Flash fact #1 - Fuelling the body for long distance running...

"...umm, Caolan - flash??"

...no, not that sort of flash...I was thinking more this sort of Flash:

...hmm, in future these may be called superhero facts...anyway...

...seeing as we're coming up to a lot of running events on the calendar (the City to Surf, the Mother's Day Run, the Colour Run) it's important to know how to fuel your body for these events. The simple breakdown is this: does your running event go for 90 minutes or longer??

...if it doesn't, then your carbohydrate intake really isn't that relevant as we know that our body generally has stores of glycogen (our body's fuel source) for us to exercise or run for around 90 minutes...

...now, if your event is longer than 90 minutes, the next question is: how big are you?? If you're a reasonably sized guy, you will require an intake of around 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour of running. If you happen to be female, or of a very slight frame, an intake of around 30 grams per hour is more suitable for you...

...if you need a good guide of how much carbohydrate is contained in certain foods, a good guide can be found here. As always, if you need to know more: the.chiro@mail.com

Weight training - breaking through the gym fiction...

There's a lot of gym room experts when it comes to weight training, but it all really comes down to one thing: what do you want to achieve from your training?? Let's be honest, we don't all want to look like this:

...and even if you do - do you know how to go about training the correct way to achieve this??

Let's start with the three most common goals of weight training:

1. training to increase muscular strength

(notice Damon Kelly looks nothing like the chiseled abdomen displayed above??)

Training to increase muscular strength is usually undertaken about a building phase, which I will discuss next - and it's usually a pretty simple theory: lift a big weight a few times. In more complex terms, lift 85-90% of your one rep max (the maximum amount of weight you can lift one, often referred to as ORM) around 4-6 times in a set. The top athletes in this field may do anywhere from two to four sets depending on where they are in their training schedule. This time of training won't give you a chiseled frame, or make your muscles bigger, but you will get strong...and usually pretty quickly...

2. training to build muscle

This is a phase of weight training that works on increasing the size of the muscle fibre - you start with a weight that is 50-65% of your ORM and your repetitions (or reps for short) usually vary between 8-12 and performed over three sets. The muscle derived from this type of training usually isn't very functional, and requires further training if you want to specialise towards a certain goal.

3. training to tone

This phase of training usually works on stripping away excess muscle fibre and adipose tissue (otherwise known as fat), leaving a body with a large amount of lean muscle mass. The training principle is relatively simple - grab a weight around 40-50% of your ORM and lift it between 15-30 times for three sets. Body weight exercises (push-ups, chin-ups, etc) tend to be utilised a lot here.

(female voice) "...but won't I get all bulky if I lift weights??"

...I actually get told this, or asked this, a lot...the honest truth is that most women who weight train will initially start training to build muscle, and then will quickly switch to a toning regime with the occasional building session over time. If you stick to the principles above, and have a good trainer, there's no reason you should wind up looking like this:

 

...as always, if you want to know more: the.chiro@mail.com

Exercise: where to begin...the little stuff...

Okay, hopefully by now you've read my last blog about the benefits of exercise - now it's time to talk about where to begin...

Let's talk the little details...firstly, you need to pick an exercise that you enjoy or have an interest in...I can tell you know, if you don't enjoy what you're doing, you won't continue with it...this might mean a bit of trial and error at the beginning - and if you haven't found something you enjoy, then you haven't looked hard enough yet...

Secondly, you need someone to train with...

...having someone else there for your training sessions achieves a lot of things: it gives you someone to motivate and encourage you and provides you with someone to compete against...it also gives you a distraction when the going gets tough.

Thirdly, don't be afraid to start small...

...exercise is like anything - you need to build into it. You're not going to run a marathon next week, so keep your starting point in proportion to your current fitness level - this might mean just starting with a daily walk to build up your base level of fitness. 

Starting small is important for your mental and physical state - you train too hard and an injury may occur (which will set back your fitness goals or eradicate them all together), or set your goals too high and you may be disappointed by your early efforts and lose motivation...

And finally, having your first few training sessions with a trainer is a good start...I highly recommend using someone you have heard about through word of mouth, and that you consult with the trainer about your goals before you begin...

