Develop close friendships to stay fit

Developing close friendships early in life may help children stay physically fit later in their adulthood, suggests new research.
"These results indicate that remaining close to -- as opposed to separating oneself -- from the peer pack in adolescence has long-term implications for adult physical health," said one of the researchers Joseph Allen from University of Virginia in the US.
"In this study, it was a robust predictor of increased long-term physical health quality," Allen noted.
The findings indicate that adolescent relationship qualities may come to influence adult health through decreased levels of later anxiety and depressive symptoms.
The researchers recruited a diverse group of 171 seventh- and eighth-graders and followed them from ages 13 through 27 years old.
From ages 13 through 17, the participants' best friend filled out a questionnaire assessing the overall quality of the friendship, including the degree of trust, communication, and alienation in the relationship.
Friends also provided information about how much participants' focused on fitting in with their peers.
Participants' health quality was then assessed annually at ages 25, 26, and 27 years old with questions about their overall health, anxiety and depression symptoms, and body mass index.
Results indicated that both high-quality close friendships and a drive to fit in with peers in adolescence were associated with better health at age 27.
The study was published in the journal Psychological Science.

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And you thought `guilting` teens into exercise works out

A new study has suggested that trying to guilt middle-schoolers into exercising won't get them to be any more active.
The University of Georgia researchers found that the students who don't feel in control of their exercise choices or who feel pressured by adults to be more active typically aren't.
Middle-schoolers who feel they can make their own decisions about exercising are more likely to see themselves as a person who exercises, which in turn makes them more likely to exercise.
Lead author Rod Dishman said that this age is a critical juncture in a child's life, as kids typically decrease their activity levels by 50 percent between fifth and sixth grades.
The results confirm that the beliefs these kids hold are related to physical activity levels, Dishman noted, adding "but can we put these children in situations where they come to value and enjoy the act of being physically active?"
Dishman and colleagues at the University of South Carolina are now looking at ways to help kids identify with exercise at a younger age, so that by the time they reach middle school they are more likely to identify as someone who exercises.
This might mean teaching more structured games in elementary school, integrating physical activities into classroom lessons or expanding community recreational leagues to give kids more opportunities to improve on a particular sport.
What parents and teachers don't want to create, Dishman cautioned, is a sense of guilt for not exercising. The research overwhelmingly found that students who felt obligated to be more active were less likely to embrace activity overall.
Dishman pointed out that the best thing is to do it because it's fun and it's the kids who say they are intrinsically motivated who are more active than the kids who aren't.
The study appears in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

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Fitness or weight loss: Which is better?

Weight loss. These two words have a kind of mystifying power over the entire world. It probably even reminded you that you missed your morning walk today or skipped your gym class.

If there's one thing that everyone thinks about practically everyday, it's about how they can shed those extra kilos or lose that ever-persistent belly fat.

But have you ever stopped for minute and thought about being fit rather than slim? Got you thinking, didn't it? You may be slim, but are you fit and healthy?

Fitness, many people may not be aware, is more important than losing weight. Fitness is more than just staying slim. It is a result of healthy diet and exercise, and overall good health.

Being slim may not necessarily mean that you're fit. Therefore, it's high time you changed your goal from losing weight to getting fit!

Below, we bring you a few benefits of staying fit and why it holds more value than just simply losing weight.

1. Fitness:

The most essential thing for you to know is that while fitness will most definitely result in weight loss, vice versa isn't true. Weight loss cannot ensure fitness. You can lose weight even in an unhealthy way. Fitness involves everything good. You need to exercise, ensure appropriate rest, and eat healthy to achieve your fitness goal.

2. Improved digestion:

Weight loss may often harm your digestion. A change in diet can cause bloating, bodily changes and discomfort. Exercise can also help you avoid digestive problems. Even easy-to-do exercises like breathing, walking, and other physical activities can improve your digestive system. A general fitness routine worked out through proper balanced diet and exercise for improved digestive function can be done.

3. Health benefits:

Fitness results in healthy respiratory and circulatory systems. Overall fitness gives you healthy skin, alertness and a healthy system. While weight loss may be bad for your health and respiratory system, regular exercise and a healthy diet aids the heart in the smooth circulation of blood and oxygen.

4. Better lymphatic system:

Your lymphatic system is also a part of the circulatory system, comprising a network that provides better flow of fluid called lymph which improves circulation, reduces swelling, metabolism and flexibility. Basic exercises like strength training and stretching can improve the lymphatic system.

5. Healthy heart:

Another benefit of preferring fitness over weight loss, is a healthier cardiovascular system. A person deprived of exercise has a higher risk of cardiovascular problems like heart attack and stroke. Weight loss through dieting or an overdose of exercising may do more harm than good.

6. Mental health:

Physical fitness means a healthy body and more than that, it means a healthy mind. Physical fitness is connected to your mental health in every way possible.  Every physical activity makes the brain agile, sharp and alert. Mental fitness is as crucial as physical health and weight loss may result in fatigue and depression, which puts the brain under unwanted pressure.

7. Attractive personality:

Exercise improves your muscles and hence, your overall personality. You can do everything in a better way. Weight loss ignores your body's actual needs and therefore you lose your personality as well.

So make fitness the key to your happiness!

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Top five exercises for healthy ageing!

Physical activity, exercise and fitness – the benefits of all these terms are endless – from reducing your risk of several diseases to keeping your youth intact.

Yes, exercise is the key to staying young and fit. Although we know about the immense health benefits of exercise and physical activity, most of us are just either being lazy or don't have time to workout in this super busy schedule.

But think over it again, if you wish to retain that youthful, radiant look. You shouldn't find excuses to write off your workout – it's entirely within your graps and how you manage your time.

So instead of depending on anti-ageing products and services, protect yourself against the effects of ageing naturally and internally with a few movements.

Here are a few exercises that will help you stay younger and healthier:

Stay active: The best way to counter the effects of ageing on our bodies and minds is maintaining good fitness. Studies suggest that aslittle as 15 minutes of exercise a day may increase a person lifespan by as much as three years.

Walking: Studies show that adults over 65 who walk or exercise moderately reduce their risk of dementia by one-third.

Jogging: A study from the University of Colorado has shown that jogging or running can help protect against memory loss after an illness.

Tai Chi: Research has found that older people who do tai chi improved their balance and increased their senses of well-being. Tai chi prevents falls among seniors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of injury death and the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital trauma admissions among people 65 or older.

Leg exercise: With age, you are more likely to experience swelling in the legs - a condition called peripheral edema – associated with ageing. Leg exercise can help reduce or prevent the swelling.

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Love to workout? Don't overdo it!

 

Exercise is always considered good for health. Without adding physical activity in your fitness routines or weight loss routines, it's next to impossible to achieve the desired goal.

Hitting the gym, a jog in the park, brisk walking, swimming, cycling, yoga, practicing martial arts, etc., can be a part of your regular exercise routines.

Many people exercise to remain fit, others do it to achieve a particular weight goal, some even suffer from lack of it. But there are also those, who soon become addicted to their workout and intentionally or unintentionally overdo it.

Like excess of anything is bad for health, too much of exercise can be harmful too. This is why it is important that you give the body a much-deserved break when it needs to rest after strenuous workouts.

Therefore, it's important to be well aware of the negative aspects of over-exercising.

1. Osteoarthritis:

Also referred to as degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis causes inflammation of the joints in the body. One of the risk factors that may contribute to the health condition is too much exercise.

2. Targets mental health:

Exercise and physical activity play a crucial role in shaping your own image about yourself and your life as a whole. According to studies, excessive exercise causes poor mental health, sometimes resulting in depression.

3. Menstrual problems:

Women who indulge in vigorous exercise, may have irregular periods, heavy or loss of their normal menstrual cycles. You need to review your current nutritional status, exercise regimen and overall health in such circumstances.

