

How Long Should Drug Treatment Last?

• Accepted insomnia guidelines call for short-term treatment, but long-term use of sleep aids is not uncommon.
• Four weeks is the recommended limit.
• Not prescribing hypnotics may cause unnecessary patient distress, particularly when the person does well on the same dose and has no side effects.
• Still, most sleep specialists share the belief that sleep aids shouldn’t be a long-term answer to poor sleep for most people who have trouble sleeping.

More studies are needed on long-term effects of the use of sleep aids.

Cautions Regarding Hypnotics

All individuals who take sleep aids need to also focus on improving their sleep practices. The sedating or calming effects of hypnotics may lead to falls for those awakening at night.

One study also found a higher risk for car accidents in older adults taking long-acting sleeping medications, particularly during the first week of use.

Moreover, many persons taking hypnotics should understand that sleep aids should be gradually decreased rather than stopped all at once as is common with many drugs. Without gradual tapering, stopping hypnotic use may cause insomnia to come back. Individuals should work with their doctors to discontinue medication gradually.

Are You At Risk By Taking Hypnotics?

• Individuals who drink alcohol. Why? The two drugs taken together intensify the action of both.
• The elderly and anyone who needs to get up during the night. Why? The sedating effects of hypnotics increase the risk for falls. Doses should be lower for the elderly.
• Those who have to operate machinery soon after awakening. Why? In medications with long half-lives, the risk of accidents may be increased.
• People who have sleep apnea. Why? Breathing may be further impaired.

Safety Concerns About Hypnotics

While many people worry about prescription sleep aids, believing them to be addictive (or habit-forming), research studies show that people with insomnia don’t tend to abuse sleep aids. They don’t tend to take higher doses than prescribed. It is important to avoid the attitude of “if a little is good, more is better” with these drugs. High doses can cause a variety of ill effects.

Negative effects or abuses tend to be linked to excessive doses or to individuals who abuse other drugs or alcohol.
What are the Side Effects of Hypnotics

Side effects of prescription sleep aids are related to a person’s age, dose and half-life. Selecting the proper dose is especially important for older people. When hypnotics stay in the body longer, they remain active and can cause daytime sleepiness or forgetfulness.

Younger people can be at risk for side effects too. People who use higher doses and hypnotics with longer half-lives tend to experience more side effects. To avoid these side effects, sleep specialists often advise the use of hypnotics with short half-lives. Any change in dosage should be discussed with your doctor.
Other Sleep Aids

Many of us use sleep medications that are available without a prescription. These sleep aids are available “over-the-counter” (OTC) because they have been found to be safe when used according to their directions. However, OTC sleep aids may be less effective and they may have been subjected to less rigorous testing. Many non-prescription sleep products include antihistamines. These substances are designed to block chemicals released during a cold or allergy attack, not to promote sleep. However, many have sedating (calming) effects. Some OTC sleep aids may also include pain relievers.

As with hypnotics, OTC sleep aids should not be used by individuals who are also taking alcohol or other drugs with sedating effects. Older persons should be cautious about these drugs because of their slower metabolisms. Drugs stay in the body longer and can then cause daytime sleepiness. Additionally, OTC sleeping aids should be avoided by people with breathing problems, glaucoma, chronic bronchitis, and difficulty urinating because of an enlarged prostate gland, or women who are pregnant or nursing.

Other products sold to promote sleep include:

• Valerian (a root that may be steeped in hot water for tea)
• Melatonin (an artificial or animal form of a substance produced by humans that is linked to sleep)

Herbal products and nutritional supplements (such as melatonin) are not required to undergo the same rigorous testing as prescription drugs in order to meet government standards. Their long-term impact, side effects and possible interactions with other drugs or medical conditions are often not known.

Treating Insomnia Behaviorally

Sleep specialists have devised a variety of approaches for treating insomnia. Behavioral approaches involve actions you can perform yourself. Medication may help you sleep as you try these sleep-friendly practices. Combining behavioral and medical approaches works well for many people. Your doctor is the first line of advice in this area since most physicians would rather treat any type of illness or personal health problem without the use of drugs if possible.

Behavioral approaches can range from limiting the time spent in bed to making a stronger mental connection between bed and sleep. This latter approach is called stimulus control. Studies suggest that these two strategies are the most effective behavioral approaches.

Stimulus control focuses on the association between your bed and sleep. Do you find yourself balancing a checkbook or writing a letter in bed? In this way you link bedtime with alerting activities rather than sleeping. The stimulus control approach helps you think more about your bed as a place for sleeping.

You can put relaxation back in your bedroom by using your bed only for sleep and sex, getting in bed only when you’re tired, and getting out of bed if you don’t fall asleep within 15 minutes. Try a relaxing activity to help reduce any anxiety or stress you may feel.

A sleep specialist may help you use stimulus control and sleep restriction strategies properly.

