This article is dedicated to a client and all others seeking alternative ways to optimize their health beyond a fitness program or diet plan.

Q:  One of my clients once asked me if there was anything else she could do for her heart health besides eating the right foods and exercising regularly?

A: The answer to her question is absolutely. In fact, you may be surprised by my answer because you do not have to sweat through a workout or follow a strict diet to benefit from this tip.  Believe it or not, there is growing research related to the profound heart health effects of gratitude.  Let’s look at some science behind this unusual fact.  Here are a few examples of how it helps and how you can apply it!

Along with regular physical exercise and a healthy diet, gratitude practice can help your heart too!

Gratitude Begets Joy – A 1998 study found that 95 percent of respondents felt at least somewhat happy when expressing gratitude, and over half felt extremely happy.  People who see themselves as grateful – to others as well as to creation in general – are healthier, more energetic and optimistic, empathetic, and less vulnerable to clinical depression.

Just 5 Minutes of Gratitude Can Shift the Nervous System Toward a Calm State – A 1995 study at the Institute of Heart Math found that states of appreciation are correlated with a physiological state known as resonance (or parasympathetic dominance) – where heart, breathing, blood pressure, as well as brain rhythm and even the electrical potential of the skin are synchronized.  In this state of resonance, the body is more efficient.

Gratitude is Correlated with Positive Social Behavior and Health –When a person feels grateful, s/he is more likely to nurture, care for, and contribute to the welfare of others.   Thus, a grateful person will be more empathetic, forgiving, and helpful.  Forgiveness research shows that when people forgive, they lower their heart rates, blood pressure, and muscle tension.

To apply or increase your gratitude level, begin by:

1. Writing down at least 5 things you currently feel grateful for in this very moment.
2. Make a list of struggles you have had to overcome and the triumphs that you are proud of and grateful for – perhaps you can share this with a friend, spouse or partner.
3. Build a list of all things you are grateful for in your life.  Make this list a daily exercise for a few weeks and take notice of the changes that happen.
4. Keep a little gratitude journal.  Anytime you feel grateful for something, the act of writing it down gives it more strength to rejuvenate your heart.

If you’re not good at journaling, try these alternatives.  Next time you are exercising or walking somewhere, recall those things in your day that have already happened that you are grateful for.  For example, I awoke today with the ability to make a difference no matter how small, the sun was shining after 3 days of rain or even, the discomfort I have been feeling is a little less today than yesterday.

The key is to keep things simple. Gratitude can be found in the small things just as easily as in the large achievements and outcomes. So, if you want that extra plus in providing yourself heart health, you may want to consider some gratitude practice techniques.

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Whether it’s fitness, nutrition, well-being or success in general, creating your mode is essential to your health and happiness.  Creating your mode is all about adjusting your environment to support your psychological, emotional, and physical state.

The reason it’s important is because we all share a bi-directional (interactive, back and forth) relationship with our environment.  By this, I mean that our environment affects us just as much as we affect our surroundings.

Everything we see, hear, feel, smell, etc., affects our state of being.  Even a small adjustment to any element of our environment can improve or disturb our overall psychological, emotional, or physical health.  Therefore, by adjusting your mode through intention and action, you can constantly be creating a more positive environment for yourself. And by positively adjusting your environment, you will experience a positive adjustment in you.

Here’s a few examples of creating your mode to support your overall health –

From the perspective of healthy eating, you can benefit yourself greatly by simply leaving a bowl of fresh fruit close to the entry of your kitchen.  This will ensure that you see fruit immediately upon entering your kitchen and increases the chances you’ll eat it.  Or, you can leave some water on your work desk to remind yourself to stay hydrated during the work day to improve your mental clarity.

For taking care of your body, you can leave a back health mat on the living or bedroom floor as a reminder to stretch in the morning or after a long day of work.

For helping your psychological and emotional state, you can place a comforting CD by your alarm clock or try pillow speakers to listen to music such as light classical to adjust your mind prior to going to sleep.  Or you can find a decorative, yet, functional hourglass to place in your work area as a reminder to take a brief break, a few deep breaths or a look-away from a computer to continually adjust to work stress.

In summary, actively and intentionally creating your mode is essential to your overall well-being.  By making continual small adjustments to your environment, you can significantly improve your health and happiness.

