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In general, food is often neglected or overlooked when, in fact, it should be the cornerstone of your routine. As an athlete, your body requires certain nutrients so that it can be prepared to perform at its best. That being said, don’t ever go out and grab the first diet/nutrition plan you see.

Everybody is different and so are athletes. What works for one may not work for another. I believe that having a customized nutritional program is your best bet to ensure that it’s tailored to your specific needs and your particular sport involvement.

Often poor nutrition is the cause of injury, and this type of injury doesn’t go away all by itself. These are the injuries that linger and you may never feel the same again if you don’t take proper action. Injury can also lead to chronic inflammation, which results in further injuries that your body can’t repair properly.

Its far more critical than you know

In short - make sure that you eat the right foods. It’s far more critical than you know. If you don’t have the right nutrients to perform your energy levels will be low, and you may sustain an injury. If you don’t have the proper nutrition, it will be more difficult for you to recover after exercise or injury. If you get hurt and your nutrition doesn’t feed your cellular structure, the tissue can’t be repaired and that may lead to a whole slew of other problems. If the tissue doesn’t heal properly, it can’t perform at its optimum, and optimum performance is what you strive for in your sports involvement.

Then, when you try to push yourself through your routine exercises, like you always would, you might end up hurting yourself. Damaged tissue is an injury. When it comes to food, getting what you need, and getting it at the right time, in the right form, can help you avoid injury. If you do get hurt, the right food can help in the reparation of damaged tissues.

by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright © 2013

If you are a newbie, planning to use sports to build stamina, or participating in a rigorous exercise program to build up your body strength, no matter what your age, here is some information you need to know. These are basic preventive measures to help you avoid injuries through warm ups, routine fitness check-ups and stamina-building exercises.

To begin with you need:

1. A Routine Physical Fitness Test.

Before beginning any new program, you should always consult your functional sports medicine doctor first and foremost. Usually, the human body tends to react negatively to any new activity, and when the activity is forced, it creates a stress on the body and sometimes results in injury. In talking with your doctor, you can go into your own personal health history to hopefully reduce the risk of injury. Depending on your age and physical condition, a stress test may be required. Have a “True” athletic physical assessment to assess any risk of potential injury. This is required because you must modify your sports exercise and body building programs according to your current health condition. Your doctor will advise you on how to set your limits and suggest not only the right exercise for you, but also tell you the stress level that your body can endure under your particular fitness regimen.

2. Increase your physical activity in phases.

After you’ve been cleared by your doctor, this is the second most important concept to understand. All too often many beginning athletes, with lots of enthusiasm, overexert themselves with vigorous exercising and develop fatigue from over exertion that they aren’t yet ready for. You wouldn’t ask a small child to carry something too heavy for them, would you? Then why push yourself into physical activity you’re not yet ready for? Participation in sports is not a one-day camp event nor is it the buzzer round of a quiz competition. You’re not going to walk on to a field or into a gym the first day and work like a pro. You must build to that strength level. When people participate in this mad rush and over-enthusiastic approach they often seriously hurt themselves. The wise approach is to start with warm-ups and stretches, as mentioned earlier, and start with moderate exercises for 20 minutes at the beginning, then work out three times a week and gradually build the tempo based on this initial, slow momentum.

3. Never work out on an empty stomach.

It’s a really bad practice to exercise or participate in vigorous sports immediately after having a heavy or moderately heavy meal. Just as they told you not to go swimming after eating when you were a child, similarly no sports or exercises should be undertaken on an empty stomach. You must eat at least two hours before playing the sport or working out. This will help you maintain the adequate energy levels that are required to exercise and avoid fatigue during the workout and during sports performance.

4. Drink Water Before You Exercise.

Dehydration is a great killer of personal enthusiasm and performance. Therefore, keep your body well hydrated. Drink at least 16 oz. of purified water two hours before you start your workout or your game, and drink water during your exercise or sports and performance to replenish the fluids lost during the exertion.

5. Listen to Your Body as It Speaks to You.

If you experience any weakness, sharp pain or light-headedness while exercising or playing, do not ignore these symptoms. Pay proper attention to them. These signals are your body’s way of telling you that something is going wrong and you should take action immediately. If you ignore these warnings, that’s a sure way to develop severe and chronic problems and injuries. When you do not feel well, you should rest until your body recovers. If the body sends these signals repeatedly, get to your doctor right away.

