Your deep core muscles aren't visible, but they could prevent chronic back pain.

Most new runners assume that the best way to improve is simply to run greater and greater distances. While it’s true that going farther and faster will improve your running skills, most coaches and trainers will advise some level of strength training as well. Focusing on your core is a common suggestion. A recent study seems to back this up. In the Journal of Biomechanics, researchers investigated a symptom that has long mystified runners from novice to elite: A good chunk of runners, 14 percent to be exact, experience chronic lower back pain. The results of the new study seem to suggest that weak deep core muscles might be to blame. When these muscles aren’t strong enough, the study found, muscles on other areas of the torso kick in to keep the runner upright, eventually leading to back pain.

To understand the role that these muscles play, the researchers had eight volunteers with minimal running experience run along an indoor track. High-speed cameras and 3D motion detectors analyzed which muscles moved, and how much. Once they created a working computer model for each runner, the scientists simulated what would happen if certain deep muscles were weaker, or shut off completely. As it turns out, when a person can’t use their deep core muscles very well, their bodies still want (and need) to maintain a good running form, and uses superficial muscles to do so.

What’s wrong with that? A muscle is a muscle, right? Not exactly. While the superficial muscles are often targeted in workouts—they give you a six-pack, after all—they are pretty useless when it comes to supporting your spine. The deeper core muscles, which essentially lie beneath and can’t be seen from the outside, do all the heavy spinal lifting.

When you are pounding the pavement for miles at a time, you put a lot of pressure on your spine. If you’ve got strong deep core muscles, that’s no problem. If not, your running could eventually lead to chronic back pain. In fact, the researchers found that when they dialed down deep core muscle strength as low as it could go in their simulation, the load on each vertebrae increased—often by as much as 19 percent. It's easy to see how that kind of pressure could add up to big problems over time.

If you're staring down at your useless six pack in dismay, never fear. You can easily whip your deep core muscles into shape as well. The authors note that while many of the most popular ab workouts, like sit-ups or other exercises that involve a large range of motion, are pretty useless for your deep core, fixed exercises like planks or side bridges go a long way.

It’s important to note that even when you've made these muscles super strong, you won’t likely notice visible results. They'll never give you washboard abs. But they will probably help you run better, and definitely help prevent potentially debilitating chronic back pain. So take a few crunches out of your rotation and throw a nice long plank in—or just do both.

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Healthy Eating Plan

A healthy eating plan gives your body the nutrients it needs every day while staying within your daily calorie goal for weight loss. A healthy eating plan also will lower your risk for heart disease and other health conditions.

A healthy eating plan:

• Emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts
• Limits saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars
• Controls portion sizes

Calories

To lose weight, most people need to reduce the number of calories they get from food and beverages (energy IN) and increase their physical activity (energy OUT).

For a weight loss of 1–1 ½ pounds per week, daily intake should be reduced by 500 to 750 calories. In general:

• Eating plans that contain 1,200–1,500 calories each day will help most women lose weight safely.
• Eating plans that contain 1,500–1,800 calories each day are suitable for men and for women who weigh more or who exercise regularly.

Very low calorie diets of fewer than 800 calories per day should not be used unless you are being monitored by your doctor.

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A balanced diet for women

Find out how much carbohydrate, protein and fat you should be eating and when. Choose wisely for a healthy diet that keeps you full around the clock...

Women have different daily nutritional requirements to men and, below, our nutritionist has offered guidance and recipe ideas for women seeking a balanced diet for good health. But what exactly is meant by a 'balanced diet'?

The Eatwell Guide defines different types of foods we should be eating and in what proportions. These include some simple rules to follow like getting a minimum of five fruit and veg a day, including wholegrains and choosing more fish, poultry, beans and pulses, less red meat and opting for lower fat, lower sugar dairy foods. But that's not the whole story. How much should you be eating and is there an ideal time to eat protein, carbs or fats? Read on for our guide to healthy eating around the clock.
 

Find more here

4 Facts About Peanuts

• Peanuts are the only "nuts" that have resveratrol, an antioxidant found in grapes, wine and soy that may be heart-healthy and have other benefits. Red wine has the most.
• The thin papery skins are good for you. That’s where most of the antioxidants are. Some peanut butters contain the skins.
• The calorie difference between dry- and oil-roasted peanuts is very small. Most of the fat and calories you get come from the peanuts themselves, not from oil that may be added in processing. So pick whichever you prefer. In some cases, roasting actually increases the antioxidants in peanuts.
• If you have a peanut allergy, you can safely consume most commercially refined peanut oils since they typically undergo a process that removes all the protein—the allergenic part. Cold-pressed, extruded or expeller-pressed peanut oil may retain some protein, however, and should not be considered allergen-free.

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Fight Stress With Healthy Eating and get your balance back

Whenever we get too busy or stressed, we all tend
to make poor food choices that will actually
increase stress and cause other problems.  To get
the most of your healthy eating and avoid stress,
follow these simple tips.

Always eat breakfast
Even though you may think you aren't hungry,
you need to eat something.  Skipping breakfast
makes it harder to maintain the proper blood and
sugar levels during the day, so you should always
eat something.

Carry a snack
Keeping some protein rich snacks in your car,
office, or pocket book will help you avoid blood
sugar level dips, the accompanying mood swings, and
the fatigue.  Trail mix, granola bars, and energy
bars all have the nutrients you need.

Healthy munchies
If you like to munch when you're stressed out,
you can replace chips or other non healthy foods
with carrot sticks, celery sticks, or even
sunflower seeds.

Bring your lunch
Although a lot of people prefer to eat fast food
for lunch, you can save a lot of money and actually
eat healthier if you take a few minutes and pack
a lunch at home.  Even if you only do this a few
times a week, you'll see a much better improvement
over eating out.

Stock your home
As important as it is to get the bad food out of
your house, it's even more important to get the good
food in!  The best way to do this is to plan a menu
of healthy meals at snacks at the beginning of the
week, list the ingedients you need, then go shop
for it.  This way, you'll know what you want when
you need it and you won't have to stress over what
to eat.