Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Bodytalk
Question: Why do I always feel tired after I eat something sweet like cookies or a candy bar? Sugar high can
leave you feeling lowAnswer: Two separate processes may be contributing to your feeling of tiredness.
First, when you eat simple sugars, your blood glucose level (the amount of sugar in the blood stream) goes up. Your body responds by producing insulin to transport the sugar out of the blood stream and into your muscles.
If the sugar you ate was in a concentrated form, like a candy bar or cookie, your body will over-produce insulin and lower your blood glucose levels even below their pre-candy bar amounts.
A second cause of tiredness is that when you eat a concentrated form of sugar, amino acids (the building blocks of protein) are cleared from the blood stream. The amino acid tryptophan, however, remains, leaving you with a higher ratio of tryptophan to the other amino acids.
This condition allows more tryptophan to enter the brain, which causes increased production of serotonin. This produces a calming or, in some people, a fatiguing effect.
One way to combat this feeling is by adding a protein food to the snack. Protein minimizes changes in brain chemistry and prevents fluctuations in blood levels of amino acids.
Also, if you eat simple sugars as part of a balanced meal, the sugar enters your blood stream more slowly and your blood glucose level will remain fairly stable.
Q: My friend just raves about an oversized exercise ball she bought at a sporting goods store. Can you tell me what the benefits of using one are, and how I would go about choosing a good one?
A: The stability ball is one of the most versatile and useful pieces of exercise equipment around today. Actually, they've been in use by physical therapists for many years. Now, thanks to the growing need for exercise diversity, stability balls have become mainstream.
The stability ball can be adapted for many uses. It can be used to develop core body strength, improve posture, facilitate stretching and enhance balance.
The reason for calling these oversized objects stability balls is that they are best used to develop strength in the core (or stabilizing) muscles of the body. These muscles include the abdominals, the back muscles and the muscles that make up the chest. Think of these muscles as a powerful column that connects the upper and lower body together.
A strong body core can be compared to a house's foundation.
If it's strong and solid it will support a house; if it's not, nothing can be built on it.
By using the stability ball, it's easier to create a balance between the abdominal and lower back muscles. This is an important point in light of the fact that almost everyone, even among avid exercisers, has an imbalance between these two muscle groups.
There are two important things to look for when shopping for an exercise ball.
First is the pound test, which determines the amount of weight the ball can support. Heavier people need to purchase the more durable models.
The other is the diameter of the ball. If you're very tall, you'll need a wider diameter; a shorter individual will require a smaller diameter.
Here are general guidelines for buying the right sized ball:
Under 5 feet: 45 cm ball;
Health Events
Stephenie Karony is a certified health
and fitness instructor, a personal trainer and the author of
"Body Shaping with Free Weights." Send questions to her at
P.O. Box 262, Wailuku Hi. Her column appears on Wednesdays.