Let's start by stating the obvious...I'm a man. Being a man means that it's impossible for me to have a baby, but I do know that there are choices to be made with regards to what many consider as the most important event in their lives. Names, nursery colors and baby clothes are all decisions, but the most important one may be where you deliver your baby. The question over whether or not to have your birth in the hospital has become a question that many women are starting to deliberate. From 1990 to 2004, the number of home-births in the United States increased by 29% and has continued to increase since then. Many people may not even be aware that having your child at home is a serious option, but with the help of Midwives and other professionals, it has become an extremely safe alternative (maybe even safer than the hospital).
So how safe is it really?
In a 2014 study looking at data from 17,000 home-births, this was the data collected by the researchers:
-97% of the babies in the study were carried full term
-C-section rate was only 5.2% (compared to 31% in the hospital)
-Less than 5% used pitocin or epidural anesthesia (which can cause their own set of problems)
-97.7% of the babies were breastfeeding at week 6
-Only 1% of the babies/mothers required transport to the hospital for extra/emergency care
When looking at safety, we must also take into consideration the risks of a hospital birth. Many professionals within the hospital are often trained to provide pain-killers, IV narcotics and other medications for the mother that can result in very negative side-effects for the mother and the child. The largest danger for a newborn in a hospital is often the risk of a hospital-acquired infection. Though they are often extremely sterile and clean, they can still be home to many types of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Approximately 90,000 people every year die from hospital-born illnesses and babies born in the hospital are 4 times as likely to contract an infection as those born at home.
It's not that expensive
The average cost of a certified midwife is between $1500 and $3000. They aren't covered by insurance so the cost will be out-of-pocket, but to know that you'll get quality care in your own home for that small amount makes it worth while. For comparison, a non-cesarean birth in the hospital can be upwards of $10,000. If you have health insurance, it will cover most of that cost, but if you don't, then the midwife will be significantly less.
It's your environment
When birthing at the hospital, you are often very limited in who can be present during labor. If you decide to have your birth at home, you are free to have whoever there that you want. You can make it a very private affair with just the father and care-taker or if you so desire, you could make it a celebration with all of your loved ones. The birth of a child is an extremely personal experience and doing it at home gives you the ability to protect that in whatever way pleases you.
Another alternative
If you really don't feel comfortable having your child at home, there is always the option of a birthing center. These are places where certified-midwives and other professional are trained to oversee the natural child-birth process. Additionally, in a birthing center you also have quicker access to medical attention in the case that an emergency issue does occur.
Every woman and every child is different, and they all will require different amounts of care and will feel comfortable in different types of environments. Educate yourself about all the options so that you can make the best choice for you, your baby and your family.
http://www.cfmidwifery.org/pdf/MANAHBData04-09FactSheet.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db84.htm
http://mana.org/index.php?q=blog/home-birth-safety-outcomes
I am here to lead, educate, inspire and motivate my friends with the truth of vitalism. Vitalism states that our bodies have the innate ability to create true health from the inside out. Our world has bought into the idea that we need medicines, shots and surgeries for every single issue and we have forgotten the incredible ability our bodies have to create and sustain health. I'm here to help educate you about how to live a Vital Life.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Congruency and Mental Wellness
We talk a lot about physical health; how to eat, how to exercise, when to sleep, how much water to drink, etc. We are constantly bombarded by these messages from every single direction, but I think there is an extremely crucial part of health and wellness that we tend to overlook. It's something that can undo and break down all the benefits we receive form the hard work we put into our routines, diets and habits. What I'm talking about is Mental Wellness.
What is Mental Wellness?
Mental wellness is really just a broad term for how healthy our minds are. Mental wellness is important because the mind has an incredibly powerful influence over our bodies. Every function from healing broken bones to digesting our food is controlled by our mind.
Why is it Important?
