Fitness & Wellness

I love my job. I get to see so many interesting people and learn so much from my clients that it’s amazing and fun. I have one woman who I would rank right up there when it comes to eating healthy. She grows much of her own food and raises herbs, too. She’s a wealth of knowledge when it comes to adding herbs to meals. She even gave me several ideas on how I can create healthier meals with herbs and spices. Her approach was simple. She cut herbs every morning, put them in a glass and when she made supper, just threw in a few with each dish. I took it a step further, since I don’t grow my own, but should. Here are some ways to use herbs and their health benefits.

Basil comes in a lot of different varieties.

There are an endless amount of varieties of basil. Sweet basil is the most common variety and is often used in pesto. Genovese basil is also used in popular Italian dishes. Thai basil with its licorice flavor graces Asian dishes. Lemon and lime basil are great for desserts and fish. I also use lemon basil with pork. I love smelling cinnamon basil, but also adding it to my favorite healthy chili dish. Each one has a different taste and slightly different nutritional and health benefits. On the whole, basil is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It contains cinnamanic acid, which studies show helps to enhance circulation, improve breathing if you have a respiratory disorder and stabilize blood sugar. If you have an abundance of basil, throw a few extra leaves in your salad for more flavor and nutrition. It contains vitamin A, K, C, Magnesium, iron, potassium and calcium with almost no calories.

Chives are so rewarding and you can eat the flowers.

A number of studies have been done with chives on its effects as a cancer fighter. It’s shown to reduce the risk of several types of caner when consumed regularly. It also contains choline that helps with brain functions, muscle movements and sleep and can help build bones with the vitamin K, while also reducing inflammation. Add them to almost any main dish for additional oniony flavor. Use both the stems and flowers in salads. Chives contain folate, calcium, magnesium, vitamin K, phosphorus, choline and potassium, but hardly any calories. One tablespoon is about one calorie.

With Coriander, you get a two-fer.

If you grow coriander and cut the stems early, you’ll have cilantro. Let them go to seed and you have coriander seed. It’s amazing, but cilantro, the leaves, have higher vitamin content and corriander has a higher mineral content. Cilantro contains higher amounts of vitamins A, K and E and the seeds, coriander, had more copper, phosphorous, selenium, potassium, zinc, manganese, iron, magnesium and calcium. Pair coriander with fruit and cruciferous vegetables. Use cilantro in stir fry and of course, salsa and guacamole.

• You don’t have to follow a recipe to get the benefits of herbs. Try throwing them in a salad or add to stir fry at the last minute before serving.
• Lemon balm is from the mint family, so if you grow it, it will spread, but mostly by seeding. It’s a great addition to dishes with fish, sea food and even with asparagus. Anywhere you’d use lemon, lemon balm can boost the flavor. It has a number health benefits. Use it for a refreshing summer tea.
• Fennel is a favorite of mine. It’s beautiful soft ferny fronds create a great display. It smells like licorice and I’ve eaten both the leaves and seeds to settle my stomach. You can also eat the bulb. It contains sodium, potassium, Vitamin A, C, B6, E, K, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, niacin, folate, choline, lutein and pantothenic acid.
• Lemon grass, rosemary, thyme, sage and many other herbs add extra nutrition to every dish. The curcumin in turmeric has also been studied for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits. It’s even been researched as a possible cure for Alzheimer’s.

Everyone seems to be busy here in San Antonio. I hear the excuse that there’s no time to exercise at least three times a day. The good news is that you don’t have to do a long workout to reap rewards. In fact, on those days you’re thoroughly bombed throughout the day, you don’t even have to come to the gym. If you find yourself in that super busy group, whether it’s just for now or continuously, your personal trainer will be happy to help you find ways to supplement your gym time and exercises to do on your own. Here are a few of the alternatives you can do when you’re swamped with work, on vacation or throughout the off day at the gym.

It only takes 30 minutes a day to get health benefits.

Even better than that, you don’t have to do it all at once. Conventional wisdom tells us that breaking that thirty minutes down to ten minute segments might be easier to fit into your schedule. You could take a brisk ten minute walk in the morning, walk to lunch (don’t forget to take the stairs) and take a ten minute walk when you get home. Your trainer can also provide a quick workout in the morning that just takes ten minutes, but works all the body parts.

Do you walk 10,000 steps a day?

There’s nothing like a little technology to keep you honest AND interested in working out. I love the pedometers that you can wear all day. It reminds you just how much or little you move throughout the day. In fact, one of the people that workout here bought an inexpensive one on a whim. She said she was surprised at just how little she moved throughout the day. Periodically, she’d walk in place, take the stairs or park further from the store just to boost the number of steps she took the previous day. On those days you’re too busy to workout, just make sure you take 10,000 steps a day.

