American Fitness Professionals & Associates

 “An Expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field.”
Niels Bohr

Diet Decisions: Guide to Superfoods
Her Health: Women and Nutrition: A Menu of Special Needs
Kids Corner: Childhood Lead Poisoning
Power Play: Rotator Cuff Injuries
Learning Center: History of RDA’s
Questions of the Week
Reviews: DHEA: Fountain of Youth or Stretching of Truth?
L-Glutamine
It’s About Foods
Dietary Transition And Diabetes In China

Superfoods - what are they? and what makes them so “super”? Sally Fallon exposes the nutritional benefit of “super” balanced foods. http://www.Medicinecabinet.com/art_diet/v1i6_diet.shtml

Women And Nutrition: A Menu Of Special Needs

Breast cancer. Osteoporosis. Iron deficiency. Weight reduction. What do these things have in common? Here are the current recommendations on what women should eat for optimum health. http://www.Medicinecabinet.com/art_her/v1i6_her.shtml

Childhood Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning is one of the most common environmental child health problem in the United States, affecting one in six child under the age of 6. Should you be concerned? http://www.Medicinecabinet.com/art_kids/v1i6_kids.shtml

Rotator Cuff Injuries

Play any of these games: volleyball, tennis, baseball? Do your shoulders hurt after a game? Christine Lydon explains shoulder injuries and exercises that will set you on the road to recovery.
http://www.Medicinecabinet.com/art_power/v1i6_power.shtml

HISTORY OF RDA’s

This week we take a look at the history of RDA’s. To find out more about the set standards for our supplements intake and how the RDA has evolved over time into DRI’s, go to: http://www.Medicinecabinet.com/learning/v1i6_rda.shtml

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

“How much protein should a bodybuilder consume without risking ill effects?” Read the answer:

http://www.Medicinecabinet.com/qbank/q_qoftheweek10.shtml

DHEA: Fountain Of Youth Or Stretching The Truth?

DHEA is a naturally occurring pro-hormone. As you get older, DHEA levels drop, which has been linked to various age-related conditions. But does supplementation keep you young and healthy? And what are the side-effects of DHEA supplementation?
http://www.Medicinecabinet.com/prod_reviews/v1i6_review.shtml

L-Glutamine

Brought to you by FitnessLink http://www.fitnesslink.com

Glutamine (the “L” is often dropped for simplicity’s sake) is an amino acid manufactured in the body. (Quick biochemistry review: Amino acids are the body’s protein building blocks.) It is found abundantly in food, especially in raw parsley and spinach.

When our body is stressed - be it from intense exercise, fatigue, everyday stress, or illness - it calls on glutamine to enhance muscle repair and growth, to improve the immune system’s ability to manufacture white blood cells and fight infection, and to help replenish muscular glucose levels, which in turn leads to improved mental function because the brain utilizes glucose as a primary
fuel source.

Ok, so glutamine’s a good thing to have around. But do we need to supplement? The answer may be yes - but only for some of us.

Glutamine has recently been re-classified as a “conditionally essential amino acid.” This means that while our body can produce glutamine, there are times when our need is greater than our ability to produce. During high-intensity exercise, the body demands large quantities of glutamine from your muscle reserves, leaving you with little to aid in the re-growth process. Bodybuilders, athletes, and serious exercise enthusiasts can enhance muscle growth and recovery time with supplemental glutamine. Some studies have also suggested that increased glutamine levels encourage the release of growth hormone in the body.

And if you’re interested in freeing yourself from the all too prevalent American sugar addiction, glutamine has been found to ease sugar cravings, according to Dr. James Balch, author of “Prescription for Nutritional Healing” (Avery, 1997; $19.95).

Experts suggest glutamine be taken immediately after your workout and just before going to bed, when the body is in repair mode.

As with all supplements, there are precautions. If you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or suffer from kidney problems, cirrhosis, Rhey’s syndrome, or any serious illness, avoid glutamine supplementation.

I am 38, Male, 200, 6′. I have lost a little over 40 pounds in the last year. Everything is going well except for one thing..my chest. For lack of the proper terminology, my breasts are a little too big and fatty. Any advise on how to attack this problem?

Answer:

With such a great weight loss in over the course of one year the body tends to accumulate “extra” empty fats cells. Diet is still the key. Check for hidden fats in foods, sodium [which can prevent additional fat loss, as well as retain water under the skin [sub-cutaneous]. Keep pressing with your workout as the body can reach plateau’s for a time and then move forward with additional fat loss.

It’s About Foods

By T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. Dr. Campbell uses this forum to emphasize the idea of approaching health and more specifically nutrition from a wholistic point of view. A whole body, whole diet, whole foods perspective is critical to our ability to understand the relationship between diet and cancer, or diet and any other chronic disease for that matter.
http://www.newcenturynutrition.com/webzine/its_about_food.html

Dietary Transition And Diabetes In China

By Yanfang Wang MD, PhD About 15 years ago, non-insulin-dependent diabetes (or Type 2 diabetes) was a disease rarely known by people in China. However, since the early 1990’s, the prevalence of diabetes has quietly increased in urban areas of China. Dr. Wang discusses the lifestyle changes in China likely to be responsible for this change in diabetes incidence.
http://www.newcenturynutrition.com/webzine/dietary_transition.html

I’ve just started working with a client who has been suffering with clinical depression. He claims that his body feels mostly numb and that he has hardly any kinesthetic awareness at all. Even his taste buds have been effected, as he can only taste very spicy foods. I’d like to help him in becoming more connected to his body, as well as physically fit. Any suggestions?

Answer:

If you have not already, please refer this individual to a physician for clearance and a referral back to you. Exercise can be a major boost to the psychic and has certainly been found to increase positive moods.

Exercise should be fun, taking special care to avoid getting into “ruts of exercise”. Change routines regularly, working for outdoor options [medicine ball, etc.]

Thank you for your comments regarding the newsletters. I appreciate the hug [never can have too many].

Protein-the debate. Protein is important for growth and repair. Too much will destroy the body in many ways. It is impossible to get a straight answer from those who consume mass quantities. Many use other ergogenic aids as well, or they are on the payroll for these companies to push their products.

You increase activity, you increase total caloric intake. [Protein, carbohydrates, and fats, as well as water-vitamins/minerals].

Increasing only protein at the expense of other vital nutrients robs your body of balance [homeostasis-ying/yang-prana] and sets humans up for disease.

No one is following these “protein horders” long-term to see what health conditions they will face. The research is plain as the words on this paper regarding the problems associated with a high protein intake over a long period of time.

Yes, if you are an athlete you will need more of everything. If common sense is followed, and the research from around the world-then 15-20 percent of the total caloric intake derived from protein sources is more than enough to stimulate growth are repair of muscle tissues.