Vigour – Health and Sports Nutrition

Leucine is an essential amino acid which means that it can’t be synthesized by a human body. It is a branched chain hydrophobic amino acid. Leucine is utilised in the liver, muscle tissue and adipose tissue in the form of sterols.

Leucine helps stimulate muscle protein synthesis and slows the degradation of muscle tissue. Another benefit of leucine is that it stimulates cell growth and decreases body weight. Moreover, it helps regulate blood sugar and provides the body with energy. It helps increase production of growth hormones and strengthens the skeletal muscles. Leucine helps prevent muscle loss as it is converted to glucose more quickly than other essential amino acids. Last but not the least, it helps promote the healing of skin, bones and muscle tissue after an injury.

The rich dietary sources of leucine include meat, beans, soy bean, soy flour, whole wheat, brown rice, nuts, fish, milk and cereals. You can also use a supplement that makes use of leucine in its formulation.

EAS HMB is a popular brand on the market that is a metabolite of the amino acid leucine. This supplement makes a wonderful gift for those people who want to gain strength and lean muscle size. Regular gym users, body builders, sprinters, rugby players, cyclists, triathletes, runners, endurance athletes and other strength athletes can achieve their goals by regularly consuming EAS HMB. It helps speed up recovery between training sessions and reduces muscle damage following long periods of exercise. You should take four capsules three times per day with meals.

Seated Torso Twist makes an incredible fitness exercise to strengthen and develop your torso particularly abdominal, back and trapezius muscles. Perform this exercise twice a week along with other upper-body resistance training exercise to build your core. You will need a med ball to perform this exercise.

Sit cross-legged with a med ball in front of you. Next step is to place that med ball directly behind you by rotating at your trunk. Now, rotate your torso to the opposite side to bring the med ball back to its starting position. This would complete one rep. Make sure that you perform 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps each. It is important that you keep your back straight throughout the whole movement. Moreover, you should not round or arch through the back.

In order to gain the maximum benefits from fitness and resistance training exercises, you should use a dietary supplement that supports lean definition.

HealthAid Bodylean™ CLA Plus is a hot product on the market that makes use of conjugated lionleic acid (CLA), carnitine, green tea, creatine, ornithine, chromium and Co Q10 in its formulation. CLA helps regulate and reduce body fat percentages. Moreover, it also helps release energy from stored body fat and helps achieve the desired weight and physique.

This supplement makes a wonderful gift for those people who want to achieve a healthy body weight, control their diet, increase their metabolism, and maintain healthy insulin levels. Moreover, it is ideal for those people who experience constant sugar carvings.

Hernia is a painful medical condition that is characterized by the formation of a lump in the abdominal wall. This lump results from a part of the bowel slipping through a weakness in the abdomen. The peritoneum is a sac that borders the hernia and it may contain an intestinal loop. Hernia often gets trapped in the weak spots in the abdominal wall, giving rise to a condition known as strangulated hernia. Strangulation may lead towards peritonitis, internal infection and gangrene. The most common type of hernia is groin hernia or inguinal hernia.

There are numerous factors that may contribute to the development of hernia. They include chronic coughing, heavy weight lifting, obesity, constipation, running, pregnancy, appendicitis, and straining to pass faeces. Surgery is the only possible cure for a hernia.

Surgically treated people should consume diets that help in the formation of red blood cells, improve immunity, and increase their energy levels. Iron-rich diets such as spinach, liver, kidney, potato and aubergine play an important role in the formation of RBCs. People should also use a supplement that contains iron in its formulation.

BioCare Beetroot Complex Natural Source of iron & Trace M contains good levels of bioavailable forms of iron and trace minerals. The iron contained in this supplement is non-irritating and supports healthy red blood cells formation. Beetroot helps support the functions of spleen, liver, gall bladder and kidneys. This supplement also contains alkaline elements to help support the natural process of elimination. One should take one capsule three times daily before food.

Lumbago, also known as the back pain, is a discomfort, mild or severe pain in the area of lower back. It can affect people belonging to all age groups, however elderly are more prone to develop this disorder. There are numerous factors that may contribute to the development of lumbago. They include scoliosis (deformation of natural spine curvature), trauma, infection, tumour, slipped disc, skeletal damage, physical stress and osteoporosis.

The symptoms of back pain include stiff back, painful contraction of muscles surrounding the spine, change in posture, difficulty in leaning back and bending forward, mild or severe pain across the lower back, numbness in the back, leg or buttock, and tingling sensation in the back muscles.

