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Welcome back to the What Supp Blog! Today I’m bringing the first segment of a three part post about the benefits of implementing a strength training routine for just about any body. 

The series is going to explore the fundamentals of a basic strength training routine from a health and performance perspective. This topic has been discussed in detail by the great Mark Sisson who I’d highly recommend one and all to read up on to learn about his ‘Primal’ approach to nutrition and overall well being.

Im going to first look at the benefits on longevity and the hormonal impact of strength training to evidence why its benefits reach far beyond ascetics. I’ll go on to detail the movement patterns for the body and discuss what exercises can be used to good effect to build a base to generate whole body strength. 

The series will conclude by introducing a more specialised approach to weight training called Maximum Sustained Training. This will be explored with view for those seeking to improve their athletic performance. 

Longevity  

So building muscle and strength is not just a vanity project, with its impact having some potentially far reaching effects. To kick off, the benefits and necessity for introducing strength training actually increases with age. It’s a sobering fact that one of the number one causes for elderly people entering care homes is the result of injuries caused from falls. 
Bone density and strength is something that decreases as we age, therefore one great reason why a basic strength training routine should be introduced is its bone strengthening qualities.  

The musculoskeletal system provides form, support, stability, and movement to the body. It is made up of the bones of the skeleton, muscles, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, joints, and other connective tissue that supports and binds tissues and organs together. Done correctly, strength training can strengthen this whole system. This has has a knock on effect of addressing imbalances, and as such, reducing risk of chronic injuries caused by day to day overload on the body caused from the most basic environmental factors such as sitting and using a computer. 

Hormones 

This is not the only reason to start strength training. Scientists have widely researched the acute effects of weight training on levels of certain important hormones. It’s useful to consider the processes that break down (catabolic) and processes that build up (anabolic).Not only does the bulk of the research conclude that strength training boosts levels of anabolic hormones like testosterone, but it has also been shown to decrease catabolic hormones like cortisol. 

Reducing cortisol should be a aim for one and all. Cortisol is made by your adrenal glands; two small glands that sit on top of your kidneys. Along with effecting the immune response, cortisol also plays a key role in other functions, including how your body breaks down carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins.

What is key for overall wellbeing however is that cortisol has a very important role in helping the body respond to stress. While a little spike of cortisol is good in response to short-term stressors, it starts to become a problem when the body starts making too much, too often. High cortisol levels over a prolonged time can also cause lack of sex drive and, in women, periods can become irregular, less frequent or stop altogether. In addition, there has been a long-standing association between raised or impaired regulation of cortisol levels and a number of psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression. 

Planes of motion 

I will not go into a great detail of anatomy and physiology here (due to in no small part my knowledge being limited here!), but I will briefly touch on the body’s planes of motion. 

Your body doesn’t move in one dimension. If it did, you wouldn’t be able to move your leg away from you, toward you, in front and behind you. Your body moves in three dimensions, these are the three planes of motion; sagittal, frontal and transverse.

Dividing the body into left and right halves using an imaginary line gives us the sagittal plane. Any forward and backward movement parallel to this line occurs in the sagittal plane.

With the same imaginary line, divide the body into front and back halves and you have the frontal plane. Any lateral (side) movement parallel to the line will occur in the frontal plane.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the transverse plane, which divides the body into superior and inferior halves. Movement parallel to the waistline, otherwise known as rotational movement, occurs in the transverse plane.

What’s important to remember is that the body will move through between two and three of the planes for any given function, therefore the strength training movements I’ll introduce will represent that. 

Basics

Any strength training routine, like most things in life, is best started with the basics. The basics in this instance are body weight exercises that can be built upon with or without added resistance to generate more challenge. 

The often banded about term in any gym, forum, magazine etc is ‘functional’ strength. Now functional can mean different things in different contexts. In the overall health and wellbeing context this however means the ability to have a whole body improvement in basic strength, balance and mobility. 

The second post in this series will introduce movements that will span across the three planes of motion and will include pushing, pulling, squatting, lunging and rotating.  Stay tuned and we’ll go into greater depth next time about exercises to achieve these goals. Thanks for reading! 

 

 

 

Welcome back to the snack hack series! Ranging from medicinals to mindset, as standard these posts will look to bring you a variety of holistic hacks you can implement simply and effectively  into your lifestyle.  

