Josh Perez Fitness

Your body uses vitamins for a variety of biological processes, including growth, digestion, and nerve function. There are 13 vitamins that the body absolutely needs: vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate). AAFP cites two categories of vitamins.

Water-soluble vitamins are easily absorbed by the body, which doesn’t store large amounts. The kidneys remove those vitamins that are not needed. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed into the body with the use of bile acids, which are fluids used to absorb fat. The body stores these for use as needed.

How Vitamins are Regulated

Vitamin products are regulated by FDA as “Dietary Supplements.” The law defines dietary supplements, in part, as products taken by mouth that contain a “dietary ingredient” intended to supplement the diet.

Listed in the “dietary ingredient” category are not only vitamins, but minerals, botanicals products, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, microbial probiotics, and metabolites. Dietary supplements can also be extracts or concentrates, and may be found in many forms. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 requires that all such products be labeled as dietary supplements.

In June 2007, FDA established dietary supplement “current Good Manufacturing Practice” (cGMP) regulations requiring that manufacturers evaluate their products through testing identity, purity, strength, and composition.

Fat-soluble Vitamins

• A (retinol, retinal, retinoic acid): Nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, blurred vision, clumsiness, birth defects, liver problems, possible risk of osteoporosis. You may be at greater risk of these effects if you drink high amounts of alcohol or you have liver problems, high cholesterol levels or don’t get enough protein.
• D (calciferol): Nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness, weight loss, confusion, heart rhythm problems, deposits of calcium and phosphate in soft tissues. If you take blood thinners, talk to your doctor before taking vitamin E or vitamin K pills.

Water-soluble Vitamins

• B-3 (niacin): flushing, redness of the skin, upset stomach.
• B-6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine): Nerve damage to the limbs, which may cause numbness, trouble walking, and pain.
• C (ascorbic acid): Upset stomach, kidney stones, increased iron absorption.
  Folic Acid (folate): High levels may, especially in older adults, hide signs of B-12 deficiency, a condition that can cause nerve damage.

Taking too much of a vitamin can also cause problems with some medical tests or interfere with how some drugs work.

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Acute pain is pain that is sharp and sudden, and usually is caused by an illness, injury, or surgery. Self-care for pain is often common sense. If you’re working with a doctor to relieve acute pain, you’re most likely taking over-the-counter or prescribed pain medications at appropriate intervals, as well as resting and applying heat or cold to your aches. But you can do even more to heal and strengthen your body on your own through self-care techniques.

Here are some tips on how to manage acute pain:

Don’t do too much: Rest is one of the best treatments for acute pain! Give your injuries time to heal, chances are it will resolve itself within a reasonable amount of time. Some joints can be aggravated by overuse. If you do too much in a day, you might suffer at night. Plan your activities so that you’re not likely to cause yourself pain from straining injured body parts. If you have to undertake a prolonged activity that might cause pain, plan to take breaks along the way.

Start exercising: As long as your doctor, physical therapist, fitness professional approves, you should engage in regular exercise to strengthen your muscles and your cardiovascular system. If you’re in good physical shape, you’re less likely to injure yourself and feel pain from your daily tasks. Muscle fatigue can contribute to injury, which in turn can cause acute pain.

Ask for help: If your pain doesn’t go away within a reasonable amount of time, you should seek the advice of a doctor. Acute pain is often a signal that something is wrong. When the pain persists beyond the healing process or beyond the time expected for healing, it becomes a chronic pain condition and there are numerous modalities to treat that. Options for treating chronic pain include prescription medications, physical therapy, injection or infusion therapies, and complementary and alternative therapies like therapeutic massage and acupuncture, or even sitting in your own massage chair.

Reduce stressors: Studies have shown that stress can exacerbate pain. You may not be able to control the causes of your stress — such as traffic or catching a cold, but you can make improvements by planning ahead. For example, get a flu shot to reduce your chances of getting the flu, or arrange your work schedule, errand-running, and doctors’ appointments so you avoid peak traffic times.

The best way to control acute pain is to keep it from getting worse. If you exercise some common sense and stay in good physical shape, you will find it easier to cope with acute pain.

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Here are some common misconceptions about this Valentine’s Day or any other chocolate loving holiday, along with some facts to set the record straight.

A daily serving of dark chocolate, which contains more antioxidants than milk chocolate, can also help lower blood pressure and improve insulin resistance according to a joint study between Tufts University in Boston and the University of L’Aquila in Italy. The findings do not suggest that people with high blood pressure consume dark chocolate in lieu of taking their prescribed medication, but that the flavor in dark chocolate may have a positive effect on blood pressure and insulin resistance.

Myth: Chocolate is high in caffeine.
Fact: While eating chocolate may perk you up, chocolate is actually not very high in caffeine. A 1.4-ounce chocolate bar or an 8-ounce glass of chocolate milk both contain 6 mg of caffeine, the same amount as a cup of decaffeinated coffee. (For reference, regular coffee contains about 65-135mg of caffeine.)