6. Rest and Recover.

It is important to rest. Sleep is one of the best ways to recover your body’s energy level, but sleep alone might not be enough for some people with less stamina. If they work out too much for too long, it can lead to overtraining syndrome and possibly harm the body, by reducing the body’s immunity, instead of benefiting it.

7. Cross Train with Neuro-stabilization.

Human beings have a creative mindset. If they are asked to do the same work every day, they ultimately get bored. Similarly, people who perform the same exercises every day are prone to develop ‘workout boredom’. The best remedy for this is cross-training. It provides a complete workout for your body without overstressing certain muscle groups.

8. Wear the right gear for the specific sport.

You don’t wear workout sweats while going to a black-tie party, do you? No way! People would think you were nuts if you did! In the same way, wearing the proper sports gear and footwear is essential to prevent injuries as well as wearing the appropriate safety equipment, as advised by your coach or trainer. The proper gear is designed to protect from you from accidental injuries.

by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright © 2013

The first thing that you must understand is that there is a significant difference between an injury and physical soreness. As soreness is common, usually something you will feel directly after exercising, being in a game, or some other strenuous activity, you must become aware of what soreness feels like. It’s very different from an injury.

Injuries, on the other hand, are usually felt during an event and can hinder you from doing whatever you are doing, even after the event. If you are injured, when you try to resume normal workouts or game play, the damaged tissue continues to stress during any activity and you typically feel it at that time. The muscle or tissue becomes inflamed and that is something that you will notice as swelling in that part of your body. You will probably feel tenderness or a feeling of warmth to the touch.

You’re not expected to be an expert

Obviously, you’re not expected to be an expert on injury, but to know the difference between being sore and getting injured is something you must be able to determine. If you determine that you are injured, you must go to an expert for help. In the meantime, be extremely cautious! If you can’t recognize the difference between soreness and injury get yourself to an expert quickly to determine if you are sore or injured.

Please hear me clearly

I’m not saying that all nicks and dings that can occur whenever you are practicing or playing any particular sport need “medical” attention. But, injuries that go untreated can become lifelong issues. Rather than take chances with a lingering pain or discomfort from an injury, go see an expert.

by Dr. Thomas M. Mitchell, D.C., CCSP | Owner, Clinic Director Chicago Institute for Health and Wellness Copyright © 2013

From my viewpoint as a Chiropractic Physician who sees injuries daily, I think that statement is extraordinarily accurate. Wouldn’t you rather know how to prevent an injury than to deal with one after the fact, when you are in pain and suffering?

Whatever your answer is, do not worry. This book will take care of both situations. Here we’ll consider it all; from food to form and function. We’ll help you in every way, to put it all together for both the athletically inclined and for those who just want to get healthier.

Let’s analyze what’s required to prevent injuries in different situations.

The risk of injury will be significantly reduced by completing an effective warm up consisting of exercises that increase your heart rate and get your pulse up, followed by sport-specific, dynamic stretches (stretches while moving).

To further reduce the risk of injury:

• Eat correctly for your body and your sport!
• Apply Neuro-Stabilization Training.
• Receive proper coaching.
• Take at least 1 day off per week from your particular sport activity to permit the body to recover from the stresses.
• Use the right gear. You need to wear proper protective equipment such as pads (neck, shoulder, elbow, chest, knee, shin), helmets, mouthpieces, face guards, protective cups, and/or eyewear. This is basic, and younger athletes shouldn’t believe that protective gear protects them from performing dangerous or unwise activities. Nothing protects us from our own stupidity when we show off to others
• • Build your muscles. Performing conditioning exercises before games and during practice strengthens your muscles that get stressed during the game.
  • Improve your overall flexibility. Stretches before and after games or practices tend to benefit your body by increasing flexibility.•
  • Use proper playing technique. This must be reinforced during the playing season and coaches must enforce this for player longevity.
  • Take breaks. Your body needs rest periods during practice and during games. These will reduce injuries and prevent heat illnesses.
  • Follow safety rules. Certain sports have ‘rules’ for safety including no headfirst sliding (softball and baseball), spearing (football), and body checking (ice hockey).•
  • Avoid injuries from heat by drinking plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise or games.
  • Decrease or stop practices or competitions during high heat/ humidity periods.
  • Wear light clothing during brutally hot weather.
  • And, above all, stop the activity if there is pain.

  Prevention is something that all athletes can grasp. No one wants to get hurt: of course not. But no one can guarantee that reading this book will ever stop you from getting hurt. What will happen (hopefully) is that you will learn how to take care of yourself if you do get hurt and maybe how to make sure it doesn’t ever happen again. No matter what sport, activity or walk of life you work in, I think we can all agree on preparedness and care as beneficial toward prevention.