If you suffer from insomnia, consider the following guidelines for better sleep:

• Exercise regularly, about six hours before you want to sleep.
• Avoid napping.
• Go to sleep and wake at the same time every day.
• Save your worries for daytime (If concerns come to mind in bed, write them down in a “worry” book, then close the book until the morning).
• Select a relaxing bedtime ritual, like a hot bath or listening to calming music.

When Should I See a Doctor?

If you have sleeping problems that persist, it may be time to seek professional help. Your doctor can help determine how to treat your problem and may refer you to a sleep specialist.

Question: What is a supplement?

Answer: The term generally refers to dietary supplements, which are defined by the FDA as minerals, vitamins, herbs or other botanicals (excepting tobacco), a concentration, metabolite, extract, amino acid, or combination of these. There is actually a very large number of them, so many in fact that we will not list them here. Dietary supplements can vary widely from DHEA to creatine monohydrate; from protein powders to fat burning pills of many types, as well as a host of others.

Question: Are dietary supplements good for the body?

Answer: A wide range of vitamins and minerals are good for the body when used at the recommended dosage rates. However, the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements and many of them make false claims and in fact, can harm your physiology and wellness. Be cautious of the kinds and amounts of dietary supplements you consume and, follow suggested recommendations for dosage rates.

Do not develop the philosophy that if a little is good, more is better. It is better to have a balanced diet and to use moderation than to consume large quantities of these unregulated substances. For your safety, you should seek out information from expert sources prior to new supplement use.

The best method is to research the supplement outside of the company that produces it, i.e., take the manufacturers literature and use an outside source, not a competitor, to obtain the best unbiased facts possible about it. Chances are, if the products claims sounds too good to be true, it is.

Question: What does MyHealthandFitness recommend about dietary supplements?

Answer: We list on the MyHealthandFitness Internet site information about various supplements that have been researched in depth; both their pros and cons. Information is based on scientific research and are presented to show the facts about that supplement and how it can affect your body. As new information is presented on various supplements, we will post them in the Supplements Information section. Be aware that some supplements can be hazardous to your health in the long term

MyHealthandFitness has sought out the very best for those who wish to purchase supplements to enhance his or her current nutritional plan. Following is why we have chosen these supplements for you. Also, you should look at the long-term benefits and realize that future health is what you are striving for.

Each individual has several problems when trying to obtain adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals and also a good quality vitamin and mineral product. For decades, farmers that furnish food to the general population generally have grown that food in the same fields year after year. During this process soil nutrients that are taken up by plants gradually diminished resulting in a less nutritious plant each growing season. Over time, plant growth and yields diminished. As a result, farmers added fertilizers to the fields to enhance plant growth. However, these fertilizers were in the form of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (these three are called plant macro-nutrients). While this process has increased yield back to normal levels, the micro-nutrients used by the plants were not replenished by the farmer each season, only the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. This has resulted in less and less vitamins and minerals in the same food products each year than there was in previous years. Thus, the vitamin and mineral content has steadily declined in the vegetables and plant products we eat each year so that to get the same amount we should, we have to eat more of them. This means eating more calories, which is what many of us do not wish to do.

The answer to this problem is to take vitamin and mineral supplements to enhance the foods we eat and to ensure that we are receiving adequate amounts of these substances. This is especially true for those who workout on a regular basis and are more active as a result. Before discussing this, lets look at the importance of vitamins and minerals and what they do. A synopsis, i.e., tables of individual functions for what vitamins and minerals do can be found at the end of this article.

Benefits of Supplements

The benefits of supplements is for enhancement and to ensure adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals are obtained. The supplement you decide to use must be chosen with care. In fact, some nutrients may actually be harmful to your health when taken as a supplement. In one study, researchers found an increased risk of prostate cancer among men who drank alcohol and took beta carotene supplements. In an earlier study, they found that smokers who took beta carotene supplements had an increased risk of lung cancer. It’s possible that alcohol and tobacco change the way your body absorbs and uses beta carotene. In addition, large amounts of beta carotene can alter blood levels of other, similar natural food pigments called carotenoids, some of which may actually be more beneficial to you than beta carotene.

Thus, while we should concentrate on obtaining most nutrients from food, those that cannot be obtained in an adequate amount or because of a hurried lifestyle can be adequately obtained from a good supplement manufacturer. At MyHealthandFitness, we want you to understand that supplements are not substitutes for good nutritious food. They are called supplements because they supplement what you may not obtain from your food(s) of choice. They can’t replace the hundreds of nutrients in whole foods you need for a nutritionally balanced diet.

We have taken the guesswork out of choosing a supplement for yourself. First we will tell you what to look for in choosing a supplement and second, why the supplements we have chosen and had manufactured for us to fit you are the best you can get.

Following are some factors to consider when purchasing supplements:

Avoid supplements that provide “megadoses.” In general, choose a multivitamin-mineral supplement that provides about 100% DV of all the vitamins and minerals instead of one that supplies, for example, 500% DV of one vitamin and only 20% DV of another. The exception to this is calcium. You may notice that calcium-containing supplements don’t provide 100% DV. If they did, the tablets would be too large to swallow. Most cases of nutrient toxicity stem from high-dose supplements.
Look for USP on the label. This ensures that the supplement meets the standards for strength, purity, disintegration and dissolution established by the testing organization, U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP).

