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8 Sleeping Positions & Their Effects On Health

n what position do you sleep most often? It turns out this is a very important question. Getting enough sleep is the most important thing – but did you know that how you sleep can also impact your health?
Sleeping on your back with your arms at your side is generally considered to be the best sleeping position for spine health and it’s good for your neck too, as long as you don’t use too many pillows.
That said, back sleepers tend to snore more than those in any other position and sleep apnea is strongly associated with sleeping on the back.

Let’s take a look at eight common sleeping positions and what they do to your body.

5 Tips to Build Muscle Quickly

The perfect workout program to build muscle quickly might be as coveted as the fountain of youth. But like the fountain of youth, it's mythical. There is no perfect program, no perfect exercise and no perfect meal plan that will give you instant muscle growth. However, there are real world principles that you can incorporate into your program to build muscle.
To give you a foundation to beef up your muscle-building for athletic performance, I've outlined five must-do tips that will supercharge your program.

Perform More Compound Exercises
Perform more compound exercises, like the Squat, Deadlift and Bench Press. These prompt the body to recruit more muscle fibers and release more natural testosterone, growth hormone (GF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) than isolation exercises such as Bicep Curls and Leg Extensions.

Reps and Timing
Performing compound exercises will only go so far in helping build muscle if they're not incorporated into your program correctly. Perform them early in your workouts so fatigue does not limit your strength output. Experts recommend performing between four to eight reps of these major lifts. Avoid training to failure or going too heavy; in other words, be smart by choosing weights that produce the desired reps with clean form.

Train Three or Four Days Per Week
Training more is not the answer when you want to build muscle. In fact, too many workouts can cause your body to cease making gains and actually lose size and strength. To prevent this, follow a three- or four-day strength training program to elicit enough growth stimulation to build muscle and prevent overtraining.

Rest and Recover
If you want to build muscle quickly, your body needs to recover and regenerate after a workout. Muscles repair and grow during the recovery period—not when you are working out. Rest for at least 48 hours before reworking a muscle group, and try to get a day's rest between workouts. Aim for at least eight hours of sleep—that's when natural human growth hormone is released. Proper pre-workout nutrition and post-workout nutrition are a must as well, and should not be overlooked.

Eat to Grow
The first step in eating to build muscle is to consume sufficient calories. To find out how much you should be eating each day, multiply your body weight in pounds by 16 to 18 calories. If you are more active, go with the higher total. Make sure to eat about one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Try to consume clean, organic, whole foods, and include lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, quality fats and low glycemic starches in your diet.

5 Hospital Procedures That Ruin Your Birth

Birth should be an awesome thing with as much focus on making it as easy and safe for you as possible, and of course, as safe as possible for the baby as well.
Today's labor and delivery wards are much more like an assembly line, and some typical L&D staff policies and procedures not only make birth harder and more painful, but can be the very reason for unnecessary medications and c-sections.
Here are the top five myths associated with hospital procedures that change your birth experience.

Myth 1: You need a monitor on your belly the whole time you're in labor.
 
Fact: You absolutely do not. Intermittent monitoring is shown to be just as effective, and actually allows the woman to focus on things other than her contractions. Consider that women are often made to lie down and stay relatively still with the monitors on as well, and you're put in a position where you have nothing to do but focus on and internalize any pain of contractions.
In fact, constant fetal monitoring often leads to unnecessary concern, and even intervention, including c-sections, so says the American Academy of Family Physicians, not some holistic home birth website, for those of you in doubt. In fact, only monitoring the baby's heartrate and your contractions every 30 minutes during early labor, and every 15 during transition and pushing is the current recommendation, but one that you almost never see actually practiced.

Myth 2: Lying on your back is a good position for pushing.

