On a physical level, our body can be kept healthy through adequate sleep and rest, proper nutrition, regular exercises and a healthy environment that is free from pollution.

Spiritual Health

Throughout ages, wise men have consistently informed and taught us that we are essentially spiritual beings.

Although medical science has not been able to reveal to us our spiritual nature, there are many indirect evidence that we would be foolish to ignore. Stories from people who had gone through a near death experience (NDE), or dying people with heightened nearing death awareness, or simply a cure from an 'incurable' disease all suggest that there is more to life than just physical state.

Major religions of world all based their teachings on belief that we are essentially spiritual beings. According to these teachings, our physical existence is secondary.

While it may be true that we should focus our life more on our spiritual nature than our physical nature, it would be difficult for majority of people to do so, at least not immediately. Things cannot change overnight. Mindset, however, can, and that is perhaps best place to start.

Financial Health

However, on a more mundane level, most people are still stuck on how to survive from day to day, where to get next cheque to pay for house installment, so on and so forth.

Practically, therefore, we need to look into ways to achieve a financial state that would theoretically free us from constrain of 'forced' work. This is where concept of financial freedom is so attractive. According to this concept, one should strive for a state where we have one or more than one source of income that can be generated passively, that is, even when we don't work.

This is what Robert Kiyosaki termed as 'passive income'.

According to him, passive income can only be achieved by becoming an investor or a business owner, not a sole proprietor or an employee. To become an investor or a business owner, you must spend time and money to acquire financial intelligence. Unlike IQ or EQ, you can acquire financial intelligence through self education.

To get a financial health check-up, consult an accountant, a banker or a financial planner you can trust.

Healthy Relationship

"No man is an island, entire by itself."

As a medical doctor, I am in a unique position to confront and comfort dying patients. One of most important thing that I have observed is that dying people do not ask about their money or possessions. Instead, they focus their remaining energy and strength on trying to heal wounded relationships. It is as though there is an inherent need to get a proper closure to a relationship.

Thus, forming and cultivating a healthy relationship is important for our well-being. Unfortunately, this is something we often ignored until it is too late. If there is any forgiving to be done, or need to be forgiven, leaving things to last minutes may end up with an unfulfilled desire for a closure.

Knowing this now, shouldn't we spend more time and effort in improving our relationship with our loved ones, especially with our parents, spouse, children and siblings?

But almost as important as carbohydrate strategies, protein content of post-workout period is critical. My studies are demonstrating that post-workout nutrition should contain protein and carbohydrates in a ratio of 2g of carbohydrate to every 1g of protein. My athletes consume a liquid recovery drink of 0.8g/kg of carbs and 0.4g/kg of protein immediately after training.

GA: Based on your research, what is optimal approach for a team sport athlete, say a female basketball player, to take after a game or practice?

JB: How about I give you an optimal daily strategy for a female basketball player who practices from 4:00-6:00pm?

Here’s what I might recommend (remember this is just a sample and doesn’t apply to all female basketball players). Notice that bulk of carbohydrates come during/after exercise.

8am Breakfast – 6 egg white omelet with 1-cup veggies and 1 piece of fat free cheese. 10am Snack – Protein shake in water with added flaxseed oil 12pm Lunch – 3oz Chicken breast and large salad with fish oil capsules 2pm Snack – Protein shake in water with added flaxseed oil 4pm-6pm Practice – Glucose-electrolyte beverage like Gatorade 6pm Post-workout – Liquid drink containing 20-25g fast digesting protein (like whey) and 40-50g of simple carbohydrate (like Gatorade) 8pm Dinner – 4oz burger, large salad, medium sized baked potato, fish oil capsules 10pm Snack before bed – Plain yogurt, 2 pieces of fresh fruit

GA: What if an athlete has another game or practice next day?

JB: There is no difference. Remember, post-workout carbohydrate and protein consumption can rapidly replenish muscle carbohydrate stores; much more rapidly than trying to do so during other meals of day. So athlete such as a basketball player should be ready by next day.

GA: Would an endurance athlete need to take any additional measures? (Again, with a training session scheduled within 24 hours).

JB: The strategy for a hard training endurance athlete would be to double up on post-workout recovery drink. I have my endurance athletes take two post exercise recovery drinks as discussed above; one immediately after training and one an hour later.

My research has shown that this strategy (especially with inclusion of protein) can improve muscle glycogen recovery by 22% when compared to carbohydrate only ingestion. But even more importantly, when endurance athletes come back to exercise on same day, they perform over twice as well when protein and carbohydrate drinks are ingested when compared to when carbohydrate only drinks are ingested or food meals are eaten later in recovery.

GA: So it really is critical to have carbs and protein after training for both muscle recovery and performance?

JB: Yep, we’re in process of publishing first ever data conclusively demonstrating this in endurance athletes.

GA: And finally, for this interview (we’ve got lots more to ask in future editions!), what post-workout regimen have you found most effective on tournament days (for basketball in this example, with 3 games on one day and games 90 minutes apart)?

JB: During tournament days, I think liquid nutrition is paramount.

Besides a good breakfast containing low glycemic index carbohydrates (like oatmeal, fruit, and whole grain breads), high quality protein, and good fats, it’s critical to fuel up with liquid protein and carbohydrate drinks all day between games. Keeping ratio of carbs to protein same (2:1), sipping recovery drinks all day will maximize muscle energy stores and performance during each subsequent game.

As long as athlete is sure to have a good breakfast (as mentioned) and a good lunch meal (similar to breakfast guidelines), rest of day should be spent sipping protein and carbs.

GA: Well thanks for informative interview John. We’ve got lots more questions to ask you about nutrition and training but we’ll save those for a later day.

JB: I look forward to doing future interviews and helping your athletes out whenever I can. For more information about Science Link team or their services, please visit www.johnberardi.com. Also, be sure to check out www.johnberardi.com/seminars right now. Here you will find out how to purchase and/or attend one of John's dynamic and information-packed seminars.