Why Variation in Exercise is Essential
Something that trainers specialize in is knowing when to alter training protocols. We help prevent you from plateauing, over-training, and becoming bored with your workout. Trainers have years of experience, they know countless exercises, they know countless methods to advance towards your training goals. Trainers know how to ramp up and ramp down protocols for optimal results and outcomes. Most importantly, they help safe guard you from going too intense too fast or having bad form during exercise- both are top ways of getting injured from working out. Having a sports medicine background, I am able to spot injuries before they happen. I strengthen joints and muscles prior to advancing to demanding activities and also help you rehabilitate or work around current injuries. Every pivot towards good health is a step in the right direction, no matter how big or how small. Please call to schedule your complementary initial consultation and sample 1 on 1 training session.Call or text: 407-205-7488
Posted by Pivot Holistic Health on Saturday, April 29, 2017
Our bodies are made to function as efficiently as possible. Once a person trains long enough doing the same exercise the body adapts and becomes more efficient at that exercise. For instance, lets say you do squats on a weighted machine every week, twice a week, at the same weight. Eventually, your body will adapt and you will have to increase the weight. Your muscles have adapted and became stronger.
Another example, lets say you jog at the same pace, same distance, three times a week. Eventually, you will have to increase the distance or speed if you want to keep increasing your cardiovascular conditioning.
Something that trainers specialize in is knowing when to alter training protocols. We help prevent you from plateauing, over-training, or becoming bored with your workout. Trainers have years of experience, they know countless exercises, they know countless methods to advance towards your training goals. Trainers know how to ramp up and ramp down protocols for optimal results and outcomes. Most importantly, they safe guard you from going too intense too fast or having bad form during exercise- both are top ways of getting injured from working out. Having a sports medicine background, I am able to spot injuries before they happen. I strengthen joints and muscles prior to advancing to demanding activities and also help you rehabilitate or work around current injuries.
Every pivot towards good health is a step in the right direction, no matter how big or how small. Please call to schedule your complimentary initial consultation and sample 1 on 1 training session.
Call or text: 407-205-7488
- Published in Fitness, Public Blog
Diabetes and Diet
As I mentioned in the previous post, I had a client that had a surgery and needed a place to recover and also someone to prepare their food for them- so that’s exactly what I did. She had bones in her foot deteriorate because of neuropathy caused by decreased blood flow as a result of type 2 diabetes. She had been diabetic for four years that we know of. She did not come under my care until right before surgery. Neuropathy is burning, tingling, and and decreased sensation- especially in the feet, this is caused by excessive blood sugar levels. She was walking with poor foot posture and the decreased sensation didn’t allow her body to know there was a problem with her bones and they deteriorated due to stress of the poor foot posture.
When you have diabetes, your body loses sensitivity to insulin. Insulin helps to get the glucose (sugar from foods like carbs, starches and sugars) into the cells that can use them. Therefore, the sugar stays in the blood. This increased blood sugar is not good for the very small blood vessels because it causes inflammation and makes it hard for the blood cells to travel through the very narrow capillaries. Sometimes these capillaries have a diameter that will only allow one or two blood cells through at a time, you can see how even a small amount of inflammation can cause a decrease in blood flow in these small capillaries.
Without proper blood flow, tissue, bones, and nerves can not function properly or repair themselves. That is why amputation, vision loss, organ failure, and many other health problems can come as a complication of diabetes. The main focus is to eat foods that won’t spike blood sugar levels. We know sweets and refined carbohydrates like bread and pasta will spike blood sugar levels but so will seemingly healthy foods, like grapes. We must watch the glycemic index of the foods we eat. I have gone over that in this blog.
Well, not only did she lose 10 pounds during her program but we were also successful in decreasing her A1C level with food modification. The A1C number is the percentage of glucose (sugar) circulating in the blood. We tested her A1C tested prior to my program and after my program and it went from 6.8% to 5.9%. A value of 5.7% or below of sugar in the blood is what we want and is out of the diabetic range.
