Articles

LOW GLYCOGEN TRAINING

The ‘train low, race high' theory ruffled plenty of feathers when it was first proposed, because it went against conventional wisdom about carbohydrate feeding. The train low, race high is a theory which suggests that training when muscle carbohydrate stores are low might actually be ad ...

Fat Oxidation in Exercise

Fat burning is a very common desire among athletes. "Fat burning" is the ability to oxidise (or burn) fat, and use it instead of carbohydrate as an energy source. Weight loss and increased lean muscle mass are associated with fat oxidation, all of which are of advantage for an athlete.
...

Myth of fact: Cancer feeds on carbohydrate / sugar

Is there a role for carbohydrate restriction in the treatment and prevention of cancer? (Nutrition & Metabolism 2011, 8:75)

Due to our western lifestyle and eating habits, there is an increased incidence of cancer. The incidence was very rare among uncivilized hunter-gatherer societ ...

Healthy Tuck Shop Ideas

The role of a school tuck shop should be to offer healthy foods to the learners.  Food that supports their growth and development, that keeps energy levels stable.  It is important that parents educate their children about healthy foods and that teachers do the same in the classroom ...

How does HIV affect my nutritional needs?

A lot of families in South Africa are affected by HIV/AIDS one way or the other. What is sad is that many people still view diagnosis as a death sentence because they lack the understanding that people diagnosed with this disease can live long and productive lives if properly managed.

Train your brain to have the best race ever!

Generally, people only train their body to prepare for a race. We neglect our mind and don't realize how important it is to have a strong mind to achieve our goals.

Bullying- what you and your child can do about it

It’s a situation so many mums and dads here on the east coast find themselves in. It’s tough when your child is being bullied at school. But you’ve come to the right place, we have all the help you need….

Cycling specific questions

Giving you the EQ- ADVANTAGE

What would life be like if you had the emotional intelligence to be able to choose healthy, slimming foods more of the time while still occasionally enjoying the delights of the sweeter end of the spectrum?  What if you had the emotional intelligence to change laziness into the motivatio ...

Be assertive and get ahead

Picture the scene: you’re up to your armpits with work; you’ve got emails to see to, calls to make and your coffee’s long since gone cold. Then your colleague asks you to help out with a project and doesn’t take no for an answer. What then? Well, then you be assertive!& ...

Eating Disorders

We have a problem with eating when we are too restrictive of certain foods, only eat fat-free or no carbohydrates, eat while we are standing and don’t realise that we are eating, cut out meals, eat on the run, over-eat consistently or start to resent any food because it makes us fat. Th ...

What is Super Food?

What are super foods and are there really such things?
A super food is defined as a food that has a high phytonutrient component that offers health benefits.

What are Antioxidants?

If you read something related to nutrition and health you will often come across the words antioxidants and the fact that they are good for you.  You may have seen the word before but you don’t know what they are. Or you might know what they are but how do you include them in your ...

CYCLE MENU (Low fat low GI) Week 1

The menu displayed is the first week of the GI Smart Club's menu's for women, compiled by a dietician.

I am pregnant, can I eat Future Life?

Pregnancy is an exciting time in your life as you watch your baby grow and count down the weeks until you will meet your little one. It is also a time when nutrition is critical. Not only for your baby but also for yourself.  To ensure that you have a healthy pregnancy it is important that y ...

GLYCEMIC INDEX and EXERCISE PERFORMANCE

When it comes to carbohydrates and their role in enhancing performance, all carbohydrates are not the same. Even distinguishing between sugars and starches may not be enough. Of late, there has been a lot of talk about a term referred to as "glycaemic index". Glycaemic index of a food represents ...

SPORTS DRINKS, BARS, OR GEL; WHICH ARE BEST?

There are so many products out there that claim they will enhance athletic performance.
Three commonly used products are:

• sports drinks
• energy bars
• energy gels

Research has been done on all of the above products. In general, using a sport ...

