In an exciting move to promote healthier living among Filipinos, Santé Barley, the barley authority in the Philippines, proudly announces its role as a co-presenter and the Official Nutrition Partner of HOKA Trilogy Run Asia 2024. 

Since its inception in 2010, HOKA Trilogy Run Asia formerly known as RUNRIO Trilogy, has fueled the nation’s passion for running, cultivating an active lifestyle, and nurturing a vibrant community of athletes and enthusiasts alike. Now that more Filipinos are embracing the sport and the running scene has matured, Santé Barley recognizes the significance of this partnership, marking a pivotal moment for the brand as it expands its reach and advocates for an active and healthy lifestyle. 

The increase in the number of participants was evident during the opening race on April 8, with 8,000 runners taking part. Subsequently, more people have been registering, and organizers anticipate a turnout of at least 64,000 participants for this year’s HOKA Trilogy Run Asia.

Santé CEO Joey Marcelo expressed his enthusiasm, noting that this partnership represents a significant opportunity to promote healthier lifestyles among Filipinos. “We are thrilled to partner with HOKA Trilogy Run Asia, not only to expand Santé Barley’s reach but, more importantly, to promote health and fitness across the Philippines.

Just as Santé Barley is packed with nutritional benefits, we believe in holistic wellness, and this alliance presents an exciting opportunity to inspire individuals to live more and do more,” said Marcelo. 

Marcelo also shared that within the Santé community, more employees and business owners are joining the races, making running a viable, affordable, and accessible choice to stay active. 

“The beauty of running is that you can do it whenever and wherever you want. Whether you run solo, with groups, or even if you don’t join races like this and just set your own PRs (personal records), you can still enjoy the sport. So, I am really glad that we get to share this positive outlook on running within the Santé community and, of course, with the general public,” Marcelo added.

 The partnership aligns perfectly with HOKA Trilogy Run Asia’s mission of promoting inclusivity and encouraging Filipinos to confidently adopt a healthier lifestyle. With a growing number of participants in their races, HOKA Trilogy Run Asia is expanding its reach to locations across the Philippines. Santé Barley’s support will further fuel this enthusiasm, fostering a positive, health-conscious community through running. 

The races will take place across six cities in the country, including Baguio, Cebu, Iloilo/Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao, with a National Finals in Pasay, featuring a total of 19 races nationwide. Several races have already been completed but interested runners can check out the dates below to participate in the upcoming legs.

  Upcoming Races:

• Bacolod (July 28, 2024)
• Pasay, Manila (August 4, 2024)
• Cebu (August 18, 2024)
• Cagayan De Oro (September 15 and October 27, 2024)
• Baguio (September 29, 2024)
• Iloilo (October 13, 2024)
• Davao (October 20, 2024)
• National Finals in Pasay (December 8, 2024)

In every race organized by RunRio Inc., Santé Barley sets up a booth where participants can enjoy Santé Barley products and experience the benefits of Santé before and after the race. This addition significantly enhances the overall race experience, providing runners with the necessary nutrition to perform and recover better. 

Santé Barley’s digital presence will also play a role in promoting the said races, with the help of its e-branches in Luzon (including Baguio City), Visayas (Cebu, Iloilo, and Bacolod), and Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro and Davao). Santé Barley is also part of other Run Rio races like Earth Day Run, Clark Marathon, Manila Half Marathon, and Manila Marathon, further solidifying its commitment to promoting running as a way to live healthier lives. 

Through this partnership, Santé Barley, RunRio Inc. and HOKA Trilogy Run Asia are not only promoting fitness and athleticism but also championing a lifestyle centered on well-being, vitality, and overall health.

Together, they aim to inspire individuals of all ages and backgrounds to embrace the journey towards a healthier, more active future. To learn more about Santé Barley and other Santé products, visit its website at mySanté.com. 

Aerobic training is known to regulate blood pressure more effectively when practiced in the evening than in the morning. Now, researchers conducted a study of elderly patients at the University of São Paulo’s School of Physical Education and Sports (EEFE-USP) in Brazil, and they concluded that evening exercise is better for blood pressure regulation thanks to improved cardiovascular control by the autonomic nervous system via a mechanism known as baroreflex sensitivity.

An article on this study, “Evening but not morning aerobic training improves sympathetic activity and baroreflex sensitivity in elderly patients with treated hypertension”, was published in the The Journal of Physiology.

“There are multiple mechanisms to regulate blood pressure, and although morning training was beneficial, only evening training improved short-term control of blood pressure by enhancing baroreflex sensitivity. This is important because baroreflex control has a positive effect on blood pressure regulation, and there aren’t any medications to modulate the mechanism,” Leandro Campos de Brito, first author of the article, said.

In the study, 23 elderly patients diagnosed and treated for hypertension were randomly allocated into two groups: morning training and evening training. Both groups trained for ten weeks on a stationary bicycle at moderate intensity, with three 45-minute sessions per week.