There’s a theory you can get a good workout in four minutes—done three times a day.

I’m always learning new things and interested in all things pertaining to good health. When I saw a video from Dr. Zach Bush called the four minute Nitric Oxide Dump, it made me immediately think of some of my busy clients. While this type of workout definitely won’t replace an hour at the gym, doing it three times a day can definitely boost your overall fitness. You do four exercises ten times for each set and do three sets each time. It burns off the nitric oxide and takes 2 hours to replenish it, so it can be done every two hours three times a day. You can do these ANYWHERE! The four exercises are squats, snow angel, tin soldier and military press. All these look simple, but by the third set, you’ll be breathing hard. BTW, you MUST breathe through your nose to maximize the benefits.

• For those with children or grandchildren, adding more movement to the day can be as simple as taking ten minutes periodically to play tag, b-ball or other quick game. It not helps keep you in shape, it creates a moment in time they’ll always remember.
• Consider riding a bike from the house to the train station and from the train station to work. Especially in the city, the bike is often faster than driving a car. Including quick trips by bike or on foot rather than taking a car can improve your fitness plan.
• Is your scheduled really so packed that there’s no time to workout? Look at it again and see if you can’t schedule a workout in the morning before work or use your lunchtime to workout.
• Nobody is asking you to completely give up TV, but consider the time you spend watching. You can multitask by walking in place or on a treadmill while your favorite show is playing and do body weight exercises during commercial. Your personal trainer will help create a routine.

I love to discuss a variety of different ideas on fitness in the blogs. Some I agree with, some I don’t, but explain why and some are interesting concepts that make me stop and think. Intermittent fasting is on the cusp of agreement and interesting for a variety of reasons AND depending how it’s done. Some people do water fasts for days, stating it cleanses their bodies and helps them get back to metabolic normal. Others simply eat all their meals in a eight hour window, ending early one evening and starting later the next day. For instance, the final meal for the day might be at 5 o’clock on Wednesday and the next meal is at 9 am on Thursday. They haven’t really missed a meal, but did actually fast for 16 hours.

There are other more restrictive types of intermittent fasting.

While I rather like the 16/8 fast there are a number of ways to fast. Aside from the water fast, which can last for days, particularly at supervised medical facilities, most of the other fasts aren’t really total fasts but modified eating plans. These plans require you to eat smaller, super low calorie meals on one day or two with normal eating on the other days. The Warrior fast allows you to eat a light amount during the day, like a piece of fruit or two and a huge meal in the evening. I understand why some of the concepts aid weight loss, but seriously, like the 16/8 fast the most.

Intermittent fasting can cause healthy changes in your body.

Insulin levels in your blood drop when you’re fasting. That can increase the amount of fat your body will burn. When you fast, even for a short a period as 16 hours, your body starts repairing itself at the cellular level and removing cellular waste material. Gene’s for longevity change beneficially and the amount of HGH—human growth hormone—increase in the blood. The higher the levels of HGH, the more potential for fat burning and muscle building.

Chronic diseases can potentially be reduced.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are often one of the causes of chronic disease and definitely adds to the aging of the body. A number of studies not only show that intermittent fasting can be a proponent for your body, helping to reduce inflammation, while also improving the body’s resistance to potential oxidative stress. You’ll look and feel better longer. One researcher hypothesized that perhaps the benefits came from the stress put on the cells, which in turn caused them to adapt and enhance their ability to cope with stress. That’s similar to what happens when you exercise.

• Intermittent fasting often works to help people shed unwanted pounds. It often occurs because they simply don’t have time to eat as much as they normally would.
• Intermittent fasting has proven effective to boost your memory. Fasting creates ketones, those help protect memory and improve learning, while also slow brain diseases.
• While most studies have been on rats, rather than humans, research shows that short term fasts could help slow the development of Alzheimer’s. Human studies show that short-term fasts often reduced the Alzheimer’s symptoms significantly in 90 percent of the cases.
• Rat studies showed that intermittent fasting actually extended the lifespan of rats. Rats who fasted on alternate days lived 83 percent longer than those eating normal meals each day.

There’s a lot of talk about the dangers of taking too many NSAIDs. NSAIDs—nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs—include a long list of drugs, but the best known are probably aspirin, ibuprofen, celecoxib, naproxen and oxaprozin, although there are several more. While the link to stomach problems and Reyes syndrome has been quite publicized, there are other conditions that they can exacerbate. Increased risk of heart failure and increased risk of renal failure are two reasons to limit the use of these drugs and the potential for an allergic reaction is the third.

If you’re in pain, you want something to take it away, quickly.

