Lemonade NOT Apple Juice

This is not a promotion for lemonade as a drink of choice over apple juice. So why, you may be wondering am I suggesting lemonade NOT apple juice? Well you will just have to keep reading to find out!

I was watching an episode of 'The Doctors' recently when Jillian Michaels, Biggest Loser trainer and health and wellness expert, said something that was both disgusting yet educating. In regards to hydration, Jillian commented that "You want your pee to look like lemonade NOT apple juice".

I guess most of us know this quite well but how many actually adhere to it?

From L to R: Dr Lisa Masterson, Dr Andrew Ordon, Dr Travis Stork, Jillian Michaels, Dr Jim Sears, Dr Wendy Walsh

We all know that to keep our bodies healthy we should drink water - some say 2L a day (8 glasses), others say drink 250ml for every 10kg of body weight. But how much should we actually be drinking?

And while some may argue the fact that drinking coffee, alcohol, tea, juice or soda should count towards your daily water consumption - IT DOESN'T!!! Yes, all those products do contain water but they also contain sugar, additives, caffeine, etc. The best way to keep hydrated is to drink water in its purest form.

A really good way to ensure you keep hydrated is to keep a bottle of water in your bag, on your desk and in your car. If you have water close to you, you are probably more likely to drink it!

So back to the ideal quantity of water, there is no magic amount. But it is a good idea to aim for approximately 2L a day, give or take, depending on your size. If you are participating in physical activities or the weather is hot, increase the amount of water you are drinking. Every time you go to the toilet, take a quick look at the colour of your pee. If it looks more like lemonade then you're doing great, but if it looks more like apple juice then DRINK UP ASAP!!!

So remember, lemonade NOT apple juice!

JW

Trick or Treat

Halloween may have come and gone this year but there is still plenty of trick or treating going on - in the supermarket, that is.

Food is marketed in a way which makes it appear healthy and nutritious when in fact it is quite the opposite.

Take this product for example:

This is a box of Kellogg's Rice Krispies (known as Rice Bubbles in Australia and NZ). What information do you think they are trying to get across? The main messages on this box are:

• helps support your child's immunity
• 25% daily value of antioxidants & nutrients (Vitamins A, B, C & E)
• made from rice

Now let's dig deeper and see what they are NOT trying to get across:

• the actual rice crisps are made of rice and a sugar paste
• no scientific evidence of actually supporting children's immunity
• first 4 ingredients are: rice (white rice, a high GI product), sugar, salt, malt flavouring
• simple carbohydrates which do not provide sustainable energy
• highly processed

Rice Krispies are just one example of misleading advertising particularly targeted at children and mothers.

Tricks NOT Treats

There are plenty of products on the supermarket shelves labelled as 99% fat free. This is great news for those who are looking to lose a few pounds - but is it really? Yes it may be 99% fat free but how about sugar content, salt and preservatives? Usually a product's nutritional claim to fame is also a cover for something else. So beware!

If that wasn't confusing enough, basic ingredients such as fats, sugar and sodium have multiple names. I guess criminals are not the only ones who go by aliases.

Aliases of fat: Saturated – beef fat, butter fat, shortening, coconut, coconut oil, copha, cream, dripping, lard, sour cream, palm oil; Monounsaturated – canola, olive oils, margarines, peanut oil, avocado, nuts; Polyunsaturated – seeds, sesame, sunflower, safflower, corn, soya bean, grape seed oils, mayonnaise, margarines, fish oils

Aliases of sugar: honey, sucrose, maltose, lactose, fructose, dextrose, glucose, malt, glucose syrup, corn syrup, monosaccharides, xylitol, polysaccarides, manitol, sorbitol, ‘carbohydrates modified’, molasses, disaccharides

Aliases of sodium: salt, monosodium glutamate, meat extract, yeast extract, hydrolysed vegetable protein, meat protein, stock, vegetable salt, baking soda, baking powder

The most nutritious foods are the ones that do not come with a label - these are foods that come straight from the ground or have a mother. They do not need fancy labelling or a catchy slogan, they speak for themselves. But in this day and age convenience seems to take priority.

So try and spend a little extra time at the supermarket and make sure you know what you are ACTUALLY buying and not what the manufacturers want you to think you are buying!

JW

Finding the One

A healthy relationship requires:

• honesty
• effective communication
• commitment
• openness
• goal setting
• compromise

And this is EXACTLY what is needed when finding a compatible personal trainer.

A trainer is NOT just someone who prescribes an exercise program for you. They are there to educate, inform, train, encourage and support you.

In my professional experience, I have come across a LOT of personal trainers. Some good, some bad, some great and some mediocre.

But what separates the good from the bad, the mediocre from the great is just one thing - a genuine desire to make a real difference in someone's life. And who better epitomises this than Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper - the original Biggest Loser USA trainers. They have different training styles but at the end of the day it's their passion and genuine interest in helping people improve their health and live a higher quality life that makes them leaders in the industry.

