Category: General Food Recipes

Essential Oil For Sports Nutrition

Fat; people on a strict diet are afraid of this word. As much as possible, they will avoid any food that will increase fat in their diet. In fact, if you will look at their refrigerator, all you will see are food with less fat, and sometimes, even zero fat.

Despite all the concern of dieters about having fat in diet, our body needs healthy oils and fats to function properly. Athletes most especially, need essential oil for sports nutrition. These essential oils can be compared to all-purpose machine oil that lubricates stuck and rusting metal hinges, screws and other moveable parts of a machine.

The only problem to most people, they get the wrong kinds of fats. They lack the good, healthy fats and essential oils for sports nutrition.

Fats carry fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E and K from the food we eat to our body.

These essential oils for sports nutrition are good for athletes who need to be in tip-top shape all the time. These life giving oils are one of the best sources of energy and help in the production of new and healthy cell membranes and other hormone-like compounds, the eicosanoids. These amazing compounds help the body in regulating heart rate, blood pressure, constriction of blood vessel and clotting, and even the nervous system.

Essential oils for sports nutrition

So, what are the essential oils for sports nutrition?

– Flaxseed oil, essential oil for sports nutrition.

Our body can’t function well without the two important polyunsaturated fats: the linoleic and the alpha-linoleic acid.

– Cod liver oil, a fish essential oil for sports nutrition.

Cod liver oil is rich in Vitamin A and D. This two-in-one essential oil is on the list of athletes’ favorite essential oil for sports nutrition. Cod liver oil releases large amount of Vitamin A that help athletes maintain clear eyesight.

Athletes can get vitamin D from sunlight. But because of the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays found in sunlight, the only available time for athletes to sunbathe and get vitamin D is during the early mornings till 9 am only. After that, physicians don’t advise athletes to expose themselves from the harmful rays of sunlight.

So, to get the proper amount of vitamin D in their bodies, physicians prescribe cod liver oil as a supplement to athletes. Vitamin D regulates calcium metabolism in the body. Vitamin D is so important to calcium that there will be loss of calcium if vitamin D is lacking in the body.

Omega 3, a fish essential oil for sports nutrition

A can of tuna or the fatty parts of a fish such as the belly and the head contain omega 3, a fatty oil that is good for the heart. Omega 3 helps the heart to pump well and clears the arteries of bad cholesterol.

Omega 3 is a fish essential oil for sports nutrition. With omega 3, an athlete’s heart is ready for long hours of strenuous activities. Omega 3 also helps in reducing heart rate; thus the heart releases enough oxygen to the brain and other organs. An athlete is less tired and weak if his heart pumps slower even when his body is at work.

Any athlete who would want to take these oils as supplement should consult their physicians first. There are overdoses with these oils if taken in large quantities since they are fat-soluble; the extra doses are not excreted through urine or feces.

Energy Levels and High-vitamin Diets

Good nutrition is very important regardless of which sport you do. A variety of nutrients are needed in your daily diet to keep fit and healthy. A balanced diet should provide the right proportions of carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals, water and dietary fiber.

Energy is the most important nutritional factor for any form of physical activity. Carbohydrate and fat are the main fuels used by exercising muscles. Vitamins and minerals are also crucial in energy metabolism. A diet deficient in vitamin and minerals can compromise sporting performance.

The importance of a high-vitamin diet

In order to obtain vitamins and minerals, athletes need to eat a wide assortment of nutrient-dense foods in amounts that will maintain energy balance. This means that a person must consume 1,200 to1,500 kilo-calories a day.

Meeting vitamin and mineral requirements when energy intake is 3,000 kcal/day or higher (as is among male and female ice hockey and cross country skiers) is actually easy. Even athletes whose energy intakes may be about 2,000 kcal/day can meet their vitamin and mineral needs from food alone.

As long as a wide variety of foods are eaten, vitamin and mineral intake is adequate. Supplementation therefore is not necessary.

Is more better?

Athletes usually meet two-thirds or more of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for vitamins and minerals. Athletes who have high calorie intakes of about 5,000 to 6,000 kcal/day may achieve 200% or more of the RDA for some vitamins and minerals just from foods they eat.