Beware of gimmicks. Synthetic vitamins are the same as so-called “natural” vitamins. Don’t give in to the temptation of added herbs, enzymes or amino acids they add nothing but cost unless they have a very specific function and are specifically or biochemically designed for ingestion with various other supplements.

Look for expiration dates. Supplements can lose potency over time, especially in hot and humid climates. If a supplement doesn’t have an expiration date, don’t buy it.

Store all vitamin and mineral supplements out of the sight and reach of children. Put them in a locked cabinet or other secured location. Don’t leave them sitting out on the counter or rely on child-resistant packaging. Be especially careful with any supplements containing iron. Iron overdose is a leading cause of poisoning deaths among children.

Store supplements in a dry, cool place. Avoid hot, humid storage locations, such as the bathroom.

Explore your options. If you have difficulty swallowing, ask your doctor whether a chewable or liquid form of the vitamin and mineral supplements might be right for you.

Play it safe. Before taking anything other than a standard multivitamin-mineral supplement of 100% DV or less, check with your doctor, pharmacist or a registered dietitian. This is especially important if you have a health problem or are taking medication. High doses of niacin, for example, can result in liver problems. In addition, supplements may interfere with your medications. Vitamins E and K, for example, aren’t recommended if you’re taking blood-thinning medications (anticoagulants) because they can complicate the proper control of blood thinning. If you’re already taking an individual vitamin or mineral supplement and haven’t told your doctor, discuss it at your next checkup.

The Supplements from MyHealthandFitness

There are a number of things that make the our supplements unique. The public is accustomed to purchasing vitamin and mineral formulas by price, which is related back to the numeric values of nutrients listed on each label. In other words, how much am I getting for my dollar. Admittedly, unless you know about chemistry and the biochemical function of each nutrient and how it works synergistically with the other nutrients in the human body, you may not have a good method of determining whether you are getting your moneys worth or not. That is why we have done this for you.

The supplements offered by MyHealthandFitness, their formulas, are not based on current marketing strategy in the industry. They are based on bioavailability, the ability of the nutrient to access the cell, and balance from good chemistry. We can stick hundreds of milligrams of vitamins, minerals and amino acids in these products but if they’re not bioavailable, you have lost your money!

The Supplements From MyHealthandFitness Are An Investment In Your Health!

Make sure the formula is balanced and stable.

Using nutrients balanced for their synergy is much more potent, effective and safe than taking one nutrient synthetically or from nature and raising it way up and out of proportion to the other nutrients. Nutritional factors such as the phosphorus-calcium balance within the body must be accounted for within nutrition and supplements. Many manufacturing companies do not concern themselves with this. Thus, nutrients out of proportion, become competitive and may inhibit the absorption of other nutrients that would otherwise work synergistically in the formulas. An example of balance would be our Vanadyl Plus product. We took the vanadium and balanced it with chromium and other nutrients to establish your Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF). If we had only put Vanadium in the product and recommended high dosages you might excrete your chromium via urination because of competition rather than synergistic augmentation and become out of balance and toxic. Therefore, the balance and ability of the nutrients to work together yield the product more effective. As a result, you just made a good investment and got your moneys worth.

We have transport systems built into the products that require them.

Just throwing Amino Acids in a Capsule and expecting to completely absorb them could be hit and miss. We set up the conditions in the digestive system for proper absorption for you. The amino build formula for instance has an active transport system built into it to get it across the gut and into the bloodstream.

We use the highest grades of nutrients.

For instance, in our Life Assurance (Multiple Vitamin and Mineral formula) we use some very unique mineral chelations to stabilize the minerals and than direct them to certain parts of the body. The Pharmaceutical B vitamins are blended with rice powder to ad in cofactors from nature needed to stabilize them.

We Use Free Amino Acids in Our Formulas.

Each Amino Acid has a function of its own and cannot perform this function while bound to peptides. Most dietary peptides are not active and require an enzyme to react with it and carry it into the liver where it requires further digestion. If this part of digestion does not take place properly peptides can slip into the blood undigested and cause problems. Our Free Amino Acids can be used to synthesize new proteins according to your own genetic code latter on in the process if need be. This also eliminates allergy symptoms, arthritic symptoms and encephalopathy (affecting the brain negatively).

Capsules and Tablets

We use both Capsules and Tablets in formulating. We may make this determination depending on the formula and the nutrients contained and where and when we want them released for best absorption. Some of the tablets being manufactured on the market today do not have good breakdown times or do not break down at all. Our tablets are adjusted for breakdown time so that the nutrients are released at the best time for efficient absorption and utilization.

The Manufacturing Plant.

The newest most advanced equipment is used in manufacturing our products. A no dust system backed up by a multi-million dollar air filtration system guarantees no cross contamination of products. So, if you are a competitive or Olympic athlete, you will not have to concern yourself about testing positive for something that should not be in your system.

Laboratory Facilities.

