Archive for March, 2010

What you need to know about “CORE” training

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

outer-unitWhen it comes to needing strength in your abdominal muscles everyone out there from Yoga Instructors, to Physical Therapist, to Personal Trainers and even Mds will tell you that you have to strengthen your core muscles.  What exactly does this mean and do these professionals have a complete understanding of what muscles make up the core?

We have been told over and over again that the in order to get a stronger core you need to do sit ups and crunches, this information isn’t false but it is missing other valuable information.  The core as we know it and how it has been taught to us is that it is just made up of your abdominal muscles.  This is not true.  Did you know that when it comes to core stability you have two systems that are made up of groups of muscles… these two systems are the inner unit and the outer unit.

The inner unit which provides segmental stabilization is made up your diaphragm, pelvic floor muscles, multifidus and the transverse abdominus.  The outer unit is made up of 4 other muscular systems sometimes described as slings and they are…The Deep Longitudinal System (DLS), Anterior Oblique System, Posterior Oblique System and the Lateral System.  Each of these systems is then made up of groups of muscles that provide us not only with stabilization but also become prime movers.

Deep Longitudinal System:  erector muscles of the spine, bicep femoris (hamstring muscle) and the peroneus longus muscle of the foot.

Anterior Oblique System:  Internal Oblique and contra-lateral external oblique and the contra-lateral adductor muscles (muscles of the inner thigh).

Posterior Oblique System:  Latissimus dorsi and contra-lateral glut maximus

Lateral System (fig 4):  Glut medius and minimus, ipsilateral (same side) adductors and contra-lateral Quadratus Lumborum

For some of you reading this, this may all sound foreign and a little over your head.  The point that I am trying to make is that when it comes to core stability and strength there are other muscular systems that need to strengthened and strengthened appropriately.  If you are someone who suffers from low back pain and have been given sit ups and crunches as exercises with no results you many want to find someone who understands these systems that I have written about.  Your body is a chain, a set of systems that are dependent upon one another and just as you can’t spot reduce for weight loss you can’t spot fix either.

If you would like to learn more about the inner and outer units I recommend reading Paul Chek’s book How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy.  You can also search for CHEK Practitioners in your area, CHEK practitioners have been educated on the systems above that I have spoke about and are taught to treat the person not just their parts.

 

Lori Metroka Yu

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

CHEK Practitioner

Picture by http://www.coachr.org/outer_4.jpg

Reference http://www.coachr.org/outer_unit.htm

http://www.coachr.org/innerunit.htm

Personal training Los Gatos, Nutrition Coaching San Francisco, Chek Practitioner Los Gatos, Chek Practitioner San Francisco, Core strengthening, muscles of the core, how to exercise the core correctly, exercising the core correctly, core exercises, exercise tips for the core

Posted in Common Injuries, Exercise Tips, Prevention information | 2 Comments »

The Seafood Dilemma

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

We all know that seafood is a very important food group. tuna-fish-marketIn fact, it is the #1 food source for vitamins B3, B12, vitamin D, copper, zinc, iron, and other minerals. It also contains the anti-inflammatory heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids which most of us aren’t getting enough of. So why is it that we need to watch what kinds of fish we are consuming and in what portions? The answer is: mercury, and other toxins that have polluted our water supply. Besides mercury, toxins such as arsenic, lead, dioxins, DDT and PCB’s can be found in any fish we eat.

The FDA has developed a “safe” guideline to follow when trying to limit the amount of mercury you are consuming, which is .1 mcg of mercury per kilogram (2.2 lbs) of body weight per day.  For an adult weighing 175 pounds, this would be 55.7 mcg of mercury per week. Mercury is cumulative in the body, and many experts argue as to how “safe” these levels actually are, so to err on the side of caution let’s take a look at how much a 125 lb and 175lb person can eat when intake is 75% of the governments guidelines.

Seafood:                Amount in Ounces Per Week That Can be Safely Consumed

Body Weight:                        125 lbs                                                      175 lbs

Swordfish                            NONE                                                       NONE

Snapper                                NONE                                                       NONE

Bass (salt H20)                 NONE                                                           3oz

Tuna (fresh)                       3.2 oz                                                           4.5 oz

Halibut                                4.5 oz                                                           6.4 oz

Mahi Mahi                         5.5 oz                                                           7.7 oz

Haddock                              6.2 oz                                                          8.7 oz

King Crab                            11.4 oz                                                        16 oz

Salmon                   In samples taken, no detectable levels of mercury–Wild Alaskan is best.

I hope this information is helpful for your next trip to the grocery store when choosing seafood. If you’d like to increase your intake of Omega 3′s while reducing your risk of exposure to toxins, supplementing your diet with a high quality fish oil is also a healthy option. To learn more about how to eat a healthy, safe diet feel free to contact us for a consultation.

Dorothy Lizak

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

References: 2007, Weller, Patti ” The Power of Nutrient Dense Food”

Photo: thank you to “http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nbafoodadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Tuna-fish-market.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nbafoodadvocate.com/scombrotoxin-and-fish-2836&usg=__asfb5ABajYt_IjNY3d0vLOkwLes=&h=281&w=430&sz=48&hl=en&start=4&sig2=WhPROQx51jsbblcnhFx2Xw&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Z3VFkEIVkK3xXM:&tbnh=82&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfish%2Btuna%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS282%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=s4-mS4WHF5zosAPkqZC9BA

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Nutrition Tips, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Constipation & Low Back Pain Connection

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

low-back-painDo you suffer from chronic low back pain?

Have you tried every modality out there with no relief?

Is your chronic low back pain worse some days than others?

Are your bowel movements inconsistent?  (Meaning you should have 2-3 movements daily 6″ or longer)

Are your stools difficult to pass or pebble like?