Despite this fact, most of the athletes who are concerned with sports nutrition take supplements to boost performance. While vitamin and mineral deficiencies impair physical performance, research indicates that supplementation of a nutritionally adequate sports diet does not improve physical work capacity, endurance, oxygen consumption, cardiovascular function, muscle strength, or resistance to fatigue.

When are vitamin supplements needed?

Vitamin supplements are commonly used if an athletes diet is not enough for his energy requirements. Vitamin supplements provide “health insurance,” as sort of back-up to ensure optimal sports nutrition.

Multivitamin supplements with no more than 100% of the Daily Value (DV.) provide a safe and adequate balance of vitamins. However, it should not be forgotten that the goal is still to eat a wide variety of foods. Food contains fiber and a multitude of phytochemicals that provide many health benefits.

Supplements should never be replacements for food. While many sports supplements contain the antioxidant beta carotene, at least 450 carotenoids are only found in food. Antioxidant value exists in other carotenoids as well.

Minerals for injury prevention

Minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc are especially important for athletes.

Recommendations of calcium intake are based on levels than can promote calcium retention, maximize bone mineral density, and inhibit bone loss. Food that provide good calcium stores are the following: dairy products, fish with bones, broccoli, and fortified cereals and juices.

Iron depletion, the first stage of iron deficiency is the most common type of iron deficiency among athletes. Lean red meats, dark poultry, fortified cereals, whole grains, and legumes are good iron sources.

Zinc, which is found in meat, poultry, seafood, and whole grains, is essential for protein synthesis, healing, and immune function.

Although minerals are needed to work hand-in-hand with vitamins to ensure good sports nutrition, we must remember that consuming any mineral excessively can interfere with digestion and the absorption of other minerals. This may lead to mineral imbalances. Also, all minerals can be toxic in large doses.

Advanced Sports Nutrition for Advanced Athletes

Do you somehow feel that your sports is not enough or it doesn’t sustain you in your struggle to reach the next higher step in fitness? Chances are, your instinct is correct. It’s about time for advance sports nutrition. But before buying your advanced sports nutrition, there are few things to consider in assessing your readiness.

Level of recovery between games

First, several questions to ask yourself. Can you still feel the results you achieved during your off-season training? Do your muscles still feel as if you’re starting all over again whenever you attempt even a warm-up? Is the level of your motivation so diminished that simply stopping your exercise regimen seems to be the most logical thing to do?

If your answers to all of these are affirmative, then we’ve got a serious situation. Far on the other side, however, is a solution that is very simple. You only need to strengthen your resistance. That means improving your supplement to accommodate the growing need of your body for a stronger supplemental formula. You need advanced sports nutrition as part of your regimen program.

The level of your recovery tells you many things about your preparedness to reach into a higher level of fitness. Your feeling of inadequacy is never a proof of your lacking in physical talent. It is a proof that your current sports nutrition does not providing you enough nutrients for harder regimen.

The natural reaction of your body is to relax when it’s getting the same intensity of physical workout. And your body tends to resist exercise that it doesn’t have the strength to sustain. The tendency of your mind, naturally, is to think that you can’t make it so you’ve got to stop.

But, in a way, this is positive. Your mind is telling your body to stop and think. Because, really, you have many things to think about. One is changing your supplement into advanced sports nutrition supplements.

Assess the level of your commitment

Okay, so you have enough supply of advanced sports nutrition at your disposal. Is that it? Of course, not. You need to remind yourself that being an athlete, particularly if you decide to climb the next higher level of fitness, is a fulltime job. What’s the reason why electricity is a simple matter if you’re an electrician? Because that’s what you do on a daily basis. Your mind reacts automatically to support every work or problem that you encounter, as long at it’s a work related situation.

There are interesting studies regarding improvements in exercise performance which correlate with the degree of specific nutrients stored in the muscle after taking particular supplements. This somehow proves that our muscles “remember” and knows how to store the necessary elements for future use, that is, for our next workout. But if it’s not properly supplemented, where would it take the nutrients?

It is only natural to be confused on what to eat, which supplemental nutrients to take to allow you to sustain your daily regimen, and to let reach the advance level of fitness.

If your body does not get the right concentration or nutrients it requires for a higher level of physical exertion, it will revert itself to a hibernation-like refusal to work. And when the body so decides that it can no longer work, no amount of mental discipline will suffice in overriding it.