Long-term jogging or tennis may help males avoid osteoporosis

Men who engage in high-impact physical activity and resistance training as teens and young adults are likely to have greater bone density by middle age, according to new research.

Over time, high-impact activities -- such as tennis and jogging -- help boost bone mass in the hip and lumbar spine, the researchers said. Greater bone mass can help stave off the bone-thinning disease known as osteoporosis.

"While osteoporosis is commonly associated with only postmenopausal women, it is, in fact, a serious issue for men as well," said study author Pamela Hinton. She is an associate professor in the department of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Human Environmental Sciences.

"Indeed, research has shown that the consequences of osteoporosis can be much worse for men, as they are less likely to be diagnosed and are at a greater mortality risk from fractures that occur as a result of a fall," Hinton explained in a university news release.

For the study, Hinton's team analyzed medical data compiled on 203 men aged 30 to 65. The participants had various levels of experience with sports and exercise, and engaged in different types of activities.

The men who engaged in bone-loading or weight-bearing exercise as teenagers had more bone density later in life, the investigators found. High-impact activities, in particular, were important for bone health throughout men's lives, according to the report published recently in the American Journal of Men's Health.

Read full article: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_157403.html

Surely health and wellness tips are as valuable to men as to women. Arguably, men need this information even more than women. Men die, on average, five years sooner than women. And new cases of prostate and testicular cancer outnumber breast cancer, but these male diseases don't get as much as attention.

Guys aren't helped by the fact that there's tradition of machismo in our culture. But times they are a-changin' ... right?

Men Need to Learn about Self-Care

The wellness movement and its message of holistic health (through food, water, personal care products, fitness, relationships and stress management) is as important to men as to women. But men just aren't versed in self-care.

The challenge of balancing career and family is not often discussed for men but can be stressful; simple breathing practices to manage stress can be of great value to men who might be reluctant to take a yoga or meditation class.

Many men I know are likely to eat on the run, eat late, or simply have no cooking skills — and of which make them vulnerable to eating highly processed foods. Lessons in conscious eating would help them make better choices.

Read full article: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13846/why-men-should-care-about-wellness.html

One out of six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. High grade prostate cancer is dangerous and can kill. In the United States, more than 200,000 new cases are diagnosed every year - leading to 31,000 deaths. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to prevent prostate cancer naturally.

Here are five scientifically proven tips that will help you protect your prostate health:

Increase your intake of omega-3s. Increasing your intake of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may protect you from prostate cancer. A study led by John S. Witte at the University of California has shown that men, who ate dark fish such as salmon one or more times per week, had a 63 percent lower risk of developing an aggressive form of prostate cancer than those, who ate it rarely.

Eat walnuts and pomegranates. Ongoing research suggests that men should eat pomegranates and walnuts as part of a prostate-healthy diet. These two superfoods contain specific types of compounds that have the ability to reduce the size and growth of prostate cancer. Phenylpropanoids and flavones present in pomegranates prevent prostate cancer cells from interacting with testosterone and spreading to other parts of the body. The compounds present in walnuts were linked to a 30 percent slower growth of the disease and 50 percent smaller tumors in mice that were genetically programmed to develop prostate cancer.

Drink green tea. The antioxidants and other biologically active natural compounds of coffee and green tea are believed to play a significant role in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. For example, recent studies have indicated that Polyphenol E - one of the active ingredients present in green tea - can reduce levels of PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen), which is an indicator of disease severity in prostate cancer patients.

Lower your cholesterol levels. A study performed by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests that men whose cholesterol levels are below 200mg/dL have an almost 60 percent lower chance of suffering from an aggressive type of prostate cancer. You can reduce your cholesterol levels with regular exercise, weight loss and healthy diet.

Get enough vitamin D. We still have a lot to learn about the "sunshine vitamin", but UK researchers hypothesize that vitamin D can be an effective treatment for prostate cancer - reducing PSA level by as much as half in 20 percent of patients. "This is a treatment which is unlikely to have significant toxicity and is a welcome addition to the therapeutic options for patients with prostate cancer", says Professor Jonathan Waxman from Imperial College London.

In the United Kingdom, one man dies every hour from the prostate cancer. It is also the second leading cause of cancer death in American men. In order to save more lives, it is needed to raise awareness of the possible ways to prevent prostate cancer naturally.

