superadmin

If you’ve ever listened to the talk the airlines give before taking off, you’ll hear that parents should put on oxygen masks before fitting one on their child. That almost sounds counter to intuition, but there’s a good reason. The adult needs to stay alert to take care of the child. The same is true about staying healthy, especially if you’re busy with being a parent, work and everything taking care of a family entails.

You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can get things done when you’re healthier.

If you’re tired, it’s harder to get things done quickly. You simply move slower. When you’re fit, have adequate sleep and more energy, you literally zip through tasks, even mental ones. Getting fit by exercising and eating healthier can help boost your overall energy. Of course, you need adequate sleep, too. You’ll be surprised at how that extra time you took to exercise actually saves time when doing other tasks, due to the energy factor.

It isn’t selfish to take time to care for yourself.

Maybe the results of an unhealthy lifestyle won’t affect you immediately, but they can. You may be more susceptible to minor illnesses, more falls or just being too tired to finish something. Maybe the results of a lifetime of neglecting yourself will lead to a serious condition when you age. Either way, you’ll be ready to help your family when they need you most and take care of them when you live a healthier lifestyle. On the other hand, if you don’t, they could be spending their days caring for you.

Kids learn what they live.

If you’re living a healthy lifestyle, you’re putting your child in an environment where they learn how to become a healthier adult. Children look to their parents as role models and if you are overweight or have unhealthy habits, they probably will too. When you’re serving healthy meals, kids adopt that as part of their life. If you’re an active parent that participates in sports, hiking, biking or other activities, your kids will learn an active lifestyle.

• You’ll be less cranky when you’re fit. No matter how great of a mother you are, some days the littlest thing can set you off and may even require an apology later, or at least an explanation. If you’re healthy and fit, you’ll be more apt to act with grace under pressure.
• Have bottled water in the refrigerator for the entire family. Get your kids in the habit of drinking water instead of soft drinks, juices or sugary drinks.
• A healthy mom also has healthier snacks ready in the refrigerator, for both her and her kids. Focusing on healthier treats as a reward can also teach your children to embrace healthier eating.
• Being a mom may be your most important job, but it doesn’t mean you have to be a mom 24/7. You need to take time to yourself, even if it’s just a half hour a day, to de-stress and recoup. Use that time for meditation, a warm bath or just counting your blessings.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

If you’re a regular at Team Worx in Alexandria, VA, you understand that both diet and exercise affect your whole body and help you lose weight. Most people understand that exercise can boost their mood, primarily through boosting circulation, burning off hormones of stress and replacing them with feel good hormones. Nutrition affects mental health, too. Since biochemicals affect your behavior, it only makes sense that if you provide the right types of food, they’ll contain the nutrients that help boost those biochemicals.

Feed your belly bugs.

Microbes in your digestive system play a role in your mood and emotions. Studies on the gut microbiome of people with anxiety and depression compared to those that don’t show that there’s a difference in the species. Microbes that produce short-chain fatty acids, thought to regulate the nervous system, are more prominent in people without depression or anxiety. Also, people with anxiety and depression tend to have more microbes that cause inflammation. While scientists still aren’t sure why that correlation exists, some think it’s because some bacteria may stimulate the vagus nerve, one that controls such responses as heart rate, mood, digestion and the immune response. Others think it may be due to the inflammation some bacteria cause.

You’ll boost your energy when you eat healthy.

Having adequate energy is important for both the body and the brain. It’s also important to provide food that’s high in antioxidants, preventing damage from oxidative stress. In fact, many studies are following anti-inflammatory herbs and their effect on diseases of the brain like Alzheimer’s and dementia. The energy has to come from natural sources and not those with added sugar, since sugar can cause fluctuations in insulin and inflammation. Various studies show a diet high in sugar adds to the potential of mood swings and depression.

Is your brain having problems sending messages?

Your diet can also play a role in whether you have problems sleeping, your appetite patterns, mood swings and sensitivity to pain. You might be surprised, but all those things are greatly influenced by serotonin, which is created in the digestive tract. The digestive tract has millions of nerve cells and neurotransmitters, all directly affected by the gut’s microbiome. There are body and mood friendly microbes and ones that cause harm. A healthy diet improves the colonies of body and mind beneficial bacteria, fungi and other microbes.

