NCSF Adds Nutrition Course for Special Dietary Needs

The National Council on Strength and Fitness has added a new course for trainers, Fitness Nutrition for Special Dietary Needs.

According to the NCSF, the Fitness Nutrition for Special Dietary Needs course delivers state-of-the-art nutritional information pertaining to populations with distinctive dietary needs. The program provides scientifically based nutrition guidelines for a wide range of physically active clients—including vegetarians, pregnant and menopausal women, persons with eating disorders and disordered eating, children and adolescents, older adults, persons with diabetes, and participants in weight-restricted sports.

The course teaches professionals how to guide their clients in proper eating for optimal exercise performance, and it recognizes when a client needs to be referred to a registered dietitian for further nutritional consult.

For additional details, visit NCSF here.

In addition, the course will assist trainers with their efforts to provide sound dietary advice to both noncompetitive exercisers who want to stay fit and competitive athletes who want to achieve optimal performance. The program contains practical guidelines for addressing the needs of children who exercise and play sports as well as the needs of overweight athletes and exercisers in weight-dependent sports—an area often overlooked in sport nutrition courses. Furthermore, trainers who work with the geriatric population will also find the course useful as it will bring them up to date on meeting the nutrition and exercise needs of older adults as they progress through the physiological changes associated with the aging process.

Course Contents:

Chapter 1. Childhood and Adolescence
Chapter 2. Aging
Chapter 3. Menopause
Chapter 4. Pregnancy
Chapter 5. Vegetarianism
Chapter 6. Overweight and Obesity
Chapter 7. Diabetes Mellitus
Chapter 8. Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders
Chapter 9. Exercise in Extreme Environments

The Healthiest Foods For Fitness and Health

Tea
There have been several studies that suggest drinking tea is good for your heart. According to a study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, people who drink one or more cups of black tea each day were 44 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack than those that didn't drink tea. The apparent reason is the abundance of flavonoids in tea; flavonoids are believed to reduce the risk of heart attack because they help keep the blood from clotting. Some researchers believe it takes several more than 1-2 cups a day to achieve the heart-healthy effect. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants (polyphenols) that may also prevent certain diseases such as arthritis and some cancers.

Wild Salmon
High in omega-3 fats, salmon can help you reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks. In general, wild-caught salmon has less contaminants than farmed salmon.

Broccoli
Eat your broccoli no matter what former president George Bush likes. Broccoli is a super food with lots of B vitamin folacin and calcium. Cooked broccoli offers more benefits than raw broccoli.

Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are well known to be beneficial because of the high levels of carotenoids, vitamin C, fiber and potassium. And, they are touted as, "A nutritional All-Star — one of the best vegetables you can eat." (Center for Science in the Public Interest). But, leave out the butter and sour cream; consider baked sweet potatoes with unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple for sweetness.

Tomato
Tomatoes contain the carotenoid known as lycopene; it is believed to help prevent certain cancers (breast, pancreas, prostate, and colon) and cardiovascular diseases. It is now well known that Mediterranean populations generally eat a lot of cooked tomatoes and they have a low incidence of these chronic diseases. Cooking your tomatoes is better than eating them raw because the cooking process releases the lycopene, which makes them easier for your body to absorb.

Soy
Soy is also a good source of protein, calcium, and fiber. Eastern cultures have reaped the benefits of a diet rich in soy protein for centuries. Soy is rich in isoflavones, which are natural compounds that can lower blood cholesterol as well as help prevent hormone-related cancers.

Blueberries
Here's an excerpt from a recent FitClick newsletter article concerning blueberries:

Not since Fats Domino's classic song topped the charts has this vibrant fruit garnered so much attention. In a recent Tufts University study, elderly rats (about 70 in human years) were fed a diet rich in blueberries (approximately one cup a day), which radically improved their declining balance and coordination skills. "I've never seen anything like it," says the study's leader, Jim Joseph, Ph.D., chief of the neuroscience lab at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts. The fruit's polyphenolic compounds (the antioxidants that give blueberries their color) are natural anti-inflammatories, says Joseph. Cooking the berries or freezing them right after picking increases their antioxidant properties.