My child has ADHD, what can they eat?

After being summoned to your child`s school about five times this year to discuss the inattentiveness, over-activeness and impulsiveness that has eventually affected his /her performance at school, you have finally consulted a child psychiatrist who has diagnosed your child with ADHD ( Attention ...

Preparing for a 5km run

When training for a 5km run where previously you had almost no running experience, you will need patience and discipline. Choose a routine and stick to it for manageable and reliable progress. The process I recommend is to run and walk at varying and alternate intervals. By simply increasing your ...

Back on Track after a Heart Attack

What am I dealing with?
Suffering a heart attack is serious business. Many causes of a heart attack, apart from a family history, are cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes – lifestyle diseases of which all can be controlled and prevented. If you have suf ...

Did you know Future Life is free of colourants and preservatives?

These days more and more people are concerned about the additives we consume in the food we eat. Research has shown that these concerns are justified. Two big words that always come up are colourants and preservatives.  Questions that we need to ask ourselves is why are these considered to b ...

Healthy lunch box ideas...

August 2011
It can be quite exhausting to have to think of what to pack for your child every day.  It would be far easier to give your child money and let them buy what they want from the school tuck shop.  Unfortunately that would more than likely result in you having an overweigh ...

Soya is it Good or Bad?

There are many of us who are confused when it comes to soya. Is it good for us? Or is it harmful? If you did a Google search on the topic you would come across many websites and articles where one promotes the health benefits of soya and then the very next one you read tells you how harmful con ...

Omega 3 & 6 Essential Fatty Acids

What’s all the fuss about with these fats?

Everyone is talking about the health benefits of the Omega fats, from keeping your heart healthy to supporting your immune system and possibly even acting as an anti-inflammatory in arthritic diseases.  But what are these omega fats ...

Problem, we have the solution!

Most athletes don’t really understand glycemic index

Not all carbohydrates are created equal and therefore they supply the body with energy at varying rates.  High GI carbs are digested easily and will enter the body quickly and provide you with energy quic ...

Myth Buster

Are high protein diets/supplements healthy?

No, definitely not. A healthy well balanced diet is the best energy fuel for a young sportsman – even if the athlete is trying to gain muscle or get stronger.

Energy intake

Much like a well designed machine, your body functions perfectly by carefully balancing biological processes that are made up of atoms, molecules, cells, tissues and organs.  The atoms, molecules and cells of your body continually move and change, while your tissues, organs and external appe ...

Prebiotics and Probiotics

A simple way to understand these friendly guys

Believe it or not you have bacteria living in your gut!  Yes, there are millions of bacterial cultures multiplying and surviving in your intestine but, before you rush over to the doctor for antibiotics, here’s the good news. ...

A healthy family = A healthy Life

A goal in any parents’ life is to ensure that their children get the best.  From the moment a child is born nutrition is a focal point of their lives, not only in the amount that they get to support adequate growth and development but also the type of food they eat to ensure a happy, h ...

Bioavailability: What is this?

Article By: Zikhona Spelman: Dietician (BSc Diet-UNP)

After years of trying, you have finally changed your eating habits for better; you finally ditched your favourite   greasy fried chips for a nice baked potato, and eventually substituted your creamy potato salad for a crispy ...

Is Chromium Supplementation necessary for people with Diabetes?

Article By: Zikhona Spelman, Dietician- BSc Diet ( UNP)

Just by looking at 2002 statistics of 5.6% of total chromium supplement market and  sales figures amounting to  approx. 85 million dollars  of  Chromium usage worldwide, it ...

Why is Wholegrain Healthy for you?

Article By: Zikhona Spelman (Dietician) BSc Diet-UNP

Before we can talk about why wholegrain is healthy for you, we need to know what a whole grain is. As its name suggests wholegrain is a type of grain that is “whole” in that it has all its parts intact i.e. the bran, the ger ...

