Do you Breath, Think, and Stand Properly?

How Breathing, Posture, and Thinking Effects Your Whole Body

Monday, August 23, 2010

        There are 3 basic things we do in our daily life. We do them every day, automatically, without putting much thought into it. All three of these things, have a HUGE impact, on how we feel!

      The three things, many people do not pay enough attention to, are: their posture, breathing, and thinking patterns; at any given moment, of everyday. Doing any one of these improperly, causes an imbalance, on the other two. It is a balancing act. Just like anything in life!
     You need to make sure everything is balanced, in order for everything to function smoothly.
 Believe it or not, your thinking effects you’re breathing. For example, if you are suffering from mental stress (panic attack or anxiety), it can lead to dysfunctional breathing patterns. Dysfunctional breathing patterns will then lead to postural distortion; and “kinetic chain” dysfunction (the kinetic chain is made up of your muscular system, skeletal, and nervous system).
     So, say you are stressed/worried about something (it happens), it will cause your breathing pattern to be dysfunctional. Meaning, you are taking short, shallow breathes, which makes your secondary respiratory muscles work more than your diaphragm. Causing overuse, of the secondary respiratory muscles (the scalene, sternocleidomastoid, upper trapezius, and levator scapulae), and those muscles are not meant to be used in the breathing process, however they do play a key role is posture.
      As I mentioned, what is termed the “kinetic chain”, is made up of your nervous system, muscular system, and skeletal system. They all work together, in the overall physiology of the body. Logically this is why if one is "off" the other will be as well. An example of this is: when someone suffers a stroke, it usually physically impairs them as well.
      Just so we are all on the same page, here is a basic overview: your nervous system is made up of neurons and neurotransmitters, which are electrical impulses going from your nerves, to your muscles. Your skeletal system is made up of bones and joints, and your muscular system, is what allows movement; of your skeletal system.
       Continuing to breathe dysfunctionally, will most likely lead to altered carbon dioxide and blood oxygen content. This is what leads to feelings of anxiety. Breathing short, shallow breathes, can cause a lot of tension headaches, lightheadedness, and dizziness.
       In life, there are periods of time, when everything may seem to be overwhelming. It is normal, everyone goes through this at one point, or another in their life. The important thing is, how you handle those problems. Good stress management skills are essential, not only for you mentally, but physically, as well. 
       When things start to be too much, take a deep breath!! Make sure you take a breath from your diaphragm, and not your chest.
      Working out is an excellent way to release stress. Breathing correctly, is very important while working out as well. Try to stay conscious of your breathing patterns; it will make a huge difference!!








                                                                         Reference

      Clark, Micheal, Scott Lucett, and Rodney J. Corn. NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008. Print.

Whatcha Eatin'? This App That Will Make Grocery Shopping Fun!

After getting my new phone and downloading this app called “Fooducate”, I decided I should share what I learned from this app with others.

                So let me explain this first. The app is really cool! You take your iphone and scan barcodes on food products, and it grades the product by how healthy it is for you. When you scan the product, it beeps, so beware!  You might want to turn your volume down, so you and whoever you may be shopping with is not embarrassed, or perhaps just ditches you (this is coming from someone who knows). It scans the barcode by using the camera.

                It allows you to compare between two products, so you can pick between two snacks you want, to see which one is healthier, has less fat, less calories, etc. It also gives to healthier alternatives.

                My favorite feature is that it tells you if it contains Trans fats, artificial flavors, citric acid, high-fructose corn syrup, etc. You can read about the additives in the foods and it tells you what the purpose is of that particular un-natural substance found in that product.

                Are you aware of the fact that companies add things such as natural/artificial flavors to foods to make them taste better? Many times it’s because it masks the lack of flavor from lack of natural ingredients. Artificial flavoring is found in products such as fruit snacks, frozen foods, and prepared meals. Home cooked meals, fruits, and vegetables don’t need artificial flavoring added to them, because they are natural ingredients.

                Any artificial coloring found in foods is bad for you. Companies that used coloring to help make their product look more appealing to buy used to use natural coloring; like beet juice for red and other natural foods for other colors. Now companies are mainly concerned about cutting costs, so they add cheap, un-natural colors. Some of them have been discovered to cause hyper activity (ADHD) in children, as well as cancer and allergies.

                Citric acid is a common one. This is not to be mistaken for vitamin C. Citric acid is responsible for tart and sour tastes to mimic the lemon or lime flavor. Companies use this because it is so cheap to manufacture…because it’s artificial!

                Beware of ( BHT) Butylated hydroxytoluene. It is an additive used to retard rancidity in oils and food that contain oils and fats. Surprisingly, BHT as well as some other very terrible things, are found in none other than products such as Kellogg’s fiber bars. Just goes to show you, when you think you are getting something healthy and on the box it says “with anti-oxidants”, you need to read the label and see what kind of ingredients it has in it. Studies have shown this is one additive that is best to avoid.

                                      Choose this over....

This!

                When there are more than 35 ingredients in any product, you should probably not get it, especially if you can’t pronounce most of them.

                Hope you learned something new about what is in your food!