Easing muscle pain ginger-ly

Ginger has been used as a medicinal remedy for ages.  It’s curative properties are said to fix everything from colds to upset stomachs.  (If you’ve ever drunk ginger ale to combat naseau, you know what I’m talking about.)  Turns out this herb is also really good at combating  muscle pain caused by exercise if taken daily.

After an almost two week study in which participants were fed two grams of either raw or cooked ginger a day in capsule form, many experienced reduced muscle pain of up to 25 percent after performing heavy exercise.

In previous studies, ginger has shown to exert anti-inflammatory properties on rodents.  And while you would get the benefits of eating ginger raw, it’s believed cooking it draws out its healing powers.

SOURCE: Daily ginger consumption eases muscle pain by 25 percent, study suggests

Just because O says so, doesn’t mean it’s true

I was flipping though TV channels yesterday and happened across Oprah’s sit down with Kirstie Alley.  Of course, the topic was her weight and in their discussion O asked her what her ideal weight would be.  She then told her the number wasn’t really crucial because muscle weighed more than fat.  Wroooong! (Best done in sing-songy Oprah voice) Since so many people take what Oprah says as bible, I thought it might be worth revisiting an old post that debunked that myth.

The Muscle Myth

Ok, so stop me if you’ve heard this one before…

You’re watching what you eat and exercising, but the scale doesn’t budge.  But you notice your pants are a little looser.  You mention this to your gym buddy and she exclaims, “Oh!  That’s because muscle weighs more than fat.”

Sorry to burst the bubble, but that’s not exactly true.

A pound is a pound whether it’s muscle, fat, feathers or bricks.

The reason why we drop dress sizes, but don’t see it reflected on the scale is because muscle is DENSER than fat.  That basically means a pound of muscle is more compact and takes up less space. (hello roomier pants!)

So don’t get discouraged the next time you don’t see the pounds drop, especially if you’re clothes are fitting better!

And remember…the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn!