Here’s a question I received recently that involves holistic nutrition, oxygen and conditioning. It can apply to many different people, regardless of your activity level.

Question:

Kevin,

I need your help. My son is 20. Every time he works out “hard” he feels very nauseous. It does not seem to matter what he eats or doesn’t eat…..any ideas?

Susan

Answer:

Susan,

First off, you have to assess whether this is a serious condition or not. Feeling nauseous when working out can be the sign of a larger issue than what I’m about to write about here, so I’d certainly start by seeing a naturopath or a doctor to see if there’s not anything seriously affecting your son.

The question I would ask is how long is he working out for and at what type of intensity he’s doing the exercise.

Many people do feel nauseous when they’re working out because they just plain over do it. A friend of mine from high school who was an all-american runner used to throw up after every single race he ran. It was actually pretty gross to be his friend during those times.

Kidding aside, this was from over exertion. Plain and simple.

So I’d have to know the history of his workouts and intensity. If he’s working out hard, I’d suggest he slow down a bit and have shorter workout sessions. Trying some bodyweight exercises could help as well. It might just be a story of underconditioning. It takes some people more time to increase the oxygen and blood flow that is required for better conditioning.

If he’s working out slowly already, then I’d move on to address his diet when he’s not working out.

You’ll want to get him on some antioxidants to stop oxidative stress (either whole foods or good quality supplements) as well as foods and supplements that will increase the amount of oxygen that gets into his system. Garlic has been clinically shown to improve lung blood vessel function, so this is one of the best ways to start. Chinese medicine says that white foods are good for the lungs so this would include onions too!

I hope this helps… if you can expand, I might be able to help further.

Live Awesome!
Kevin

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