Health Bulletin - Shake that Salt Habit!

According to recent research published by Safefood a shocking 66% of Irish adults have too much salt in their diet. It is recommended by health professionals that salt intake be no more than 6g per day, however the average intake of an Irish adult is closer to 9g!

You may think it makes little or no difference but in fact, consistently eating too much salt can have drastic effects on health. We all need salt for water balance but taking in too much salt causes the body to retain water. This extra water puts increased strain on the blood vessels, in other words increases our blood pressure. Sustained high blood pressure (around 140/90) damages the lining of arteries, thickens the heart muscle and paves the way for heart disease.

Here's the interesting part, most of the salt that we eat - 65-70% is added to foods during the manufacturing process. Meaning that we don't always realise that we are eating it. This is usually the case with highly processed foods or ready meals such as powdered soups, frozen pizzas and pot noodles. Salty meats such as posrk and bacon also contain high amounts of salt.

So how can we decrease our salt intake? Cutting down on processed foods is a great start! Where possible, choose fresh meat, vegatables and fruits. Add less salt when cooking and at the table. Cut down on salty meats, such as prok, gammon and bacon. Try using herbs, garlic and freshly ground black pepper to flavour your food instead of salt! Sauces and gravy often contain a lot of salt so ask for these on the side when you are eating out. Always taste your food before you add salt, more often than not you won't actually need to add any!

Take these steps gradually over a period of six weeks. Your taste buds will adjust and you will actually get used to less salty foods. You will even begin to appreciate the other flavours of food even more!

If you think that you may need to get your salt intake under control, try calculating how much salt there is in some of the products you eat. To do this look at the food label and check out the salt or sodium content. Often the salt content is given in terms of 'sodium'. One gram of sodium equates to 2.4g of salt. Remember you should take in no more than 6g of salt per day! Items that are low in salt will have less than or equal to 0.3g of salt per 100g (or 0.1g sodium per 100g). Products that are classified as being high in salt will have greater than or equal to 1.3g salt per 100g (0.5g sodium per 100g).

The Gym Team

Health Bulletin - Metabolism Boosters!!

With the evenings getting shorter and the weather getting that 'little' bit more miserable, we decided that it's time to clear up a common misconception many people have about the effect of winter on metabolism. You may have heard people say that metabolic rate slows down during the winter months. This is simply NOT true! Our metabolic system stays the same all year round, it just so happens that people tend to move a little less and sit a little more during the winter. This is what affects our fat burning capacity, not the weather!

Having said that there are ways to boost our metabolism....that work all year round! Include these strategies into your daily routine and you'll be burning fat quicker than before!!

Build Lean Muscle:
One of the most straightforward ways to increase metabolic rate is to increase your lean muscle mass. It is a simple fact, the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn at rest! So try to fit some resistance exercises into your routine. You don't have to be a bodybuilder, there are plenty of simple but tough body weight exercises that can be done anywhere, with no equipment!

Eat Early, Eat Often:
Skipping breakfast is a recipe for disaster. People who skip breakfast are more likely to be overweight or obese. By skipping breakfast you are going to be more tempted to compensate by eating extra calories over the course of the day. Make sure you have a balanced breakfast, including adequate protein. In addition, eating regular meals and including healthy snacks between meals will further increase metabolic rate. This is because food has a thermogenic effect on the body.We must expend a certain amount of energy in order to digest food. Eating smaller, regular meals will maintain this effect for the day.

Drink Green Tea:
Studies have shown that drinking green tea after a meal boosts metabolism. In fact, drinking green tea has been found to increase the thermogenic effect by 35-43% within a 24 hr period.

Fidget:
Wiggling your feet, finger tapping, pottering, stretching, all those habits that your colleague beside you might find irritating are in fact a great way to expend some extra calories. A study showed that one of the strongest factors differentiating thin people from their overweight counterparts was the amount of 'non exercise activity' they did.

De-Stress:
Anxiety and stress cause hormones, namely cortisol and adrenaline to be released into the bloodstream. These hormones can affect appetite, by making us feel more hungry and by interfering with the process by which our brain is told we are full. Consequently, we eat MORE! Furthermore, our nervous system responds to these stress hormones and causes a subsequent rise in blood sugar, increase in the amount of fat stored and also a lowering in metabolic rate. The message....you can't control stressful events from occurring, but you can control how you deal with them. Incorporate some stress busting yoga, meditation, deep breathing or relaxation exercises into your routine to help you clear your mind and face those stressful situations with ease!!

Ab / Core basic workout

Hi All,

Below is short video for a basic ab / core workout using the swissball.
There are six exercises on this video.
Please feel free to watch and learn some new exercises that you can add to your own workout routine.
We will post additional progressive ab / core workouts a later date - stay tuned!

We have also added a short exercise technique video, concerning how to perform a straight leg dead lift with the barbell correctly.
Please feel free to check out some of our older posts containing other exercise technique videos.

Enjoy and be healthy,

The Gym Team.

Straight leg barbell deadlift technique

Weekly Health Bulletin 11/05/09
The Glycaemic index of carbohydrates

Hi Everybody,
This week’s health bulletin focuses on the Glycaemic index of carbohydrates. I’m a big advocate of healthy eating, as about 70% of your health goals can be achieved through healthy eating habits alone. So as a little taster of the type of information and detail required in understanding healthy eating, I would like to provide a little info relating to the main energy source of the body – Carbohydrates. The food groups associated as carbohydrates are the Grain food group and the fruit & Vegetable food group.

The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI are those which are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health. Low GI diets have been shown to improve both glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2). They have benefits for weight control because they help control appetite and delay hunger. Low GI diets also reduce insulin levels and insulin resistance.

Recent studies from Harvard School of Public Health indicate that the risks of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease are strongly related to the GI of the overall diet. In 1999, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recommended that people in industrialised countries base their diets on low-GI foods in order to prevent the most common diseases of affluence, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
For further information on this and general healthy eating habits, please book in for an assessment on our Google Dublin gym page.