"One of the first large-scale studies of ultrarunners -- those superhumans who race distances longer than the standard 26.2-mile marathon -- shows that these runners are more likely to suffer from more allergies and asthma."
"They also report more knee pain and stress fractures, but when you're running 50 miles at a time, that seems about right."
Source: Ultrarunners aren't always ultrahealthy
Related Post: Run 2,800 miles in 64 days - loose muscle, fat, and brain!
Testosterone & cortisol in high & low power poses
Hair samples on violent offenders?
A few weeks ago while at the hospital having lunch with some physician colleagues discussion turned to the recent Colorado school shooting. I argued that violent criminals should have hair samples tested for toxic metals. Today, Andrew Blankstein of NBC News published the article Are the Xbox and unleaded gas helping keep you safe from violent crime? Of the "seven other seldom-mentioned factors" that may be responsible for the decrease in U.S. homicide rates, Blankstein writes:
"In a landmark 2007 study, Amherst College Public Health Professor Jessica Wolpaw Reyes found a remarkable correlation between lead exposure and violent crime. According to her calculations, exposure to the heavy metal could have accounted for between 28 percent and 91 percent of the 83 percent increase in violent crime in the U.S. between 1972 and 1992. And as lead exposure dropped, so too did violent crime, falling 56 percent during the 1990s, she found."
Dr. Enrique Jacoby of the World Health Organization on packaged food
Image: Stuart Spivack from Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Leah Sottile, writing for The Atlantic asked Dr. Enrique Jacoby of the World Health Organization (WHO) why Americans getting sicker at a younger age:
"Are my friends sick, by chance, because they grew up eating Spaghetti-O’s and Kraft macaroni and cheese like every other kid in the 1980s? Are they victims of an era driven by convenience foods and sugary drinks?"
Jacoby’s response:
“Anyone that lives on mac and cheese, a lot of this packaged food, probably will grow up in one way or another addicted to this type of food. It’s well-known that there is very clear evidence that packaged foods are designed to be addictive. Do you know anyone who is addicted to chicken or fish or celery? That doesn’t exist.”
Source: Living Sick and Dying Young in Rich America
Related Post: Becoming Paleo, Part 1: The Yale Food Addiction Scale
Are young Americans getting sicker?
"I thought this would be the time when we’d be preparing for the rest of our lives: earning money, going on fun vacations, having families, building our careers. And we are, but at the same time, we’re doing it while we’re trying to manage pain symptoms, chase down prescriptions, and secure stable health insurance. When I was in college, I remember being prepared to survive in the workforce, but I don’t remember a class that told me how to do that if half of your household is in so much pain on some days that they can’t get to work. I’m barely over 30. I thought I had so much more time before I had to think about this stuff."
"I wondered if this was normal. Do we know so many people who are dealing with pain because people are just getting sicker in general?"
Robert's Paleo Transformation
Robert before his transformation.
"About a year and a half ago, I was driving somewhere and counting my blessings. The only thing I could think of that might be a welcome improvement in life was to lose a few pounds. I had no idea that a transformation of this kind was even possible."
See the results of Robert's transformation here:
I Had No Idea That A Transformation Of This Kind Was Even Possible
Is aerobic fitness or BMI the better predictor of academic performance?
Image: Mosborne01
Is a child’s weight or their aerobic fitness the better predictor of academic performance? Researchers of the Partnership for Healthy Lincoln in Nebraska studied this question in fourth- to eighth-grade students and published their findings in the August 2013 Journal of Pediatrics.
“Aerobic fitness was defined by entering the healthy fitness zone of Fitnessgram's Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run, which has been shown to correlate highly with maximum oxygen consumption.”
Academic performance was assessed in relation to passing the Nebraska State Accountability math and reading tests. Adjustments were made for factors such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and free/reduced lunch status.
“After adjustment, aerobically fit students had greater odds of passing the NeSA math and reading tests compared with aerobically unfit students.”
The researchers concluded:
“Aerobic fitness was a significant predictor of academic performance; weight status was not. Although decreasing BMI for an overweight or obese child undoubtedly improves overall health, results indicated all students benefit academically from being aerobically fit regardless of weight or free/reduced lunch status. Therefore, to improve academic performance, school systems should focus on the aerobic fitness of every student.”
Nicole's Paleo / CrossFit Success Story
I was about 30 pounds (of fat) overweight, I had constant heartburn, sleeping problems, and chronic allergies. Despite the fact that I had an incredible husband and stepson, amazing family and friends, a great job, and a beautiful home, and I still felt bad about myself. I knew that it was time to make a real, fundamental, and lasting change.
Read more: Paleo / CrossFit Success Story
An Apple a Day: Polymeal vs. Polypill
Image: Abhijit Tembhekar
Science Daily reports on a new study published in The BMJ:
"Prescribing an apple a day to all adults aged 50 and over would prevent or delay around 8,500 vascular deaths such as heart attacks and strokes every year in the UK -- similar to giving statins to everyone over 50 years who is not already taking them -- according to a study in the Christmas edition of The BMJ.
The researchers conclude that the 150 year old public health message: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is able to match more widespread use of modern medicine, and is likely to have fewer side effects. The research takes into account people who are already appropriately taking statins to reduce their risk of vascular disease and therefore the authors stress that no-one currently taking statins should stop, although by all means eat more apples."
