Supplementation for a kick ass brain

I’m a happy supplementer … some would say a little too enthusiastic at times (or is that obsessive?) … So I don’t need much motivation other than it may be good for you, to try a supplement, however, many others feel a balanced diet should take care of any extra need.

In an ideal world a balanced diet would be easy to follow and would completely take care of everything our body and brain needs. Unfortunately most diets are extremely poor in the balance and span of nutrients. Environmentally we live in a more chronically stressed world which leads to a faster depletion of stored nutrients and our farming has changed, many of these vegetables and fruits don’t contain nearly as much of the good stuff as they used to early in the last century. Just bite an organic piece of fruit and compare with a store bought one…no comparison!

As always if you do decide to try any of the following supplements, please check with a doctor first, you never know how they will interact with your diet and current medications.

A fascinating study was done on 30 retired NFL players. NFL players are a great group to test cognition on as they have all been afflicted with head injuries in their playing life. Cognition later in life is very affected by any head trauma of the past, often even minor ones.

The ex players were encouraged to lose weight and take the following supplements for 6 months.

• Vinpocetine 15 mg

• Fish Oil - 1720 mg EPA and 1160 mg DHA

• Ginkgo Extract 120mg

• Alpha Lipoic acid 300mg

• Acetyl -L Carnitine 1000mg

• Huperzine A 150 mcg

• N-actetyl-cysteine 600mg

• High potency Multi Vitamin

After 6 months they were retested and significant increases were noted in attention, memory, reasoning, information process and accuracy. Scans showed increased cerebral blood flow throughout most of the brain!

Lets look further at each supplement and see what it is that made such an incredible difference

Fish Oil

“The human brain is nearly 60 percent fat. We’ve learned in recent years that fatty acids are among the most crucial molecules that determine your brain’s integrity and ability to perform. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are required for maintenance of optimal health but they can not synthesized by the body and must be obtained from dietary sources.”

— www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20329590

Fish oil is anti inflammatory, and we just don’t get nearly enough in our diet, unless you eat fresh salmon a few times a week. Not all fish oil is created equal its worth looking for a good quality one. You can easily check the one you have bought by either piercing one capsule, if the oil smells bad, then its rancid as it should be relatively odourless, OR store the fish oil in the fridge….if it looks cloudy, its likely to be poor quality. For a real anti-inflammatory synergistic effect, pair your fish oil with turmeric and a bit of black pepper (pipeline).

Vinpocetine

Vinopocetine is a man made chemical created from the periwinkle plant. It is thought to increase cerebral blood flow and is used to enhance memory and prevent alzheimers. Its sometimes used to prevent a stroke or at least prevent disability from one as it prevents blood clotting and that can help reduce the likely hood of clots stopping blood flow to the brain, therefore keeping oxygen and nutrients flowing through and reducing neuronal death.

Ginkgo Extract

Ginkgo biloba increases blood flow in the brain like vinpocetine.

Alpha lipoic acid

Alpha lipoid acid increases antioxidant activity which reduces the harmful effects of oxidation in the hippocampus. It is also helpful in reducing blood brain permeability, a leaky brain.

Acetyl L-carnitine

Acetyl-L-Carnitine might enhance NSC proliferation and adult hippocampal neurogenesis by regulating proneural genes and cell survival related signals

N-acetyl cysteine

N acetyl cysteine increases antioxidant activity, reducing oxidative effects by increasing glutathione levels (These levels are found to be much lower in a stressed brain environment)

Huperzine A

Huperzine A increases nutrients for neurotransmitters through acetyl choline and may support proliferation of hippocampal neural stem cells.

This is a big stack, and it worked.

These were sportsmen with acknowledged cognitive difficulties due to past head trauma and they all benefited. That makes this stack a very interesting one to consider.

For the Everyday person

Perhaps you have no or little concern for your cognitive health but would like something easy and simple to supplement with to protect and strengthen your brain and keep yourself from developing any issues later.

These other supplements are also recommended by experts in the field of brain health.

First, they all seemed to agree that a high potency multi/vitamin mineral and quality fish oil supplement is a staple. The following ones are also recommended.

Vitamin D3

Most of us are Vitamin D3 deficient. This is due to our diet and more particularly our lifestyle. Get your levels checked and make sure to have your supplement with a fatty meal or with the fishtail as this will help the body absorb it. Vitamin D may support the synthesis of neurotrophic factors and neurotrophin receptors, and thereby support NSC proliferation and differentiation, neuronal maturation and growth, neuronal survival, and synaptogenesis.