Additional Reading and Resources:

• The 7 Healthiest Foods - Fitness & Weight Loss Tips at FitClick


• 10 Worst and Best Foods - Center for Science in the Public Interest
  


• Bad Seed: The Truth About Our Food
  


• It's Not About the Food: Preventing Eating Disorders [VHS]
  

Alcohol and Breast Cancer Research

In a recent newsletter published by the National Council on Strength & Fitness (NCSF), researchers find links between the occurrence of breast cancer and the consumption of alcohol. Here is an excerpt of their report and a link to the NCSF website for more info:

While breast cancer risk is impacted by several lifestyle choices (body weight, physical activity and breastfeeding), research shows that it may be less affected by dietary choices than some other cancers, such as the cancers of the digestive tract. The major exception to this fact is a female’s alcohol consumption. According to the latest report on diet and cancer risk published by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) there is convincing evidence that alcohol intake increases an individual’s risk for breast cancer. An analysis of the research compiled by AICR found that breast cancer risk increases 6% - 10% for every 3 ounces of wine, 9 ounces of beer, or 1 ounce of 80-proof liquor consumed each day. Subsequent research supports these figures, noting a 3% - 15% increased risk for similar daily consumption. Alcohol may exert its impact in several different ways and researchers are working to identify which individuals may be most at risk. Many of the potential hypotheses involve mechanisms that foster DNA damage and can trigger the process of cancer development. For example, alcohol may disrupt absorption and use of folate, a B vitamin needed for production and repair of DNA. (Although some experts suggest that women who meet daily folate recommendations are less at risk, this is not seen consistently.) Another possibility is the breakdown of alcohol into acetaldehyde in the body, a compound that can react with cells' DNA and has been shown to cause cancer in animals. Lastly, when alcohol is metabolized, free radicals form; these highly reactive substances can cause DNA damage as well. << NCSF website here >>

Happy Food and the Good Mood Diet

I'm an optimist. Is my rather cheerful mood and unrelenting optimism due to my diet? The foods I eat can positively affect my mood according to researchers, which claim certain foods, when eaten right, can improve your mood.

Research studies by Richard Wurtman, MD, and Judith Wurtman, PhD, at MIT have shown that snacking on readily digested carbohydrates, such as those in a bagel or cookie, can raise the brain's level of serotonin. Raising the levels of serotonin is one of the benefits sought after while taking modern antidepressant medications according to medical experts.

Here are a few of the diet related recommendations and the original resources to check out:

From Prevention Magazine and republished in a recent WebMD article, The Good Mood Diet:

• Include protein in each of your three meals. This will raise blood levels of tryptophan, a chemical that eventually turns into serotonin. The best sources of tryptophan are poultry, seafood, and lean meat.
  
  
• Have a small carbohydrate snack about 3 or 4 hours after each meal and about 1 hour before your next one. Make sure that your stomach is empty and that you eat no protein between meals. The carbohydrates should be easily digestible--such as one or two oatmeal cookies, a third of a bagel, a slice of whole wheat bread. This will cause tryptophan in your blood to enter the brain, where it is metabolized into serotonin. Elevated serotonin will improve your mood within 20 to 30 minutes. (Full article here)
  

The Good Mood Diet: Feel Great While You Lose Weight is a book published by author Dr. Susan Kleiner. It is a culmination of 25 years of her work in the field of nutrition, fitness and health. The Good Mood Diet nourishes your brain and your body. The Good Mood Diet is also a philosophy, an approach to life and food. Put together, it will give you more mental and physical energy, enhancing your mood and giving you greater mental focus. You can even feel great while you lose weight. You can visit Dr. Kleiner's blog here.

So what now? Eat, drink and be merry!

The Complete Story on Red Wine and Cancer

Do you drink red wine because it has an appealing aroma, flavor, and often a suppleness of texture (often called “velvetiness”) that reinforces the wine’s complex and generous character? OK, b.s. People drink red wine because they like it. The fact that it has been shown to have certain health benefits is a plus.

But, you don't need and should not start drinking to benefit. Alternatives include grapes, many other fruits and vegetables plus routine physical activity, which combined offer the same benefits for the heart as seen in products that contain alcohol. However, research is building that suggests drinking red wine can combat cancer cells. So, if you already drink wine, red may be the color of choice for the health conscious.

Here's are several resources to review if you want to become an expert on the subject.