"The comparison of a medicalised approach to chronic disease prevention with that of a lifestyle one has been previously estimated (polypill versus polymeal), although, in our view, not with any realistic hope of changing population behaviour, despite the suggestion to employ out of work cardiologists as chefs. We offer a simplified version of this: our study suggests that both nutritional and pharmaceutical population approaches to primary prevention of vascular disease have the potential to have a significant effect on population mortality. We find that a 150 year old proverb is able to match modern medicine and is likely to have fewer side effects."
Exercise is important, nutrition is key: How to loose 5 pant sizes
"Prior to my paleo lifestyle, I ate anything in sight at any time of day. I thought that if I ate small meals (of anything), then it would be OK. I was working out because in my brain at the time, I thought I could eat unhealthily and just burn off the calories at the gym. Needless to say, this did not work out very well."
Source: PaleoNonPaleo
Sweden's butter consumption goes up, risk of myocardial infarction goes down
"The outdated fear-mongering propaganda claiming that a dramatically increased butter consumption in Sweden has also increased the incidence of heart disease is once again crushed by reality."
"New statistics from The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare show the exact opposite. The incidence of heart attacks in Sweden keeps plummeting, for both men and women, just as they have done since 2005. We are becoming healthier, despite eating more and more butter."
The Real Association Between Butter and Heart Disease in Sweden
Denise Minger's new book: Death By Food Pyramid
Reading The China Study a couple of years ago, I was puzzled by all the fanfare. Take thousands or correlations, pick the ones you want and make your own case. Then, be sloppy about how you characterized the foods. Put chicken potpie in the meat category and ignore the industrial inflammatory carbs that make up the bulk of the dish.
Struck by the weakness of the book - viewed by vegans and vegetarians as “authoritative” - I searched the net for detailed critiques and quickly found those by English major Denise Minger. As a physician conditioned to turning first to the basic science and medical literature, I was struck by her critical mind as it delved into the cracks in the data and uncovered The China Study’s flimsy infrastructure.
(I then read a debate between Dr. Loren Cordain, who has studied the Paleolithic diet for over 25 years, and T. Colin Campbell, the lead author of The China Study, and found a comment by Campbell discrediting the use of randomized studies -- after all, it's easier to make a case when one ignores the science.)
Now, Denise Minger, at the encouragement of publisher Mark Sisson, has written a book skewering the Food Pyramid. Since I have yet to read the book, I share Mark's comments:
“Now, with this book, she sets her sight on the disastrous, farcical USDA Food Pyramid, exposing the twisted liaisons between government and industry that enabled it and dismantling the shoddy science and erroneous conclusions supporting it.”
If you read the book, please share your thoughts.
Luis Scola of the Pacers combines the Paleo & Zone diets
"I feel so much better that I'm never coming back. You can't go back. That's what I tell the guys that are trying it. ... If I eat the things that I used to eat before, that's when I start feeling really bad. So once you start doing it and you do it for a long time, you can't stop. Because if you go back, you feel it."
Nutrition in the NBA; Part II: Paleo diet takes hold for myriad reasons
Before: "Well over 320 pounds"
"My health the past 13 years has been a roller coaster ride. I had hyperlipidemia, elevated liver enzymes, several sebaceous cysts surgically removed, extremely severe acne (dermatologist treated 30 years), GERD, irritable bowel, and frequent strep throat. I had several extreme febrile episodes of unknown diagnosis. ...I frequently felt fatigued and just wanted to collapse when home from work; I had poor sleep for many years – I attributed it to being 40 and overweight. I also had significant joint pain and stiffness in my shoulders, neck, ankles and knees – again I attributed it to getting older, being overweight and past injuries."
Read more Before and After: Healthier at Age 44 Than 24: How I Lost 115 Pounds and Turned My Life Around
Does a gluten-free diet protect mice from Type I diabetes?
Image: Madeleine Price BallA study recently published in PLOS ONE provides evidence that type I diabetes is more frequent and occurs earlier in mice on a gluten-containing diet.
Key terms:
T1D – Type I diabetes
NOD mice - non-obese diabetic mice
microbiota, microbiome – symbiotic microbes, in this case, the ones in our gut
The key statements from the study's conclusions are highlighted:
"Based on this observation and our findings, we could propose that gluten could contribute to the pathogenesis of T1D in the NOD mouse by decreasing Akkermansia, a genus of GIT microbiota that protects against T1D."
"Alternatively, gluten-containing diets may promote 'pathogenic or diabetogenic' bacteria."
"Further experiments are needed to prove these possibilities."
"In conclusion, we have shown that gluten-free diets significantly delay the onset as well as reduce the overall incidence of spontaneous T1D in NOD mice."
"Gut microbiomes from mice fed gluten-free diets was distinct from those of mice fed diabetogenic, gluten-containing diets.Therefore, gluten could contribute to the pathogenesis of T1D by modulating the gut microflora."
Source
The study was performed by a team of researchers from:
- Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota,
- Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota,
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota,
- Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois,
- Department of Animal & Range Sciences, College of Agriculture, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, & Nutrition, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Neurologist David Perlmutter on Diet & the Brain
"Nutrition matters. The brain is more responsive to diet and lifestyle than any other part of the body and until now it's been virtually ignored. We load up on medications when our mood is off, we hope for an Alzheimer's disease pill when we get older. I submit that we need to take a step back and ask, 'Is this really how we want to treat ourselves?’”
David Perlmutter, MD