Some thoughts about exercise and nutrition

April 14, 2013

Some thoughts about exercise & nutrition…..

As most people who know me will verify, I have pounded pavements for many years as a regular jogger and have also done more than my fair share of high intensity spinning (a rather manic exercise on static bikes!).  Both of these types of exercise burn a lot of calories, strengthen the heart and lung capacity and release endorphins, so you feel really high afterwards.  Whilst I would recommend both forms of exercise to manage stress, control weight, manage blood sugar levels and tone and strengthen muscles, it is really important to know the physiological effects of high intensity exercise and training on the body, and indeed know how to counter the effects. 

Any muscle that has undergone an extreme work out will inevitably have damage to the muscle fibres and these need to be repaired to maintain their integrity and strength– if you liken a muscle fibre to a piece of frayed string you can understand that it will not be as strong as a complete strand.  Muscle cells are composed from protein so it is good practice to eat a small portion of protein as a snack within the first half-hour after a session has finished, such as a small handful of unsalted nuts, a yogurt or a glass of milk.  This type of exercise can also be a stress on the immune and adrenal system, so it is wise to make sure you include a portion of protein with every meal as immune cells, hormones and enzymes are all  composed of proteins – that doesn’t mean you need to eat 3 chicken breasts instead of one, just sensible size portions every day of lean meat, poultry, eggs, milk, yogurt, unsalted nuts & seeds, avocados, fish, pulses such as chick peas, lentils, borlotti beans etc., and soya beans and soya products.

Also your body will produce the stress hormone cortisol during exercise of this type, so it is best to avoid refined sugar products which will increase levels of cortisol further, undermining your adrenal system.  To counteract this, you should eat complex carbohydrates for energy, such as whole grains, vegetables and fruits, as opposed to processed snacks, fizzy drinks and sweets.

Another effect of high intensity exercise is that you produce lots of free radicals, which are basically toxic bi-products of metabolic processes; therefore the higher the intensity of exercise, the more toxic metabolites you produce.  These toxins are then filtered through the liver prior to excretion.  In order to do this, the liver utilizes lots of anti-oxidants – vitamins and minerals.  So if you are a person who enjoys this type of exercise, you should ensure that you take a supplement of anti-oxidants because you would need to eat an awful lot more fruit and vegetables in order to ingest sufficient anti-oxidants to support your over-burdened liver!

So what then of yoga?  Does it give you the same ‘high’ as more intense exercise?  Well yes it does, but in a far less stressful way!  Firstly, the body does not produce cortisol during yoga practice and encourages the elimination of toxins from the body, through deep breathing exercises and postures which massage your internal organs. It also helps you to focus your mind and empty your head of all that ‘monkey chitter-chatter’ – you know the phenomenon – the one that keeps you awake at night and sets you to worry and over-think things?  With long, slow stretches which help to tone the muscles and encourage the organs to relax and have more space, you can see why yoga is a perfect compliment to support a healthy mind, immune system and digestive system, as well as encouraging the liver to perform it’s filtering action more efficiently.

Part of the job of a nutritionist is to explain to clients how they can look after their body for optimum health and vitality, and this obviously includes advice on the right type of exercise for each individual; after all, we all have different needs at different times in our life, in a variety of circumstances.  To put this in context, it reminds me of a conversation I had years ago with a psychoneurologist, who said we have three digestive systems – our mind, our emotional heart and our stomach, and all are inextricably linked!  So you can appreciate the importance of doing a variety of exercise to both satisfy and meet a person’s individual needs for a holistic approach to health and vitality.

Diana Hervé, BSc(Hons), mBANT, mCNHC, DTLLS

Nutritional Therapist