By Paige Oliver

Humans, along with guinea pigs and fruit bats, cannot make vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid (AA); therefore we must consume it in our diet. Vitamin C plays an important role in many body processes such as neurotransmitter synthesis, the synthesis of collagen, which is a structural protein in skin, tendons, bone and cartilage, and the synthesis of carnitine, which is important in fat metabolism (1,2).

Vitamin C is also known for its antioxidant function (i.e. it is a reducing agent). It not only protects cells in the body from free radicals and reactive oxygen species, but it can also help regenerate other important antioxidants like vitamin E and glutathione (1-3). The current recommendation of vitamin C is even 35mg/day higher for smokers than for nonsmokers due to the increased oxidative stress cigarettes cause, making it the only nutrient with an additional requirement for smokers (1,2).

However, because vitamin C is easily oxidized, processed foods are often not fortified with vitamin C, and the vitamin C content of foods – even fresh fruits and vegetables – can be affected by oxygen, heat, light, processing and storage times (1,3,4). If you do not consume fresh produce quickly, you may benefit from purchasing frozen fruits and vegetables because they are better protected against oxidation. In fact, the closer an opened carton of ready-to-drink juice is to its expiration date, the less vitamin C it may contain. It may contain up to 60% less vitamin C than what the label claims simply because it has been stored too long or been exposed to one of the other factors that affect vitamin C content (4,5).

Diets high in vitamin C are associated with a lower risk for heart disease and certain cancers. While the exact mechanisms by which this occurs are not completely understood, increased intake of fruits and vegetables (along with the effects of their non-nutritive components and vitamin C) may offer a protective effect against certain diseases (1-3,4).

Good sources of vitamin C include: 1 medium orange (70mg), 1 cup strawberries (85mg), ½ cup chopped green pepper (60mg) and 1 cup raw cauliflower (45mg) (1,2).

Individuals with a history of kidney stones, hemochromatosis or thalassemia should talk with their doctor or dietitian before consuming high amounts of vitamin C (2).

References:

1. Oregon State University: Linus Pauling Institute. Micronutrient Information Center: vitamin C.  Available at http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/. Accessed March 21, 2012.
2. Gropper SS, Smith JL, Groff JL. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. 5^th Ed. Belmont: Wadsworth; 2009.
3. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. DRI Report – Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2000.
4. Burdurlu HS, Koca N, Karadeniz F. Degradation of vitamin C in citrus juice concentrates during storage. J Food Eng. 2006;74:211-216.
5. Johnston CS, Bowling DL. Stability of ascorbic acid in commercially available orange juices. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2002;102(4):525-529.

By Carol Triest, P.T.

Repetitive stress injuries (RSI) from computer use are common in today’s work environment.  Repeating the same motion for extended periods of time can cause damage to muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves. The most common parts of the body affected are the neck, back, shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands.   Symptoms vary, but can include pain, decreased range of motion, numbness and tingling.   Heavy computer users are more prone to injury.

Preventing and treating repetitive stress injuries requires adjustments in the setup of your work area, as well as modifications to your behavior. The following guidelines are helpful in setting up your workstation:  Start with the chair.  Your feet should be flat on the floor, knees and hips bent to right angles.  There should be lumbar support to encourage good posture.  If your chair is not adjustable, you can use a raised platform to get your legs in the correct position.  The next step is the worktable or desk.  Ideally, it should be at a height where your forearms are parallel to the ground when keyboarding and mousing.   Some individuals with long legs and short torsos will need a keyboard tray to get the arms in the proper position.   If the table is either too high or too low, stress is placed on the shoulders and neck.   The keyboard should be close enough to the body so that the upper arms are at an angle of about 20 degrees from the torso.  Finally, the monitor should be positioned so that when looking straight ahead, your line of vision falls about two inches below the top of the screen – a monitor that is too high or too low places stress on the neck musculature.

Laptops are designed to be portable, compact and lightweight.  They are not ergonomically ideal, but more and more people are using them as their primary computer.   A separate keyboard and mouse can be attached to the laptop to make it more ergonomic.

Workspaces are fairly easy to adjust.  Bad habits and behaviors are not. Specific worksite advice includes taking a 1-minute break every 20 to 30 minutes.  During this break, stand and stretch your shoulders, arms, wrists and fingers.  Pay attention to posture.  Keeping the head and shoulders aligned properly can prevent many neck strains.   Be aware, that sitting up straight can initially be uncomfortable, but will become easier with time.