Leucine

It has been shown that in order for protein balance to become positive post workout, dietary protein, specifically the amino acid Leucine, must be consumed. Protein synthesis is the formation of new skeletal muscle proteins. When this occurs on a large scale it is known as skeletal muscle hypertr ...

Alcohol in Sport

Alcohol enjoys a strong association with sport.  Athletes, coaches and associated officials are often captured in the media celebrating a win with alcohol. This relationship is particularly cemented in many high-profile, male team sports that receive wide media exposure.  The issue at h ...

Top tips for managing Nausea!

Chemotherapy can have negative side affects on the body. One of these is nausea and can affect your nutritional intake negatively. This common side effect can be treated with drugs called anti-emetics (anti = not and emesis = vomiting). These drugs are usually given before treatment to help contr ...

Eat your broccoli!

Ever wondered why your mom nagged you to eat your broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts?

I am not hungry, what to do!

This is the most common problem. There are many reasons for loss of appetite including the cancer itself, treatment, your emotional wellbeing (e.g. depression), pain and other side effects like nausea.

The Role of dairy in Chronic Diseases of lifestyle

Chronic diseases of lifestyle, relates to metabolic syndrome, which is characterised by, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and raised blood pressure. These diseases may be prevented by following a healthy diet, engaging in physical exercise and changing bad lifestyle habits, such as alcohol an ...

Selenium in Cancer

Selenium is suggested to be involved in central anti-carcinogenic processes. Selenium supplements are widely marketed with many health claims, the prevention of cancer being one of them. There is a worldwide debate about the association between selenium exposure and cancer risk or whether sel ...

The Carbohydrate myth

One of the dietary myths that surfaces in every second conversation, is that carbohydrates are bad and unhealthy for you and that they are fattening. Often people think that bread especially, is very bad for you. Rice and potatoes are often mentioned in the same breath. This is a myth as our ...

Probiotics - should they be essential?

Probiotics are live microorganisms, which offer a health benefit on the host, and are available in foods and dietary supplements. Examples of foods containing probiotics are yoghurt, fermented and unfermented milk, miso, tempeh, and some juices and soy beverages. In probiotic foods and supple ...

Colostrum: Does it really increase muscle growth?

Bovine colostrum is the first milk-like substance produced by the mammary glands of a female cow immediately after the birth of a calf. The purpose of colostrum is to provide the calf with antibodies and nutrition that will strengthen the immune system. Colostrum is a rich cocktail of immune and ...

BCAA s Are Essential In Your Supplement Routine

New research continues to be published about the benefits of increasing protein. In particular, research shows that the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) have specific health effects/benefits. BCAAs are unique because they are preferentially burned as energy by muscles to fuel work. Therefor ...

Beta-Alanine in supplements - Is it necessary?

With hundreds of different supplements available and so many that are based on false claims and huge hype, it is a challenge to find even one supplement that delivers results. Beta-alanine is an exception and this supplement actually lives up to its claim. Beta-alanine efficacy is backed by m ...

Is soy safe for woman who have had breast cancer?

It was previously thought not to give soy for woman who had breast cancer, because of the synergistic (increasing effect of combination of isoflavones and chemotherapy) and antagonistic (aggressive) effect of isoflavones and tamoxifen, both of which bind to estrogen receptors. Isoflavones are a c ...

High-Protein Diets: Are You Losing More Than Weight?

Protein is an essential nutrient, vital to your health.  In its purest form, protein consists of chains of amino acids. These are the building blocks for protein. There are 22 amino acids that combine to make the different proteins your body needs, and 8 of these must come from the foods ...

Recipes from "Coping with Cancer the Nutritional way" by Adele vd Merwe

Winter is here and that means it is time for soups and warm liquids.
There is no better way to get all the nutrients in small quantities, your body needs than with soups and stews.
This is perfect for people who can’t stand to eat a plate of food and those struggling to chew. Thi ...