Can proper athletic gear improve your performance? Yes, it can. Will it? That is another question.

The ability to perform in situations that stress your mind and body (such as athletic endeavors) requires several factors that come into play and work together:

• You must be prepared (as in trained, well-versed, etc.) in the activity you are attempting to execute.
• Your body must be injury-free and in good shape.
• You must have the mental capacity to move beyond feelings of fear, uncertainty and frustration in order to compete at a higher level.
• And you must have the proper gear.

Now, dressing for the part is not necessarily a requirement for amateur athletes (unlike pros, who almost always have some sort of restrictions concerning their garments and accoutrements), but it really can make a difference in your performance, both physically and mentally.

Before you invest in athletic gear

If you are just trying a sport on for size, you may want to borrow some equipment until you decide if it’s an activity you will continue with in the long-term. For any sport that requires balls, pads, and so forth, just get a friend to loan you some of the items you’ll need to get started. Then, if you decide it’s something you want to pursue, you can lay out the cash to purchase the paraphernalia necessary to proceed.

What makes athletic gear proper?

Most sports have regulation sizes for balls, cleats and other gear, but the thing that really makes a difference for most athletes is what they wear. Having clothing that is specifically designed for a certain sport can make a world of difference.

Tennis, for example, entails a particular type of movement (often side to side). For that reason, shorts and skirts are loose and unrestrictive.

Marathon running, on the other hand, produces a lot of friction between the legs, so you’ll need tightly fitted shorts or pants that will wick away moisture and that won’t ride up, thereby exposing your inner thighs to chafing.

Then there are sports like football and hockey that require so much protective padding that the actual garments worn have to be quite roomy (and geared to either hot or cold environments).

Being comfortable can definitely make a big difference in how well you perform (and how much you can endure). But there is also a psychological aspect involved.

The psychology behind athletic gear

Just as smokers are trained to define themselves as “non-smokers” once they quit (and alcoholics are forever in “recovery”), athletes need to be able to set parameters for their athleticism if they want to realize improvement and success. One of the best ways to do this is through appearance.

Anyone can look at a crowd of people and point out who plays tennis, who rides horses and who’s been out catching waves just by recognizing their clothing.

In addition, purchasing the gear associated with your activity of choice is an excellent way to mentally commit to bringing your goals to fruition. If you jog in cut-offs and an old concert t-shirt, you are never going to view yourself as a devoted athlete and you may lack the motivation to improve.

If, on the other hand, you dress the part, you will not only feel like you belong (you are now a member of an elite club), you’ve already taken the first step towards becoming mentally and physically prepared to push your limits, and that’s what will really step up your game.

A few recent Live Lighter guest posts have revolved around fitness, like fun workouts you never heard of and can proper athletic gear improve performance? but after reading some startling statistics, I wondered if these posts were actually useful.

Did you know, again according to Statistics Canada, that active leisure time has been steadily dropping since the ’80s? For instance, in 2005, just 49% of women were active during their down time. This year, that number dropped to just over 30%.

So instead of just saying, we need to be more active in our leisure time, here’s a few practical ideas in how to fit fitness into your busy day:

1. Commit to being more active! By simply setting the intention that no matter what, you’ll be more active in your day, then you’re already 50% there.
2. Set realistic goals. Look at your available time in a week and schedule some workouts in. Try for 1 hour slots, three times a week for full strength-training and cardio workouts. If this just isn’t possible, then read on!
3. Step up your game. Are you completely inactive? Then try walking for 15 minutes a day and eventually increase it up to 30 minutes or walk up hills. Are you already walking half an hour a day? Then increase it up to 1 hour or if you lack the time, try doing lunges while you walk – hey, you may look funny but when I do it walking with my friend, we get a good giggle out of it (by the way, laughing hard strengthens your abs and burns calories!). If you’re already jogging 30 minutes, try interval training by sprinting for one minute and walking fast for three minutes.
4. Crank up the tunes. Basically what we’re trying to do here is motivate you into putting more effort into your physical time so that you’re using your limited time more effectively (without hurting yourself). Fast-paced music calls out to your body to go with the beat. Try it!
5. 5 minute strength-training. When you just can’t seem to get in even 30 minute walks or jogs, then try 5-minute sessions of push-ups, crunches, plank positions, chair dips and squats during the commercials of your favourite TV program.
6. 2-3 minute strength-training. When you just can’t get motivated while you’re resting in front of the tube, try tying exercise tubing around your staircase and when you pass it, do a set of triceps extensions, bicep curls, rows or leg lifts. Try getting at least 2-3 sets of each exercise in before you hit the sheets.
7. A few more 2-3 minute strength-training ideas. When you’re doing dishes, why not do a couple of squats? At work and before lunch, walk up and down a couple of sets of stairs (if you have them).
8. Use your down time wisely. Next Saturday, plan a hike with your family or friends, or go alone! Pack your backpack to the hilt so you can add a couple of extra pounds to step up your game. Make sure you have some high-quality fuel to keep up your energy with a healthy lunch and snacks.

