Hyponatremia- Water Intoxication

Even though water is very good for you, is there a possibility of too much water. If you drink too much water than necessary this will result in low concentration of sodium in the blood. This type of situation has ocurred a couple times during sporting events in the past however you tend to see these occurences in high endurance sports. An example of this type of endurance event would be the iron man or even the Boston Marathon. For instance there was a study done that showed that 13% of the runners in the marathon acquired Hyponatremia.
some symptoms that occur when Hyponatremia would be very similar to dehydration, however they would be naussea, muscle cramps, confussion, and even slurred speech. If any of these symptoms are prevailant then this could mean either not enough water, or too much water meaning not enough sodium. So with that in mind an example of prevention would be drinking energy drinks with high sodium amounts. Also you should try not to drink as much as you sweat. If you are involved in a high endurance race, try to add a decent amount of salt to your foods.

Concussion Prevention

Recently a Green Bay Packer linebacker named Aaron Kampman suffered a concussion in the fourth play of the game and stayed in. The coaches asked Kampman if he was okay and he said he was fine. Players shouldn't be allowed to diagnose their own concussions, simply because thats the medical workers for the team. It wasn't until later in the fourth quarter that Kampman came out of the game due to the Packers coaches feeling that the game was in their hands and out of reach. Kampman didn't practice this week so far and probably won't practice till Friday if neccessary.
When concussions occur most symptoms have to do with:

• anxiety
• dizziness
• fatigue
• headaches
• memory loss
• sleep problems

Definition of Concussion: Injury to brain or spinal cord due to jarring from a blow, fall, or the like.

Concussion Prevention: Basically if you play a physical sport you're required to wear a helmet. There are all types of new innovations for the helmets in football and hockey that have changed over the years. Not only in sports however whenever riding a bike you should wear a helmet, or always wear a seat belt when in a car.

The Factors of NO-Xplode

No-Xplode is a supplement that is primarily used pre-workouts and the objective of this supplement is to produce immediate energy, size, strength, pumps, performance, mental focus, and training intensity. No-Xplode is supposed to work in minutes, and basically help you focus and become dialed in on your workout. This supplement is supposed to contain nitric-oxide, creatine, and have body-mind stimulating surge. Most body builders use NO-Xplode in order to get a better workout however there are some dangers or side effects that can result from using to much NO-Xplode.

• Caffeine addiction- About 100mg of caffeine is in one scoop of NO-Xplode
• The amount of unique ingredients that are unheard of
• Some people get extreme bowel movements
• Enzymes being off the chart in the liver
• Most of NO-Xplodes claims are completely unproven
• Said to be a temporary product that works for three weeks until your body adapts to it

Due to some of these dangers and side effects NO-Xplode has suffered from law suits. However the supplement is still selling off the walls at most nutrition stores. There are many other supplements out there that are very similar to NO-Xplode, however some aren't as dangerous like the supplement SuperPump.

Pre-Game Meals

Every athlete has his or her own pre-game meals whether it's chicken, pasta, steak, or in Chad Ocho Cinco's perspective McDonalds. Most believe that you should eat three to four hours before a game and only eat between 500-1,000 calories. From my perspective I didn't really see a difference of eating an two hours before a game compared to eating four hours before a game. Obviously it wouldn't be smart to eat twenty minutes before the game. You should definately eat something that has tons of starch in the form of complex carb's so that they can be digested quickly and turned into energy.

Some Smart Things To Eat Pre-Game

• Lean Meat
• Bread
• Pasta
• Fruit/Vegetables
• Baked Potato

Like I said before every athlete has their own pre-game meal, however these are just some examples of things to look into. You want to stay away from high sugared foods, because they take longer to digest and they will have a decrease in energy. You can always eat the foods you enjoy before a game however just be smart about the consequences such as fatigue and dehydration. Stay away from the fats and sugars and stay hydrated with plenty of water.

Ways to build confidence as an athlete

Every athlete hits a slump in his/her career, because simply no one is perfect. Some people can bounce right back from a slump however there are some athletes that stay in a slump for a long time. There are all types of ways to build confidence as an athlete if things aren't going right. Most professional players and especially baseball players are very superstitious and if anyone follows baseball they know what I mean. For example if a hitter is in a bad slump they might change the way they wear their baseball pants, and another example that I'm not going to get into would be Jason Giambi that was pretty much all over sportscenter last year.
Some ways you could try to build confidence would be trying to focus on yourself and your team rather your opponent, and only thinking positive. Some professional athletes even fall back to seeing a sports psychologist using a technique called visualization or mental rehearsal which is a type of imagery(looking at pictures).
All athletes are different and have their own way to build confidence. Take Michael Jordan for example. He chewed a piece of gum before every game and sometimes during games, because he felt it built confidence. Another example would be Jaromir Jagr for people who follow hockey. Before the game he would visualize every play that he was going to make and for the most part it worked.
Another way to build confidence could be to look at the situation as starting with the glass half full. Think positively and be optimistic that you will play great next time you get on the field, court, ice, etc... And throughout the day just build that glass to full telling yourself you can "do it"

Why Chewing Tobacco Is Bad

Chewing tobacco is not a safe alternative typically because all forms of tobacco contains certain chemicals that cause cancer. A lot of people think that chewing tobacco is a way to help quitting smoking cigarettes, however what they dont know is that one pinch of chewing tobacco is equivalent to three and a half cigarettes of nicotene, however not as lethal. Some ways in which someone started chewing tobacco could be peer pressure, social pressure, nicotine addiction, or even behavior. There are many types of chewing tobacco such as Red Man, Skoal, Rooster, Red Seal, Grizzly, etc... While using all these types of chewing tobacco there are many types of risks that are associated with chewing tobacco.

• Pancreatic Cancer


• Oral Cancer


• Addiction to Nicotene


• Receding Gums


• Bone Loss Around Teeth


• Bad Breath


• Tooth Loss


• Stained Teeth

Ways to help yourself or help someone try to quit.

• Sundflower Seeds
• Nicotine Patch/gum
• Gum
• Mint Snuff
• "Cold Turkey" quit
• Education
  

Importance of Vitamin C

Some helpful advice that makes Vitamin C so important would be that helps slow down and prevent cell damage, maintains healthy body tissue, it's great For the immune system, and it
can help slow the duration of the common cold. Some problems that can result from not taking enough Vitamin C would be amenia, bleeding gums, infections, pour wound healing, cardiovascular disease, kidney stones, and cancer. Some foods that contain the most Vitamin C are green peppers, citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, and both sweet and white potatoes. If someone were to take over 2,000mg of Vitamin C this could result in being to much. Some results could be headaches, frequent urination, and nausea.

Vitamin C (mg/day)
LIFE STAGE MALES FEMALES

children 1-13 15-45 15-45
adolescents 14-18 75 65
adults 19+ 90 75
smokers 19+ 125 110

for more information:

• www.nutrition.gov
• www.eatright.org
• ask a phsycian