Staying Healthy While Traveling in the Dominican Republic
How do you stay healthy while travelling in the Caribbean? It’s not always a joy, as sometimes you have to experience the sour to appreciate the sweet. Striking that balance between the “new and exciting” and the “risky and unwise” is sometimes difficult, and every now and then, we all fall off the bar. Staying healthy is an important part of making sure that your vacation is a fun, carefree experience. Here at Extreme Cabarete, we have a few guidelines for staying healthy. Follow these health tips, and you’re sure minimize your down time. Drink more water than you think necessary since we‘re right on the beach, close the equator, and the air and ocean are very salty. If you’re kiting all the time, hiking around or even just sunning yourself in the Caribbean sun, your body will be using that extra water to counterbalance all the heat and salt in the air and subsequently in your system. Wear sunscreen: this one seems obvious, but I feel compelled to mention it. If you’ve ever gotten a bad burn, you know it can stop you from doing a lot… it can keep you up at night, it can prevent you from being able to sit on the toilet comfortably, and worst of all it causes wrinkles ;) Watch what you eat. When you’re on vacation, it’s nice to let loose and reward yourself with some treat foods, but make sure you’re still getting all the nutrients that you need. Don’t replace your healthy 4pm veggie snack with deep fried tostonis and beer every day. Maybe try having tostonis and vegetables to ensure that you’re still getting all those vitamins and minerals that your body needs to conquer that active and exciting vacation you’re needing so badly. Use bottled water for drinking, brushing your teeth, washing fruit and veggies, and making tea or coffee. When you eat out in cabarete, think twice about eating the small side salads that come with your meals. The lettuce is often washed in tap water. Take it easy on the alcohol. It dehydrates you and the hangovers here can be oh so painfull. If you do happen to fall ill, there are a few basic steps that you can take to ensure a speedy, inexpensive recovery: SCENARIO A: FOOD POISONING Get it all out. You’ll feel better if you do. Get someone to rub your back. Call your mum if you need to – even just to hear her voice. As soon as you can manage, go to the lab at Ocean One Plaza. They speak English and offer urine, stool and blood tests of every variety. Most are around $5. The results will be given to you the next day. It’s pretty easy to see the POSITIVO beside the relevant test . Once you get your results, take them to the Servimed urgent care clinic in Cabarete to see a doctor. If you need to go to a pharmacy, there is one in the Ocean Dream Plaza, close to Gordito’s. They are open Sundays and can fill prescriptions. If you need a 24 hour pharmacy we recommend one in Sosua. SCENARIO B: CUTS, BURNS, GASHES Living an active lifestyle in Cabarete can be pretty extreme. Reef surfing in the morning, moto riding in the evenings, and kiting in the afternoons can bring on various minor accidents. If you get burned by a moto tail pipe – aptly coined the Dominican Tattoo – make sure you follow these treatment steps immediately to ensure proper healing: Cool the burn using ice-cold water. Use filtered water with ice cubes in it. For the correct temperature, make sure the ice has just melted in the water. Pour over the burn for 15 to 30 minutes or until it stops burning. Clean the burn with iodine, neo sporin, or tea tree oil. Dress with chunks of fresh aloe vera (we have tons growing on the Extreme property) and wrap with gauze. Hint: for a natural remedy, coat the strips of aloe vera with local honey as an antiseptic. Repeat steps 1-4 twice daily for 1 to 2 weeks, depending on the severity of the burn. After a week or two you can stop doing step one. For cuts and gashes, follow a similar pattern, but without the ice water. The important thing to remember is to keep the area clean and covered to protect it from the salty air and the potential of contracting a staff infection. If you think the cut or burn may be getting infected, go to the Servimed clinic in town, the doctor may prescribe antibiotics or an anti bacterial soap, both of which will help to combat the infection. Remember, this is your vacation, and staying healthy is an essential part. We are always happy to answer any questions, or help you find any resources!