It’d be great to get that full hour, 3 times a week but it’s just not possible for some people. As long as you’re doing something when you can, you’re improving your health. Hopefully the above suggestions will help the time-crunched folks out there.

That takes care of the physical fitness aspect but as we all know, nutrition is just as important to getting healthier and stronger.

Fitting Healthy Eating In

Organize and prepare some healthy snacks. This way you’re not grabbing unhealthy options when you’re hungry and you can keep your metabolism up. And you’ll keep your body from going into starvation mode, which stores fat.

• Healthy snacks that last are a combo of protein and good carbs. Even the healthiest carbohydrates burn in your system more quickly than protein. By adding protein, you’ll feel fuller longer.
• Plan & prepare your meals ahead of time. I like to do this over the weekend. On Friday, I take 15 minutes to scan my healthy recipe books for a couple of meal ideas. Then I write out a grocery list, filling in the rest of the meals with easy options, like tuna salad sandwiches and carrots. Saturday is shopping day. Sunday is when I make 1 or 2 of the bigger meals, doubling the recipes when I can so I can freeze them to conveniently grab during the week.
• Bake healthy, high fiber treats. Ah, it’s so easy to buy that cheap chocolate bar when you’ve got the munchies, isn’t it? One way to stop this is to use your Sunday prep day to make a batch of healthier treats to freeze and have handy when you’re hungry. Here’s a recipe for my healthy carrot love muffins and Hannah Keeley’s black bean brownies(which taste BETTER than traditional brownies, if you ask me).

If you’d like more healthy snack ideas, try these Live Lighter recipes and this gamut of healthy recipes (which includes a ton of raw food dessert recipes)!

During summer afternoons, staying cool takes top priority whether it’s in the comfort of air conditioning or taking a dip in the pool. But you can also indulge in food and drink that keeps you cool!

Since heat can be dehydrating, opt for foods with high water content (like watermelon and cucumber) and easy to digest. Here are a few summer meal ideas and variations to keep you cool when it’s hot outside.

Salads

Hearty vegetables and fruits are a staple in my diet, especially in the heat of summer.

Vegetable salads. Whether you’re home or out-and-about, don’t just stick with romaine or iceberg lettuce, change it up with arugula, watercress or mesclun (a mix of young greens). Make sure to get your protein by adding cheese, fish, chicken or legumes like chickpeas.

Fruit salads are easy to make, colorful and simply refreshing especially when you complement it with tangy dressings like citrus or ginger-mint.

Chilled Soup

Another way to stay cool at noon is with a bowl of chilled soup. It’s a great way of meeting your vegetable quota and is most palette-pleasing when seasoned with flavorful herbs and spices. Some of my favorites include tomato soup, cucumber soup, red lentil soup and gazpacho.

Liquid Meals

Consider liquid lunches when you’re not really hungry but thirstier. All you need are fresh fruits and vegetables, a juicer or blender and you’re set!

I seek out chilled fresh fruit or vegetable juices and smoothies. These drinks pack a nutritional punch as well as quench thirst.

There are so many choices when it comes to fruit juice – classic lemonade, mango, blueberry, guava, apple and pineapple or combining fruits to make your own concoction. Since fruits are naturally sweet, I don’t add sugar but if you need a sweetener try brown sugar or agave.