Today I’m going to ask you to reach for the spice cupboard for that Crimbo favourite; cinnamon. Before you liberally add however, I want you you to double check the ingredient list as all is not what it seems with this super powerful spice.

Cinnamon is a spice that is made from the inner bark of trees called Cinnamomum. There are different varieties of cinnamon but two main types generally on offer to the consumer; 

1. Ceylon cinnamon: Also known as “true” cinnamon.

2. Cassia cinnamon: This is the more common variety today, what people generally refer to as “cinnamon.”

Cinnamon cassia is more common. It may already be in your spice cabinet, (it was in mine!). But Ceylon cinnamon is what is wanted for it health properties. It has a distinctive shape, lighter color, and delicate taste. It also has properties that contribute to many health benefits.

Ceylon cinnamon, is native to Sri Lanka and also known as Cinnamomum Verum or Mexican Cinnamonor (Canella). You may even see termed Cinnamomum verum; verum meaning true. It is sourced from the plant Cinnamomum zeylanicum. 

 Then there is Cassia cinnamon, which comes from a different plant called Cinnamomum Cassia (or Cinnamomum Aromaticum). It is also commonly known as Chinese cinnamon and is mostly cultivated in China and Indonesia. 

While the two species of cinnamon share certain characteristics, their contents differ much in terms of the amount of coumarin found present within them. Coumarin is a naturally occurring substance with strong blood-thinning properties. 

The coumarin level in Ceylon cinnamon is negligibly small, while that in Cassia cinnamon is a concerning 1200 times higher. The ingestion of large amount of coumarin or consumption of coumarin over a prolonged period of time can cause serious health damages and a negative impact on the liver and kidneys.  

Health Benefits 

Both types of cinnamon have been studied for their health benefits. In a 2012 study published in the “International Journal of Preventive Medicine,” diabetic patients were given 3 grams of an unspecified cinnamon supplement per week or a placebo. At the end of eight weeks, the test subjects experienced improvements in blood sugar and triglycerides, and they lost weight compared with the placebo group. 

As we can see from the above research,Cinnamon is a powerful natural blood sugar regulator. Cinnamonor does this by reducing insulin sensitivity. Insulin is one of the key hormones that regulate metabolism and energy use. It is also essential for the transport of blood sugar from the bloodstream and into cells. Cinnamon has been shown to both reduce fasting blood sugar levels also thus further reducing the risk of conditions such as diabetes. 

In a 2012 review article published in “Diabetic Medicine” examined 16 studies of Ceylon cinnamon specifically. The researchers uncovered beneficial effects on diabetic complications, with no toxicity to the liver and kidneys. As already noted however, toxicity might be an issue for cassia.

Cinnamon is widely used to treat digestive disorders such as nausea, flatulence, diarrhea, appetite loss and indigestion. Additionally, cinnamon’s essential oils aid in the dissemination of food particles and stimulate saliva and gastric juices, which helps with most aspects of digestion and nutrient absorption. To avoid indigestion when eating acidic foods, consider sprinkling cinnamon over it.

In addition to its potential beneficial effect on glucose metabolism and body weight, Ceylon cinnamon also contains a large amounts of highly potent polyphenol antioxidant compounds. These are similar to the antioxidant compounds found in green tea and grapes. These antioxidants in cinnamon serve to both fight free radical damage and also have anti-inflammatory effects, which may help lower the risk of disease.

Cinnamon has also been linked with reduced risk of heart disease, the world’s most common cause of premature death. It reduces levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while HDL cholesterol remains stable. Coumarin-free Ceylon cinnamon may also be beneficial to the liver, according to studies reviewed by “BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine” in 2013, with no adverse effects to other organ systems noted.

Furthermore, Cinnamaldehyde, the main active component of cinnamon, may help fight various kinds of infection.Cinnamon oil has been shown to effectively treat respiratory tract infections caused by fungi. It can also inhibit the growth of certain bacteria, including Listeria and Salmonella. 

And lastly, if you weren’t quite convinced enough, Cinnamon has been shown to lead to various improvements for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease in animal studies. Two compounds found in cinnamon appear to inhibit the buildup of a protein called tau in the brain, which is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. In a study looking at mice with Parkinson’s disease, cinnamon helped to protect neurons, normalize neurotransmitter levels and even improve motor function. 

