[Jennifer 3FC]

This is an article on what foods are essential for good liver health. It is from The Gay Men's Crisis. You can see the actual article at:

http://www.gmhc.org/health/nutrition/liver/food.html

Nutrition and Your Liver



What you eat and how well you take care of yourself CAN affect how well your liver works. Therefore it’s important that you choose foods that will help maintain and support your liver. Good nutrition can also help to rebuild some damaged liver cells and help the liver form new cells.


As we mentioned before, the liver has two detoxification pathways called Phase One and Phase Two. The work of each of these phases requires specific vitamins and minerals. These vitamins and minerals in turn need other nutrients called phytochemicals and amino acids to help them. The liver has a big job to do and as you will see, it requires a team effort.


During Phase One, which changes a toxic chemical to one that is less harmful, free radicals are formed. Free radicals are unstable particles that react with the body and damage the body’s cells. If too many free radicals are made, they can hurt the liver cells. In order to get rid of or reduce these free radicals, our bodies need foods with a lot of antioxidants and phytochemicals. The antioxidants beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and selenium and many different phytochemicals are found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. One of the most important antioxidants is an amino acid called glutathione. Glutathione is made by the body and is also found in some foods. The B vitamins including folic acid are also very important in this Phase One process.


During Phase Two the liver adds a substance to the now less harmful chemical to make it water soluble. It can then be moved out of the body in urine or feces. During this Phase Two process, foods rich in sulphur compounds are needed. Some of the foods with a lot of sulphur compounds are (you knowthe kind, they smell when you cook them) cabbage, brussel sprouts, and broccoli.


Following are some more foods that have the nutrients needed to help Phase One and Phase Two work as well as they can:

Foods to Help Phase One Detoxification


Beets contain antioxidants such as beta-carotene, other carotenoids and healing flavonoids. Antioxidants help to limit the damage caused by free radicals, thus they have a healing and cleansing effect on the liver; beets also have folic acid which is necessary for Phase One detoxification.


Broccoli contains B vitamins and vitamin C both of which help Phase One detoxification; it also is a source of folic acid.


Brown Rice provides B vitamins and the antioxidant selenium.


Carrots contain beta-carotene and other carotenoids that help to protect the liver.


Eggs supply B vitamins.


Garlic has selenium and glutathione, both of which act as antioxidants.


Spinach provides folic acid and other B vitamins.


Tomatoes have vitamins C and E which are both needed for Phase One detoxification. They are also a good source of the antioxidant lycopene.


Wheatgerm contains selenium and vitamin E and is an excellent source of phytochemicals.


Melons and peppers are good sources of vitamin C.


Tomatillos, papaya, plantains, carambola and guava are good sources of the antioxidants beta-carotene and vitamin C.



Foods to Help Phase Two Detoxification


Broccoli contains natural sulfur compounds which are needed to enhance Phase Two detoxification.


Cabbage like broccoli, contains natural sulfur compounds.


Eggs contain methionine, a sulfur-containing compound needed for detoxification.


Brazil Nuts contain selenium, an antioxidant needed for detoxification.


Garlic has methionine which is needed for detoxification; also contains glutathione, a powerful antioxidant.


Onions have sulfur compounds which are important in both detoxification pathways; also a source of glutathione.


Asparagus and Watermelon are rich, natural sources of glutathione which is important for liver detoxification.


Papaya and Avocado help the body to produce glutathione.


Mushrooms have a lot of glutamic acid which is needed to produce glutathione and help with liver detoxification.


Foods for the General Health of the Liver


Soy Beans contain lecithin which helps the liver break down fats and helps reduce high cholesterol levels; lecithin also helps maintain healthy membranes around liver cells.


Cayenne Pepper contains many phytochemicals including beta-carotene and lutein and is rich in certain B vitamins as well as vitamins C and E. It also aids in digestion.


Lemon is a bitter, acidic food which is helpful for general cleansing of the body.

Walnuts are a source of arginine which helps the liver detoxify ammonia, a waste product in the body; they are also a rich source of glutathione and omega-3 fatty acids.
Wheatgerm has arginine and essential fatty acids.


Caraway Seeds contain many flavanoids and carotenoids which act as antioxidants. Caraway is helpful in liver and gallbladder disease and helps produce glutathione in the body.


Note: The foods listed above benefit the liver and they also have many other advantages that are not described.


General Tips for Foods that are Especially Good for the Liver


Eat plenty of fresh fruits and lightly cooked vegetables especially dark green, leafy vegetables and orange, yellow, purple, and red colored fruits and vegetables—they contain living enzymes, fiber, vitamin C, natural antibiotic substances, and anti-cancer phytonutrients.


Eat foods that are rich in glutathione or help to produce glutathione in the body. Asparagus, watermelon, broccoli and boldo are good sources of glutathione while papayas and avocados are foods that help the body to produce glutathione.


Bitter foods like dandelion greens, mustard greens, bitter melon, Romaine lettuce and broccoli raabe can help in cleansing the liver.


Herbs like dill, caraway seeds, garlic, onions, boldo, turmeric and cayenne are easy to use in cooking and can help protect the liver.


Green tea has immune-boosting properties and contains less caffeine than coffee.


Drink lots of water (6–12 cups per day) because it helps the kidneys to get rid of the toxins that the liver has broken down.

Omega-3 fats are very helpful. These fats are found in cold water fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines and halibut. Other good sources are ground flaxseeds, flaxseed oil and walnuts.


Nuts, seeds, and avocados are good food sources of polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats that are less harmful to the liver than saturated fats.


Foods that can Make the Liver Work Harder


Saturated fats are harder for the liver to process. Limit high fat meats like sausage, bacon, salami, hot dogs and high fat dairy products like whole milk, ice cream and cheese, which contain saturated fats.


Other foods to limit that have a lot of saturated fat are french fries and high fat snack foods like potato chips, Doritos and Cheese Doodles.


Limit processed foods like white bread, white rice, cakes, cookies, donuts and candy. Add whole grains like whole grain breads and cereals, brown rice, quinoa and barley to your diet.


Limit caffeine to 2-3 cups/day. Caffeine is broken down by the liver and may make it more difficult to cleanse the liver. Coffee, tea and most sodas contain a lot of caffeine.


Eat light meals more frequently. Eating a light evening meal can help to reduce the liver’s work during the healing hours of sleep.


Things to Avoid


Avoid alcohol. Alcohol is known to be a powerful toxin that will damage the liver. Recreational drugs can also be stressful to the liver.


Limit, as much as possible, chemicals such as food colorings, flavorings and preservatives as well as toxins such as insecticides and pesticides because these substances make the liver work harder.


Avoid multi-vitamins that contain iron. Iron is stored in the liver and supplementing with iron may increase the risk of iron toxicity.

[Jennifer 3FC]

From The Transition Times

Over Training Tale.....Beware
Me overtrain.....Impossible


I'm on a week, mabye two weeks, of no training per doctor's orders.
It turns out that I'm overtraned...but WAIT!! How can that be? I only
train 1/3 the amount of the time some of our elite team athletes do.
On a great week, I might put in only 8 hours...if you figure that I'm
doing a 3 hour ride and an hour run on the weekend...that means I'm
only exercising 4 hours during the week...doesn't sound like much
training and it's half of what I used to do a few years ago...but,
there's more to overtraining than exercise time...read on...

Late last year my body just fell apart! My season ended in June and I
took the second half of the year off. New job, SF Tri Club
responsibilites, wedding planning and marriage, studying for CFA
Level III exam, and training all took it's toll. I was burnt. My
back went out, my hip started hurting,...I was just falling apart.
I spoke with my doctor, he asked me about a day in my life and I went
through it with him. Basically, I told him my new company took 12
hours per day, I was President of a Triathlon Club which took another
3 hours per day, I was training an hour or more per day, and of
course had obligations in my new marriage, I was getting maybe 6
hours sleep per night while waking up 5 to 6 times per night. I
wasn't eating well...my various responsibilities made my eating
schedule sporadic (this was key and I'll come back to it) sometimes
I'd eat dinner at 9:30pm...sometimes skipping lunch due to
meetings...sometimes skipping dinner due to club activities...
sometimes having lunch at 9am because I started work at 4am...

His advice was to cut back on responsibilites. I didn't want to take
his advice to cut back on things and didn't for a few months, but was
forced to change my schedule around a little earlier this year and
put myself on a stricter schedule...I had to spend less time working,
training and less time with club (the worst part!). However, I felt
better, a lot better, when I reduced my obligations and stopped
training for a while. When I resumed training, I was 8lbs heavier
than when I stopped...so I started restricting my diet in certain
ways...I wasn't really dropping my caloric intake that much, and I
was careful not to skip meals like last year, but I was doing more of
a "The Zone" mixed with "Atkins" type of thing...I know I need carbs
but I found myself eating more and more protein and fat, and less
carbs. I wasn't eating pasta, potato, rice, etc...because they were
so caloric, how was I going to take the weight off. Well, I started
to notice something, which wasn't alarming at first, but is now
problem. During workouts, I was smelling a very very strong ammonia
smell. Funny, the same thing happened to me last year before my body
fell apart. Sometimes the smell was so strong, I had to stop
exercising because it was making me sick to my stomach. I had no
idea what it was, and didn't mention it to my doctor last year
because I convinced myself I was imagining things...when I stopped
exercising last June, the smell of course disappeared. However, last
week I started noticing it again and during the San Jose race, the
entire bike and run was like running with smelling salts under my
nose. I came home and googled "ammonia smell exercise" and a ton of
links popped up regarding liver disease or failure! holy s---! I went
on and read that an ammonia smell in one's sweat might be a symptom
of liver not functioning. This was scary stuff, so I made an appt
with my doctor yesterday and went in for a bunch of blood tests -
results on Monday. In the meantime, I called UC Davis Medical Center
and talked with their cycling experts and they weren't as concerned
which made me feel better. Here is what they said is "likely" going
on....I'm canibalizing myself! Yikes...that's better? They said (and
who knew this) that if you smell ammonia in your sweat while cycling
(or exercising in general) it's a "common" sign of overtraining. I
told them that I only train 8 hours per week. They said overtraining
had very LITTLE to do with how much you train...it's how your
training BALANCES with diet, sleep, stress, rest and recovery,
etc...you can train 18 hours per week and not be overtraining...you
can train 5 hours per week and be overtraining.

