Myth.
Eating before you exercise will help you improve your performance and help you attain your exercise goals. Exercising on an empty stomach will only leave you feeling tired and sluggish for the rest of the day. Remember the car analogy: your car will not run without gas in the same way that your body will not run properly without food.
The ideal pre-exercise meal should be carbohydrate rich and well tolerated.  For example,  a small banana, a slice of toast with a tablespoon of jam and a bottle of Gatorade is …

by Kate Haisch
Sumo wrestling is an ancient Japanese sport; where the heavier you are the better! They stare each other in the eyes and slap their feet and enormous thighs, trying to break their opponent’s courage. One of the heaviest sumo wrestlers, or rikishi in Japanese, was Hawaiian born Konisiki. He weighed 630 at his peak. So, how do sumo wrestlers get so big?

Sumo Wrestlers’ Tricks for Getting Big

Don’t eat breakfast. Sumo wrestlers never eat breakfast. This is a great way to slow your metabolism way down and will definitely …

by Kate Haisch
If you have a relatively balanced and varied diet then most of your nutrient needs are being met and supplementing with extra vitamins and minerals is unnecessary and may even be unhealthy.
Taking vitamins and minerals in excess may create an unhealthy imbalance in the body, which may be just as unhealthy as not getting enough vitamins and minerals at all.  Oftentimes, the symptoms of vitamin and mineral deficiency are the same as toxicity.   It is not true that taking vitamin and mineral supplements can make up for an …

by Kate Haisch
Over the years, sales of supplements have steadily increased and billions of dollars have been spent on supplements each year.  Nearly 40% of Americans regularly take some sort of dietary supplement. Do we really know what we are taking? Are supplements safe? In this series of blogs, Nutrition for You discusses the most popular supplements in the market today. We will talk about the pros and cons, which hopefully will help you in making an informed decision.
Are Supplements Safe?
Supplement safety can be difficult to assess. Unlike drugs, …

On days when staying awake and focused seem nearly impossible, how can I keep my energy up during the day without ruining my diet with too much caffeine and sugar?
Before we talk about nutrition, we need to talk about sleep. Just cutting down your sleep by one hour will have a huge negative effect on your energy for the rest of day. Nutrition For You doesn’t recommend a particular number of sleeping hours per night.  We all have our own individual sleep needs but it is very important to realize …

Reducing sodium plus maintaining a diet rich in potassium and fiber may help lower your blood pressure.
Cutting down on sodium (how much sodium is healthy per day?) is a great place to start but research has shown that consuming potassium may likewise help lower your blood pressure.   Eat a healthy and balanced diet to get enough potassium. The recommended daily intake of potassium for an average adult is about 4,700 milligrams a day.  Fruits, vegetables, dairy products and fish are excellent sources of potassium. Choose low-fat or non-fat dairy products …