There has been a question about whether people that play sports or are in training should have a diet that is higher in protein or the higher starch carbohydrates. While carbohydrates act as fuel for the body you also need a moderate amount of protein in your body to maintain your health by helping with growing and repairing your muscles. Food that is high in carbohydrates is also good because carbs actually fuel your muscles and are and energy source for your central nervous system and brain. This is needed is sports where you use dexterity, coordination and rely on fast decision making.

Most experts agree that after you have eaten you should let anywhere from one to four hours to elapse before exercising or playing sports depending upon the amount of food that you have consumed. If it was an average size meal then waiting two hours before exercising or playing should be an adequate amount of time. If it was a larger portion then you will want to wait longer in order not to jeopardize your health.

It is also important to remember to keep yourself hydrated during sports; allowing your water content to fall below the normal level can have a detrimental effect on your health. It is always a good idea to make sure that your body is well hydrated before starting any type of exercise session which you can do by drinking juice or water prior to exercise and several times throughout the day. A good rule of thumb is that for every thirty minutes of activity you should take in some fluid; obviously the more that the body sweats due to the exercise then the more you will need to increase your fluid intake.

Is Beer Healthy?

Good news for all of you beer drinkers – it has been proven that beer can give you the same benefits, health wise, that wine does. Yep, no matter which ale you prefer studies have shown that in moderation (up to 2 a day) will reduce your chances of heart disease and strokes.

Originally considered the French Paradox, the correlation between the French’s low heart disease rate and the daily intake of red wine, it has now been shown to also exist in beer. Beer is made from water, yeast and grains (wheat and barley) which have a variety of vitamins that actually survive through the filtering and fermentation processes. The value of the vitamins contained in the yeast stays in all of the unfiltered beers, both in bottles and on tap, that are available today.

Actually back in 1999 The New England Journal of Medicine did claim that moderate amounts of beer would decrease the chance of having a stroke by about 20%. But they also said that it produces no significant different whether you drink one beer a week or one a day, so you can’t use that excuse to have a few every day.

Not that you need any, but if a few other reasons to drink beer include the fact that it has been shown that in moderation it may lower your chance of coronary heart problems by as much as 40% when compared to someone who does not drink it at all; something to do with the great antioxidants found in it. Also, alcohol has been found to increase the good cholesterol amounts in the bloodstream which decreases blood clots.

It also contains good ole vitamin B6 which helps to prevent the build up of an amino acid called homocysteine which has been linked with heart disease. Those with higher levels of this amino acid are much more likely to develop early onset of vascular and heart disease. The amount of vitamin B6 in the blood plasma is increased by as much as 30% when you consume beer, something that liquor and wine can’t do.

And one last reason, if one is needed, to drink beer is that it is both cholesterol and fat free.