A trainer will make sure of a number of things: they will ensure that your exercise technique is correct and that you are doing things in a manner that will give you the most effective workout while preventing injury, and they should measure your fitness at different time intervals along the way to provide you with a picture of your developing fitness levels...

Your trainer should also be happy to work with and contact your health practitioners...this will provide the trainer with more relevant information on the physical state of your body (just remember, very few trainers have medical training or background and the added information from your practitioner should aid them in further catering your exercise program to your personal needs - be wary of a trainer who gives all their clients the same exercise program) and provide your practitioner with feedback on your progression...

Join me next blog for an explanation on how your training program should be tailored towards your goals, and I will attempt to dispel a few common exercise myths. As always, if you want to know more, you can email me at the.chiro@mail.com...

Why the "E" is so important...

"...oh, great - another one of those cryptic headings..."

...yeah, sorry - figured I'd have a bit of fun with this one...

"...so what "E" are you talking about??"

...haha, how about you guess...

"...ecstasy??"

...dude, seriously - this is me talking here...

"...oops, sorry...how about eggs??"

...hmm, nope...

"...existentialism??"

...did you buy a dictionary for that one?? Seriously...

"...can I buy a vowel?? Phone a friend, Eddie??"

...I'll make it easy for you - I'm talking about exercise...

"...ahh, you're building to something here, aren't you??"

...shh, I am - but let's stick to today's topic: why is exercise so important??

"...it has to be - you bang on about it enough..."

...okay, that's enough from you...but yes, we're told regularly and repeatedly that exercise is important and it is something that we should all be doing - but why??

...let's start with the physical effects:

...obviously, above is a demonstration of the aesthetic aspect of exercise - but along with the more pleasing appearance, regular (the schematics of exercise will be discussed next blog) exercise will help in the maintenance of body weight - the increase in exercise results in an increase in the amount of kilojoules (or calories if you're working in the American system) burnt in a day. 

Build up your exercise over a reasonable period, and your base metabolic rate (the amount of energy your body burns in a day) will increase - making it easier to control your weight over time...the increase in physical strength and aerobic endurance also make completing daily activities less of a chore, leaving you with more energy to undertake other hobbies...

Regular weight-bearing exercise (meaning, not in water) also stimulates the body to increase bone formation, resulting in an increase in bone density - which is extremely important for the elder section of the community...

...next come the physiological benefits:

...heart disease and high blood pressure are two of the biggest causes of morbidity and mortality in society, not to mention, two of the biggest dollar takers in money spent of the health of our society. Exercise has some fantastic effects on both - regular exercise increases the muscularity of our blood vessels (it's not just skeletal muscle that benefits from exercise), resulting in a decrease in our resting blood pressure. A regular exercise routine will also result in stimulating the body's creation of high density lipoproteins (often referred to as HDL), or "good cholesterol"...

...the loss of excess adipose (or fat) tissue that results from exercise also has been shown to aid in the prevention of type II diabetes, also referred to as "mature onset" diabetes...starting to see how much exercise could be benefiting the health of society??

...which bring me to the next aspect of physiological benefits:

(...apologies to my nephew, but I love that pic...hey, I could have used this one instead...)

...okay, now that I have thoroughly sidetracked myself - how many of us have problems with sleeping?? What if I told you that regular exercise reduces the amount of cortisol (our stress hormone, and one that also wakes us up first thing in the morning) and increases the amount of serotonin (the magical hormone that keeps us asleep at night) produced by the body?? I think a better night's sleep should be motivation enough for some of you to start exercising...

...okay, think all the benefits of exercise are physical or physiological?? We're only just starting - what about the effects of exercise on this guy??

...exercise has some amazing effects on the function of the brain, to the extent that exercise is now the most common suggested intervention for people with depression and anxiety...regular exercise increases the flood of blood and oxygen to the brain, which increases the body's capacity to produce nerve cells and promotes neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to adapt). The release of dopamine, glutamate, norepinephrine and serotonin also markedly improve the body's ability to learn new things, and the endorphin release (or "runner's high") post-exercise is amazing for improving one's general mood and reducing depression...

...and ever considered this?? Exercise has incredible benefits for sexual health (notice I didn't include a pic for this one?? You don't want to know what Google came up with when I typed that one in) - the increase in peripheral blood flow has been shown to enhance the arousal of women and decrease erectile dysfunction in men...