On-site laboratory facilities allow us to quarantine and double check all materials for authenticity and bacterial counts against certificates of analysis.

Our products are manufactured under a Pharmaceutical Registration, A.C.E.R.I.S (Academy of Environmental Research and Informational Sciences), NNFA and APHA. They will be added to the MyHealthandFitness store soon.

Surprisingly, little is known about protein and health. We know that adults need a minimum of 1 gram of protein for every kilogram of body weight per day to keep from slowly breaking down their own tissues. That’s about 8 grams of protein for every 20 pounds. For athletes who work out very intensely, theirs a somewhat higher requirement, but how much more and whether or not it can be gained from a good diet, is a hot topic. Beyond that, there’s relatively little solid information on the ideal amount of protein in the diet, a healthy target for calories contributed by protein, or the best kinds of protein.

Worldwide, millions of people don’t get enough protein. This protein malnutrition leads to the condition known as kwashiorkor. Lack of protein can cause growth failure, loss of muscle mass, decreased immunity, weakening of the heart and respiratory system, and death.

In the United States and other developed countries, it’s usually easy to get the minimum daily requirement of protein. A bowl of cereal with milk for breakfast or a piece of fish with a side of beans for dinner adds up to about 70 grams of protein, which is adequate for the average adult.

Too little protein is clearly a problem. And what about too much? The digestion of protein releases acids that the body usually neutralizes with calcium and other buffering agents in the blood. Eating lots of protein, such as the amounts recommended in the so-called no-carb diets, requires lots of calcium. Some of this may be pulled from bone.

Following a high-protein diet for a few weeks probably won’t have much effect on bone strength. Doing it for the long term could weaken bone. In a recent study, for example, women who ate more than 95 grams of protein a day were 20 percent more likely to have broken a wrist over a 12-year period when compared to those who ate an average amount of protein (less than 68 grams a day). While additional research is needed to define the optimal amount of daily protein, these results suggest that high-protein diets should be used with caution, if at all.

All proteins are not the same

Some of the protein you eat contains all the amino acids needed to construct new proteins. This type protein is called a complete protein. Animal sources of protein tend to be complete. Other protein lacks one or more amino acids that the body can’t make from scratch or create by modifying another amino acid. Termed incomplete proteins, these usually come from fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts.

In regards to the many types of diets and methods in nutrition, vegetarians need to be aware of this difference. To obtain all the amino acids needed to make new protein and to keep the body’s systems in good shape, people who don’t eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or dairy products should eat a variety of protein-containing foods each day as we have stressed elsewhere.

The protein source

Animal protein and vegetable protein probably have the same effects on health. It’s the protein package that is likely to make a difference. A 6-ounce broiled Porterhouse steak is a great source of complete protein because it contains 38 grams of it. But, it also contains 44 grams of fat, 16 of which are saturated. For a 2,000 calorie per day diet, that’s almost three-fourths of the recommended daily intake for saturated fat. The same amount of salmon yields 34 grams of protein and 18 grams of fat, 4 of them saturated. A cup of cooked lentils also has 34 grams of protein but under 1 gram of fat.

Consequently, it’s important to pay attention to what comes with the protein in your food choices. If you are partial to beef, stick with the leanest cuts. Fish or poultry are excellent alternatives. Even better options are vegetable sources of protein, such as beans, nuts, and whole grains.

Protein and chronic disease

The most solid connection between proteins and health has to do with a common disorder of the immune system. Proteins in food and the environment are responsible for a variety of allergies. These are basically overreactions of the immune system to what should be harmless proteins. Beyond that, relatively little evidence has been gathered regarding the effect of protein on the development of chronic diseases.

Cardiovascular disease: To date, only one large, prospective study has investigated the association between dietary protein and heart disease or stroke. In a recent study, women who ate the most protein (about 110 grams per day) were 25 percent less likely to have a heart attack or to die of heart disease than the women who ate the least protein (about 68 grams per day) over a 14-year period. The source of protein, i.e., animals or grains didn’t seem to matter. These results offer reassurance that eating a lot of protein doesn’t harm the heart. In fact, it is possible that eating more protein while cutting back on easily digested carbohydrates may be benefit the heart.

Diabetes: Proteins found in cow’s milk may play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes (formerly called juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes), which is one reason why cow’s milk isn’t recommended for infants. Later in life, the amount of protein in the diet doesn’t seem to adversely affect the development of type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes, although research in this area is ongoing.

Weight control: In short-term studies, a lower-calorie diet that includes more protein and less carbohydrate is more effective for losing weight or keeping weight steady than a lower-calorie, high-carbohydrate diet. Eating high-protein foods such as beef, chicken, fish, or beans will make you feel full longer because they slow the movement of food from the stomach to the intestine. This strategy may also delay hunger signals. The digestion of protein, when compared to that of carbohydrates results in smaller, steadier increases in blood sugar. This helps avoid the steep climbs and drops in blood sugar, which trigger hunger pangs and occur after eating rapidly digested carbohydrates. Unfortunately, little data have been collected on the long-term effects of a high-protein diet on weight control.