Red Wine Antioxidant Fights Cancer

Resveratrol and Radiation Team Up to Destroy Pancreatic Cancer Cells, By Jennifer Warner, WebMD Medical News

March 26, 2008 -- A new study shows an antioxidant found in red wine destroys cancer cells from the inside and enhances the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy cancer treatments.

Dedicated Red Wine and Health Website

Unlike other types of alcohol, red wine contains vital antioxidants and resveratrol, both of which help repair our damaged cells. In moderation, drinking red wine can improve heart health and circulation while also preventing cancer. This site is for those looking for information, articles and news on red wine and health.

Red Wine - Heart Health benefits?

Written by Gloria Tsang, RD (Last updated December 2005)

Does red wine protect against heart disease? Maybe. Many studies investigated the benefits of red wine suggested that moderate amount of red wine (one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men) lowers the risk of heart attack for people in middle age by ~ 30 to 50 percent.

Sources of Health Info Online

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more than 80% of Americans that have Internet access search for health information online. This means that more people are searching for health information online than are going to see doctors. The leader providing relevant content is WebMD - a giant compared to the competition. But new ventures are aiming for your eyes:

• HealthLine (recently raised $25 million with General Electric and NBC Universal's Peacock Equity Fund as the lead investor)
• Everyday Health (network of sites that started by creating the web presences for popular diet books, such as the South Beach Diet)
• Revolution Health (Founded by AOL founder Steve Case, the site is involved in a marketing push around O, The Oprah Magazine's annual O You event in Miami)
• HealthiNation (health-focused videos for the web and on demand)

Additional Resources

Advertising Age Digital article discussing the online health info trends with respect to ad spending

WebMD - the leading online health info site

Club Industry East Health and Fitness Expo

Last chance...take advantage of FREE Exhibit Hall admission!

Conference: June 6-9
Exhibits: June 7-9, 2007
Disney's Coronado Resort, Orlando, FL

A MUST-ATTEND EVENT...for All Health & Fitness Facility Professionals!

Register to receive FREE Exhibit Hall admission. Join these events and more at Club Industry East 2007:

Evaluate 100+ vendors offering the latest products and services. Register today and receive FREE Exhibit Hall!

Mingle with colleagues and prospects at the Welcome Reception being held outdoors

Win prizes at the Saturday Exhibit Hall Drawings
Club Tours (requires separate registration)
Early Morning Water Aerobics


Start your day off right...Don't Miss Les Mills BODYFLOW™ at the Early Morning Workouts
June 8 & 9th - 7:30 am, Rear of 100 aisle

Restore Balance to Your World
BODYFLOW™ is the Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates workout that builds flexibility and strength and leaves you feeling centered and calm. Controlled breathing, concentration and a carefully structured series of stretches, moves and poses to music create a holistic workout that brings the body into a state of harmony and balance.

Experience a Zumba workout!
June 9, 10:00am-11:00am
Presented by Zumba Education Specialists and International
Presenters Jani Roberts and Tanya Beardsley

Dare to become Zumbafied!!!
Zumba utilizes the principles of interval and resistance training to maximize caloric output, fat burning and total body toning. This workshop is fun, high energy with plenty of hands on practice, so be prepared to workout and DANCE! This program can be modified for any fitness level. Be one of the first 200 to Zumba with Jani and Tanya and receive a FREE Zumba Original Soundtrack music CD!



2 Keynote Addresses

Thursday, June 7
11:30am-12:30pm
Dot Richardson, M.D., Vice Chair, President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Dr. Dorothy "Dot" Richardson is a well-known athlete in the sport of softball. A two-time Olympic Gold medallist in softball (1996 and 2000), she hit the game-winning home run that led to a Gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games, the year softball debuted at the Olympics. Dr. Richardson is currently Medical Director of the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida, a state of the art facility for athletes of all levels, located on a campus with a fully staffed hospital (South Lake Hospital) and the University of Central Florida.


Friday, June 8
11:30am-12:30pm
Dr. Ian Smith, Medical/Diet Expert and Editor
Dr. Ian Smith is currently the medical/diet expert on VH1's highly-rated "Celebrity Fit Club," host of "Meet the Faith" on BET, a medical contributor to ABC's nationally syndicated, "The View", and a contributing editor to Men's Health magazine. Dr. Smith is also the host of his own nationally syndicated radio show HealthWatch on American Urban Radio Networks.

Detailed show info at: www.clubindustryshow.com/east