Being Fit: Can I Do without Supplements

       Most of you will have some friend or relative of yours who will have a can of Whey or some other supplement in his/her house, which bring us to this topic "Do we need supplements ?"

     This is a topic that has been debated ever since the inception of Nutrition as business decades ago, and prominent sports personalities figuring in the ads. The answer to this lies with your Nutritionist.



    Lets look at this holistically, What does our body need

• MacroNutrients : Fat, Carb, Protein
• MicroNutrients: Vitamin and Minerals
• PhytoNutrients: anti oxidants , flavanoids etc , that are found in plants and their derivatives ( fruits and veggies )

How much is it needed  ?
3 to 5 times a day based on your lifestyle and metabolism*: 
Averaged** out as below
2 handful carb rich food , 2 palm full Protein rich food, 2 hand full of vegetables/fruits, one thumb of fat rich food
OR more simply put :
2 cups of cereals, 2 cups of pulses/sprouts/eggs/other protein rich food, 2 cups of veggies/fruits and a tsp of oil/ghee.



 *The above are for men , Normal Women Require half to 3/4 of the above.
**Averaged means total daily consumption split equally over the day

When is it needed:
The first meal of the day should be the heaviest and the last meal of the day lightest (but do not miss any meal). If you are working out , there needs to be a replenishing meal with in 45 mins of the workout, rich in carbs , amino acids and proteins ( rice/millets, curds , milk, eggs, chicken breast ) and a energy rich snack before the workout.



So does it means no need of supplements ???
There are more aspects to it
1. Can you follow the above religiously ?
2. Are you sure that your body is synthesizing all required nutrients properly ?.
3. Do you have it in you  to pick choose and cook what is needed ?

If the answer to the above question is Yes , then you dont need supplements.
If the answer to the above questions is No , then contact your Doctor/Nutritionist.

But if the answer is how do i know ? especially for Q2 , then you are the judge. There needs to be a feel good factor , freshness, vigor and energy in each of us. If this is present consistently over 90% of the days in a week(irrespective of you are working-out or not). Then ideally the answer is yes to the above questions.

If you are on a specificity program ( a athletic competition, a six pack to show off, a body building competition, etc ) . Then your needs vary , as you are ripping apart your body and you need to rebuild a lot of cells. In such cases the ratio of nutrients you need will also vary as normally protein rich food might also contain carbs and fat which you may want to avoid. In such cases where you look for a particular isolated nutrients or a ratio of Fat:Carb:protein (which is impossible to obtain from natural feed) you will need the help of supplements.

 Nature has given us a gift: every climate and region is suited for certain kind of food This is the food you should eat. Stick to your traditional food, food grown in your region should be your staple food. Other region food should be enjoyed as a rare delicacy. Seasonal fruits are essential for that season , dont miss them.

Some Protein Rich Food info can be found here :



Vitamins and Minerals:

Being FIT : Posture and Its Deviations

Posture is the way the body holds itself when sitting, standing, lying down, or moving. Proper musculoskeletal alignment creates good posture. When you have good posture, your muscles and bones are basically in balance and your body is symmetrical. Deviation in posture is often due to a lack of strength of particular muscles to hold the body in the needed position. For example, weak erector spinae muscles of the lower back are the main culprits in not being able to maintain an erect trunk in standing and walking.





Good posture makes your body work more efficiently and effectively. By strengthening and stretching the necessary muscles to create good posture, you not only prevent injuries but also rehabilitate them. Merely correcting posture is often all that is needed in order to relieve back pain. For example, pulling the head back into proper alignment is often sufficient to produce the normal curvature of the vertebral column. By lifting the head and looking forward, you can activate the low-back muscles to hold the spine in place and alleviate the problem.

Good posture makes you feel good. Because of its many benefits, such as ease of movement, good balance of muscle strength and flexibility, proper positioning of the spine, and proper functioning of the internal organs, your body feels good and you feel good. You feel vibrant, confident, and ready to perform. Thus, posture should be of prime focus in all fitness activities.

