Who I Be…..A Personal Confession How well do you know yourself? I recently decided to take part in a “Personal Confession” exercise to see how well I knew myself, and wanted to share my results in today’s Make it Happen Monday post. You may know me as a guy who loves bicycles, and if...
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Metabolism – Overeating in the Evening? I feel like I can’t control my night-time eating? Is this as bad as I think it is? Can you hear it? The “JAWS” music playing in the background. There’s something sneaking up on you…A METABOLISM KILLER! AAAAAAAAAH! Over-Eating in the Evening. That’s right. It may not sound...
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Ever wonder how “The Love Affair” of cycling is seen through a “non-rider’s” eyes? Today’s guest post by Vania Selvaggi just might be the most beautifully written cycling story ever written by a non-cyclist. Earlier this month, I read an awesome “non-cycling” article online and liked it so much that I asked the writer...
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We’re posting this information on Hydrapak’s Selva so that our #bikeschool classmates can drop in and locate the correct answer to the question asked in class (Tonight – January 19th 2012)….think of it as a cycling tweet chat scavenger hunt. For any non-#bikeschoolers reading this, check out what the Selva has to offer and...
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If you’re like me, you may love to eat drupes and not even know it. There’s a new one, right? Drupes are actually just “fruits” that have a pit or a stone at their core, surrounded by a fleshy, edible portion. They include foods such as the mango, cherry, peach, plum, apricot, nectarine, and...
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Note from Darryl: We didn’t participate in this historic day of people blacking out their websites. To be honest, I haven’t even had a chance to see what all of this is about so I never had a chance to grab myself an opinion on it. I’m definitely one for free speech and individuality which...
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Here at LovingTheBike.com we have hit the ground running in 2012 and I have no doubt that the vast majority of you are the same. With the prospect of a great year of cycling ahead whether it be for your own fitness or in competition why not have a new year’s resolution that is...
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Right now in Austin we’re deep in the heart of cedar allergy season, and once again it’s wreaking havoc on my cycling lungs. They call it “cedar fever” and a lot of people over here get knocked down pretty hard with the punch it packs each year. One of the things it does to...
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During the summer, I got in the habit of weighing myself before and after training to monitor my fluid losses. When it was hot, I lost 35-40 oz. per hour – this seems like too much to try to drink while riding. What are your thoughts? Great job with weighing yourself to monitor fluid...
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Looking for a cool way to carry your infant on your bike? You might want to check out the iBert Safe-T-Seat. As some of you may know, I have a bike crazed baby in the house…and if you’d like to see how much he loves bikes, check out this video from last year’s TdF....
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We invite you to subscribe to our Loving the Bike distribution list. Believe me, I know you’re already bombarded with people and websites asking you to sign up for their mailing list so that they can build some sort of huge and ideal distribution list. Up until recently I hadn’t been one to go...
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It’s a lean, mean, green, cancer-, cholesterol-, allergy-, oxidative-stress- and inflammation-fighting-machine. And, you’re in luck because it’s likely sitting in your refrigerator right now. With over 300 studies to support its whole-food, nutrition power-house goodness, broccoli is a sure-fire way to improve your health. Specifically, it fights 3 cellular problem areas that can contribute...
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I generally eat pretty healthily and stay relatively fit but I wonder if I’m getting enough vitamins and minerals. Is there a product (available in the UK) that contains the right mixes of daily vitamins and minerals and if not, which individual supplements should I take to compliment a healthy lifestyle. (ps… I don’t want to take so many pills that I rattle!)
Kelli’s Answer:
Thanks for the question! First a disclaimer: It’s always important to talk to your personal health care provider about supplements -some should not be taken due to medication interactions and individual conditions.
Now, my general recommendations:
Although a healthy and balanced diet is most important, I do believe that most people, and athletes especially, need a good multivitamin/multimineral, extra vitamin D, and fish oil (or another source of DHA/EPA omega-3s) in addition to healthy foods. Mostly, I recommend this because our soils have been over-farmed (which decreases the amount of nutrients in our foods), our waters are polluted (which is one reason we can’t eat as much seafood as we’d like), and our ability to get outside and get sunlight year round has decreased with more time spent inside and at a desk. And, there’s a lot of exciting research that supports higher levels of vitamin D supplementation than previous recommendations.
Generally, I recommend these daily supplements:
Additionally, individual athletes may need extra iron, probiotics, calcium, etc. But, these 3 pills are a good place to start for most healthy athletes.
As you look for supplements, the keys are to find ones that 1) have what they claim they have (no exaggerated claims) and 2) don’t have anything that’s harmful. You don’t want lead or other dangerous heavy metals, and I try to stay away from colorings, flavorings, and unnecessary additives. Since this industry is not really regulated, it can be hard to find good brands that have support from a 3rd party expert. I often www.consumerlab.com, a completely impartial 3rd party site that tests supplements and reports on their ingredients. They don’t have every brand, but it can be a good starting point. I hope this helps!
Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.
Nutrition Tips
