The Myths of Nutrition and Fitness – Anthony A. Goodman, M.D.
Anthony A. Goodman, M.D.
It is the greatest gift to be able to explore the ever-changing outer edges of science and share them with my students.
Institution: Montana State University
Alma mater: Cornell Medical College
Course Overview
More than anything else, the cornerstone of a long, healthy, and happy life is the scientifically proven link between fitness and nutrition. When you take advantage of this powerful link—by practicing good nutritional eating habits and by keeping your body active—you’re improving your chances of success in meeting your personal wellness goals, whether it’s losing a few pounds or maintaining a balanced lifestyle.
But as Dr. Anthony A. Goodman knows all too well, the world is filled with popular and dangerously misleading myths about food and fitness. Whether promoted by businesses or celebrities, these myths and half-truths have rooted themselves in our everyday lives; so deeply, in fact, that it’s often difficult to separate fact from fiction and to recognize when you’re doing your body more harm than good.
Most important of all: As scientific knowledge has greatly expanded our understanding of how the human body works, many previously held ideas about fitness and nutrition have become severely outdated. “When things change for the better and are based on sound principles,” says Dr. Goodman, “we need to be ready and able to make changes.”
Discover the scientific truths that counter popular myths about nutrition and fitness with Dr. Goodman’s insightful and rewarding course, The Myths of Nutrition and Fitness. Each of these six self-contained lectures explores in great depth the major myths, lies, and half-truths related to key components of fitness and nutrition. You’ll
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- examine the pros and cons of various training and eating programs,
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- learn strategies that will help you discern the truth behind popular myths,
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- discover new ways to be healthy and physically active, and
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- enhance your ability to make educated decisions about your own health.
Learn the Truth about Diet and Exercise
Dr. Goodman has designed each of these lectures to be a focused look at central themes and subjects related to fitness and nutrition. Each lecture unpacks myths you may have some passing familiarity with—as well as some you may have always taken for granted as scientific truth.
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- Myths about foods to fuel your exercise: The best diet you can follow is three good meals a day. There is one single way to eat and exercise that works for almost everyone.
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- Myths about proper hydration: You can never drink too much water. You should never try to hydrate yourself with anything containing caffeine.
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- Myths about eating and exercise habits: If you eat food before bed, you’ll gain more weight. Targeted exercises on certain areas of your body will help reduce fat only in those areas.
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- Myths about using vitamins and supplements: You cannot achieve optimal health without using multivitamins. If a supplement is natural, it’s healthy and safe for you to use.
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- Myths about eating and exercise disorders: There’s no harm in losing weight quickly. Starting a rigorous exercise program in childhood will prepare kids for athletic success later in life.
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- Myths about extreme physical activity: Athletes should always load up on carbohydrates before such activity. Given enough time and training, your body can adapt to any extreme environment.
With each of these and other myths, you’ll learn some of the stories about how they emerged and the scientific knowledge that helped us break them down.
Improve the Way You Eat and Exercise
You’ll also gain a wealth of practical tips and skills you can use every single day to improve and enhance the way you eat and exercise. And all of them are rooted in three simple concepts that Dr. Goodman sees as vital to overall health and wellness: science, moderation, and a willingness to listen to your body.
Here are just a few of the many pieces of solid advice and medically backed information Dr. Goodman has incorporated throughout The Myths of Nutrition and Fitness.
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- When working out, it’s important to make sure your body has just a little more fluid and salt than it needs so that you can compensate for the losses you’ll incur while you exercise.
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- Make your own sports drink—with just water, fruit juice, sugar, and salt—to save money and avoid the hidden health dangers from drinking too many commercial sports drinks.
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- One or two hours before exercising, eat a light meal of about 200 calories that is low in fat, moderate in proteins, and high in complex carbohydrates to help improve your performance.
These and the numerous other helpful hints in these lectures stem from Dr. Goodman’s decades as a general surgeon, professor, and lifelong athlete. Dr. Goodman, whose courses on the human body and personal wellness have been wildly popular with Great Courses lifelong learners around the world, has carefully crafted this course to be a ready and accessible tool for better understanding this essential aspect of overall personal health.
So join him as he shows you, in just six fascinating lectures, powerful and true ways to transform your life for the better.
6 Lectures
Average 32 minutes each
1. Fueling Up for Fitness Routines
In this first engaging lecture, Dr. Goodman focuses on what specific foods you should eat to fuel your individual fitness program. Which body signals can help you determine the nutrition and fitness regimen that best fits your individual needs? When should you be skeptical of a particular diet’s claims? What foods should you eat before, during, and after exercises—and how much?
2. Hydration for an Active Life
Explore popular myths about hydration and fitness. These include, thirst is a poor indication of dehydration; athletes should avoid drinking caffeine because of its diuretic qualities; there’s no such thing as water toxicity; and bottled water is the purest, safest, and best-tasting source of water available. Along the way, you’ll learn the right ways to keep your body hydrated while you exercise.
3. The Skinny on Exercise and Weight Loss
Take a closer look at some popular and prevalent myths related to dieting, exercising, and weight loss. Your focus here is on a specific group of weight-loss myths, including the myth that you can control your weight by cutting fat, protein, or carbohydrates out of your diet, and that you can reduce fat selectively on your body by exercising specific areas prone to increased fat.
4. Some Facts about Vitamins and Supplements
Dr. Goodman, with his characteristic candor and insight, debunks myths about common and popular vitamins and dietary supplements—most of which you can find on the shelves of your local supermarkets and health food stores. Among myths you investigate in this lecture are multivitamins and their ability to maintain health, creatine and quercetin and their ability to enhance your physical performance, and sports and energy drinks and their effectiveness.
5. Can You Get Too Much of a Good Thing?
If a little diet and exercise is good for you, then more must always be better for you, right? Explore the dangers hidden in this enduring myth by taking a closer look at what happens when we go to extremes while dieting and exercising. Topics you’ll examine in this lecture include eating disorders, exercise addictions, and ways to recognize when your body needs to rest.
6. Going to Extremes—The Smart Way
Focus on debates related to extreme athletic events such as high-altitude mountain climbing and marathon running. As you delve into the half-truths and real scientific facts behind environmental adaptation, carbohydrate loading, and much more, you’ll get pointed advice on how to handle the extremes of exercise and endurance through preparation and the moderate intake of carbohydrates under the supervision of a sports medicine expert.
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