Day: May 22, 2020

Vitamin D

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Shedding some light

As I move my home office outside to absorb some of that sunlight and feel good hormones I realize looking at my light jacket, once again that my vitamin D intake from this source is low especially in this climate.  In order to absorb Vitamin D from the sun you need to expose your skin, which doesn’t happen around here for me until June.  So while the sunshine on my face feels great, it is not really helping my Vitamin D levels.

I check my Vitamin D levels on a yearly basis due to my MS, which has been shown to have some correlation with this disease.  Statistics show 70% of people are low in Vitamin D, which can lead to seasonal depression, fatigue and muscle weakness.  Vitamin D is such an important pre-hormone and so important to gene health, I would suggest everyone ask for their Vitamin D levels to be checked during their next physical.

I take 10,000 iu everyday due to my low levels of Vitamin D which was shown in my bloodwork.  Jeremy Mullins, RD, indicates a good daily recommendation for Vitamin D is 5000 iu per day in the summer months and 10,000 iu during the winter.  My neurologist advised he personally takes 10,000 iu a day for his health.  

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin which means it needs fat to be absorbed and should be taken with a meal containing fat.  I personally take liposomal Vitamin D by 1stphorm, because it is encased in fat which increases its absorption and I want to ensure I am maintaining optimal levels in my system to fight off symptoms of this disease.

When supplementing vitamin D look for gel caps and remember to take with a meal that contains fat; or if you are interested in the Liposomal Vitamin D which is fat encapsulated you can find the link at the top right of this page showing 1st Phorm Legionairre which provides free shipping on your order. If you have any questions regarding this product please send me a message, would love to discuss it with you. Now go outside and let the sunshine hit your face!

Resistance Training

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What is resistance training, and why is it important?

First let’s define resistance training:  Resistance training is any exercise that causes the muscles to contract against an external resistance with the expectation of increases in strength, power, hypertrophy, and/or endurance. The external resistance can be dumbbells, exercise tubing, your own body weight, or any other object that causes the muscles to contract.

For example when you slowly lower a weight, you are resisting the force of dropping it to the ground, or when using a band/tubing you are resisting so it doesn’t snap back.  Make sense?  How about lowering yourself to a chair? I’m sure everyone at one time or another has misjudged where a chair was and without resistance you drop too fast or fall, body weight resistance, right?

Now for the why:  This is taken from Internal Journal of Exercise Science (2016) – Strength training exercise offers many benefits for individuals of all ages and is perhaps critically important for the elderly.

The benefits associated with strength training are: 

1) Increase in lean body mass  – gives you strength to tackle everyday tasks, carrying bark to the garden, groceries, picking up children; 

2) Increase in metabolic rate –  muscle burns more calories than fat, so you will burn more calories at rest. 

3) Increase in bone density – Less broken bones or the crooked walk 

4) Decrease of injury – strength and stability is enhanced 

5) Building back lost muscle tissue that occurs with aging.

I’m gonna say that again for the ones in the back,  BUILDING BACK lost muscle tissue.  

You actually lose muscle as we age occurring at a rate of  5% per decade after the age of 30.  Do you think this might be why you have a harder time losing weight?  Because your engine is getting smaller, needing less gas.  Did you hear what I said back there?  You can build back muscle tissue!!!  If you haven’t started resistance training, what are you waiting for? Need help starting – I’m here for you.