Past and Future Update

I know it has been a while since I posted a blog, but I am back now and hopefully back to a regular schedule. Since the last time that I blogged, I have actually gotten a new computer because my video card decided to crap out on me. This actually happened the morning after I posted my last blog. After I finished BodyBeast, I started focusing on my cardio to prepare for the half marathon that I am running at the end of the month. I started off doing Insanity and fitness classes at the gym because the weather was not nice enough to go outside and run. There was still snow on the ground until the first couple days of May, which is ridiculous. I was finally able to get outside and run properly, I did do a few runs before, but I was having to dodge the puddles and ice all the time. I have been running four days per week for the last two weeks and next week I will be running five days as it will be my last week of training before the race. The final week before the race I will be focusing on core and stretching to relax my body and prepare it for the race. I have actually been feeling really good about my running this past week. My times have improved and I am still hopeful about my goal of completing the half marathon in 2:10:00 or less. I know my runs are not the fastest that I have ever had, but with the limited amount of running I have been doing lately I think I am doing pretty good. My room mate has been having troubles with his training lately because his calves have been super tight. He has tried a lot of things to loosen them up, but the race is fast approaching and he is running out of time to get some serious training in. Another friend of mine who is joining us in the half marathon has not been training at all. When he first signed up for the race, he sent me a text message asking me how long a half marathon was, after he had already signed up for it. He has not been running at all and I am not really certain how good he is going to do in the race. This summer I will also be competing in a mud run, this one is called the Dirty Donkey Mud Run. This run is a 5km obstacle course in the mud and I think it will be pretty fun to do. There are a couple guys from work who are going to join me in the mud run as well. We all had already singed up before we talked about it or we might have all signed up as a team. I will also be doing my third round of P90X this summer and I am hoping to get fantastic results from it, all I need to do is really focus on my diet and I should do great.

Thiamin (B1) and Riboflavin (B2)

Thiamin (B1) is part of a coenzyme called Thiamin Pyrophosphate (TPP) and assists in Energy Metabolism. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for Thiamin is 1.2 mg for men and 1.1 mg for women. Generally you do not see Thiamin Deficiency in North America because as long as you consume enough calories with nutritious foods, you will meet the requirements for Thiamin. Thiamin Deficiency is usually only seen in malnourished nations and homeless people, this is because they tend to not eat enough food for what their bodies need. People who consume what is called "Empty Calorie foods" could also possibly become deficient in Thiamin. A common example of this would be alcohol. Alcohol tends to not have much, if any, Vitamins. Alcohol also impairs Thiamin absorption and Thiamin Excretion through urine. Thiamin Deficiency can result in a disease called "BeriBeri". The symptoms of BeriBeri include Damage to the nervous system, the heart and other muscles of the body. Thiamin tends to be in all types of food, but mostly in small amounts. Pork, Soy milk, Squash, Tomato Juice and Cornflakes are the best food sources of Thiamin. Prolonged cooking times destroys some of the Thiamin in food. Even though Pork has the most Thiamin per serving, it will lose some of the Thiamin when cooked.

Riboflavin (B2) is also part of a coenzyme. Riboflavin has two different forms of the coenzyme, Flavin Mononucleotide (FMN) and Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide (FAD). These enzymes help with the release of energy from nutrients in all body cells. The RDA for Riboflavin is 1.3 mg for men ad 1.1 mg for women. You also rarely see a deficiency with Riboflavin in North America. Riboflavin Deficiency can result in a disease called "Ariboflavinosis". Lack of Riboflavin can cause inflammation of the membranes of the mouth, skin, eyes and GI Tract. Liver, Mushrooms, Clams, Eggs, Yogurt, Milk, Broccoli and Cornflakes are the best food sources of Riboflavin. Ultraviolet light and Irradiation destroys the Riboflavin in foods, but cooking does not harm the Riboflavin as it is heat stable. 

Vitamin Summary

I have decided to make a series of blogs about the various vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that you body need in order to be healthy. I will taking about the role each vitamin has in the body, how you obtain these vitamins, the deficiency/toxicity of each vitamin and the recommended levels you should be consuming. Most people know all about the three main nutrients; Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat. I think I am going to save these for the end for that exact reason. I am going to start the series off talking about the vitamins in general. I will then proceed to talk about the water soluble vitamins and then the fat soluble vitamins.

Vitamins were first discovered in the early 1900's. The word "Vitamin" means "life containing nitrogen", this is because the first Vitamins that were discovered did in fact contain nitrogen, some Vitamins nowadays do not contain nitrogen. Most people know that our bodies need these Vitamins in order for us to be healthy, but most people think that taking a supplement will be the same as eating the foods. The Vitamins in pill form have been processed and broken down making them less available to the body than when you consume them from foods. Most Diet plans have you eating a lot of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. This is because these foods contain the most nutrients for your body. When you go on one of those Fad diets that get you to practically starve yourself, your body reacts by storing fat because it is making sure that it has enough energy to survive the harsh times it is going through. When you feed your body properly and give it all the nutrients that it needs, you will shed the fat because your body knows that it will get the energy it needs. Some people treat Vitamins just like they do Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates, but Vitamins are different. Vitamins are individual units, whereas the other nutrients are complex compounds. Vitamins also do not have any energy that the body could use, but they do assist the enzymes that helps release the energy from the other three nutrients.

When food experts calculate how much of each nutrient you get from different foods they need to consider both the amount the food provides and also the amount the body will absorb and use. This calculation is called the Vitamins Bio-availability. Some of the Vitamins in foods are in an inactive from called a precursor. These precursors are converted to an active form of the Vitamin, but experts still need to consider these when calculating the Bio-availability of different Vitamins. There are two different types of Vitamins when it comes to the solubility of these Vitamins. Vitamins can either be water-soluble or fat-soluble. The water-soluble Vitamins are the B-Vitamins and Vitamin C, whereas the fat-soluble Vitamins are A, D, E, and K. I will go into more detail about each in later blogs. Water-soluble and fat-soluble Vitamins have different paths that they need to take once the enter the body. Water-soluble Vitamins are found in the water compartments of foods, they move directly into the bloodstream once they have been absorbed and can travel freely in the bloodstream. Fat-soluble Vitamins take a bit of a different path. They are found in the fats and oils of the food, they must enter the lymph nodes before entering the bloodstream, they need transport proteins to move around in the blood and they are held in the fatty tissue and liver until they are needed.

I hope this series gets peoples attention and I also hope that you learn something from this. The solution to the obesity epidemic in North America is simply knowledge. Most people honestly do not know that they way they are eating is the reason they are unhealthy. If you have any questions or topics you really want me to go through, please message me via comment, or send me a PM through Google+. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I will try to get one of these up a week, if I am not too busy.

Nutrition Blog?

So I was thinking of starting a weekly themed Blog. I want to do a nutrition style blog every week, giving tips, what's new and maybe even some vitamins and minerals. I was thinking of going over what each vitamin/mineral does, where you get it from and why you should get it in your diet. I know I don't get that many views yet, but for those of you who actual read these let me know what you think of this idea. I will most likely do it anyways, but if you like the idea, I might put more effort into it. Let me know what you think and even give me some topics to talk about.