Less Than 1 Tsp Ginger and Cinnamon Daily Relieves Muscle Soreness In Athletes

Many well-intentioned workout resolutions have been thwarted by the first signs of sore, stiff muscles in the days following a visit to the gym.  A new study finds that two common kitchen spices help relieve that post-workout muscle pain.

Researchers at Iran's Isfahan University of Medical Sciences studied the effects of ginger and cinnamon on the muscle pain of 60 fit female competitive Taekwondo players, aged 13-25 years.  The women were divided into three groups. For six weeks, each group took three grams (1 tsp = 4 grams) of either powdered ginger, cinnamon or placebo every day.

During the study, the women were tested for an indicator of inflammation and for muscle soreness.  The results, published in the International Journal of Preventive Medicine, showed that women in both the ginger and cinnamon groups had significantly less muscle soreness after exercising than the placebo group.  A similar study from the University of Georgia, also confirmed ginger's ability to relieve muscle soreness after strenuous exercise.    

The researchers did not find any difference in the inflammation marker among the three groups despite other studies showing strong anti-inflammatory qualities of ginger and cinnamon.  They speculated that the three gram dose may have been insufficient to make a measurable difference.      

Both ginger and cinnamon have been used medicinally for thousands of years.  Each contains a wide range of compounds shown to curb inflammation, reduce oxidative stress and modulate other healing mechanisms within the body. 

Ginger has a long list of amazing health benefits.  It's been proven more effective against bacterial staph infections than antibiotics; can kill cancer cells; eases ulcerative colitis and acid reflux; and alleviates the effects of gamma radiation. 

Ginger has been shown to be helpful in a relieving stomach upset, diarrhea, and nausea due to seasickness, motion sickness, morning sickness and chemotherapy.  It also relieves pain, swelling, and reduced mobility in those suffering from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.  Its anti-viral properties help in the prevention and treatment of the common cold.
Cinnamon, the most popular spice, has been used for millennia both for its flavoring and medicinal qualities. The many health benefits of cinnamon include lowering blood sugar levels; improving insulin sensitivity; relieving inflammation from arthritis; alleviating menstrual cramps; supporting healthy blood clotting; fighting the overgrowth of bacteria, fungus and yeast; preventing colds and flu; boosting memory; and improving digestion.       

Ginger and cinnamon go together naturally, sharing the ingredient list in many healthy recipes.  Add fresh ginger to teas, marinades, stir-fries and salad dressings. 

Add cinnamon to a daily smoothie, applesauce or yogurt.  You can also drop a cinnamon stick into your steeping tea or a pot of coffee. 

Then hit the gym.

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Margie King is a holistic health coach and graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition®. A Wharton M.B.A. and practicing corporate attorney for 20 years, Margie left the world of business to pursue her passion for all things nutritious. She now works with midlife women and busy professionals to improve their health, energy and happiness through individual and group coaching, as well as webinars, workshops and cooking classes. She is also a professional copywriter and prolific health and nutrition writer whose work appears as the National Nutrition Examiner. To contact Margie, visitwww.NourishingMenopause.com.

Turmeric equals exercise in its ability to prevent aging

A chemical that naturally occurs in turmeric root appears to protect the heart from aging as much as moderate aerobic exercise, according to a trio of studies conducted by researchers from the University of Tsukuba in Japan.

Turmeric root has been an important component of traditional Asian medicinal systems for hundreds of years. In recent decades, scientific studies have confirmed the potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of the trio of turmeric chemicals known as "curcuminoids," which give the root its distinctive yellow-orange color. Although only one of these chemicals is properly known as "curcumin," the name is commonly used to refer to all of them collectively.

The three new studies all compared the effects of exercise and curcumin on heart health and postmenopausal women over an eight-week period. All the studies were randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Curcumin was delivered by means of colloidal nanoparticles.

Can turmeric prevent heart disease?
In the first study, researchers assigned 32 women to either take a curcumin supplement, engage in moderate aerobic exercise training, or undergo no intervention at all. The researchers measured participants' vascular endothelial function - the responsiveness of the layer of cells that line the blood vessels, a key indicator of overall cardiovascular health - both at the beginning and end of the study. They found that while there was no improvement in the control group, endothelial function significantly increased in both the exercise and curcumin groups. Most surprisingly, the improvement in the two experimental groups was identical.

The second study examined curcumin's effects on the responsiveness of arteries to changes in blood pressure ("arterial compliance"), another key measure of cardiovascular health. In this study, 32 women were randomly assigned to receive either a curcumin supplement or a placebo pill, or to undergo an exercise routine plus either a curcumin or placebo pill. The researchers found no significant improvement in the control group, significant (and equivalent) improvements in both the exercise-only and curcumin-only groups, and the greatest improvement among participants who exercised and also took the supplements.

In the final study, researchers examined the effects of exercise and curcumin on the rate of age-related degeneration of the heart's left ventricle. 45 participants were randomly assigned into one of the same four groups used in the second study.

The researchers once again found that both exercise and curcumin produced significant increases in heart health. In this study; however, curcumin alone did not appear to provide any benefit. Specifically, brachial systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased among participants who exercised, whether or not they took curcumin. In addition, heart-rate-corrected aortic augmentation index (AIx) and aortic SBP both decreased significantly only among participants who both exercised and took curcumin.

"Regular ingestion of curcumin could be a preventive measure against cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women," the authors of the first study wrote. "Furthermore, our results suggest that curcumin may be a potential alternative ... for patients who are unable to exercise."

Curcumin is best absorbed from turmeric root, rather than from supplements.

Sources:
http://www.vitalchoice.com/shop/pc/articlesViewprint.asp?id=1953http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=17666

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/039718_turmeric_exercise_aging.html#ixzz2UTCDsfQT

Exercise: For Type 2 Diabetes, an exercise program that combines aerobics and weight lifting

People with type 2 diabetes can significantly lower their blood sugar with an exercise program that combines aerobics and weight lifting, a study reports.

While that regimen is already recommended for Type 2 diabetes, researchers say the study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, offers some of the best evidence to date that a combined program offers greater benefits than aerobics or weight lifting alone.

“We can now look at individuals with diabetes right in the face and tell them, ‘This is the best exercise prescription for you,’ ” said the lead author, Dr. Timothy S. Church, director of preventive medicine research at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.

The study randomly divided 262 inactive people with Type 2 diabetes into four groups — 73 assigned to resistance training three days a week, 72 to aerobic exercise, 76 to the combination and 41 to a non-exercise comparison group. The study was notable in that almost half the participants were not white, and 63 percent were women. After nine months, participants who did the combination training lowered their blood level of the glucose marker HbA1c to 7.3 percent from 7.7 percent, on average, a drop that corresponds to a significantly reduced risk of heart disease, Dr. Church said.