Bone Health and Calcium

We’ve all heard from childhood that we should drink milk for healthy bones. Milk is one of the most common sources of calcium which is a vital ingredient in bone development and maintenance. Many people stray from consuming milk as they enter adulthood for a variety of reasons whether it is fat content, lactose issues or preferences for other beverages. While it is most commonly found in milk and dairy products such as yogurt and cheese, calcium can be found in alternative sources such as calcium-fortified soy milk and juices, as well as breakfast cereals, spinach, broccoli and almonds. However, you would need larger quantities of these products to achieve the recommended amount of calcium (10 cups of spinach; 3.5 cups of broccoli, about 88 almonds). Calcium supplements are also available and can help boost intake, they do not contain the protein found in milk or soy milk or the other nutrients they contain. It is also important to know that dairy sources of calcium also contain Vitamin D which enhances the absorption of calcium and is needed not only to protect bone health but also to reduce the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease; enhance immune function and reduce inflammation. Vitamin D is not readily available naturally in other foods. Active individuals and athletes are recommended to check with their health care provider to make sure that they have adequate Vitamin D levels.

Paying attention to bone health should be a life-long effort. Whether you have young developing bones or you are concerned about developing bone issues such as osteoporosis, bones require a matching life-long intake of calcium.

Reference from the SIRC Collection: Clark, Nancy (2009). Calcium concerns. Ultr-FIT, 19(8), 40-41.

Injury Risk for Female Athletes

We are all aware that women and men differ in general physiology, and it is easy to extrapolate that they differ in physiology in response to exercise and physical activity. While women are prone to many of the same exercise-related injuries, a recent article in the SIRC Collection draws our focus to the injury risks of women in exercise and athletics and the special concerns of the female athlete.

With the growing numbers of female participants in sport and exercise there is a corresponding incidence of injury to females. In a review of the literature the article observes that women have greater injury incidence due to differences in:

• biomechanics (the most noticeable factor),
• weakness in local musculature,
• coordination and neuromuscular fatigue,
• ligament and tendon properties,
• increased flexibility (with corresponding greater joint laxity),
• hormonal effects on connective tissue.

Injuries that are more common for women than men include:

• musculoskeletal injuries
• lower extremity injuries
• ACL injuries
• stress fractures

While there are treatments that address the specific needs of the female athlete, both men and women can benefit from the same preventive measures such as adequate stretching, appropriate warm-up and cool-down, sport-specific strengthening, and conditioning exercises. It is important however, to keep in mind the specific physiological differences when planning fitness and sporting activities.

Reference: Groeger Marlelena (2010). Injury Risks for the Female Athlete, ACSM’s health & fitness journal, 14(4), 14-21.

SIRC at the PHE /Ophea Conference

The Exhibit Hall at the Ophea/PHE Conference was bustling with activity last week. At the SIRC booth Brandie Adams and Michele Walker were onsite to answer questions. The SIRC Newsletters were a hot commodity. The latest issue was Physical Education and Physical Literacy containing fifteen full text articles. The newsletters change topics every few weeks and are a great way to keep up to date on topics. Previous newsletters have included, volunteering, sport parents, concussion and nutrition. They are great for everyone, especially if you are on the go and want to save time. Signing up for them is easy (and free).

Many other groups came up to talk with us as well so we were able to learn about many great programs that are going on including:

• Environment Canada providing a weather radio to all schools
• Run for Life a free program encouraging youth to be active through running
• KinBall and JumpStart partnering to provide kits for schools to start the sport
• Canadian SADS Foundation providing seminars to raise awareness of Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes

It was a fantastic time and we’re looking forward to blogging more about some of the things we learned.

SCRI Pre-Conference Workshop

Communication was flowing at the pre-conference workshop hosted by SIRC yesterday for the SCRI (Sport Canada Research Imitative) conference. The purpose of the workshop was to create a forum through which the sport and fitness community, policy-makers and researchers can bridge the gap between research needs and actualization of those needs. The goal was to create a setting wherein practitioners (sport and fitness community) could communicate the type of information needs they had, how they were currently using research and address the transfer of knowledge.