Magnesium

Consensus seems that we are all magnesium deficient. Magnesium is part of over 300 enzymatic reactions in our bodies, so is extremely important to keep topped up. The kind of magnesium is also important, most forms bought in stores are not very bio available to the body. Magnesium Threonate is hard to find, but has some interesting studies stating it can cross the blood brain barrier very well, so grab that one if possible. If not choose either a glycinate or citrate version. Dr Mark Hyman, an American GP and a loud voice in natural health and preventing brain decline, recommends 300-400mg of magnesium taken before bed to relax the brain, nervous system and muscles.

He also recommends Vit D 3, Omega 3, High quality, potent, bio available and broad spectrum Multivitamin / mineral and to make sure the magnesium is a citrate or glycinate form.

Creatine

Creatine is a wonderful supplement to increase your strength and power but did you know its also really helpful as a nootropic (substances that increase cognition). It can have a neural protective effect by slowing down neuronal cell death. It also can increase levels of glutamate (a neural transmitter), aid learning, memory, and even help with depression! This study found it worked to improve memory and cognition in older and stressed people.

Try 2 or more milligrams a day.

Probiotics

The brain and the gut are inextricably linked. If our gut isn’t happy, neither will the brain be. A whole food diet will do a lot to restore the integrity not the gut lining and bacteria. These beneficial bacteria can improve your digestion, reduce food allergies, and reduce gut inflammation. Gut health plays a powerful role in brain health. When you don’t have the right gut diversity, inflammation and things like leaky brain can occur, setting the stage for diverse problems ranging from brain fog to dementia.

Add a quality, broad spectrum pro and pre biotic to your diet to facilitate gut health. Pre biotics include fibre such as psyllium husk and glucomannan. These two make excellent thickners in soups and sauces. Fermented foods include apple cider, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha etc.

Always try to get the best quality possible as there can be quite a difference in efficacy of these foods and probiotics. Its hard to find a high quality and brand spectrum probiotic…often these supplements contain very little live bacteria….an expensive exercise, so best to stick with fermented foods where possible.

Is that it?

NO!

There is a whole field of nootropics out there from the Racetams to Modafinil. Some freely available, some prescription only. This is another huge bag of interesting things but I won’t be covering that today, however, please send me a question if you are all curious. Its an interesting field.

Is supplementation worth it?

Obviously this is up to you. Unfortunately the food is not like it was 100 years ago. The fruits, meats grains and vegetables are less nutritious and even now inflammatory (in the cases of grain fed meat and modern grains). Our lifestyle is more prone to chronic low level stress, less activity, poorer posture, more estrogenic (poorly metabolised versions such as is found in cling wraps, plastic containers) and all this leads to our bodies and minds needing additional nutrition to make up the lack and further nutrition to counter those environmental antagonists we are all subject to as mentioned above.

Of course always check what supplements you want to take with a doctor or nutritionist before hand. Also do yourself a favour and get regular blood tests to check all levels and create a baseline for you to compare changes. This will provide a really useful history you can reflect back on in the years to come.

With all supplementation, cycling your intake is often recommended, and of course this keeps the costs down. Supplementation can be quite costly. Join the mailing lists of your favourite sites and shops and look out for their specials and buy up.

The following are some useful sites I have used in the past (I have no affiliation with any of them)

• iherb.com.au

Good Australian sites:

• Bulknutrition.com.au

• Createyourownsupplement.com
  

If you have any good sites or supplements you would recommend, please write them in the comments section below as well as what country you are from.

Thanks again, and happy supplementing!

Spotlight: Interview with Remarkable Ruth, 60

Ruth has just celebrated her 60th birthday. When I met her a few years a go I was amazed with her energy and positivity (and beauty!). She works more than full-time, as a high-level manager with an international company and has become the happiest of grandparents with her daughter's gorgeous 14 month old son. When Ruth came to the gym those years ago, she came with motivation to feel good and perform stronger at work as well as regaining some of her youthful body back. Since then she hasn’t seemed to look back and has been consistent with her workouts despite ebbs and flows in life. Now that she has added a low sugar diet to her routine, her body and radiance has bloomed further. The best part is that she has been maintaining this for many months with seeming ease!

Describe your current exercise pattern

I exercise 5 days a week, early in the morning. Normally at the gym by 6am for an hour to an hour and a half.

I have a personal training session once a week to keep pushing me to the next level.

How long have you been doing it like that for?

I used to visit the gym daily in my thirties, and then stopped going. I have been dedicated to this programme for at least the last three years religiously.