Supplements – By Zach
In a perfect world we could grow and catch what we need to eat to stay healthy. Some of us aren’t there yet… Not only are we not eating the colorful whole foods that we need but more importantly, we’re not getting enough nutrients to sustain energy throughout the day. How do we fill the void? Well, ideally we find the source in our food but sometimes the most convenient and cost effective way is through supplements. I am not a supplement junkie by any means but I do use three supplements on a regular basis and suggest the same three to most. Here they are in order. 1. Omega-3 ( fish oil, krill oil, flaxseed oil). Either of the three will work, but fish oil is the most cost effective. If you haven’t read or heard the health benefits of Omega-3 you may be living in a bubble. Doctors, nutritionists, and athletes all agree this stuff is gold. Naturally found in marine animals, Omega-3s are known as brain food, crucial for not only brain development, but beneficial for your heart, eyes, skin, and the list goes on. Omega-3 is an essential oil because your body cannot make it. I suggest a marine source because they exclusively contain the most important Omegas, DHA and EPA while plant based oils contain mostly ALA which doesn’t have the same benefits. 2. Greens Superfood Powder. Leafy greens are good, green superfoods are great! I love fresh picked vegetables but the edge that Superfoods Powder has is it’s diversity of ingredients and it’s level of convenience. While I admit they typically don’t taste great, there are some that do, and they are a perfect mix for a delicious morning smoothie and a convenient way to get in the phytonutrients that most are missing. The issue is that most people eat too much food and not enough nutrients. So is this for you? I suggest trying it for ten days and assess its nutritional effect. I don’t know of any that have looked back. 3. Protein Powder. This one is not as essential as the other two, but it’s a great nutritional crutch for people on the go or people who limit or exclude meat from their diet. Far too often people reach for bagels, granola bars, and other processed foods as a morning or midday snack. A yummy smoothie with some protein powder is the perfect choice for any time of the day. I use these three suppliments every day paired with plenty of colorful veggies, a bit of fruit, and some meat if I am in the mood. Here is an example of my typical daily diet. 5:30am Wake up 5:45am Green tea, 1 fish oil, greens powder with water. 7:00am 2 eggs usually hard boiled, 1 carrot, ½ mango or 1 apple 11:00am Protein powder with water 3:00pm Broccoli with lots of garlic and onions, 1 fish oil 7:30pm Grilled dorado and bell peppers in a salad with tomatos and avacado 10:00pm Bed time The times and portions may change. Eat when you are hungry. Only as much as you need. Think nutrients not calories. Diversify your foods, but find your go-to’s for satiety. If you don’t want an apple, you’re not hungry.
Summer Lessons – by Zach
For the past three years I have been visiting Seattle, my old home, not only to visit my family but to attend classes, seminars, and camps from all different trainers and professors in the ever changing health and fitness field. Every year there is a new fad program and diet that you have to try. Some last, most don’t. High intensity has been the theme for the last couple years with different equipment making an appearance. This year the ugi ball is the newest addition. It is pretty much a more cushioned and pancaked version of a rage ball. A genius reinvention I must admit, with new and old movements of the classic medicine ball. The kicker: It’s $140 price tag. That’s two to three times more than a conventional medicine ball. Is it a good buy? Not if it’s for home gym decor. The workouts are multi-level and fun, so if you can follow the program and create healthy habits than it’s a huge YES. The the thing you have to remember is that there is no miracle equipment or quick fix tool. It can be any of a thousand options that are fun and safe. The issue is typically having a solid direction or program in place for yourself. One tool may be great for a month, but any exerciser can become repetitive, unchallenging and unmotivating. It is important to mix it up, not only for your body but for your head as well. You don’t have to throw away your old program, just give it some variety and throw in some contrast so you can recycle those old moves into something new and exciting for your mind and your body as well. If you are a seasoned fitness nerd like myself, you know the ideal fitness program is the one that keeps your diet manageable and sustainable. I am a crossfitter but now that I am no longer a competition athlete a full time cross fit program is just not for me. I personally feel my appetite is hard to satisfy and my body feels tight and fatigued when I am surfing. Does that mean crossfit is bad? Not at all, I do it once or twice a week opposed to previously 5 times a week. And usually when I do alternate workouts I use crossfit compound movements. The evolution of my program has been years in the making; now I look at my personal program and consider where I want to be in 80 years, not eight. I want to be able to pick up and launch my great grandkids in the air for fun. Is running a marathon every other month going to help me? I don’t think so. Too much stress, not enough reward. Four hours surfing? Sure! I’ll do that every day if I can. Longevity comes down most