No one questions the efficacy of exercises to boost physical and mental well-being. However, what remains a real challenge for many people is developing an exercise routine they’ll stick with! This occurs mainly because most people do not have the patience to continue till they start noticing the results they want – whether that’s losing weight, improving sleep, or easing stress. But at its core, it’s because, to them, exercising is simply another chore. And as expected, we love to evade chores if we can get away with them.

That’s why the key to a successful workout routine is to make it fun. This can be achieved by having a more robust exercise plan that includes a mix of aerobic training, strength training, flexibility exercise, and balance exercise. This spiced-up plan will also enable you to attain the results you want more efficiently.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercises are activities that work your cardiovascular system. They get your heart rate up, making your blood pump faster. Aerobic exercise is commonly referred to as cardio. Common examples of aerobic exercises include:

• Brisk walking
• Jogging or running
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Playing sports like soccer or basketball.

Health benefits of cardio

• Cardio improves the overall health of your circulatory system. It also strengthens your heart to pump blood more efficiently.
• Reduces risk of cardiovascular diseases like stroke, heart attack, and hypertension
• Lowers blood pressure and improves blood-fat levels
• Lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes
• Reduces the risk of 13 types of cancers.

How much cardio do you need?

According to a guideline from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), adults should engage in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activities like brisk walking per week. For best results, experts recommend that the time be broken down to 30 minutes per day for five days every week.

Strength Training

Strength exercises are aimed at making your muscles work harder than usual. This invariably helps to improve muscle strength, power, size, and endurance. Such activities involve working your muscles against resistance.

Common examples include:

• Weight lifting
• Crunches
• Push-ups
• Climbing stairs
• Hillwalking
• Squats
• Heavy gardening, such as digging and shoveling

Health benefits of strength training

• Increase lean muscle mass
• Helps in weight loss because lean muscles burn more calories.
• Helps to increase flexibility and balance, thereby reducing the risks of falls and injuries in older people
• Increases bone density and reduces the risk of fractures

How much strength training do you need?

Aim for two to three days per week of strength training. You should try to incorporate full-body workouts that focus on compound exercises like squats with a shoulder press, as well as pushups and plank with a one-arm row.

Flexibility Exercise

Flexibility exercises are activities that stretch your muscles and can help your body stay flexible. Being flexible gives you more freedom of movement in your day-to-day life, as well as for other exercise routines.

There are primarily two types of flexibility exercises: static stretching and dynamic stretching. In static stretching, you stretch your muscles without moving. Examples include:

• Shoulder stretch
• Side bends
• Hamstring stretch

Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, combines stretching with movements. Common examples include:

• High steps
• Ankle stretch
• Arm swings
• Arm circles

Benefits of Flexibility Training

• Improves flexibility, which can be important for everyday life.
• Reduces your risk of injuries
• Reduces lactic acid in the muscles.

How much flexibility exercise do you need?

Stretching should be included before and after your normal workout routine. Experts recommend that you do dynamic stretching as part of your warm-up before a workout. You should then do a static stretch at the end of your routine. According to the National Institutes of Health, you should hold each static stretch for about 10 to 30 seconds.

Balance Exercise

Balance exercises are activities that improve your ability to control and stabilize your body position. They help strengthen the muscles that keep you upright, including your legs and cores.

Common examples include:

• Standing on one foot
• Tai chi
• Yoga
• Pilates
• Walking heel to toe
• Using a balance board or stability ball

Benefits of Balance Exercises

• Lowers your risks of knee and ankle injuries
• Lowers your risk of falls
• Improves overall body coordination
• Improves your reaction time
• Better proprioception as you’re more aware of how your limbs are oriented in space.

How much balance exercise do you need?

Balance exercises should be added to your routine, and there’s no limit to how often you can do them. But to improve your balance, doing three to six balance training sessions per week for 11 to 12 weeks should be sufficient. Four exercises per session should be okay.

Wrap Up

While the importance of exercises cannot be overemphasized, the key to an effective and fun fitness plan is to incorporate the four main types of exercises.

Please reach out to us here if you have any other questions or concerns.

A stroke occurs when there’s a reduction or blockage of blood supply to the brain. It can also result from the rupture of a blood vessel within the brain. This blockage or rupture prevents the supply of oxygen to the brain tissues. Consequently, the brain cells begin to die within minutes.

Sustained periods of stroke can be fatal. That’s why stroke is considered to be a medical emergency. If you’re with anyone experiencing a stroke, call 911 to seek prompt medical attention. In this article, we explore all you need to know about stroke.