Let us consider the idea that our bodies function very much like a large company or organization. Our organs, systems and tissues (the departments and employees) all function seamlessly and create profit as long as there is leadership that can organize, maintain and develop each of those individual parts. Within a company, the responsibility to lead and organize all of that lies with the boss, just like in our bodies where the brain (our mind) leads and organizes all of the different organs and systems. When you have a leader who's not functioning well, the organization will falter, no matter how well each of the individual parts are working. We may have the healthiest lungs or best cardio or the strongest muscles, but without a strong mind to organize it all, the body will eventually fail. The question is how do we train our minds to be a strong leader?
Congruency is Key to Mental Wellness
For the mind to be equally as healthy as our bodies, we have to train it just like we do any other part. The problem is that the brain isn't a muscle that we can just workout at the gym! So in order to train our brains we have to focus on congruency. Congruency is defined as two objects having the same shape and same size or "the quality or state of agreeing, coinciding." This means that, just as we are saturating our bodies with healthy food and activities, we must also be saturating our minds with healthy thoughts and ideas. You cannot maintain a health mind if you are constantly bombarding yourself with negative images and thoughts. So we have to learn how to do two things if we want congruency in our lives:
1) Protect your mind from negative thoughts and ideas
-People, places, activities, music, movies and more can all create negative thoughts and ideas that push our minds out of congruency with our bodies. Often, the difficult thing may not be identifying those things, but rather parting with them. When it comes to ridding ourselves of these negative influences, it can be really helpful to have a friend who's also pursuing the same kind of congruency. Holding each other accountable and pushing each other towards a more positive lifestyle is a helpful and rewarding experience for each of you.
2) Saturate your mind with positive thoughts and ideas
-There are many ways we can replace those old negative thoughts and ideas with positive ones. Go see a great speaker, listen to uplifting music, spend your time around positive people, meditate, create a vision board and do things that make you truly happy! It can't be once a week either...you have to treat your mind just as you would the rest of your body, by working on it constantly and forever pushing yourself to achieve more and more.
What is Mental Wellness?
Mental wellness is really just a broad term for how healthy our minds are. Mental wellness is important because the mind has an incredibly powerful influence over our bodies. Every function from healing broken bones to digesting our food is controlled by our mind.
Why is it Important?
Let us consider the idea that our bodies function very much like a large company or organization. Our organs, systems and tissues (the departments and employees) all function seamlessly and create profit as long as there is leadership that can organize, maintain and develop each of those individual parts. Within a company, the responsibility to lead and organize all of that lies with the boss, just like in our bodies where the brain (our mind) leads and organizes all of the different organs and systems. When you have a leader who's not functioning well, the organization will falter, no matter how well each of the individual parts are working. We may have the healthiest lungs or best cardio or the strongest muscles, but without a strong mind to organize it all, the body will eventually fail. The question is how do we train our minds to be a strong leader?
Congruency is Key to Mental Wellness
For the mind to be equally as healthy as our bodies, we have to train it just like we do any other part. The problem is that the brain isn't a muscle that we can just workout at the gym! So in order to train our brains we have to focus on congruency. Congruency is defined as two objects having the same shape and same size or "the quality or state of agreeing, coinciding." This means that, just as we are saturating our bodies with healthy food and activities, we must also be saturating our minds with healthy thoughts and ideas. You cannot maintain a health mind if you are constantly bombarding yourself with negative images and thoughts. So we have to learn how to do two things if we want congruency in our lives:
1) Protect your mind from negative thoughts and ideas
-People, places, activities, music, movies and more can all create negative thoughts and ideas that push our minds out of congruency with our bodies. Often, the difficult thing may not be identifying those things, but rather parting with them. When it comes to ridding ourselves of these negative influences, it can be really helpful to have a friend who's also pursuing the same kind of congruency. Holding each other accountable and pushing each other towards a more positive lifestyle is a helpful and rewarding experience for each of you.
