nutrition of movement

I was really interested in the idea of nutritious movement by Katy Bowman (Bowman, 2015). Some of that aligned with the graphic from this week too; on the dangers of sitting, but some of it did not completely agree (Berkowitz, 2014). The concepts of stretching, walking, moving from sitting to standing, yoga poses and sitting on something wobbly are all ways of moving to change your position and relieve pressure. Hewitt (2017) discusses flexibility versus stability with ideas like stretching with bouncing, proprioceptive facilitation of neuromuscular functions, and dynamic stretching. How the often overlooked understanding of balance and agility are processes that require synchronicity of the whole body. If there was a right way to sit, I do not know if it would actually become deleterious to hold that position from my new understanding of the importance of movement. 

Katy Bowman would not say there is a right position for sitting, but the right one is constantly changing position. Katy Bowman puts forth this concept that  “movement” is a kind of nutrition. The idea of transporting nutrients is evidenced by physiology where lymph is pumped through the collecting lymphatic vessels by both intrinsic and extrinsic movement, propelling it back to circulation (Saito et al., 2015). The intrinsic lymphatic pump relies on the contraction of lymphatic muscles to generate that movement force and remove waste from around interstitial tissue. And, it is not clear how much physical movements offset the health risks of sitting but moderate to vigorous activity effectively eliminate risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality (Stamatakis et al., 2019). There is even a dose-response association between sitting time, and from all-cause mortality and CVD (Katzmarzik et al., 2009). Promoting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a healthy weight should definitely be encouraged. High amounts of sedentary behaviour are even associated with increased risks of many chronic conditions and ultimately death (Ekelund et al., 2016).

There is a reciprocal nature to nutrition and movement, and lack thereof.  The more nutrition we consume the more the body is capable of directing it. Adaptations initiated by physical movement can be amplified and reduced through nutrition (Jeukendrup, 2017). Various methods have been discussed to optimize training adaptations and some of these methods have been subject to extensive study. How we can improve absorptive capacity of the intestine, increase tolerance to dehydration, and the strategic combination of exercise training and nutrition to obtain adaptively support exercise performance. This is called nutritional training which is like harnessing the body’s beneficial effects of signaling and transcription, the gut, hypohydration, and using supplements that increase adaptations of the body for a longer term. Nutritious movement is at the core of nutrition and in conjunction with food could lead to even greater results for optimum benefit.

References

Berkowitz, B. C., P. . (2014). The health hazards of sitting. The Washington Post. http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/the-health-hazards-of-sitting/750/

Bowman, K. (2015). Move your DNA: Restore your Health Through Natural Movement   Retrieved from Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman, M.S.

Ekelund, U., Steene-Johannessen, J., Brown, W. J., Fagerland, M. W., Owen, N., Powell, K. E., . . . Lee, I. (2016). Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than 1 million men and women. The Lancet, 388(10051), 1302-1310. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30370-1. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27475271/

Hewitt, M.J. (2017) Chapter 91: Writing an Exercise Prescription. Rakel, D. (ed.) Integrative Therapies, 4th edition, pp.887-894. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.

Jeukendrup, A. E. (2017). Periodized Nutrition for Athletes. Sports Medicine, 47(S1), 51-63. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0694-2. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28332115/

Katzmarzyk, P., Church, T., Craig, C., & Bouchard, C. (2009). Sitting Time and Mortality from All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(5), 998-1005. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e318193035. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19346988/

Saito, T., Unno, N., Yamamoto, N., Inuzuka, K., Tanaka, H., Sano, M., . . . Konno, H. (2015). Low Lymphatic Pumping Pressure in the Legs Is Associated with Leg Edema and Lower Quality of Life in Healthy Volunteers. Lymphatic Research and Biology, 13(2), 154-159. doi:10.1089/lrb.2014.0015. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26091410/

Stamatakis, E., Gale, J., Bauman, A., Ekelund, U., Hamer, M., & Ding, D. (2019). Sitting Time, Physical Activity, and Risk of Mortality in Adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 73(16), 2062-2072. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2019.02.031. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31023430/