What are the main reasons you have this exercise pattern?

I have a very busy job and a hectic schedule, fast pace and under constant stress. If I didn’t get up early and make the time to exercise in the morning, I wouldn’t do it.

Whenever I have left my visit until post work, I get home and then think … can’t be bothered. Going early, before work also sets me up for the day, clears my mind and makes me feel full focused and full of energy.

I can hammer myself and get rid of any stress and agro that has built up and take it all out on the gym equipment.

I also want to be able to enjoy my grandchild and future grandchildren, be mobile, active and agile.

What impact has this had on your life and lifestyle?

I feel far more energetic, I am much fitter and stronger than pre gym. I have lost weight, gained muscle mass and look and feel so much better.

I actually look at photos of myself 3 years ago and think who is that stranger in the photos.

Do you have any other goals exercise/ fitness wise?

Yes, to bench press my years in weight and continue to build muscle mass. I never get on the scales, I judge my weight loss and shape change by my clothes.

Note: Ruth has reached an amazing 55 kg press so far!

I want to continue to change my shape and look fit and strong going into my 6o+ years and make it a habit for life.

If you had to stop exercising for a month, how would you feel?

I couldn’t do it. Just a few days away from the gym makes me feel sluggish and slow. I am addicted to the high I get from exercising and feeling powerful.

How do you motivate yourself for exercise and healthily eating? Any tips?

“I love music and have a great playlist that has specific songs linked to my programme that I look forward to listening to. I am motivated by the changes I am now seeing in my body.”

It’s my time, I can put in my earphones, and disappear for an hour into another world.

I am competitive by nature and also enjoy reaching goals that I have set for myself.

The changes I have seen since participating in the 6 week challenge and from ongoing exercise has been both motivating and rewarding and the comments received from people when they now see me also spurs me on to continue with my disciplines .

Whats your diet like? Have you always eaten this way?

My diet is much better since participating in the 6 week challenge (with FitnessLife Studios).

I was a carb-a-holic pre the challenge. I have dropped the sugar, decreased the glasses of wine and really curbed the carbs. I lost 6 kilos in 6 weeks, and after keeping on the programme, another 3 kilos.

What is your ‘go to’ healthy meal? A favourite that gets you by

My favourite and must have meal is breakfast. Its a simple omelette made with two eggs. Inside I put mushroom, spinach and little sliced chilli ( seeds out). If I have it for tea I add tuna to it.

If you could tell your 40 year old self anything, what would it be?

I would tell my 40 year old self to be more disciplined in my eating habits, to keep up a good fitness programme, that you can continue to look great at any age and that

“... if she (40 year old self) saw me working out so physically at 60 she wouldn’t believe it xx”

Thank you so much for sharing Ruth.

My takeaways from Ruth is:

• To consistently exercise.

• Get it out the way first thing in the morning.

• Eat a predominantly low sugar diet, and aim high in fitness goals and life quality.

• Face the world positively and be empowered take charge of your own health, that you really can make fantastic changes.

Don't Let Eating Out Derail Your health

In the culture we live in now, it is becoming more and more common to dine out, lunches at cafes, dinner at a restaurant. In Adelaide we are completely spoilt for choice, value for money and food styles and I know this is becoming more and more the norm world-wide. When you travel you also tend to eat out, well, all the time really, don’t you? Unless you make a large effort to go to a supermarket and bring food back to your room.

So how do we do this and still maintain a level of health?

There is no doubt that eating out will put on the pounds and not in a good way. Most restaurants will use vegetable oils, cheap butter and even if they advertise olive oil…most are low grade. None of these fats are good for your body. They contribute higher levels of triglycerides leading to clogged arteries, diabetes and heart disease amongst other things….yet, damn it…we want to eat out!

Like all healthy lifestyle factors, it comes down to choice.

Your choice.

You have the power to eat out, enjoy the company and not gain the pounds. You just need a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of guidance and all the pressure is off.

In a perfect world …..

……… we would all be able to go to a restaurant, order one glass of quality red wine. Ignore the bread. Order a large serve of vegetables or salad and get a serving of protein to join that. All with only quality extra virgin olive oil as a sauce. OR as apparently the French do, go out and order, but eat only a tiny portion of the meal.

BUT… it’s not ALWAYS that easy …

If you can do the above…wonderful, you are fantastic and you don’t need to read further. However, if like me, you are a little less self controlled…well, come this way …. lets real world this …..

Being able to comfortably and easily order healthily when out can’t be forced and rushed…else you are plunged in denial and a binge will come sooner or later….thats a for sure win bet.