In order to reduce the symptoms associated with lumbago, one should avoid sitting on low chairs and sleeping on a hard surface with slopes. A regular physical activity such as walking may help to reduce the pain. A sufferer of chronic back pain may be prescribed with painkillers, muscle relaxants, epidural steroid injections or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Elderly people are more vulnerable to develop osteoporosis than younger people due to the gradual loss in bone mineral density. Therefore, patients of chronic back pain should consume calcium-rich diets. Low-fat milk, vegetables and fruits make rich dietary sources of calcium.

A dietary calcium supplement can also prove effective in this regard. BioCare Calcium Plus with Magnesium & Vitamins is a popular brand on the market that contains calcium, magnesium, vitamins A, D & K, and other minerals in its formulation. It makes a wonderful gift for elderly people and menopausal women as it helps replace lost calcium levels. Calcium helps maintain the health of bones and intestinal tract. Moreover, it helps support vitamin B-12 absorption and iron metabolism. Magnesium and vitamins help support calcium metabolism.

“Hip Bridge with Bicep Curl” makes an effective compound exercise that tends to train multiple muscle groups simultaneously. This exercise strengthens and develops your hip muscles, glutes, hamstrings, back muscles and biceps. Incorporate this magnificent exercise at least twice a week into your regular training sessions to develop your upper as well as lower body muscles. Hip Bridge with Bicep Curl makes use of a ball, resistance band, and dumbbells.

In order to perform this exercise, lie down on a mat and place your feet on a chair or ball. It is important to wrap a resistance band around your feet. While holding the dumbbells in both hands, lift the buttocks straight up into a bridge position. Next step is to perform bicep curls while maintaining this position. Perform 8-10 repetitions of curls and bring your hips back to floor.

In order to reap the maximum benefits from resistance training exercises, make sure that you use a supplement which helps increase your size and strength. Maximuscle Progain Extreme Weight Gainer is a high-protein weight-gain supplement with added muscle-building support nutrients such as nitrogain, creatine, HMB and BCAAs to aid lean size, weight gain and strength.

Whey protein helps support lean muscle growth and recovery, nitrogain helps build muscle size and strength, HMB helps reduce muscle breakdown and assists in muscle repair after strenuous resistance training exercises, and branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) play an important role in supporting muscle repair and growth.

Acidophilus is a general name for a group of gut-friendly bacteria that help in the digestion and play a very important role in maintaining the well-being of digestive system. This group contains probiotics such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus salivarius and Lactobacillus Bulgaricus.

Lactobacillus acidophilus, also known as “acid-loving milk-bacterium” is a true species of acidophilus family that ferments sugars into lactic acid. L.acidophilus occurs naturally in animal as well as human gastrointestinal tract. This species is known to exhibit healthy probiotic characteristics. Not only does it facilitate small intestine to complete the natural process of digestion effectively, but it also protects against diarrhoea and constipation.

Moreover, it also helps in the production of vitamin K and lactase. A recent research has revealed that Lactobacillus acidophilus helps produce bacteriocins such as acidophilin, acidolin and lactocidin. Bacteriocins are proteinaceous compounds produced by a particular strain of bacteria to inhibit the growth of closely related bacterial strains. L.acidophilus is added to many dairy products and supplements to enhance the nutritional value.

Optibac Daily Wellbeing Probiotics/Prebiotics Healthy Immune System is an effective probiotic supplement on the market that makes an expert formula of six different probiotic strains particularly Lactobacillus acidophilus, combined with food for the probiotics to flourish (prebiotics). It helps maintain immunity, overall digestive health and energy levels on a daily basis. This supplement promotes a healthy balance of acidophilus bacteria throughout the entire intestinal tract. Optibac promotes a healthy digestion in the different parts of the small and large intestine or colon.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta or Brittle Bone disease is a genetic disorder that leads to soft, thin and brittle bones. This disease often causes fractures in both children and adults. Brittle Bone disease results from the abnormalities of genes, which control the production of collagen. Collagen is a protein in bones that gives strength and vigour to bones and is essential for the health of skeletal system.

The softness of bones in Osteogenesis Imperfecta is due to the less production of collagen in bones. This disorder can also cause other clinical problems such as hernias, deafness, impaired growth, intolerance of heat, excessive sweating, tiredness, fatigue, discolouration of teeth and nails, change in colour of the whites of the eyes, and pain in joints.

