Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category

There is no doubt that the rising prevalence in obesity among adults and children has major implications for healthcare costs, quality of life, and lifespan. The statistics are sobering: over one-third of US adults are obese; adding overweight adults to the mix increases the figure to 68%. Making matters worse, research indicates that 16% of kids are obese, not a great way to get started in life. Regardless of how errant the BMI might be at accurately characterizing the overweight and obese, a quick trip to any shopping mall in the country confirms the obvious: too many Americans are fat.

Sweat can be a sloppy nuisance, a sign of hard work, a stinky indication of poor hygiene, and a body-cooling lifesaver. In fact, it’s likely that sweat has been and will continue to be all of those things for anyone who is physically active, especially during warm weather. Sweating helps us survive in jungles and deserts, on athletic fields and gymnasium courts, on farms and construction sites, and in fitness centers and saunas. Most people know very little about sweating, yet sweating is one of our body’s most indispensable responses to physical activity.

Advertisements for antioxidant supplements make some tantalizing promises about how their products can benefit athletes. Those sales pitches often rely upon some compelling scientific truths as the basis for what often turn out to be misleading claims.

Wouldn’t it be great if certain foods relieved muscle aches and pains and simply eating could help us avoid the soreness that often follows a hard workout? Recent research touted by cherry producers suggests that cherries may have NSAID-like effects (NSAIDs are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen), dulling the pain in muscles stressed by too much exercise.

Athletes young and old are well aware of the aches, pains, sprains, and strains that often accompany training and competition, so it’s no surprise that use of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) is common among athletes. But do NSAIDs actually deliver the pain-relief that athletes seek and, if so, are those benefits worth the risk of using drugs with well-established side effects?

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. So goes the old saying intended to convey the futility of trying to get people to do things they are unmotivated to do. As it turns out, there is a fair amount of unintended science behind that time-worn idiom.

Simply put, no prescription medication or dietary supplement is powerful enough to produce the myriad
benefits of regular physical activity. Whether you prefer to call it training, working out, exercising, being active, or just plain moving, almost anything you do beyond being a couch potato will benefit your health. Not surprisingly, when it comes to health benefits, more activity is better than less activity, but just how active is active enough?

To fully substantiate benefit claims, SSI relies upon an evidence-based taxonomic approach to identify and evaluate the relevant scientific literature.

This document provides a brief review of relevant scientific literature pertaining to the value of adequate fluid and nutrient intake before, during, and after vigorous physical activity in which sweat loss occurs.

These tips on hydrating and fueling will help you get the most out of your body during training and competition.