4. Eating disorders:

Those who are addicted to exercising have just fitness goals in mind. In their quest to achieve the desired fitness goal, they become prone to various eating disorders. Such people are more likely to fall bait to disorders such as bulimia and anorexia.

5. Fatigue:

Over exercising leaves you drained. Mental or physical exhaustion can affect you in several ways. Your arduous exercise routine doesn’t let your body rejuvenate and you are left fatigued and tired with no energy left for anything else. You may also develop chronic fatigue syndrome.

6. Hampers heart health:

While exercising, the heart rate temporarily increases. Over-exercising can put stress on the heart to get back to normal heart rate. Moreover, there is always a lurking risk of a heart attack during exercise if you have a known problem with your heart.

7. Sore muscles:

Constant muscle soreness is one of the signs that you are exercising more than you should. Joints, bones and limbs may start to hurt when there is an overuse of muscles. Whether you are doing strength training or cardio, ensure that your body gets enough time to revitalize.

8. Sleep problems:

In a state of overload, you are at a greater risk of falling victim to sleep problems and even insomnia. When your muscles are overworked, you become restless and have problems falling asleep.

9. Impacts immunity:

If you are prone to falling ill with common cold or seasonal flu and other minor infections, over exercising could be the culprit. Excessive exercise suppresses your immune system, leading to frequent viral infections.

10. Backache:

An overdose of exercise can overwork the back muscles and can also sometimes place unwanted stress on the spine, which may result in a backache.

Happy workout!

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How Tai Chi can help older people with chronic ailments

A new study has linked the ancient Chinese exercise Tai Chi to improved physical capacity among older adults with certain common long term conditions.

Among people with breast cancer, heart failure, osteoarthritis and chronicobstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), these improvements were not at the expense of worsening pain or breathlessness, the findings show.

Tai Chi consists of slow, gentle, flowing movements that aim to boost muscle power, balance, and posture. It also includes mindfulness, relaxation, and breath control.

The results showed that Tai Chi was associated with trends, or definite improvement, in physical capacity and muscle strength in most or all four long term conditions.

This included improvements in the six minute walking test; muscle strength, as measured by bending and stretching the knees; the time it takes to get up and move known as the TUG test; and quality of life.

Tai Chi was also associated with an improvement in the symptoms of pain and stiffness in osteoarthritis and in breathlessness in COPD. And it was associated with improved sit to stand times among patients with osteoarthritis.

The study is published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

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Quick weight loss tips: How to avoid overeating

Are you on a weight losing spree? But do you eat right or know how to limit your fat intake to get rid of those unwanted flabs? Do you also exercise almost everyday?

Let's say you've done all these but they were of not much help.

Chances are that your food portion sizes or eating habits such as binge eating may have crept up – unless you have a medical condition that's underlying your weight problem.

Here's how to avoid overeating:

• Eat only when you are hungry and not out of habit.
• Learn to pay attention to your body or hunger signals and stop eating before you are stuffed or when you start to feel satisfied.
• Be selective of what you eat – meaning, knowing to choose the type of foods that are beneficial to weight loss like replacing processed foods with fruits and vegetables.
• Choose small portions – this is very crucial if you are on a weight loss plan because smaller portions means you consume fewer calories. Use medium sized plates when eating at home to avoid overeating.
• Take time to chew your food before swallowing. This will slow down the pace at which you are eating while allowing you to savor the flavors of your meal.
• Spare at least 20 minutes to finish your meal – remember your stomach takes close to 20 minutes to send signal to the brain that it is full.
• Don't skip your breakfast as doing so can make you to eat more later on. Research suggests that people who eat more fat, protein, and carbohydrates in the morning stay satisfied and eat less over the course of the day than those who don't eat breakfast.

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Ten minutes of high intensity exercise can improve heart health in teens

Washington DC: A new study has revealed that short and high intensity exercise can reduce an adolescent's risk of developing a heart condition.