Cancer: There’s no good evidence that eating a little protein or a lot of it influences cancer risk.

What about soy as a protein source?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now allows food makers to claim on the labels of low-fat foods containing at least 6.25 grams of soy protein that soy can help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Some research suggests that regularly ingested soy-based foods lower cholesterol, chill hot flashes, prevent breast and prostate cancer, aid weight loss, and ward off osteoporosis. These effects may be due to a unique characteristic of soybeans, their high concentrations of isoflavones, a type of plant-made estrogen.

This research has prompted many media reports touting the joys of soy. It also has food makers churning out new soy products that are beginning to move into the mainstream. In Boston, for example, soymilk is now advertised on the radio during Boston Red Sox games, alongside donuts, oil additives, and beer.

Often, many of the claims made for soy go far beyond the available evidence.

Heart disease: There’s good evidence that soy lowers cholesterol levels. A 1995 meta-analysis of 38 controlled clinical trials showed that eating approximately 50 grams of soy protein a day in place of animal protein reduced total cholesterol levels by 9.3 percent, LDL cholesterol by 12.9 percent, and triglycerides by 10.5 percent. Such reductions, if sustained over time, could yield a 20 percent reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attacks) or other forms of cardiovascular disease. Individuals with very high cholesterol levels, in the vicinity of 300 mg/dL, appeared to benefit most from eating soy-based foods. Keep in mind that 50 grams of soy protein is the equivalent of 1 pounds of tofu or eight 8-ounce glasses of soymilk a day. The American Heart Association now recommends including soy-based foods as part of a heart-healthy diet.

Hot Flashes: Soy has also been investigated as a treatment for hot flashes and other problems that often accompany menopause. In theory, this makes sense. Soybeans are rich in plant estrogens, also called phytoestrogens. In some tissues, these substances mimic the action of estrogen. Thus, they could cool hot flashes by giving a woman an estrogen-like boost during a time of decreasing estrogen levels. Yet carefully controlled studies haven’t found this to be the case. Such studies do not negate the effects, but may not show such results because of too low number of participants in the study.

Breast cancer: In some tissues, phytoestrogens block the action of estrogen. If this occurs in breast tissue, for example then, eating soy could reduce the risk of breast cancer because estrogen stimulates the growth and multiplication of breast and breast cancer cells. However, studies to date haven’t provided a clear answer, with some showing a benefit and others showing no association between soy consumption and breast cancer. Large prospective studies now underway should offer better information regarding soy and breast cancer risk.

Unsettling reports suggest that concentrated supplements of soy proteins may stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells. Too much soy could also lead to memory problems. Among older women of Japanese ancestry living in Hawaii, those who relied on the traditional soy-based diet were more likely to have cognitive problems than those who switched to a more Western diet. These preliminary findings suggest that too much anti-estrogen in the wrong place at the wrong time could be harmful.

The Best, Current Recommendations for Protein Intake:

Get a good mix of proteins. Almost any reasonable diet will give you enough protein each day. Eating a variety of foods will ensure that you get all of the amino acids you need.
Pay attention to the protein package. You rarely eat pure protein. Some comes packaged with lots of unhealthy fat, such as when you eat marbled beef or drink whole milk. If you eat meat, choose the leanest cuts. If you like dairy products, skim or low-fat versions are healthier choices. Beans, soy, nuts, and whole grains offer protein without much saturated fat and with plenty of healthful fiber and micro-nutrients.

Balance carbohydrates and protein. Cutting back on highly processed carbohydrates and increasing protein improves levels of blood triglycerides and HDL, and so may reduce your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or other form of cardiovascular disease. It may also make you feel full longer, and stave off hunger pangs. Too much protein, though, could weaken bones.
Eat soy in moderation. Soybeans, tofu, and other soy-based foods are an excellent alternative to red meat. But don’t go overboard. Two to four servings a week are a good target. And stay away from supplements that contain concentrated soy protein or soy extracts, such as isoflavones. Larger amounts of soy may soothe hot flashes and other menopause-associated problems, but the evidence for this is weak.

Various Dietary Sources and Amounts of Protein

A metabolic enhancer is classified as a thermogenic agent. A thermogenic agent is one that produces heat — in everyday common terms, it “speeds up” your body’s metabolism.

The most common ingredient in metabolic enhancers is ephedra. Ephedra is generally known as legal “speed” except that it is now illegal in most states and has been replaced by pseudo ephedra. Currently, there is a trend by most manufacturers to remove ephedra from their products due to health problems created in some individuals who take such products. While ephedra is not as dangerous as crack cocaine, a small dose is approximately equal to a few cups of strong coffee. The same is true of ma huang, another common ingredient in metabolic enhancers.

If you have certain health conditions such as high blood pressure, these products can be very dangerous. They can, and usually do, make you jittery, nervous and speedy, and can raise blood pressure and heart rate.