2) Saturate your mind with positive thoughts and ideas
-There are many ways we can replace those old negative thoughts and ideas with positive ones. Go see a great speaker, listen to uplifting music, spend your time around positive people, meditate, create a vision board and do things that make you truly happy! It can't be once a week either...you have to treat your mind just as you would the rest of your body, by working on it constantly and forever pushing yourself to achieve more and more.
Congruency between our mind and our body is one of the most critical parts of our overall well-being and cannot be overlooked. Take the time to evaluate what you're allowing into your mind and reconsider the impact that those things are having on you. Get rid of the negativity and saturate yourself with positivity. Healthy Mind = Healthy Body!!
Monday, September 8, 2014
Sugar...It's Not So Sweet!
We all love sugar, who doesn't? We also all know that sugar is in our favorite candies, sodas and sweet treats, but what if I told you it's one of the most common additives to packaged foods?? Even foods that aren't sweet can be loaded with sugar. There are even many foods we think are healthy that are loaded with sugar...see Gatorade, granola bars, cereals, etc. Did you know that, after salt, Americans consume more sugar than any other food additive?? According to OnlineNursingPrograms.com, the average American consumes 130 POUNDS OF SUGAR PER YEAR!! The American Heart Association recommends no more than 9.5 teaspoons of sugar per day, but the average adult consumes 22 teaspoons and the average child consumes 32 teaspoons. So now you may be asking, "Daniel, what's the big deal? So what if I have an extra pound or two from eating too much sugar?" Well the problem is that a little bit of weight gain is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the problems caused by sugar intake...
1) Sugar Has No Nutrients
-I feel like I shouldn't have to say this but I guess it's not that obvious to some people. The calories we get from sugar are what we like to call "Empty Calories." What this means is that sugar may provide a short burst of energy, but in terms of providing any type of nutrients, proteins, fats, vitamins or minerals, it falls completely flat. Gaining a large percentage of your calories from sugar can actually lead to nutrient deficiencies.
2) Sugar is Bad for Your Heart
-A study published in 2013 in the Journal of the American Heart Association stated that sugar intake may increase the risk of heart failure. The body breaks down sugar into smaller molecules, some that can negatively affect the muscle structure of the heart.
3) Type II Diabetes
-When you eat sugar, your body produces something called insulin. Insulin is a key step in the process of our bodies metabolizing the sugar that we eat. The problem is that if we eat a lot of sugar over a period of time, our bodies will actually become immune to the insulin we are producing. Much like if you live next to a train track...after a couple months you don't even hear it anymore. When this happens, the body has to produce more and more insulin every time you eat sugar. After a period of time, your body can no longer keep up and you will have chronically high levels of blood sugar (Type II Diabetes). Type II Diabetes is one of the biggest health issues in the United States and is actually something that is completely preventable.
4) It Increases the Risk of Cancer
-This relates back to the insulin that we just discussed. Multiple studies have linked chronically elevated levels of insulin to increased cancer risk. Also, there is often inflammation caused by the breakdown of sugar and this chronic inflammation also has been linked to an increase in the risk of cancer.
5) It Affects Your Brain
-In 2012, the Journal of Physiology published a study outlining how excess sugar consumption can lead to issues with brain function including, but not limited to decreased cognitive function, memory deficiencies and accelerated aging.
6) It Packs on the Pounds
-If these things don't make yo reconsider the amount of sugar you're eating, lets just look in the mirror and think about that flat stomach or 6-pack abs that you've been hoping for. Sugar may be one of the main reasons behind that extra body fat. Why? For starters, sugar doesn't fill us up. We may eat 2000 calories worth of sugar but we will still be hungry because it's not providing the nutrients that we need! Additionally, a study in 2010 showed that increased sugar intake can actually increase the rate at which fat cells mature. So not only are we packing on the extra fat, we're increasing the rate those fat cells are growing and then giving them the food they need to stick around.
