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I hope that you will be able to use the information provided to make educated decisions about your health and fitness goals. All questions are welcome, so please ask! Also feel free to go to my website and learn more about my company.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

How Important is Your Calcium Intake?

You probably heard that calcium is important for healthy bones. What else do you know about calcium? Some people know that it is important to regulate your heart rhythm and others have also heard that it helps with weight loss. 
You may have also heard that a diet poor in calcium can lead to frail weak brittle bones. We know that osteoporosis is a preventable dis-ease that we don't ever have to experience if we get enough calcium. It is important to realize that calcium plays critical roles for everyone but is extra important for women because of losses of calcium during the menstrual cycle. 
We are taught that in order to get enough calcium we need to drink milk and other dairy products on a daily basis. This is partially true, but not absolutely true. Did you know that 255g of Spinach will give you 345mg of Calcium. That is more calcium than the equivalent of 300mg of Calcium provided by 240g of Milk. There is a big question about how much sense this makes. Most people would argue that you need to get the absorbable Calcium from Milk. Have you ever seen a grown Gorilla drink milk? Have you ever seen any other species other than a human drink milk during their adult life? This may be shocking to think about but if all the science is true then why is it that all the other species whom do not drink milk at adulthood demonstrate the ability to maintain strong bones without having dairy in their diets? Real life situations seem to show a lack of evidence as shown in human studies. 

Some dangers in consuming milk and other dairy products include the consumption of high levels of saturated fats and bad cholesterol. Also, you risk the chance of suffering uncomfortable symptoms like flatulence and loose bowel movements attributed to lactose intolerance. You probably also hear that cows are pumped with hormones and are given loads of antibiotics in their feed in order to prevent disease and encourage rapid milk production and growth. These same cows are fed corn which isn't a normal staple in their diet. The reason for feeding them corn is to get the cows to gain weight fast thus increasing the companies profits.
Calcium is important for several reasons. It plays a critical role in proper nerve impulses. Calcium is important in the creation of blood clots to prevent excessive bleeding. In order to have healthy bones and teeth it is important that you get adequate amounts of calcium since they compromise 99% of all calcium in the body. Heart health requires calcium as does the regulation of blood pressure. Their are times when physicians will prescribe calcium channel blockers in order to maintain normal blood pressure rhythm. Proper muscle contraction and regulation of enzyme activity also require calcium. A diet high in acid foods, use of pharmaceutical medications and other physical stressors may lead excessive loss of calcium in the bones since calcium plays an important role in maintaining a proper pH balance. 
To learn more about how much Calcium you should consume on a daily basis for your age and other useful information go to: Calcium needs. I hope you enjoyed this article. Feel free to add your comments and thoughts :D. 

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Nutrition: It's Not That Complicated!


This weekend during our football game out in Bakersfield a group of Sports Medicine doctors and myself were discussing the challenges we find when discussing diet, nutrition and weight loss with our clients. I was not surprised to hear that we shared the same concern. We hear the same things from our clients so it's quite obvious that it not an isolated situation. 
Most people when thinking about weight loss, the first thing they think about is all the hype out there claiming that you need to take some miracle supplements or that latest fat burning pill and worst yet about the latest surgery to help them lose weight. The same media hype that was used to introduce toxic activities like smoking and drinking soda has been used to market a billion dollar industry out of nutritional supplements that contain more unknown ingredients than whole foods. Seriously, you can't grow or raise more than half the stuff they put in those supplements. Someone has to arrive to work and get started in the laboratory to extract and produce millions of ingredients to create a product rather than go to a garden and grow a food. 
It's equally challenging for a personal trainer or strength coach who wants to truly offer sound advise to their clients because every corner we turn these days their is someone trying to get us to help them sell their product rather than getting us to try and help them sell some whole foods. I have yet to meet an individual who accomplished a successful weight loss program that they couldn't have done by sticking to a strict whole foods diet, regular exercise program, great sleeping patterns and stress management. Don't give in to the hype. I've been a victim of it many times myself but I have decided to stick to my ground and not promote a single supplement out there. This great planet in which we live in provides us with all the nutrients we need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. You just have to be willing to consume whole foods rather than products. I challenge you to go 30 days straight without consuming a single product but rather consuming whole foods. If you take this challenge, please post your challenges and your thoughts on this blog so others can see how you over came the need to consume products. Thank You and I wish you great success.