Lets make it all painless. Its just like adjusting to a new diet, which really shouldn’t be a diet but a way of eating for life. A new way of eating is best done in stages else you really will rebound straight back and probably past your previous weight.

First - we take this is stages.

This is how I would coach you to do the dinning out (contact me if you would like help with this. Being accountable to someone is really useful)

Play imagine if …

At first, just read the menu and pick out exactly what you would order, if you were picking a meal that looked like the suggested one above. Don’t order it, order what you want, just make sure you have picked what you would if you were right into this. You’ll be surprised that this is actually fine and doesn’t make you feel guilty or anything.

Do this each dining out visit till you are ready to move forward. NO RUSH.

Pretend …

… do exactly as before but this time imagine the plate in front of you and imagine you eating it and jump your mind ahead to how you will feel when you get home tonight. How you feel mentally and physically from having a vegetable based meal that doesn’t require some supersonic digestion. Remember too, that because you did what you set out to do you will get a serotonin dump of happiness because you achieved what you set out to do. (Make sure it only takes a minute of your time at the most)

Then order as you normally would like to. Do this for at least 5-10 dining out visits. Make a list and tick off the times you do this.

Get Veged up!

Now this time you will order as normal BUT with an extra large bowl of vegetables. Eat as many or little as you can. All are ticks on your list….. again 5 -10 visits

Next Habit …

Order as last time but try to just eat the meat and vegetables and skip the white starches. Bread, rice white potatoes and pasta.

Now try to do the above without the sugary or calorific sauces. If you feel brave, order yours without any sauce or oil and bring your own organic olive oil. Organic, unheated olive oil has so many health benefits.

TIPS

Definitely go through each stage at least 5 times each or more if you don’t feel its really easy to do. Take your time to go through each stage (days, weeks, months)…it doesn’t matter, it only matters that you do it most of the time (ie, 95% of the time you eat out, else you are not forming a permanent habit). Move on ONLY when you are positive you actually WANT to and not that you feel you MUST or SHOULD move forward. This is about your HEALTH, not aesthetics (always remember you look your best, your glowing best, when you are healthy)

IMPORTANT:

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to this is the embarrassment or peer pressure of ordering a little differently around friends/ family, even to the waiter/ess. So just say you’ve been having some stomach issues/ pain/ allergies when you eat certain foods, and you are avoiding it for now. Everyone understands that. Friends and family want whats best for you but they generally don’t realise that ‘just this once’ isn’t the most supportive phrase to a healthy body. If they think it will cause you pain or discomfort, no one will press you further.

Finally -

Make the commitment now

Choose a better meal. There are so many temptations…sooo many…and they taste wonderful….however, is that really worth the aches, pains, inflammation, chronic disease? I sound alarmist, but thats exactly what is being invited in. Its easy to ignore because the change is so gradual and we can all get away with it for a while till suddenly we can’t.

So commit to yourself out of respect for your body. Choose healthier, start small. Your healthy body will thank you for it as you will FEEL fantastic ….

…… and enjoy many fun times out with friends for years to come.

Please comment below if you try this and let me know how you went. I’d love to hear some stories :-)

---

Further ideas on eating out choices:

• Nutrition Australia

• SA Health

• WebMD

How exercise can improve brain health

Researchers say one new case of dementia is detected every four seconds globally. They estimate that by the year 2050, more than 115 million people will have dementia worldwide.

Thats a little scary….

Dementia, alzheimers, losing brain cognition……its all around us. We ALL know someone directly or indirectly who is stricken some form of it. There are signs, posters,tv and radio shows ad nauseam regarding this epidemic.

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with my 80 yr old aunt after our workout session. She was talking about looking into things to stimulate and help keep and even improve her brain health. Ah ha! I thought…..I’ll write some stuff down for her…..and before I knew it I was neck deep in study upon study that shows us that we can indeed have a positive effect on the health of our brain. Whether you feel terrifically cognitive, are struggling with brain fog, have onset cognitive decline or are in the middle of serious case of it, it is worth devoting bit of time to the health of your brain. I can’t think of a lot worse than going down the slippery slop of mental decline. Only fairly recently, studies have emerged showing, that as adults, we can do plenty to change the state of our brain. Previously it was thought that only children experienced could grow new brain cells. Now we know that adults are able to direct increases in neuroplasticity (changes in the brain) and neurogenesis (birth of new brain cells)

We are the only species to direct our own plasticity as adults -

Dr Andrew Huberman

Thats a huge thing! We all have the power to increase our brain capacity and repair it too …… and so do the loved ones around you …. best of all, it is FREE!