So, the next time you go to the grocery store and think about buying something, turn the package around and look at the amount of sugar. Also, BE CAREFUL...just because it says "sugar free," it may be loaded with artificial sweeteners that may be doing even more damage than the sugar would have. So what's my suggestion? Eat things that don't come in a package! If it grows in the ground or on a tree or on a vine, you can eat it. If it's meat that you can identify what animal it came from, you can eat it. The packaged, processed, bagged, canned and frozen foods we eat are often full of sugar and we don't even know it. Check out the ingredients before you put it in your mouth!
Stay Healthy and Happy Friends!!
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/tes-fsm062010.php
http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/2/3/e004796
http://jp.physoc.org/content/590/10/2485
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-kirkpatrick-ms-rd-ld/dangers-of-sugar_b_3658061.html
http://authoritynutrition.com/10-disturbing-reasons-why-sugar-is-bad/
1) Sugar Has No Nutrients
-I feel like I shouldn't have to say this but I guess it's not that obvious to some people. The calories we get from sugar are what we like to call "Empty Calories." What this means is that sugar may provide a short burst of energy, but in terms of providing any type of nutrients, proteins, fats, vitamins or minerals, it falls completely flat. Gaining a large percentage of your calories from sugar can actually lead to nutrient deficiencies.
2) Sugar is Bad for Your Heart
-A study published in 2013 in the Journal of the American Heart Association stated that sugar intake may increase the risk of heart failure. The body breaks down sugar into smaller molecules, some that can negatively affect the muscle structure of the heart.
3) Type II Diabetes
-When you eat sugar, your body produces something called insulin. Insulin is a key step in the process of our bodies metabolizing the sugar that we eat. The problem is that if we eat a lot of sugar over a period of time, our bodies will actually become immune to the insulin we are producing. Much like if you live next to a train track...after a couple months you don't even hear it anymore. When this happens, the body has to produce more and more insulin every time you eat sugar. After a period of time, your body can no longer keep up and you will have chronically high levels of blood sugar (Type II Diabetes). Type II Diabetes is one of the biggest health issues in the United States and is actually something that is completely preventable.
4) It Increases the Risk of Cancer
-This relates back to the insulin that we just discussed. Multiple studies have linked chronically elevated levels of insulin to increased cancer risk. Also, there is often inflammation caused by the breakdown of sugar and this chronic inflammation also has been linked to an increase in the risk of cancer.
5) It Affects Your Brain
-In 2012, the Journal of Physiology published a study outlining how excess sugar consumption can lead to issues with brain function including, but not limited to decreased cognitive function, memory deficiencies and accelerated aging.
6) It Packs on the Pounds
-If these things don't make yo reconsider the amount of sugar you're eating, lets just look in the mirror and think about that flat stomach or 6-pack abs that you've been hoping for. Sugar may be one of the main reasons behind that extra body fat. Why? For starters, sugar doesn't fill us up. We may eat 2000 calories worth of sugar but we will still be hungry because it's not providing the nutrients that we need! Additionally, a study in 2010 showed that increased sugar intake can actually increase the rate at which fat cells mature. So not only are we packing on the extra fat, we're increasing the rate those fat cells are growing and then giving them the food they need to stick around.
So, the next time you go to the grocery store and think about buying something, turn the package around and look at the amount of sugar. Also, BE CAREFUL...just because it says "sugar free," it may be loaded with artificial sweeteners that may be doing even more damage than the sugar would have. So what's my suggestion? Eat things that don't come in a package! If it grows in the ground or on a tree or on a vine, you can eat it. If it's meat that you can identify what animal it came from, you can eat it. The packaged, processed, bagged, canned and frozen foods we eat are often full of sugar and we don't even know it. Check out the ingredients before you put it in your mouth!
Stay Healthy and Happy Friends!!
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/tes-fsm062010.php
http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/2/3/e004796
http://jp.physoc.org/content/590/10/2485
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-kirkpatrick-ms-rd-ld/dangers-of-sugar_b_3658061.html
http://authoritynutrition.com/10-disturbing-reasons-why-sugar-is-bad/
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Let's Talk About Mobility
What's mobility?? Simply put...it's how well your body moves and it's something that every one of us needs to work on. Our flexibility, mobility and joint movement is a crucial part of our health and if we don't move well, there can be serious consequences.
