One Big Health Nut

Have you ever been in the middle of your workout and had to stop because of a muscle cramp?  Not only are muscle cramps inconvenient when they interrupt your exercise, but they are often painful too. Researchers have been unable to pinpoint the exact cause of muscle cramps.  But researchers have found that muscle cramps may be attributed to muscle fatigue, inadequate stretching, exercising in heat, dehydration, and loss of electrolytes.   

Muscle cramps are a spasm of the muscle that can last anywhere from a few seconds to fifteen minutes.  The intensity of the muscle cramp can range from slightly uncomfortable to agonizing.  Muscle cramps may be prevented by stretching prior to exercise or any other physical activity.  Stretching assists your body in conditioning the muscles to properly contract and tighten during exercise.  The better conditioned your body is, the less likely muscle fatigue will cause a muscle cramp to occur.   

Intense heat during physical activity can deplete your body of necessary hydration and electrolytes.  It is possible that loss of these vital nutrients can cause a muscle cramp.  Maintaining proper hydration during any physical activity, especially during periods of extreme heat, may help prevent muscle cramps and prevent interruption of the activity.  Those individuals most affected by the heat, children, the elderly, overweight and/or ill individuals, can be at higher risk for experiencing muscle cramps.    

In general, muscle cramps do not require medical attention.  When you suffer with a muscle cramp, stop whatever activity you are engaged in.  Stretch and massage the muscle until the cramp ceases.  Depending on the intensity of the muscle cramp, it may be helpful to apply heat to the muscle to loosen it.  Be sure to stretch the muscles most susceptible to muscle cramps; quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves prior to engaging in exercise.  Drink plenty of fluids.  Do not limit your fluid intake to an amount meant to satisfy thirst.  Fluid intake should preempt thirst.  And remember that the more conditioned your body is, the less likely you will be to suffer a muscle cramp. 

Everyone wants to stop aging or, at the very least, prevent the visible signs of aging. Although there are no magic treatments that will prevent wrinkles and other evidences of age, there are steps that can be taken to limit and slow down the aging process.

1. ALWAYS wear sunscreen. Wear it in the summer, winter, fall, and spring. The sun causes the most damage to skin regardless the season of the year.

2. Drink plenty of water. Water keeps skin hydrated. Hydrated skin maintains elasticity better than dry and dehydrated skin.

3. Drink less alcohol. Alcohol is drying and damaging to your skin.

4. Stay away from cigarette smoke. If you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, avoid other people’s smoke.

5. Exercise. A fit and healthy body works more efficiently. Exercise helps maintain skin, bone, and muscle health.

6. Eat Healthy. Making sure your body has the nutrients it needs to work efficiently ensures you will age well. Avoid fatty and fried foods since they can be bad for your skin and body.

7. Laugh a lot. You will avoid the worry wrinkles around your mouth, nose, and on your forehead. Stress levels will lower. Stress is very hard on your body.

8. Wear sunglasses. They protect your eyes from damaging sun rays and keep you from squinting. Squinting will cause wrinkles around the corner of your eyes.

9. Don’t use straws. Believe it or not, the muscles used to suck through a straw can cause some wrinkles.

10. Stay away from tanning beds! The lights from the tanning beds are more damaging than the sun.

Anaerobic exercises are exercises carried out without oxygen. The muscles being used during anaerobic exercise have insufficient oxygen and are forced to rely on non-oxygen-dependent processes to generate energy. The difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise is in the intensity and duration of the muscular contractions and how energy is created within the muscle.

During anaerobic exercise, muscles use creatine phosphate to utilize the energy source (ATP) that produces muscle contractions. Once the stored energy has been used, the muscle follows the same process as during aerobic exercise by metabolizing glycogen. But then, instead of breaking down pyruvate as occurs with aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise causes it to ferment and become lactic acid. And the muscle glycogen is replaced from digested carbs, blood sugar, or amino acids that have become glucose. The anaerobic threshold has been reached when lactate accumulates in the blood stream because it has been created at a rate exceeding the body’s capability of metabolizing it.

Anaerobic exercise is characterized by high intensity exercise for short periods of time. Muscles benefit from anaerobic training, giving them greater performance capabilities during the high intensity/short duration exercises. The most common form of anaerobic exercise is weight lifting or strength training. The body builds power and mass by utilizing anaerobic training. Athletes use anaerobic training to increase their skills and endurance capability.

                     A key element in a healthy diet is reducing fatty foods.  The most detrimental type of fat in any food is trans fatty acid.  Trans fatty acids are created by a process known as hydrogenation, heating liquid vegetable oils with hydrogen.  The process creates a fat that will lower your good cholesterol level and raise your bad cholesterol level.  Trans fatty acids are also attributed to an overactivity of the immune system that has been found to promote heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.             

                      Trans fatty acids should not be limited in your diet.  Trans fatty acids need to be eliminated from your diet.  Trans fatty acids are found primarily in foods that are fried in partially hydrogenated oils.  Commercially baked foods are a common source of trans fatty acids also.  Donuts, pastries, cookies, and French fries are common examples.  Some of these foods can contain up to 50% trans fats.            

                              The American Heart Association has advised that a limit of 10% of total calories should be from fats.  In order to comply with the healthy regulation, try to use unhydrogenated oil when cooking at home.  Processed foods should be made with unhydrogenated oil.  Limit your intake of commercially baked and fried foods.  And substitute margarine instead of using butter.  Following these guidelines will ensure a healthier, longer life.  

Vitamin B12 has been credited as the largest, most complex vitamin. The function of vitamin B12 is to assist with the synthesis of an amino acid. The result of the action has been determined to prevent cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Vitamin B12 also assists in a biochemical reaction that is responsible for the production of energy from fats and proteins. Vitamin B12 is essential to the process that synthesizes hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is responsible for carrying oxygen in red blood cells.

The recommended daily intake of Vitamin B12 varies in regard to age. Adolescents and adults should consume 2.4 mcg every day. Most people in the US take in amounts that exceed, usually double, the amount recommended. Vitamin B12 is found in animal products. Vegetation products do not contain vitamin B12. Clams, crabs, and muscles contain the highest amounts of vitamin B12. Three ounces of beef provide 2.1 mcg of vitamin B12. Vegetarians can obtain the daily recommended value through milk or a daily supplement.