The brain is a wonderful, mysterious organ. It communicates with the entire body. It regulates our hormones and therefore our energy, movements, emotions/ mental state. It is composed of fat predominantly. Its current state is mainly due to all our PAST dietary intake, movements (physical and mental), and emotional states. Its wellbeing and future is directed by what you choose to do now in each of those things, and also its affected by our age (thats a little harder to control, but people are working on it!)

Pic from FactDr

Lets address each of those areas that we have control over.

First -

Exercise.

Exercise helps the brain directly and indirectly. During exercise, blood flow, oxygen, the growth of new blood cells and neurogenesis increases, insulin sensitivity increases, the release of growth factors is stimulated and chemicals affecting the abundance and survival of new brain cells is increased

Indirectly, exercise improves mood and sleep, and reduces stress and anxiety and improves your ability to deal with stresses.

So what kind of exercise?

Aerobic

Aerobic style training like walking, and running, is shown to have a positive affect on the regions of memory and retention.

In fact walking, 30-45 minutes three times a week, is enough to delay the onset of dementia as shown by a 6 month 2006 study with sedentary people aged 60-79 years. The walking increased to increase brain volume even more than stretches and toning.

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Dancing also has been found to improve cognition and neural-plasticity. If the thought of your two left feet make you shudder a little, the linked study showed that the benefits were regardless of how naturally talented or not these people were, in fact, those less gifted showed the most gain, I’m surmising that is due to increased demand on the brain to learn the moves. So no excuse, turn some music on and get movin n groovin!

Stretching

Stress, depression, traumatic brain brain injuries all shrink the hippocampus, the centre for memory and emotional regulation. Exercise has been shown to be, slightly more effective than other modalities such as medication and counselling at relieving depression. A wonderful body stretching session of yoga will increase overall brain wave activity, brain volume and activation in both the amygdala and frontal cortex.

Studies measuring mental health outcomes have shown decreases in anxiety, and increases in cognitive performance after yoga interventions

When you feel sad or stressed, try a walk or some stretches combined with deep breathing

Lifting heavy things

A 12 month study was done to see if strength training could also have significant effects to neural-plasticity. They found that training twice a week had a significant effect on this whereas training just once a week did not…..interesting

For your best brain health, it needs stimulation from a variety of movements as each part of the body is connects and communicates with various areas of the brain. As the Chinese use meridian points to influence related parts of the body, so this applies to our brain. Small movements like finger wriggling will influence certain brain neurons, and these neurons won’t be influenced without those movements. In a real world example, people confined suddenly to bed and no longer moving their lower bodies very much tend to suddenly show steep cognitive declines. This recent study found that limited physical activity decreased the number of neural stem cells by 70 % and cells that are supportive and protective to nerve cells were no longer able to fully mature. In particular it found that weight bearing leg exercises were shown to have the most benefit. Leg weighted exercise sends signals to the brain that are vital for the production of healthy neural cells, essential for the brain and nervous system.

But, is getting hot and sweaty necessary? …. kinda ….

Beta Amyloid is a protein that comprises the plaque that is found to be built up in the brains of Alzheimers sufferers This build up is caused by proteins becoming disfigured and clumping together. Something that is able to break down and prevent this build up are heat shock proteins. These heat shock proteins are activated by the heat stress that you feel during saunas and during a decent exercise session. When activated, they can be used as structural scaffolding to other proteins and prevent the beta amyloid form clumping together.

It is clear,

purposeful exercise is a vital way to keep your brain healthy. It increases neural plasticity, blood flow, increases dopamine and endorphins, increases brain volume, memory, focus. It can help the brain self regulate and calm down from stressful events. PLUS you’re burning calories at the same time! Exercise, a gift that keeps giving

Bring this into your world

Try to incorporate a variety of purposeful movement in everyday for 30-60 minutes. Get in a bit of each of the following:

Aerobic:

Long walks, riding, rowing, jogging etc

Strength:

1. Lift some heavy things at the gym

2. Do body weight moves like lunging, squatting, twisting, pushups, pulling.

Stretch.

Yoga is terrific and is also very adaptive it can be made as strong or gentle as you need it to be. There's also Tai Chi, dance, pilates and many other options available. Get inspiration from animals and see how they stretch constantly throughout the day.

A typical day might be …..

• Wakeup and go for a walk for 30 mins. Then stretch, maybe some sun salutations (link) which stretch the whole body.

