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What type of fluid is best to drink to avoid dehydration?

Dr Paul Cribb — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:00:47 +0000

What type of fluid is best to drink to avoid dehydration? Also, is it best to avoid caffeine-containing drinks for better hydration?

Water is the first logical answer to the question of fluid replacement to prevent dehydration. However, during non-workout times of the day, the research on this topic suggests that most fluids are effective at rehydrating the body, including caffeine-containing beverages.

Researchers at the University of Nebraska have shown that caffeine-containing beverages actually promote hydration and do not cause dehydration (thus dispelling the myth that caffeine-containing beverages cause dehydration). Their research showed that caffeine-containing beverages hydrate the body just as effectively as drinks that contain no caffeine. These researchers have completed other studies that show most non-alcoholic beverages will promote hydration.

This interesting research showed that subjects who drank water as their main fluid source achieved hydration levels that were similar to a group who drank any other beverages other than water during the day. Therefore, during the non-exercise hours of the day, it seems as though any liquid will hydrate your body, as long as you drink plenty of it. However, fluid consumption during exercise is a different story.

During exercise, the isotonic sports drinks (Gatorade and the like), have a definite advantage in their absorption speed. Their formulation ensures that the fluid empties from the stomach and enters the blood stream rapidly. Therefore, during a workout, isotonic sports-type drinks are probably a better choice. For all other periods of the day, most beverages will help prevent dehydration.

Dr Paul Cribb is an award-winning sports scientist, author, personal trainer and the creator of mp-body.com – the first ever science-based, research-proven, nationally accredited body transformation program. Learn more here.

testosterone naturally?

Dr Paul Cribb — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 05:10:45 +0000

Are there any ways for men to enhance testosterone levels naturally, without taking drugs?

Two studies performed at the University of Utah demonstrated that men watching their favourite sports team play and win actually experienced a 20% increase in testosterone levels (free and bound circulating testosterone). Now that’s the best excuse I’ve heard for watching Friday Night Football!

A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed that testosterone levels of male weight lifters increased twice as much after they performed heavy squats in their workout compared to when they did not. The lifters’ testosterone levels were also significantly increased after a heavy bench press workout, but not to the extent of the squat workout. Serious weight training boosts a males natural testosterone secretion by 30%.

Another weight training study examined the effect of a protein and carbohydrate supplement drink mix on anabolic hormones after training

The researchers found that consuming a liquid supplement after weight training actually prolonged the half-life of circulating anabolic hormones (including testosterone).

So there you have it; three simple ways to enhance your body’s own testosterone output—watch sport, do heavy squats, and have your protein-carb supplement after weight training.

Youth from Grape Juice!

Dr Paul Cribb — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:00:33 +0000

A recent series of studies have shown that drinking grape juice significantly improves short-term memory, coordination and balance in older animals. Based on these results, some scientists suggest that drinking grape juice on a regular basis may restore or help preserve valuable motor-neural co-ordination so that people can enjoy their favourite activities for a longer in life.

The researchers subjected 45 old rats to a range of tests and challenges commonly accepted as methods of measuring changes in short-term memory and neuro-motor skills. The rats given grape juice showed a reduction or complete reversal of the loss of sensitivity of muscarinic (brain) receptors, and enhanced cognitive and motor skills in theses animals.

The findings suggest that grapes could join blueberries and other polyphenol-rich fruits as a health preserving, anti-ageing food. The findings were presented by the U.S. department of agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Centre on Aging, at the first International Conference on Polyphenols and Health held in France late last year.

The type of grapes used to make the juice were Concord grapes, this grape is a dark-blue variety, used widely for juice and wine production. Like cranberries, the grape has been studied closely for its high antioxidant content. Other findings at this conference showed that grape juice lowered high blood pressure. Also, daily consumption of grape juice for just eight weeks significantly improved arterial function, and this may help reduce heart disease.

3 things you probably didn’t know about exercise

Dr Paul Cribb — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:00:38 +0000

1. Exercise cuts your risk of cancer
Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who recently reviewed 52 studies of exercise and colon cancer, found that the most active people were 21 percent less likely to be diagnosed with this cancer than their least active counterparts. Brisk walking or other moderate activities may lower the risk of colon cancer, but studies show moderate-to-vigorous exercise is needed to reduce the risk of breast cancer.

The good news is that it may never be too late to reap the benefits. In the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, researchers tracked 119,000 women in their 60s for seven years. Those who reported day vigorous activity even if they hadn’t exercised earlier in life–were 20 percent less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than those who rarely exercised.