Vegetable juices that recharge me include beet, tomato or carrot. Even a combination of fruits and vegetables make for a refreshing twist of textures and flavors (try 3 carrots, 1 apple, 2-3 celery sticks and 1 orange – all peeled, chopped and then juiced).

Live Lighter has a wide assortment of blended green meals that make light and nutritious liquid meals.

Smoothies are typically high in fiber, low in fat, and loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Like juices, smoothies can be made with fruits or vegetables or both, and require just a few other ingredients:

1. Thickener – such as ice, yogurt or ice cream
2. Liquid – such as low-fat or soy milk or juice
3. Flavor enhancers are optional – such as cinnamon, vanilla or almond extract
4. Popular additives that also help cool you down – including ginger, peppermint and cilantro

So whether you are at a smoothie bar or at home, relish in the endless varieties of smoothies. Peruse the smoothie recipes here on Live Lighter and check out www.smoothieweb.com for a collection of delicious recipes.

Try this recipe for Mango Smoothie. May these helpful tips keep you cool this summer and quench your thirst. Cheers to your health!

Mango Swirl Smoothie

The tangy-sweet taste of mangoes makes this light, healthy, and easy-to-make smoothie a great thirst quencher. Prep Time:  10 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. 2% milk
• 8 oz. vanilla low-fat yogurt
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and chopped (or 1 c. frozen mango)
• 1/8–1/4 c. sugar (optional, depends on the sweetness of the mango)

Garnish:
4 fresh mint leaves

Preparation

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender fitted with a steel blade. Cover and blend on high speed until smooth.  Pour into tall glasses with ice cubes; garnish with mint leaves and serve.

During summer afternoons, staying cool takes top priority whether it’s in the comfort of air conditioning or taking a dip in the pool. But you can also indulge in food and drink that keeps you cool!

Since heat can be dehydrating, opt for foods with high water content (like watermelon and cucumber) and easy to digest. Here are a few summer meal ideas and variations to keep you cool when it’s hot outside.

Simply put, CrossFit is everything! It’s strength, endurance, cardio, you name it. It’s about being so in shape that you can handle any physical obstacle that comes your way.

This type of training regimen is used by elite military and police units, mixed martial artists and professional athletes.  What might surprise you, though, is it’s also the type of training regimen used by grandfathers battling heart disease!

The key to CrossFit is a holistic approach to fitness. As much as bodybuilders with a gross amount of muscle mass are avoided, so are the marathon runners with zero muscle mass who are only fit to run long distances.

It stresses not only cardiovascular endurance but also strength, speed, balance, stamina, power, coordination, flexibility, agility and accuracy in repeating movements and processes. This form of complete fitness is not only prized in elite athletics and military operations, but in everyday life as well.

Think about it, how often does anyone need to run 26.2 miles? Only when they run a marathon, of course. Now think about the fitness required to carry your three-year-old for an extended period of time at the fair when she’s decided she’s had enough.

CrossFit achieves this complete level of fitness through interval training. What this means is there’s a focus on variance instead of repetition in each session.

Rather than just running or weight training, there’s an emphasis on activities that grow the 10 general physical skills listed above (flexibility, agility, etc.). This means activities such as gymnastics, throwing medicine balls in addition to lifting weights, and mixing in sprinting with distance running. This works to develop both aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels, when in past training programs, the two were considered mutually exclusive.

In addition, CrossFit dispels the myths of fad diets as a path to fitness. It prescribes well-rounded nutritional practices, including fat, proteins and carbohydrates. Without the proper fuel in your system, you won’t be able to keep up with even a lower level training regimen, and are only doing yourself harm.

The key here is that a good diet and a good fitness level are much better to overall wellness than a fad diet that might cause someone to lose weight, but not in a sustainable or healthy manner.

Finally, CrossFit is as right for grandfathers with heart disease as it is for champion martial artists. That’s because CrossFit’s lack of specialization, focusing on all areas of fitness, means that it’s just a matter of adjusting the level of intensity for the appropriate party. The grandfather and the martial artist have the same core needs, just like everyone else, it’s simply a matter of degree.

