FitSugar

You Asked: Muscle Twitch in My Back?

FitSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:00:01 -0700

Dear Fit,
I went to a four-day cleansing yoga intensive over the weekend. It was great. I felt so relaxed by the end of the retreat. Come Monday, though, back at my desk, a muscle in my back started twitching, just below my rib cage. I will admit it was a rough adjustment after four days on a yoga mat. The muscle kept twitching off and on all day; there was no pain but it was really annoying. What would cause this to happen? Did I stretch it too hard at my retreat?
- All Twitched Out

The yoga retreat sounds lovely, but I feel you on the back twitch. To see what I think, just read more.

Muscle twitches like yours are small muscle contractions in a specific area, or they can be an uncontrollable twitching of a group of muscles served by a single nerve fiber. There are a few factors that might have contributed to your back twitching: stress, caffeine, and diet. Twitches can be brought on by stress or anxiety; while this more commonly happens around the eye, it can happen to muscles in other areas too. Coming back to work can be stressful, especially after taking time off since work can pile up. If you have dealt with the shock of being desk-bound by drinking an extra cup of joe, the additional caffeine could lead to muscle twitches as well. A twitching muscle is also a symptom of a diet low in magnesium. If you were doing lots of athletic yoga in a hot environment, excessive sweating could lead to loss of magnesium. Consider adding chard and spinach to your diet, since both are high in the mineral. Or, try sipping a sports drink that contains magnesium. My favorite is Nuun - you drop a tablet into your water bottle.

Lastly, muscle twitching can occur post-workout, generally after strenuous weight training or cardio sessions. If you were doing rigorous yoga and lots of it, this might explain the twitch.

You Asked: Can Dehydration Lead to a UTI?

FitSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Dear Fit,
I went took a vigorous yoga class this weekend. The room was heated and it was hot outside so was sweating a lot all through the class. I don't think I drank enough water after the class before heading to a wine tasting. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling really parched and dehydrated, but now I feel like I have a UTI coming on. Not a bad one, but mildly irritating. My question is this: would being dehydrated cause a bladder infection?
- Thirsty Yoga Gal

Sounds like you had a busy, fun weekend but missed out on replenishing your liquids post-workout. To see what I think about this UTI situation, read more.

Bladder infections, or urinary tract infections (UTI), are caused by bacteria that makes its way into the urethra, the tube that carries urine from your bladder to the outside of your body, and eventually overwhelms your body's natural defense causing an infection in the bladder. Dehydration can make you more susceptible to getting a bladder infection, especially if you are prone to them, since some women get them over and over again.

It is important to drink plenty of fluids to help flush any bacteria or germs out of the urethra. With Summer on its way, and more sweaty, vigorous workouts too, make sure you stay well-hydrated. If drinking plain water doesn't feel like it is doing the trick, try adding a Nuun hydration tablets to your water bottle. They add electrolytes to your water and those are the minerals you lose when you sweat.

If your UTI symptoms increase, be sure to see your doc. Left untreated, it can develop into a kidney infection, a much more serious condition. Remember that unsweetened cranberry has been shown to help fight bladder infections.

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Fit Tip: Prevent Dehydration

FitSugar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Heat exhaustion and its more serious counterpart heat stroke are not to be trifled with. One way to prevent both is to avoid becoming dehydrated. Athletes and avid exercisers are at risk of dehydration if they sweat profusely and don't replenish themselves while working out.

Symptoms of dehydration include feeling dizzy, lightheaded, dry mouth or throat, stomach cramps, and not urinating or producing dark-colored urine. If you notice these symptoms, hydrate yourself immediately with water. To prevent dehydration in the first place, be sure to drink water throughout your day. If you're not sure how much water you should consume daily, then check out Fit's calculator to find out. If you plan on exercising, drink eight ounces of water 20-30 minutes beforehand. Continue to drink four to eight ounces every 10 to 15 minutes of exercise, and drink at least eight ounces after your workout is complete.

Do know that you can overhydrate and experience symptoms of hypnotremia, a condition where the sodium in your blood is diluted by excess water. In really hot, sweaty conditions it is beneficial to drink a sports drink fortified with sodium and electrolytes.