Lead researcher Alan Barker and his University of Exeter team have demonstrated that performing eight to ten minutes of high intensity interval exercise thrice a week can improve important markers of cardiovascular health.

In the study, the researchers asked six girls and seven boys aged between 13 and 14 to carry out six high intensity workouts over two weeks.

They were asked to cycle in high speed bursts of one minute, with a 75 second break in between. They started with eight bursts and built up to ten over two weeks.

The results showed that the training improved both blood vessel function and the brain's ability to control the beating of the heart. Both of these measures are considered to be important markers of cardiovascular disease

Barker said the study indicated that providing the intensity was high, health benefits were achievable with just eight to ten minutes of exercise.

The study is published in the Journal American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 

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Change up your walking pace to shed those extra kilos

If you are looking for a simple way to burn more calories, then you may want to change up your stride as a new study shows that varying walking pace burns more calories.

Researchers at The Ohio State University found that walking at varying speeds can burn up to 20 percent more calories compared to maintaining a steady pace. The study is one of the first to measure the metabolic cost, or calories burned, of changing walking speeds.

Most of the existing literature has been on constant-speed walking. This study is a big missing piece, said co-author Manoj Srinivasan, adding that measuring the metabolic cost of changing speeds is very important because people don't live their lives on treadmills and do not walk at constant speeds. They found that changing speeds can increase the cost of walking substantially.

Their results show that by using traditional methods, people may be underestimating the number of calories burned while walking in daily life or playing sports. The very act of changing speeds burns energy, Srinivasan explained, but that cost is not generally accounted for in calorie-burning estimations.

The researchers found that up to eight percent of the energy we use during normal daily walking could be due to the energy needed to start and stop walking.

"Walking at any speed costs some energy, but when you're changing the speed, you're pressing the gas pedal, so to speak. Changing the kinetic energy of the person requires more work from the legs and that process certainly burns more energy," explained first author Nidhi Seethapathi.

The study also confirmed the researchers' prediction that people walk slower when covering shorter distances and increase their pace as distance increases. This finding could have implications for the field of physical therapy and rehabilitation, where measuring the speed it takes to cover a certain distance is used as an indicator of a patient's progress.

For more tips on how to burn more calories when walking, Srinivasan, who leads the Movement Lab at Ohio State, offers some simple advice: walk in a way that feels unnatural.

"How do you walk in a manner that burns more energy? Just do weird things. Walk with a backpack or walk with weights on your legs. Walk for a while, then stop and repeat that. Walk in a curve as opposed to a straight line," he said.

The study is published in the journal Biology Letters.

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Are you running the right way?

If you think that running is the easiest way of maintaining good health, then you might be wrong as there are multiple technicalities that one should keep in mind while running, otherwise one can face adverse effects.

Researchers explained that if the runner increases the distance, then he shouldn't increase the speed, one should always do pre-run stretches and should make sure to wear the right shoes, the Independent reported.

Xavier Amatriain, Vice President of Engineering at Quora and regular marathon runner, said that to avoid injuries one should limit the speed if willing to increase the distance of the run or if one is running faster then he should keep it shorter.

Amatriain added that by just focusing on running without doing leg/core strengthening exercises or quad/gluts exercises one could end up having injury. 

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Start jogging for good health!

Do you start you day with jogging in the morning? Well, probably many of us have except a few because of hectic schedules. But, we all know that jogging is one of the best ways to improve your health and fitness. So, one should start their day by engaging in this form of physical activity for at least 30 minutes everyday.

Here are some benefits of why one should jog daily:

Heart: Jogging not only makes you fit but it also provides your body with many cardiovascular benefits. Regular jogging strengthens your heart and helps it function more efficiently.

Weight loss: It is an excellent way to lose weight. One can easily burn calories by jogging regularly. So people, start jogging to lose weight.

Mental health: Jogging not only improves your health and fitness but it also provides you with good mental health. While jogging, endorphins are released which make you feel calmer and happier. It also helps you get rid of stress and depression and makes you more confident.