If you’re tired of salads and hurting for some variety in your light, summer meals, try a few of the many Live Lighter detox blender meals. They’re packed with vitamins and antioxidants from veggies, have nuts for protein (to make you feel fuller longer), and so easy to digest that they’re perfect for the hot weather.

Today’s green drink recipe was inspired by the fresh, green peppers growing my garden. It’s my first garden (thanks to our first home purchase) and you could knock me over with a feather because the plants are actually producing veggies! (You should see the prehistoric leaves on the zucchini plants!)

Have you ever noticed how fresh garden veggies taste? They explode in your mouth! That’s what you can expect with today’s green detox drink if you use veggies from your garden or a farmer’s market.

Sweet Pepper & Avocado Detox Drink

Makes: 1 serving (approx. 18 oz)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight
• 1 & 1/2 cups fresh kale, washed & de-stemmed
• 1 small green bell pepper, de-stemmed & seeded
• 3 tbsp ripe avocado
• 1 small apple, seeded & quartered
• 1 cup filtered water, or until desired consistency

Preparation

1. Blend almonds.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend together.
3. Pour and enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Calories 644.0

Total Fat 46.2 g
Saturated Fat 4.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 10.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 28.6 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 51.5 mg
Potassium 1,489.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 50.7 g
Dietary Fiber 19.9 g
Sugars 8.3 g
Protein 20.8 g

Vitamin A 538.1 %
Vitamin B-12 0.0 %
Vitamin B-6 36.8 %
Vitamin C 236.1 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 108.9 %
Calcium 33.8 %
Copper 64.0 %
Folate 27.8 %
Iron 31.5 %
Magnesium 65.0 %
Manganese 141.4 %
Niacin 26.4 %
Pantothenic Acid     13.0 %
Phosphorus     44.3 %
Riboflavin 48.9 %
Selenium 8.1 %
Thiamin 25.1 %
Zinc 22.5 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Everyone knows that water is essential to the human body. It hydrates us, protects our organs and provides our nutrients with a road to travel. These days just about everyone realizes the necessity of ample water intake.

With so many people reaching for healthier options, there are more choices than ever when choosing our H2O. Here is the lowdown on all the basic options available and their varied affects on our health:

Sparkling

While favored heavily in most of Europe and used throughout the bottling industry, this type of water is the least healthy. Sparkling water is still water but with a high concentration of carbon dioxide. The fizz and carbonation in sparkling water is the same acidic mixture used in sodas.

Long term use of sparkling water can present a health risk,particularly for dental health.

Distilled and Reverse Osmosis

This is 100% H2O, making distilled water (or deionized water) the purest option.

The drawback here is that there is no nutritional value. The extra minerals that come as part of the regular H2O package are not present due to the evaporation of the water which completely removes everything `heavy’ to become a gaseous state.

Water processed through reverse osmosis is also purified as minerals cannot escape through the processing. In addition to no nutritional value, water processed with these methods is also high on the acidic scale.

The consensus here is that distilled water is the least healthy of all water options due to the lack of mineral nutrition. That’s the only consensus in the water debate.

The battle between tap and bottled water rages on. The basic argument is that tap water can contain unwelcome contaminants. Bottled water on the other hand has been known to contain the same contaminants and some tests have shown higher levels of toxins like arsenic and excessive fluoride.

Tap

Natural tap water comes from many sources. Wells, surface water and deep water aquifers are all sources for tap water.

In the USA, tap water is under strict guidelines by the government and despite the occasional discoloring or funny taste, tap water here is very safe. Many larger cities have begun using advanced filtering techniques and the process of ozonation. This increased the filtering capabilities by further reducing the percentage of chemicals in the water.

Tap water is also rich in minerals which help many experts to argue that this reason alone makes tap water the healthiest choice. Many people also choose to filter their tap water in their home. This process maintains the mineral content but can help decrease everyday contaminants like lead or e. coli.

Filtered

There are many filters on the market. Some are better than others but the actual quality depends on the original quality of the drinking water.

