Creatine for Women

Liz has been using our new micronized creatine for Women by True Grace for a while now and suggested that I write about it because she has been so happy with it. Liz has been using creatine for a while in different forms to help with muscle and bone health but also brain function. Interestingly, creatine has become one of the most popular supplements for perimenopausal and menopausal women.

In the past, creatine was best known for its use by bodybuilders and people working on gaining muscle, but it's actually become quite popular for people over 50, especially women, due to new research for everyone as we age. 

For women specifically as we get older and the amount of estrogen our bodies have decreases, muscle loss also goes hand in hand with that which affects strength as well as our bone health. Creatine, especially when paired with weight-bearing exercise, helps to maintain muscle and increase strength, also positively impacting bone health. 

Creatine is also beneficial for brain function because it helps to support mental performance and energy to the brain by supplying it with ATP (an energy molecule produced in the body that gives energy to our cells).

Basically, if you are doing exercises to gain muscle, at any age, creatine can be helpful to make those workouts more productive and help the body to build and repair muscle tissue.

Liz has taken a bunch of different creatines and some of them are more gritty than others. We brought this one in specifically because it uses micronized creatine, which is creatine powder that is much smaller than regular creatine so it mixes very easily and completely and doesn't get gritty. This has quickly become her favorite just because of how easy it is to take and that there is no leftover powder after she shakes it up, she says she doesn't even know it's in there (which wasn't the case with other brands).

I know a lot of people don't love powders, but certain things like creatine or collagen you need to take a fair amount of it to really make a difference so a powder is the easiest way to do that rather than taking handfuls of pills. 

Stop in and see us for more information or if you have any questions! We will be sampling this creatine, magnesium powders, magnesium lotions,  collagen, superfoods, green drinks and more at our Women's Wellness Event on Saturday, September 19th from 11-3, so don't miss it! It's a great way to sample a variety of great, women focused products before buying.

A Pass Favorite: Magnesium Oil Spray

I wanted to write about a new favorite of ours at the store- magnesium oil spray and magnesium flakes for soaking. Our new LifeFlo brand magnesium oil spray and flakes are from the Zechstein Seabed- an ancient geological formation of pure magnesium, unspoiled by pollution or chemicals.

Magnesium is great for the muscles, and using magnesium topically (whether through a magnesium oil spray or soaking in magnesium flakes) is especially effective.

I tried some for the first time recently and was kind of amazed, to be honest. It is absolutely wonderful for sore muscles. I’ve been using it when I have sore legs before bed and can’t believe how well it works for soothing and relaxing the muscles. I’ve also been using it on my daughter’s legs when she complains of “growing pains”. Liz, who works at the store, has a son who plays hockey, and he’s been using it after practice to help with sore muscles and is impressed with how well it works.

Even though we’ve primarily been using it for muscle aches, many of our customers have found it to be very effective for arthritis and joint pain as well.

The nice thing about magnesium oil spray and magnesium flakes for the bath (or a foot soak) is that there is really no downside, they can only help. I’d really recommend giving them a try!

Healthy Q & A: Protein and Exercise

Q:

I have been working out and am looking for a protein drink to assist.  What would you recommend?

A:

Protein is incredibly important for helping to build and repair muscles.  Most recommendations say that it’s best to consume protein within one hour of resistance training since said training increases amino acid delivery to muscles as well as absorption.  Because of this, the sooner you consume protein after exercise, the bigger the stimulation of protein synthesis in the muscles. In theory, proper protein timing leads to increased gains in strength and lean body mass (something we all want).  There’s also some researchwhich says that drinking a protein shake before working out can be beneficial.

Whey protein is considered the best for muscles, since it’s quickly digested and over 90% of its protein is utilized by the body.  One we have that I’d recommend is Jarrow’s Whey Protein (it’s also 25% off this month).  It’s a good value, comes in three flavors, has a low amount of sugar, and has 4 grams of branched chain amino acids per serving (BCAAs help with maintaining and increasing muscle mass).

Whey comes from milk, though if you have a dairy sensitivity or allergy, we have a number of nice non dairy protein shake options (we have brown rice, pea, egg white, hemp, and soy protein shake mixes).

Something important to note is overall calorie expenditure and what you’re looking to gain from your workouts.  If you’re lifting weights and are trying to gain significant muscle, a protein shake after exercise is a great thing.  If your main goal is weight loss, and you’re doing shorter cardiovascular workouts, a post workout protein shake might not be needed; instead, just take care to ensure you’re getting enough protein in general.

For people doing mild to moderate exercise for weight loss, there is usually not a lot needed for “refueling”, and adding a lot after a workout can actually hurt your weight loss efforts.  An example would be a person who runs for 30 minutes and then eats a protein shake with a banana and added flax seed oil (a very healthy shake in and of itself).  30 minutes of jogging burns roughly 300 calories, but the shake described above could be as much as 400-500 calories.  If a shake like that is used to replace a meal or snack that would be fine, but if it’s added on top of a person’s normal food intake, you can actually be consuming more calories than expended during a 30 minute exercise session.