My Nutrition Zone

10/25/2024

Justin C. Waller this was such a warm and passionate interview with Bill Driskill and Mark Shaw promoting the multi-sport lifestyle. The emphasis on bringing youth into the sport is what we need. We’re fortunate to have TBF Racing in Northern Cal!

Podcast Episode · Money Mile · 02/28/2024 · 36m

08/22/2024

Excellent article on why it is so difficult to recommend a specific calorie level for weight loss.
Fit Chick - Selene Yeager puts it in to perspective.

The Power of the Complex...

05/20/2024

Protein for muscle and bone health! It doesn’t have to be from just animal sources. Do not count collagen powder towards your daily protein. It’s good for other things but not for muscle building.

In this study, we found three things:

1) The protein RDA is insufficient to support higher rates of muscle protein synthesis (again, but it seems the RDA will never change)

2) Whey and pea protein provided as a supplement to older men (not exercising) were effective in stimulating MPS.

3) Collagen was NOT (again, we and others have shown collagen to be largely useless) useful for muscle

Take away:
Older men (and likely women, too) need more protein than the RDA to support muscle as they age. Plant and animal-based supplements are equally effective. Collagen is not useful for muscles.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916524004726

05/16/2024

Many women are focused on looking a certain way instead of the health of their bodies. Trying extreme diets with temporary results.

Please share and listen to this interview with an outstanding Sports Dietitan.

In today’s culture, we are bombarded with artificially-produced, highly edited imagines of flawlessly sculpted bodies. As a result, achievin...

05/03/2024

Iron deficiency without anemia IDWA, is a condition I am seeing more frequently. What is it?

Your blood work shows normal hemoglobin and hematocrit. A full iron panel shows everything is normal but ferritin is below 30 ug/L. Ferritin is the storage form of iron. This is a diagnosis that often goes undetected.

Female athletes of all ages are most susceptible.

Causes could be low dietary intake, athletic demands,, reduced absorption, chronic inflammation.

The symptoms are feelings of excessive tiredness, higher heart rate when exercising and muscle and joint pain to name a few.

If you are having these unexplained symptoms, get a full iron panel with FERRITIN.

Do not take iron supplements without knowing your lab values.

Menopausal women are also susceptible to IDWA

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33762368/

02/09/2024

If you have ended your "dry January" consider what it might mean bringing alcohol back. As always moderation is on your side.

Simple, Practical, Science-Based Tips for a Long Healthy Life We’ve written about alcohol before (click here for A is for Alcohol) and with “dry January” upon us, let’s address one reader’s question about how alcohol affects the brain as we age. Today’s post is B is for Booze and the Bra...

01/11/2024

Women navigating thru peri-menopause and menopause can become frustrated with the changes in their body. There is now evidence that these tips are effective.

1. Short term food tracking can be very insightful to habits that need changing. I suggest at least one month to identify areas to work on. The goal is to become intuitive in your eating.

2. Change is hard. The way you ate in your 30's isn't the way you can eat in your 50's. More recovery and modifying workouts is essential.

3. Strength training is finally getting the attention it deserves. Two full body sessions per week is a good place to start if you have not been strength training. Get some guidance on this one so that you are not just going thru the motions.

4. Patience and showing up each week will give you results. Three month blocks to re-evaluate what you are doing.

5. SLEEP. I am adding this to the list because without deep sleep your body cannot repair and have balanced hormones, especially lowering the stress hormone cortisol.

6. PROTEIN! It's important for muscle, bones, brain health and appetite control. Aim for 1gm per pound of desired body weight.

06/19/2023

Optimal protein intake to prevent muscle loss with age should not be called a high protein diet.

A preferred description is protein centric.

Older individuals need more protein to offset anabolic resistance. Meaning it takes more protein for the muscles to respond to growth.

There is a fear that increasing protein will harm kidneys. This is false! If you have healthy functioning kidneys there is no science to show it will harm kidneys.

Aim for 1.6 - 2,2 gm/kg body weight. For some people who have a substantial amount of weight to lose aim for 2.2gm/kg of GOAL weight

This protein intake will ultimately work best with resistance training.

https://www.fisiologiadelejercicio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Age-related-muscle-anabolic-resistance-inevitable-or-preventable.pdf

03/23/2023

"We inherit two things from our family, our genes and our lifestyle, but only one of them is in our control – lifestyle." An elevated Lp(a) is genetic but it doesn't mean you can't lower your risk for heart disease. Ask your doctor about getting tested.

Lipoprotein(a), also known as Lp(a), is a genetic factor that can increase the risk of cardiac events, like heart attacks and strokes.

03/14/2023

“Strong and healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes.”

This messsge needs to be said over and over again. Thank you TriMarni Coaching and Nutrition

As an athlete, you may not realize how much your thoughts influence your actions. How you think about your body matters. As I begin a new...

02/28/2023

Protein consumption is a frequent topic with my clients. So many struggle to eat the optimal levels of protein per day which is .8-1 gm / pound body weight.

* It helps provide the amino acids necessary for healing when injured
* It protects the loss of muscle as we age
* It helps build muscle
* It It helps with recovery in endurance and Ultra athletes
* It increases metabolic rate, TEF Thermic Effect of Food, though slight it adds up
* Helps control blood sugar
* Helps you feel less hungry

Bill Campbell, PhD looked at some research on the TEF of different types of protein.

Whey protein had the greatest impact on increasing metabolic rate, even greater than casein or soy protein.

The higher the thermic effect of a given food, the more calories are burned in the hours following the ingestion of that food

Protein, as compared to carbohydrates and fats, increases energy expenditure to the greatest extent. In fact, the energy cost of digesting, absorbing, and metabolizing protein is ~25%, as compared to only ~7% for carbohydrate and 3% for fat

These meals provided 50% of the calories from protein, 40% of the calories from carbohydrate, and 10% of the calories from fat. The only difference between these three meals was the source of the protein – one meal contained only whey protein, another meal contained only casein protein, and the other protein-containing meal contained only soy protein

After each subject ingested these meals, metabolic rate was measured over the next five and a half hours to determine which source of protein elicited the greatest increase in metabolic rate

The thermic effect of whey protein (inducing a 14.4% increase in metabolic rate) was significantly greater than casein (induced a 12% increase in metabolic rate) and soy (induced a 11.6% increase in metabolic rate)

➡️ A quality hydrolyzed whey protein has many benefits. It can also help increase glutathione levels important for lowering oxidative stress.

02/21/2023

The risk of stress fractures, broken bones, loss of bone affects not just athletes but all adults.

What can you do to lessen the burden of bone stress injury and fractures?

* Keep Vitamin D levels in the optimal range of 50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL)
* Consume adequate calcium from food and supplements. Vegans need to be extra vigilant.
* Low levels of both vitamin D and calcium have been linked to low bone strength and increased risk of bone stress injuries.
* Intake and supplement use should be spaced throughout the day, as optimal absorption of calcium may decrease in individual servings exceeding 500 mg
* Eat enough to fuel the work and daily activities.
* Low energy availability, LEA is a major risk factor for bone stress injuries
* LEA can contribute to growth hormone resistance and increased levels of cortisol.
* Activities such as strength training and multidirectional movement.
* Assess overall diet for adequate D, Calcium, Magnesium and K2 which are all cofactors to promote calcium absorption.

Athletes should pay more attention to their bone health, whether this relates to their longer-term bone health (e.g. risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis) or their shorter-term risk of bony injuries. Perhaps the easiest way to do this would be to modify ...