• Later in the day either before lunch or before dinner (as this has a great effect on insulin levels) do 10 each of the following, squats, pushups, lateral lunge with shoulder press, deadlifts, calf raises, rows (link). Repeat this for 2 to 4 times through and increase weights when it feels a little easy.

• Before bed do some foam rolling……

…….. Voila!

Next, coming up as soon as possible ...

….. Nutrition!

More Brain Exercise Links:

• https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/exercise/how-exercise-affects-your-brain?

• https://www.brainmdhealth.com/blog/best-ways-to-take-care-of-your-brain

• https://www.brainmdhealth.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015-02-13_MW_Infographic.jpeg

• https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/putting-exercise-test-people-risk-alzheimers

• https://scienceblog.com/486023/study-mental-physical-exercises-produce-distinct-brain-benefits/

• https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/f-lei051718.php#

Exercise and Diet around your Monthly Cycle

The monthly madness...... Ahh the things we women have to deal with.

....... Do you just go about your life and when that time of the month comes, you experience irritability/ pain and then the blood flow, which is just a damn inconvenience. Then you brush it aside and go back about your life forgetting about it until a months time when your feeling irritable again.

 ……. did you either groan, or sigh “oh yeah”, or, “yep, in the middle of it now, tell me something I don't know” …..

Did you?

…. maybe like me, you could be facing its disappearance, or is it long gone …….. in which case may feel a little little nostalgic? and perhaps, “oh, SO glad I don’t have to deal with that anymore”

…… The monthly flow is a big connection we ladies have with each other, …… and probably the only one the men aren’t trying to also have ….. ha ha 

But really…. 

Although the whole of humankind is affected by hormones it is predominantly women, who are reminded on a monthly basis, that we really are at the mercy of hormones. We have this crazed tyrant living inside of us, sometimes loving, other times….run and hide!

Sometimes you crave carbs, sometimes you don’t, sometimes you have energy and flow, and other times everything is having a hissy fit. If you are aware of your cycle, you have probably noticed that certain emotions and cravings occur around particular times of the cycle. You may or may not already be making lifestyle adjustments around it. For example, when I start suddenly feeling very down just before my period, I remind myself why I’m feeling this way, that it isn't me, and I allow myself to have a gentler workout or a rest day without feeling guilty (...most of the time..).This is making your cycle work for you, or at least a step toward it.

Today I’m going to show you how to make it work even better for you. If you are menopausal or postmenopausal, this could still be quite relevant. Studies show our hormones apparently still continue cycling after menopause, its less messy, but you still have a hormonal high and low. If you are and want to try this, I recommend using the lunar cycle as a guide and see how that works for you. To do this, use the full moon as your 'ovulation day' and the new moon as day 1 of a new cycle.

The Menstrual cycle

A very quick recap of the cycle. Visit here a more detailed version.

Day 1 is generally considered the first day of bleeding as the uterus sheds its lining. Soon a rise in Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)  and Lutenizing Hormone (LH), stimulate ovarian follicles in readiness to secrete an egg. Oestrogen's and estradiol are secreted which create an endometrium lining in the uterus to hold the egg. This phase is nearly always about 14 days long. An egg is created on or around day 14 (ovulation) and released. The rest of the follicle that produced the ova will breakdown to form the corpus luteum which will produce progesterone. Theres a little boost of oestrogen production due to this, FSH and LH production is suppressed  and their levels fall quickly. This causes the corpus luteum to atrophy, oestrogen and progesterone fall and this triggers the lining to shed and menstruation and a new cycle commence. This phase can be 14 days or shorter, it tends to be more variable in each person.

The Benefits of Exercise

Theres no doubt, women who are more physically active enjoy better health than those who are sedentary. The benefits are extensive, Dr Christiane Northrup is a GP specialising in Womens health, she lists:

• Better immune system functioning and increased levels of immunoglobulins
• Lower overall cancer rate
• Decreased risk of heart disease
• Decreased risk of breast cancer
• Longer life expectancy
• Less depression and anxiety, better mental efficiency and speed
• More relaxation, more assertiveness, more spontaneity and enthusiasm
• Stronger bones
• More restful sleep
• Higher self-esteem
• Decreased insulin sensitivity
• More energy
• Decreased PMS symptoms
• Weight control

“Studies also show that repetitive movement increases the alpha waves in the brain — and the alpha state is associated with enhanced intuition. The mind pervades the body, and I find that when I move my body repetitively and rhythmically, more of my mind’s power becomes available to me, and insights often arise during my work-outs.”