When we clear out that extra sugar in the blood we allow the blood system to work more efficiently and we have less chance of nerve, tissue, and bone damage. This client, having had a surgery, was in urgent need of her blood vessels working properly to bring nutrition and the proper materials needed for the healing of her surgical site. The foot is a very common problem spot for diabetics. Upon the three week check up after surgery, the doctor said she had excellent blood flow in her feet. This is great news! Diabetics can get an infection and it may not heal because of the poor circulation.
My main focus was getting this client to eat whole, homemade foods, without preservatives, the least amount of processing as possible, organic, and raw when possible. Salads with Greek yogurt dressing, apples, hummus, nuts, fruits, and vegetables were the focus. Smoothies with chia for increased fiber were also utilized. All bread was substituted with whole grain wraps or sprouted bread, carbs were cut back to once a day, maybe twice. Pasta was substituted for spaghetti squash. Her main sources of protein came from eggs, fish, and organic, free range chicken. Clean eating and exercise every day got us the results we wanted. With some knowledge and the desire to meal prep it is really amazing what diet can do for your well-being.
I would love to do a free personalized consultation and introduction to the eating for health program. I will walk you through every step of the process and advance at a pace that is comfortable for you. We will modify and incorporate food at a pace you choose. Every pivot towards good health is a step in the right direction, no matter how big or how small. Please call to schedule your complimentary initial consultation.
Call or text: 407-205-7488
- Published in Eating for Health, Public Blog
Project Completed!
During the month of March and April I was conducting a full time health project. I was rehabilitating a client after surgery, while simultaneously rehabilitating her eating habits. This was an exciting and intensive project to undertake because I had complete control over her diet. As arduous and time consuming this project was, I have some great, measurable, positive outcomes!
I had the client’s blood tested before the project began and after the project was complete and I am pleased to report I have measurable changes in the pre and post blood results! It is amazing how much the food we eat controls the properties of our blood and also confirmation that food modification can have measurable results like these.
The final results have just come in this week, so I am still in the process of analyzing everything but I will be writing a more in depth post about the results, methods, as well as, specifics in what food modifications were made. Stay tuned for updates! Here’s to your health!
- Published in Eating for Health, Public Blog
VITAMIN C DEFICIENCY
Going along with our exploration of vitamin and mineral deficiencies common in the US, we are ready to explore vitamin C. Some hail vitamin C as one of the most important vitamins to keep our body healthy. There is a lot of hype about vitamin C, we know it helps us fight colds but what else does this vitamin do for us?
We don’t naturally make vitamin C and need to get it from our diet. Vitamin C is considered water soluble, which is thought as easy to secrete through urine if we have too much of it in our body. Vitamin C is important in making collagen which is crucial in making many and repairing many types of body tissue. [1] It also helps maintain bones and teeth. [1] Vitamin C is also a known antibacterial, antiviral, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and even helps to detoxify the body. [2] That is a pretty amazing list of qualities!
Antioxidants are vital for maintaining health because they neutralize free radicals. Basically, free radicals are dangerous because they have an unpaired electron. This causes them roam the body, stealing electrons from healthy cells, turning the healthy tissue unstable and results in a cascade of damage to healthy cells. Antioxidants, such as vitamin C give an electron to the free radicals before they cause damage to your bodies tissue. Sun, smoking, smog, charbroiling, cellular metabolism, and many other sources cause free radicals to enter the body. Because of this neutralizing affect of vitamin C to free radicals, the science community is exploring if vitamin C therapy could help prevent diseases caused by oxidative stress, such as cancer, heart disease, and macular degeneration.
If that is not enough reasons to be sure we are getting enough vitamin C add this to the list: vitamin C is also known to help the body absorb iron. To find out why iron is important check out this blog.
Vitamin C can be found in the following foods. Raw is always better than cooked or processed.