Treatment options for the brittle bone disease are quite limited. Insertion of fixed metal rods into the shafts of bones can prove quite helpful in people with frequent fractures. Sufferers are often prescribed with biphosphonate drugs to strengthen the brittle bones to some extent.

In order to avoid the risks of bone diseases and joint problems, one should consume diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Rich food sources of omega nutrients include salmon, tuna and mackerel. You can also use a dietary supplement that promotes healthy joints and strong bones.

Seven Seas Jointcare Original Fish Oil is a popular brand on the market that contains glucosamine, pure cod liver oil, and vitamins D & E in its formulation. Glucosamine helps rebuild connective tissues around the joints, including ligaments, tendons and cartilage. Pure cod liver oil contains omega-3 nutrients such as DHA and EPA which help maintain healthy bones and keep joints flexible.

Otitis Media or middle-ear infection or inflammation of the middle ear is a painful condition that is caused by bacteria. It is a highly contagious disease and infection rapidly spreads through the eustachian tube to the middle ear. Eustachian tube is an air channel between the nose and middle ear. This tube is mainly responsible for the ventilation of the middle ear.

Otitis Media is very common among children. However, it can also affect adults belonging to all age groups. Symptoms of this disease include high temperature, restlessness, fatigue, ear pain, mild cough and problem with hearing. In severe cases, puss may also form in the middle ear which may lead to a temporary facial swelling. A rare symptom is the spread of infection to the bone behind the ear.

It can be treated with the mild pain relievers, nasal drops containing decongestants, and antibiotics. Grommet (a drainage tube) can be placed in the eardrum to ventilate the middle ear of the people who are repeatedly exposed to inflammation.

In order to protect your children from the attacks of pathogens, make sure that you incorporate an immune boosting supplement into their daily dietary routine. Natures Aid Immune Support + with Beta-Glucans makes a popular brand on the market. Not only does it promote a healthy immune system, but it also reduces the risk of numerous bacterial as well as viral infections. It contains beta-glucans, ester-C, elderberry, vitamins and minerals. These nutrients play an important role in maintaining an overall health and well-being of your child.

Tara Grufferty syndrome or osteoporosis symmetrica or cribra crani is a disorder of bones that causes the marrow within the bones to appear spongy and overgrown. As a result, the bones become brittle and thinner. This disease often affects the bones of the skull, leading to the overgrowth of the skull’s marrow.

Although there are numerous factors that may contribute to the onset of this disease, people with anaemia are more likely to develop this disorder. The recent researches have proved that an iron deficiency can lead to osteoporosis symmetrica. Therefore, iron-rich foods should be consumed to reduce the symptoms or even cure the cribra crani. Liver, kidney, meat, apple, potato, spinach, aubergine and cherry make rich dietary sources of iron and they should be consumed on a regular basis.

People with anaemia or Tara Grufferty syndrome should also take a dietary supplement that makes use of iron in its formulation. Spatone Iron Supplement is a hot brand on the market which can be consumed to help prevent iron deficiency. This supplement is a naturally occurring iron-rich mineral water which is highly absorbable. As compared to iron absorption from conventional iron supplements (3-10%), iron absorption from Spatone iron supplement is up to 40%.

As vitamin C helps improve your body’s absorption of iron, it makes a good idea to take this supplement with a fruit juice particularly apple or pineapple juice. Another good thing about Spatone is that it does not contain other ingredients that may cause complications or adverse reactions.

You can develop your abs, back muscles and thighs with the help of “Side to Side Lunge”. This resistance training exercise makes use of a med ball or dumbbell to strengthen your lower-body muscles. Make sure that you perform it twice a week along with other aerobic exercises such as brisk walking, jogging or running.

In order to perform side to side lunge, you should stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a med ball or dumbbell at chest level. Next step is to lunge to the left by bending your left knee and touch the ball to the floor. Make sure that you keep your torso straight and stretch your abdominal muscles. Now, bring your upper body back to its starting position and lunge to the right. Make sure to keep the movement steady and controlled.

You can reap maximum benefits from resistance training exercises if you use a protein supplement on a regular basis. USN Pure Protein IGF Protein Powder is a popular brand on the market that makes a precise mixture of whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, egg albumen, soy protein isolate and calcium caseinate. Protein is required for repair of muscle fibres and muscle growth and aids in transportation of oxygen, nitrogen and nutrients to vital organs. This supplement contains ZYMATECH Multiple Enayme Technology for optimal amino acid uptake and protein digestion. Another benefit of using IGF Protein Powder is that it is extremely low in carbs and makes a complete vitamin and mineral blend.