The ammonia smell? They said it was because I was glycogen-depleted,
and destroying muscle tissue as a source of fuel when I exercise.
From what I can understand, (they talked about catabolic this and
that?) Muscle is made of proteins which is made of amino acids...when
you burn amino acids, I guess one of the byproducts is ammonia! I
was releived to hear that it might not be liver related (and I'm
assuming, as an optimist, that the blood tests will come back fine).
Why was I burning muscle? Well, mostly diet related. Last year, I
was skipping meals (due to stress, anxieties, workloads) which
lowered carbs thus depleting Glycogen stored within muscles. This
year, I just skipped the carbs in favor of more protein as a way to
lower weight. Also, often I wouldn't eat during the "carb window"
after exercising. I'd get off the bike, relax a little,
stretch...take a shower...and head out the door to do somethign with
my wife...I'd eat maybe an hour to two after exercise. So, all this
poor eating mixed with hard exercise (I especially noticed the smell
during lactate threshold or maximum effort workouts like intervals
and races) meant I was literally eating my muscle for fuel...yuck!

As I'm taking the entire week off from exercise (Golf doesn't count,
Roger!) I thought I'd pass thoughts on to those of you on over-
training. I mean, I've been exercising all my life and doing this
tough sport for 6 years and had never even heard of the ammonia
thing, have any of you? I suspect that many of us are overtrained
and don't realize it. I'm hearing more and more about friends in the
club feeling burned out...maybe you need a rest too...

How could I have avoided over-training:

1) Make sure you're getting enough carbs to fuel your
training...you're demanding a lot of your body and need carbs. Don't
skip meals, make sure you are getting plenty of complex carbs and
don't do one of these protein heavy diets...it might be good for the
lazy person to lose weight, but for the endurance athlete it's a bad
road to take.
2) Eat within 30 minutes of exercise completion. Make sure it's high
on carbs with "some" protein which will help with carb absorption (or
so I've read). You'll recover quicker and be using those carbs next
time you workout as opposed to your muscle tissue.
3)lose weight early in the season during your base period. You see,
if I were to have cut my calories during LOW intensity base training,
I'd likely have burned fat instead of muscle. I at like a pig during
base training, didn't lose any weight, and then restricted my
calories during my build and peak phases. The high intensity
training (intervals, speed work, etc...) mixed with restrictive diet
will probably lead down the road I traveled...bye bye muscle, hello
over-trained slug.
4) REST!!! HARD REST is important as HARD WORK. We don't rest
enough as triathletes. If you can't take a nap during the day (who
can?) you have to get plenty of sleep at night. Go "Guilt-
producingly slow" on your recovery days. Don't get sucked into
riding/running hard because someone passes you. I do this all the
time and I must stop. I'll do hard intervals on Tuesday and plan to
rest on Wed and do a slow spin...someone passes me on Camino Alto and
the next thing I know I'm racing them...and burning muscle in the
process! Don't give into your competitive urges.
5)Reduce stress in your life which might interfere with the balance
you need between your training, eating and resting. We all lead
stressful lifes it seems. Find time for meditation or reduce the
outside obligations. Stress can effect appetite, sleep, etc...the
things you need for recovery.
6) Check your morning HR (like Becky Gibbs said at our meeting) and
if it's higher than normal...don't workout hard...take an easy day.
7) Wear your HR monitor on your easy rides. I've only worn mine on
hard rides so I can record my progress...but now I'll wear it on all
rides to use as a tool to prevent me from riding/running too hard!
If I get above 65% max heart rate on easy day, I'm slowing down.
8)Drink plenty of water. Being hydrated is crucial to recovery and I
don't think I was drinking enough fluid.
9) Take a week off of hard training every few months might help.
Many top athletes will train 3 to 4 weeks hard and then take a SUPER
easy week to recharge.
10) Constantly ask yourself if your life feels balanced, pay
attention to your moods, pay attention to funny smells that you think
you're imagining but might mean something more serious. (-:

I'm crossing my fingers that my liver is ok and that a week (or two)
off training and a little more wisdom will have me seeing all of you
out there again soon.

Lex

Lex Grecu is President of the San Franciso Triathlon Club and can be reached at [email protected]


From The Transition Times

http://www.transitiontimes.com/views...al=Mississippi