Strenua's World» Fruit and Vegetables

Graze through the day to avoid an afternoon slump

Strenua — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:57:57 +0000

After 4 straight hours of teaching swimming I normally head for a quick sugar rush from the chocolate machine. This Saturday however, I was able to increase by blood sugar levels with a healthy delivery from Graze, which was waiting for me. Graze.com is the UK’s first healthy eating by post company, and offers busy office workers the chance to have delicious food delivered straight to their desks, or in my case, delivered to my pool.

I am one of the most fussiest eaters, whilst also being a strict vegetarian. To me food that you can graze on at your desk means a box of malteasers. I avoid dried fruit, seeds and nuts if at all possible, so I was wondering what they could find to feed me. There are over 130 products that are on offer and once you place your order you get the chance to rate the foods, whether you love, like, are willing to try, or bin them. Fortunately there are fresh food options and chocolate treats so there was plenty for me not to bin.

You can choose to design your own box or select a nutritional box designed by graze.com’s own nutritionists. Head nutritionist Roz Kadir, was also the nutritional therapist for England’s Rugby World Cup Winning squad. They have a variety of nutrition boxes available including eat well box with medium and low GI foods, well being box to support your immune system, or a pre workout box which is high in digestible carbohydrates. I chose a post workout box which is described as ‘designed to replace nutrients lost during exercise and ensure your recovery is as fast as possible’. My box contained fresh baby cherries, a portion called strawberries and cream which comprised of dried strawberries and raspberries with white chocolate buttons, and my favourite, raisins infused with lemon juice. Eating my complete box provided me with 4 of my recommended 5 a day.

The benefit behind grazing though out the day is that you don’t suffer from cravings before lunch and around 3pm, along with high blood sugar levels following lunch which can get turned into fat. Grazing regularly ensures that your blood sugar levels remain constant and you can have good energy levels all day long.

Graze boxes are 100% recyclable and 100% biodegradable with delivery included in the price. UK readers of Strenua’s World can enjoy their first box free and your second for half price by clicking here or on the banner below.

Do antioxidant supplements prevent the health benefits of exercise?

Strenua — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:10:59 +0000

A healthy balanced diet containing fruit and vegetables should be sufficient to provide all the vitamins and minerals the body needs. Many people who eat a poor diet think that they can just take a supplement to make up for the lack of natural vitamins and antioxidants in their diet. It’s thought that antioxidants interact with and stabilize molecules known as ’free radicals’ and may prevent some of the damage free radicals might otherwise cause, such as leading to diseases like cancer. Recent research however, suggests that when combined with exercise antioxidant supplements may actually do more harm than good.

Exercise is accepted to have many benefits to health, promoting fitness and weight loss whilst also improving diseases such as diabetes and related insulin resistance. Reduced mitochondrial metabolism has been associated with type 2 diabetes and exercise is linked to mitochondrial metabolism. However, exercise also increases the formation of presumably harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are mainly produced in the mitochondria.

Mitochondria are organelles in a cell where oxygen and glucose are converted into energy and free radicals, causing oxidative stress, are an inevitable by-product of mitochondrial metabolism. ROS have been reported to exert repetitive damage to individual cells of the body, promoting an increase in the prevalence of disease and aging. However, repeated exposure to mild stress such as through exercise is thought to enhance stress resistance and ultimately increased survival rates.

Researchers from Germany wanted to know if ROS is needed for the insulin sensitising effect of physical exercise in healthy humans and whether commonly used antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E may put an end to the health promoting effects of both physical exercise and oxidative stress.

The research published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), evaluated the effects of a combination of Vitamin C (1000mg/day) and Vitamin E (400IU/day). The study involved 20 trained and 20 untrained subjects, with half in each group assigned antioxidant supplements. All subjects underwent a 4 week exercise training program, comprising of 85 min training sessions, 5 times a week. The study found:

After 3 days of exercise without antioxidants, there was a 2 fold increase in the concentration of an oxidative stress marker. Taking supplements showed no significant increase in the oxidative stress marker.
After 4 weeks exercise, subjects who did not use the supplements increased insulin sensitivity. There were no changes in the subjects taking antioxidants.
Molecular mediators, produced by the body to defend against ROS, were also induced by exercise. This effect was blocked by antioxidant supplementation.

Dr Michael Ristow, the paper’s author proposes there is an essential role for exercise-induced ROS formation in preventing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, with exercise induced ROS formation appearing to result in changes in gene expression. The increase in insulin sensitivity following physical exercise is almost completely removed by daily ingestion of Vitamins C and E. Therefore, taking antioxidant supplements blocks many of the beneficial effects of exercise on metabolism.