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Yoga improves lung function in patients with COPD

New Delhi: Yoga exercises provide improvements that are just as effective as traditional pulmonary rehabilitation methods in improving lung function of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), researchers from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here have found.

COPD is a progressive lung disorder that makes it hard to breathe.

The researchers found that yoga can improve pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and indices of systemic inflammation in patients with COPD.

"Yoga is a cost-effective form of rehabilitation and is as effective as a standard PMR (pulmonary rehabilitation)," said the study by Randeep Guleria and colleagues from AIIMS.

For the study, 60 patients with COPD were randomly divided into two groups. One group was taught yoga exercises including asanas, pranayam, meditation and relaxation techniques. The other underwent a structured pulmonary rehabilitation programme.

These groups were tested on shortness of breath, serum inflammation, and lung function tests.

Results showed that yoga and pulmonary rehabilitation exercises resulted in similar improvements in pulmonary function and quality of life after 12 weeks of training.

The findings appeared in the journal Chest.

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Light walking can lower blood pressure in diabetics

A new study has revealed that a few minutes of physical activity can lower blood pressure for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Author Bronwyn Kingwell of the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes said that they saw some marked blood pressure reductions over trial days when people did the equivalent of walking to the water cooler or some simple body-weight movements on the spot.

In the study, participants were men and women, average age 62, who were overweight or obese. About two-thirds of the participants were on medication to control blood pressure during the study.

Researchers checked blood pressure and blood norepinephrine levels at regular intervals across the day.

For light-intensity walking, participants took a slow, easy stroll on a treadmill. For simple resistance activities, they did half-squats, calf raises, knee raises, or gluteal muscle squeezes.

The researchers found that light walking was linked to an average 10-point drop in systolic blood pressure and simple resistance activities were associated with an average 12-point drop in systolic blood pressure.

Kingwell said that muscles activated when you move, increase blood sugar uptake, which was especially important among people with Type 2 diabetes since their bodies couldn't make enough insulin to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

He added that the parallel lowering in norepinephrine levels were also an intriguing candidate in relation to the blood pressure.

Kingwell concluded that light activity breaks were not meant to replace regular, purposeful exercise. However, they might be a practical solution to cut down sitting time, especially if you were at your desk all day.

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Reasons why exercise is important for people with diabetes!

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, regular physical activity is key to managing the disease.

The fact is that exercise, in combination with a healthy diet will help you to take better care of yourself if you have diabetes.

It is recommended to exercise for at least three times a week for about 30 to 45 minutes. This will help control your blood sugar.

However, one should always consult a doctor before taking up any exercise program. Because your doctor can guide you about the kinds of exercise that are ideal for you depending on your conditions such as - how well your diabetes is controlled and any complications that you may have.

Benefits of exercise for diabetics include-

• Regular physical activity lowers blood sugar
• Regular exercise can help increase insulin action and keep blood sugars in check
• Daily exercise lowers blood pressure and cholesterol
• Exercise lowers your risk for heart disease and stroke
• It improves your circulation
• Regular physical activity helps relieve stress, which can raise your glucose level
• Regular exercise burns calories which will help you to avoid gaining excess kilos and maintain a healthy weight.
• Above all, exercise is important for your overall well-being and can help combat many health conditions and diseases.
• Research has shown that being physically active can help you lead a healthier and even happier life.

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Pick up walking pace to be heart healthy

Walking a little faster or for a few extra blocks may be good for older adults' hearts, according to a new study.

In the large prospective community-based study of older Americans, modest physical activity was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This was true even among men and women older than age 75 at baseline - a rapidly growing population for whom regular activity has been advised, but with little supportive empirical evidence.

Led by senior author Dariush Mozaffarian, the Tufts University researchers found that after adjustment for other risk factors and lifestyle behaviors, those who were more active had significantly lower risk of future heart attacks and stroke.

Adults who walked at a pace faster than three miles per hour (mph) had a 50 percent, 53percent, 50percent lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and total CVD, respectively, compared to those who walked at a pace of less than two mph.