2. Sitting Can Kill You
According to Peter Katzmarzyk, an epidemiologist at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, people who spend most of the day sitting down have much higher mortality rates than those who don’t, even if they are physically active during another part of the day.

The inactivity of muscles while sitting may change the way they metabolize compounds and may affect the regulation of insulin and glucose. Instead of sitting for long periods of time, try standing up periodically, walking around, or engaging in similar activities to encourage blood flow and increase muscle activity in your legs.

3. Exercise Creates New Brain Cells
On average, older adults perform more slowly and less accurately on cognitive tests than do younger people. But older adults who are more fit perform better and are sometimes no different from young adults, according to Charles Hillman, director of the Neurocognitive Kinesiology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

A study by University of Illinois researchers put 30 healthy, but sedentary, men and women aged 60 to 79 on an aerobic exercise training program. After six months, their brain volume had increased–meaning more grey and white matter and more connections formed between brain cells.

Aerobic (cardio) exercise increases the supply of a protein called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which protects brain neurons and promotes the growth of new nerve cells and synapses that are related to learning and memory.

Timing of antioxidants is key

Dr Paul Cribb — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:00:12 +0000

The timing of nutrients is key to maximizing muscle gains from intense weight lifting. Now a recent study suggests that the timing of antioxidants maybe just as crucial for protection against cell damage.

Researchers from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) measured the blood antioxidant capacity (AOC) of subjects in a series of five clinical trials, and found that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods blunted oxidative stress that occurs after the consumption of a high-fat meal.

Millions of chemical reactions occur within our bodies every minute of every day in order to survive and function. These reactions produce free radicals. Oxidative stress (and cell damage) occurs when the production of these free radicals exceeds the body’s antioxidant capacity to quench them.

Oxidative stress is linked to fatigue, illness, poor athletic performance and premature aging.

If the consumption of antioxidants blunts oxidative stress that occurs after the consumption of a high-fat meal then the consumption of antioxidants before exercise should have the same effect.

The take-home message from this study is to keep an adequate level of antioxidants in the blood when oxidative stress is imminent. You can do this by adding more colour to every meal (see Dine By Colour) and supplementing with research-proven antioxidants such as whey protein, vitamin C and E.

Maximize results: get your carb choices right

Dr Paul Cribb — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:00:30 +0000

Building a lean, mean physique depends heavily on how you manage your body’s natural production of insulin.

Just the right amount of this hormone is critical for allowing fat to be utilized for fuel while also maintaining the anabolic drive of nutrients into hungry muscles.

Dietary control of insulin maximizes muscle gains and promotes fat loss.

The macronutrient that influences insulin responses the most is carbohydrate. Due to their impact on insulin, your carb choices make or break your results from training.

Astute folks no longer think of carbs in terms of simple and complex. They understand the importance of low and high glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates. However, as I’ll explain in this article, you can’t live by one rule, the GI isn’t perfect, it does come with a few problems. I’ll show you how to overcome them

What is the GI?

The GI is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. The GI ranks a food on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which it raises blood sugar levels after eating. Carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion have the highest GI rating. Their blood sugar response is fast and high. The substance which produces the greatest rise in blood sugar is pure glucose. Therefore, the GI of glucose is 100.

Every other food is ranked between 100 and zero. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have a low GI. Foods with a high GI produce a great surge of glucose into the blood stream. This surge in blood glucose is matched by another in insulin in an attempt to control blood glucose levels.

High GI foods produce marked fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Low GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, result in steady blood glucose and insulin levels.

By selecting carbs with the GI factor in mind, you will decrease the amount of insulin secreted while promote insulin sensitivity within tissues. Both factors enable fat to be utilized (burnt) for fuel while promoting a hormone profile maximizes muscle anabolism. The bottom line is a leaner, stronger, healthier physique.

Glycemic Load vs Glycemic Index

More recently, another term, the Glycemic Load (GL) has become popular when discussing the GI impact of food choices. Without trying to confuse you, both the GI and the GL are important but they are very different. A clear understanding of both terms will help you make much better choices at meal time to optimize the results from exercise.

Whereas GI compares the potential of foods containing the same quantity of carbohydrate to raise blood glucose, the amount of carbohydrate consumed also affects blood glucose levels and insulin responses.

The GI indicates how rapidly a particular food increases blood sugar levels after consumption, However, the GL takes into account the serving size of the food and the effect this has on blood glucose levels.

The GL is measured by the GI of a food multiplied by the carbohydrate content of the food (per 100grams). It provides a more accurate picture of blood sugar responses to meals.