 

If you answered yes to any of the above questions then there is a very good chance that your chronic low back pain is coming from constipation, not because of something structural.  Let me explain.

When you do not have proper elimination of your bowels the contents within your intestines can build up leading to bad bacterial overgrowth, inflammation and pain.  When the intestines become inflamed/swollen they inhibit (stop) the abdominals from working.  The abdominals are important stabilizing muscles for the back and when they stop working do to inflammation your back has no support and now you are suffering from back pain.    Think of it this way you have a long garden hose that you tie off at one end.  You keep pushing water through it but it has no way out, overtime the hose tries to compensate by expanding, getting bigger and bigger, this is the inflammation in your body.  The majority of you out there that are currently suffering from chronic pain and inflammation are because of what you are putting into your body.   The American diet consists of C.R.A.P.  (Caffeine, refined sugars, alcohol and processed foods).    These foods offer no nutritional value and instead cause constipation.  Constipation overtime will lead chronic inflammation and chronic back pain and that is why many of you out there get no relief no matter what you do. 

There is good news to all of this and that is that you can reverse inflammation.  It will take some hard work on your end by changing your lifestyle but you need to ask yourself what’s more difficult, suffering from back pain or making lifestyle changes that overtime will make  you pain free, have more energy and possibly loose weight along the way.

Below is a list of tips that will help get you started to a healthier GI system:

  • A great place to start is your diet. Take a look at what you are eating day after day, writing it down will help immensely in helping you become aware of what non-foods you are putting into your body on a daily basis.
  • Drink more water: general rule of thumb is taking ½ of your weight and drink that many ounces of water. Dehydration alone will slow the bowels down and cause constipation.
  • Drink water upon rising. This helps to awaken the GI system and get things moving.
  • Replace foods that have a shelf life with real foods like fruits and veggies. These foods offer fiber that shelf-life foods do not.
  • Begin taking a high quality fish oil supplement: Fish oil offers healthy fats that become a lubricant for the intestines.
  • Begin taking a high quality probiotic: probiotics help to replace the bad bacteria with good.  Read our blog article “What are probiotics doing in your digestive tract”? for more information.
  • Exercise: Get yourself moving…when you move around it helps stimulate the intestines.
  • Mange your stress: Stress gets stored differently in all of us. Some of us hold stress in our shoulders, low back or belly region. Take a minute to see how much stress may also be contributing you’re unhealthy GI system.
  • Watch for food intolerances: when we eat foods that our body cannot tolerate this too can lead to bad bacterial overgrowth and inflammation. Signs of food intolerances can be anything from a headache, to gas, bloating diarrhea or constipation.

If you have any specific questions about the health of your GI system feel free to contact us for a consultation.   We can also assist you in food intolerance testing, gut testing or hormone testing.

Here is to a healthier you.

 

Lori Metroka Yu

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

 

Picture supplied by www.media.rd.com

 

Gut testing San Francisco, hormone testing Los Gatos, Causes of Constipation, Leaky gut syndrome, Personal Training Los Gatos, Personal Training San Francisco, Nutrition Coaching Los Gatos, Nutrition Coaching San Francisco, Nutrition Workshop in the bay area

Posted in Common Injuries, Digestive Health, Hormone Health, Nutrition Tips, Prevention information, Stress, Weight Managment | 1 Comment »

What you Need to Know About BPA

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Bisphenol A is a compound tin_can250that is used to coat the inside of almost all food and beverage cans, including soft drinks. It is also used to make plastics, including baby and water bottles and sports equipment. It has been shown to leach into our food and drinks. What may come as a surprise is that it has been suspected of being hazardous since the 1930’s, yet is still found in a multitude of products today.

Increased research has been conducted over the past few years and alarming health concerns have surfaced. BPA has been found to be an endocrine disruptor, meaning that it mimics the action of hormones in your body causing several negative health effects. It has been shown to interfere with fetal and infant brain development, disruption of thyroid functioning, increased prostate cancer susceptibility, heart disease and diabetes. The FDA raised further concerns regarding exposure of fetuses, infants, and young children in a 2010 report.

A few weeks ago, the Washington Post (2/23, Layton) reported that ““Major US foodmakers are quietly investigating how to rid their containers of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical under scrutiny by federal regulators concerned about links to a range of health problems,” but the companies “are discovering how complicated it is to remove the chemical, which is in the epoxy linings of nearly every metal can on supermarket shelves and leaches into foods such as soup, liquid baby formula and soda.”

In addition, it reported that the “FDA does not know which companies use BPA, how much they use or how it is applied, because manufacturers are not required to disclose that information.“

If you’d like to reduce your exposure to this harmful compound, stay away from food and drinks in metal cans, and plastic bottles (labeled with #3 or #7 on the bottom of the bottle), avoid heating plastic in the microwave or dishwasher, and choose to store food in glass instead.

If you would like to learn more about how food, lifestyle and even cosmetic products can negatively affect your health by disrupting you hormone balance, contact us for a complimentary consultation or join us for our Hormone Health Seminar coming April 5th in Los Gatos.

Dorothy Lizak

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

 

 

 

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A

photo: thank you: www.recyclethis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/tin_can250.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20060609/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-food-cans&usg=__PYfFWjneGXbzTJHuNOoKwcijdP8=&h=197&w=250&sz=24&hl=en&start=37&sig2=qM82gMsGuGbMa6l4J_jKng&itbs=1&tbnid=UyWKqT0hF93ycM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtin%2Bcan%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=UiKVS8jwO5vMswPb59j8Aw

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Hormone Health, Nutrition Tips, Prevention information | 2 Comments »