simply to cellular damage. More simply, STRESS. The caps lock really proved a point. I’m sure the word alone created some cortisol is your brain. Choose your oxidation (cell damage, stress, free radicals) wisely. If you live for running marathons. Do it! Enjoy every 41,280 steps of it. Just find time in your training to maybe meditate to bring down emotional stress. Eat plenty of antioxidants rich foods. And be wisely selfish in your pursuit of happiness. “We can also approach the importance of compassion through intelligent reasoning. If I help another person, and show concerns for him or her, then I myself will benefit from that. However, if I harm others, eventually I will be in trouble. I often joke, half sincerely and half seriously, saying that if we wish to be truly selfish, we should be wisely selfish rather than foolishly selfish. Our intelligence can help to adjust our attitude in this respect. If we use it well, we can gain insight as to how we can fulfill our own self-interest by leading a compassionate way of life.” -Dalai Lama So what about high intensity training? No one REALLY likes it. Especially during the class or workout. Maybe, or maybe not, but you enjoy the results and you should look beyond the physical and into the mental strength you develop in usually less than 30 minutes of exercise plus the amazing bond you develop in a class or group setting. Once again it’s balance. It’s similar to the reason I retired from rugby. I LOVE playing rugby. I will most likely play a 7s game here and there but not a career. It’s just too risky. I enjoyed every second playing but the injuries were adding up. Separated shoulder here, broken ankle there. I knew re-injuring my body, even mildly, would catch up to me in the end. The wobbling retired players on the sidelines were perfect reminders. Appetite plays a big roll in my programming and health choices. The harder you tax your body physically, the more you need to eat, re-fuel, and repair it. Extensive new research proves that less calories equals a longer life. I am not talking about obesity. This has to do with carcinogens, chemicals, and impurities that lace most all non organic foods. Even in organic foods, the vegetable you buy (for sometimes twice the price) has half the nutrients of its heirloom brethren. The point I’m trying to get at is: choose a low quantity, high quality diet that a fun, active life can revolve around. Food is king, balance is queen. Quality of life (happiness) is the Tyrion Lannister never to be ignored (yup, that’s a Game of Thrones reference right there). Eat, play, love, repeat.
Kombucha – fermenting a balanced GI track – by Zach
I have always been one to keep up with the latest fitness and health trends so naturally I found Kombucha. It wasn’t Madonna, David Beckham, or Halle Berry ( all spotted regularly with signature glass bottles) that convinced me to start brewing my own. It was the fermented, probiotic goodness that sold me (and the $4 a bottle price tag in stores). Plenty of opinions are out there, bad and good, but I often find the preliminary research too narrow and jilted. Fermentation and probiotic digestion-enhancing properties are well documented for helping to optimize health and digestion by aiding intestinal bacteria in performing their tasks more efficiently. Natural gut bacteria is important. Thats why we have nearly four pounds of it. While not all is good, our “intestinal flora” sometimes needs some weeding. Cultured and fermented foods are your tools to regulate the balance. Kombucha is a fermented sparkling tea beverage that packs a massive antioxidant punch and looks and tastes like a cross between Champagne and vinegar. Comprised of acetic acid, malic acid, butyric acid, oxalic acid, lactic acid, and a teensy bit of alcohol, kombucha has been a standard refresher, alleged hangover cure, and all-around home remedy in Asia and Eastern Europe for millennia. Here are a few of my other gut friendly favorites. Kimchi- A traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables. Sauerkraut- Fermented cabbage that is regularly used in Europe to treat ulcers and digestive problems. Look for “raw”, which is not heated or pasteurized. Local Raw Honey- The nectar from honey is what makes it antiallergenic and local pollen will help with local allergies. Thats why you go local. Raw (straight from the hive) means it maintains all its alkaline forming enzymes and benefits. The latter is not only a superfood but but a prebiotic as well. The difference between a prebiotic and a probiotic is that a prebiotic is the fuel for good bacteria, whereas probiotics are the actual good bacteria. Prebiotics are non-digestible nutrients that your good bacteria can use for energy. They stimulate the growth of good bacteria and generally pass through the digestive system intact while performing their magic in the colon. Now that we know how to optimize our nutrient absorption through a healthy stomach make sure you don’t start dumping trash into your digestion garden. Minimize sugar and proccessed foods that inflame the GI tract and stick with enzyme rich cleansing foods like papaya, broccoli, and fish. The most important thing is balance. If you don’t want an apple, you aren’t hungry. Don’t stress your body unless it needs it. Digestion, exercise, and emotion are all forms of stress. With positive mind all these stresses are healthy and met with the antioxidants that we create with happiness and absorb in real foods. Now go eat, drink, and be merry.