What is Stroke?

As noted earlier, a stroke occurs when blockage or blood vessel rupture hinders the supply of blood and oxygen to the brain cells. According to CDC, stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, killing about 795,000 people yearly.

Common Symptoms

Once the supply of blood to the brain is interrupted, brain tissue damage kicks in. Notable symptoms become visible in areas controlled by the damaged region of the brain. Some of the common symptoms of stroke include:

• Paralysis
• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech
• Slurring speech
• Numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one half of the body.
• Trouble walking
• Dizziness
• Loss of balance and coordination.

Once stroke kicks in, the sooner the person gets medical attention, the better their chance of recovery. Every second count! Failure to act promptly can result in:

• Brain damage
• Long-term disability
• Death.

Call 911 if you notice someone exhibiting symptoms of stroke!

Types of Stroke

Strokes can be classified into three main categories:

• Transient ischemic attack (TIA)
• Ischemic stroke
• Hemorrhagic stroke.

Transient ischemic attack (TIA)

Sometimes, the blood supply to the brain is temporarily interrupted by a blood clot. This results in a mini-stroke, technically called transient ischemic attack. While TIA exhibits symptoms of a full stroke, these symptoms typically disappear within a few minutes to hours.

More often than not, a full stroke is usually preceded by TIA. Unfortunately, statistics by the CDC show that more than one-third of people who experience TIA and fail to receive medical attention end up having a full stroke within a year.

Ischemic stroke

Ischemic stroke is caused by the narrowing or blocking of arteries that take blood to the brain. While this blockage is primarily caused by a blood clot, it can also be caused by atherosclerosis breaking off and blocking the blood vessel.

There are two main types of ischemic stroke: embolic and thrombotic stroke. In a thrombotic stroke, a blood clot forms right in the arteries supplying the brain with blood. On the other hand, in an embolic stroke, the clot is produced elsewhere in the body and transported to the brain. According to the CDC, ischemic strokes make up about 87 percent of strokes.

Hemorrhagic Stroke

This occurs when an artery in the brain gets cut and leaks blood. As blood escapes from the artery, it increases the pressure within that localized region of the skull. This causes the brain to swell, which eventually damages brain cells and tissues.

Hemorrhagic strokes are broadly classified into two: intracerebral and subarachnoid. In intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke, blood directly fills the tissues surrounding the brain when the artery breaks open. In subarachnoid hemorrhagic stroke, blood simply fills the space between the brain and the tissues covering it. An intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke makes up the vast majority of hemorrhagic strokes.

Causes and Risk factors

Different types of strokes have different potential causes. However, certain risk factors significantly increase your risk of having one. Some of which include:

• Unhealthy diets including foods high in salt, saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol.
• An extended period of inactivity
• Excessive consumption of alcohol
• Smoking
• Personal background like family history, sex, age, and ethnicity.
• Prior medical conditions linked to stroke, like high blood pressure, a previous stroke or TIA, high cholesterol, sickle cell disease, diabetes, and heart disorders.

Diagnosis

Because a stroke can cause rapid deterioration, immediate medical attention – preferably within three hours of observing symptoms – is needed to obtain the best outcome. Some of the major methods of diagnosing stroke include:

• Physical examination

Physical examination is carried out to observe muscle strength, reflexes, vision, sensation, and coordination. Similarly, the doctor may check your blood pressure, examine the blood vessels at the back of your eyes or listen to the carotid arteries.

• Tests

Several tests can be carried out to determine if you’ve had a stroke. Some of which include:

Blood tests, CT scans, MRI scans, cerebral angiogram, carotid ultrasonic and echocardiogram

Treatment

Stroke treatment is highly dependent on the type of stroke you experience. Here are some common treatments based on the types of strokes:

Ischemic stroke and TIA

• Antiplatelet and anticoagulants
• Clot-breaking drugs
• Mechanical thrombectomy
• Stents
• Surgery

Hemorrhagic stroke

• Medications to make your blood clot
• Coiling to restrict excessive blood flow
• Clamping to prevent additional bleeding
• Surgery

Wrap Up

A stroke is a serious medication that requires immediate medical attention. Incorporating certain lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your chances of having a stroke. Some things to bear in mind include:

• Quit alcohol and smoking
• Watch your weight
• Eat healthy diets, including plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and legumes
• Exercise regularly
• Undergo regular medical checkups for sugar and blood pressure levels.

