naturopathic medicine

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Sports nutrition

Intense or prolonged exercise places significant stress on the body, which can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies (especially the loss of electrolytes). Thus, athletic performance may be enhanced by specific nutritional supplementation, herbs and dietary changes.

I show you what types of foods, herbs and supplementation programs are essential for all athletes in maximizing training benefits and building the corner-stones of fitness – strength, endurance etc. You will develop an understanding of how appropriate nutrition can help delay the onset of fatigue during intense exercise, to accelerate recovery time between exercise bouts and to fuel adaptive responses to training. This will give you a significant edge over your competitors.

Prolonged, high intensity training can suppress the immune system and exhaust the adrenal glands, leading to decreased protection and decreased athletic performance. This type of training also produces muscle and joint trauma, which promotes inflammation in the body, putting further stress on the immune system. During this window of decreased immunity, viruses and bacteria may take hold which further increases the risk of infection. Through the use of herbal medicines, vitamin/minerals and correct diet you can strengthen and improve immunity and adrenal gland function which will reduce time off training due to illness, injury or chronic fatigue.

Natural medicines are a safe and effective alternative to prescription pain killers and anti-inflammatories. Herbal medicines, homoeopathic remedies and certain nutrients are used in the treatment and management of chronic pain, cramps, muscle soreness, injuries and inflammation. These natural medicines are also useful in the prevention of injuries and help to increase recovery time from injury and illness.

Benefits of electrolyte drinks

Dehydration greatly affects athletic performance, causing muscle weakness and fatigue. As the body loses water, its core temperature rises (affecting metabolic pathways), it interferes with cardiovascular functioning, and reduces total exercise capacity. Other symptoms of dehydration include thirst, dizziness, headaches, and cramps.

Electrolyte drinks ingested during exercise aim at providing a source of carbohydrate fuel to supplement the body’s limited stores and supplying water and electrolytes to replace the losses incurred through sweating. Along with helping with muscle recovery and soreness, electrolyte drinks help to prevent dehydration, and provide stamina and increased endurance during strenuous exercise.

Electrolyte drinks should be used during training and after training to ensure that your body is fully rehydrated. If you don’t properly rehydrate after a training session you will wake up the next morning still dehydrated and be unable to train to your full potential. Moreover, dehydration will be farther advanced.