Myth: Chocolate is loaded with saturated fat and is bad for your cholesterol.
Fact: Stearic acid, the main saturated fat found in milk chocolate, is unique. Research has shown that it doesn’t raise cholesterol levels the same way that other types of saturated fats do. In fact, eating a 1.8 ounce chocolate bar instead of a carbohydrate-rich snack has been shown to increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

Myth: Chocolate lacks any nutritional value.
Fact: Chocolate is a good source of magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. It also contains polyphenols (an antioxidant also found in tea and red wine) that have been associated with a decreased risk of coronary disease. An average chocolate bar contains about the same amount of antioxidants as a 5-ounce glass of red wine.

Myth: Chocolate causes cavities.
Fact: Candy alone is not responsible for cavities. Cavities are formed when bacteria in the mouth metabolize sugars and starches from any type of food (soda, candy, juice, bread, rice and pasta) to produce acid. This acid then eats through the enamel of the tooth, causing a cavity.

Myth: Chocolate causes headaches.
Fact: While sited as a common cause of migraines, a study by the University of Pittsburgh has shown no link between chocolate and headaches. The results of that double-blind study of 63 participants known to suffer chronic headaches were published in the neurology journal Cephalalgia. Chronic headaches were once thought to be caused by amines in foods (including histamine and beta-phenylethylamine) such as cheddar cheese, peanuts, cured meats, chocolate and alcohol, but this study eliminated chocolate as a possible headache cause.

Myth: Chocolate causes acne.
Fact: Regardless of what your parents or grandparents may still say, studies in the past twenty years have eliminated chocolate as a cause of acne. In fact, many dermatologists doubt that diet plays any significant role in the development of acne. Acne is now believed to be caused by a combination of high bacterial levels and oil on the skin.

Myth: Chocolate causes weight gain.
Fact: Any food can be part of a healthy diet if consumed in moderation. An average chocolate bar contains 220 calories, which is low enough to be a part of a weight control diet if other high-calorie foods are eliminated. Enjoying the occasional piece of chocolate may reduce the risk of severe bingeing, which can occur when you feel deprived of your favorite foods.

Chocolate’s bad reputation is slowly changing and research now shows that chocolate can be a part of an overall healthy lifestyle, when consumed in moderation. If you keep your portion sizes small and select dark chocolate whenever possible, the occasional treat can be a guilt-free part of your nutrition plan.

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If you’re serious about losing weight and getting fit, you need to be serious about making your home workouts count. No matter how small your apartment or home, designate a specific workout area. This will be the place you head to when it’s time for your scheduled workout. Clear the area of any clutter or distractions — including television and movies. You won’t be concentrating on your movements if you’re in the middle of watching your favorite movie or even watching your kid(s) play.

Kick Up The volume:
Music is the one distraction that can actually help you exercise better. It gets your blood pumping and boosts your enthusiasm for working out. Skip the elevator music and choose tunes with a moderate-to-fast beat to really get you moving. If the lyrics are motivating, that’s even better. In fact, create your own exercise music mix from your iTunes library.

Keep Track:
Even though you’ll be working out five days a week, it can be hard to remember exactly how much weight you used for each of the movements. So keep track by writing it down! Keeping a record of your workouts can also be quite motivating. Your Journal is a great tool to help you with this. You’ll be able to take a look back at your progress and see how much you’ve accomplished. Or perhaps if you didn’t lose the weight you wanted, it’s still fun to see how much strength you have gained.

Form Is Everything:
Pay close attention to the descriptions of the exercises and their accompanying photos. It’s okay to perform the movements slowly if you need to in order to get them right — it’s better than doing them inaccurately. Try not to use momentum or leverage to complete the moves — you’ll only be cheating yourself. If it helps you to see it on paper, remember that every exercise can be printed out.

Take A Few Seconds:
If you are feeling too wiped to complete an exercise set, take a break. Sit down on a ball and catch your breath for a few minutes, and then resume your workout where you left off. And if you have to, switch to a lighter weight to finish up the set. Be patient with yourself and allow your strength to increase gradually, and you’ll be pleased with the results you will see!

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(HealthDay News) — Insomnia — the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep — can occur once in a while, or become chronic. It affects more women than men.

For treating insomnia the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers these suggestions to help overcome insomnia:

• Talk to your doctor about identifying any underlying medical problems or mental health issues.
• Examine your daily routine for activities that may be affecting your sleep, including drinking alcohol or caffeine.
• Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of using sleeping pills for a short time.
• Try working out in the morning, at least a solid hour of weight training and cardio conditioning.
• Try methods such relaxation therapy, sleep restriction therapy and reconditioning.

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