One study showed that people who eat a diet high in whole grains, fruit and vegetables are at less risk of depression. Another study showed that schizophrenia patients who took an antibiotic targeting a certain bacterium had fewer symptoms.

One study investigated the difference between a traditional Japanese diet, the Mediterranean diet and the typical American diet and found that the more processed food the diet contained and less fermented food, the more potential for depression.

Studies show that food high in omega-3 fatty acid helped reduce the number of violent events significantly in a prison. Vitamin B, D, tryptophan and folic acid also improve mood.

Herb like cinnamon can help ADHD and reduce irritability. Dopamine rich foods, such as green tea and nuts improve focus. Dark chocolate boosts serotonin. Magnesium containing food, such as cashews, beets and summer squash are good for anxiety.

As more and more people in Alexandria, VA, start to find the latest craze, Boba tea, I get more and more questions on its health benefits and nutritional value. First, let’s look at exactly what boba tea is. Most people trace the origins back to Taiwan, where it’s as popular as coffee is in America. It’s normally a combination of sweetened milk tea with both artificial and natural flavors in it, then topped off with tapioca pearls that look a bit like bubbles as they emerge. Hence, the name boba which is a reference to the bubbles.

You need a big straw to drink boba tea.

Unlike coffee, you don’t chug the tea, but drink it through a straw. It’s part of the fun of drinking the tea, those chewy little pearls of tapioca pop into your mouth one at a time and getting the pleasure of chewing your drink. It also comes in a variety of flavors, just like the popular coffees do today. While some of the ingredients in boba tea provide health benefits, others do not. For instance, the tea used as the base is healthy, but the sweeteners and syrups reduce the health benefits.

Plain tea vs boba tea.

Most boba tea starts out as milk tea, then tapioca balls are added. Tea of any kind has health benefits. It contains caffeine that are in smaller amounts than coffee, but still provide a benefit. Caffeine in smaller amounts is known for being heart healthy. It contains polyphenols, which are antioxidants to protect you at a cellular level. Green tea especially is also heart healthy, improves brain function, helps increase fat loss and helps prevent cancer.

It’s the fixins’ that can interfere with the health benefits.

While we all know about the benefits of milk, thanks to the Dairy Counsel, and now understand how tea is healthy, what about the rest of the drink? Boba tea that’s loaded with sweeteners and artificial flavoring isn’t the same as drinking plain tea or milk tea. Even plain milk tea has 140 calories compared to drinking plain green tea, which has zero calories. Now when you add the extra sweetener and flavored syrups, you end up with as many calories as you might consume in a meal.

• Boba tea can be served hot or cold. It can be as simple as any type of tea with tapioca balls or as complex milk tea with a variety of flavors and jellies or other types of soft gelatinous balls as the floaters instead of tapioca pearls.
• The tapioca pearls are traditionally made from tapioca starch and a ten gram serving contains an additional 35 calories. Even those have been changed in many cases, and sweeteners are added to boost the calorie count.
• The syrups added to the boba tea also add additional calories, which can make it even harder to shed pounds if you drink one or two a day with all the extras. The high sugar content can increase the risk for insulin resistance.
• Just like the healthy benefits of coffee that diminish because of the extra calories, when you order a mocha Frappuccino containing 500 Calories and sweeteners, all the additives in boba tea can diminish the health benefits of tea.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

At TeamWorx in Alexandria, VA, our goal is to help you become fit, which means focusing on both exercise and nutrition. During your time in the gym, we attempt to answer questions immediately, but when they are asked a lot, often answer in a blog, so you have more time for other questions. Recently, there’s a lot of talk about carb timing You may have seen it on TikTok, where people consumed Rice Krispie bars before going to the gym, but it has been part of marathons for years, but called carb loading.

Pre and post workout snacks are examples of carbohydrate timing.

Eating a combination of carbohydrates and protein before and after a workout has its benefits. These light snacks can be as simple as peanut butter on an apple or cottage cheese and fruit. The concept is that the carbs provide instant energy and the protein to help retain muscle and for a longer energy boost. After your workout, the snack helps replenish glycogen and improves muscle repair and recovery.

Stick with food without added sugar.

If you’re going to time carbs, make them healthy. While loading up on pasta may work for marathons, it doesn’t for most carb timing. To help become your fittest, snacks need to be healthy and contain no added sugar. Fresh fruit is always a good choice and so is a sweet potato. You can combine it with protein like cheese, nuts or nut products, or even a glass of milk. Avoid junk food, like soft drinks, pasta, pretzels, desserts and candy.

