The Natural Athlete

If you have spent years not supporting your body, your metabolism or your energy, then if you want to really perform on the field, on the rink or in bed, then you need to spend a period of time infusing your body with concentrated nutrition while simultaneously bettering your diet and your life. Here are my suggestions for peak athletic performance... Becoming a great athlete may not mean that you ever compete in athletic events. It may not mean ever leaving your community to travel to far-away games. It may simply mean enjoying a swim in the mornings, playing football in the backyard with your son or training to run the Boston Marathon once in your life, all without pain or injury...

Sports is about enjoyment and competition, even if that competition is against yourself. You want your body to be in the best shape it can be, every day for the rest of your life... But so many people assume that exercise and athletic activity offsets a poor diet, couch potato habits and high stress jobs. In fact, physical activity draws on the reserves that you build up with your diet, your lifestyle and your sleep habits. If you fail to plan, then you can plan to fail because injury will be inevitable.

Many years ago, I was treating a professional basketball player who had chronic ankle injuries. He had tried everything from cortisone shots to therapy to simply sitting around with ice on his ankle after every practice. But when we sat down to really evaluate his body, he admitted that when his wife was away, he would simply hop in the car and drive through McDonald’s. In fact, that was happening more and more. He never thought that eating his burgers and fries was a problem.

If you have spent years not supporting your body, your metabolism or your energy, then if you want to really perform on the field, on the rink or in bed, then you need to spend a period of time infusing your body with concentrated nutrition while simultaneously bettering your diet and your life. You can evaluate what your needs are by simply paying attention to the symptoms you have when you do exercise.

So here are my best suggestions from my preferred suppliers Standard Process and Mediherb for not only getting into nutritional shape, but handling issues that can occur as the result of any athletic activity:

• Calcium Lactate — most people do not realize that muscle strength is based on your calcium reserves in the muscle. This is a great formula specifically for muscle calcium which provides a highly ionized mineral form for increased muscle efficiency. It eliminates muscle cramping and stabilizes muscle contraction, eliminating the restriction common after muscle pulls.
• Burdock Complex — this is a form of essiac tea popular for blood cleansing during cancer treatment. But for athletes, it is one of the greatest formulas to reduce lactic and pyruvic acid accumulation, essential for enhancing muscle and joint recovery and minimizing muscle fatigue.
• Ashwaganda — this indian herb has been used for thousands of years as an anabolic to increase body strength.
• Calsol — this is a vegetarian form of calcium with phosphorus added, excellent for muscle soreness or weakness, muscle cramps, insomnia, and to prevent muscle spasming during endurance events.
• Cataplex ACP — increases fluid transfer, removing accumulated edema or inflammatory fluids from the muscle to restore normalized function quickly and effectively.
• Cataplex B — this combination of liver powder, beet root, carrot powder, wheat germ and glandulars provides soluble B vitamin factors that are perfect for the person that tires immediately after eating carbohydrates or who may have heart arrhythmias. It is the basic essential for building mucle tone and reduces muscle pain with exercise. For elite athletes, it is for low systolic blood pressure, low CO2 and elevated anion gap figures. It helps to increase nerve motor conductivity, increasing the speed of muscle reaction and reduces the build-up of lactic and pyruvic acids, while increasing metabolism of carbohydrates for endurance sports.
• Cataplex B12 — this formula is for any neuromuscular disorders.
• Cataplex E — this is a complete vitamin E with selenium, a necessary cofactor mineral which activates Vitamin E in the human body. It increases muscle strength quickly by increasing mitochondrial activity and oxygenation to muscle cells. This prevents muscular reactions to stress and is the perfect formula for you if you have leg cramps with exercise, chronic connective tissue issues or unexplained muscle weakness.
• Copper — this essential enzyme cofactor enahnces all the minerals and enzymes active in each stage of the Kreb’s Cycle.
• Horsechestnut Complex — this combination of Butcher’s Broom, Horsechestnut and Ginkgo Biloba is to tonify the veins and reduce sprains, strains and edema. It is perfect if you wake up in the mornings with muscle soreness from ischemia or if your legs are restless during the night.
• Licorice, High Grade — this herbal extract acts as natural cortisol in the body reducing inflammation and reducing scar tissue formation in muscle tissue.
• Ligaplex II - this is a must-have maintenance for elite athletes. It reduces muscle spasm and supports muscle, bone and ligaments. It prevents athletic injuries and muscle degeneration. It can reduce hiatal hernias and bulging discs, as well as carpal tunnel issues. It is by far the best long-term support for the athletic body.
• Linum B6 — anchors enzymes embedded in the mitochondrial lipid membrane so they will not be lost due to over-exertion and to maintain high levels of mitochondrial activity.
• Magnesium Lactate — magnesium is the most important ingredient in natural rehydration. It reduces tissue injury and inflammation, reduces muscle cramping and will provide maximum rehydration when the capsules are opened and mixed in water.
• Manganese B-12 — not only is manganese essential for ligament support and to prevent ligament injury, but it is key to build muscle tissue.
• Myo-Plus - the perfect formula for muscle weakness, atrophy or flaccidy, particularly during recovery from injury.
• Myotrophin PMG — this complex is for any loss of muscle integrity, particularly muscle tears.
• OPC Synergy — OPC’s have recently become the new addiction for athletes. This grapeseed extract restores collagen strength and elasticity, which is the key to building muscle strength. It speeds muscle restoration after exercise and reduces muscle fatigue and breathing weakness significantly with its’ antioxidant action.
• Protefood — this formula gives you all eight essential amino acids that the body cannot synthesize with ribonucleic acid for protein absorption from blood to muscle tissue.
• Rehmannia Complex Phytosynergist - this formula has a natural steroidal effect and is specifically for acute inflammatory conditions.
• Tribulus, Bulgarian - this is the secret formula traditionally used in Bulgaria for weight lifters to increase testosterone levels and enhance athletic performance. It dramatically increases muscle development and provides a strong testosterone precursor effect within the body. Please note that ONLY the Bulgarian tribulus terrestris will have this effect.
• Vitanox — Green tea extract, Grape seed extract, Rosemary and Turmeric combine to give a strong antioxidant effect to prevent free radical accumulation in muscle tissue which can tear down muscle and induce excessive muscle fatigue.
• Wheat Germ Oil — this is one of the best, natural foods that will increase oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, reducing muscle cramps and capillary fragility.