Refuel.Rest.Repeat.
Part 2
Aaaannnnd we are back with our second list on ways we can refuel our bodies. I personally love this section as I am very interested in nutrition and the effect it can have on our daily life. So, let's dive into a few more options on how we can be our healthiest versions of ourselves.
Refueling with Omega-3s: Do not sleep on this one. Fatty acids are essential for our bodies and have a plethora of benefits. In "Fish are Friends", I go through where we can find O-3s, how much we should be consuming, and the latest research on reproductive health. Both men and women need the right amount per day for overall metabolic health.
Uses: We can find O-3s in a variety of different locations like fish, vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, leafy vegetables, blue green algae, and in supplements. Each of us have different eating lifestyles we follow and luckily O-3s are able to keep up with our uniqueness.
To help reach out daily targets try incorporating more O-3s in snacks in meals. For snacks, consume a homemade trail mix with a healthy blend of nuts and seeds. For meals, create a yummy salad with a variety of green and violet leafy greens, spread with flax, olive, or avocado oil, and add a palm sized piece of salmon on top. Perfect!
Benefits: These vary from preventing heart disease, lowering overall blood pressure, preventing stroke, improve skin conditions like eczema, help with arthritis, prevent cancer, help with lupus, lower inflammation, improve mental conditions like depression and ADHD, improve overall cognitive function, reduce childhood allergies, regulate the endocrine system/hormones, reduce dry eyes, and improve fertility.
Side effects: With all of these benefits, it is critical to be sure we are fueling with O-3s. Deficiency can lead to skin issues, changes in neuron paths leading to depression, eye dryness, pain in the joints, and hair loss. I would also like to point out the side effects on fertility and overall reproduction. O-3s can help to mobility, quantity, and morphology of sperm in men. DHA is a form of O-3s that is needed for fetus brain health.
Location: O-3s are all around us and provide many different options based on our nutritional lifestyles.
For the vegans and vegetarians: Oils, nuts, seeds, leafy vegetables, and blue green algae.
For the carnivores: Consume our fish friends. Oyster, salmon, and herring are some of the top O-3 carriers.
Budget: When factoring in time, supplements may be one of the cheapest options but consuming a cheap supplement is not the answer. When choosing to supplement keep in mind there have been some studies where there is cross contamination, heavy metals, absorbency issues, and testing issues that may come into play with supplementing (more on this below). The best way to consume O-3s is naturally. Purchase nuts, seeds, and oils when they are on sale (typically before winter) and try out fishing!
Fiber Importance: Ask a nutritionist today one of the biggest factors of weight gain and what we are deficient in, and I guarantee fiber will be on that list. I wrote a piece, "Fresh and Fibrous" dedicated to the importance of fiber in our diets. When we partake in fad diets such as limiting our canceling out our carbs, one of the resulting side effects is lowered fiber intake. Not only will the fad diet not work, but will cause overall deficiencies too, like most "diets".
Use: Fiber can be found in a variety of foods but with the increase in processed foods, many Americans are left consuming half the amount of fiber they actually need.
How do incorporate more fiber into our diets? Again, through thoughtful snacks and meals. For a few great suggestions, check out the breakdown in the Fiber piece.
Benefits: I do not believe it is a secret that fiber helps with constipation. When was the last time our IBS treatment was a handful of almonds or a can of beans or some berries instead of a pill that dissolves in water? In addition, fiber also helps with lowering hemorrhoid risk, reducing diverticular disease risk, improving heart health, lowering type II diabetes risk, regulates blood sugar, helps to maintain weight, and lowers cancer risk (especially breast and colon).