Fact: It sucks, big time. The only reason women end up on their backs is to make it easier for doctors to get in there. So, really, unless they NEED to be in there, it's a bad move. It's not only shown to reduce the size of the pelvis significantly, but it puts pressure on the vena cava, which reduces blood flow to the baby and your lower body -- why is it not okay during pregnancy, but they tell you to do it for hours on end during labor, and then are surprised at reduced blood flow to the baby?
The National Center for Biotechnology Information states that being upright, in addition to increasing blood flow also makes contractions and labor less painful, faster, easier, with a lot less trauma to the mother's birth canal, minimal to no tearing, and less trauma to the infant as well. It also makes for less postpartum complications, damage to the pelvic floor, incontinence, and in general, a much better, faster, less painful birth.
Also, if you opt for an epidural and can't feel your legs, you can't walk or kneel. So consider that you might not need that if you actually get up off the bed, and that just because you can't feel the pain with an epidural, your baby can, and you will once the drugs wear off. I wish I'd known as much about epidurals as I do now 15 months ago when I had my daughter. I was ashamed of myself for getting it then, but now I really, really wish I hadn't.
So why are 75 percent of births still done with the woman flat on her back? Back to the beginning of this point -- to make it easier for the doctor.

Myth 3: You can't eat or you'll barf it up and aspirate the vomit.

Fact: You wouldn't tell a marathon runner to skip breakfast, would you? Telling a woman about to engage in major physical work not to eat is almost as bad -- except what is at risk here isn't just a race, but two lives. Yes, there has been some concern that with intubation before anesthesia would come vomit, and then aspiration of said vomit.
MedScape discusses a study on the matter that says:

"Aspiration pneumonitis/pneumonia is significantly associated with intubation and ventilation," the study authors conclude. "In modern obstetric practice it is the use of regional anaesthesia, thereby avoiding intubation, rather [than] fasting regimens that is likely to have reduced mortality from aspiration. Although the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has recommended, on the basis of consensus opinion, that women in normal labour may eat/drink in labour, our trial shows that this will not improve their obstetric and neonatal outcomes."

In other words, forcing women not to eat hasn't reduced aspiration -- not shoving tubes down their throats has. In their study, women who ate light meals showed absolutely no difference in anything -- no more vomiting, no more risk than women who were only allowed ice chips or water.

Myth 4: You need to be told when to push.

Fact: Do you need to be told when to poop? You no more need permission and direction to push out your baby than you do to push out a bowel movement. Just as your body uses contractions to move the baby towards the cervix and through it, it moves the baby down the birth canal, too. Your body will tell you what to do. You will feel when you need to push, and you will just work with it. When you feel the need to relax, do it. Push as hard as YOU are comfortable and if someone is yelling to you to push harder or longer than you feel you should, yell at them to shut up.
Pushing to the point of shaking, not breathing (called 'purple pushing' for the color your face turns) and breaking blood vessels in your face is not going to help you. In fact, it can cause the cervix to swell if you're not ready, it can make you exhausted, it can create much more severe tears, and is just a bad idea in general, even according to the World Health Organization.
Drugs can inhibit the feeling of needing to push (or the ability to know if you need to stop), though, but that's a whole 'nother topic all on it's own.

Myth 5: A break in contractions/labor stalling is a bad sign.

Fact: Women can get fully dilated and have the baby ready to go ... and then have a period that has been appropriately nicknamed the "Rest and Be Thankful" stage. It is nature's way of giving you a break after all the work to get your body ready, before the final hurrah. You can also have a break like this earlier in labor as well. Sometimes you can even be in early labor for what ends up being days, often called prodromal labor. We are mammals, first and foremost, and our bodies aren't stupid -- if a woman gets really stressed or really exhausted, often her body will sense that she doesn't have the energy for birth, or deems that it's an unsafe situation and halt labor until mom is rested or calmed. Think of a mother rabbit in labor realizing a predator is nearby -- she NEEDS to get safe before she can birth the babies.
Doctors often start up pitocin here, when the recommended things are anything but that -- squatting, moving around, getting in a bath all are proven safe methods to help the mother relax and get her contractions going in a normal pattern again. In fact, my midwife told me that studies show nipple stimulation and relaxing in water had been shown to be as effective, if not moreso, than pictocin. Considering that pictocin is an artificial chemical designed to mock those from things like nipple contraction, it's not exactly a far leap in logic.
If your labor stalls, don't rush for the meds -- relax, move around, have a light meal for energy, try to take a nap. In and of it's own, it is NOT an emergency.