A more contaminated water source calls for a heavier duty filtration system to remove the various toxins. Your basic decent tap water with just a hint of metal contamination from the pipes will be just fine with a cheap filtration system (on the faucet or water pitcher).

One negative hitch with filtration systems is that they get dirty. Maintenance is important if the filter is to continue working. Without the appropriate maintenance, bacteria and other collective gunk will start making its way into your water.

Bottled

Bottled water has the benefit of manufacturing. Some companies infuse the water with bonus minerals which actually enhances the health benefit of water.

Bottled water is increasingly being held to the same standards of control as tap water, but regulation still lags behind. Many tests have shown bottled water to possess more contaminants than tap water.

The trick here is that it all depends on where you get your water supply from and what brand of bottled water is used. Some tap water is extraordinary while others barely make a passing grade. The same distinctions apply with bottled varieties. This is why it’s impossible to determine one as healthier over the other.

Structured

Natural water from glaciers and deep artesian wells are typically known to be more “structured”. The actual molecular structure of the water reacts to the human body in the most natural way.

Water from many bottled waters and even distilled water are structured differently and may cause the body to process it differently; sometimes even treat it as a foreign body!

Structured water can be created at home through special systems. It is also beginning to carve a luxury niche in the bottled water market. Almost all experts agree that the molecular structure of this type of water is the most beneficial to the human body.

And the Winner Is?

The clear winner here is structured water. The science behind how its molecular structure boosts the human body’s performance is growing with every study.

Water is essential to the human body for hydration and the transportation of nutrients. With structured water this process is done cleanly and more efficiently. It is important to remember that most water is good water. Even water types with a potential to cause health risks are helpful and healthful to our bodies.

Sparkling water still has a large edge on soda when it comes to acidic quality. Even dodgy tap water can be filtered to healthy drinking levels. Bottled water is fabulous for an on-the-go healthy choice and choosing the right brand can provide extra health benefits.

So turn on the faucet, pour yourself a cold one and enjoy the incredible power of H2O.

Fasting has long been the providence of religious enthusiasts looking to reach a higher state of enlightenment through the denial of worldly pleasures (or purify, cleanse, and invite visions) as well as political activists looking to draw attention to their cause.

However, you don’t have to be a Siddhartha or Mahatma Gandhi to realize some of the benefits of depriving your body of food.

The concept of improving your health by denying yourself the very nutrition that keeps you alive is a strange one, to be sure. But when you consider all of the toxins that modern man ingests, whether from processed and refined foods or chemically treated produce, it only makes sense that flushing them out of your system will lead your body to feel and function better.

But what is fasting?

There is a fine line between a healthy fast and starvation or an eating disorder, so it pays to do a little research before you simply decide to stop eating.

A fast begins and ends with carbohydrates, which your body stores as fat. The carbs that you ingested most recently turn into glycogen, which is burned off pretty quickly if you have a high level of activity.

But in general, carbs become sugar, which is either eliminated as waste or transformed into the fat that your body stores to burn as energy in case of a lack of fuel (as when you fast). So, when your body begins to burn your fat stores (generally during the first day of food deprivation), your fast has technically begun.

However, at some point your body is also going to start dipping into stores of protein, which means you will begin burning muscle instead of fat. At this point, your fast has ended and starvation has set in. The amount of time it takes to reach this point varies from person to person, so you may want to check with your doctor or nutritionist to find a safe window of time for practicing your fast.

In addition, you will need to consume plenty of fluids (generally water, but sometimes fruit and vegetable juices) to ensure that you don’t suffer from dehydration, which can quickly turn from merely unpleasant to deadly.

There are a couple of different reasons for why people fast:

Most people use it as a form of detoxification to enhance their body’s natural proclivity to filter out toxins and waste. In most cases, it merely speeds up a process that your body performs on its own, so in that respect, it is fairly safe when done under the supervision of a physician or other health-care professional.

The main benefit of fasting for detoxification is that environmental toxins are often stored in your fat reserves (think DDT), so when you begin to deplete them, these stored chemicals will be sloughed off through urine, feces and sweat, leaving you potentially much healthier than before.

The other reason people turn to fasting is as a dieting technique. There is something to be said for reducing your body fat in this way, but there are drawbacks to using fasting as both a short-term and long-term dieting regimen.