This does indeed temporarily “speed up” the metabolic rate, but how much that transfers to actual weight loss is anyone’s guess. Almost all manufacturers make wild claims that support their products, but at the same time, you must realize that these products do not have to conform to FDA standards and unless there are complaints against the manufacturer, they can say anything they wish about there product, true or imagined. Long-term experience with both athletes and average fitness enthusiasts suggests that these products work primarily by suppressing your appetite, NOT by adding appreciably to the number of calories burned during the day, though they probably do slightly increase the number of calories burned while “under the influence.” Ask yourself, “is feeling jittery with shaking hands worth it for a few extra calories burned?”

Understanding your metabolism

What is metabolism anyway? Metabolism is, briefly, the sum of everything that happens in the body, the building up of various substances (muscle, proteins, RNA, hair, nails, enzymes, storage fat, bones) and the breaking down of others (food, storage fat, etc.).

Both “building up” processes (called anabolic) and “breaking down” processes (catabolic) happen simultaneously, i.e., all the time. And the raw material, the stuff the body uses for this myriad of tasks, is food. Or, more properly, the nutrients contained in food.

In one sense, then, the metabolic rate could be defined as the speed at which our internal engines run.

Four primary factors contribute to your metabolic rate.

1. The largest contributor is your “basal” or resting metabolic rate (They’re not exactly the same, but for our purposes they’re interchangeable). This is essentially the number of calories you burn at rest, just sitting in a chair or otherwise lounging about.

2. The second major component of your metabolic rate is your level of activity and exercise or rather, is determined by it. The more you exercise, the higher your metabolic rate will be.

3. The third component is often called the “thermic effect of food,” and is defined as the amount of calories (or energy) it takes to actually digest and process the food you eat (“Thermic,” by the way, means “heat”, and “thermogenic” means “heat producing”). Remember that energy production is going on in the body at all times and one of the byproducts of energy production is heat. Do you know which food type has the highest thermic effect? Protein!

4. The last and smallest contributor to the metabolic rate is something with the intimidating name of “facultative thermogenesis,” which means the heat-producing effect of things like fidgeting, reaction to cold and stress, and other similar factors.

What do we mean by saying, “I have a slow (or sluggish) metabolism?” What we mean is, “How do we get this whole process to move faster? How do we speed up the engines or run the whole system at a higher temperature?”

By far the primary regulator of resting metabolic rate is how much muscle you have. Muscle is where the action is. Muscle cells are loaded with tiny little power centers called mitochondria, which are where calories get “burned.” More descriptively, the mitochondria is where the breakdown products of food like fatty acids and glucose get “oxidized,” but let’s not get too technical. Thus, the more muscle you have, the more powerhouses you have to break down fat. And, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even while sleeping.

The conclusion is obvious: The number one metabolic enhancer is muscle and the best way to build muscle is to exercise and the best exercise for this is lifting weights.

When you understand clearly what metabolism is, you recognize immediately that the amount of difference that metabolic enhancers can have in increasing your metabolism is negligible. Such products will increase your engines idle speed somewhat, but without a lot of exercise to burn your consumed calories, you’re just producing a few extra calories as heat while doing some potential damage to the rest of your system.

Except for the decreased appetite effect, which would make you eat less, the effect these products have on calorie expenditure and fat loss pales when compared to exercise. Both muscle building and a diet designed to keep blood insulin levels from soaring into the stratosphere are the key methods to enhancing metabolism.

Other ingredients often contained in these products (besides the stimulants) are carnitine and chromium. I’ve written about these elsewhere, and believe that both of them play an important part in supporting different aspects of metabolic function (blood sugar in the case of chromium, and fat metabolism in the case of carnitine. But, the amounts contained in metabolic enhancers are usually much less than what’s needed. If you want them, you can do much better getting them as separate products from supplements made in a reputable, FDA certified laboratory. These companies guarantee their ingredients and are reliable. Also, the best supplements in this area will be geared to consumption of the best biochemical method to achieve the best result when taking such products in conjunction with necessary vitamins and other RDA required nutrients.

The ingestion of synthetic agents, dietary supplements, and other substances can and often do precipitate adverse effects ranging from nausea, hair loss, itching, and nervous irritability, to other problems. Sometimes, severe consequences can result, such as sterility, drug addiction, liver disease, and even death caused by liver or blood cancer.

The purpose of this information section is to educate the reader about various substances that are often ingested by not only athletes, but old and young alike to improve performance, increase strength, and resist aging. We at MyHAF do not endorse the use of anabolic steroids and other possibly harmful and illegal substances.

Anabolic Steroids:

The use of anabolic steroids began gaining favor in the early 1950s for medical use. Primarily to treat patients who were deficient in natural androgens or those with muscle-wasting diseases. Since then, they have been used for the treatment of osteoporosis, severe breast cancer in women, and as a counter to severe lean body mass loss in HIV patients. Prescription for medical purposes is legal in the United States. However, the sale (Anabolic Steroid control Act, initially legislated in 1990) or possession for non-medical use is illegal.