And just like any relationship, you have to go through some bad ones before you find a good one.

Here are some pointers on what to look for in an ideal trainer:

• good knowledge of health and exercise
• enthusiasm for their job
• passion for helping others
• helps you to establish realistic goals and ways to achieve them
• keeps you accountable
• gives you their undivided attention
• knows when to push you and when to hold back
• practices what they preach
• able to do more than count repetitions

If you do have a personal trainer, make the most of them. You're probably spending a good $60 an hour so make them earn their coin. Ask questions about the exercises you are doing and why you are doing them? Ask about injuries and prevention?

The best trainers are not necessarily those who are the most attractive or have the biggest muscles - it's the ones who get down and help you with the exercise, correct your form, provide encouraging words during those final, torturous reps and show a real interest in YOU. They are the real gems and the ones who are paving the way for a healthier world.

JW

The phenomenon of barefoot running

Last month in The Age Good Weekend magazine (1/10) there was an article written by John Van Tiggelen on the phenomenon of barefoot running: Bare foot forward. This has been on the back of much conjecture surrounding the benefits of barefoot running as opposed to traditional running.

Image: Good Weekend Magazine 1/10/11

If you haven't heard about barefoot running or minimalistic training, the basic philosophy suggest that evolution has encouraged and enabled us to run barefoot and this is the way we should be running. Everything it seems is getting more advanced as a way to do things faster and more efficiently - tvs, computers, phones, cars but in reality some things should really return to basics with running shoes being one of these.

The phrase "less is more" couldn't be more appropriate in this context.

The modern day runnings shoes produced by the sporting giants - Nike, Adidas, Brooks, Asics, Mizuno, are the result of years of research and refinement by sport doctors and shoe companies. They concluded that our feet needed more cushioning, more support and more stability. This produced a running shoe with a thicker heel, extra cushioning around the mid-foot and an improved instep to prevent the foot from rolling in.

The Gel-Kayano series of running shoes produced by ASICS are one of the most popular and best selling running shoes in the world. They first appeared on the market in 1993 and remain a dominant force in the market despite the first two models struggling with the public. ASICS came out with their 17th series in 2011 and have no plans to stop anytime soon.

The original ASICS Gel-Kayano series 1

ASICS Gel-Kayano series 17

But with all this advancement in shoe technology you would think there would be a decrease in the number of running injuries. Sport doctors have found that running injuries have actually increased with patients coming in suffering from shin splints, runner's knee (Illiotibial band syndrome), achilles tendonitis, stress fractures, just to name a few.

Running shoes are designed with a raised heel which in fact forces your heel to strike the ground first. And if you know basic physics, then every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The reaction in this case is the impact (approx. 3 times your body weight) absorbed by the heels which in turn travel up through the ankles, knees and hips. Shoe manufacturers have tried to address this by incorporating different materials into the heel - gel, air, springs, etc.

Nike Shox

Landing on your heels causes deceleration - imagine driving a car, pressing the brakes and then accelerating again - over and over again. This is what happens EVERY TIME your feet hit the ground. Over time this constant acceleration/deceleration can result in serious injury. If you have ever tried running without shoes, your feet naturally strike the ground mid-foot or forefoot, cushioning the impact without deceleration, allowing a smoother push off for the next step. This is how mankind has evolved and modern running shoes have mutated this natural evolution.

Traditional running shoes vs. Barefoot/minimalistic running shoes

In terms of practicality, barefoot running poses a number of safety concerns. Consistent barefoot runners develop tougher and thicker skin allowing them to handle the conditions of the ground. The new crop of minimalistic running shoes mimic the natural action of an actual foot. And as a result allows the runner to strike naturally on the balls of their feet.

Vibram, an Italian shoe manufacturer first produced the FiveFingers shoes in 2005. Appearance-wise they look a bit like gloves for your feet and most people would not find themselves wearing something like this. Minimalistic shoes such as these are meant to "retrain" your feet to strike naturally when running - in other words, barefoot running without actually having to run barefoot.

Vibram FiveFinger shoes

You only have to look at African runners to see the concept in action. Abebe Bikila from Ethiopia was the first African to win a gold medal. He competed in the marathon in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Bikila found that the shoes provided to him were uncomfortable and chose to run the entire race (42km) barefoot. Fast forward to the 1980s and South African runner Zola Budd dominated women's long distance running. She was unusual in that she predominantly trained and raced barefoot.

Abebe Bikila (left) and Rhadi Ben Abdesselam of Morocco (right)

Zola Budd

Most people do not realise the majority of elite runners train and race in minimalistic shoes. They see the benefits of improved technique, softer landing, corrective striking and increased flexibility.

For all the critics out there who suggest barefoot running is just another fad, they may or may not be right. While the concept itself has been around since the beginning of time, the publicity and exposure to the general public is quite recent and only further research and time will tell what the long term effects of minimalistic training are.

So remember to put your best foot forward!

JW