Everyday Fitness

Whether coffee is just a part of your everyday morning, or a cultural and artistic experience to you, it's good name needs to be cleared! You see a lot of news bits every now and again saying that coffee is good, then saying coffee is bad. Coffee is primarily a great thing to drink, especially over sodas and energy drinks. Taken in moderation, negative effects of coffee don't usually appear; agitation of the GI tract and heart. From what I'm reading, keeping it below 4 cups a day is about the ideal amount where you can reap all the benefits without worry. Note, the traditional coffee "cup" is 6 oz; your tall Starbucks or large Tim Hortons are around 14 oz. So you'd actually be getting just over 2 "cups" from these. Anyhow, I did a quick edit of this list from Wikipedia on the benefits of coffee.

• Reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and Dementia: Several studies comparing moderate coffee drinkers (defined as 3-5 cups per day) with light coffee drinkers (defined as 0-2 cups per day) found that those who drank more coffee were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease later in life. A study in 2009 found that moderate coffee drinkers had reduced risk of developing dementia in addition to Alzheimer's disease.
  
• Reduced risk of gallstone disease: Drinking caffeinated coffee has been correlated with a lower incidence of gallstones and gallbladder disease in both men and women in two studies performed by the Harvard School of Public Health. A lessened risk was not seen in those who drank decaffeinated coffee.
  
• Reduced risk of Parkinson's disease: A study comparing heavy coffee drinkers (3.5 cups a day) with non-drinkers found that the coffee drinkers were significantly less likely to contract Parkinson's disease later in life. Likewise, a second study found an inverse relationship between the amount of coffee regularly drunk and the likelihood of developing Parkinson's disease.
  
• Cognitive performance: In tests of simple reaction time, choice reaction time, incidental verbal memory, and visuospatial reasoning, participants who regularly drank coffee were found to perform better on all tests, with a positive relationship between test scores and the amount of coffee regularly drunk. Elderly participants were found to have the largest effect associated with regular coffee drinking. Another study found that women over the age of 80 performed significantly better on cognitive tests if they had regularly drunk coffee over their lifetimes.
  
• Analgesic enhancement: Coffee contains caffeine, which increases the effectiveness of pain killers, especially migraine and headache medications. For this reason, many over-the-counter headache drugs include caffeine in their formula.
  
• Antidiabetic: Coffee intake may reduce one's risk of diabetes mellitus type 2 by up to half. While this was originally noticed in patients who consumed high amounts (7 cups a day), the relationship was later shown to be linear.

• Liver protection: Coffee can also reduce the incidence of cirrhosis of the liver, which in turn has been linked to a reduced risk of cancers arising from preexisting cirrhosis. The exact mechanism and the amount of coffee needed to achieve a beneficial effect are as yet unclear.
  
• Cancer: Coffee consumption is also correlated to a reduced risk of oral, esophageal, and pharyngeal cancer. In the Nurses' Health Study, a modest reduction in breast cancer was observed in postmenopausal women only, which was not confirmed in decaffeinated coffee. Another preliminary study found a correlation between coffee consumption and a lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer.
• Cardioprotective: According to the study from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, coffee reduces the incidence of dying from heart disease.
  
• Laxative/diuretic: Coffee is also a powerful stimulant for peristalsis and is sometimes considered to prevent constipation. However, coffee can also cause excessively loose bowel movements. The stimulative effect of coffee consumption on the colon is found in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
  
• Antioxidant: Coffee contains the anticancer compound methylpyridinium. This compound is not present in significant amounts in other food materials. Methylpyridinium is not present in raw coffee beans but is formed during the roasting process. It is present in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, and even in instant coffee.
  
• Prevention of dental caries: The tannins in coffee may reduce the cariogenic potential of foods. Experiments have shown that these tannins may interfere with activity of certain bacteria, which may reduce plaque formation.
  
• Gout: Coffee consumption decreased risk of gout in men over age 40. In a large study of over 45,000 men over a 12-year period, the risk for developing gout in men over 40 was inversely proportional with the amount of coffee consumed.

This one is easy: none. Our culture has an obsession with taking some pill that will turn us into Superman with no effort at all. Supplements will not do the work for you. In some cases, supplements provide a marginal benefit at best. In other cases, they do nothing what-so-ever aside from making your wallet lighter. Here are a few popular supplements and whether or not they actually do anything:

• Multivitamins/Antioxidants: The supposed benefit is overall health. Every time I hear these come up in science literature, it's to say how supplementing them provides no measurable benefits at all. A better solution; eat fruits and vegetables. Eating actual vegetation does show a significant improvement versus multivitamin or antioxidant pills. Fruits and veggies have added fiber you won't get with pills too, and it's also thought there might be other beneficial substances in greens that we just don't know about yet.
  
• Fish/Flax Oil: Omega-3 fatty acids are supposed to improve your brain (fish) and heart (flax). These claims actually hold true. It's not a bad idea to get these in your diet through actual fish like salmon, and sprinkling ground flax seed over whatever you please.
  