Warning!

Cinnamon may exert estrogenic effects, so it should not be used during pregnancy or if you have a history of a hormone-related disease, such as breast cancer. As this spice may increase gastric secretions, use it cautiously if you have a history of peptic ulcers. If you have diabetes or take other medications, check with your doctor before heavily supplementing with Ceylon cinnamon.

Alrighty so aside from the above warning, I hope you’ve taken some useful tips on board. My final recommendation would be to switch sugar for cinnamon as it can add a lovely flavour to drinks and just about anything else. Ok, thanks for reading, please comment and share! 

Welcome back to the cheap eat nutrition recipe series. Our goal here is simple; to show you nutritious cooking really is affordable to all! 

So today’s recipe is a simple one. A tasty and more nutritionally dense option than its cousin the spud, it’s parsnip chips. 

So let’s start with the what and the why. The parsnip (pantinaca sativa) is a root vegetable and part of the Apiaceae family. It’s closely related to dill, celery, cumin, carrot and parsley. 

The parsnip is usually cooked, but can also be eaten raw. It is high in vitamins and minerals, especially so in both vitamin C and potassium. It also contains high doses of antioxidants as well as and a very good portion of both soluble and insoluble dietary fibre.

Like carrots and other members of Apiaceae family vegetables, parsnip too contains many poly-acetylene anti-oxidants such as falcarinol, falcarindiol, panaxydiol, and methyl-falcarindiol. Several research studies from scientists at the university of Newcastle, Tyne found that these compounds possess anti-inflammatory, anti fungal, and anti-cancer function and offer protection from colon cancer and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia no less. Quite simply suggesting, parsnips are a pretty good choice. 

Alrighty, so hopefully you’re sold so let’s crack on. You’ll need the following ingredients;

(Serves 2)

– 3 medium to large parsnips 
– 1 tble spoon of duck fat or coconut oil
– 1 tsp of rosemary 
– Salt & pepper 

Method:

– Preheat oven to 180c. 

– Thoroughly wash parsnips and cut into slim disks, then add to baking tray.

– Add tble spoon of chosen fat, ensuring its well mixed in. Continue to stir and mix till all the chips are covered. 

– Add rosemary, salt & pepper. Again mix and shake the tray well to ensure even distribution.

– Place in oven for 20/25 minutes, stirring contents at 15 minutes. Remove when chip start to turn golden brown.

Welcome back to cheap eat recipes;  the tasty, affordable and simple recipe collection for healthy food. These recipes aim to show that nutrition is not so elitist as it may well often appear and is certainly more affordable than many a celebrity’s cook book would have you think!

I try and ensure that I have at least a once daily dose of cruciferous vegetables. I wrote a post about just why this family of (mostly) greens is rightly referred to as powerhouse veg, check the following link ⬇️🤓

http://whatsuppblogblog.com/2017/05/07/the-powerhouse-veg/

Ok, so today’s recipe is a super tasty method for getting one of these powerhouses into your daily meal. Red cabbage is a particularly good choice as it contains a high number of polyphenols, as evidenced by the red colour of its leaves. These polyphenols include antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds called anthocyanins.

Cinnamon is a lovely little addition for flavour. It also acts as a powerful natural blood sugar regulator, which it does by reducing insulin sensitivity. This makes it a great alternative to sugar or other sweeteners. For another added bonus, cinnamon has also been linked with reduced risk of heart disease.  

Ingredients

(serves 2-4)
– 1 large cooking apple 
– Between 1 quarter and 1 third of a red cabbage
– 1 table spoon of ciammon 
– 1 quarter cup of water

Method:

– Thoroughly wash cabbage and apple. Now slice cabbage up into strips and cut apple into thin slices 

– Place cabbage in saucepan and sprinkle half the cinnamon over. Now layer apple on top and sprinkle remainder of cinnamon. 

– Add the water and cover saucepan with lid. Place on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, ensuring cabbage is as soft as this as it can take a little longer than the apple to cook. 

– Take potato masher and mash the contents thoroughly. Serve as an accompaniment with anything from roast dinner to fish and chips!