Do not rest your wrists or forearms on the computer, table or armrests.  Picture instead, floating over the keyboard, much like a piano player does.  This will avoid nerve compression.  Mix computer use with other work duties.  Vary computer tasks such as spreadsheets with less mouse intensive work such as emails.  Limit computer time.  Our bodies were designed for movement, not for sitting and typing.

Finally, attention to overall health minimizes the risk of RSI. Increased strength and improved circulation are important benefits of regular exercise. People that exercise regularly are less prone to repetitive stress injuries. Their injuries tend to be less severe and more easily treated.  Decreasing stress is invaluable. Taking a Yoga class or getting a massage may be helpful in reducing tension.

If you have pain or questions about your posture, sign up for a free injury check at a BaySport Physical Therapy location.  More specific information is available at the OSHA website http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations.

Running is an enjoyable sport that can be particularly hard on the body. The jarring impact of a runner’s feet with the ground reverberates up through his or her entire body, affecting the feet, ankles, shins, knees, hips, back, shoulders, and neck. Runners invest in high-quality running shoes because proper foot support prevents mild to excruciating pain in other parts of the body.

Shoes that are specifically designed for running have advantages and disadvantages. Most styles of running shoes are designed to provide the runner with the support he or she needs to prevent pain and injuries. Using running shoes instead of basketball or cross-training shoes ensures that the particular needs of runners are met. Although running shoes are designed with runners in mind, no single model of shoe can accommodate the infinitely different shapes and sizes of people’s feet.

Using shoe inserts, also called insoles or orthotics, can customize your running shoes to fit your feet. Supportive inserts compensate for factors that cause biomechanical problems, such as high or collapsed arches, poor striding mechanics, and excess weight. Experts estimate that only 25 percent of runners run with proper form. The rest use a stride that can lead to significant physical problems.

Just because shoe inserts provide cushioning and support does not mean that every runner should go out and buy a pair. Supportive inserts should be used to correct a problem, not in anticipation of one. You can just as easily ruin your stride by adding inserts to your shoes as fix it. Running shoes are scientifically designed to properly support the feet of the majority of runners, and they should be relied upon to do their job unless proven otherwise.

The easiest way to know if you need supportive inserts is if you feel pain in your feet or anywhere else during or after a run. Common signs that you need to evaluate the condition of your running shoes include heel pain (plantar fasciitis), shin splints, bunions, and blisters. Pain in other parts of the body can also signal a problem with your feet, particularly if the pain is in your knees.

Knee pain can be a result of the way you run. Over time, if your foot turns too much or not enough (pronates) when your heel strikes the ground, your knees will suffer the consequences of poor body alignment. Knee braces are considered the typical remedy for knee pain, but shoe insoles are often the better solution to correct the underlying problem. A knee brace for running only supports the knee; it does not correct the improper gait that caused the pain in the first place.

If your functional or hinged knee brace is not being used because of a specific knee injury, you might want to determine if your feet are the source of your pain. Supportive inserts are available over-the-counter and by prescription from a podiatrist. The more expensive types can be customized from a mold of your foot to fix your specific problem.

Running shoe inserts come in four basic types. Inserts for arch support provide cushioning to compensate for a high or flat arch. Heel alignment inserts help keep the foot stable to correct problems with your stride. Metatarsal pads fit under the balls of the feet and decrease the pressure on the metatarsal bones. Heel cups help relieve heel pain by raising the heel slightly and providing extra cushioning. It is often advisable to start with an over-the-counter solution that matches the problem you are having with your feet. If the pain continues, a visit to the podiatrist for a customized solution can be the next step.

Abby Evans is an avid blogger and loves writing about fitness. In her spare time she is training for half marathons and finding the perfect knee brace for running.

References:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-319-327-7000-0,00.html

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/shop/tp/shoe_inserts.htm

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=6638

http://www.runnersrescue.com/Over_Pronation_Running.htm

There’s so much information out there these days about what to eat, how often to eat, and how much to eat that people are obsessing over the details and forgetting the basic knowledge about how to lose or maintain a healthy body weight. I constantly hear people say, “I eat healthy and I work out but I can’t lose weight”. Even if you consume nothing but the healthiest foods, you can still consume too many calories. No matter what, it always comes down to one factor: calories in versus calories out. Keeping a food journal is a great way to make sure you’re not taking in too many calories. There are many free online food journals that will track your calories for you. Most will also track how much protein, carbohydrate, and fat you’re ingesting, as well as monitoring how many calories you are burning with exercise. It’s a great way to see where most of your calories are coming from, and if you’re consuming too many. So if you’re not seeing results in your weight loss or having trouble maintaining a healthy body weight try starting a food journal. It will reveal a great deal about your diet, and keep you focused on what really matters.

About the author:

Katrina received her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and is certified through the American College of Sports Medicine. Katrina worked as a personal trainer for several years while putting herself through school, so she understands that while challenging, it is possible to balance fitness with other responsibilities. In addition to her 14 years experience in the health club and fitness industry and four years experience in management and supervision, Katrina has competed in several sports including basketball, track & field, softball, and soccer at the collegiate level. She was the first girl to play football for her high school. She enjoys working out, boating, and rock climbing.

As Americans everywhere get busier in their daily life and have less time to make smart food choices, most will turn to easy alternatives such as heavily processed foods loaded with sugar, fat and sodium. This can have a negative effect on our digestive system, lead to high blood pressure and lower energy levels among other health related issues. To combat this we need to clean up our diets and eat smarter.

So how do we clean up our diet? It’s about choosing the least processed, most nutrient dense foods. By focusing our attention on choosing foods that are high in fiber, low in fat and high in vitamins and minerals, we will be able to control blood sugar, stabilize energy levels and help the body to digest properly. In addition, a diet high in fiber will help lower cholesterol levels which improve heart health and the improved digestion helps prevent colon cancer. Generally experts recommend 32 grams of fiber a day.

Some simple tips for eating clean:

• Plan your meals for the week. Stay focused on smart, healthy food options that are loaded with nutrients. By planning your meals in advance you’ll be able to avoid eating out as often when getting off work late or picking up the kids from practice. We face obstacles on a daily basis so if we have something in place to keep us on track it usually makes things easier when we get home.
• Buy at local farmer’s markets. This way you can make sure you’re getting the freshest, least processed food possible. The added benefit is that you’ll also be supporting your local community and know that you’re fruits or veggies haven’t traveled across the country to get to you, which can sometimes mean a loss in nutrients depending on the length of time it takes to get to you.
• Keep it simple by avoiding packaged foods full of chemicals and ingredients you can’t even pronounce. While some packages of food may claim to be good for you by having “organic”, “low-fat”, “lite” or “reduced” they sometimes contain unhealthy ingredients. For the most part the fewer the ingredients on the label the better.
• When there is no other alternative than to grab something out to eat, have a plan. Again, it’s about making smart choices even when you’re in the airport on a business trip or at Disneyland with the kids. Always have a plan.
• Track what you eat. Stay accountable to you by tracking what you eat throughout the day. This not only keeps you motivated to eat healthy foods, it also helps to see where you might have slipped up and why you were sluggish or ate really good and were very energetic.

Eating clean is really just about common sense. By shopping on the outer aisles of a grocery store and opting for whole nutrient dense foods, we will maximize the good calories that have the essential vitamins and minerals our bodies crave and minimize the high, empty calories of processed food that have no nutritional value. While it’s ideal to eat clean all the time, no one is perfect. So eat clean 80 percent of the time and the other 20 percent have that little something you may have a craving for (Super Bowl party, a drink with friends, etc.). This will help prevent  binging so you can get back on track.

About the author:

Chris has been a fitness and strength professional since 1997. He has worked with all populations from professional, collegiate and high school athlete’s to the physically handicapped and elderly. Most of his clients are normal everyday working people who seek to improve their general fitness and improve performance either at work and everyday duties around the house to weekend outdoor activities such as hiking.

Chris’ certifications are many but it is his passion, focus, commitment, leadership and experience that help him get the most out of his clients. Chris emphasizes functional training to align the body for excellent stability, balance, strength, and metabolic training for optimum performance. His main focus is to meet and exceed each client’s goals and to empower them to continue a healthy and fit lifestyle.

Chris also coaches youth football teams and enjoys weight training, football, basketball and all outdoors activities.

Reference:

Amanda Carlson-Phillips, MS, RD, CSSD
Vice-President, Nutrition and Research for Athletes’ Performance and Core Performance article available at http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/nutrition/how-to-eat-clean.html