Some issues that arise from poor mobility include:
-Poor gait (walking and running)
-Unequal muscle development
-Higher risk of injury
-Less joint stability
-Joint/back stiffness
-Joint/back pain
-Limited ability to do work/chores
-Development of arthritis
When exercising, many people often focus on their muscular strength or cardio and forget to work on their mobility. To avoid these issues, my suggestion is that you start incorporating some mobility/flexibility work into your workout routine. Here are some great ways to start improving your mobility:
1) Simple Stretching - just take 5-10 minutes after your workout and stretch a little bit. The following pictures are just a few of the many simple stretches you can do by yourself.
Here are a couple other great resources if you'd like to increase your mobility/flexibility
www.MobilityWOD.com
www.stretching-exercises-guide.com
www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/multimedia/stretching/sls-20076840
If you really invest the time to start working on your mobility and flexibility, I promise you will start seeing great results! You will be more flexible, your workouts will be easier, you will decrease joint stiffness/pain, you will protect yourself against injury and finally you will create a healthier body!!
As always, feel free to email me with any questions.
Stay healthy my friends!
Some issues that arise from poor mobility include:
-Poor gait (walking and running)
-Unequal muscle development
-Higher risk of injury
-Less joint stability
-Joint/back stiffness
-Joint/back pain
-Limited ability to do work/chores
-Development of arthritis
When exercising, many people often focus on their muscular strength or cardio and forget to work on their mobility. To avoid these issues, my suggestion is that you start incorporating some mobility/flexibility work into your workout routine. Here are some great ways to start improving your mobility:
1) Simple Stretching - just take 5-10 minutes after your workout and stretch a little bit. The following pictures are just a few of the many simple stretches you can do by yourself.
Just hold these stretches for 20-30 seconds on each side. Don't bounce up and down, don't hold it for too long. The stretch should be slightly uncomfortable, but definitely not painful.
2) Try Yoga! Yoga is a spectacular way to increase mobility and flexibility. Many gyms offer yoga classes to their members and there are also lots of yoga studios that even will offer a free class to beginners!
3) Incorporate new exercises that will increase mobility. Get off of the leg press machine and try some air squats or lunges. Instead of using the chest press machine, try pushups or a dumbbell press. The more you can get your body to move while exercising, the more you will increase your mobility. If you're interested in incorporating more of these mobile exercises, send me an email at dhkeadle@gmail.com and we can talk about some new things you can try!
www.MobilityWOD.com
www.stretching-exercises-guide.com
www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/multimedia/stretching/sls-20076840
If you really invest the time to start working on your mobility and flexibility, I promise you will start seeing great results! You will be more flexible, your workouts will be easier, you will decrease joint stiffness/pain, you will protect yourself against injury and finally you will create a healthier body!!
As always, feel free to email me with any questions.
Stay healthy my friends!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
How To Receive Updates
Hello beautiful people!
Just wanted to make sure everyone knows how to stay up to date with A Vital Life
Instagram @ AVitalLife1
Facebook.com/DanielKeadleWellness
Just wanted to make sure everyone knows how to stay up to date with A Vital Life
Instagram @ AVitalLife1
Facebook.com/DanielKeadleWellness
Water, Water Everywhere!
So as I promised in my last post, over the next couple of weeks, I'll be hitting on multiple topics dealing with nutrition. The first thing I want to discuss is Water…simply because it is so easy and simple to deal with. Just drink more water!!! Here's why it's so important…
Your body is almost 70% water!! Every single tissue and organ in your body has at least some amount of water in it and it is not only crucial to their structures, but to their functions as well.
If every part of our body relies on water for their structure and/or function, then why is it that we so often ignore hydration when talking about nutrition? Hopefully you can start to see why that good ole H2O is so important!
Why Do I Need It?
