A blog to help you optimize your full-body and life performance

A recent New York Times Article began by stating: “There was no reason for the patients to receive vitamin D blood tests.” No reason other than perhaps their interest in taking their health into their own hands and becoming the best version of themselves possible. Or, maybe they were feeling tired and hit a plateau in their training with no idea why. Some, even, were just concerned about aging, and feeling healthy for as long as possible.

After a cold and snowy winter, at least here in Boston, spring has finally sprung! For many, that means the sun is shining and it’s time to do some spring cleaning. And our favorite type of cleaning starts in the kitchen with the cabinets. It’s the perfect time of year to focus on cleaning up your diet, and is peak season for soaking up some sunshine and vitamin D!

But did you know that the “sunshine vitamin” plays a big role in your night, too? If your vitamin D levels are on the lower end, it could actually be affecting your sleep. Worry not, though! Below, we’ll go over the evidence behind the effect vitamin D has on sleep and give you some suggestions for your best night of rest yet.

Blood glucose, more commonly known as blood sugar, is the primary source of energy for your body. It is the first thing your body turns to during activity, and provides quick energy that you can burn through before switching to burning body fat. Clearly, it’s important to have an adequate level of glucose to perform activities, but having enough glucose is not usually the issue for people. Rather, most of us have too much glucose, which can lead to weight gain, elevated triglyceride levels, and high blood pressure. Surprisingly, only 23% of InsideTracker users have an optimized glucose level, which proves that even the most health-conscious among us can have elevated blood glucose. Regular testing of blood glucose is the best way to monitor your levels, ensuring that you stay consistently in the optimal range.

So you missed Earth Day last week, huh? Don't worry, just because we only celebrate once a year, that shouldn't stop you from taking action year-round! Whether you do your part by recycling, using public transportation, walking or biking to work, shopping with reusable bags, or turning off lights and faucets – a big thank you from us fellow Earth dwellers! There are many ways that we can protect the environment, and most of them can actually protect our health too. One of the most significant ways to reduce your carbon footprint AND likelihood for chronic disease is to reduce or limit your consumption of animal products, specifically meat. However, while eating less meat has plenty of benefits, it also requires some special considerations, like vitamin B12.

There’s no hiding it. We are stressed. If our users are representative of the U.S. population, we have a serious stress problem on our hands. From traffic and finances, to marital spats and annoying coworkers—we are feeling the pressure. 

Our personality types might even predispose us to go over the edge. Type A personalities may be beneficial for success in the business world, but a constant loop of every bad decision or thing you forgot to say for the past 20 years isn’t helpful, and it’s taking a toll on your health. We’ve found a supplement that might help! While it can’t change your circumstances or your personality, it can help your body deal with the stress a bit better.

With Daylight Savings Time beginning, this week brings the promise of longer days and more sunshine. But don’t be fooled into thinking the return of the sun means you can toss your vitamin D supplement out the sunroof. Maintaining optimal levels of vitamin D throughout the year. And following a few simple steps will help to make sure you don’t leave your vitamin D in the shadows.

Mom always told you to eat your beets. As usual, her instruction was on point. The health benefits of beets are well documented, but there’s a new trend on the performance-enhancing block in the form of juice — and not the illegal kind. Beetroot juice is all the rage these days, and it turns out it could be the key to unlocking increased speed and endurance in everyone from weekend warriors to seasoned pros.

Beetroot juice also packs a powerful cardiovascular health punch. That makes it the perfect topic for February’s theme of red: there's Valentine's Day, National Heart Health Month, and of course, February 5th was National Wear Red Day, the American Heart Association’s annual initiative to raise awareness about heart disease and stroke in women. Whether you decide to wear red or drink it, there’s more than one reason to try beetroot juice. We've even created a recipe so you can make your own!

Introduction

Do you take a multivitamin? Chances are, you probably do! In fact, if you’re like me, you began taking a multivitamin almost as soon as you could chew solids. I have fond memories of chomping my Flintstones vitamin with my waffles and milk every morning throughout my childhood years. Sound familiar? According a recent study, over half of Americans take some form of a multi-vitamin/mineral on a regular basis. For some of us, we continue to take multivitamins out of habit. Others are new to this emerging health trend. Whatever the reason may be, one thing is for certain: the multivitamin/mineral is a major contender in the supplement industry. As a nation, we spend $12.4 billion on these little capsules each year. But does taking a multivitamin make us healthier? Here are some facts for you to consider. Spoiler alert: those little pills may not be as healthy as you think! 

Inflammation is part of your body’s immune response: it influences the health of your cardiovascular system, affects how quickly your injuries heal, and plays a role in determining whether or not you catch a cold. Inflammation affects everyone—whether they are young, old, athlete, or non-athlete.

If you live in a temperate climate, or you don’t get outside for at least 15 minutes each day, you may have low vitamin D. Why? Because your body actually makes most of its vitamin D from sunshine, and if you don’t get enough sun, you are likely to have low vitamin D. Known as the “sunshine vitamin,” vitamin D provides several important benefits to our bodies, but it can be difficult to get your daily requirement of the vitamin since few foods are naturally rich sources. 

And if you don’t get enough vitamin D, it can affect the way you feel and how well you perform. An InsideTracker blood test showed that an Olympic track cyclist had very low levels of vitamin D. InsideTracker gave this athlete and her coach a set of simple interventions to increase her vitamin D. That helped to make a measurable difference in her performance. And it contributed to her success in at the 2012 Olympics in London where she won two silver medals in track cycling!