Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Did you know that there are foods that can cause or worsen already present inflammation. According to different experts foods that are high in fat such as processed meats (hot dogs and luncheon meat), red meat, and junk food can cause or increase inflammation. Processed meats such as lunch meats, hot dogs and sausages contain chemicals such as nitrites that are associated with increased inflammation and chronic disease.

This little piece of information is very important for runners and athletes. If I can eat or avoid eating certain foods to decrease the inflammation in my muscles then I want to do that. I believe that a healthy diet is better than taking vitamins or anti-inflammatory medicines.

Well, the number one best thing to do is drink water. Lots of water!

Also our body needs protein to build healthy body tissues. Good protein sources include lean poultry, fish and seafood, nuts, legumes and seeds. Red meats may trigger inflammation, so cut back on fatty red meats.

Soybeans, tofu, and soy milk are three great sources of soy proteins that may help to reduce your pain and inflammation.

Over all, when you are choosing anti-inflammatory foods to help reduce your inflammation and pain, choose fresh foods instead of heavily processed foods. Here are some tips:

• Breakfast could be oatmeal served with fresh berries and walnuts, with a cup of soy milk.
• Snack on whole fruits, nuts, seeds, and fresh vegetables throughout the day instead of cookies and candy.
• Eat more fish and less fatty red meat.
• Stay away from deep fried foods and bake or stir fry your meals instead.
• Choose green, orange, and yellow vegetables for your side dishes.
• Drink plenty of water, fresh 100% fruit and vegetable juices, herbal teas and green tea.

Crazy Ass Saturday

Today I'm running 2 races. I ran the CHKD 8K this morning in Norfolk. Won 1st place Overall Female with a time of 28:59. A huge PR for me! The races was great. And I loved running through the city of Norfolk between the tall buildings. Very cool! A huge win for BDP peeps. Tonight, Kelley Taylor and I will be continuing the crazy day of racing with another run in Newport News. The Icelandic 8K. Should be lots of fun. I won't lie to you. My legs are a little tired but I got a massage from David at Balance Therapeutic Massage on my legs to promote recovery. I'm sure this will be a huge help to me. Anyway, off to get my legs up in the air.

Skinny People Shop Here

There's an article on AOL Health which states that according to a survey that was taken b/w December 2008 and March 2009 only 4% of shoppers that go to Whole Foods are overweight (this location was in Seattle). The reason is b/c obesity is linked to poverty and Whole Foods Grocery store is anything but cheap (the average price for a market basket of food at Whole Foods was between $370 and $420, compared with the same basket of food at Albertson's for $225 to $280). Basically people who have lower incomes are looking for foods with more bang for their buck (these usually are the more calorie dense processed foods). MSNBC even reported that in a separate study in 2008, it was estimated that a calorie-dense diet costs $3.52 a day, compared with $36.32 a day for a low-calorie diet. So deep down obesity is a economic issue and eating healthy require more money and requires more preparation time then eating a processed high calorie diet.

It really is sad that in a country like America and with as much food as we seem to have that we still have people who can't afford a healthy diet. I know that buying fresh vegetables and fruits are expensive but I believe it is possible for a family on a budget to still buy foods that are good for them. Frozen vegetables are always a good option. I think I find this topic very frustrating b/c I really believe in eating healthy and always having fresh fruits and vegetables in the house and ready to eat.

Taking the time to Recover from an Injury

So it's been about 7 weeks since I wrote that I was going to focus on rehabbing my hip until it was truly better. Ever since then I've been religiously attending physical therapy at Atlantic Physical Therapy, getting my knots worked out at Kinetic Health, and attending sessions at Range of Motion with Nick. Now this sounds like I'm trying to do advertising for my sponsors but I'm not. These are people who have been a huge part of me getting back to doing what I love (running fast!!!!). When my hip hurts its hard to be motivated. I can stand pain..........just not this kind. And let me tell you, if you stay committed to getting better, then its going to work for you. As runners, cyclists, ect. sometimes we feel that pain is a part of it but it doesn't have to be. Your knee doesn't have to hurt and your hamstring doesn't have to be tight. But considering all the time, money and effort we put into training it is so worth it. I've learned that I have to take care of my body. I'm getting older (yes I know I'm still young but I've been running since I was 14 and that is a lot of miles on my body) and I have to realize that it is going to talk longer to recover and it's going to get easier for me to get injured if I don't start taking care of myself NOW.
So these are just some thoughts to think about. Have you had to take some time off? Why did you have to slow down or take it easy? Is there someone out there who can help you get back to doing what you love?
Here's another thought. Preventing injury. This is so important b/c once you are injured its going to take weeks to get back to being healthy. So maybe it's important to take steps to stay healthy. Once I'm healthy I'm going to continue seeing Nick (Range of Motion) and Jim (Kinetic Health). I want to stay healthy.
B/c all I wanna do is have some fun (running fast)

Bike to Work

Hey guys, tomorrow is bike to work day. I don't have to work but I do have to do my long run. Thinking I might try to bike to Final Kick and then to my long run and ride my bike back home. Could make for a long day, lol. Maybe I can get my running partner to just drive me home. haha

Complete vs Incomplete Protein

A few days ago I was talking to a brilliant neurosurgeon (this man is very intelligent and I would totally trust him with my brain) and we were discussing my running and my hip/glute injury. As we were talking, he told me that part of my problem (the slow healing of my leg) could be because of my vegetarian diet. He thinks that because I'm not eating meat that my leg muscles can't repair themselves as well as they could if I ate animal protein. He based this off of the idea that the body needs and wants animal protein to heal. At first I shrugged his comments off but I have to admit that the comment stuck in my head. Here I am days later still struggling with the comment.

"Am I hurting myself?", "Should I start eating chicken again? That isn't as bad as red meat and what harm could it do" And I'll only eat it every once and awhile and isn't running way more important to you." As these thoughts ran through my head there was another side of me struggling with the idea of eating meat again. I don't want to eat meat. I stopped eating it not only for my health but also because I believe its wrong to mass produce meat and I hate the way animals are being treated.

So I began conducting some research and I've found that a vegetarian diet can supply quality protein as well. Instead of just eating chicken and getting your protein a dinner of beans and rice is just as good and the heart benefits are numerable. Yes, it requires a little more thought and planning but its worth the work. Most research says that Americans eat way too much protein thinking they need it and that all that nice protein is helping their muscles be nice and strong but that's not true. All that extra protein is just turned into fat and it's causing a high protein and low carb/vegetable diet which is far from healthy not to mention the environmental problems it's causing.

This subject is something that really means a lot to me. I grew up on a farm where we raised cows that we sent to be slaughtered and I hated it. I still hate it to this day. As proud as I was (and still am) I could never be a part of it with my family. I would love to hear your comments and thoughts but I'm off to track practice. But let me know what you think.

Cycling

Taught my first spin class last night at Range of Motions. It was tons of fun. I was a little nervous. I was afraid my class wouldn't be hard enough. Turns out it was just the right amount of difficult. I recieved a huge compliment from one of the participants. He said, "It was just the right amount of difficult. You took us to our edge and you could tell when to bring the level of difficulty down a bit to keep us going". Cycling is a great workout for everyone. The level of difficulty is controlled by the participant with the instructor just being there to lead you through the workout.
Cant wait for the next class.