Besides the fact that we would shrivel up like a raisin without it, water is extremely important for many different processes in our body.
Toxin Removal
The human body is born with an amazing filtration system. The central parts of this filtration system are our intestines, lymphatic system and our kidneys. The functions of the intestines are pretty simple to explain; they help to pull the nutrients out of what we eat, while eliminating the unnecessary or even harmful things in the form of our daily trips to the porcelain throne. Although it may not seem like it, water has an important role in this process. Water is not only a lubricant for the interior of our intestines, but the material inside our intestines must have a certain level of water content in order to be filtered properly. Without enough water, we aren't able to filter things properly and we get dried out (hello constipation).
Have you ever been sick and gone to a Doctor's office and he felt your neck ? He's not feeling your veins or muscles…he's feeling your lymph nodes. When you're sick, those lymph nodes become swollen because they're removing toxins and transporting them away from your tissues. Your body has an extremely complex network of these ducts and tubes that drain infection, toxins, waste, etc from your body. The fluid that this system uses to filter our body is made up of white blood cells and a fluid created in our intestines that is based on…you guessed it…water.
The final part of the filtration system is our kidneys. The kidneys are responsible for filtering out our blood. Without getting into the chemistry of concentration gradients and osmolarity, you need to understand that our blood must have a certain concentration of water in order for the kidneys to work properly. The kidneys work passively by taking advantage of the differences in concentration of toxins and waste products between our blood and our kidneys. When you lower the amount of water in your blood, you affect that concentration gradient and reduce your kidneys' ability to remove waste and toxins from your body.
Physical Structure
As you can see in the graphic at the top of the page, the cells of our body are 90% water. Every single organ and structure in our bodies are made up of thousands or hundreds of thousands of cells. When our cells don't have enough water, they deteriorate. They may lose the ability to support the other cells around it, they could be prevented from doing their job, or in cases of severe dehydration, may completely die. The death of cells in our body can have severe consequences: think kidney failure, diabetes and many auto-immune disorders.
Body Temperature
If you have ever exercised or experienced some form of physical exertion, you've experienced the wonderful thing we like to call sweat. The human body is finely tuned to stay within a very small temperature range: 98.2 degrees, plus/minus 0.7 degrees. So it doesn't take much for us to exceed this range; even walking across the parking lot on a hot summer day can do it. Sweat is essentially used as a heat exchange mechanism. When we sweat, it gets on our skin, pulls the heat from our bodies and then evaporates, leaving us a little bit cooler than we were before. Conditions like heat exhaustion or heat stroke are typically caused by dehydration. This is because when the body is dehydrated, it doesn't sweat in order to preserve what little water it does have. If you don't sweat, your body can quickly overheat and that can quickly lead to some serious health issues like damage to muscles, tissues and even our brain.
By the way, sweat is also another one of those toxin-elimination systems we are born with. Yes, sweat can actually eliminate toxins from our body…that's why is smells bad!
Other Reasons to Drink Water
Raise your hand if you ever experience any of these things: sleepiness/drowsiness, headaches, dry skin, joint soreness or muscle fatigue. Unless you got only 3 hours of sleep last night (like many of my college friends), all of these issues may be related to dehydration. All of the fluids in your body are made of water so those headaches, drowsiness, dry skin and joint soreness may be caused by a lack of water intake. Your muscles rely on water to work also.
What Do I Do?
Simple answer? Drink more water. But you need more information than that…so here you go.
One simple way to figure out how much water you need is to divide your body weight by half and then drink that many ounces of water. So I will use myself as an example. I weigh 180 pounds; 180 divided by 2 equals 90. I should be drinking at least 90 ounces of water each day. Using this same equation, the average American male needs almost 100 ounces of water per day, and the average American female needs over 80 ounces. So the old saying that everyone needs to drink 8 glasses of water each day is only true if you weigh 120 pounds. If I exercise, then I need to drink even more, because my little equation on calculates your average needs.