People who suffer from chronic pain face the most risk. Arthritis victims are often facing severe daily pain, as well as those who suffer from other chronic conditions. Anyone who pushes themselves in the gym on a daily basis often knows that sometimes that extra weight lifted or push to do more comes with consequences. If you have float therapy or cryotherapy available in your area, these are two natural ways to relieve pain without ingesting any drug.

Try these herbs that have anti-inflammatory properties.

Ginger, turmeric and Valerian root are three herbal alternatives that can help pain. You can use all three to make tea to help soothe pain. Turmeric comes in capsule form or you can create a paste and apply it to the area affected. Be aware that it turns the area a vivid yellow. One study shows that while NSAIDs do stop inflammation, ginger not only does the same, but also provides antioxidants that breaks up the inflammation already existing and neutralizes the acidity of the fluid in arthritic joints. These natural anti-inflammatories also come with other benefits and have no side effects.

Create your own pain relief cream from chili peppers.

Once when a member of my family was in dire need of some muscle pain relief and the stores were closed, I rumaged through my cupboards to see what I had available. Luckily, it was summer and we had loads of super hot peppers in the garden. I mixed turmeric, some ginger, coconut oil and whole hot peppers—minus stem—in the blender and applied it to the area that hurt. It worked, but it did stain everything a blissful yellow. Since then, I’ve found online recipes that will keep for weeks and are far better. It’s a cheaper alternative to capsaicin cream, which also works for muscle strains and arthritis.

• Soak in Epsom salt. The magnesium in Epsom salt enters the body transdermally—through the skin. It helps reduce muscle spasms, the pain of migraines and fibromyalgia. Eating sunflower and pumpkin seeds also increases magnesium levels.
• White willow bark was the first aspirin. The bark contains a substance called salicin that changes to salicylic acid in the stomach. Basically, that’s what aspirin is. However, synthetically produced, as in aspirin, it can cause stomach upset. The natural alternative—white willow bark doesn’t and still provides relief.
• Stress can cause pain and tension. A cup of chamomile tea can help.
• A massage is also relaxing and can help with deep muscle tension and pain.

I always say that anytime you can exercise is a good time, there are still some exceptions to the rule. Sometimes, people live a sedentary life five days a week and then become the GI Joe of the gym on the weekends. If you find your weekly schedule too crowded for exercise and spend your weekend focused on getting healthier and fitter, you need to be aware of the dangers of being a gym weekend warrior. Exercising is important, no matter when you do it, but you must watch out for these pitfalls.

There are studies that show weekend warriors get health benefits from getting all the exercise necessary in one or two days.

One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine used information surveyed from 63,591 adults. The survey showed that exercise lowered the risk of death approximately 30 percent, regardless of whether the exercise was done in one or two sessions a week or spread out throughout the week. The one or two sessions had to equal the same amount of time spent in five or more sessions to get the same results. The amount of time spent in vigorous activity should be approximately 75 minutes or 150 minutes of moderate activity.

Your risk of heart disease is lowered no matter what way you exercise, but there are other risks.

Even though you get the heart healthy benefits when you’re a weekend gym warrior, you face other risks. The risk of injury grows when you push too hard on just one or two days. People who just exercise on the weekend often push hard or enjoy sports on the weekend, rather than just spend two and a half hours walking. That vigorous exercise can cause musculoskeletal injuries due to overuse. Exercising on a regular basis throughout the week tends to reduce the likelihood of fractures and strains. Too vigorous of a workout can trigger rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to serious complications.

Ease into your workout by preparing your body for the high intensity.

One reasons weekend warriors often suffer from injuries is that their muscles aren’t ready for the sudden jolt. You also have to be aware of the the potential for dehydration, keeping sports drinks and water close at hand, particularly on hot days. You can prepare you body by focusing on a pre and post workout stretching, plus adequate hydration. Adequate warm-up and cool down are of prime importance particularly if you are sedentary throughout the week. Work with a personal trainer to create a list of stretches you can do the first thing in the morning or later in the day to boost your flexibility and help prevent strains It doesn’t take much activity throughout the week to lower the risk of injury. Devoting just ten minutes each day to stretching exercises lowers the risk dramatically.

If your schedule is so demanding that weekends are the only possible answer, start slowly and gradually ease into an intense workout. Run a few laps and do stretches before playing ball with friends. It can help prevent damage that will keep you out of the game for a long time.

To get the maximum benefit from your workout, especially if it’s only one or two days a week, consider adding High Intensity Interval Training—HIIT—to your workout program. You’ll get maximum benefit in the shortest amount of time.

For those inactive during the week and switch up to high activity on weekends. Be aware of the symptoms of rhabdomyolysis and/or dehydration. Avoid training in extremely hot weather. Rhabdomyolysis can be extremely dangerous and even life threatening.