What you Should Know about Calcium Chloride

When you hear the word calcium chloride what comes into your mind? Probably, you will say that just like other calcium compounds, it is used as an active ingredient on dietary supplements.

However, it is wrong.

Calcium chloride is not advisable to be used as an active ingredient in dietary supplements because of the presence of the element chlorine, which is one of the integral parts of the chemical compound apart from calcium. Instead, it is used on other applications that will be discussed on the later part of this article. But for the mean time, let us first discuss how calcium chloride is prepared.

Preparation of Calcium Chloride

This chemical compound is a by-product of the so-called Solvay process, or also known as the ammonia-soda process. It is a major industrial process employed in producing calcium carbonate wherein the calcium carbonate is reacted with hydrochloric acid, thus producing calcium chloride.

Application

There are millions of tonnes of calcium chloride that are produced in United States alone. It has different applications which are as follows:

Since calcium chloride is hygroscopic (substances that readily absorbs water from its environment), it can be utilized to dry air and other gases as well. The process involves the conversion of calcium chloride into brine as it absorbs either water or water vapor from the gases that need to be dried.

Because of the extreme heat involved during the compounds dissolution, calcium chloride also acts as an ice-melting compound. It is quite harmless on soil and plants compared to sodium chloride. When used for this purpose, it is now of small white balls which are of few millimeters in diameter which is known as prills.

It is also mixed up with concrete in order to strengthen its mixture as well as to help fast track the initial settings. However, it is not advisable to be used on reinforced concrete since the compound contains chloride ion which is corrosive to steel bars.

It is also employed on minimizing dust on several highways. Its hydroscopic characteristic keeps the liquid layer on the highways surface, which in return holds the dust.

It is also act as an additive in manufacturing of plastics.

It is also employed for waste water treatment as a drainage aid.

Its aqueous form is utilized on the cells genetic transformation by enhancing the permeability of the cell membrane. Such process permits DNA fragments to enter the cell.

There are several precautions with regards to exposure on calcium chloride. Since it also contains acidic properties, you must always use goggles and gloves to protect your eyes and hands. Avoid inhaling it or taking it directly into your mouth. Once reacted with water, it can burn your mouth as well as your esophagus.

What You Need to Know about Calcium Citrate

We eat everyday.

Others may prepare your food or you do it yourself. You use fresh foods to prepare your meal such as newly picked vegetables or unsullied meat products. There are times that you do not have the luxury of time to buy and carefully choose what is fresh and blemished. Henceforth, you run to the nearest shopping center and buy some canned goods.

Whenever you buy canned goods, seldom it is that you read the small labels written on the package. You barely read what the ingredients are. Did you know that there are some canned goods that contain calcium citrate? If you only read labels then you would know.

If our body needs salt, then citric acids also need salt. The salt of citric acids is termed as calcium citrate. Usually it is utilized as a food preservative or as food flavoring. However if you are to carefully discover the value of calcium citrate, you will know the following aspects.

These days many people are consulting their physicians due to calcium deficiency. Calcium citrate can help avert and to some extent, cure calcium deficiencies and other related conditions.

Potential Calcium Citrate Users
You can take calcium citrate to fill the gap of any calcium deficit. Make sure though that you have verified with your physician the following conditions before taking calcium citrate:

1. If you are pregnant and plans to breastfeed.

2. If you have kidney illness and related health problems.

3. If you are taking other calcium-related vitamins. Additionally, convey to your physician if you have been taking antacids.

Proper Intake of Calcium Citrate
Ensure that you have your physician s prescription and advise to take calcium citrate. By doing this you will avoid further health damage to yourself. Furthermore, it is also important for you to know proper intake of calcium citrate.

” Your physician will give you instructions on how to take calcium citrate. Make sure to follow them.

” Do not try to ingest calcium citrate directly without the help of water. It is recommended that you consume calcium citrate with a glassful of water.

” Unless directed by your physician, it is best to take calcium citrate after taking your meals.

Calcium citrate is not just an ordinary food preservative or flavoring, it is more to that. It helps you achieve the calcium that is needed by your body so you will have strong bones and a healthy well being.