It was a Canyon Ranch nutritionist, not a fitness trainer, who shared with me these words of wisdom regarding exercise. I consider this more evidence backing the fact that diet and exercise go hand in hand, that each one cannot fully and successfully operate in isolation from the other.So here it is, this Saturday's Worthy Wisdom:
After we exercise, we should eat something within 15 minutes of completing our physical challenge. Why? Because we've taxed our bodies, depleted them, and it's important to put something back in after taking so much out. Consider a banana, a handful of nuts, something nutritious and energizing, and allow your body to recover. And don't forget about water -- drink plenty to re-hydrate yourself.
Life is all about replenishing. Take cancer. It invades our bodies, compromises it in endless ways, and leaves us weak and tired. Yet when, and if, it retreats, we get the chance to spring back to life. Through physical and emotional nourishment, we put back in what cancer took out. Exercise works the same way.
Take something out, put something back. Repeat this to yourself over and over again -- and make it a way of life.
Thanks Canyon Ranch for this Worthy Wisdom.
1. My family doc, the proverbial marathon runner, is always first to point out about hyponatremia in his running lectures. Hyponatremia, an electrolyte disturbance, can exist in humans when the sodium concentration in the plasma falls below 135mmol/L. At lower levels, water intoxication may occur, and this can be very dangerous. Lost sweat (salt and water) is replaced by ingested water (no salt). This dilutes the sodium in the bloodstream and hyponatremia results. Long-distance racers carry a greater risk of hyponatremia, but it can happen in casual three-mile runners. Here's a good write-up about it from SportsMed Web.
http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/salt.html
Posted at 2:22PM on Jun 16th 2007 by Gregory D. Pawelski