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BCAAs are necessary for making protein and stimulating muscle production throughout the body. The research on the benefits of BCAAs for muscle enhancement is mixed.  Some human research indicates that BCAAs may help reduce muscle breakdown during exercise while most research has found that BCAAs have no performance-enhancing effects.

Claims and Purported Use

More recent research suggests that BCAA supplementation before and after exercise may help reduce or delay the onset of muscle soreness, improve muscle recovery, and improve immune function after long distance intense exercise. It appears that free BCAAs circulating in the blood prevent protein break down, and that leucine in particular plays the most significant role in stimulating protein synthesis. 

The following BCAAs product is tested and true.

TESTED & TRUE

MRM BCAA+G Lemonade Flavor

Selected Potential Side Effects

BCAAs are generally regarded as safe when taken at suggested dosages.

Selected Drug Interactions

There are concerns that BCAAs might interfere with some medications used to treat Parkinson’s Disease and may have an additive effect, which is an effect in which two substances or actions used in combination produce a total effect the same as the sum of the individual effects, to some medications used to address type 2 diabetes.

Suggested Dosage

One to five grams used daily is suggested for muscle recovery and to prevent soreness.  In some cases the doses vary.  For example, 12 grams a day is suggested for cirrhosis of the liver and 4.8 is suggested to improve appetite in people with cancer.    

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Dave: Today I am happy to share the brief interview I had with Gabrielle Riola, a registered dietitian.

“Welcome Gabrielle!  It’s good to have you on board for some Q & A.  After reviewing your website, I learned that you’re a dietitian, but did not know what you specialize in.  Can you share a little bit about what you do?”

Gabrielle: “I’ve spent the last five years working in pediatric weight management.  I help overweight and underweight children normalize their weight through nutrition intervention.”

Dave: “Working with children must be rewarding, yet challenging too.  Can you share some of the common challenges that you encounter when helping overweight and underweight children, and how you have overcome them?”

Gabrielle: “The biggest challenge I face with counseling children is a lack of internal motivation. Many times it is difficult for them to understand the importance of good health because of their age. Also

I’m not only counseling the child, but also the parent or entire family. So many habits and personalities are involved in the process, which
makes it more complicated.

The important thing to focus on is where each person is in the process of change and to work with the goals that they want to attain, rather than the goals that I have for them.  For example, a child might not be able to grasp the importance of avoiding diabetes however they may be motivated to become healthier so that they have an easier time participating in their favorite sport.”

Dave: “Sounds like you have a very personalized approach, which is essential for children these days.  There are so many children’s snacks and foods loaded with sugar.  You may have even seen 60 Minutes a month ago that aired a segment about Sugar Toxicity.  What is your take about sugar toxicity- should people be concerned?”

Gabrielle: “I think the current state of America’s health is a multifaceted issue with many causes.  Excess sugar most definitely plays an important role.  Unfortunately when there was a low-fat push in the 1970’s, we took that fat out and replaced it with sugar.  And obesity, heart disease and other conditions are rampant in society today.   This latest round of research does not surprise me.  The public should be very concerned and begin reducing their added sugar intake immediately – any added form of sugar, whether it be cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup.  I always encourage clients to satisfy their sweet tooth via natural sources – i.e. fruit, and to keep added sugar consumption to a minimum.”

Dave: “Excellent advice.  Reducing added sugar is becoming more and more critical for good health, especially with all the hidden sugars in processed foods these days.

Moving into another area here – last week, I checked out your website and saw that you offer on-line nutrition counseling.  Can you tell us a little bit about that?”

Gabrielle: “My private nutrition counseling business, Nurturing Nutrition, offers face to face consults in Colchester, but for those who cannot get to the office, and we know how busy our schedules are these days, I offer online counseling as well.  To get started, a client purchases a package based on their needs and then completes a nutrition questionnaire and three day food diary.  I analyze this diary and conduct an initial hour long consult via skype, phone or online chat.  Follow up sessions are based on individual’s need.”

Dave: “That sounds like a great service, especially for people who want the personalized attention, but do not have the time to travel to a dietitian.  Before we close this segment, do you have any final words you’d like to share with our readers?”

Gabrielle: “Good health is attainable by everyone. It boils down to making the decision to make changes to your current habits and then making the time to make them a reality. It won’t happen by accident!”

