RESOLUTIONER OR NOT?

Time to Chime on the Time to Shine                                                                     Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD As we start off a new decade, many are making resolutions for the new year and the new “you” and then many become “resolutioner” haters simultaneously. I have been seeing both sides and wanted to chime in with my own $0.02 worth. There are many polls that throw out stats of how many people tend to make new years resolutions (it so happens an average of ~50% of Americans make new year’s resolutions based on weight, fitness […]

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Principles for a Healthy Lifestyle and Optimal Weight

Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD Researched and accepted dietary principles may guide the individual to finding a healthy and appropriate lifestyle for themselves. I have laid out a few of these that within my studies, experience and analysis of current articles in peer-reviewed journals with an understanding that each human is unique. Unique in their metabolism/physiology, in their emotional and stress (psychology) and in their struggles and challenges with daily living.  Therefore, it goes without saying that there is no single “diet” or “lifestyle” that works for the masses. Each […]

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FUEL YOUR WORKOUTS!!

Did you know that most recreational athletes that sign up for an endurance endeavor with a main goal for weight loss, are in fact flabbergasted that even with the increased physical activity, weight loss does not come easy, in fact many even gain weight. There are a number of reasons for this: 1. the positive reason is because the new athlete may be losing fat, but gaining muscle fiber. Muscle being denser than fat, offsets the scale from budging, but the athlete is getting leaner… HOWEVER, this is not the […]

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Tips to avoid gastrointestinal distress for training/racing

Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD If you think you are alone when your first focus for any race is gastrointestinal distress, you are not. Are you always plotting your day based on where the bathrooms are going to be (even the ones along the course), or always having to get to races early knowing that you will be standing in the line multiple times, and do you plan your training days around where the pit stops have to be.  Believe it or not, athletic GI distress affects more than 60% […]

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Eat to beat Cramps

The physiology of cramps can be complex. Nutrition may or may not have a role to play behind the why!! Stretching out and massaging muscles can certainly be a good start but this is often NOT enough, since electrolyte balance plays a major role in muscle function and recovery. Key nutrients include sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride and calcium. On a personal level, having participated in master’s swim meet, while training for Ironman races, it is not uncommon for me to observe swimmers gathering at the lanes end in-between sets to […]

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Culinary herbs and spices : Can they interact with your medicine?

Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD One of the major responsibilities a dietitian/nutritionist may have is to analyze an individual’s intake and ensure most appropriate and healthy solutions to goals and needs. For people who regularly take medications, even over the counter products, this can become quite challenging.  So then, can some ingredients in various dishes have a pharmalogical interaction? Specific examples best defines what a pharmalogical interaction is:  Combining a statin drug (most likely prescribed to lower cholesterol) and  a daily dose of grapefruit juice may likely cause too much […]

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Emotional Eating: Awareness and Control

Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD Emotional (or stress) eating has always been a hot topic, mainly because one can find themselves turning to the pantry or fridge for a source of comfort, even though the appetite stimulant hormones are not active. How it can be controlled, comes with an understanding of what it is and why it happens and then developing an appropriate strategy on how it can be controlled. Recognizing signs of emotional eating may seem obvious, like feelings of stress, anger, or sadness drives you to eat.  Underlying […]

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THE KETO DEBATE FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Ilana Katz MS, RD CSSD I recently revisited a movie “Sleeper” (Woody Allen) since there was something interesting in the concept about a man waking up after a 200 year sleep. Recommendations for weight loss looks very different in that 200 year gap.   On awakening, the sleeper finds that not only are deep fried foods good for weight loss, they are also considered healthy.  An AHA moment. perhaps? Are we in a movie? Covid may make it feel this way, but weight-loss these days has a movie-like feel to it […]

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Hyponatremia: Signs, Symptoms and Warnings

Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD Hyponatremia tends to be mostly associated with athletes who participate in long duration sports such as marathons and triathlons. Endurance athletes taking in water during training or an event can develop hyponatremia, a potentially life threatening condition that occurs when sodium levels drop to a dangerous low in the blood stream (below 135 mmol/L (of blood). Early symptoms may include nausea, drowsiness, confusion, headache and fatigue. These can quickly progress to seizures, coma and death if not resolved in time. Importantly, athletes are not the […]

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Go with your Gut   –   GI Distress from a different perspective

Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD Since a big part of my work with athletes involves reducing the risk of Gastrointestinal (GI) distress I thought a different perspective of the GI environment and how to nurture it would be rather informative.  The organisms and their metabolic processes themselves, the majority of which live in the colon, are referred to as microbiome and they dramatically effect human health in general, not just for athletism. The microbiome is made up of trillions of microorganisms ranging between bacteria, fungi, viruses, and others., all of […]

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