You can benefit from carb timing even if you aren’t planning a workout.

Once you know that consuming some carbs before a workout can help, you can use that information when you’re not going to the gym. Are you going to be in meetings all day? Go easy on the simple carbs. If you’re not using them for instant energy, they convert to fat that’s stored. Instead, opt for lighter snacks and reduce your carbohydrate intake dramatically.

• The carbs provide fuel for exercise and if you workout without eating them first, you might not have enough energy in reserve in the form of glycogen in the muscles. Without the extra fuel, either your body breaks down muscle for energy, you don’t have as good of a workout or both.
• If you do choose simple carbs before or after a workout, use natural choices, such as fruit, which provides other benefits. The average American diet contains far too much added sugar to maintain a healthy body. Men should have 9 teaspoons a day or less and women should have no more than 6.
• If you choose a complex carb for carb timing, it can also improve your performance, while keeping blood sugar levels more stable. It can aid in boosting protein stores in the muscles. Whole grains are a source of complex carbs and when combined with a slice of cheese or turkey, a great snack.
• You may not need to do carb timing before a workout if your workout isn’t intense, but just moderate intensity. If you can talk while you’re working out, it’s moderate. If you’re gasping for air, it’s high intensity.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

People want to be healthy, and often cut out foods with added sugar, but instead choose those with honey or maple syrup, which is healthier, but still sugar. There are some alternative sugar alternatives that don’t have the same effect, but may have other complications, like explosive diarrhea and gas. Still, there are times when the desire for something sweet that isn’t fruit can become important and for those times, a healthy replacement for sugar may help.

Tagatose is a new sugar substitute that may actually help diabetics.

Tagatose or D-tagatose is made from lactose, milk sugar, but it normally doesn’t affect those who are lactose intolerant. A very small minority reported gassiness and bloating. It has some health benefits, too. It has a low glycemic index is very low in net carbohydrates. In fact, it has been shown to lower blood sugar levels in people, even if they have type 2 diabetes. One trial study showed after six months of low doses, it helped reduce insulin resistance. It’s also been shown to be a prebiotic and increase short-chain fatty acid production that reduces inflammation in the gut. It may increase uric acid or lower blood sugar too much if you’re on medication for diabetes, so if you have a history of gout, kidney stones or are taking medication, discuss it with your health care professional.

Use fruit to sweeten your food.

Instead of just eating fruit, you can use it in cooking to sweeten other dishes. Figs and date paste are often used as sweeteners. Ripe bananas can add sweetness especially when mixed with yogurt. You add no extra sweetener but get the sweet taste you’d have from added sugar. Applesauce has always been a substitute for sugar and fat, but you still have to use some sugar. It can replace half the sugar or fat in baked goods. If you want a sweet cold treat on a hot summer day, freeze fruit chunks then blend it for a sorbet without any added sugar.

Monk fruit came from Southeast Asia and has been used in Chinese medicine, but now is a sugar substitute.

Monk fruit, like many alternatives to sugar, is far sweeter. In fact, it’s between 100 and 250 times sweeter than sugar, which means a little goes a long way. It’s made from the flesh of the monk fruit and has both fructose and glucose, but that isn’t what makes it sweet. It’s the antioxidant mogrosides V that it contains. It has health benefits, like immune system, digestive tract and respiratory tract support. Manufacturers often combine it with other types of sugar, so beware when you buy it that it doesn’t contain other sugar, like corn syrup or sugar alcohol.

• Stevia, from the leaf of the Stevia rebaudiana plant, not only is an alternative sweetener that’s beneficial for diabetics, it may lower blood pressure, but only if it’s high. However, it can upset your digestive system.
• Chicory root can also be turned into a sugar substitute that also has vitamins and minerals. It isn’t no or low calorie. Just like monk fruit, you have to be careful, since it’s sometimes mixed with other sweeteners.
• Many companies use sugar alcohols as substitutes for sweeteners. Xylitol is one and it may actually help improve bone density and prevent cavities. One drawback are digestive issues and gassiness it causes.
• The diet potato or yacon plant tastes like a pear but got its nickname because it looks like a potato. It is a sugar substitute that may aid in weight loss and help prevent constipation. Tea made from the leaves have anti-diabetic properties.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness