I don't know Lebron James but he probably takes Omega 3's

In my personal pursuit of nutrition for best possible performance I kept on coming across inflammation and how disruptive it is to the body’s ability to recover. Wether you are a full time athlete or full time at a desk job, your body is trying to combat different forms of inflammation at all times. Nearly every modern day disease is caused or affected by it so I soon realized that not only reducing inflammation would impact my performance but also my health and wellbeing. 

Every time you exercise you are causing structural inflammation by breaking down muscle tissue, causing micro damage in tissues and by impacting joints. If you are going hard on a daily basis then you will have a constant build up of inflammation which may be the cause of some acute or even chronic injuries. Outside of the fitness realm, your nutrition has a MASSIVE impact on inflammation. One major component of this battle is your essential fatty acid intake ratio. Ever heard of Omega 6‘s VS Omega 3‘s? To keep it simple, Omega 6’s (processed vegetable oils, processed grains/sugars) cause inflammation and Omega 3’s (cold water fish oils) reduce inflammation. Back when we hunted and gathered our food, Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratios hovered around 1:1 which is why they were free of heart diseases, cancers and diabetes to name a few. Now, with the majority of our population eating processed foods loaded with terribly unhealthy vegetable oils, the current ratio is around 15:1 to 20:1 and sometimes as high as 25:1!!!! THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM!   

Taking in the above information, I realized that every day is a balancing act between inflammation and anti-inflammation. With this in mind I set out to reduce my intake of inflammatory agents while providing my body with anti-inflammatory supplements. 

Here are the first 5 steps I took to increase my performance and thus quality of life by addressing inflammation. 

Step 1 - Supplement Omega 3’s. I did my research and found that Ascenta NutraSea Oil is the best product on the market. Each bottle is independently tested and certified for the highest quality and purity.

Step 2 - Eliminate or reduce packaged foods and snacks. If it is in a bag or a plastic package then it is processed and will be packed with unhealthy vegetable oils and packed with sugar or unhealthy sugar replacements. If anything shop in the natural/organic section of your local market for pre-packaged goods.

Step 3 - Reduce sugar consumption. Much the same as step 2 only more directed at refined grains, pop, sweets and chocolate. Think about using Stevia leaf extract or agave nectar as sweeteners and consider sipping on green tea over processed fruit drinks as well as munching on fruit or veggies and hummus over crackers and refined sugary things. Try organic 65% cacao chocolate in desperate times of need. ;) 

Step 4 - Cook with Coconut Oil. Vegetable oils have a low smoke point and can turn toxic when used for cooking. Coconut oil is AMAZING for cooking anything and has a very high smoke point. Save extra virgin Olive oil for salad dressing not stir-fries.

Step 5 -  Drink less Alcohol. We have all wasted a day on the couch after a big night. Our livers can detoxify a certain amount but after that Alcohol is certainly not a performance enhancer! Take it easy on the sauce folks or hit it early and start drinking lots of water when the clock strikes midnight.

Give these 5 steps a try, I definitely began noticing all kinds of amazing benefits! I had more energy, my skin and hair were healthier, my thoughts were clearer, I awake with a clear mind, my joints felt better and it took me less time time to recover from my workouts. 

Keep Striving,

Martin