...so now you know why exercise is so important - stay tuned for next time when I run through the basics of starting an exercise program. As always, if you want to know more - email me at the.chiro@mail.com, find me on Twitter: @caolanthechiro and on Facebook here.

What "convenience" is doing to our food...

Okay, this is going to give you a little bit of a glance into the way my brain works (I know a few of you just got that shiver up your spine) - this blog really started a couple of weeks ago when I started doing an investigation into why brown rice is so much more expensive than white rice (the answer will be later in the blog), and then got altered when a good patient of mine decided to really change their diet and lifestyle...a lot of our conversations over the last month or so have brought a lot of this information to the surface, so I decided I'd try and share it...

...so it started with this:

"...umm, Caolan what were those things I had to look out for on the labels of my food again??"

...well, for starters - real food doesn't have labels - the tomatoes or bananas I pick up in the produce sections don't have a list of ingredients on the side...I'm pretty sure this is because a tomato is 100% tomato, and doesn't really need much explanation...

...but if, for convenience sake, you decide to buy something in a can - this site has a pretty comprehensive list of the additives that have been shown to be potentially harmful, and the side effects that may occur if they're consumed regularly...

...but let's get back to those canned goods:

...I hope you can all see the difference between these two...but what other differences exist?? What price do we pay for having the convenience of a can of "fresh" produce we can have sitting in our cupboards for months?? For me, the disturbing fact here is that a fresh tomato has a shelf life of about 5-7 days yet a can of tomatoes has a shelf life of 12-18 months...hmm, how is that possible?? We know that all food will naturally decay over time, so how have the tomatoes been altered so that they can last 52 to 78 times longer than normal??

...well, the most obvious answer is to first read the side of a can of tomatoes - you'll notice that it does not say 100% tomatoes, and that there are a few other ingredients in your can (one of which is sugar, and hopefully you've already read my blog on that one). Now, those ingredients will obviously be there to help preserve the quality, taste and colour of the tomatoes but I have to ask - what are they actually doing to the food?? To my mind, they're actually altering the food in a manner that normal bacteria will no longer break food down...if that sounds familiar to you, this might jog your memory:

...above exists the most well known example of how altering a food and removing many of the natural nutrients can extend the shelf life of a product...and extending a shelf life means that the company providing the "food" doesn't have to produce the food as often because the "food" now does not degrade as quickly as food normally should...

"...okay, I'm guessing Maccas is off my new diet list..."

...I'm guessing you'd be right, but I should probably explain why the fact that bacteria struggle to breakdown modified food is such a concern...actually, it's really easy: our digestion and absorption process in our body relies on favourable bacteria to breakdown and absorb nutrients in our gut...

...this also explains the white vs brown rice conundrum:

...brown rice requires less processing and less handling to be manufactured, so why is it often three to five times the price? Because brown rice spoils quickly, it is broken down by the bacteria in nature...therefore, it's shelf life is much shorter than white rice...so essentially, you (this includes me) are punished for selecting a food that is healthier and cheaper to produce (read smaller carbon footprint here too) because it's more expensive for the food manufacturers to store and ship it...hence, they make white rice so much cheaper because it's more convenient for them to store and ship...

...which brings me to the following point, if food is heavily modified the body's ability to absorb nutrients from it (those few that remain after the food has been modified) is severely reduced. Which means if you're consuming a diet high in processed (or modified) foods, you could actually be setting yourself up for vitamin and nutrient deficiencies in the future...

...my ideal situation would be that we would all cook from scratch again...that we would use foods from their natural states, and therefore, receive all the nutrients from them as nature has intended...I understand that people feel that cooking from scratch is time consuming, but short cutting our food is not the way to counteract that - try reducing your preparation time instead (this guy has some pretty good ideas on how to accomplish that)...

...and as always, if you want to know more - ask me: the.chiro@mail.com or now on Twitter: @caolanthechiro

What your cravings say about your diet...part two...

...and we're back again...and I want to start with a conversation I had with a patient the other day...they've walked into my treatment room and announce to me:

"...hey, so I had ice cream for dinner last night - is that okay??"