Contact us today for more information.

According to the CRN 2017 Survey on Dietary Supplements, about 75 percent of Americans take dietary supplements. What’s more, the dietary supplement industry is growing at a rapid rate, projected to reach $278 billion by 2024.

Should this be a cause for concern? In an ideal world, we’re supposed to obtain the nutrition we need from diet alone! But the reality is we live in an imperfect world. With our fast-paced lives, take-outs and fast food are the new norms. Hence, we are forced to take supplements to complement the nutrients lacking in our daily diet.

This article explores the role dietary supplements play in nutrition and whether they’re good or bad.

Examples of Dietary Supplements

Dietary supplements consist of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, herbs, and amino acids. They come in different forms, including tablets, capsules, gel caps, soft gels, powders, and liquids. Common supplements include:

• Multivitamins
• Vitamins
• Fish oil
• Calcium
• Ginseng
• Echinacea
• Probiotics

Are Supplements Necessary?

Unless you have a self-grown garden and/or you cook what you eat, chances are you cannot reach the level of health needed to function effectively from diet alone. Here are some of the reasons for that.

• Poor soil quality

The quality of the soil determines the quality of the food we get. Plants grown in soil depleted of nutrients and trace minerals offer reduced nutritional benefits. This directly impacts our health when we consume such plants or animals that consume such plants.

• Pollution

Thanks to industrialization, the world is polluted than ever. Both at home and in our offices, we are exposed to several harmful pollutants. While healthy diets offer some protection, special supplements are needed to support our endogenous detoxification systems.

• Health History

We all have unique body systems. Sometimes our body is lacking some vital nutrients, maybe due to health conditions like a damaged digestive system, cesarean section birth, substance use, and more. In such instances, supplements can help provide the vital nutrients that are lacking.

Are Dietary Supplements Regulated by the FDA?

Contrary to what you might think, dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA as food, not as drugs. What this means is those supplement manufacturers are only obliged to produce supplements in a quality manner, ensuring it doesn’t contain contaminants or impurities. FDA does not review or test for medicinal efficacy.

Consequently, supplements with health claims are required to put a disclaimer on their label that such supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA.

Does this Mean Dietary Supplements are Dangerous?

Provided you’re not taking mega doses of supplements, most supplements are safe to use. However, some can be dangerous or even deadly. A 2015 study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that 23,000 people ended up in an emergency room after using supplements. Here are some common reasons for that:

• Overdosing
• Fraudulent dietary supplements
• Due to lax regulations, some supplements with illegal substances go undetected.
• Unintended complications: Some supplements interact with certain prior medical conditions or medication. For instance, beta-carotene (a supplement used to reduce the risk of heart disease) can increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Similarly, evening primrose can interact with warfarin to increase the risk of bleeding.

Taking Precautions

Dietary supplements offer tremendous benefits as they help ensure we get all the crucial nutrients we need to live healthily. However, here are some things to bear in mind concerning the use of supplements.

• Food first!

Nutritionists recommend food first because food contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, even those absent in supplements. For instance, dietary supplements usually do not contain bioactive compounds and dietary fiber, which are crucial.

Furthermore, for supplements to work effectively, it is important that you do not consume them with an empty stomach. Food helps with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins in supplements.

But more than just eating, you have to ensure that your diet is balanced. A balanced diet provides you with all the nutrients you need, thereby boosting your immune system.

• Don’t go overboard

When taking supplements, ensure you don’t use more than the upper limit. Overdosing can lead to health complications. Simply follow the dosing instructions!

• Avoid these ingredients

According to Per Consumer Reports, certain supplements contain some ingredients that may pose health risks. Some of such ingredients include bitter orange, comfrey, chaparral, country mallow, kava, methyl synephrine, usnic acid, and red yeast rice. Stay clear from them!

• Consult with your doctor first

Before taking supplements, speak with a certified nutritional practitioner. They are trained to prescribe based on your case history and lab test results. This ensures that the prescribed supplements are well-suited for your individual body needs, with no risk of complications.

• Buy supplements from reputable stores.

Some experts kick against purchasing supplements from online stores like eBay because you cannot be assured of their legitimacy or safety. Similarly, be leery of cheap supplements, as they may reflect inferior production. Furthermore, ensure you only purchase supplements from countries that have safety standards in place.

• Keep track of side effects.

