Tag: energy

Importance of Protein for Athletes

Doctors, trainers and various other sports medicine professionals are all sure to tell you that eating healthy is part of being a successful athlete. What is not always mentioned is the need and requirement that you actually put forth the time and effort to create a very balanced diet. This includes the use of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, three components that are typically considered bad nutrients.

The thinking that is required of athletes not only in training but in nutritional situations is to consider food as a form of energy. Eating the right food can provide benefits to the body in extended energy and better muscle mass, while omitting the vital components can result in muscle fatigue, weakened muscles, deteriorating muscles, and even exhaustion to just mention a few problems. This leaves athletes with the responsibility of working closely with their doctors and coaches to develop an appropriate diet based upon their individual athletic abilities.

In order to be successful, especially when doing endurance or strength intensive sports it is important to have the necessary muscle strength to actually perform the activity. If you are not consuming the correct nutrients, you are harming your body. However, there is more to proper nutrition than simply eating a small amount of the nutrients.

For example, protein is a nutrient that many people have tried omitting in recent fad diets. The bad news for athletes is that protein is a requirement in order to help build and maintain muscle mass. This results in athletes who cut protein from their diet losing muscle strength as well as mass, which can ultimately alter their performance, strength, and even health in the long term. Because of the benefits of consuming protein for athletes, it is vital that enough protein be consumed to keep the muscles in proper shape.

A rough guideline that is standard to use is you need to consume .08 grams of protein for each 2.2 pounds of body weight each and every day. For athletes who are involved in endurance sports the number increases to 1.2 to 1.4 grams per day, and for those athletes who are involved in strength training activities the number jumps to as much as 1.4 to 1.8 grams per 2.2 pounds of body weight per day.

In addition to the general guidelines that are set forth there are also times when it may be beneficial to increase protein consumption to assist in a muscle injury healing. When this is a consideration, you should talk to your doctor and get their exact recommendation on the amount of protein you should be consuming in accordance with still keeping an overall healthy outlook and physical routine.

It is essential that you always careful discuss your exact protein requirements with your doctor as well as your coach anytime you start a new athletic activity, and especially if you are enduring some especially rigorous training for any reason. It is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your body continues to develop and maintain the muscle mass that is needed to sustain the athletic activity of your choice.

If you are even considering trying a diet that is low in protein, it is vital that you first discuss the risks with your doctor and consult to see if any other dietary changes could help you achieve the results you wish to achieve by omitting protein. Remember, protein is a necessary component to help you ensure that you are creating and maintaining muscle mass, which is a requirement for all athletic activities. Which muscles you use, and how strong they must be can vary, however having the muscle mass required is essential.

Never omit protein from your diet without first discussing it with your doctor. If your doctor agrees that it is wise to reduce or omit your protein intake, ensure that you are following your doctors instructions quite carefully. Failing to properly follow your doctors recommendations in regards to your nutritional health can harm your overall health as well.

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Facts About Acid Reflux Treatment

Man can’t possibly live without food, which is a true and a proven fact. Food provides the body with all the needed nutrients and energy for a man to do all his daily activities.

People know that the digestive system, particularly the stomach, digests all the food taken in by the body. Acids found inside the stomach decompose it, turning it to amino acids and proteins. The acids can’t harm the stomach because it contains a protective membrane which protects it from the acids.

If you listened well to your elementary teacher, you already know that the esophagus is where the food passes through before it reaches the stomach. The esophagus has no protective layer like that of the stomach. So when acid from the stomach is able to penetrate the esophagus, the walls are easily burned. The sensation that you will likely feel is called heartburn.

Heartburn is the first symptom that most people with acid reflux experience. If acid reflux remains untreated, it will just get severe. The next thing that you might experience is regurgitation, wherein the food that you just ate will go back to your mouth. The chest pain will get worse, you will have difficulty in swallowing the food, until finally, you might get asthma, and when the acid reaches your mouth, it will naturally corrode your teeth.

But dont worry. Acid reflux can be cured but it would greatly depend on the severity of the disease. A small valve, called lower esophageal (LES), can be found in between the esophagus and the stomach. When it does not function properly, you’ll suffer from acid reflux. The heartburn sensation is due to the rising acid level with which the esophageal lining can’t withstand.

The treatment of this condition can be done through medical therapy, and surgical methods. The treatment is aimed at eliminating acid reflux completely from our system.

The cure for acid reflux is antacids. Most people use this more often, and it comes in tablet or liquid form. Some prefer the liquid from more because it is easily consumed. You can take antacids after you’ve eaten, probably after 30 minutes to one hour.

Other antacids in tablet form create a foam-layer inside the stomach, so that acidic juices can’t penetrate through it. But make sure that you chew the tablet well so that its maximum healing properties will be released.

Some medications are focused in strengthening the lower esophageal muscle, and this greatly reduces acid reflux. It would be best to ask a doctor before taking any kind of medication. The doctor can assess the severity of the acid reflux, and will be able to give you the appropriate treatment.

Most doctors recommend a change in diet to those who suffer from acid reflux. Though this may be difficult to some, they have no other choice unless they want to worsen their condition.

Dont wait until you need a surgical method to cure your condition. It is best to start curing acid reflux as soon as you discover that you’re suffering from it.

