omegas

All About Omega's

Unless you're eating fatty fish 2-3 times a week, or bowls and bowls of kale, nuts, seeds and seaweed, you might want to consider supplementing your diet with this essential fat.

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Why? These fatty acids are extremely important in the day-to-day functioning of every tissue in our body and because we can't make enough on our own, and most likely don't eat bowls and bowls of the above, we must obtain them through our diets. Not to mention the modern diet creates an imbalance of Omega's in our body from over consumption of processed plant oils and processed foods...even more reason to supplement Omega-3 (too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3).

Deficiency and imbalance in these fatty acids can lead to a host of problems, symptoms and disorders ranging from organ and immune function, skin issues and mental health. No, thank you. But if you take care to ensure you’re getting adequate and balanced amounts in your daily diet, there are an incredible amount of benefits. Yes, please.

BENEFITS OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS:

  • Improves brain function and enhances memory

  • Promotes healthy skin

  • Reduces overall inflammation in the body

  • Fetal/Infant growth and brain development

  • Improves mental health and mood

  • Decreases the risk of depression

  • Helps with attention disorders

  • Moderately decreases blood pressure in those with hypertension

  • Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes

  • Improves eye health

  • Increases metabolism and improves body composition

  • Aids in healthy sleep patterns

  • Involved in the repair and regeneration of cells

WHere to get 'em:

There are 3 compounds that make up omega-3 fatty acids:

EPA and DHA - Available in fish and algae and have been shown to be the most beneficial. Primarily derived from algae... fish then snack on the algae...and we snack on fish, or supplement with fish oil.

ALA - Found in plant-based foods like walnuts, flax, and chia seeds. ALA needs to be converted to EPA and DHA in the body. Not all that you consume is able to be converted, which is why it takes a lot of plant based intake to get your requirements. If you are purely plant-based, you most likely need additional supplementation.

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FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS:

  • Eat wild-caught, cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and albacore tuna 2-3 times a week.

    • If, like most people, your diet doesn’t include that amount, then you’ll need to supplement.

    • Note: Not all fish are created equal! A farm-raised fish may contain less omega-3 fats, more omega-6 fats, and more contaminants. Research where your fish comes from, rotate the type, and choose WILD over FARMED

  • Include plant foods like flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, green leafy vegetables, spirulina and seaweed

What to look for in a Supplement:

*Choose brand names that have proven reliability and you know they source well

*Make sure they are purified and have the USP verified mark (US Pharmacopoeia)

*Algae is the base of the food chain for fish and where they get all their EPA/DHA. Consider going directly to the source and choose a high-quality algae supplement

*If choosing fish oil, choose a high-quality oil that states it is highly-concentrated, molecularly distilled and purified with no heavy metal contamination

*Look for a company that doesn’t contribute directly to the depletion of fish and that uses smaller fish such as herring and mackerel that are less likely to carry toxins. 

*Avoid cod liver oil (cod are long-living fish that over time accumulate environmental toxins)

Supplement dosage recommendation:

ALGAE OIL – 200-300 mg/day if you have a balanced fat intake, 500-1000mg 2x/day for optimal benefits. Try this one

FISH OIL – 3-9g/day of total fish oil (1-3 g EPA + DHA) Try this krill oil

Let me know if you have any questions or need any more recommendations! 
 

Health Note: Check with your doctor first if you are on blood thinners such Warfarin, Coumadin, Heparin or if you regularly take baby aspirin.

Recovery + Nutrition: Eat This!

Injuries happen. And they stink, right?

As science tells us over and over again, our workouts and healing are only as good as our recovery - and that not only means what we do, but what we eat. So here's the scoop.

 
Running With Forks Injuries and Nutrition Recovery
 

(Side note on me: on January 2, 2016, the last day of our little holiday vacation in BC, I had a tumble filled with multiple 'pops' and 'snaps' while clenching my teeth wanting to scream 'F$!%#!!!!!!!!!!' Our trip ended with a sweet heli lift out of the backcountry and a completely re-torn ACL accompanied with an MCL that looked like a dried-out, stretched-out rubberband. Blech.)

 
Running With Forks Canada Ski Trip
Running With Forks Canada Heli Rescue ACL Injury
 

It's been 5 weeks of non-stop recovery for me and I want to share with you my top priority when recovering. Did you know that WHAT you eat when healing from an injury can play a huge role in your recovery and be extremely beneficial in combating those aches and pains? Here's why.

 

Any time you experience an injury, there are:

Three Phases of Tissue Repair

Inflammation | Repair | Remodeling

 

These phases happen not only during post-injury, but immediately after your intense workouts as well. Every time you train hard (while incredibly beneficial in the long term) you are creating tiny tears and breakdown of the tissue (in a good way!) and it requires proper rest, recovery and nutrition to help rebuild and increase strength. I bring this up to encourage you to apply some of the tidbits below to your workout recovery as well. Being conscious of a balanced diet helps support this repair and may also help prevent future injuries. BONUS! 

The inflammation Phase

 

The Response:

The inflammation phase begins immediately after an injury and lasts for 3-5 days. This phase, while uncomfortable, is an essential period of healing consisting of pain, swelling and immobility. Adding in certain anti-inflammatory foods during this time will help with this healthy inflammation without impeding the internal repair, which is key.

During this immobilization phase, there is also a decrease in muscle protein synthesis, therefore leading to muscle loss (atrophy), making it imperative you get adequate protein to support the healing.