Ensure you take note of any side effects – such as nausea, dizziness, chest pain, etc. – you notice while using a supplement. Stop using the medication and promptly inform your doctor to determine the best course of action.

Contact us today for more information.

Hormones are the chemical messengers of your body. They travel through your bloodstream, instructing different organs and tissues on what to do. From reproduction to metabolism regulation, your hormones control all of your body’s major processes.

Just as a tiny hormonal imbalance can have negative effects, including diabetics, weight gain, infertility, depression, and many more. A good parallel is to consider what happens when you add too much salt to your food. You ruin it! Your hormones are like ingredients that need to be properly balanced.

Hormonal injections and supplements are two common ways people combat hormonal imbalances. However, in this post, we take your attention to six ways you can balance your hormones naturally.

Get enough sleep

Sleep is arguably the most important factor affecting hormonal balance. Nothing can save you from hormonal imbalance when you don’t get enough restorative sleep – not even nutrition or exercise! Poor sleep has been linked to imbalances in hormones like cortisol, insulin, ghrelin, and leptin. A study found that sleeping for four hours per night reduced insulin sensitivity in men by 20%.

Based on a study by the International Journal of Endocrinology, getting improper sleep can result in diabetes, obesity, and problems with appetite.

Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily, but it’s important to note that quality also matters. Going through the five stages of each sleep cycle is important for the release of growth hormones.

Exercise regularly

The right kind and amount of exercise will positively impact your body’s hormones. A major benefit of exercise is its ability to increase insulin sensitivity and decrease insulin levels.

Insulin is an anabolic hormone that allows our body cells to take sugar from the bloodstream and use it as energy. Low levels of insulin results in constant fatigue, anxiety, irritability, and pale skin. On the other hand, high insulin levels have been linked to diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Many types of physical activities, however, have been found to modify hormone levels. Performing aerobics, strength training, walking, and other exercises will help lower your risk of many diseases.

Manage Stress

We live in an insanely fast-paced world, where no one ever seems to take a break. This high level of stress affects two main hormones – cortisol and adrenaline.

Cortisol is the stress hormone that helps us cope with long-term stress. Adrenaline is responsible for our fight-flight mechanism, which helps us to react instinctively to danger. While these hormones fluctuate depending on the current condition, they are supposed to get regulated.

However, in high-stress environments, cortisol levels remain high. This saps an immense amount of energy, which causes you to eat more, putting you at the risk of obesity. If your adrenaline levels remain elevated, it can result in high blood pressure and anxiety. That’s why you need to effectively manage your stress level.

Avoid Sugar and refined carbs

Sugar and refined carbs have been found to play a role in issues such as insulin resistance and metabolic disease. Fructose, in particular, increases insulin levels, especially in overweight people with prediabetes or diabetes. Common sources of fructose include honey, maple syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, and refined table sugar. Diet high in refined carbs like pretzels and white bread may promote insulin resistance.

That’s why it’s advisable to eliminate sugar from your diet. In particular, stay away from sugary beverages. Eating a low- or moderate- carb diet instead of refined carb may help overweight people reduce their insulin levels.

Consume Healthy Fats

While fat is important for the proper functioning of the body, unhealthy fats like trans fats have been found to cause insulin resistance and increase belly fat storage. That’s why it’s good to take only high-quality natural fats.

Coconut oil, pure MCT oil, and palm oil contain medium-chain triglycerides, which help to provide the liver with energy. MCTs are also known to reduce insulin resistance.

Dairy fats and monounsaturated fat in olive oil and nuts can help increase your insulin sensitivity. It also helps balance the hormone responsible for appetite regulation and the digestion of protein and fat.

Eat Enough Protein

Consuming enough protein is very important because it provides the body with amino acid, which the body can’t make on its own. Amino acid assists in the creation and growth of muscles, connective tissue, and skin. They aid in healing and repair, as well as digestion.

To maintain your hormonal balance, eating protein is non-negotiable. Consuming protein decreases ghrelin (which is our hunger hormone) while stimulating the production of other hormones that make you feel full.

Common sources of protein include lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, among many others. Asides from being a good source of protein, fatty fish also contains long-chain omega-3 fatty acids that help decrease insulin levels while increasing insulin sensitivity.

Wrap Up

Other natural tips worth mentioning include:

• Eating a high-fiber diet.
• Drinking green tea
• Avoiding alcohol
• Stop smoking

Your hormones influence both your physical and emotional well-being. Adopting these practices into your lifestyle will help you enjoy better overall health.

Contact us today for more information!