Read full article: http://www.naturalnews.com/031026_prostate_cancer_prevention.html

Take a minute to think about your weight, health, and lifestyle. Are you as fit and healthy as you would like to be? Do you think you might be carrying a little too much weight or body fat?

You can get on track with regular physical activity and healthy eating habits. By making small changes to your lifestyle, you may become leaner and energetic.

Keep reading for tips on how to get on track with healthy habits—chances are, you will find that it is not as hard as you thought.

What is a healthy weight?

Body mass index (BMI) is a tool that is often used to determine if a person is a healthy weight, overweight, or obese, and whether a person’s health is at risk due to his or her weight. BMI is a ratio of your weight to your height. You can refer to the chart below to find your BMI and see what a healthy weight range is for your height.

A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered healthy. A person with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a person with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.

Another way to determine if your health is at risk because of your weight is to measure your waist. Waist measurement does not tell if you are overweight, but it does show if you have excess fat in your stomach. You should know that extra fat around your waist may raise your health risks even more than fat elsewhere on your body. Also, men are more likely than women to carry their extra weight around their stomach.

Men whose waists measure more than 40 inches may be at an increased risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and other problems.

A downside of using BMI is that it does not take into account whether body weight is due to muscle or fat. Therefore, someone who is very muscular may be thought to have excess fat, even if he has low or normal body fat. For the vast majority of Americans, though, BMI is a good way to tell if you have increased health risks due to your weight.

Why do weight and lifestyle matter?

Being overweight, obese, or physically inactive may increase your risk for:

• coronary heart disease
• type 2 diabetes
• high blood pressure
• stroke
• some types of cancer, including colorectal and kidney cancer

On the other hand, being active, eating healthier, and achieving and staying at a healthy weight may help:

• Improve mood and energy levels.
• Increase fitness and strength.
• Improve muscles.

Read full article: http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/weight-control/gettingontrack/Pages/getting-on-track-physical-activity-and-healthy-eating-for-men.aspx\

In everyday life, most people walk around in a state of mild or moderate dehydration because they don’t consume enough liquids that will supply their bodies with the hydration needed. Chronic dehydration puts stress on the organs and can interfere with bodily functions, which in some cases will lead to illness, fatigue, difficulty focusing, and irritability. Physical activity in hot weather depletes the body of water, which makes consuming water essential in warm climates especially in summer months, and anytime surrounding exercise.

Signs of Dehydration

These are some things you can look for that would indicate dehydration:

• Your skin and mouth will feel dry.
• You will be thirsty, you have a headache, and you will be constipated.
• You may feel dizzy or lightheaded and urine will be a dark yellow color.
• You will feel foggy brained and sluggish, and will constantly crave snacks and sugar.
• In the most extreme cases of dehydration some people experience palpitations, fainting, weakness, confusion, decreased urination, and sometimes even seizures.

If any signs of dehydration present themselves, they do require immediate medical attention. Of course all of these symptoms might be caused by a variety of things but even something as simple as mild dehydration may have a more negative affect on physical and mental well-being than most people will realize. In addition to this, the older someone is the more prone they are to dehydration with more serious consequences.

The Solution

Of course drinking water is the best solution for hydration, but fruits and vegetables with high water content are a good source too. This could be things like broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, watermelon, and grapes, tea, coffee, and sports drinks can help, but beverages with caffeine will increase the amount you will urinate in those who are not regular drinkers.

Benefits of Staying Hydrated

The body will use water to maintain its temperature, lubricate joints, and remove waste. Having an adequate fluid intake will help maintain healthy skin and will keep it clear, which is important for not only looking your best but also maintaining the body’s protective outer layer. Proper hydration will help the heart to pump blood more easily, which will help to avoid stressing the heart and other organs during any routine daily activities and strenuous activities. Proper hydration aids in brain function to help focus and improve concentration. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration will lead to inattention.

How Much is Enough

A quick and easy guide to see whether or not you are well hydrated is the color and concentration of urine. If it is pale yellow like lemonade, you are probably getting enough water. If it is a dark yellow and appears more concentrated, you need to drink more water. If urine is clear and colorless you may be drinking too much water and should slow down. Staying properly hydrated regularly will keep you mentally and physically at your best. Always check with your doctor about proper intake of fluids and if you have a medical condition before dramatically increasing or decreasing your water intake.

Source: Tuesday, March 29, 2016 by: Sasha Brown http://blogs.naturalnews.com/warnings-signs-body-drastically-needs-water/