The GL is useful to clarify the confusion about some foods on the GI list. That is, even though a food may technically have a high GI, it may not necessarily have a high GL.

Carrots and ice cream

For example, some very healthy foods such as carrots and watermelon have a rather high GI on most scales. However, that does not mean that these foods should be avoided if an individual is looking to optimize fat loss.

Plant foods such as carrots and watermelon may be listed with a fairly high GI, but they actually posses a low GL. This is due to the small amount of carbohydrate they contain per serving. According to Dr. Rob Thompson, author of The Glycemic Load Diet, you’d need to eat 30 carrots to get the same elevation in blood sugar as you’d get from one bagel.

Conversely, ice-cream is characteristically listed as a low GI food. However, the amount of calories contained per serving makes it an unrealistic staple food for anyone that wants to shed body fat and keep it off. A reflection of this is ice-cream’s high GL rating.

The GL describes the quality and quantity of carbohydrate in a meal or diet. The GL helps clarify carb choices as it reveals the real impact the meal will have on blood insulin responses. Knowing both the GI and GL will help you make much better carb choices to maximize results from training.

References

Liu S, Willett WC. Dietary glycemic load and atherothrombotic risk. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 4(6):454-461, 2002.

Fajcsak Z, Gabor A, Kovacs V, Marto. The effects of 6-week low glycemic load diet based on low glycemic index foods in overweight/obese children–pilot study. J Am Coll Nutr. (1):12-21, 2008.

Pereira MA. Dietary glycemic index and glycemic load in diabetes prevention-what can we learn from observational studies? Nat Clin Pract Endocrinol Metab. June 10, 2008

How long do the effects of alcohol last?

Dr Paul Cribb — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:00:53 +0000

How long do the effects of alcohol last?

For example, if you’ve had a few drinks, how long would I have to wait before I could drive a car safely?

Alcohol is a widely used, socially acceptable drug. Therefore, when I looked to the research, I was surprised this question had not received a lot more attention.

In one recent study, scientists from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, examined the after-effects of alcohol consumption on brain function. Interestingly, the researchers showed that the effects of alcohol last much longer than most people assume.

The subjects in this experiment were tested for motor co-ordination and function before and after the consumption of a series of standard alcoholic servings (7-27grams of alcohol per serving).

Generally, one standard drink yields 10 grams of alcohol.

Interestingly, regardless of the amount, most of the participant’s thought they were okay (free of alcohol’s effects) a couple of hours after they’d consumed up to three drinks. However, the motor co-ordination results demonstrated that it took up to six hours for most of the participants to perform at the same level prior to alcohol consumption.

Food for thought if you plan on driving home after a few drinks.

T’is the season to be merry….but not stupid.

Red Wine & Ripped Abs?

Dr Paul Cribb — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:00:28 +0000

It’s the French paradox. People in France (and southern Europe in general) have the lowest incidence of heart disease in the world. This is despite the fact that they 1) stuff themselves full of butter and cheese and 2) many of them smoke like chimneys!

I’ll give you an example, the average French person consumes well over 100 grams per day of fat from animal sources (the average Aussie consumes about 70 grams). The French eat four-to-five times as much butter and cheese as Americans do and nearly three times as much pork.

However, despite this artery-clogging regime, this population has one of the lowest levels of heart and cardiovascular disease on the planet. What’s their secret?

It’s called wine my friends. And more specifically, the active ingredient in red wine; a compound called resveratrol.

Resveratrol is definitely one of the biggest discoveries is nutritional science. This amazing ingredient is naturally abundant in dark grapes, in particular, the skin of dark grapes. Unfortunately, resveratrol oxidizes quickly, losing its metabolic potency in the process. That’s why fresh grapes are not a great source. However, red wine is a potent source of resveratrol as the fermentation process retains this phytoestrogens’ unique capacities.

As you may know, phytoestrogens are naturally occurring plant-derived non-steroidal compounds that are functionally and structurally similar to steroidal estrogens, such as oestradiol produced by women. Aside from emerging as a likely candidate for natural hormone modulation in women, this compound may provide benefits to men. There are animal studies which show that sperm count and plasma testosterone is higher in male animals that consume resveratrol!

Resveratrol has already been shown to have powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. However, apart from all of these potential benefits, there is one more reason I think resveratrol is extremely interesting.