Those who walked an average of seven blocks per day or more had a 36percent, 54percent and 47percent lower risk of CHD, stroke and total CVD, respectively, compared to those who walked up to five blocks per week.

Those who engaged in leisure activities such as lawn-mowing, raking, gardening, swimming, biking and hiking, also had a lower risk of CHD, stroke and total CVD, compared to those who did not engage in leisure-time activities.

The findings were similar in both men and women, in those above or below age 75 at baseline, and including only those with similarly good or excellent self-reported health.

Mozaffarian noted that these results are especially relevant because, with advancing age, the ability to perform vigorous types of activity often decreases. These support the importance of continuing light to moderate exercise to improve health across the lifespan.

The study appears in Circulation.

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Exercise can protect brain against ageing

Daily exercise can protect the brain against decline as we age, finds researchers after conducting an animal study.

In lab tests with mice, researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that exercise helped boost levels of an enzyme called SIRT3 which may protect against stressors that contribute to brain cell energy loss.

In tests with mice, researchers discovered that exercise helped boost levels of an enzyme called SIRT3, which may protect against stressors that contribute to brain cell energy loss.

Researchers led by Mark Mattson from the National Institute on Aging and Johns Hopkins' school of medicine used a new animal model to investigate whether they could aid neurons in resisting the energy-depleting stress.

They found that mice that did not produce SIRT3 became highly sensitive to stress when exposed to neurotoxins that cause neurodegeneration and epileptic seizures.

With mice that did produce SIRT3, researchers discovered that exercise on a running wheel increased levels of the enzyme.

"Running wheel exercise increased the amount of SIRT3 in neurons of normal mice and protected them against degeneration," Mattson noted.

In mice lacking the enzyme, running failed to protect the neurons.

"Neurons can be protected against stress through use of a gene therapy technology to increase levels of SIRT3 in neurons," he suggested.

As we grow older or develop neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, our brain cells can stop producing enough energy to remain fully functional.

The findings, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, can help improve therapies for age-related cognitive decline.

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Walking could enhance memory skills in older adults

Walking or jogging can enhance memory and cognition in older adults, according to a new study.

The study examined the relationship between physical activity, memory and cognition in young and old adults.

The study by Boston University researchers included 29 young adults (ages 18-31) and 31 older adults (ages 55-82) who wore a small device called an ActiGraph, which recorded information including how many steps each took, how vigorous the steps were and how much time it involved.

Participants also completed neuropsychological testing to assess their memory, planning and problem-solving abilities.

In addition to standardised neuropsychological tasks of executive function (planning and organisation abilities) and long-term memory, participants engaged in a laboratory task in which they had to learn face-name associations.

The researchers found that older adults who took more steps per day had better memory performance.

The association between the number of steps taken was strongest with a task that required recalling which name went with a person's face - the same type of everyday task that older adults often have difficulty with.

In young adults, the number of steps taken was not associated with memory performance.

The findings demonstrate that the effects of physical activity extend to long-term memory - the same type of memory that is negatively impacted by ageing and neurodegenerative dementias such as Alzheimer's disease, researchers said.

"Our findings that physical activity is positively associated with memory is appealing for a variety of reasons," said corresponding author Scott Hayes, assistant professor of at Boston University School of Medicine.

"Everyone knows that physical activity is a critical component to ward off obesity and cardiovascular-related disease," Hayes said.

"Knowing that a lack of physical activity may negatively impact one's memory abilities will be an additional piece of information to motivate folks to stay more active," he said.

The researchers point out that staying physically active can take a variety of forms from formal exercise programmes to small changes, such as walking or taking the stairs.

"More research is needed to explore the specific mechanisms of how physical activity may positively impact brain structure and function as well as to clarify the impact of specific exercise programs (eg strength, aerobic, or combined training) or dose of exercise (frequency, intensity, duration) on a range of cognitive functions," said Hayes.