Steroids have become an integral part of competitive sports on a world-wide basis. Currently, it is estimated that 90% of male and 80% of female professional bodybuilders use androgens, often combined with stimulants and diuretics, believing that their use augments training effectiveness. It is also estimated that 30% of professional baseball players use anabolic steroids hoping for enhanced performance.

Anabolic steroids function similar to testosterone. They bind with special receptor sites on the muscle and other tissues. Testosterone contributes to male secondary sex characteristics, including gender differences in muscle mass and also strength that develop at the onset of puberty. By synthetically manipulating the steroid’s chemical structure to increase muscle growth (from anabolic tissue building and nitrogen retention), the hormone’s androgenic or masculinizing effects are reduced. However, a masculinizing effect of these synthetically derived steroids still exists, particularly in females.

Generally, athletes combine multiple steroid preparations in both oral and injectable form, called stacking, believing that the variety of androgens differ in physiologic actions. Also, they progressively increase drug dosage, called pyramiding, usually in 6-12 week cycles. The rates that are currently used often exceed recommended medical dose rates by 40-fold or more. The athlete then progressively decreases dosage in the months or weeks prior to competition to lessen the chance of detection at testing. This disparity in dosage rates between that used in research and that used by athletes has increased the credibility gap between scientific findings, which often show no effect due to steroid use, and what the athletic community believe to be true. Essentially, users in the athletic community have adopted a “more is better” approach.

As an example, Anadrol-50 has a recommended dose of 50 mg taken orally. It costs about $120 per 100 tablets in the medical profession. However, the black market value is $250-500. One can see that a 40-fold increase is about 2,000 mg, which is significantly different than the suggested medical dosage rate. Durabolin (officially known as Nandrolone Phenylpropionate) is an injectable anabolic steroid with a suggested medical dosage rate of 25 mg/mL. The average medical profession cost is about $30 per 5 mL vial while the black market cost is $250-500 or more for the same amount. The tablet form of steroids are typically called “orals.” These oral androgens do not metabolize into testosterone, but act directly on androgen receptors and are not as biologically active as the injectable form. The injectable form, known as “oils” or “waters” usually have longer-lasting effects than the oral form. The injectable form release slowly into the body once the injection enters a muscle, typically the buttocks. One injection at the suggested medical dosage rate can maintain normal serum testosterone levels for about 10-14 days.

As an example of steroid abuse, the cycling of steroids generally coincides with competition and, the examples below are only one or two of a great many combinations. This use coincides with the goal of achieving maximum muscle strength and size at competition. Thus, as in a periodized training program, the off-season steroid cycle differs considerably from pre-competition conditions for both the drugs taken and their respective dosage. For example, an 16 week off-season cycle for a bodybuilder may include four steroids (Dianabol – 110 mg, Dynabolon – 125 mg; Plenastril – 150 mg; Sustanon 250 – 100 mg) taken at a high dosage during week 1 (rates listed) then, progressively reduced during and at the end of the 18-week period (Dianabol – 10 mg, Dynabolon – 10 mg; Plenastril – 20 mg; Sustanon 250 – 10 mg). Initially, the dosage rate in week one will be about 1.0 – 1.7 mg/kg of body mass. The bodybuilder will then follow a 6-8 week cycle of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and clomiphene citrate (Clomid-a synthetic hormone usually used to treat female infertility) to increase testosterone concentrations. Taking these hormones with exercise training supposedly increases lean body mass above off-season peak level. Following this, the athlete will typically cycle to another 18 to 20-week regimen of different steroids, e.g. Oxandrolone, Primobolan, Masterone, Stromba, using a varying dosage rate throughout the cycle. For example, Oxandrolone in week 1 at 90 mg to 60 mg in week 12; Masterone at 100 mg in week 1 to 500 mg in week 12; and Primobolon at 300 mg in week 1 to 250 mg in week 12. These rates exceed recommended medical dosage rates. In addition to the anabolic steroid use, high intakes of protein, dietary supplements, other synthetic hormones such as HGH, and sometimes, herbal preparations will be added to augment steroid effect.

While the reader may believe that steroid abusers are typically very muscular, it may surprise you to know that abuse is widespread in many competitive athletes such as track and field, tennis, cycling, wrestling, fitness competition, road cycling, swimming, and in many professional sports. Since many athletes obtain steroids on the black market, they are typically misinformed because the seller does not know how, why, or at what dosage rates to prescribe the substance. And, like all illicit and illegal drugs, the user may take large amounts for prolonged time periods. Without medical monitoring and supervision, many will suffer harmful alterations in physiologic function. Individuals have been know to die at middle age as a result of early abuse of steroids. Some suffer prolonged kidney dialysis treatments for the rest of their life.

Steroid abuse in young teens from 11 years upward is on the rise. It is estimated that 1 of 15 high school students use them. At this age, accompanying risks include extreme virilization and premature cessation of bone growth. As with other drugs, they will tend to share needles that will in turn, spread other diseases. To summarize their use in this age group, as with bodybuilders and many female fitness competitors, it’s primarily used to enhance body image.