— Dr Christiane Northrup

How the cycle influences you

I’ve broken this down into phases.

Follicular Phase Days 1- 14

• Estrogen is increases
• Insulin sensitivity increased
• Metabolism is slower 
• Anaerobic / intense work is great to increase the metabolism
• Great time to go for personal bests and have some healthy carbs in your diet
• The American Journal of Nutrition stated that basal metabolic rate decreases at the beginning of menstruation and reaches the lowest point a week before ovulation.
• Another study found soccer athletes had more endurance and greater lean body mass gain  during this time

Ovulation Phase around Day 14

• Estrogen starts to fall
• Progesterone increases
• Cravings increase
• Serotonin decreases a little
• Insulin sensitivity increases
• Metabolism starts climbing
• Best day to go for a PB but due to also being more prone to injuries make sure technique is absolutely perfect
• Joints and limbs can be a bit lax
• American Journal of Sports Medicine found that due to joint laxity and estrogen-induced changes in collagen structure, ACL tears are four to eight times more likely to happen during this phase.

Luteal Phase Days 15 - 28

• Energy is not really there for power workouts
• Aerobic workouts at a conversational pace. A study showed aerobic exercise and taking a fennel supplement reduced premenstrual pain and anxiety
  • Your insulin sensitivity is decreased
• Body has a preference to use fat for energy rather than glycogen
• Motivation is a bit lower
• May hold fluid and feel heavier at this time
• Metabolism kicks up so you may feel hungrier, try to stick to healthier whole foods and not over eat
• Same 2017 study as above found it wasn’t a good time for maximal endurance efforts at this time but sprints and jumps were unaffected
• You are more prone to higher cortisol response to stress , and more likely to feel stressed , so try a lower carb style of diet
• Things start to track back to ‘normal’ during the last few days of the cycle

Putting it into Real World Practice

Follicular Phase

Exercise

You may want a day or 2 off at the start of your cycle (or the entire time you are menstruating), if you feel uncomfortable, and not up to it. Respect your intuition and use this time to stretch more, meditate. Try yoga (recommended to avoid inversion poses during this time) or pilates, whatever you are leaning to, but keep moving.

If you feel well, there is no reason not to exercise, but respect that you may have looser joints and are therefore prone to injury.

Try this intense cardio session: 20 rounds of 1 min max intensity with 30 seconds recovery. Ouch!

In the gym

4 (6 sets)-8 (4 sets) reps. Heavy weights that you could only push one other rep out. A back move, a chest move, a Leg move, a hamstring specific move and a calf move

For example: Latpulldown; Incline Chest Press, Back Squat, Romanian Deadlift and Calf Raises

Nutrition

Always stick to whole foods and remove sugar where possible. This is the case for all diets really. Extra sugar sources during menstruation may contribute to bloating and pain, so leave the bread, cookies etc if you can.

After that for the remainder of the 14 days eat a balance of protein, vegetables and fruit, and fat, with a little extra if you need it. During the days you exercise add in a wholegrain source of carbohydrates if you want some more oomph, such as quinoa, millet, oatmeal, amaranth, and beans

Ovulation

If you are one of those people who know when they ovulate 

Exercise

Make this a tough intense day, go do that crossfit wod you have been wondering about.

In the gym, do some 5 x 5 reps and sets and finish with a solid tabata or HIIT session

Nutrition

IF you have done some decent exercise, reseed your body with a big plate of meat, vegetables or salad, some olive oil and rice, or any grains mentioned above. Enjoy!

Luteal phase

Exercise

Get some steady state endurance work in 2-3 times a week for 30-60 minutes pending on your level. Use that time to put an audio book on, ponder the world, or focus on your breathing in a meditative fashion.

“you can perform 8 sets of 5 minutes at 60-70% of your VO2 max of running, biking, swimming, rowing, hiking, brisk walking or elliptical, with 3 minutes of easy movement between each”

— Ben Greenfield

In the gym

Try some higher volume. Lower the sets and increase the reps. For example

• 2-3 Sets of 15-25 reps
• 2 Day Split with a day between

Wkout 1: KB Pullover, seated row, reverse fly, biceps curls and back squat, pistol squat and Step tap ups, Side Plank pulses

Wkout 2: Flat Chest Press, Shoulder Press, Lateral Raise, Tricep Dips, Fitball Hamstring Curls, Fitball ab curls, Hip Thrust, Fitball rollouts

Finish each session with some steady cardio and a good stretch ensuring that you consciously breathe and relax during this time and bring your attention back to the body and cast your mind around the muscles you worked and how they are feeling, and which need more attention.

Nutrition

A great time to try intermittent fasting or low carb diets (get some good advice if you are unsure how to do this)

Keep as far away from sugar as possible and try very hard to have a good 7.5 plus hours sleep every night.

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Regardless of whatever phase you are in make sure you move everyday. Incorporating movement, 10,000 steps, or a more formal workout, will release endorphins and that will make you feel good, increase insulin sensitivity, increase metabolism and reduce period pain (although, if you are like me, mine hurts a lot, admittedly its more painful if I have had increased sugar in my diet). Daily movement will also reduce cravings and help you sleep better. Even if you don’t feel up to it you can move with yoga like stretches. Just keep extending the body (I have simple, VERY easy stretch ideas here on youTube).

The best workout in the world is the one you actually do every day. We can analyse things too much and go off on tangents (I do it to myself ALL the time), so if in doubt, just move. Change it if you like when you like, just do it…..hey...... that would be a great slogan … hmmm

….oh, and eat whole foods where possible. Studies show that women are very affected by food choices, the difference between a stressed out day and one where you feel you can cope with the ups and downs. You don’t have to be religious about it, just consistent, like the exercise. Try to make 80% of your intake healthy. Does it have more than 3 ingredients on the label? Put it back and make your own. If you need help, just ask. This should be a pleasant part of your life not a burden.

Extra References used for this article

• https://www.t-nation.com/training/hormone-cycle-and-female-lifters
• https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/fitness-articles/planning-your-exercise-around-your-menstruation-cycle/
• https://www.precisionnutrition.com/fitness-menstrual-health

Painfree? Is it possible? My experience with turmeric

This year has been a year of many firsts for me. Probably the most relevant one is the onset of peri menopause, hmmmm....trying to embrace that one, and the other is the recognition that I am suffering from arthritis, damn!

Okay, okay, I get it now. I have always tried to deal compassionately/ empathise with all of my clients, and I have been able to embrace the trials of my life (kicking and screaming sometimes) the last few years as it has made me a much better trainer and person, but I have never appreciated the pain of arthritis. My goodness! Its horrible, it keeps you awake. Mine's in my big toe and makes movement painful and often I struggled to walk because it just hurt too much. I see and feel my body compensating for the lack of movement from that side of my body and my mind races to all the repercussions that will have to my mobility if I allow myself to be pushed around by this 'thing'.

Panadol didn't cut it, voltaren, nope. I've tried MSM in the past (not for arthritis admittedly), did nothing. Being me, I thought straight to my diet. I am not that strict currently and the processed foods and alcohol would be adding a fair bit of inflammation to my body. So wrestling with myself, half of me wants medication, the other half says sternly ,"now, come on. You tell others not to complain if they feel pain and their diet is a mess. Don't be hypocritical. Suck it up and do something........Nooo drugs! now!" and so on

Then, as happens when you buy a blue car, and suddenly everyone is driving a blue car too, I happened across several information sources regarding turmeric. I have been a little dismissive of turmeric, I know the theory, buuttt eh. However, some people are having anecdotally great success with high dose turmeric, up to 30 gms a day. Cool, worth a go, its certainly not hurting me.

So for the last 3 months I've been having between 15 and 30 gms a day (Trying to cut costs a little), after a week, far less pain. 3 months later...seriously...I will not stop this. Not only is the turmeric having a wonderful anti-inflammatory effect on my brain and the rest of the body, but its pretty much painfree arthritis wise. I can feel the arthritis lump there, but I can walk normally and run , jump if I am so inclined and it doesn't pain me just putting my shoes on or having a tissue fall on it. Heaven!

Let me know if you try the high dose as well and what result it had to your pain. Full disclosure, I also have hip pain caused by me overworking my muscles and not stretching and it hasn't touched that ache so much, but Know what I need to do there....stretch damn it Vashti. Just do it!

All the best :-) x

PS - An important disclaimer! If at all unsure consult your doctor before you try extra turmeric, as I am no doctor! Also it is possible to have ill effects from too much. It will thin the blood, so if you are on blood thinners such as warfarin, please do not try this. It can lower the blood sugar so if you are on medication that lowers blood sugar be aware that this can lower it further and that can be quite dangerous.

Places to get it:

• Healthfood stores
• https://www.iherb.com/pr/Dr-Mercola-Fermented-Turmeric-60-Capsules/82238
• The one I use currently: https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/84676/Wagner-Turmeric-3333-2b-100-Capsules