• Weight Loss Formulas: These are the primarily made up of energy boosters like ephedrine, caffeine, green teen extract, and guarana. While they do give your heart rate a jump-start, it's not going to magically make you lose 5 lbs a week. You get an energy boost and that's it. Some people mistakenly "see" themselves getting leaner because caffeine/ephedrine strongly dehydrate your body. While dropping water makes you appear leaner temporarily, it's not the same as real results. A better alternative to weight loss pills are coffee or tea, as these will give you many other health benefits on top of the energy boost.
  
• Glutamine/BCAAs: These weight lifting supplements are supposed to improve your muscle recovery. They're simply individual amino acids; the stuff that makes up protein. Glutamine has been shown to do absolutely nothing, making it one of the worst perpetuated fitness myths. BCAAs have been shown to help with muscle recovery, but the effects are marginal. A better alternative is to rely on food; anyone eating a well rounded diet should get enough of these amino acids from the protein they normally eat.
  
• Creatine: Creatine is sort of a backup store of energy in your muscles. Supplementing creatine provides a boost in your anaerobic performance. That is, if you were lifting weights you can get an extra one or two reps before giving up. If there's any tried and true supplement out there, it's creatine. You can get creatine from red meat and certain types of fish, but the supplement is actually going to be cheaper. There are different kinds; monohydrate, ethyl-ester, citrate, magnesium-phosphate, kre-alkalyn.. All claim to be "better" in some way, but that's all garbage; creatine is creatine. Go with monohydrate as it's the cheapest.
  
• Nitric Oxide (NO): This is a vasodilator, which means your blood vessels open up to bring oxygen and nutrients to your muscles quicker. This stuff does what it says, increasing blood flow to muscle, and will increase performance in ways similar to creatine. However, NO is relatively new on the supplement scene and not surprisingly, more expensive. I don't know of any foods that give significant increases in NO production.
  

Always keep in mind though, that you should talk to a professional if you think these supplements might agitate some pre-existing condition of yours. And, supplements are just that; meant to supplement a well rounded diet and solid exercise. While some provide a little benefit, they won't do the work for you. In short, we can summarize and say:

Just as well eat your money:

• Multivitamins
  
• Antioxidant pills
  
• Glutamine
  

Marginal effects/you can get through diet:

• Ephedrine
  
• Caffeine
  
• BCAAs
  

Worth the cheese:

• Creatine
  
• Nitric Oxide
  

A report compiled in 1995 on behalf of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that MSG was safe for most people when eaten at customary levels. However, it also said that, based on anecdotal reports, some people may have an MSG intolerance which causes "MSG symptom complex." A subsequent study found that while large doses of MSG given without food may elicit more symptoms than a placebo in individuals who believe that they react adversely to MSG, the frequency of the responses was low and the responses reported were inconsistent and not reproducible, and were not observed when MSG was given with food. While many people believe that MSG is the cause of these symptoms, a statistical association has not been demonstrated under controlled conditions, even in studies with people who were convinced that they were sensitive to it.

The big "scare" was started by people claiming to be allergic to MSG, and no study could show that was actually the case. Yet the widespread phobia of MSG persisted. This is one of those huge public health misconceptions I absolutely cannot tolerate, and can be down right idiocy in some cases.

What is MSG? Monosodium Glutamate. Sodium is an atom of salt, and glutamate is an amino acid. MSG is quite literally salt and protein. The two parts dissociate when mixed in fluids, meaning if you mix MSG in wet foods or when it hits your tongue, you instantly have two very common components to everyday life: salt and protein. The next time someone tells you MSG is bad for you, tell them to go suck a lemon.

Okay, maybe not zero carbs; we don't want that. Rather, low carbs are an effective method for losing weight. Atkins has to be the poster child of low carb diets. The idea is this:

Insulin is the hormone that triggers our bodies to store the food we eat as glycogen and fat. Insulin is made in response to elevated blood sugar. Without elevated blood sugar, there is no insulin. Instead, our bodies make the hormone Glucagon. Glucagon triggers our bodies to break down glycogen and fat for energy.

The state where your body relies primarily on fat for energy is termed ketogenic, which you might hear thrown around when people talk about low carb diets. That stems from ketogenesis; a process in your liver that converts fat into ketone bodies; a usable energy source for the brain. Because as it turns out, the brain is the only part of the body that can't burn fat directly. Which I think is a relief, considering your brain is made up of so much fatty tissue. Hate to have my brain eating itself whenever I get hungry.

What don't I like about low carb diets? Now this is all speculation mind you, but they are things I think about:

• For one, ketone bodies can make the blood more acidic if they aren't burned off with excercise.
  
• Some low carb diets advocate eating anything so long as it's low carb; I'd suggest staying away from too many saturated fats, which can be bad for the heart. Instead, I'd get more energy from poly-unsaturated vegetable oils. Poly-unsaturated fats tend to improve the cardiovascular system, lower bad cholesterol (LDL), and raise good cholesterol (HDL).
  
• It's important to take a multivitamin, and eat a few greens each day to ensure you're still getting the vitamins you need.
  