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Spring Fit Tip: Keep Hydrated, Especially Asthma Sufferers

FitSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:00:00 -0700

As the weather slowly turns and you start exercising in warm weather it's important to remember to keep hydrated. This is especially important for asthma sufferers as dehydration has been known to make it worse.

Dehydration can cause bronchospasm, a constriction of the lung airways, which can make exercise induced asthma worse. So no matter who you are, try to keep water or sports drinks off hand during all your spring exercise endeavors. Also, if you have asthma, then be sure to have a rescue inhaler with you whenever you're exercising.

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Great Workout, Now How About a Beer?

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 02:00:00 -0800

After exercising (and during) I always crave some gulps of cool, crisp H2O, but a new study shows that having a beer after a workout could do more good than regular water. Hmmm. I'm listening...

In my opinion, the study doesn't hold too much weight since it involved only 25 participants, and they were all college students. Over several months, they were asked to do strenuous exercise in 104° temperatures. Then they were split into two groups, one was given beer and the other was given water.

The study's leader, professor Manuel Garzon of Granada University, said that the hydrating effects of those who guzzled beer were "slightly better" than those who drank water. The only problem is that previous studies show that drinking alcoholic beverages increases the amount of liquid lost through urination, so that won't really help if you're dehydrated. A nutrition expert from Bath University in Britain, said that a moderate amount of beer might be just as quenching as water, but it's unlikely that it's any better.

Want to hear the rest? Then read more

Dehydration is a serious condition, and last I heard the first thing you should do if you're showing symptoms is to drink water, not beer. Plus you exercise to burn calories, so why undo all the good you've done with calories from a beer that provides hardly any nutrients whatsoever? Not only that, but since beer contains alcohol, if you're working out at a gym, downing a pint of lager isn't exactly safe to do before you hop in the car to go home.

Sorry to get your hopes up people. I was excited when I first read the headline too, but it just goes to show that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Fit's Tips: Drinking beer after a workout could help to replenish lost calories if you are feeling dizzy or your blood sugar is low, but trail mix, LARABARS, and fruit are much healthier options. They're sure to give your body the energy and vitamins it needs.

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Back to Basics: Muscle Cramps

FitSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:00:00 -0700

So last night I was sitting on the couch and suddenly my foot cramped, leaving my toes spread wide apart for a good couple of minutes -- Of course I was running around the house screaming like a banshee. About 30 minutes later, the same thing happened, just on the other foot. What gives?

Well I did the research to see what the deal was and I found a wealth of information in this article on MedicalNewsToday.com -- So here goes:

What they are: Exercise-associated muscular cramps or (EAMC) are sudden, involuntary, spasmodic and often very painful contractions of the muscles.
Who gets them: Athletes and exercisers (hard-core and weekend warriors).
When they happen: Muscles are already often contracted and in a shortened position during sports activities. While muscle cramps occur more during competition rather than in training, delayed or nighttime cramps in fatigued athletes can also be attributed to exercise.
Symptoms of EAMCs: Explosive onset, acute pain, visible, palpable contractions presenting in one or more muscle, swelling and potentially persistent soreness lasting two to three days.

Want to know how to prevent them from happening? Then just read more

How to prevent them from happening:

Be well conditioned for the activity
Avoid dehydration (drink plenty of fluids before, during and after athletic activity and exercise, especially in hot humid weather - sports drinks with electrolytes become more important in endurance type activities lasting over one hour)
Do routine and periodic stretching, particularly of affected muscle groups
Maintain a well balanced diet (including electrolytes and carbohydrates) to avoid fatigue during the exercise
Reduce the intensity and the duration of exercise if necessary

Fit's Tip: A cramp here and there is nothing to worry about but if you are getting them more frequently, they can also be a symptom of other underlying medical conditions like Parkinson's disease, hypothyroidism and diabetes, as well as electrolyte disorders, metabolic or vascular disorder, nerve root damage, low serum magnesium levels or medication use, such as statins -- So you may want to see your doctor.

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Signs of Dehydration

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:45:00 -0700

It's summer and it's hot out. Your body produces sweat to cool you off, so in order to make up for that lost fluid, you should be drinking more water. If you don't, you could be at risk for dehydration.