There is and has been great controversy concerning the use of anabolic steroids and their effects on human body composition and exercise performance. Most of this controversy stems from statistical experimental design and the fact that athletes typically use a much higher rate than medical professionals prescribe and that they themselves, by law, are not allowed to exceed in a typical experiment. Use duration, nutritional supplementation, training intensity, previous use, and a host of other factors determine the effect of steroids on the individual. Research with animals have proven clinically that steroid use, combined with exercise and adequate protein intake, stimulates protein synthesis and increases muscle protein content. In other experiments, no stimulation was found to increase muscle protein content. As a matter of fact, for every experiment that show gains or augmentation of body mass and reduction of body fat by men and women who use steroids, other studies will show no effect. This suggests that there is strong differences in response among users due to physiological individuality.

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So what do we know about steroids and their use?

The opinion of most health-care professionals is that there is an infrequent but distinct possibility of harmful side effects from the use of anabolic steroids, particularly the orally administered types and that these harmful effects far outweigh any potential ergogenic effect. Most athletes use dosage rates in the neighborhood of 10 to 100 times greater than medically prescribed rates. This can lead to long-lasting impairment of normal testosterone endocrine function, infertility, reduced sperm concentrations, and decreased testicular volume. Also, use of steroids with exercise training may produce connective tissue damage that will decrease tendon tensile strength and elasticity, which can be particularly detrimental in old age. Steroids also cause chronic stimulation of the prostate gland, injury and functional alterations in cardiovascular function, increased blood platelet aggregation, and other harmful issues. From a medical standpoint, blood platelet aggregation can compromise cardiovascular system function and health, as well as increase the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Additional problems can be the shortening of longevity, liver and kidney tumors, lymphosarcomas (cancer), and heart damage, often in combination. Liver damage is typically seen in athletes taking steroids. Female athletes who use steroids will generally experience deepening voice, facial hair, menstrual irregularities, clitoral enlargement, and reduced breast tissue. In general, for both male and female athletes there will be an increase and increased risks in LDL’s, i.e., resulting in high cholesterol due to reduction of HDL-C and increasing the risk of coronary artery disease, potential for neoplastic liver disease, depression upon withdrawal, peliosis hepatitis (localized blood filled lesions), aggressiveness, hyperactivity, and irritability. Increase of these side effects can lead to impaired thyroid function, stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure and other problems. One of these other problems is that the liver can actually fail and the patient will die. Thus, there are potentially serious adverse effects from anabolic steroid use, even when a doctor prescribes steroids at recommended rates. Consequently, more is not better, it could be much, much worse.

For those who are familiar with the effects of steroids in athletes, it is easy to look at an athlete and tell if they are using steroids; a drug test is usually not necessary. While increased body image is often associated with their use, particularly in the bodybuilding and fitness arena in regard to lean, hard, massive muscles, anabolic steroid use is simply not worth it. While ones body can look great, there is a general trend for decline in the facial features of both men and women. These include age lines, reduced facial skin elasticity, wrinkles, emaciation of the face, drawn features, and other problems. This is like a car that has a great engine and runs fine for awhile, but it’s ugly on the outside, often to the point of embarrassment. Additionally, the use of steroids would be akin to adding sand to the cars engine oil. This will greatly reduce engine life and it will not run well for long. Unlike a car that can be repainted, ones looks will not return upon halting steroid use. Even plastic surgery will not help previous looks return. One should ask themselves two questions: 1) Is potential longevity and associated health risks worth the use of steroids for a few minutes of fame? 2) Would you rather know that you won on your own because of hard work or because you beat someone in unfair competition due to drug use?

Dr. Tindall and the staff at MyHealthandFitness would challenge the reader to work out more intensely with more professional level training regimens and be persistent in training, realizing that results are best achieved over time. Such a philosophy is much safer than turning to the use of products such as anabolic steroids that can destroy health and well being and even rob one of life at an early age.

As a final note, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is firmly and adamantly opposed to the use of anabolic steroids for not only the above reasons, but also because, “the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids by athletes is contrary to the rules and ethical principles of athletic competition as set forth by many of sports governing bodies… The ACSM deplores the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids by athletes.” MyHealthandFitness endorses their position!

Three different types of oregano are highest in antioxidant activity.

1. Mexican oregano (Poliomintha longiflora) is used in traditional Mexican and Southwest recipes. Its flavor is a bit stronger than Italian oregano (Origanum x majoricum).
2. Italian oregano, also known as hard, sweet marjoram, is a versatile herb used to season meats, egg dishes, soups, and vegetables.
3. Greek mountain oregano (O. vulgare ssp. hirtum), provides the piquant flavor associated with Italian pizza and classic Greek cuisine.

Several other kitchen herbs, including rose geranium, sweet bay, dill, purple amaranth, and winter savory, also have strong antioxidant activity. However, these are only one-third to one-half as potent as the oregano types listed above. Medicinal herbs generally rank lower in antioxidant activity.

So, next time you want to spice something up and gain an antioxidant capacity at the same time, take a trip to your local market and purchase some oregano. Have a happy and healthy day.