Category: General Food Recipes

A Tribute to the Ugliest Fish in the Sea

The ling or eelpout is without a doubt a disgusting, repulsive, annoying, slimy, smelly and unattractive fish in the sea. Despite these negative qualities, it has a delicious lobster-like taste and boasts its own annual festival near Walker, Minnesota. Why? The eelpout may be ugly, but its redeeming qualities far outweigh any appearance deficiencies.

Eelpout, also known as spineless catfish, lawyer or burbot, tend to reside mostly in the deeper waters of clean cold Northern lakes. Their appearance is part eel, part catfish, sporting one single chin whisker known as a barbel. Its physique is lean and mean with considerable strength, challenging anglers with an audacious game of hide-and-seek. Its primary draw for many anglers is the ease with which they are caught. During the winter months, eelpout relocate into water 25 to 50 feet deep for spawning. As a result, anglers can expect to catch large numbers of these homely swimmers, often weighing in the double digits.

Early evening and after dark are prime times for successful eelpouting. These ugly creatures of the deep are known carnivores; if its fishy and fits in their mouths, they will eat it. While this makes baiting them somewhat easier, it is this trait which also makes them an unwelcome guest to other anglers, as they tend to steal bait. Like other nocturnal creatures, eelpout prefer to sneak up on their victims while they rest.

The strength, depth and aggressiveness of this species require stronger equipment than most game fishing. Stronger lure combined with leaders of at least three feet and a swivel will keep the catch online and prevent lure from twisting with the fish. Glow hooks and rattle spoons with minnows top off the lure, which is then allowed to free-call to the bottom. The lure mingles with the muck and is then snapped back to the surface, at which point an eelpout may already be on board. During the spawning period in late February, a catch of 100 or more is not uncommon, weighing on average between 3 and 8 pounds.

Those who love the ling are welcome to pay its tribute at the annual International Eelpout Festival on Leech Lake in Walker, Minnesota. Three full days commemorating the ugliest fish in the sea begin with an Opening Ceremony, complete with Torch Lighting. Entrants are encouraged to use their imagination when constructing their fishing shelter, as prizes are awarded for the most lavish structure built on the lake. Extra points may be earned if the shelter sports a logo from one of the sponsoring companies of the tournament. Prizes are also awarded for the single pout with the most weight, for the most combined pout tonnage by a single angler and for most combined pout tonnage by a team of anglers.

Few creatures are as unappealing, yet offer so much in the spirit of fishing. There is nothing refined or fancy about fishing for eelpout; it is simply fun. For those who like to fish, enjoy the outdoors, and catch a lot of fish without regard to species, the eelpout is a beautiful thing indeed.

What Keeps The Athletes Going

If you are one of those ill-witted who perceive athletes as gods who dont need to stop to take in air, or to relax when there is need for relaxation, then perhaps it would be much of a disappointment to you to find out that athletes are not so different from those who are not athletes for they also make use of supplements to get them going.

It is part of their diet to take in supplements to have an enhancement of their endurance, and also to increase or, if not increase, maintain the appropriate muscle mass to be able to improve size and strength.

Protein supplements are part of sports nutrition, without these said sports nutrition supplements; athletes would not be the way they are at present. However, contrary to what most people think, diets jampacked with protein do not necessarily build up muscle strength.

Yeah, sports nutrition supplements sound so good but they can also put a strain on your liver and kidneys, which is the main reason why sports nutrition experts discourage taking them.

Some other sports nutrition supplements also have high amounts of nitrogen, which will only be excreted from your body as urea. But it is not as easy nor is it as safe as it sounds for this said exretion oftenly causes fluid imbalance, which will then lead to dehydration.

Another disadvantage of sports nutrition supplements is that there is a huge tendency that you will ingest amino acids that are capable of interfering with other amino acids, which will have a result of a metabolic imbalance.

Sports nutrition supplements that have high amounts of amino aids can also cause gout; diarrhea and stomach cramping that can rank from mild to severe pain.

Even if sports nutrition supplements are being discouraged by sports nutrition experts, Bricker Labs, a sports nutrition supplement manufacturer, still do a lot of advertising and manufacturing as well.

Bricker Labs has over thirty years to blame for their success in their provision of sports nutrition supplements. They do not apply to sports nutrition only too, but also to weight loss, diet, health and other nutritional aspects.

