Supplement Highlight - Creatine
We’re continuing down the ingredient list of pre-workouts and highlighting the ones that are worth taking, bringing us to Creatine. Creatine Monohydrate is the most effective performance enhancing nutritional supplement when it comes to increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training. While there is still some controversy around this supplement, there is no scientific evidence that short- or long-term use of creatine has any detrimental effects on otherwise healthy individuals.
Supplement Highlight - Caffeine
Pre-Workout supplements are incredibly popular and many make claims that only their special blend will increase your strength, allow you to get more reps in before failure, bust through plateaus, and basically become the Incredible Hulk for an hour each day you are in the gym. When it comes to ergogenic or performance enhancing supplements, there are only a handful that can reliably back up the claims they make, and no one company has an exclusive right to these ingredients. The most commonly consumed in a Pre-Workout supplement is caffeine. But do you know what caffeine actually does for you during a workout?
Are Fruits Unhealthy to Eat on a Daily Basis?
With the rise in popularity of low carbohydrate diets and studies showing excessive fructose consumption can have negative effects on the body, many have become confused about whether or not fruit is a healthy choice to consume on a regular basis. So, we’d like to clarify a few things.
Since fruit does contain fructose, some worry that including these foods will lead to fat gain and other health issues. However, a meta-analysis through the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that about 25-40 grams of fructose per day is safe. In order to exceed this amount of fructose through fruit alone, you would have to consume somewhere between 3-5 medium apples, 5-8 cups of blueberries, or 5-8 bananas daily, which should sound like an unreasonable amount of fruit to have in one day.
What is Performance Nutrition?
While I no longer get as many questions about which sports team I want to work for, I do find there is still confusion over what services a Registered Dietitian, and more specifically, what a Performance Dietitian has to offer.
First, I want to explain what Performance Nutrition IS NOT:
I can’t tell you how many articles, ads, and emails I run into with titles like, “10 Secret Foods That Will Make You Strong Like a Navy Seal” or “5 Foods That are Destroying Your Gut to Stop Eating Now!” They usually jump right into food choices without any mention of what your caloric intake should be, or what your macronutrient composition should consist of. They just focus on the quality of certain foods when only looking at them in isolation.
Another misconception is that Performance Nutrition is all about supplements, how to stack them in combination, or what to take when. While I do discuss supplements with clients, I consider them the least important thing in regards to modifying your nutrition for performance. Once everything else is dialed in, then there are a handful of supplements that may provide an additional benefit to help you reach your goals.
Keto vs. Carbs
Current evidence suggests that low-carbohydrate/Ketogenic diets do not offer a fat loss advantage over non-Keto diets when caloric and protein intake are matched. As long as you are in a caloric deficit, and consuming adequate amounts of protein to preserve lean body mass, you can lose fat just as effectively on a high-carb diet as you can on a Keto diet.
Individuals who follow a Keto diet tend to consume fewer calories than those on a regular diet. This is likely due to the fact that foods typically consumed on a Keto diet can be quite filling, which makes sense considering fats are the most satiating macronutrient!
It’s important to recognize that carbohydrates are not evil. Carbs are our primary fuel source. They provide energy for muscle function and they are also the main fuel for our brain.
However, one of the most important factors with any diet strategy is how well YOU can stick to it. So, if a Keto diet sounds appealing to you, it is worth trying!
If you’re curious about the Keto diet, or finding out what diet is best for you and your goals, reach out to our Registered Dietitian Eddie Fitzgerald at Eddie.chaineffect@gmail.com for a FREE 30-minute initial consultation.
The Benefits of Foam Rolling
What is foam rolling?
Foam rolling, also known as self-myofascial release (SMR), is a self-massage technique that uses your own bodyweight and a simple piece of foam to help release muscle restrictions and improve soft tissue pliability. Foam rollers can be purchased for less than $20 and are an effective way to improve your mobility and fitness performance.
Take Control of Stress with NuCalm
Chain Effect is an exclusive provider of the NuCalm experience in the triangle.
Dry Needling vs. Acupuncture
A conversation I have at some point with just about every client is: “What is dry needling and how is it different than acupuncture?”
Getting Your Vitamin D From Food
In our protein packed, low carb crazed society we often neglect the importance of vitamins and minerals to our bodies' crucial systems. In the winter months we can be at risk for lower Vitamin D levels since sunlight helps our skin naturally make it. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin important for our immune system, muscle and nerve function, and more notably, for aiding absorption of calcium and phosphorus to have strong bones and teeth. Peak bone mass is typically reached in women in their early 20s and in men by age 30. To combat the gradual decline of bone density which occurs as we age, a lifestyle rich in calcium and Vitamin D is critical.
Taking my own advice
This past Christmas was spent on the couch. You can save the assumptions of me just being a lazy NFL watching lug, because normally you would be spot on. But this time it was at least in part due to my second knee surgery of the year....