In the short term, fasting can help you to shed unwanted pounds quickly, but it may cause changes in your metabolism. Once you start eating again, you may gain weight (sometimes in excess of what you lost) if you return to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Longer fasts (from one week to one month), can become dangerous not only because of the amount of weight being lost, but the psychological process that accompanies rapid weight loss. It can become addictive and lead to severe eating disorders in some people who are predisposed to such tendencies, so be sure to monitor your progress and take your doctor’s advice concerning when to stop.

Sticking to a workout plan can be a difficult task but it usually helps the new, enthusiastic and blooming fitness conscious people to build a good foundation of power and endurance. The initial phase usually seems to be scary but it’s not as bad as it seems to be. You can always start off without any equipment at all. Customized boot camp programs at fitness centers are a wonderful way towards the “Super Fit Goal.”

Having a strong build and flaunting it with pride can be thrilling like playing for hours together during your childhood was. You can get your heart pumping and blood pounding by starting off with a jumping rope. Warming up is a very important criteria in any kind of exercise or sport if you are looking out for long lasting results. Jumping rope within a set time limit and doing a fixed number of jumps within the time frame warms up your body just right to move ahead in the workout regime.

People who are new to this world of workouts have this preconceived notion that conventional pushups are the only effective ways to work the abdominals and arms. Here they discover that there really are other alternatives and upbeat ways to do the same task. One can reap maximum benefits by raising their feet while doing pushups. This method is much more efficient than the conventional one. A collapsed tree trunk or a sturdy boulder for outdoor exercise and a stool or a box for indoor ones can be a few other alternatives.

Having a good, positive and motivational partner during such sessions will work wonders on your spirit especially when the going gets tougher. Using a medicine ball for building muscle is one such method wherein working as a team is fun. In this one partner lies on the ground with the arms outstretched and catches the ball dropped by the other team mate before throwing it back.

With the growing boom of fitness and healthy living, membership fees have increased a great deal and this is often used as an excuse for being deprived of a quality workout. However this problem can be solved by using substitutes from our day-to-day lives that are easily available rather than hunting for proper equipments. Using doorframes, low sturdy branches and monkey bars at parks are all you need for pull-ups.

Instead of performing these drills in singles, a regular regimen consisting of a combination of exercises such as brisk walking, running and the above mentioned methods clubbed in a defined time frame works better. Using some creativity and offbeat ideas and planning out a good regimen as per your need can help you have a gala time with your teammate.

So instead of the conventional exercises with heavy equipments and a typical gym environment, you have other options to consider for staying fit and healthy forever.

When we are so busy and time is a hot commodity, why would I suggest anything like slowing down?

What’s the point?

We’re busy, we’ve got things to do.

Why slow down at all? Why not suggest even speeding up? Wouldn’t that make more sense? Actually, speeding up would be the absolute worst thing you could do if you plan on getting healthy and staying healthy. How come?

Imagine a car driving along a road. At a normal speed, it’s dangerous, but not terribly so. Add a little bit more speed to that car and you end up with a nice little physics equation. Force equals mass times acceleration. The faster the car goes, the higher the danger. In this scenario, increasing speed is incredibly dangerous. And I’d like you to believe that the human body is similar to a car in this aspect. Anything that we can do faster is ultimately going to come at the expense of our health.

Even if we run faster, we ultimately will pay the price if we push too far, too fast, too soon. It might be through injury, it might be something more serious. But my main concern is what happens when we eat faster. This may seem like the least of our concerns, but it actually ends up being on of the most critical pieces to our health and one that we have the most control over. So why am I worried about how fast you’re eating?

Because you have complete control over it- that is why I’m worried. Have you ever timed yourself during a meal? Do you consider yourself a fast eater? Maybe a slow eater? Maybe even somewhere in between? Or maybe I should even ask you what you ate for dinner yesterday. Can you remember?

The point that I want to make is that we’re living in such a fast paced world that everything around us feels like it needs to move faster just to keep pace. When we start eating faster, we lose the memory of it. We stop remembering what we ate and when. We even forget how much we ate. This becomes a problem when you’re looking to lose weight.