I won't say it's impossible to drink too much water, but you would have to try really, really hard to do that. So my advice is, if you aren't sure you've had enough water, you should probably drink more.
Your body is almost 70% water!! Every single tissue and organ in your body has at least some amount of water in it and it is not only crucial to their structures, but to their functions as well.
Why Do I Need It?
Besides the fact that we would shrivel up like a raisin without it, water is extremely important for many different processes in our body.
Toxin Removal
The human body is born with an amazing filtration system. The central parts of this filtration system are our intestines, lymphatic system and our kidneys. The functions of the intestines are pretty simple to explain; they help to pull the nutrients out of what we eat, while eliminating the unnecessary or even harmful things in the form of our daily trips to the porcelain throne. Although it may not seem like it, water has an important role in this process. Water is not only a lubricant for the interior of our intestines, but the material inside our intestines must have a certain level of water content in order to be filtered properly. Without enough water, we aren't able to filter things properly and we get dried out (hello constipation).
Have you ever been sick and gone to a Doctor's office and he felt your neck ? He's not feeling your veins or muscles…he's feeling your lymph nodes. When you're sick, those lymph nodes become swollen because they're removing toxins and transporting them away from your tissues. Your body has an extremely complex network of these ducts and tubes that drain infection, toxins, waste, etc from your body. The fluid that this system uses to filter our body is made up of white blood cells and a fluid created in our intestines that is based on…you guessed it…water.
The final part of the filtration system is our kidneys. The kidneys are responsible for filtering out our blood. Without getting into the chemistry of concentration gradients and osmolarity, you need to understand that our blood must have a certain concentration of water in order for the kidneys to work properly. The kidneys work passively by taking advantage of the differences in concentration of toxins and waste products between our blood and our kidneys. When you lower the amount of water in your blood, you affect that concentration gradient and reduce your kidneys' ability to remove waste and toxins from your body.
Physical Structure
As you can see in the graphic at the top of the page, the cells of our body are 90% water. Every single organ and structure in our bodies are made up of thousands or hundreds of thousands of cells. When our cells don't have enough water, they deteriorate. They may lose the ability to support the other cells around it, they could be prevented from doing their job, or in cases of severe dehydration, may completely die. The death of cells in our body can have severe consequences: think kidney failure, diabetes and many auto-immune disorders.
Body Temperature
If you have ever exercised or experienced some form of physical exertion, you've experienced the wonderful thing we like to call sweat. The human body is finely tuned to stay within a very small temperature range: 98.2 degrees, plus/minus 0.7 degrees. So it doesn't take much for us to exceed this range; even walking across the parking lot on a hot summer day can do it. Sweat is essentially used as a heat exchange mechanism. When we sweat, it gets on our skin, pulls the heat from our bodies and then evaporates, leaving us a little bit cooler than we were before. Conditions like heat exhaustion or heat stroke are typically caused by dehydration. This is because when the body is dehydrated, it doesn't sweat in order to preserve what little water it does have. If you don't sweat, your body can quickly overheat and that can quickly lead to some serious health issues like damage to muscles, tissues and even our brain.
By the way, sweat is also another one of those toxin-elimination systems we are born with. Yes, sweat can actually eliminate toxins from our body…that's why is smells bad!
Other Reasons to Drink Water
Raise your hand if you ever experience any of these things: sleepiness/drowsiness, headaches, dry skin, joint soreness or muscle fatigue. Unless you got only 3 hours of sleep last night (like many of my college friends), all of these issues may be related to dehydration. All of the fluids in your body are made of water so those headaches, drowsiness, dry skin and joint soreness may be caused by a lack of water intake. Your muscles rely on water to work also.
What Do I Do?
Simple answer? Drink more water. But you need more information than that…so here you go.
