Sore Muscles After Running the Marathon? These Foods Can Help

Did you run the Corvallis Half Marathon on Sunday? … Still have sore muscles? ... Here are some foods that can help soothe the inflammation and get you back on track. (The Nordic Track that is!!)

Blueberries

New research out of New Zealand suggests that the antioxidants in blueberries may help ward off muscle fatigue by mopping up the additional free radicals that muscles produce during exercise.

Tart Cherries & Pomegranates

British researchers recently found that people who drank 1 ounce of concentrated cherry juice twice daily for 10 days bounced back faster from their workout (an intensive leg-resistance training session on day 8) than those who skipped the juice. The reason:  The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in tart cherries—and other fruit juices like grape, pomegranate, acai, blueberry and cranberry—essentially act as natural NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and aspirin), reducing exercise-induced muscle damage.

Ginger

Ginger is rich in inflammation-fighting compounds, such as gingerols, which may reduce the aches of osteoarthritis and soothe sore muscles. In a recent study, people who took ginger capsules daily for 11 days reported 25 percent less muscle pain when they performed exercises designed to strain their muscles (compared with a similar group taking placebo capsules). Another study found that ginger-extract injections helped relieve osteoarthritis pain of the knee.

I have this poster hanging on my refrigerator to remind me of all the GOOD my healthy diet is doing for me!  The poster comes from: LiveFit Revolution.

The DIRTY DOZEN vs The CLEAN FIFTEEN from foodnews.org

Some of my favorite things are from the Dirty Dozen side ... makes me grateful that I am starting to grow my own fruits and veggies and drink my Cleanse For Life nutritional cellular cleanse everyday!!!

Isagenix's NO COMPROMISE Policy

I am so proud to be a part of Isagenix, the world leader in nutritional cleansing ... not only are our products of highest quality .... so are our manufacturing standards.

The Isagenix “No Compromise” Quality Policy is extensive and thorough—set up to ensure that all of our products are made in accordance with the highest standards of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) for dietary supplements. The company strives to meet and exceed the very GMPs that the Food and Drug Administration requires under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. These guidelines cover authenticity, quarantine/release procedures, potency and purity testing of raw materials and finished products, cleanliness of the facility, employee training, documentation, and other areas. We also adhere to detailed written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistency and safety in each phase of our manufacturing process.

To read more about the Isagenix "No Compromise" policy click this link.

Why is it important to drink at least six 8-ounce glasses of water every day?

You have probably heard these water facts before, but I think it is important to add them again:  Water is vital for good health and a long life. In fact, our bodies are made up of about 60 - 70% water. Although you can live for days without food, your survival depends on drinking water. Each and every cell needs water to perform its essential functions.

Here are some of the benefits of drinking an adequate amount of water each day:

• Your body needs to stay hydrated. If you become dehydrated your body can’t carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and give you a feeling of fatigue.

• Your body temperature is regulated.  Drinking water reduces cardiovascular stress and improves performance. This is particularly important if you work out, jog, or work strenuously. And water reduces body temperature, making the exercise and other activities safer and more effective.

• Your skin looks more youthful and healthier. Water hydrates and irrigates impurities from the skin, keeping it healthy and glowing.  It is almost like cleaning your skin from the inside.

• Helps your body absorb nutrients. Water transports essential nutrients, minerals, vitamins, proteins and sugars through your body for assimilation.

• Water helps flushes wastes and toxins from your body. Water aids in circulating and excreting waste products and cleansing the interstitial tissues, helping us to flush toxins out of your system. Your body can process and eliminate some of the chemicals that enter it, but the rest get stored in the liver, lungs, kidneys, fat cells, intestines, blood stream, and skin. Without enough fluids to flush out your system, these accumulated toxins in your body will slow down your organ function, possibly causing premature aging or resulting in chronic illness.

Five Great Phone Apps Suggested by “Hungry Girl”

If you are still working your new year diet and/or exercise program or you are restarting (like me), here are fun apps suggested by Hungry Girl for your phone.

Fitbit Ultra Wireless Tracker is a handy doodad that tracks your daily activity and calorie burn. It even monitors your sleep patterns. This is a good option for those willing to make a bit of an investment.

HealthRally is a website that allows your friends and family to invest in YOU. You set a goal (anything from weight loss to quitting smoking), and your support system can pledge money or other contributions as incentives -- but you only get the rewards if you meet your goal.

 GymPact lets you earn or lose money depending on whether you make it to the gym. If you don't check in and work out, you lose whatever amount you've wagered. At the end of each week, the accumulated cash gets divided among those who met their attendance goals.

Fit Freeway is another helpful app; it's an arcade-style race-car game... but you control the speed of your "car" by how fast you pedal your exercise bike or elliptical. Click here to try the free Lite version.

 Instant Heart Rate app will check your pulse using the camera feature on your phone.

Why you can buy your Happy Meal today and eat it in 2015!!!

In the week's Natural News Newsletter by Mike Adams (The Health Ranger), the editor of NaturalNews.com, reports on every kiddies favorite meal, the McDonald’s Happy Meal.  Here’s the low down: “McDonald's Happy Meal hamburgers and fries won't decompose, even if you leave them out for six months.”  This story has recently been picked up by CNN, the Washington Post and many other mainstream news outlets.

Why don’t McDonald’s Happy Meals (and to be fair ALL fast food restaurant burgers and fries) decompose?  Part of the story is that they are so loaded with chemicals, preservative and high concentrations of sodium that not even bacteria, insects or mold will touch them.

 

This high sodium content is a good explanation why the meat doesn’t decompose, but why don’t the buns mold?  They can sit around for weeks (or months and in one study, years!) without deteriorating while my healthy homemade 12 grain bread is gone in days.  The answer once again is “better living through chemistry.” 

You can barely read the chemical list contained in the hamburger bun (see the McDonald’s site for the full list of ingredients), but some of the better known culprits to our health are: high fructose corn syrup, partially-hydrogenated soybean oil and the long list of chemicals such as ammonium sulfate and sodium proprionate.

Mike Adams concludes his article by saying: “Now here's the truly shocking part about all this: In my estimation, the reason nothing will eat a McDonald's hamburger bun (except a human) is because it's not food! No normal animal will perceive a McDonald's hamburger bun as food, and as it turns out, neither will bacteria or fungi. To their senses, it's just not edible stuff.”

As I said before, McDonald’s is used as the example for this article, but the facts are true for all fast food chains.  I think Mike used the Happy Meal as an example because that is what people feed their kids.  Can you imagine the amount of toxins that these little bodies are going to contain even before they reach high school???  I hope the little plastic Shrek toy was worth the health risk.

Learn more from Mike Adams and Natural News, or subscribe to his newsletter go to: http://www.naturalnews.com/030074_Happy_Meal_decompose.html#ixzz1jMm6FUYF