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I wish I had an easy answer to this common question from clients.

While elective surgical procedures seem to be the only quick fix known to science for getting rid of “love handles,” research supports that a proper diet and exercise program can help you whittle down the middle.  Getting rid of the fat around your hips requires not only challenging the muscles of the hips and core with exercises provided on the abs mat, but the entire body with a variety of resistance training exercises including those provided in our blog Sculpt Your Core.

In addition, it is essential to closely monitor calorie intake to ensure that a caloric deficit has been created.  By creating a caloric deficit, as easily personalized in Y.E.S.-Your Eating Solution, the body will be forced to use stored body fat for energy, including the fat from around your hips.

Unfortunately, at what point this occurs in your program is highly individual and influenced by genetics.  Once body fat levels drop significantly, the muscles in your hip region should begin to show, giving you the look that you desire.

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Resveratrol is an organic compound helpful for the protection of cells.  It is often associated with the health benefits of red wine.  Some people who may not drink wine might be wondering…

Q: Can I get some of the same benefits from grape juice?

A: Probably.  Red wine, grapes, and grape juice, as well as raspberries and peanuts, are all good sources of resveratrol, an antioxidant that’s been shown in some animal studies to help prevent certain cancers, diabetes, and age-related decline in cardiovascular function.  (It comes from the nonalcoholic component of wine.)

Studies of resveratrol’s effect on human cells have yielded some positive results, but it’s not clear whether the benefits have shown in animal studies will apply to humans too.

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Ref: Consumer Reports

Creatine is a nitrogen-containing amino acid that is naturally produced in the human body from other amino acids, primarily in the kidneys and liver. Most (95%) of your body’s creatine is found in muscle tissue, though it is also found in the heart, brain and other tissues. Creatine helps supply muscles with energy, particularly for short-term, maximal exercise. Food sources of creatine include meat, poultry, and fish.

Creatine: Claims and Purported Use

Widely used by athletes, creatine studies suggest that it can improve muscle strength and endurance during repeated high-intensity exercise of short duration, such as weight lifting and sprinting. However, it does not provide an added benefit for aerobic exercises such as long distance running. Most studies suggest that it is more effective in healthy young adults than in older individuals, though the evidence in older populations is mixed. Creatine supplementation appears to be more effective in people with low initial creatine levels, while people with higher levels may not respond as well. Since there are no vegetable sources of creatine, vegetarians are often low in creatine and respond well to creatine supplementation.

The following creatine products are tested and true.

TESTED & TRUE

GNC Pro Performance Creatine Monohydrate

Prolab Creatine Monohydrate Powder

Selected Potential Side Effects

Creatine is generally regarded as safe when taken in appropriate amounts, but be aware that it may cause muscle cramping, dehydration, and diarrhea in some individuals.  There have not been any long-term studies on creatine’s long-term impact, but due to the way it is metabolized by the body, there are concerns of its potential effects with long-term use at high doses (over 20 grams per day) on the kidneys and cardiovascular system.

Selected Drug Interactions

Creatine should not be used in conjunction with ephedra and caffeine because of potential effects on cardiovascular system.  This interaction suggestion is based upon a report of one athlete’s ischemic stroke, who was taking all three – ephedra, caffeine, and creatine.

Suggested Dosage

The recommended dosage for creatine consists of a loading phase of 15-20 grams per day for fourteen days, which is followed by a maintenance dose of 2-5 grams per day for up to four weeks to ensure maximum creatine storage.

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Tufts researchers have identified a surprising factor in diabetes risk that might help keep people with pre-diabetes from developing the disease: vitamin D.

In a new study, high-risk patients with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were 28% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest levels. Tufts’ Anastassios Pittas, MD, and colleagues studied 2,039 participants in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Unlike past studies that measured vitamin D status only once, blood levels of vitamin D were tested multiple times over an average 2.7 years.

After adjusting for other diabetes risk factors and for the DPP lifestyle interventions in half the participants, those in the top third of vitamin D status were significantly less likely to progress to diabetes. “The findings are very promising but do not prove cause and effect,” Dr. Pittas cautions, “and the evidence to support general supplementation with vitamin D for diabetes prevention does not currently exist.”

For more information on suggested vitamin D products that are tested and true, visit Spotlight:Supplements – Vitamin D.