Side effects: Fiber deficiency can lead to weight gain, lowered gut health, constipation, and blood sugar fluctuations. Without getting the basic amount of fiber we are at higher risks of heart issues, stroke, type II diabetes, and cancer. It is important to note the types of foods that typically do not contain how high amounts of fiber and one of the factors to why we gain weight. Often the most addicting snacks (chips, cookies, and crackers) have low nutritional value. When we consume these products, our evolutionary brain wants to continue to eat until we have reached our nutritional threshold. Most processed snacks have been manipulated to the point where the main ingredients are carbohydrates where zero are from fiber. So, we continue to eat and receive no benefits. The carbs turn into sugars, the sugars are stored as fat, the fat surrounds our organs, and now we begin to see the problems in our health and in our joints.
Location: None of the nutritional lifestyles have an excuse here. Fiber is found in chocolate, legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, and of course whole grains. Again, "Fresh and Fibrous" provides a breakdown of the different products that contain the most fiber.
Budget: Fiber can be relatively cheap. Canned beans are great and easy to store. I buy the "grainiest" bread from a bakery to help support local and small businesses. Fruits and vegetables are great from the garden, from a farm, or the farmer's market. Nuts can be foraged in our own backyards. And how could I forget about chocolate. The chocolate that is the best for us is almost earthy tasting but still delicious. Remember our labels when purchasing chocolate.
Spicy foods: I bet you were not expecting this but hear me out. Spicy foods have their place! First, big thanks to the many countries on how have had their spices down in many dishes for centuries. Think of spices like a consumable sauna for our inside :)
Use: Turn up the heat! We typically have two options, either add spices or a hot sauce. I prefer the spices method since many hot sauces tend to be very high in sodium and may have added ingredients.
Spices can be added to anything! Add blends during cooking and afterwards to enhance different dishes and to offer a cheap way to change the flavor of food.
Benefits: Spicy foods are not a cure all, but they can help manage or even with weight loose. Spicy foods can help the metabolism, help curve hunger, improve gut bacteria, reduce inflammation, reduce pain, reduce cancer risk, kill bacteria, and may even reduce premature death.
Side effects: There are some people who may need to avoid spicy foods entirely but for the general public, minor side effects are caused with over consumption (like with anything really). These can include stomach issues, headaches, vomiting, and diarrhea. Ulcers are NOT from spicy foods but if there is an ulcer present, spice may cause more irritation.
Location: There are many yummy hot sauces out there. I personally love to pick a new one up whenever I am traveling. Then I can support a small business and enjoy a taste from a memory (best countries for hot sauces are Costa Rica and Jamaica). But if we are trying to reduce our sodium intake, spices will work well too. At my house, we keep crushed red peppers and Cajun seasoning ready to add to our dishes during cooking or after.
Budget: This option is very cheap. I of course like to make it more expensive by buying organic spices because I believe they are superior but regular spices will get the job done too. My farm typically has dried spices for cheap too. Grow your own from a balcony garden too! Support a local business by purchasing their seasoning or hot sauces.
Electrolytes: Yes, they have their place but only in certain conditions. I will tread lightly here because I am not too big on the use of electrolytes (especially in supplement form) but that does not mean they do not help in many circumstances. Electrolytes actually hold a positive or negative charge which helps to move in and out of cells. They are made up of a collective of different components including sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium, chloride, phosphate, and bicarbonate.
Use: Electrolytes are naturally replenished by our body. We lose some during training, working hard, daily activities, and while sick but for the most part our body is able to easily replenish them. Imbalances can occur when there are excess excretions from the body that can lead to dehydration (vomiting, diarrhea, and sweat). Know the signs of when your body needs aid.
Benefits: Having our electrolytes in balance helps keep the body balanced, including our hormones.
Side effects: Not enough electrolytes can cause an imbalance and dehydration. This can take us straight to the hospital if we are not careful. Too much can lead cause the kidneys to work overtime. What happens when we work overtime? Burn out. Kids especially can be sensitive to this. Monitor their health to step in when needed.
Location: Now, I know there are a lot of supplements out there. I am sure you already know my opinion about many of the sports drinks because of their high sugar, sodium, and other added chemicals. Luckily, eating a balanced diet may be all we need to replenish electrolytes. Watermelon and coconut water are two of my favorites. I like to keep this cold in the fridge after a long run.