• Cutting carbs doesn't seem like a good thing to do for prolonged periods of time. I tried it, and felt like garbage. I feel like depriving your body of its favored nutrient for more than a month is cruel.
  

Right now, I'm trying something called the anabolic diet. You don't eat carbs during the week while you work out, but then eat carbs on the weekend to replenish your body's glycogen stores. It seems like the best of both worlds to me! If you're interested in slimming down and have the patience to cut carbs for a little while, I definitely recommend checking out the anabolic diet. And if at any time you feel uncomfortable, then stop. Always stay safe above all!

I heard a radio segment the other day on binge eating. It's a demon many people come face to face with while trying to lose weight or eat well. From what I've learned in psychology, I'm going to give my take on why binge eating happens in the first place.

Let's look at a smoker. The smoker knows cigarettes are bad for them, yet the body madly craves them. Your body doesn't listen to reason; it wants what it wants and those desires don't disappear because we know better. The smoker can keep the body's desire for a cigarette in check with willpower, for a time. But the body can be pretty persistent..

Now let's look at a dieter; say cheesecake is their cigarettes. Remember, your body doesn't know logic. If the dieter likes cheesecake, telling their body it can't have cheesecake because they're trying to lose weight is a struggle of will. That desire for cheesecake will always be there, nagging at the dieter and making them all the more likely to breaking a very bad way; a binge. At the point of a binge, the dieter can feel ashamed and defeated, dropping their fitness goals altogether.

The best way for the dieter to avoid binging is easy.. Let them eat cake!

By telling your body it can't have certain things, you build up tension. A tension that will one day become too much to handle, and blow its top. Then you eat half a pecan pie and a bag of muffin mix all to yourself. A better alternative is to find a safe and controlled outlet for those cravings. Ask yourself; are you really never going to eat cookies for the rest of your life? Being reasonable helps maintain a proper diet over a lifetime; not just a few months' fad.

I have to give Weight Watchers credit; they recognize that you should still treat yourself to the foods you love while on a diet. Cake in itself is not terrible; surplus calories over a prolonged period of time is. So the key is simply moderation. Go ahead and eat a cookie. At the end of the week, so long as your calories aren't in excess you're completely fine! Not stressing, not worrying, and not repressing your desires help keep a diet manageable and fun; not a chore on the edge of being broken.

A fellow gym go-er once told me something that couldn't be more true:

Those numbers are by no means experimentally determined, but it does cast the proper focus your diet deserves. I won't roll out any cooking lessons just yet, because it's more important to address some of what we already eat.

Let's be honest, quick and convenient are key factors in what most people eat. That means fast food when you're on the go, or microwaved food at home. I think it's generally accepted we should reduce our intake of those sorts of things. However, fast food and microwaved dinners don't have to mean heart-attacks in a conveniently portable package. Choices in what you purchase makes all the difference. Since easy options like fast or microwaved food are part of today's reality, arming yourself with the proper knowledge is key.

• Fast food:
  There's more to fast food than greasy pizza or cheeseburgers and fries. There's no reason anyone should have to purchase these items; only excuses. In light of the obesity epidemic, there's been ample push for healthy options. Healthy items are out there, and many fast food joints actually have specific menus outlined for you.
  Another great place to inform yourself is the company's online nutritional information guide.
  
  Some things to watch out for are high sugar, salt, and calories from fat. Often enough, the culprits are just sauces and toppings; things you can ask to have reduced or held off completely. Some things you want to look for lots of are vitamins, which can be lacking in certain fast foods. Try asking for extra vegetables whenever possible to increase vitamin intake. Hell, even pizza can be done right using whole grain crust, cooked with low oil, then topped with partly skimmed cheese, lots of greens, and lean meats like chicken.
  
  
• Microwaved food:
  I picture the stereotypical student, bent over books with a coffee in one hand, pizza pocket in another, and a half-dozen empty bowls of Kraft Easy-Mac scattered around their desk. Once again, I'm happy about the push for healthier microwaved dinner options more recently. All it takes to eat easy and healthy at the same time is a little vigilance when grocery shopping. That means keeping an eye out for products labeled calorie wise, lean, light, or smart, and also checking nutrition labels to see if they live up to the name.
  
  Similar to fast foods, aim for choices with lower sugar, lower salt, lower calories from fat, and higher vitamins. While I'm on the topic of convenience; frozen vegetables get a bad rap, but in reality the flash freezing process preserves many of the important nutrients that decay over time in fresh vegetables. So if you don't like buying fruits and veggies because they spoil, by all means go the frozen route!
  

Cream of Chicken Soup (1 cup):                   Michelina's Chicken Caesar (per container):
240 calories                                                       260 calories
16g of fat                                                             3.5g of fat
1740g sodium                                                   690g sodium

By now I wanted to have a solid foundation laid down for all types of audiences, especially those who weren't familiar with this sort of lifestyle. From here on, you can look forward to more random thoughts and posts, or my rants on popular fitness topics in the media!
Stay active my friends.