Our bodies are 2/3 water, so if a person gets dehydrated, it means the amount of water in her body has dropped below the level needed for normal body functioning. You can get dehydrated from a bad stomach bug (you lose a lot of fluid when you're constantly visiting the bathroom). Athletes and people who do a ton of physical exercise can risk dehydration if they sweat a lot and don't drink enough water as they workout. Being out in hot summer heat can also put you at risk.

Here are the signs of dehydration:

feeling dizzy or lightheaded
having a dry or sticky mouth and throat
producing less urine, or dark-colored urine

If you are suffering from these symptoms, drink water! When I say water, I don't mean sport drinks, Vitamin Water, soda, or juice. Your body is screaming for some good old H20. Dehydration can usually be treated by giving your body the water it needs. How much water do you need? Check out Fit's calculator to find out.

To prevent dehydration in the first place, drink water throughout your day. If you are planning on exercising, drink 8 oz 20-30 minutes beforehand.

Fit's Tips: Be weary of diets that encourage you to limit your fluid intake - if you don't drink anything, you'll be losing water weight, not body weight. That means when you go to drink a glass of water that your body needs, you'll "gain" that weight right back.

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True or False: Drinking Water Before Working Out Causes Cramps

FitSugar — Thu, 24 May 2007 11:00:00 -0700

True or False: Drinking water before (and during) exercise will lead to cramps.

To find out the answer, read more

FALSE! The truth is that cramps can be a symptom of dehydration and drinking water will help ensure that you are not dehydrated, which will ultimately reduce your risk of getting cramps. Most people wait until they are thirsty to drink water, but that is not the best idea, especially when exercising. So here are some tips on keeping hydrated while working out:

Drink 8 oz of water 20 to 30 minutes prior to exercising.
Drink 4-8 oz of water every 10 to 15 minutes during exercise.
Drink an additional 8 oz of water within 30 minutes after exercising.
Drink 16 oz (2 cups) of water for every pound of body weight lost after exercise.

How much water should you be drinking on a daily basis? Check out my Fit Calculator to find out.

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Are You Drinking Enough Water?

FitSugar — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:05:00 -0800

How much water am I supposed to drink in a day? I've heard 8 glasses, 6 glasses, 10 glasses - but how do I know what's right for my own body?

Take the pee test. Sounds classy, I know. But it can be quite informative.

After you pee in the toilet, take a look. Really. I'm serious. What color do you see? Is it dark yellow, light yellow, or does it look clear?

The color of pee is caused by bile, the chemical your liver produces to break up fat. When our bodies break down bile, the pigment urochrome turns pee yellow. The lighter the color, the more it's watered down.

Here's the deal. If you are drinking enough water for your body, your urine will be as clear as water. If your pee is - then you passed the test.

Also, your water needs can change from day to day, so monitor it by checking your pee. If it's clear, you're all good. You can also check out Fit's Calculator to see how much water you should be drinking daily.

You With a Hangover

FitSugar — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 04:22:43 -0800

It happens to us all at some time or another, but with an expected frequency on New Year's Eve. We drink too much and then we pay for it the next day. Are you hung up by your hangover?

Well let me explain what is going on with your body.

Your throat and mouth are dry due to dehydration, which is caused by the diuretic properties of alcohol. The dehydration also affects your muscles making them feel weak.

The excessive alcohol irritates the lining of the stomach causing nausea and sour stomach. The inflammation delays digestion, which in turn, contributes to the feelings of nausea.

Your liver gets backed up trying to metabolize all the alcohol so you might be experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia, meaning you are highly irritable and moody.

Your central nervous system becomes chemically over excited causing sensitivity to light, sound and touch.

Blood vessels in the brain dilate and that is what is causing that throbbing headache, which is only exacerbated by your dehydration mentioned above.

Your pituitary gland becomes confused and releases the wrong amounts of the hormones that regulate sleep. So while you may want to sleep it off, your sleep pattern is severely disrupted.

The kind of good news is that it is not clear whether hangovers affect cognitive abilities. But fear not, the after effects of your partying should only linger about for about 24 hours. Tomorrow is another day.

My friend YumSugar wants to know what you eat when you're hungover. So go vote on her poll.

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