It is possible that preventing the formation of ROS by antioxidants might actually increase, rather than decrease, the risk of type 2 diabetes. Although there is no need to give up eating fruits and vegetables, as they may still exert health-promoting effects despite their antioxidant content due to other bio-active compounds.

Vitamin C is naturally found in many fruits and vegetables and is also found in cereals, beef, poultry and fish. Vitamin E is found in almonds, in many oils including wheat germ, corn and soybean oils and is found in mangos nuts and broccoli. With so many sources to naturally obtain nutrients it’s easy to follow the recommendation to avoid getting your antioxidants from supplements and retain the benefits from your exercise.

Reach to the fruit bowl to beat muscle fatigue

Strenua — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Fruits have long been identified as a good source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre, but now more fruits are being shown to provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Effects on muscle performance, muscle fatigue and bone density along with anti-inflammatory and immune responses are being attributed to these ‘Super fruits’.

During exercise and training the body is stressed and immune responses may be compromised. In last years Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand research was published showing that muscles incubated with a kiwi extract displayed a marked increase in maximum force and a significant delay in fatigue onset compared to control muscles. Kiwi extract also had an anti-inflammatory effect and protected muscles from exercise induced oxidative stress.

This week at the American College of Sports Medicine Conference, new research presented from the Oregon Health & Science University, showed people who drank 10.5 ounces of cherry juice twice a day for seven days while training for a long distance run, reported significantly less pain after exercise than those who drank another fruit juice beverage. Traditional NSAIDS (non steroidal anti–inflammatory drugs) can have adverse effects, which may be avoided by using a natural whole food alternative like cherry juice. The researchers suggest the cherries post exercise benefits are likely because of the fruit’s natural anti-inflammation power, attributed to antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins which also give cherries their bright red colour.

Blackcurrant supplementation also suppresses exercise-induced oxidative stress, as reported this month in the American journal of Physiology Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. However, as the authors point out exercise-induced oxidative stress is instrumental in achieving the health benefits from regular exercise. Therefore, inappropriate use of fruit-derived products, may counteract the positive effects of exercise. Their findings support the concept that consumption of blackcurrant anthocyanins alleviate oxidative stress, and may, if given at the appropriate amount and time, complement exercise’s ability to enhance immune responsiveness to potential pathogens.

The benefits of fruits don’t stop with immune responses and muscle performances. A further review out in the current issue of Aging Research Review suggests that dried plum, or prunes is the most effective fruit in both preventing and reversing bone loss. In two separate animal models of osteopenia (a mild form of decreased bone density, that doesn’t meet the criteria of osteoporosis), results indicated that dried plum not only protects against but more importantly reverses bone loss. In addition in a 3-month clinical trial the consumption of dried plum daily by postmenopausal women significantly increased various serum markers of bone formation by 6-17%.

These interesting findings will prove useful as new types of functional food ingredient for sports drinks and other foods targeted at strengthening bones, enhancing muscle performance, immune function and overall recovery from exercise.

Look out for a cherry and kiwi flavoured sports drink in a shop near you soon!!

Grow your own 5 a day

Strenua — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:10:00 +0000

Eating 5 portions a day of fruit and veg has long been recommended for a healthy diet. They are packed with vitamins and minerals, are an excellent source of fibre and antioxidents and they can help you maintain a healthy weight. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to incorporate them into your diet is to have a ready supply always at home by growing them yourself.

Having a large garden or allotment is fine for having your own apple trees or growing your own potatoes, courgettes or cabbages. But what if you live have no garden or live in a flat?

Even the smallest flats can have a window box to grow food and also provide colour such as with strawberries or with colourful leaves of beetroot. A novel idea I’m trying this year is to have cherry tomatoes grow in hanging baskets. Lots of advice can be found on the internet and the Vegetable Expert has suggestions on more vegetables you can grow in containers in a small corner of your patio or flat.

Finally, if its the wrong time of year and you can’t grow any fruit or veg yourself you can always grow herbs in a pot on your windowsill. Fresh chives, basil, mint, and parsley are great to add flavour to your meals. Gardening About.Com has a detailed guide and tips on how best to grow herbs at home.

So no more excuses that you have no fresh fruit or veg in the fridge, Grow your own !!!

If you have any more useful suggestions how to grow your own food with limited space, let us know.