...now, my answer should have probably consisted of a sympathetic but firm diatribe about how that's not really suitable and what deficiencies this dinner choice shows up...instead I answered with "...you eat like a five year old..."

...now I just hope this particular patient is reading this blog...

...anyway, back to the text - the next food craving I'd like to talk about is that craving for oily/fatty foods...which reveals a dietary deficiency of calcium(important for muscular contraction, blood clotting, regulating heart function and the production of strong bones and teeth)...

...foods rich in calcium include: dairy products, legumes, broccoli, green leafy vegetables (include cabbage, spinach & brussel sprouts in this), sesame seeds, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds and sardines...

...and what about that craving for salty foods?? How many people go scrambling for some hot chips when the cravings hit?? Well, you're actually pretty close to the mark here - this is the classic sign of a chloride (essential for your acid/alkali balance in the body) defiency...and fish is one of the higher sources of chloride, others include: goats milk, cocoa powder, tomatoes, olives, seaweed and celery...

...and what if you're just a general overeater?? I've had people suggest that this is purely a psychological problem, but I believe there is definitely a dietary related component of this problem...

...the following nutrients seem to play a role in suppressing that overly ambitious appetite: silicon, tryptophan and tyrosine...I have covered foods rich in tryptophan in the previous blog (click here if you happened to miss it), so I will run through the foods rich in the other elements...

...foods rich in silicon (for the formation of strong hair, skin and nails) include: nuts, seeds, brown rice, oats, alfalfa, capsicum, beetroots, pumpkin, carrots & cucumber...

...which leaves tyrosine (an essential amino acid involved in the production of neurotransmitters, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine) to cover - foods rich in tyrosine include: fresh fruit and vegetables, almonds and avocadoes...

...and that brings us to the end of my explanation of what the most common food cravings mean - if I haven't covered something you would like to know about, feel free to email me at the.chiro@mail.com

What your cravings say about your diet...part one...

This blog is a really simple one for me today - we all have them, but what do those food cravings really mean??

"Caolan, is this another one of those blogs where you take all my fun away??"

...yes, maybe...but if bad food choices are the only fun you have then that's your issue, not mine...

...okay, let's start with the usual biggest offender for those bad cravings: chocolate!!

...a craving for chocolate usually indicates a defiency in magnesium (responsible for contraction and relaxation of muscles, and energy production within the body) - easy sources of magnesium include: nuts, seeds, fresh fruit, leafy green vegetables, almonds, sunflower seeds and brown rice...

...the next most common craving is the grab for the sweet, sugary foods...this craving is a little more complex, as it involves a defiency in five elements...

...firstly, chromium (which is crucial in the metabolism of fats within the body) is usually deficient - foods rich in chromium include broccoli, grape, chicken, wheat germ, mushrooms, meat, liver and shellfish...

...secondly, a shortage of carbon (the essential building block of human life) is usually associated with a craving for sugary sweet foods - foods rich in carbon include fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and avocado...

...thirdly, a defiency in phosphorous (essential for the formation of bones and teeth, but also plays a role in the metabolisation of fat within the body) can also contribute to these cravings - foods with high levels of phosphorus include chicken, beef, fish, eggs (especially the yolk), milk and milk products, nuts and legumes...

...the fourth contributor to sugar cravings is a deficiency in sulphur (a critical part of building amino acids) - foods to consume to increase your levels of sulphur include cranberries, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, radishes, turnips, onions, celery, beans, fish and eggs...

...and the final co-contributor to sweet cravings is a deficiency in tryptophan (an essential amino acid that the body cannot produce by itself that plays a major role in the production of melatonin and serotonin - it can be used to treat insomnia and depression, and can play a role in weight reduction) - foods rich in tryptophan include: turkey, chicken, tuna, venison, salmon, lamb, deep sea fish, raisins, spinach and sweet potato...

...the next big craving that needs to be addressed is that craving for bread, pasta and other carbohydrates...this craving is usually linked to a deficiency in nitrogen (important for growth and immune function), and the foods that you should be consuming are high protein foods like meat, fish, nuts, beans, dairy products and eggs...

...and there's where I will leave it for today - the next blog will deal with the cravings for oily and fatty foods, salty foods and that general desire to continuously over eat...until then, if you need or want more information, feel free to email me: the.chiro@mail.com