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Ref: Diabetes Care

Personal training may not always be about challenging a client to give 110% for weight loss or strength gains.  Sometimes it’s about valuing a client’s personal struggle, encouraging an optimistic outlook, or helping a client release some overly tight and stressed muscles.

Having a natural tendency for tight muscles myself, I learned the benefits of muscle tension release tools and techniques, which subsequently, led me to further my knowledge about these techniques by earning a Corrective Exercise Specialist certification.

Being a Corrective Exercise Specialist has made me more skilled at helping clients’ specific concerns.  For example, if a client reports lower back or hip pain, I might use one type of tool to address his/her concern while if struggling with headaches or neck pain, I’ll apply another.  With additional research and experience, I learned that two of the most effective  and economical tools for releasing tension and improving the way a client feels and functions are the foam roll and the Theracane.  Here is a brief look at the most common tool uses:

1. Alleviating heel pain by foam rolling the back of the lower legs. This is especially good for women who often wear high heeled shoes.  (120 seconds a day of foam rolling the calve muscles for 5-7 days a week)

2. Easing lower back and hip pain by foam rolling the hip flexors and piriformis, essential for men and women whose jobs require them to be seated for prolonged periods of time. (120 seconds a day for 5-7 days a week)

3. Improving athletic performance by foam rolling the outer upper legs of men and women athletes. This technique has also proven to be beneficial for those who lead active lifestyles or are weekend warriors.  (120 seconds a day for 6-7 days a week)

4. Releasing neck tension, upper back tightness, and the occasional headache as well as improving upper back posture with the Theracane. This tool is for men and women who spend significant amounts of time on a computer, in a car, sewing, knitting, at a desk or another activity that requires a “hunched” posture for an extended amount of time.  (120 seconds a day for 5-7 days a week)

The beneficial effects of both the foam roll and the Theracane are based upon the principle of autogenic inhibition.  This simply means that using these tools initiates a process for muscles to relax. By applying gentle pressure onto a muscle region, each tool helps the bundled (tight, tense) muscle fibers release into a more natural alignment thereby allowing the muscle to function optimally. This helps to improve blood flow to the muscle which not only helps to minimize pain (such as sciatica or low back pain), but it can also help to reduce one’s risk for muscle injury.

In short, while many clients might hire a personal trainer to push them beyond their limits, I’ve learned that too much pushing can lead to tension – psychologically, emotionally and physically.  Some days it’s best to train smarter, not harder, by releasing some muscle tension.

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Probiotics are one of Consumer Reports “11 supplements to consider”* as they have been shown to likely be safe for most people and equally likely to be effective in appropriate doses for certain conditions. Probiotic products contain helpful, viable, and safe bacteria and/or yeasts that assist in balancing the levels of indigenous microorganisms in the human body.

Claims and Purported Use

Generally speaking, the normal human gastrointestinal tract contains hundreds of different species of bacteria, referred to as intestinal flora.  The right balance of bacteria types is what promotes digestive health.  When the normal balance of these bacteria is altered by sickness or antibiotic treatment, the most common effect is diarrhea. Probiotics are possibly effective for preventing diarrhea while taking the antibiotics by restoring the balance of the intestinal flora to its optimal mix. Additionally, probiotics may also produce substances that inhibit disease-causing bacteria via nutrient competition and stimulate the body’s own immune system.

TESTED & TRUE

Align Digestive Care Probiotic

Attune Foods Probiotic Wellness Bar

Culturelle Probiotic Natural Health & Wellness

Florastor Probiotic

Garden of Life Raw Enzymes, Women, Vegetarian Capsules

Jarrow Formulas Jarro-Dophilus EPS Vegetarian Capsules

Selected Potential Side Effects

Gas.  People with poor immune function should check with his or her physician prior to taking a probiotic.

Selected Drug Interactions

Might cause infection in people taking immunosuppressant drugs.

Suggested Dosage

The recommended dosage for probiotic supplements varies by strain and use.  The typical amount is usually around 1 billion to 10 billion cells (of CFUs) per day.  On a label, they will appear as 1 x 10⁹ or 10⁹ for one billion units and 1 x 10¹⁰ or 10¹⁰ for ten billion units.

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Reference: *Consumer Reports