One simple way to figure out how much water you need is to divide your body weight by half and then drink that many ounces of water. So I will use myself as an example. I weigh 180 pounds; 180 divided by 2 equals 90. I should be drinking at least 90 ounces of water each day. Using this same equation, the average American male needs almost 100 ounces of water per day, and the average American female needs over 80 ounces. So the old saying that everyone needs to drink 8 glasses of water each day is only true if you weigh 120 pounds. If I exercise, then I need to drink even more, because my little equation on calculates your average needs.
I won't say it's impossible to drink too much water, but you would have to try really, really hard to do that. So my advice is, if you aren't sure you've had enough water, you should probably drink more.
As I always say, Hydrate or Die!!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Why Is My Workout Failing?
Often I hear people complain that their workouts are ineffective or that they aren't seeing the results they want to see. Our bodies are designed to be active and it's disappointing when I see people give up exercise because they aren't seeing improvements. There are some common mistakes that I see people making all the time and it's possible that you may fall into one or more of these categories.
Routine
Having a routine is crucial to a good workout. I'm not talking about the routine of what you do in the gym, but rather your day-to-day or week-to-week routine. Most people are very structure-oriented and it can be difficult to stay committed to exercise if it isn't scheduled into your weekly schedule. The human body easily becomes adapted to routines; think about those saturday mornings where you plan to sleep in and wake up at 7:30 anyways. Or think about how you seem to get hungry at the same times every day, no matter how long it has been since you last ate. In the same way, if we stay committed to a regular workout schedule, not only will we be creating time for it, but our bodies will also start to crave that activity and even feel bad if we miss it. Whether its making a set time twice a week to run or you leave work and go lift weights 4 nights a week, make your schedule and stay committed to it.
Nutrition
Let me start by saying I will NEVER tell anyone to go on a "diet." The word diet implies a temporary change just for the sake of reaching some weight goal and then we go right back to what we were doing before…with the crazy hope that we will maintain those changes. What I will preach is proper NUTRITION. Our bodies, like any other machine require extremely specific inputs in order to function properly. You would never put regular car fuel in a jet plane would you? Our bodies need lean meats, vegetables, fruits and good fats…not McDonalds combo-meals and cheez-its. Nutrition doesn't just apply to what you chew on either. The human body is somewhere between 55-65% water. You need to replace that water constantly. Hydrate or die…literally.
You will never get more out than what you put in. More on this over the next couple weeks.
Effort
You're probably not working out hard enough. There, I said it. Feel better? If you leave the gym and 24 hours later aren't sore, then you probably weren't doing something right. You left the gym and didn't need to take a shower before your date? Yea…probably could've put in a little more effort. The only way our bodies become stronger is by pushing them to their limits. If I want to squat 400 pounds (my own personal goal), I won't just do repetitions of 135 pounds. If you want to run 5 miles, you'll never get there by running just 1 mile every day. "But Daniel! I don't wanna get sweaty, it's gross." My response? It's the gym, people expect you to be gross because that means you're working hard. "I hate it when I get out of breath!" Well, if you don't push yourself, you'll always be out of breath.
As a side note, I'd never take my grandmother to the gym and ask her to do the bench press. There is a gigantic difference between pushing yourself hard and going beyond your physical capabilities. Know what you're capable of and push those boundaries, but please never put yourself at the risk of injury.
Overtraining
"But you just said I should push myself?" Yes, I did, but being tired and being physically exhausted are different. I can get a bad nights sleep and make myself wake up to go workout. But if my body is sore from 3 straight workouts and I am physically exhausted, I'm not going to go do another intense workout. Soreness is what it feels like when your muscles are repairing themselves. You don't drive your car across a bridge that is closed for repairs do you? In the same way, we have to be able to listen to your body and know when we can push it and when we need to rest. It is totally acceptable to take a day off and just stretch or even take a nap and eat some delicious nutritious food.
There are a few practical ways that we can help to avoid this overtraining:
-Schedule rest days
-Stay hydrated
-Sleep!!!!
-Stretch
-Fuel your body
Take your workout seriously people. Remember that you will never reach your goals if you aren't actively pushing towards them!
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