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Hey Santa Fe, Bet You Didn’t Know This About Splenda® …

Hey Santa Fe, Bet You Didn’t Know This About Splenda® …

For years, Splenda has been one of the top-selling artificial sweeteners that promises to help you maintain a healthy weight because it’s calorie-free.

Well, a VERY recent study shows sucralose (Splenda®) may have a dirty little secret …

Research published in the May 2013 edition of Diabetes Care shows that drinking even a minimal amount of sucralose may not be so good for you, even though it’s calorie free.

The study recruited 17 obese individuals who normally did NOT consume artificial sweeteners and did NOT have diabetes. The researchers then conducted the experiment twice.

First, the patients were given water before given a glucose challenge test (that’s where patients are given sugar, and then have their blood tested to see how the body responds).

Then, the next time the participants came in, they were given sucralose (Splenda®) to drink instead of water before the glucose challenge test.

As it turns out, the body reacts to sucralose in a similar way as it would to sugar. The study’s lead author, M. Yanina Pepino, PhD, stated:

“Insulin levels also rose about 20 percent higher [with sucralose]. So the artificial sweetener was related to an enhanced blood insulin and glucose response.” [1]

Why are these results so shocking? Because if your body routinely secretes more insulin than it needs to, it can lead to type-2 diabetes. And it’s alarming, because most people have been under the impression that calorie free sweeteners are “okay” because they won’t add to your waistline. But even though they won’t add to your calorie count, they can be just as damaging as sugar to your overall health.

A recent opinion paper in the July 2013 edition of Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism reviewed a number of studies and found that drinking artificially sweetened beverages can be just as bad as drinking sugary drinks.

They pose the same risk for type-2 diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, stroke and even heart disease. Worse yet, just one artificially sweetened drink is enough to significantly raise your risk for getting the bad health effects. [2]

So what can you do?

The best thing is to stick to drinking only water, just like our ancestors.

But if you need a little more variety, here are a few things you could do to provide a tasty way to add some “flavor” without sugar or plenty of calories.

Use stevia or xylitol. Both are all-natural, no-calorie sweeteners.

Stick to unsweetened tea. This is also a great option to give you some variety so you don’t have to drink water all the time.

Add mint and lime to your water. It tastes great and if you want to sweeten it a little, just add a bit of stevia.

So now you know Splenda’s®  “dirty little secret.” Avoid it if you can, along with other fake sweeteners. Following the tips here will keep things interesting in the beverage department, while still keeping your health in first place. Your body will thank you!

 

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References:

[1] M. Y. Pepino, C. D. Tiemann, B. W. Patterson, B. M. Wice, S. Klein. Sucralose

Affects Glycemic and Hormonal Responses to an Oral Glucose Load. Diabetes Care, 2013; DOI: 10.2337/dc12-2221

[2] Swithers, Susan “Artificial sweeteners produce the counterintuitive effect of inducing metabolic derangements” Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, 11 July 2013

ELDOA In Santa Fe For Less Shoulder And Neck Pain

How ELDOA’s Increase Spinal Mobility And Get Rid Of Neck And Shoulder Pain

  • Do your shoulders slump and round when you walk, sit, or stand?
  • Do you have trouble keeping your chest up when squatting?
  • Do you get lower back or neck pain when doing twisting or rotational movements?
  • Does it hurt lifting heavy things off the ground?
  • Have you resigned yourself to living with that nagging rotator cuff pain that flares up during workouts and in bed?

If you answered “yes” to any of those (and most people will answer yes to at least one), you may have poor thoracic spine mobility. Even if you don’t notice any of the symptoms leaping out at you, it never hurts to get more mobility, especially in the thoracic spine. And establishing good habits by actively maintaining and training mobility, as opposed to being content with what you have (even if it’s not optimum), is always a good move.

After the hips, thoracic spine mobility is probably the most crucial aspect of mobility. At least with the hips, though, people can identify them and grasp the concept of hip mobility just by reading text on the computer. Sticking your hips back is pretty self-explanatory. What about the thoracic spine? It’s a bit more nebulous.

