Ideas for Improved Human Performance and Personal Development

In every sport or endeavor there are numerous co factors that influence results and outcomes. People in the know and those with a high level of commitment discover what these co factors are and apply them in order to improve their results. One often overlooked influence on golf performance is nutrition status.

In this article I will talk about how nutrition influences golf performance the day of the event. However keep in mind that the larger nutrition picture on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis also has an impact and will be discussed in an upcoming article.

What you eat and [...] Continue Reading…

Popularity: 20% [?]

There are many definitions of functional foods. I put functional foods into three categories for the benefit of efficiency. The topic of functional foods goes much deeper than this brief post.

The three categories are: 

1. those whole foods that inherently possess greater than average nutritional value beyond basic nutrition, for example an apple, spinach, or parsley

2. those  foods that have been fortified or enriched with various nutrients, phytochemicals, antioxidants etc in order to deliver superior physiological benefit, for example calcium fortified orange juice

3. and isolated bioactive components, for example Vitamin C is one of many bioactive components found in a lemon

At the most basic level a [...] Continue Reading…

Popularity: 24% [?]

QUESTION: What is the mechanism of action for L-Carnitine ? What are good food sources of Carnitine ?

ANSWER: Carnitine upgrades the transport of fatty acids from the cell cytoplasm into mitochondrial matrix where fat burning takes place. Carnitine does this by enhancing the penetration across the mitochondrial membrane.

Carnitine is found primarily in animal protein. Examples include red meat, chicken breast, and lamb. Vegetarian or vegan diets are generally not rich in Carnitine.

Carnitine is known to be a contributor to both energy metabolism and fat metabolism.

Popularity: 28% [?]

QUESTION: What is ellagic acid and in what foods does it naturally occur ?

ANSWER: Ellagic acid/ ellagitannin is an antioxidant and phenolic acid found in strawberries, raspberries, pomegranates, other fruits and vegetables, and some nuts.

  Its been in the news due to studies which refer to its anticarcinogenic properties and  general antioxidant benefits. Some sources refer to its antibacterial and antiviral characteristics. Research studies point to ellagic acid as having properties that protect DNA and for its potential to provide antioxidant benefits to the skin.

 Ellagic acid is not new. It has always been a naturally occurring compound however with advances in [...] Continue Reading…

Popularity: 34% [?]

QUESTION: Does my training frequency have any potential influence on immune function ?

ANSWER: Absolutely. Everyone is biochemically unique to some degree so training frequency and other training variables have different influences on different individuals.Training frequency, intensity, duration, volume etc  all have the potential to affect immune function. All types of physical training have the potential to improve or lower immune function.  That’s why its important to train intelligently. Training intelligently means being aware of subtle changes in your body, on a day to day, week to week basis and adjusting your training variables accordingly.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Vitamins  and minerals are not manufactured in the human body or by the human body therefore we need to consume them from food or nutritional supplementation. I include nutritional supplementation because it is a generally recognized that the food supply today does not provide the full spectrum of micronutrients in sufficient quantities  for optimum health and human performance. Vitamins and minerals have a variety of functions and absence of  key micronutrients or insufficient quantities can be the beginning of a substantial problem.

Historically, two of the most well known deficiency states are scurvy and rickets. Scurvy is caused by a Vitamin [...] Continue Reading…

Popularity: 50% [?]

That’s right. What you are doing in the gym is beginning a process  where the potential to put on muscle and increase functional strength exists. However, if you don’t manage the other significant variables you won’t get optimum results. My point here is that your workout in the gym or other strength and conditioning work you’re doing, is a stimulus, it’s only part of the equation.

Many people don’t pay attention to recovery between workouts, nutrition/ food intake, nutrition timing, training periodization, nutritional supplementation, sleep patterns, biorhythms etc. To go to your next level begin to gather more knowledge about the totality [...] Continue Reading…

Popularity: 58% [?]

QUESTION: I’ve noticed recent articles addressing the health benefits of Vitamin D. What are a few good sources of Vitamin D ?

ANSWER:  Sunlight is an important source of Vitamin D which is often overlooked. In essence your body creates Vitamin D  through  exposure to sunlight. Since Vitamin D is synthesized in the human body, it is also considered a hormone. Foods that provide significant quantities of Vitamin D include salmon, milk, eggs, and yogurt. Also a high quality multi vitamin/ multi mineral/ antioxidant formula will contain Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is most well known as a regulator of calcium metabolism, influencing the quality, [...] Continue Reading…

Popularity: 60% [?]

QUESTION: Would you explain chronological age, biological age, and their significance ?

ANSWER: Chronological age is simply your age in years. Biological age is your age at a cellular level. These 2 numbers are not necessarily the same. Lifestyle factors such as nutrition/ food choices, exercise, nutritional supplementation, antioxidant status, and stress among others impact biological age. So, how you manage your life and the choices you make  on a daily basis can either accelerate or slow down your biological aging process  in  varying degrees. All this boils down to quality of life. 

 Examples of high chronological age with corresponding low biological age are  seen in the [...] Continue Reading…

Popularity: 84% [?]

QUESTION: With my busy schedule what’s the best use of my time in the gym in order to get results ?

ANSWER: The short answer is compound movements. Allow me to provide a definition. Compound movements are exercises involving 2 or more joints. Examples are the bench press which involves  the shoulder and elbow and lunges which involve primarily the  hip and knee.

Compound movements provide  you with the benefit of  incorporating more muscles into fewer exercises. Additionally, compound movements require integration of muscle groups leading to improved functional strength and athleticism. Finally, the overall metabolic impact  of compound movements far exceeds [...] Continue Reading…

Popularity: 69% [?]