Warm weather means outside activity. Whether you stretch in the garden, walk the dog, run, bike, swim, or stroll around the neighborhood, this month Harvest Market supports your fitness goals by looking at the foods and supplements you need for best performance. Each individual has the power within themselves to create optimal health, and everybody can exercise. By working within your current limits and gently stretching your comfort zone, your body can support and co-create your state of wellness long into the future.
Eating and supplementing for optimal metabolism and maximum fitness can be very simple: adequate protein, healthy fats, plenty of vegetables grown in mineral-rich, organic soil, great digestion, and the right amount of complex carbs help your organs run efficiently, as they are designed to do. Over time, a diet mostly free of processed foods creates a healthy feedback loop between organs and hormones responsible for metabolism and muscle/fat ratios. Quick-fix weight-loss supplements can jumpstart or encourage this process, but only food can create lasting metabolic stability. Some supplements are even potentially harmful, and dubious claims abound. Manipulating hormones to fake healthier states for bodybuilding or weight loss purposes (such as with HCG, which Harvest Market will never carry, or the popular Raspberry Ketones) perpetuates a state of distress and dis-ease.
So, how can you build metabolic health with so much pseudo-science and hype clamoring for your attention and money? By knowing what nutrients your diet really does provide, and supplementing only with what you truly need to achieve a desired result. Many fitness folks are familiar with the carbs-before, protein-after mantra. Carbs are appropriate for intense workouts in which fat burning is not the goal, such as with marathon runners. For example, Clif gel blocks provide carbs to keep the body from entering a ketosis state during prolonged exercise. Most of us, however, live in a carb-heavy, protein-deficient state, and unfortunately, we’re not getting those fueling carbs from vegetables. Determining the carb/protein balance that best suits your body is an individual path. Our bookshelf is a suitable place to start. Remember, the process of lasting change happens one meal or snack at a time.
Join us Monday, June 18 through Saturday, June 23 to sample protein shakes and electrolyte boosters that work naturally to aid your body’s recovery and rehydration process. Saturday, June 23, we welcome the Vega line of top-notch, purely plant-based nutrition and performance supplements to our store, with samples 11am – 2pm. On Monday, June 25, from 7-9 pm, Rick and Bob will host a free discussion on Responsible Supplementation. Our goal is to empower you to know your own supplement needs, determine the appropriate form of supplemental nutrients, distinguish acute and long-term uses, and discover what “whole ingredients” in supplements really offer. As always, we love to hear and share what foods and supplements work hardest for you. See you this week.