Do you know how to use your thoracic spine? Are you even aware that it exists? It’s not that people ignore the thoracic spine willfully; it’s that they’re unaware of any distinctions between spinal and lumbar vertebrae. They know about the spine, and imagine it to be a uniform vertebral column, equally capable of bending, twisting, and rotating along its length. This is totally understandable. “Spine” is what we hear, not “thoracic spine” or “lumbar spine” or “cervical spine,” but it’s much more than that.

The human spinal column is composed of five segments: the cervical spine, which extends up the neck to the base of the skull; the thoracic spine, which encompasses the shoulder and chest area; the lumbar spine, also known as the lower back; the sacrum; and, finally, the coccyx, or tail bone. Each performs a different role. Each has different capabilities, different functions. Most importantly, each segment of the spine is designed for a certain range of motion.

The thoracic spine is built for rotation, flexion, and extension. It is highly mobile – or, rather, it has the potential for lots of mobility. Because of its mobility, the thoracic spine must be used, must be moved. But it has to be known. If people are unable to visualize and feel the movement of the thoracic spine, or if they’re unable to even grasp the concept of its existence, they’ll just attempt to twist, rotate, flex, and bend with something familiar to them: the lumbar spine. That’s bad news.

The lumbar spine is built for stability. It’s supposed to support the weight of the body (plus any added weights) and resist excessive rotation and twisting. It remains stable and acts as a conduit for power generated by the hips and fed to the mobile thoracic spine. It is not meant to twist and bend. It can move, obviously, but it’s not meant to be wildly mobile. It’s meant to be solid, reliable.

You’ll find that an immobile thoracic spine isn’t just bad for the vertebrae themselves. It’s bad for your lower back and your shoulders, too. In fact, you’ll rarely feel actual pain along the twelve vertebrae that comprise your thoracic spine. Instead, your lower back will take over work for which it’s really not designed, getting chronic pain for its troubles, and your scapula (shoulder blades) will compensate by moving away from the spine, making overhead shoulder work difficult, dangerous, and painful, and a rotator cuff injury nearly inevitable. Everything in the body is linked, remember, and you can’t remove a major player from the equation without seriously affecting the balance.

Benefits of improved thoracic mobility are: Lack of kyphosis, a less painful, more stable lower back, more lung volume, Healthier shoulders, Greater range of motion …

Do use thoracic mobility to:
a. Lengthen and straighten your thoracic spine with ELDOA’s
b. Breathe more deeply
c. Enable your shoulders to roll further back without swaying the low back

Don’t use thoracic mobility to:
a. Hunch your thoracic spine
b. Hyper-extend your thoracic ligaments creating laxity in the ligaments and hyper-mobility in the thoracic spine.

So, it is important to develop thoracic mobility in a precise way that allows healthy spinal architecture and movement and not in a way that threatens your skeletal integrity or scaffolding. Loosening up the thoracic spine and then using that extra mobility to round or distort the spine further while sitting or standing is in some ways worse than being inflexible. It is therefore crucial to be conscious of posture as well, so that your whole spine is well-aligned throughout your day, and any extra mobility you create in your thoracic spine works to your advantage and towards making you straighter and taller.

In sum … do your ELDOAs!!!

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Personal Training Success Story Santa Fe

Personal Training Success Story Santa Fe – Pat Murphy

Pat is one of the happiest people I have ever met. Just look at that smiling shot for goodness sake! She seems to not have a care in the world. But on the flip side Pat is a very hard worker and has really proven herself over this past year of being with us.

Pat came to Santa Fe after a whole other life in South Beach Miami. She was in Miami before it even started to become the international metropolis that it is now. She was a social worker there working with clientele that had severe head wounds and/or was about to die. All day long that was the majority of her days, until finally she had enough. If she had to fill out one more report she was going to lose it. So she packed up her stuff and Lou (her husband) and moved to Santa Fe.

She had been coming here for 25 years and it seemed like the perfect fit for her new life. She also completely switched gears on what she wanted to contribute in this life. Instead of dealing with death and destruction (literally) she focused on the new joyous beginnings and became a wedding officiate.

I met Pat while networking and right after my “60 second commercial” she said, “You’re talking about me,” with a big ol’ smile on her face. Well I never know if somebody is really serious or not but sure enough she contacted me about a week later.

When she first started it was difficult! We were doing a myofascial stretching hip flexor routine and it was hard because it was new and hard because she needed it. And at the end of the session I said to myself like I say about everybody, “I hope she doesn’t quit.”