Budget: Luckily this one is cheap too! Continue to grow fruits and vegetables for the optimum nutrients and explore farms for the rest.
WATER: I wrote about the importance of water intake in "Liquid Life". The title is the explanation. I am sure I do not need to go into details why this one is needed. We are mainly water so always good to replenish. There are different sources we can get our water from as well that can have an impact on our health.
Use: Water is necessary for our bodies to even survive but there are different circumstances that require more water. Some of these include our altitude, gender, available muscle mass, exercise routines, climate, and overall metabolic health. In general, when we lose water through normal circumstances we need to adequately replenish. For abnormal circumstances, even more important and vital to replenish in a timely manner.
A good equation style to keep in mind is: high altitude + higher muscle mass + excess excretions released + (gender differences) = more than 60% of weight in oz of water to drink. Health issues, breastfeeding, pregnancy, and medications may change the equation.
In general, most studies will suggest consuming 60% of body weight in oz of water as a daily baseline goal.
Straight water is not the only way to reach out daily water intake goals. Try fruits and vegetables as well!
Benefits: Overall skin, energy levels, brain health, mood, concentration, help with headaches, aid constipation, flushes out kidneys, overall hydration, help with weight, regulates body temperature, and overall cell functioning.
Side effects: Not having enough water in our bodies can lead to dehydration. Know the signs and know how to respond.
Too much water can also be an issue for the body. That is one of the reasons why there are not too many watermelon eating contests anymore. Our cells literally explode when there is too much water in them. This can result in death.
Location: Finding safe water has been on the front line of evolution for most living creatures since our beginning. Here are a few tips I included in "Liquid Life":
Be sure to check your local water supply contaminants.
Budget: Depending on which of the below options you choose or have available can bring in a variety of different budgets.
Supplements: Now, there are a lot of options out there for vitamin and mineral supplements and much of the information we receive is from marketing teams so let's tread lightly here. There are conflicting studies on if vitamins are necessary and if they actually work. My best piece of advice here is to spend an hour or so doing your own research to see if spending the money is worth the expected outcome.
Use:
Many vitamins need to be paired with others to absorb properly.
The form that supplements come in may also matter. Some of the gummy ones may not absorb the same way and the tablets at all.
Most vitamins have to be taken with food but always confirm with the manufacturer or a doctor.
Be sure the supplement is tested with a 3rd party to be sure there is not cross contamination and heavy metals in the product. FDA regulation is a good place to start.
Benefits: The benefits from taking supplements that actually absorb into the body can be great! Blood tests can be helpful to determine the absorption levels. Speak with a doctor before beginning a supplementation routine as they can offer guidance on how to properly implement the new system and monitor results.
Side effects: Heavy metals, wasting of money, contamination, and determining if even necessary are possible side effects. The FDA issues approval for certain supplements. There have been many cases where a company will list what is in their vitamin or multivitamins and they will not actually be in the product. Some also include other fillers and ingredients that do not help us at all.
Location: Starting with a doctor is the best way to begin a supplementation journey. Many of the vitamins and minerals we need can come directly from our foods. However, we are all so unique we require different levels to keep us working properly and sometimes our bodies cannot naturally meet these requirements. Other times, our environment may keep us from meeting our targets.
Budget: Supplements can add up very easily very quickly. Again, beginning with a doctor or nutritionist is a great way to help determine which vitamins and minerals we are low in and if supplementation is necessary. From there, do your own research by studying reviews, 3rd party auditors, and overall availability based on budget.
Well, this concludes our Rest.Refuel.Repeat saga! I hope you enjoyed these articles as much as I enjoyed created them.
Thank you for reading!
"Destiny is Mine"
*Reminder* I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Please refer to your medical practitioner for details pertaining to your specific health.