Resveratrol has also been shown to dramatically increase the rate at which cells metabolize fat. Resveratrol is shown to stimulate the SIRT1 gene to produce a protein called sirtuin-1 which blocks a receptor on fat cells. When this receptor is blocked, lipolysis (the breakdown of fat) is increased and the formation of new fat (adipogenesis) is decreased. Other studies have shown that the stimulation of this protein by resveratrol also activates the genes that promote a longer, healthier lifespan.

I’ll give you an idea of how much I believe in the health benefits of resveratrol. Years ago I never drank red wine and never really cared for its taste at all. However, based on the steadily accumulating health benefits of resveratrol, I acquired a taste and now try to drink one half-glass of red wine with my evening meal, almost every night. This small amount won’t have any detrimental effect on body fat. In fact, the research available suggests this may well promote better fat metabolism.

Also, small amounts are all that is required to provide some rather powerful health benefits.

Best of all, the wine itself doesn’t have to be the expensive variety. If you shop around a bit, or even join one of those wine clubs, you’ll find a bottle for around 10 bucks that is very drinkable. Dare I say it, enjoyable! However, the higher up the price scale you go the better they get!

No matter what you pay, just be sure to seal the bottle tightly as red wine tends to go acidic.

Now, lets be clear on this, I’m not advocating that consuming alcohol such as large amounts of red wine is going to get you a lean, ripped midsection. Not for a second. Alcohol is alcohol; it is a calorie-dense nutrient that acts a lot like fat in promoting calorie storage.

However, some fitness buffs need to get their head around the idea that science is unveiling previously “hidden” compounds in regular foods that have profound benefits on our metabolism and physiology. Sometimes these compounds are found in foods that are not your typical healthfood fare. Incorporate this new research into your diet in moderation and reap the benefits of resveratrol.

Reference: Potential of resveratrol in anticancer and anti-inflammatory therapy. Udenigwe CC, Ramprasath VR, Aluko RE, Jones PJ. Nutr Rev. Aug;66(8):445-54.

Rubber Flooring

Iron Edge — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 06:48:19 +0000

The increasing popularity of Olympic lifting has seen it explode through gyms across the country, helped along by the ever-growing Crossfit craze. The only drawbacks seem to be the safety issues and the cost. The biggest problem related to both is dropping weights; it trashes both bars and plates, and sometimes, the unfortunate gym rat that gets in the way.

IronEdge has come up with a product which reduces both dangers considerably, making Olympic lifting more accessible to the average gym-goer: 50mm dual density rubber flooring.

Rather than having to spend a fortune on building a lifting platform, you can simply purchase IronEdge’s new 50mm rubber flooring, which allows you to quickly and easily construct your own platform.

At 50mm thick, in 500x500mm tiles, the flooring is comprised of dual-density foam. The top layer is 10mm deep and provides a dense surface for supporting the lifter and the weight, while the 40mm beneath is a cushioning layer for both shock and sound absorption.

IronEdge’s new rubber flooring: a safe and sound solution to your Olympic lifting issues.

Wall Ball Training

Emily — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 03:08:46 +0000

Wall Balls are a large, soft medicine ball that are easy and safe for pretty much anyone to use and provide a great variety of training options.

Wall Balls are ideal for power development as they come in a relatively light weight range and being soft they can be caught from a distance or at speed without fear of injury.

You can do pretty much anything with a Wall Ball that you can do with a traditional medicine ball, but the softness of the Wall Ball makes them particularly well suited to the following exercises:

Wall Throws

Wall throws are a great way of developing explosive power and will get your heart rate through the roof very quickly.

You want to aim for a target that is quite high and use the simultaneous and rapid extension of your legs and arms to power the ball up.

In order to ensure each rep is consistent, you can use a second Wall Ball as a target for squat depth – this is far safer than using a solid target such as a bench because the Wall Ball is soft so hitting it won’t cause injury.

Overhead Wall Throws

These are a variation of wall throws that have a forwards, rather than upwards, trajectory. So you stand further away from the wall and throw overhead at a target around head height as hard as you can. Great for working the shoulders, chest and upper back and developing power through these areas.

Rotational Wall Throws

Rotational wall throws are a great drill for developing rotational power through the core, fantastic for things like racquet sports, martial arts and general core training.

Wall Ball Slams

The Wall Ball is excellent for slams because it is soft and has little bounce, this means more explosive power is required when performing a slam to catch it on the bounce.

You can also try variations such as the deck squat slam.

Wall Ball Burpee

These are great fun! They provide a great way to increase the difficulty of the traditional burpee.

More Wall Ball Training

Keep an eye on this blog for more Wall Ball training ideas, including some great partner drills.