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Fitness Blog Covering Topics Of Interest
Saturday, July 28 2012

© Betty Shepherd

When you decide on your favorite summer workouts—we discussed a few fun options in Part I—you can move on to organize everything so you stay healthy and well-hydrated during your fitness routine.

First of all, add extra care to how you prepare for your workouts. Make sure you are properly hydrated beforehand. Drink small amounts of water frequently, beginning two hours before you go out. I would not necessarily drink too much for 20 to 30 minutes prior to your start, though, because it can make you need to “go” while working out.

If you plan to work out for more than one hour, you might want to run with a water bottle belt, as many athletes do. You also could leave one or more water bottles on the course. If you decide on that strategy, it is best to stay on a loop course. This gives you a chance to replenish every few miles. And, if you want to be absolutely safe, ask a friend to join you on a bike. For bikers, use both your water bottles, and stay ahead of the game by stopping at any convenience store or gasoline station to fill-up your bottles before you need them again.

Listen to Your Body, Stay Healthy

Nothing is more important than listening to your body. If you do not feel well, please be very cautious. Before, during, and after your workouts, the first signs of a possible problem might be heavier breathing, an elevated heart rate, or losing concentration. Consider wearing a heart rate monitor—it can caution you before you run into trouble.

When you feel unwell, admit it to yourself early on and get out of the heat right away. Cool off with a cold towel, use ice cubes, and hydrate! Please, do not wait to see a physician if you do not feel better immediately. Be familiar with some of the early warning signs of overheating: dizziness, fainting, fatigue, hot skin and followed by chills, lack of perspiration, feeling thirsty, and elevated heart rate. If you stop sweating, you most likely are very dehydrated(1).

Also be careful after your workout. Take a dry shirt to put on after your run, and always take some fluid to drink. If you feel cold—even in summer, for example when you come from outside into an air-conditioned room while still wearing your wet workout clothes—change immediately into dry clothes. It may be summer, but you need to stay “warm” after your workouts to avoid weakening your immune system and maybe getting a cold.

For adequate protection, sunscreen, glasses, a summer hat, and a rain jacket are always good to have close by.

Hydrate Well Throughout the Day


© Betty Shepherd

It can be very warm and dry during the summer, so make sure you stay cool and hydrated at all times. There are some guidelines I would suggest, and one of my favorite is to keep a bottle of water or a sports drink close by. This will remind you to drink and get replenished with small amounts continuously and evenly spread out throughout the day.

Hydration is critical for many body functions, such as digestion, regulation of body temperature, and the circulatory processes that bring nutrients to the cells and transport waste from them. This is even more understandable when considering that our bodies are up to 75% water in total, depending on age and build, with blood being 83% water and the brain being 75 to 78% water. These are the levels when each of those organs work best(2).

When you get dehydrated, every cell in your body suffers, causing you to feel less fit and fatigued(3). This puts more stress on your body and makes you more prone to illness and disease. And you can be at risk of overheating, which can have terribly serious consequences—including being life-threatening.

For proper hydration, start with juice from a fresh squeezed lemon with lots of water first thing in the morning. It is good for re-hydration after your night’s sleep and also will help your body to detoxify.

And as mentioned earlier, drink enough before, if possible during, and right after your training. It is best to replenish within 30 minutes of finishing your workout—the so-called “recovery window.” I like to eat a big slice of water melon right after my training, it is a great source of water, antioxidants, and easily digested carbohydrates. In the following article “General Guidelines,” you can find more information on this topic.

A Few Thoughts on Summer Nutrition


© Betty Shepherd

Many people like to adjust their nutrition and take advantage of everything that is fresh and more available in the summer, like tasty fruits and vegetables. It is berry season—maybe you are lucky enough to be able to pick your own on a berry farm. Eat food that has high water content like melon, citrus fruits, berries, and vegetables.

Diluted fruit juices with 1 part juice and up to 2 parts water can help you to stay hydrated. The juice from sour cherries, for example, has many health benefits and can even support faster strength recovery for runners.

You also can try the many different kinds of unsweetened iced teas. My favorite flavor is mango.

Enjoy what you eat and make it tasty. Add some cool summer nutrition like different kinds of smoothies. Depending on the amount you make, they even can be served as an entire meal. Just add water, berries (like raspberries and blueberries), banana, whey protein, and some ice cubes into a blender. Mix it and enjoy. Or try a variation with mango or pineapple. And for more health benefits, add a teaspoon of ground flaxseeds.

There also are many delicious salad creations with great dressings. You could try a variety of citrus dressings. Other choices of salads include my favorites—fresh cucumber salad with dill and onions or a tomato salad with olives, feta, and basil.

Sashimi and sushi can be delightful lighter dinner fare when well-portioned. And when you prepare your meals, add more vegetables than pasta or potatoes. And how about cold summer soups like water cress and gazpacho?

And for all you BBQ lovers, here are some thoughts on “Healthier Grilling.” I hope you can enjoy many relaxing summer evenings with your family and friends.

Good luck for your summertime fitness!

Posted by: Uta Pippig AT 05:29 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Thursday, July 19 2012

There appears to be a difference of opinion concerning the merit of fruits versus vegetables. There is a small but zealous group of people called fruitarians who maintain that fruit is the only proper food for mankind. Then there are some like myself who favor vegetables for good health and proper nutrition. In fact, I feel that fruit, even in the broadest possible range and variety, can never provide sound health and long life.

The fruitarians maintain stoutly that through the use of fruit they enjoy good health or have regained good health after being sick. I sometimes demand proof of their statements and they offer it in various ways. For example, they use their own good health as testimony that an all-fruit diet is the proper course to follow. They also cite the gorillas and other primates as examples of fruit eaters who display great strength and good health.

