| Comrades Marathon |
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Every year in June South Africa has the Comrades Marathon. A race that begins in Durban and ends in Pietermaritzburg and every year it swops, so the following year it begins in Pietermaritzburg and ends in Durban, along the eastern coastal cape. Remember if you can’t run it needn’t mean you’re unhealthy. By all means if you can, jolly well run! You’re highly athletic and fit. When you do run don’t see an unfinished race as being a failure.  There always are the rare cases of the runner who passed away due to a heart attack. That tells us that some people over-push themselves. We all have an exertion limit. Respect and obey your body’s warning signs. Odd pains deserve a medical check up. For the novice if you feel exhausted, rest! Specific amino acid supplements help fight off increased risk of infection after major athletic events. The physical exertion of a long race is bound to be a stress and your immune system dips. Stress increases cortisone output, a hormone released to help cope with stress. Cortisone reduces immune competence. Eat bananas for potassium. Sweating causes mineral salt loses so sodium and other mineral fortified drinks with glucose give support. Potassium is another mineral salt that needs replacement. In fact sodium and potassium are major role players in the heart muscle and their levels are linked to the cardiac rhythm. Bananas make useful vitamin B deliveries to help us burn calories to make energy for exertion, to live! Under stress vitamin B is also a valuable supplement to invest in. Lastly bananas are among the most calorific of fruits and an athlete needs those calories. As bananas are a fruit they tend to have a higher moisture density which starves off dehydration. Major sweating is a mechanism to cool the body and maintain core body temperature. We have to pour in liquids to restore increased water loss. Ideally highly calorific foods such as peanuts or peanut butter give valuable protein and monounsaturated fats to help repair and finance more tissue wear and tear after physical exertion or illness. Protein is a major component of tissue and to replace damaged tissue we need new protein. It is usually common for muscle tissue to feel the effect mostly from physical strain. Joint problems can become noticeable and then chrondoitin sulphate is a useful supplement, to aid joint repair along with key nutrients. The fats give more calories to finance the repair as repair costs energy! Animal products provide useful bulk nutrients. Cottage cheese and plain yoghurt with live acid producing beneficial bacteria are simple foods to take, requiring little chewing. Lean meats, eggs and fish should be cooked healthily by stewing, boiling and stemming. Whole grain products are to be chased after! The gingerbread man may shout “you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man”. If he’s made of less refined, whole flours give the chase and win that race. Anastacia Sampson D.N. Med |