If you can’t remember what you ate and when, chances are you also won’t remember how much as well. You won’t be able to remember if you enjoyed your food or if you enjoyed the company you had while eating. What is even worse is that if you tend to eat fast, then you most likely didn’t have a conversation during the meal.

By eating quickly, you also tend to swallow a disproportionate amount of air. Burping on its own will not cause health problems but swallowing an excess amount of air will make the eater uncomfortable. Uncomfortable does not equal unhealthy. Eating quickly could also overwhelm the digestive system, making the eater uncomfortable for a much longer amount of time than it took to eat. Now you can start seeing a small problem.

When you overwhelm the digestive system, the least of what you’ll get away with is discomfort. You might feel uncomfortably full. You might even be burping or feel bloated. Eventually it will go away. But for some of us, especially as we get older, our bodies start processing food in a slightly different way. Maybe we won’t be able to tolerate the same foods any more. Maybe we won’t be able to eat late any more. Maybe we’ll start having more concerning digestive issues. Think acid reflux, ulcers, the need for probiotics, diarrhea, constipation, food sensitivities and more.

My argument is this: if we can learn to eat slower, we can “tune in” to our bodies more. We can learn what it likes and doesn’t like. We can learn how much we need and when we need it. We can even see the small changes in our digestion that might clue us in to changes in our outside world. You’ll know how your body responds to stress. You’ll know how your body responds to health and being given a healthy diet. You can learn all about your body this way.

And all it will take is for you to slow yourself down, slow yourself way down. Listen to your body. Really enjoy your food. Really enjoy your health.

What is constipation?

Constipation is when you have a lower than average bowel movement, usually less than 3 times a week and the stools are usually small, dry and hard. If you suffer from this problem like I have done in the past you may experience various symptoms which can include feeling bloated, sluggishness and bowel movements which are quite uncomfortable.

It is the colon which is at the heart of the problem with this condition. The colon exists to remove water from waste material as it passes from the small intestine into the colon. It serves as a waste material storage place. It helps to move and expel stools from the body. Therefore, constipation can occur if the colon removes too much water causing hard and dry stools, the stool moves slower through the colon or the sufferer is unable to expel the stool even though they feel they need to.

Constipation should be treated when it occurs to reduce abdominal discomfort and other related symptoms so that complications do not occur which could lead to serious problems such as hemorrhoid or fecal impaction. Believe me, it can be very painful if you suffer from haemorrhoids and you develop constipation.

Who suffers from constipation?

Of all the gastrointestinal complaints in North America, Constipation is the most common with over 4.5 million US citizens suffering with it on a regular basis resulting in a staggering 2.5 million visits to the physician every year.

Usually most sufferers are women, especially during pregnancy and following childbirth, children and adults aged 65 and over. However, most of us will suffer from constipation occasionally during some part of our lives to some degree, although it will not be prolonged or serious enough to consult a physician and can usually be corrected by simple treatments, a high fiber diet or laxatives.

Prevention is better than cure.

So how do we avoid becoming constipated in the first place? The simple answer is diet. By putting the right foodstuffs into your mouth at one end, the right consistency of end product will come out the other end!

Fiber.
Although people are now more familiar with the idea of a diet containing more fiber, generally we still do not eat enough. Its not as if fiber is a rare foodstuff. The best fiber is simply fresh fruit and vegetables and certain breakfast cereals. Raw fruit and vegetables are best.

Fluids.
Drinking plenty of fluids can be beneficial in many ways but certainly it helps in the prevention of constipation. About 3 liters a day of water and other fluids. Avoid tea and coffee however, as these have a dehydrating effect.

Exercise.
Doing some form of exercise in which you may be bending or stretching can help bowel movements sufficiently to keep things ‘flowing’. If YOU are not very active your bowel and internal organs will not be either.

I have personally suffered from constipation in the past but now stick to a healthy diet and go for brisk walks everyday. This has definitely made a difference to me and has improved my lifestyle.

I hope this article has been of use to you. It is not an in depth piece but an overview of the problems associated with constipation and how to avoid them.