So if you have plans to take any kind of sports nutrition supplements, then Bricker Labs is probably the sports nutrition supplement manufacturer to trust. Why? It is because they use ingredients that are safer than what other sports nutrition supplements contain. What kind of ingredients, you ask?

They make us of the L-Carnitine, which is mainly there for weight loss, energy and also for having a healthy heart function; Colostrum, which gives your body a healthy immune system function and also gives your body an improved stamina and also for an easier recovery in almost all cases; Vandayl Sulfate, which is capable of growing your muscles and also has the ability to define your muscles; Protein, everyone knows what protein is for and that is for sports nutrition, and also for health and muscle growth.

Another is the Creatine, which is also for sports nutrition and muscle growth but it also involves bodybuilding this time; HCA or Garcinia Cambogia, for losing weight and suppressing your appetite; and last but certainly not the least, Vitamin B-12, this one is for overall health and nutrition.

So what more could you ask for? Sports nutrition supplements give you what you need, what your body needs and boosts your ego all the same time.

What is Sports Nutrition?

Almost all of the people, occupying this world, dream of being a sports superstar. You long for that feeling when thousands of fans scream your name when you are about to win a game. But unfortunately, only those with extreme discipline, hardwork and talent get to experience that.

Talent is not the only secret of being a sports icon, it is also the way they get their nutrition. You see, sports nutrition is different from normal nutrition because with sports nutrition, the athletes require more nutrients to keep their energy up during their various activities. Athletes perform strenuous activities, that is why more nutrients are needed to keep them running.

Athletes lose a lot of fluids during their game. And like everyone knows, dehydration is one of the biggest problems in the athletic world. Getting tired and thirsty will affect an athletes performance, just as it affects anyone elses, except that it makes the life of an athlete a lot more difficult to live.

Everyone knows that an athletes performance is the reason why they get paid, seriously. So basically, if you are an athlete and you want to have that winning edge, then you better get that right nutrition. When you drink enough water and eat a balanced diet and also get the right sports nutrition, your body can utilize energy efficiently and also fuel top performance.

You can make the most of your athletic talents and have more strength, power and endurance when you get the right sports nutrition. These are not just for boasting purposes, however, athletes do have their own way of boasting the above mentioned attributes.

Your diet should be based on different factors and this should involve your age, size, physical condition and the type of sports you are engaging yourself in.

You lose a lot of fluids everytime you exercise. Just imagine the gallons of sweat you lose when you are pumping that body of yours. That is why water is the most important factor in sports nutrition. It is not the only factor, but in truth, it is the most important.

It makes up about sixty percent of your body weight and is involved in almost all of your bodily processes.

Drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after any kind of sports activity to prevent over-heating and dehydration. At least try to drink the same amount of water you lose due to sweat. There are also various sports drinks that are good for longer events. Getting hydrated will definitely help boost your energy.

Eating a balanced diet is another key to sports nutrition. The right combination of calories from carbohydrates, proteins and fats gives you more energy for top performance. These nutrients perform certain actions that will help your body as you perform strenuous kinds of sports.

Carbohydrates are the most important fuel source. It provides a minimum of sixty to a maximum of seventy percent of our calories. Carbohydrates are found on almost all of the food you consume. Food rich in carbohydrates are fruits, vegetables, pastas, breads, cereals, rice and many more that are too many to mention.

The more carbohydrates you have, the more energy you can give out. If you run out of carbohydrates, you can also get energy form proteins and fats.

You can get your proteins from meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beans, nuts, dairy products and other foods. Proteins provide a minimun of fifteen to a maximum of twenty percent of your daily calories. They are used in tissue and muscle build up.

The World of Sports Nutrition

Advancements in medicine and an increase in capitalism in the world as well as other factors all contributed to the development of the field of sports nutrition.

As scientists learned more and more about our bodies and the optimum level of strength and physical fitness they can harbor, businessmen jumped the gun and manufactured products and services that actually help athletes meet these optimum levels. The media joined in the ruckus and published materials leading to the promotion of both the scientific and the commercial side of the field.

Sports nutrition has been changing through the years around the world. Its not just that the topics are different the emphasis and approach have also changed.

Today, go into almost any supermarket, convenience stores and even school cafeterias and youll find a ready supply of sports drinks aimed at maintaining hydration just like glucose solutions.

The difference is that by using soluble long-chain glucose polymers instead of simple glucose, its now possible to create an isotonic hydrating drink which also supplies significant amounts of carbohydrate to working muscles. And, the good thing is, sports drinks also taste better.

