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Showing posts from March 26, 2023

How to make a well-balanced salad meal

A salad is a convenient, easy and affordable way to work in several servings of nutrient-packed vegetables into your daily diet. Vegetables act as a low calorie vehicle to deliver fiber, antioxidants, an abundance of vitamins and minerals and satiating power into your daily diet to support hormonal, immune system and metabolic health. When constructing the perfect salad, it's important to differentiate between eating a salad as part of a meal versus eating a salad as the main component of the meal. As an example, if you are having a sandwich, you may have a "side" salad with the meal. But for many people, a salad is the main part of the meal. From a nutrition perspective, when creating a salad that acts as the main component of your meal there are a few tips to ensure that your salad is well-balanced. Keep in mind that a balanced diet is one that meets your individual needs taking into consideration your food choices, ethics, finances, culture and so much more. There is n...

NSAID misuse in endurance athletes

  There's a good chance that a bottle of over-the-counter painkillers are in your house right now. If you are an active individual or athlete, there's an even better chance that you have taken a pain reliever to reduce exercise-related inflammation, pain, swelling or soreness. Although NSAIDs are somewhat safe, most athletes have little awareness of (or choose to ignore) the risks and potential adverse complications.  What are NSAIDs and how do they work? Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are designed to manage pain, swelling and inflammation. They may also treat non-inflammatory conditions such as migraine, menstrual pain, fever and postoperative pain. Over the counter NSAIDs that you will typically see in the store include:  Asprin (which has blood thinning properties) Ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin Naproxen NSAIDs work by blocking a specific enzyme called COX (cyclooxygenase) used by the body to make prostaglandins. COX-1 and COX-2 are enzymes that are necessary for the ...

Happy 76th birthday dad

  This picture fills me with a lot of emotions. First off, Campy is just over a year old. Look at the golden pup! Secondly, my dad - so positive and a lover of life - was only five years away from being diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer - which sadly ended his life 10 months later.  It makes me so happy that Campy is still here. At 15 years old, he is 76 in human years - which is what my dad would have been today. But I'm sad that my dad didn't get to experience life after the age of 67. What would you do if you only had five years left to live? I often think about this. My dad was waiting for retirement to travel with my mom. He was just a year away from making that decision. While he loved his job as a VA optometrist, he also had a lot of other hobbies - running, working in the yard, fixing things, making things, listening to music, collecting stamps, taking pictures, and so much more. I wonder if my dad knew that he didn't have a lot of years left, if he would have ...

The Whole Enchilada MTB event recap

  After enjoying our race experience at the Whole Enchilada in 2022, we were really looking forward to participating again. I swam with our masters group at the aquatic center in the morning and Karel swam at Furman. We were going into this event with a solid week of training in us. We left Greenville around 12:30pm and had homemade sandwiches, grapes and chips during our 2 hour drive to the Whitewater Center. We did a 90 min recon ride on the East Main loop (11.7 miles). I could feel the fatigue in my arms and legs from the previous workouts this week but it felt good to be out on the trails. Last year when I participated in the event I had only been mountain biking for a few months so to have another year of riding behind me, I could notice that my skills had improved. However, I still struggle a lot with tight/twisty turns  but I'm determined to continue to work on it. I was looking forward to one specific obstacle that I really struggled with last year. It's a short steep ...