Tribe Nutrition

Nutrition is just one component of a healthy lifestyle, but many would argue it’s one of the most difficult to manage. Trying to find the time, energy and creativity to make healthy meals at home can be quite a challenge. This prompts many individuals to look for cheap, convenient meals out on the town…hello fast food. Unfortunately, resorting to this type of pattern too often will likely have adverse effects on both your waistline and your health. That said, there are ways to eat healthfully when you’re on the road.

You’ve probably seen it in the gym, and you may have even tripped over it from time to time. It’s that low-to-the-ground, often dusty piece of cardiovascular equipment known simply as the rower. Despite its infrequent use, it actually provides a fantastic workout and has several advantages over other traditional cardio machines. For one, it provides a full-body workout unlike the incredibly popular bikes and treadmills that are almost always occupied.

There are lots of people with incredible physiques, many of them appearing on this site. These folks look like the epitome of health and wellness, but are they? What does it really mean to be “healthy?” How should we define this, and what factors should we consider in answering this question? Let’s take a look at a few concerns from the nutrition perspective so you can see how you measure up.

1. Variety, my friends…
   People looking to gain and/or lose weight often find it helpful to eat the same foods day in and day out. It actually does help with the tracking and monitoring that’s needed when you’re trying to manipulate your weight. Unfortunately, this isn’t very healthy. When you eat the same foods continuously, you deprive yourself of important micronutrients from other foods and you routinely miss out on the phytonutrients, fiber, and other constituents that you simply can’t get from your daily multivitamin/ mineral supplements.

The answer to this question seems pretty simple, but it’s actually a bit more complicated than you might imagine. There are definitely going to be folks who say, “Yes, without a doubt, supplements are needed.” There will also be those “naturalists” who won’t advocate any supplement at any level for anything. I have to admit…I fall somewhere in the middle. There are several supplements that have been studied extensively and seem to pass the test when it comes to safety and efficacy, but does that necessarily mean you need to take them? Good question, huh? The point of writing this little article arose because some members have brought up the issue of supplements and their cost, and whether they really need them to reach their goals. Let’s take a closer look at this hot button issue.

You’ve all had that experience. You eat a nice meal and then go to bed thinking all is just fine…until you wake up in the middle of the night with the sweats and a stomachache. The most likely culprit for that sickly feeling is food poisoning, a fairly common occurrence in the United States. According to the CDC, there are approximately 76 million cases of foodborne illness each year, with 325,000 resulting in hospitalization and 5,000 resulting in death.

Despite the fairly high prevalence, most people probably aren’t all that concerned about foodborne illnesses. In fact, there are a number of safeguards in place to minimize risk to consumers, not to mention the food safety guidelines we should all be following when handling food items at home. Let’s take a closer look at food safety in general and address some practical tips you can use to keep yourself safe and healthy.

Do you ever look at your To-Do List for the day and just yawn, thinking about how nice it would be to go back to bed? Do you find yourself tapped of energy by mid-day? Do you ever wonder why other friends and colleagues have so much pep? If so, you’re not unlike a lot of guys who struggle to balance their career, relationship, and workout. The #1 complaint of these fellas is a lack of energy…simply not enough gas in the tank to deal with all of the issues that arise on a day-to-day basis. Certainly your overall health and sleep patterns could be the root cause of this energy deficit, but your diet is a more likely culprit. Unfortunately, people tend to eat the same foods everyday, and they’re often the wrong food choices in the first place. The lack of variety and nutrients can be a real buzz kill to your energy level. To remedy the situation, we decided to give you the low-down on five excellent choices that will have you working and playing hard in no time.

We’ve all heard it before…breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It does make sense, folks. After starving the body for 8-12 hours on average, the body needs fuel for the day ahead. If the tank is empty, going to work, exercising and any other daily tasks become increasingly difficult. Therefore, I have to agree with the mothers of the world when it comes to breakfast, but what about the actual make-up of the meal?

Most health professionals are aware of the importance of dietary fiber, but the same can’t be said for consumers. We know we should eat more of it, but the beneficial effects it has on weight loss, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders and even cancer go largely unnoticed. To remedy the situation, let me give you a little background information on fiber, the current daily recommendations, some basic health benefits and a simple plan for meeting a reasonable goal each day.

It’s funny…people wanting to lose weight often say that it is the most difficult thing they’ve ever tried to do, and yet those trying to gain weight say the exact same thing. You’d think it would be easy to pack on some mass—just hit the local fast food establishment, spend $5 or $10 on some burgers, fries and soda, and poof—weight gain city. We all know this could work, but if you want to add quality muscle mass, we need to be smarter than this. Let’s take a sneak peek at some strategies designed to help even the hardest of hard-gainers bulk up.