Vitamin C sources:
- citrus fruit
- green peppers
- watermelon
- papaya
- grapefruit
- cantaloupe
- berries
- kiwi
- mango
- broccoli
- tomatoes
- Brussels sprouts
- cauliflower
- cabbage
- apples
- asparagus
- melon
- kale
- peppers
- pineapple
- Published in Public Blog, Smoothie Making
ABOUT THIS BLOG
- Published in Public Blog
ABOUT PIVOT
Pivot provides health and wellness consultation to individuals who seek improvement of their overall health through diet, fitness, and mindfulness training. The goal is to give you the tools you need for you to take charge of your health.
A word from Anjelica, owner of Pivot Wellness LLC: Nutrition and fitness are my life long passions. I posses a Bachelor’s in Health Sciences from the University of Central Florida. I enjoy staying up to date with the latest developments in health and have spent many years learning how to implement healthy living practices into our lives.
I am a certified and licensed Athletic Trainer. I have practiced sports medicine, sports rehabilitation, and sports conditioning for Stetson University, Lyman High School, Palmer Natural Health, and Orlando Kraze, which is a member of the National Premier Soccer League. After working with athletes for many years I decided to broaden my practice to the general population. My training and experience translates well because I specialize in preventative health.
Diet has been known for many years to play a key role as a risk factor for chronic diseases. We also know that America is moving towards a sedentary lifestyle. Unfortunately, the outcome of a lifestyle with very little exercise and poor diet is an increase in preventable, chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. However, through diet and fitness practices we can avoid many of the most common health issues facing Americans.
I want to congratulate you on your interest in improving your health naturally. Investing in your health is investing in the quality of your life. I am looking forward to helping you work towards optimum health by providing you with the right tools to reach your health goals.
- Published in Public Blog
TOP HEALTH RISK FACTORS
In America, heart disease is the top preventable disease. Sure some people have genetic predisposition but we are learning that the environment has a lot to do with whether those genes decide to express. The field of epigenetics explains this phenomena. It turns out that the DNA is embedded with something like a lock. The locks can be opened through environmental factors. Once the lock is open the genetic info can express.
It turns out that an unhealthy lifestyle can open a lot of locks that allow negative genetic predispositions to present. Specifically, we know that smoking is a predisposition to chronic disease. We know that it causes the heart to work harder while also decreasing the overall amount of oxygen transportation. Cigarette smoke has free radicals, have unpaired electrons that disrupt normal and healthy tissue.
Free radicals also come from sun exposure, smog, charbroiling our food…there are many ways to be exposed to free radicals. When we consume antioxidants found in fruit in vegetables we can sometimes neutralize free radical damage.
Next, sedentary lifestyle plays a huge risk factor to health. A lifestyle that lacks sufficient exercise increases the risk of insulin resistance which is linked to type 2 diabetes. [1] Being inactive also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, cognitive decline, obesity, and bone loss. [1] When you exercise your immune system is boosted, also your blood pressure and resting heart rate decrease.
Body fat is also dangerous. We also know that the visceral body fat, the fat that surrounds your organs acts like a hormone, which signals for the increase of inflammation in the body. Visceral body fat also increases risk of cardiovascular disease.
Lastly, keeping your triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels in check through diet and exercise are also very important factors in preventing cardiac disease.
- Published in Fitness, Public Blog
WHY STUDY MINDFULNESS?
According to Wikipedia, “Rumination is the focused attention on the symptoms of one’s distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions.”
Are you or someone you know a worrier? Do you spend a lot of time thinking about what could go wrong? I agree, it’s hard to tell your mind to stop thinking about a problem. However, there is a point where worrying will have no benefit towards the outcome at all. Some things are truly out of your control. Would you believe that controlling your thoughts is a skill that is built just like building a muscle, it’s gained with repetition and practice. The truth is most of the time our minds are running wild and we don’t even know it.
When we study mindfulness, we train to become aware of the thoughts that flow though our consciousness. It is actually a very powerful tool to have. We not only become more aware of our thoughts but we also begin to notice our reactions to circumstances. We feel our heart rate speeding up, we become aware we are having a stressful reaction to a situation. We can take a moment to step back and not allow our emotions to get the best of us.