If in any case you’ve experienced the symptoms of acid reflux, immediately consult a doctor. Gather as much information about acid reflux, to help you in better understanding your condition. The doctor can provide you with the correct diagnosis and the needed treatment.

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture was developed in China many centuries ago. The Chinese call acupuncture Zhue Jiao, which means “needle heat”. The needle regulates an inner force called “Qi”, which is responsible for the health of the body. The regulation of Qi using acupuncture can restore physical health, give a release from stress, or improve physical or mental health in other ways. A very healthy person should have Qi energy flowing freely in several distinct pathways, and these pathways are like the roads for maintenance crews. Freely flowing energy distributes everything the cells need, and take away what waste is produced. This produces not only physical, but also mental, health. If Qi is stopped at some point, there will be some symptoms, often a physical illness. The acupuncturist will determine where the needles should be placed in order to return the flow to normal, or as close to normal as is possible. This might happen in one treatment, or a series of treatments. Many Chinese get acupuncture treatments regularly in order to stay healthy, to keep their Qi flowing at a nearly ideal level. In several places in China, a practitioner of acupuncture gets paid only as long as their clients remain healthy, not when they get sick.

Nearly all acupuncture techniques use needles, though there are varieties that also use electric stimulation, burning, and herbs. The needles used are solid needles, not hollow tube needles like Western doctors use. In America, certified practitioners of acupuncture use pre-sterilized disposable needles. There is usually no medicine on the needles, for the needle itself acts on the Qi energy to make the change in the flow. The practitioner may use a particular angle to insert a needle, or may manipulate the needle a little (such as a small rotation) to get the best results for a particular client.

If you think like the Chinese, you may want to visit your acupuncture clinic regularly to maintain an optimal flow of Qi, and to maintain really good health. A particular health or emotional problem may need only one or two visits, or might require a series of up to eight visits or more, depending on the problem. During a visit, the acupuncturist may insert several needles, and not necessarily at the same points from visit to visit. As the condition improves, a different set of locations might be chosen to affect a change in Qi flow to move even more quickly to good health. Sometimes the needles are inserted just underneath the layer of the skin, while at other times some of the needles may be inserted up to a depth of three inches. Insertion of the needles usually does not hurt at all. Some clients remark on an occasional pinching sensation when a needle is inserted. Once the needle is in place it can easily be forgotten. Sometimes there is a pleasant relaxing or warm sensation around the insertion point, which is an indication that the Qi flow is being redirected in the right manner.

Acupuncture is a very good way to correct a number of illnesses, and one of the best ways to maintain health on a regular basis. This introduction gave a brief overview to encourage you to consider acupuncture as a health option. More and more insurance companies are giving coverage for visits to an acupuncture clinic, and this should be explored.

The Development of Acupuncture

Chinese medicine is thousands of years old. The earliest recorded use of acupuncture is from the reign of the Yellow Emperor, and is supposed to be from about 2600 BC. The ancient Chinese noticed that certain areas of the skin became more sensitive when a person had a certain health problem. Over time, the Chinese started recording the location of the sensitive areas for a particular symptom or set of symptoms. These areas were associated with the internal organs whose malfunction caused that particular symptom. When outlines of the human body were drawn, these sensitive points were connected in ways to explain the functioning of the human body. The functioning of the body includes the various major organs of the body, and also the entire functional system, including the energy for the organ.

Looking at a text on acupuncture, there will be a number of spots, which relate to the sensitive areas described above. There will also be lines, or “meridians”, which connect the various organs and indicate how the energy of the organs flow from one to another. The concept of energy (the “Qi”) is fundamental to the application of acupuncture. According to the Chinese, we are given a certain amount of Qi at birth, and this is dissipated by daily living, and restored by ingesting food and air. In the foundation of acupuncture, the imbalance of this energy at various points in the body is the cause of illness. The absence of this energy at some point is death. The Qi circulates through the body in a cycle, moving from meridian to meridian and organ to organ. This energy is constantly moving, dissipating, and being restored.

The use of the needles in acupuncture is to affect the energy level, and so the functioning, of an organ by stimulating or reducing its action. Some organs respond more directly and quickly than others, such as the liver. Acupuncture can be used for pain control, for stress relief, and for a multitude of other physical symptoms and diseases.

China was where the technique of acupuncture and its medical foundations began. Japan also has an extensive history of acupuncture as an accepted and effective treatment for their people. Japanese acupuncture has the same foundations as Chinese acupuncture, but several interesting differences in technique. Acupuncture traveled to Europe in the seventeenth century, being brought back by Jesuit missionaries who had lived in Beijing. Acupuncture did not receive wide acceptance at that point, though there were pockets of practitioners in several places in the West. Acupuncture got significant attention here only when M. Morant from France published many writings on acupuncture in the 1940s. The detail and volume of his writings caught the attention of western physicians, who started considering it for pain control.

Currently, acupuncture is widely accepted by western physicians in several categories, including pain control and stress relief. Indeed, for some operations no anesthesia is needed at all, just the services of an acupuncturist. This is a distinct advantage, in that the normal operation of the patient’s organs is not altered by an artificial anesthetic. This work in the west has caused new interest and study in the land where acupuncture originated, in China. They have discovered many old, previously unknown texts, and are working on extending the applications. It is an exciting time for the field of acupuncture.