More than 10 years ago, it was made public that muscle damage brought about by free-radicals may be reduced by having supplements of antioxidant vitamins A, C and E. Years after, antioxidant supplementation became a norm in the world of sports nutrition.

Now, researchers are also beginning to understand that muscle damage is a more complex subject. It is difficult to assess free radical damage in athletes and it has been found out that large amounts of antioxidant nutrients may actually cause cellular damage and impair performance.

The Carbo loading technique has been widely used over the years by athletes all over the world. A carbohydrate-rich diet is important in maintaining muscle glycogen stores thus ensuring high endurance levels.

However, in the 1990s it became clear that the glycaemic index and release rate of different carbohydrates had important influence on when they should best be consumed in relation to physical activity.

The relationship of carbohydrates and proteins were also discovered namely that carbohydrates promote protein-sparing in the body. It was also discovered recently that consuming carbohydrates before and during prolonged bouts of strenuous exercise can help protect the immune system.

One of the most exciting recent developments in sports nutrition has been the rise of creatine supplementation. The use of creatine is now very common. Creatine renews the muscles essential energy source, ATP or adenosine triphosphate. Increased levels in muscles optimizes energy turnover meaning youll more energy for high power exercise and faster recovery during and after workouts.

Nutritional supplements available to most athletes in the 80s were very straightforward. Some athletes took drugs but the boundaries between nutritional supplements and drugs clear. Today, the race to find new formulas to boost performance has resulted to the availability of sports nutrition supplements which do not really occur naturally. The result is that the distinction between a nutrient and a performance-enhancing substance has become increasingly blurred.

Some of these supplements contain ingredients that can cause athletes to violate the rules and regulations governing their sport because of unintentional contamination by other, exotic, substances present in the supplement manufacturing environment.

More developments will be created in the world of sports nutrition and these will definitely spawn ethical questions.

The Feminine Side of Sports Nutrition

Women have an entirely different body system compared to males. That is why your, assuming you are a woman with interest in sports, nutritional needs are different too. And like men, women are also capable of involving themselves in sports.

Sports nutrition for women is also different. Women involved in sports and regular exercise have some special nutritional needs. Although the basic principles of sports nutrition for you and men are similar, you, and the other women, involved in regular sports activities do have some increased needs for certain nutrients.

This is because you are prone and at risk of dietary deficiencies. This does not mean to say that men are completely immune, only that since women have ongoing cycles inside their body, it is highly imperative for them to keep nutrients up to be able to prevent disorders.

The key nutritional issues in sports nutrition for women include calcium and iron. Weight control and eating disorders are also concerns of sports nutrition for women. You need these nutrients for their body to perform properly.

There still has been no scientific explanation for this, but it is in truth that women are very conscious of weight. So having a normal weight will give you a healthy psychological system.

Calcium is a mineral that plays an essential role in growth. In sports, muscle and mind coordination is important. It also helps in muscle contraction and transmission of nerve impulses.

Another area where it is very helpful is in the development and maintenance of strong bones. It will really play a big part in the sports nutrition for women.

Having adequate amounts of calcium during your childhood and adolescence is important for deveoping an optimal peak in bone mass by your mid twentys to your early thirtys. This will then help you reduce your risk of acquiring osteoporosis or the thinning of your bones.

Some women who are into sports are at risk of inadequate calcium intake, while some are at risk of early osteoporosis due to the absence of appropriate amount of calcium, or an irregularity of their menstrual cycle. So conclusively, sports nutrition for women should have higher intakes of calcium.

There is a list of recommended dietary intakes of calcium for sports women according to their ages. For girls with ages twelve to fifteen, they must have at least one thousand milligrams of calcium per day. For teenagers with ages sixteen to eighteen, on the other hand, should have a normal calcium intake per day, which is eight hundred milligrams. For women who are having their menstrual periods, they should also take eight hundred milligrams of calcium a day.

Post menopausal women should have at least one thousand milligrams per day of calcium, while women who are pregnant and who are also breastfeeding should have one thousand two hundred milligrams per day.

Keeping your bodys fat levels low is the aim of many female athletes. Excess fats may be detrimental to performance. However, less fat or no fat at all compromises the energy level of a female athlete. Low energy also affects your performance, so it is really important that you keep the nutrients in your body and follow sports nutrition for women for a performance of a superstar that you have long been searching to experience.