The researchers emphasise that the objective measurement of physical activity was a key component of the current study, as the majority of studies to date have used self-report questionnaires, which can be impacted by memory failures or biases.

The study was published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

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Post-workout binging: This is how you can control it!

​That adrenalin rush is exactly the drug that everyone who loves to workout needs. A rigorous couple of hours of sweating it out really gets you going, doesn't it?

Once done, you feel refreshed. But after sometime, you start feeling hungry.

This is normally the cue for you to get up and make a trip to the kitchen. But, with your hunger overpowering you, you sometimes tend to overeat or eat something heavy, thereby, completely defeating the purpose of your workout.

Although, isn't it better to conquer that hunger or the hungry feeling in a healthier way? Yes, there definitely is! Read on to know how!

1. Recognize your limitations:

People often assume that over-training would bring them quick results. This concept couldn't be more wrong. Losing weight and growing muscles only happens over an extended period of time. It’s important to limit your training, or you might have cravings to binge on food after your workouts.

2. Less but frequent eating:

Eating only one or two consistent meals will make you gain weight. Eating breakfast is most essential, since it kicks up your metabolism. For lunch, you should eat light and nutritious food. You may eat boiled veggies or fruits after your workout session.

3. Eat before the workout:

It is important to eat healthy carbohydrates and proteins before training as you might not be able to complete your training properly, without the strength they provide. Having meals before exercising prevents muscle breakdown and enhances muscle recovery process as well.

4. Whole and fibre-rich foods:

It is important to eat low calorie foods that are high in fibre as they keep you going throughout your day and make you feel full. Try eating foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains that are low in glycemic index and contain lean proteins.

5. Hydration tops the to-do list:

The body filters water swiftly so it’s important to consume at least 64 ounces of water every day. Make sure you have water in between workouts as well, as it boosts your energy levels and keeps you full too.  

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Spoonful of sugar before long running kills fatigue

If you are a long-distance runner and feel "marathon fatigue" quite often, try a spoonful of sugar first and hit the ground running like never before.

According to researchers, stirring in table sugar from the baking cupboard into a water bottle before a big physical event could be the difference between success and failure.

This helps stave off tiredness faced by weary marathon runners - or other long-distance athletes - when they hit the wall, said the team from University of Bath in Britain.

Both sucrose - in the form of table sugar - and glucose are important carbohydrates often referred to as "simple sugars".

It appears combining different sources of sugars improves the rate at which we can absorb these from the gut.

Although many sports-performance drinks designed to provide energy during exercise now use sucrose, or mixtures of glucose and fructose, many still rely on glucose alone.

The researchers warn that such glucose-only drinks could produce gut discomfort and suggest sucrose-based alternatives, or sugar in water, can help make exercise easier.

The carbohydrate stores in our liver are vitally important when it comes to endurance exercise as they help us to maintain a stable blood sugar level.

"However, while we have a relatively good understanding of the changes in our muscle carbohydrate stores with exercise and nutrition, we know very little about optimising liver carbohydrate stores during and after exercise," lead researcher Javier Gonzalez said.

They tested various sucrose and glucose-based drinks to see how different carbohydrates could help.

Their experiment, conducted on long-distance cyclists, showed that ingesting carbohydrates in the form of either glucose or sucrose prevents the decline in liver glycogen "carbohydrate stores" and can avert tiredness.

"Our study showed that ingesting carbohydrates during exercise can prevent the depletion of carbohydrate stores in the liver but not in muscle. This may be one of the ways in which carbohydrate ingestion improves endurance performance," the authors said.

The researchers also found that the exercise felt easier and the gut comfort of the cyclists was better, when they ingested sucrose compared to glucose.

"This suggests that when your goal is to maximise carbohydrate availability, sucrose is probably a better source of carbohydrate to ingest than glucose," the authors said.

So if your goal is optimal performance during exercise lasting over two and half hours then consume up to 90 gram of sugar per hour - diluted to eight gram sugar per 100 ml.

The findings were published in the the American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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