Back a few years ago I could not refute these statements and even though I could not accept their theory that fruit and fruit alone was the proper diet for man, I just permitted the matter to rest. However, after a lot of study and investigation, I learned that there are few, if any, robust and healthy fruitarians. I do not know of one 100% fruitarian who has lived on a totally fruitarian diet for ten straight years, let alone 25 years or more. Therefore, if they cannot show me an example .... that is, a good example .... of someone who has remained on a strictly fruit diet for ten years or more, then what have they to offer as proof? On the other hand, I have known a few myself who tried a totally fruitarian diet and all came 'a cropper'.

Then I found proof that the statement that the gorilla eats only fruit is nothing but a myth .... and a stupid ridiculous myth at that! For years the fruitarians have been citing gorillas or other primates as an example of the value of a strictly fruitarian diet. However, upon studying the eating habits of gorillas, I learned that fruits constitute less than 10% (actually closer to 5%) of the total diet of gorillas. A detailed comprehensive book, written and tabulated by one who spent some years among them, gives this proof conclusively and it is available to anyone who wishes to get it. The title of the book is, "The Mountain Gorilla Ecology and Behaviour," written by George B. Schaller and published by the University of Chicago Press.

The reason I have taken the trouble to bring this whole matter of the gorilla and the fruitarian diet into the open is that with the exaggerated claims of the fruitarians and the fact that the fruitarian diet is pleasing and delectable, many people might be led to believe their claims and perhaps do themselves serious harm. I have witnessed just that in at least four instances.

My many years of reasearch and study have clearly and unmistakably indicated that vegetables are a better source of nutrition than fruits. It is admitted that most fruits are more pleasant, more palatable and more delectable and no doubt require less work in preparation than vegetables, but it appears certain that vegetables are more valuable nutritionwise.

I stress to you readers who are seeking health that you do not make the mistake of trying to regain or maintain your health on a diet of fruit juice alone. I maintain that it cannot be done.

It is my way of life to read and study nutrient charts and from these charts I learn and then base my opinions. Thus, when I say that vegetables contain many more essential nutrients than fruit, I want you to know that I have investigated the matter.

One must not judge the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables by taste and flavor alone. A vegetable I consider to be one of the finest — namely, cabbage — is acceptable when sliced, shredded or chunked but it is much, much less palatable in the juice form. In fact, I know of few if any less desirable juices than cabbage. However, in an actual research project it was found that cabbage juice therapy was a safe and almost positive way to rid oneself of ulcers.

Again, do not judge the merit of a juice by palatability alone. Remember, we go on a juice regimen in order to improve or regain our health .... not as a fad or for fun. It is strictly a means of survival, so flavor is not of importance. On the other hand, one need not sacrifice everything nor follow a spartan regimen. One can have a fair amount of the more enjoyable fruit juice .... for example, one-third fruit juice and two-thirds vegetable juice .... but I would strongly advise that they not be mixed. Although an apple will improve the flavor of many vegetable juices, I advise that you take your fruit and vegetable juices separately.

It is important, in my opinion, that the variety of fruits and vegetables used be as broad as possible. Do not restrict yourself to the juices of one or two fruits and one or two vegetables. Make positively sure that you get a broad variety. In this way your diet will be properly balanced .... and this will be reflected in the way you feel and the way you look. You will note, if you study charts, that some juices contain large amounts of one nutrient or element whereas other juices contain large amounts of other nutrients or elements.

It is claimed that fruit juice is the cleanser of the body. No doubt you have noticed that fruit juice cause a much greater frequency of urination and, thus, they are generally referred to as cleansers. In my opinion, the fact that they make you urinate frequently does not necessarily mean that they are cleansers .... but that is the value that many authorities attribute to them. However, you can be sure that a lot of fruit means a lot of urine.

A few years ago I had a friend visiting me from Alaska and he confided in me that he was fearful that he was developing diabetes. I asked him why he was fearful and he told me that recently he had been urinating much more than usual. He also told me that, knowing he was coming to visit me, he had gone on a fresh fruit diet. I pointed out that a diet of fruit, especially melons, will greatly increase the flow and frequency of urine. It turned out he had nothing to fear .... it was simply 'much fruit, much urine'.

While fruit juices are referred to as cleansers of the human body, vegetable juices are called the regenerators or builders and this tends to bear out my belief that vegetable juices contain more nutrients than fruit juices. My studies reveal that vegetable juices contain practically all of the nutrients required to build and sustain the human body in optimum health.

For those who are addicted to drinking and consuming large quantities of tea, coffee, milk or other beverages, I would like to suggest that drinking fruit or vegetable juices would be far more beneficial health wise and, of course, fruit or vegetable juices are not addictive. Desirable and pleasant, yes, but addictive, no! At the same time I would like to remind you rather emphatically that fruit or vegetable juice is not just a refreshing drink like water or pop, but it is a food .... and a potent, health-giving food at that!

In using juices, remember, no seasoning should ever be added. In fact, to add seasoning of any kind would detract from the value of the juice or create an imbalance. Never, ever add salt to, any fresh juice. In fact, if you value your health, do not add salt to any food.

My enthusiasm for fresh vegetable and fruit juices did not spring up overnight. It slowly developed over a period of many long years, during which time I watched experiments and learned just what these juices can do.

Well, I have a love affair with vegetable juices and I want to tell you that that love affair is based on the soundest foundation that exists on earth .... I saw with my own two eyes some of the lives that were saved by vegetable juices. Yes, I actuallly saw terminal cancer cases turned back to good health even after the medical doctors said that no more could be done. It is not hard to have a love affair with such a virile lover!

Posted by: Adam Brookover AT 01:26 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
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