Nutrition Focus: 

OMEGAS - A diet high in monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fats will be anti-inflammatory. Omega-3 fatty acids – the best sources of which are found in oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, trout), olive oil, avocados, flax oil, and mixed nuts and seeds.

BROMELAIN: Found in Pineapple - 2 cups of fresh pineapple per day or 500-1000 mg in supplement form. Not only is Pineapple high in bromelain - an enzyme believed to have powerful anti-inflammatory properties and promote muscle healing - it's also high in Vitamin C.

QUERCETIN: CHIVES AND GREEN ONIONS - Quercetin helps to increase circulation, bringing more blood flow to and from the injured tissue and manages inflammation.

Running With Forks Salmon and Injury Recovery
Running With Forks Nutrition and Injury Recovery
Running With Forks Fat and Injury Recovery
Running With Forks and Injury Recovery
Running With Forks and Injury Recovery
Running With Forks and Injury Recovery

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY HERBS AND SPICES: Manage your inflammation with some (NOT ALL) of the following. We don't want to suppress the inflammation response completely, we just want to manage it:

TURMERIC/CURCUMIN - Turmeric contains anti-inflammatory properties that can help with joint pain. Studies have shown that 2 g of curcumin daily was just as effective as 800mg ibuprofen for improving knee pain. 7 teaspoons/day or 400-600 mg 3x/d in the form of a supplement. 

GARLIC - 2-4 cloves per day or 600-1200 mg extract

GINGER - 2-3 g per day in powdered form. Studies have shown that women taking 3g/day of ginger or cinnamon had a significant decrease in muscle soreness.

FLAVANOIDS - Flavonoids, which are potent antioxidants like Vitamin C (citrus) and Selenium (blue-purple berries, tart cherries, green tea extract and cocoa) are effective for wound healing and inflammation management.

COCOA - Eh-hem. Just the perfect excuse to eat chocolate. 

Running With Forks Turmeric Injury Recovery
Running With Forks Injury Recovery
Running With Forks Injury Recovery
Running With Forks Injury Recovery Garlic
Running With Forks Injury Recovery
Running With Forks Injury Recovery
Running With Forks Injury Recovery Ginger
Running With Forks Injury Recovery
Running With Forks Injury Recovery

CONSUME ADEQUATE PROTEIN: It is incredible important to ensure you are getting in enough protein to help rebuild tissue (this can be as simple as a portion of lean meat or fish the size of the palm of your hand with each meal)

*Attempt to eat fewer pro-inflammatory foods such as processed foods, foods high in trans fats and vegetable oils

 

The Repair/Proliferation Phase

 

The Response:

This phase begins roughly 5 days post injury and lasts for 4-6 weeks. As the inflammation goes down, your body begins to lay down collagen (scar tissue) to replace the damaged tissue structure.

(Think about it like this: spread your fingers wide on your right hand and lay it flat on the table or over an injured joint (like your knee) as if it was a sticky spider web, and then take your left hand, spread the fingers wide and lay it directly over your right hand but at a diagonal to create a cross-pattern. Visualize this repeating over and over, creating this sticky, adhesive, messy webbing. That's collagen. It's messy, but it's protective.) 

When we are fearful of pain or are experiencing pain and restricting our range of motion (ROM), as the body begins to lay down this collagen, it will start to bind the muscle fibers together as well as bind the connective tissue to the muscles and joint and in the end you'll be left with painfully restricted ROM. No bueno. 

Nutrition Focus:

Continue consuming foods from the Inflammation Phase above.

VITAMIN C - Vitamin C is crucial for collagen synthesis – the protein found in connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and muscle – and is also a potent antioxidant, enhancing immune cell function. Since the body can't store Vitamin C, it should be consumed throughout the day from high sources such as bell peppers, dark green leafy vegetables, parsley, brassicas and citrus fruits. 

ZINC - My favorite excuse to eat oysters! Zinc, essential for tissue regeneration, is obtainable from shellfish, lean beef or lamb and pumpkin seeds and nuts (such as almonds - which also provide copper) for collagen synthesis. 15-30mg/d. If taking zinc, balance it with copper - an excess in one can cause a deficiency in the other.

SUPPLEMENTS TO CONSIDER: Supplementing with LYSINE, ARGININE and GLYCINE 2-4 weeks post-injury to help with re-establishing collagen, COPPER 2-4 mg/d during the first few weeks and VITAMIN A 10,000 IU/d for 1-2 weeks post-injury.

Running With Forks Injury Recovery Brassicas
Running With Forks Injury Recovery Oysters

 

The Remodeling Phase

 

The Response:

During the third or fourth week, strength training becomes so important for a full recovery and lasts about six months. (This is where I am right now!) This is the time where stressing the muscles and connective tissue improves your function and stimulate growth.

Nutrition Focus:

  • Continue all the powerful and healing superfoods you've added in during the first phase

  • Adjust portion sizes for adequate energy consumption

  • Focus on a healthy nutrient-dense diet, incorporating healing foods

  • Consume protein with every meal

  • Eat a balance of healthy fats

  • Avoid processed foods

  • Eat the rainbow for micronutrients involved in healing

  • Consume herbs and spices for anti-inflammatory support

  • Add in the below micronutrients for enhanced support and strength

 

Anytime

chlorophyll

The building blocks of plants are filled with detoxifying and anti-inflammatory nutrients and not to mention this gorgeous, colorful, tasteless, magnificent powder (or liquid) you can add to ANYTHING. 

Running With Forks Injury Recovery Chlorophyll

 

heal up babies. i'm doing my best, now you do yours.