Key cardiovascular parameters were analyzed, such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate after ten minutes’ rest. The data was collected before and at least three days after the volunteers completed the ten weeks of training. 

The researchers also monitored mechanisms pertaining to the autonomic nervous system (which controls breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and other involuntary bodily functions), such as muscle sympathetic nerve activity (which regulates peripheral blood flow via contraction and relaxation of blood vessels in muscle tissue) and sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity (assessing control of blood pressure via alterations to muscle sympathetic nerve activity).

In the evening training group, all four parameters analyzed were found to improve: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity, and muscle sympathetic nerve activity. In the morning training group, no improvements were detected in muscle sympathetic nerve activity, systolic blood pressure or sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity.

Evening training was more effective in terms of improving cardiovascular autonomic regulation and lowering blood pressure. This can be partly explained as due to an improvement in baroreflex sensitivity and a reduction of muscle sympathetic nerve activity, which increased in the evening.

“For now, all we know is that baroreflex control is the decisive factor, from the cardiovascular standpoint at least, to make evening training more beneficial than morning training, since it induces the other benefits analyzed. However, much remains to be done in this regard in order to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms involved,” said Brito.

Baroreflex sensitivity regulates each heartbeat interval and controls autonomic activity throughout the organism.

“It’s a mechanism that involves sensitive fibers and deformations in the walls of arteries in specific places, such as the aortic arch and carotid body. When blood pressure falls, this region warns the brain region that controls the autonomic nervous system, which in turn signals the heart to beat faster and tells the arteries to contract more strongly. If blood pressure rises, it warns the heart to beat more slowly and tells the arteries to contract less. In other words, it modulates arterial pressure beat by beat,” Brito said. 

In previous studies, the EEFE-USP research group showed that evening aerobic training reduced blood pressure more effectively than morning training in hypertensive men (read more at agencia.fapesp.br/34194), and that the more effective response to evening training in terms of blood pressure control was accompanied by a greater reduction in systemic vascular resistance and systolic pressure variability (read more at agencia.fapesp.br/37432).  

“Replication of the results obtained in previous studies and in different groups of hypertensive patients, associated with the use of more precise techniques to evaluate the main outcomes, has strengthened our conclusion that aerobic exercise performed in the evening is more beneficial to the autonomic nervous system in patients with hypertension. This can be especially important for those with resistance to treatment with medication,” Brito ended.

Yoga focused on breathing, meditation, and relaxation is linked with symptom improvement in patients with heart failure.

This is according to research presented at Heart Failure 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology, with the study’s author, Dr. Ajit Singh of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India, emphasizing that “patients who practiced yoga on top of taking their medications felt better, were able to do more, and had stronger hearts than those who only took drugs for their heart failure. The findings suggest that yoga can be a beneficial complementary therapy in patients with heart failure.”

Heart failure affects vast numbers of people – more than 64 million globally – and can have devastating impacts on quality of life, with patients feeling tired and breathless, and being unable to participate in their usual activities. While previous studies have shown the short-term benefits of yoga in patients with heart failure^.

This study enrolled patients aged 30 to 70 years with heart failure from the cardiology outpatient department of Kasturba Hospital in Manipal, India. All participants had undergone a cardiac procedure within the past six months to one year and were taking guideline-recommended heart failure medications. Patients with severe symptoms were excluded.

The study included 85 patients. The average age was 49 years and 70 (82%) were men. In a non-randomised fashion, 40 patients were assigned to the yoga group and 45 patients were allocated to the control group. All participants continued taking guideline-recommended heart failure medications throughout the study.

Experienced faculty in the hospital’s Department of Yoga demonstrated pranayama (yogic breathwork), meditation, and relaxation techniques to patients in the yoga group. Participants were supervised for one week and then advised to continue self-administered yoga at home once a week for 50 minutes. Patients spoke to an instructor after each home session to check progress.

At baseline, six months, and one year, the researchers assessed heart structure and function in the yoga and control groups using echocardiography. The measurements included the ability of the heart to pump blood (left ventricular ejection fraction), and assessment of right ventricular function. The researchers also examined blood pressure, heart rate, body weight, and body mass index. Symptom burden and the ability to do ordinary activities such as walking and climbing stairs were assessed using the New York Heart Association classification system.

Compared to the control group, the yoga group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in all measurements at six months and one year relative to baseline.

Dr. Singh said: “Patients who did yoga had healthier hearts and were more able to carry out ordinary activities such as walking and climbing stairs than those who only took medications. Patients with heart failure should speak to their doctor before starting yoga and should then receive training from an experienced instructor. Prescribed medications should be continued as before. Yoga may be unsuitable for heart failure patients with severe symptoms, who were excluded from our study.”