Well as I already told you, she made it through that class and all of the others throughout the year. And along the way she has made some amazing progress, so it wasn’t even a question to have Pat be our September Member of the Month.

 

1) What made you decide you wanted/needed to start a program?

I started to notice that I was getting weaker and starting to have a lot more pain. I also saw that many of my friends were going down the road of surgeries and illness, and there was no way that I wanted to do that. When I heard you speak, it really resonated with me and I knew it was for me.

 

2) What did you do before?

I tried Pilates, Yoga and some regular group exercise classes, but I didn’t like any of them. They just didn’t know how to address what was going on with me and I was afraid I was going to get hurt.

 

3) What results have you achieved since starting your program that you are proud of?

The pain I was constantly in is pretty much gone. I feel so much stronger and I am really proud of myself each time I finish a class.

 

4) Do you have a favorite exercise? Least? What do you like or don’t like about them?

I like the 90/90/90. My hips feel so good and balanced after we do them. I do not like the frogs. I know they are good for me, but they are hard.

 

 5) What are some challenges or goals you are currently working on?

I just want to keep showing up. If I show up good things happen. If I were to stop I know I would go backward.

 

 6) What do you like best about our program/ having a trainer?

I love being in a group where everybody is working hard! And the attention to detail and the knowledge that you guys provide us is wonderful.

 

 7) What advice would you give to the other SolCore Fitness members?

Just keep coming!

 

 8) What would you say to someone on the fence about joining our program?

Just try it and see what you are capable of!

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How To Choose A Personal Training Fitness Program For You in Santa Fe #3

Personal Training Program Video 3

If you have a fitness goal you need a holistic fitness program, not the latest cookie-cutter fad workouts. Here is the third of three videos to educate you a little bit more.

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People of Santa fe. Don’t Let That Little Voice Derail Your Exercise Program

How To Defeat That Little Voice That Is Trying To Sabotage Your Exercise Program.

Everyone has positive intentions when it comes to their health and wellness.

You set some great exciting goals and on an exercise program. You buy some new workout gear or new membership. You block the time on your calendar. You have great expectations.

And then… That little voice pops up. Usually not in the first day or two, usually after something a little bit more emotional or one of those longer days that just makes you a bit more tired. And it whispers tiny snippets of negativity. “You don’t really need to do that today you can do it tomorrow.” Or “One little bite won’t hurt.” Or “Go ahead and sleep in you can get to your workout later today.”

You all know what I’m talking about.

It’s that devilish little voice that encourages you to stray from your goals. It sets up excuses and rationalizations. In fact, she’s the queen of rationalization. She’s the one that helps you talk yourself out of doing everything that you totally intended to do.

How do you quiet her when she does pop up? Or how do you keep her from popping up at all?

I think there’s a series of things you can do to prevent that little voice from talking you out of your exercise program routine.

The first is to get super crystal clear on not only your goals, but why they are important to you. Why do you deserve this? Why is it important now? What will that mean to achieve this goal? With a Big WHY, it’s a lot easier to talk that little negative voice down.

Also, you have to be realistic that she’s still going to pick up her little head after you had a long day or challenging circumstance. So the other best way I know to shut her up, is to start each morning with some kind of an affirmation about how you want your day to go.

What will you do that day to move towards your goals? Keep reminding yourself of your big WHY the whole time. That way you’ve already started a dialogue of success, and if she does pop up you’re in a stronger position to remind her and yourself of what it was you were going to do.

I also recommend a little journal at the end of the day to recap all the positive things you did do, and possibly even lay out the plan for the next day.

I think the best way to keep that little voice quiet is to take things one day at a time. It’s great to see the big picture goal but if you know that small daily actions are what it will take to achieve it, you’re much more likely to hold yourself to those small daily actions.

So don’t lose sight of the little things, even though that little voice will try to talk you out of doing what you planned. She’ll try to tell you they don’t affect the big picture, but you know better. You know that true change is the result of taking small consistent actions.

Sometimes we’ll have slip ups and let ourselves listen to what that troublesome voice says, but if we can focus daily on the little actions, the little steps, the little moves that push us closer towards our goals then we can counteract that negative voice. And once she sees that you’re actually serious about reaching your goals, she’s going to stop popping up quite so often.

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