What other delivery room procedures do you know of that do more harm than good?

5 Reasons Why You Should Eat Plant-Based Protein

We've heard it before from the hard bodied men and women in fitness magazines, all promoting a regiment of five small meals a day with "clean burning" animal protein. They often think that is key in developing their shapely muscles; it'd be useless to say otherwise as far as they’re concerned.

However, as “clean eating” as white turkey breast, egg whites, and chicken without the skin sounds, it can’t hold a candle to the top source of amino acids (protein’s building blocks) available: those of the plant, non-animal variety!

We are a society obsessed with attaching a numeric value to everything, and as a result, people will often regard the best protein sources as those with the highest number. However, that is simply not the case—there are core differences in the very make-up of plant versus animal protein. Factors such as the energy spent on digesting these proteins play a huge part in determining its quality as well.

1. Too much of a good thing is no good at all
Some die-hard weightlifters will swear by the massive amounts of protein they consume to help their muscles repair and grow. However, if they took into consideration that human breast milk, the food for the fastest growing humans on earth (our babies), is only about 5% protein, it really isn’t necessary! Over-consuming animal protein puts a strain on our bodies, particularly our liver, which has a low tolerance for processing uric acid, a by-product of digesting animal protein. In North America, it is very hard to fall short on our protein needs, given you are consuming enough daily calories.

2. “But animal protein is a complete protein, and therefore better!”
Yes, animal protein is a “complete protein”, however, that just means more work for your body! Since these amino acids are already built up into a dizzying, complex array of complete protein strains, your body needs to break it all down into separate amino acids before utilizing them. This significantly slows down digestion, and forces your body to work harder on breaking down protein than it should have to. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and romaine lettuce, for example, are rich in ready to use, easily absorbed amino acids. When you fuel yourself on foods that are easier to digest, your body can direct more energy into healing the wear-and-tear on your muscles caused by a workout (whether it be weight lifting, running, or yoga). Not only will you heal quicker on a diet of plant food proteins, you will also have more energy for the next day’s workout.

“Arguably of even greater importance than the raw materials that foods do or do not supply is the ease at which they are digested, absorbed, assimilated, and eliminated. The less our food choices demand upon our digestive and metabolic capacity, the greater opportunity the body has available for recovery and regeneration after our training sessions.” ~ Dr. Rick Dina

3. Cooking food denatures proteins
With the quality of meat produced today and the chance of parasitic infection, meat is usually cooked prior to consumption. However, cooking protein is widely known to denature it, and up to 50% of the protein value is thought to be lost in this process. So you may have started out with a 30g piece of chicken, but after cooking has rendered it to 15g, little remains to be absorbed during the arduous digestive process. Alternatively, vegetable-sourced proteins don’t require heat processing in order to be safely consumed, thus maintaining their digestive-enhancing enzymes and protein integrity.

4. Animal Foods are Pro-Inflammatory
Arachidonic acid is a pro-inflammatory fatty acid found in varying concentrations in all meats. Following a workout where the muscle has been torn, whether it is from bench pressing or simply stretching, it is anti-inflammatory foods that should be consumed for optimal healing. Fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, and seeds contain high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids that promote rejuvenation and soothe, rather than aggravate, inflammatory conditions. They are also high in the antioxidant vitamins  (like A and C) that further support this healing process.

5. But I need to combine vegetable proteins to get what I need!
Frances Moore Lappe, the creator of the “protein combining” idea, recounted that theory in a later book. “In combating the myth that meat is the only way to get high-quality protein, I reinforced another myth. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods. Actually, it is much easier than I thought.” However her retraction is not nearly as publicized as her original, albeit wrong, theory. You can rest assured that eating a wide variety of plant-sourced proteins in your daily diet would be suitable to meeting your nutritional needs!