Highlights include:
- Connecting people. Identifying the researchers and people looking to have research done.
- Partnerships. Working together in collaboration with the ability to listen and compromise.
- Community involvement. Getting the information that is needed to the community coach and parent.
- Practical information. Make it relevant to people to that they can incorporate it into their programs.
- Identifying barriers. What stops people participate in sport? Capacity? Quality of experience? Non-inclusive programs?

It was a fast pace two hours of discussion resulting in fantastic ideas. Thanks to all that participated, your feedback was amazing.

What to Keep in Mind When Eating …

Now that Halloween has passed, what do we do when tempted by those extra leftover candies? Do we indulge in a little “guilty” snacking? Do we bring them in to our workplace to share with our colleagues? A recent article coming in to the SIRC Collection examines research compiled on the topic of mindful eating. This growing trend begins with the concept of paying attention both to inner cues (thoughts, emotions and sensations) and to the environment when contemplating triggers to eating.

Research suggests that mindless eating is a major factor in weight gain and plays a large role in the failure of weight loss attempts. It also notes that most of our eating decisions are automatic and made without awareness. Without this awareness most of our eating decisions are made without taking stock of the state of our bodies, our minds or our environment and the information to make conscious decisions. According to researchers the majority of our food decisions are not based upon hunger, but rather are influenced by stress, anxiety or frustration.

The philosophy behind mindful eating stresses the importance of carefully thinking through your food choices. It is not about what to eat and what not to eat, but rather being aware of the food you are about to eat, the reasons you want to eat, how you are eating and the choice you make in eating different foods. Learning to work with your body’s rhythms and your mind’s thought process leads you to make conscious choices.

A few electronic resources are provided to learn more about mindful eating:
· The Center for Mindful Eating
· The Cornell University food and Brand Laboratory
· The Association for Size Diversity and Health
· Mindful Eating: The CAMP System
· Dietitians of Canada
· American Dietetic Association

Abs-olutely perfect exercises!!

Core strength has been linked with a host of benefits to healthy active living. It provides better physical performance, less back pain and a host of other benefits. Most of us realize that abdominal strength is one of the key elements in strengthening and stabilizing your core. But what is the most effective exercise to engage your abdominal muscles?

A recent issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy (as reviewed in the IDEA Fitness Journal) compared eight stability ball and two floor-based abdominal exercises to determine which activated the abdominal muscle groups the most effectively. Exercises compared included the following:

• Stability Ball: roll-out; pike; knee-up; skier; hip extension right and left; decline push-up; and seated march.
• Floor based exercises: crunch; and bent knee sit-up

The most effective exercise to activate the different groups of muscles in the abdomen turned out to be the roll-out and the pike. These exercises are from a more advanced group of exercises, so should only be included in a workout once an individual is strong enough to perform them with proper technique so as to avoid risk of injury.

References from the SIRC Collection:

• Halvorson, Ryan (2010). Which Exercise Is Best for Abdominal Activation? IDEA Fitness Journal, 7(8); 15.
• Escamilla, Rafael F.; Lewis, Clare; Bell, Duncan; Bramdlet, Gwen; Daffron, Jason; Lambert, Steve; Pecson, Amanda; Imamura, Rodney; Paulos, Lonnie; Andrews, James R., (2010). Core Muscle Activation During Swiss Ball and Traditional Abdominal Exercises. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 40(5), 265-276.

Anti-Doping in Qatar

Have you ever wondered what is going on in the anti-doping commission in Qatar?

This week we got to find out when Spirit of Sport, the journal from the Qatar Anti-Doping Commission arrived in the Resource Centre. It had some articles over viewing things like:

- The who, what, when, where and why of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)

- Facts about masking agents and nandrolone

- What athletes have made it to the Doping Black List

- The benefits of acupuncture in health

- Highlights from the International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance (ICHPER-SD) congress

- Fencing and what equipment is needed

- What's new in the QADC library

Spirit of Sport is just one of many publications that can be found in the SIRC collection. If you'd like to find out more information email askalibrarian@sirc.ca