Tag Archives: Exercise

Exercise retains & improves bone strength!

When you see gluten-free fruit and nut bars in the airport newsstand, you know we’ve come a long way in our society’s awareness of food sensitivities.  In my mere two years without gluten, I’ve gone from stuffing my suitcase with Larabars to ensure I don’t starve while away, to, well, still packing them, but knowing that I likely won’t be completely reliant on them the whole trip.

In addition to newsstand snack options, I recently discovered a Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport restaurant having a gluten-free menu.  I was thrilled!  I would sooner have expected to see a glatt kosher dining area!

The dramatic increase in gluten-free offerings makes me wonder: why the recent influx of news about gluten? Is it that so many more people are getting tested for celiac disease? Are more people questioning their ailing guts and attributing it to gluten? Read More »

Do you remember the first time you drank Gatorade?

I do! I was at a track and field meet. After the race, my coach passed me a bottle of Gatorade and told me to drink it to avoid feeling sick.

The neon color should have been enough to raise a red flag, but I drank it anyway. 5 minutes later I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Sugar overload! I could feel the  Read More »

At 6’2″ and just 165 lbs, Florida State quarterback Clint Trickett was consuming 4,500 calories a day earlier this summer to try to put on weight.

It wasn’t working.

“I had some blood work done, I had a biopsy,” Trickett said during a recent  meeting with Florida State beat writers. “And they said, ‘You have Celiac disease.’ And it started making sense.”

Trickett adopted a gluten-free diet and within a month started to see results.

“You just have to stay away from any kind of breaded food,” Trickett said. “Already I’ve seen two pounds a week gained. I’ve been putting on pounds ever since Read More »

Finally it seems that athletes have become savvy to the benefits of a gluten free diet.  As the general population has started to become more aware of the prevalence of gluten sensitivities and Celiac Disease, there has been a noted increase in the number of athletes turning to the gluten free lifestyle in an attempt to maximize their training and find greater success in their respective sports.

Among the most notable athletes making the gluten free switch are Raul Ibanez of the Philadelphia Phillies, Cedric Benson of the Cincinnati Bengals, and tennis player Novak Djokovic, the 2011 winner of Wimbledon who went on an unprecedented 43-match win streak.  Most significant about their decision to go gluten free is the marked improvement in all three athletes after the switch. Read More »

As a runner I have learned the importance of properly fueling my body.

Skimping on calories & nutrients hurts performance and can hurt your body, too. Carbohydrates are important to supply muscles with glycogen for exercise and a snack of protein & carbs is important after running to help refuel & repair muscles. It imperative to begin this process as soon as possible after a run, but absolutely within 30 minutes.

I have been a little lax on refueling recently,but that has to stop. My current,soon-to-be history, routine for my long runs involved meeting up with my MIT group, running, socializing, driving home (with a coffee detour) and then eating breakfast. By the time I was actually sitting down to eat it was easily 1+ hours later. Not good.

Last week I shared my plan of action for better training with you guys. I am taking it seriously and am now going to include these Mix 1 Protein Shakes in the Saturday routine to see how they work for me. Read More »

The name certainly doesn’t sound appetizing, but GU is an essential part of many endurance athlete’s fueling.  When running longer distances, biking or participating ih triathlons athletes must consume some type of fuel to keep their bodies going.  Gu provides one such product for that purpose.  

GU Energy Gels are gluten-free and dairy-free, perfect for the Celiac athlete.  There are 10 different flavors of GU energy gels: Read More »

As baby boomers segue from child-rearing to retirement, they find themselves bombarded by the media with information about osteoporosis. It makes sense, considering that more than 44 million American men and women age 50 and older have osteoporosis or its precursor, osteopenia. So between news articles about calcium and vitamin D, Sally Field promoting the drug Boniva on TV commercials and the now-ubiquitous term “weight-bearing exercise,” we are all hearing a great deal about this epidemic.

Yet controversy abounds, with new findings questioning the benefits of calcium as well as the risks versus benefits of osteoporosis medications. The conflicting information is enough to overwhelm even the most media-savvy consumer. But the one continuously advocated method of addressing the condition is exercise. Not only does exercise help to maintain and build strong bones, but it can improve balance and reflexes and thereby prevent falls, the most dangerous threat to those with fragile bones. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, 60 percent of those who fracture a hip still cannot walk independently a year later. Clearly, the goal should be to stay strong, agile and upright. Read More »