Tips for getting more plant protein into your life:

1. Enjoy a green smoothie for breakfast, or post-workout snack.
2. Use raw sprouts in sandwiches, omelets, on top of pastas and salads; basically anywhere you can hide them (and tolerate them) – Alfalfa is a favorite among even the most sensitive of taste buds.
3. Chlorella or Spirulina tablets – If you don’t mind the taste of the powders, a teaspoon or two in a drink is a fantastic addition to any diet, as it is filled with vitamins and minerals.
4. Toss some chia or hemp seeds over your salads or cereal.

Plant Protein All-Stars

• Green Leafy Vegetables
• Algae (Spirulina, Chlorella)
• Sprouts (particularly sunflower)
• Goji berries
• Hemp Seeds
• Chia Seeds
• Avocados
• Legumes
• Sprouted nuts/seeds
• 
  

5 protein rich salads you'll want to try:

There are hundreds of salads to choose from and most of the time people make a real poor attempt at something imaginative and nutritious. Adding protein to a salad can not only enhance the taste, but it can actually energize you. Salads don't have to be boring, bland and thrown into the garbage at the end of a meal. If you prepare a proper salad, people will be scraping the bowl for the last leaf. Creating a high protein salad will compliment any meal or even have the potential to be the meal itself. There are a wide variety of ways to make a tasteful, protein rich salad using both meat and non-meat choices.

The Green

It is important to know what goes best with what when picking out a particular salad leaf. Iceberg, mescalin and spinach are the best available choices.

• Iceberg - This lettuce has the most crunch and longevity, but little nutrition.
• Mescalin - These leaves have much color including reds, whites and greens, plus a fair amount of nutrition. The lasting power is okay but can become soggy.
• Spinach - Spinach is a vegetable of deep green iron-rich content. It stays well over time and has great repelling power, rendering the leaves very strong yet succulent.

1. Simple Chopped Steak Salad

• 1 cooked, fat trimmed, small cube chopped piece of any steak
• 1 head of finely chopped iceberg lettuce
• 6 finely chopped carrots
• 3 finely chopped celery stalks

Mix and serve with your favorite dressing.

2. Warm Mushroom Lentil Spinach Salad

• 3 handfuls of triple-cleaned spinach salad
• 1 box of cleaned, sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups of drained cooked or canned lentils
• 1/4 cup of sesame seeds
• 2 cloves of garlic

Saute sliced mushrooms in olive oil, adding a few sliced cloves of garlic salt and pepper. Add lentils when mushrooms are brown and sizzling. Add sesame seeds shortly after the lentils. Let all saute for a few more minutes then pour over spinach salad. No dressing needed.

3. Spicy White Protein Salad with Chick Peas

• 3 handfuls of mescalin salad
• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 2 cups of drained cooked or canned chick/garbanzo beans
• 1 finely chopped radish
• 3 chopped jalapeno peppers
• 2 finely chopped shallots

Saute the shallots, jalapeno and chick peas in butter or olive oil and spice to taste with kosher salt, black pepper and garlic salt. Remove yolk from hard boiled egg and chop egg whites into long strips. Mix all ingredients with mescalin salad. Serve with favorite dressing.

4. Hearts and Turkey Salad

• 10 oz. chopped Romain hearts of lettuce
• 1 pound of cooked chopped smoked turkey breast
• 1/2 pound of drained artichoke hearts
• 1/4 pound chopped drained hearts of palm
• 1/4 oz. chopped Spanish onion
• 3/4 tsp. dry mustard
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar

Mix ingredients together, adding salt and pepper to taste.

5. Simple Salmon Salad

• 2 cups of chopped cleaned salmon
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet pickles

Mix ingredients together, adding salt and pepper to taste. Top with your favorite dressing (Russian dressing is recommended).

Other High Protein Salad Additions:

• Duck
• Tuna
• Soybeans
• Cottage and ricotta cheese
• Crab
• Nuts (especially almonds)
• Skinless chicken
• Sausage
• Tofu
• Tempeh
• Bacon
• Peanuts
• Pumpkin seeds