Once you begin training in mindfulness you develop skills that allow you to quickly get back to a calmer mindset. We can make more clear decisions and are less likely to REACT out of emotion. How many times have you wished you had reacted differently after you had a moment to clear your head? When you are calm you can focus on finding a solution, when you are upset you are more likely to act out. We all have experienced that before. Training your mind not to run away with itself really is just like building a muscle or training for any skill really- the more you practice the better you get.
Being able to tame an uncontrolled mind is truly one of the most powerful tools you can wish to have.
For a complementary mindfulness training session please contact Pivot to schedule an appointment.
- Published in Mindfulness Training, Public Blog
Understanding Type II Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is on the rise in America. Many think it is because of the highly refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and added sugar that can be found in almost any processed food. Some symptoms of diabetes are frequent urination and increased thirst. The body needs the pancreas to produce insulin to help the body get the glucose from food into the cells in the body, where the glucose can be used. The body becomes insulin resistant when someone is type 2 diabetic and the pancreas must produce more insulin to get the glucose into the cells. Someone that is becoming insulin resistant will produce increased amounts of glucose for a time. Eventually, the pancreas can not keep up and the glucose remains in the blood and can not get into the cells. If the glucose stays in the blood vessels they actually cause damage to the vessels and possibly to the organs the blood vessels supply. This can lead to vision problems and is the leading cause of blindness in the US. Excess glucose in the blood vessels also causes nerve damage, kidney damage, heart disease, stroke, foot damage, skin infections, hearing problems, poor blood circulation, and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease. [1] Please check with your doctor to see if you are diabetic. Early detection can help prevent complications from diabetes.
If you are trying to be sure that the food you eat does not spike your blood sugar you can check for the glycemic index. Some foods such as refined carbohydrates, sugar, soda, white bread, candy etc. raise the blood sugar very fast. Someone who is insulin resistant might not be able to handle these sharp spikes of glucose in the body. Foods with a higher fiber, protein, and lipid content will most likely have a more steady stream of glucose in the blood VS a spike like foods with a high glycemic index. The glycemic load takes into account of the total carbohydrate content and portion size. How a food is prepared can also change how the food releases glucose into the body.
Starch, glucose, fructose, sucrose, and lactose can all spike your blood sugar levels. Glucose and sucrose enter the bloodstream quickly. Starches are chains of glucose but they break up quickly and enter the blood stream quickly, this is reflected in the glycemic index number.
When we eat food that is natural and not refined or processed it is more likely to have a symphony of nutrition. It will have vitamins, minerals, fiber, protien, even fat- which are slow to digest and help lower the glycemic index. For example, eating an apple you have a high fiber content VS soda, there is no fiber and the sugar in the soda hits the blood stream fast and spikes insulin levels.
To learn what a foods glycemic index is use a site like this one. If you are diabetic, aim for foods that are low on the glycemic index:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods
- Published in Eating for Health, Public Blog
K2, THE COMPANION TO VITAMIN D
The benefits of vitamin D have already been discussed here. We know that vitamin D is important for bone, muscle, and nerve health but we have to be careful because vitamin D helps absorb calcium but calcium can also be absorbed in places we might not want calcium build up. One of the places we want to avoid calcium absorption is in your artery walls.
K2 seems to be a director of sorts. It tells the calcium where to go, vitamin D is so good at helping the body absorb calcium but K2 is vital to make sure the calcuim goes to the right place.
One example I can tell you about happens in football players. There is a common injury called a quadriceps contusion (bruise). That is why they have pads there. Well, if a player keeps getting hit in the quad, eventually the inflammation response will linger. As a side affect of uncontrolled inflammation is that the body might lay down some calcium in that area. It is just something the body does, it thinks it is helping resolve the issue. The same thing can happen in your artery walls. Plaque can build and inflammation sets in, calcium forms on the wall and the artery wall can stretch properly because the calcium deposits.
K2 helps the body direct calcium deposit in the places we should lay down calcium and not in the places we shouldn’t.
If you eat beef, drink milk, or use butter opt for grass fed. It has more K2. Also, always get K2 when ingesting vitamin D and calcium.
- Published in Public Blog, Smoothie Making