How to check your posture:

Common Postural Deviations:

Lordosis: A spinal disorder in which the spine curves significantly inward at the lower back. 

Scoliosis: A spinal disorder in which there is a sideways curve to the spine. The curve is often S-shaped or C-shaped.

Kyphosis: A spinal disorder which is characterized by an abnormally rounded upper back (more than 50 degrees of curvature).

Common Deviations:

Spine:

You should be able to maintain the four natural curves of the spine at all times. The range of motion will vary from person to person but in general, it should be approximately 30 to 40 degrees of spinal flexion forward and 15 to 20 degrees of spinal extension to the rear.

Everyone spends a considerable amount of time sitting. Your would be surprised to learn that pressures on the vertebral discs are higher when sitting than when standing or lying down. In fact, some experts suggest that intradiscal pressure when seated is up to 11 times greater than when lying down. This risk is particularly insidious because sitting is not normally associated with back pain, whereas standing often is. Many people who experience back pain while standing for long periods of time will feel better when they sit down. It is difficult for them to understand just how sitting can place undue pressure on the vertebral discs. 

Consider the following facts:

• A distinction must be made between the back muscles and the vertebral discs. When you stand for long periods, the disc pressure is relatively low, but you nevertheless feel pain. The pain results from fatigued low-back muscles.
• Increased pressure on the discs in and of itself does not necessarily cause immediate pain. Thus, people are often unaware of this pressure, which in the long term can lead to deformative changes in the discs.

Sitting creates higher Pressure between vertebral disks than standing. It is because when standing, your body weight is distributed over a wide variety of structures, including muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. Upon sitting down, however, the abdominal “corset” relaxes, which causes a majority of your body weight to load the discs. As mentioned earlier, you probably will not feel any pain at all when this happens. Over the long term, though, the constant, increased load upon the discs can result in a multitude of problems, from impinged nerve roots to degenerative osteoarthritic changes.

Ergonomics for posture:

Because sitting is inescapable for most people, the best advice is to 

(1) limit time spent sitting as much as possible, and 

(2) design your workplace with the following in mind:

• Chairs with lumbar supports have been shown to lower pressure between vertebral disks compared to chairs without these supports.
• Chairs with arm rests also reduce pressure on the discs.
• Sitting in a reclined position (120 degrees is optimal) lowers disc pressure.
• Choose a chair that is wide enough to keep your knees apart. Make sure that it allows you enough space to open your knees.
• An adjustable chair will ensure that you can optimize your own workstation for the best possible ergonomic effect.
• At your workstation, your chair and desk arrangement should be such that your forearms rest on the desk with your elbows at a 90-degree angle close to your sides. 

Feet:

Small, insignificant deviations in Feet can lead to major changes in the entire body.For example, if the feet are not sufficiently strong to keep the body in balance and the shins in line with the feet, the knees can change their position. This change can affect the hips, which in turn will affect the spine, which can then affect head position. 

Each joint will then be limited in the actions that it is capable of, especially when the deviation is coupled with tight muscles on one side and weak muscles on the other. 

Pelvis:

Common problem in this region is a forward tilt of the pelvis, which results when the upper pelvis drops forward, resulting in excessive arching of the lower spine. If this is coupled with a slight lateral tilt of the pelvis, there is torsional force from the twisting of the spinal column. When this occurs, one hip socket as well as one side of the hip will be further forward than the other. In this case, the hip-joint flexor muscles will be shortened and the lower back muscles will be tightened.

Excessive arch in the lower back can result from low-back problems or from deviations of the pelvic girdle. The pelvis and spine are so interrelated that it is almost impossible to say which is primarily at fault in causing any particular problem. 

In Summary , it is of at most importance to detect and correct any Postural deviations to live a healthy life. I have worked towards it . HAVE YOU ?