I'm once again off-topic, since this post doesn't have a lot to do with food. But skin cancer is a real concern for cyclists, given how much time we spend in the sun. I happen to be a cancer survivor, having had a melanoma removed six and a half years ago, so this is a subject near and dear to me.
After my experience I looked high and low for anything suggesting any means of reducing the likelihood of a recurrence. For a time I bought sunblock clothing and special sunblock that left me pasty-looking, I even bought sunblock dye and dyed all of my regular clothing. Despite searching high and low there didn't seem to be much else that I could do. Things have changed a bit since then.
First off, hiding from the sun is probably the worst thing you can do, though avoiding sun burns is still essential. My feeling, based upon reading a few years back, is that it is best if you can start tanning early in the season and let your natural melanin protect you, with a light sunblock as extra protection when you anticipate long exposure on high UV days. To learn more about how sunlight and adequate levels of Vitamin D is thought to help prevent melanoma see this page on Dr. Mercola's website.
Second, cut back on sugar so that it is a condiment to flavor meals, rather than consumption of sugar for sugar's sake (i.e., cakes, candy bars, soda pop, etc). Sugar is implicated in all kinds of inflammatory processes, so there's no sense in adding extra fuel to cancer's fire. If you are going to eat sugar (and I do) it's probably best to have it with your meal, than as a between meal snack.
Third, Curcumin (found in Turmeric and Curry) has generated a lot of excitement for what appears to be its ability to block a pathway for the development of melanoma, as well as other cancers and degenerative diseases. For more on that, see this Science Daily article. Turmeric is available in supplement form. I take a couple of capsules per day for it's anti-inflammatory effect and for the possibility that it may keep future melanomas at bay.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Racing Weight
I just finished reading Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald. When I first started this blog I was looking for a way to document what I'd learned about ways of eating that would keep me lean and thus improve my power to weight ratio for bicycle hill climbs. So it was hard for me not to want to see what Matt had written.
The subtitle of Matt's book is "How to Get Lean for Peak Performance: 5-step Plan for Endurance Athletes." And while endurance is an aspect of my hill climbing, it is not the determing factor - I'm looking to go faster, not longer since there are no longer climbs in my neighborhood. While my training rides last from 2 to 3 1/2 hours, the all-out climbing part lasts from between 35 minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes. So I'm not interested in the four hour plus slogs that are the focus of his book.
With that said, I think Matt has done a great job of organizing his information and explaining his sources and reasoning. I was more than a bit disappointed that the main recommendation was for people to count calories, though in his defense he made the recommendation as a way to help folks understand where the excess calories are coming from that keep them from getting as lean as they'd like to be. I feel things could've been a lot simpler: animal proteins, nuts, fats and cheese are energy dense foods (they have a lot of calories in relation to volume), most fruits and vegetables have low energy density. Both contribute plenty of nutrients to support long term health. The main point should be portion control for the most energy dense foods (i.e., a serving of lean meat no larger than the palm of your hand, 1 of 2 tablespoons of nuts, modest amounts of good fats, etc).
Another point is that nutritionless foods (those containing lots of sugar and white floor) should be minimized as much as possible, as they'll actually destroy some of the nutrients that you consume from high qualilty sources.
And a final point is that what is marketed as healthy food isn't necessarily healthy. For instance, fruit juices are no better than soda pop due to their high fructose content, even though they do have some additional nutrients. And pretty much anything baked, even using whole grain flour, is very calorie dense but pretty much nutritionally empty - certainly there is very little bang for your nutritional buck there.
So save yourself some time and money and invest in a good anti-inflammatory diet program. It'll save you weeks or months of counting calories. Once you're on that, if you're still looking to get down to your absolute optimal racing weight, then you'll want to count calories. But just remember, this is more art than science. The calories listed on packages are averages, not absolutes. And if you are avoiding processed foods to maximize your health, good luck figuring out the caloric values of all the different ingredients that go into a meal (that's why pro teams have their own nutritionists - so the riders don't have to burn a zillion brain-calories figuring this stuff out).
The bottom line is that Racing Weight is fantastic if going long in cycling, running, skiing, or swimming is your thing. But if you are interested in speed over distance, then there's a lot less there that will be of interest to you.
The subtitle of Matt's book is "How to Get Lean for Peak Performance: 5-step Plan for Endurance Athletes." And while endurance is an aspect of my hill climbing, it is not the determing factor - I'm looking to go faster, not longer since there are no longer climbs in my neighborhood. While my training rides last from 2 to 3 1/2 hours, the all-out climbing part lasts from between 35 minutes to an hour and fifteen minutes. So I'm not interested in the four hour plus slogs that are the focus of his book.
With that said, I think Matt has done a great job of organizing his information and explaining his sources and reasoning. I was more than a bit disappointed that the main recommendation was for people to count calories, though in his defense he made the recommendation as a way to help folks understand where the excess calories are coming from that keep them from getting as lean as they'd like to be. I feel things could've been a lot simpler: animal proteins, nuts, fats and cheese are energy dense foods (they have a lot of calories in relation to volume), most fruits and vegetables have low energy density. Both contribute plenty of nutrients to support long term health. The main point should be portion control for the most energy dense foods (i.e., a serving of lean meat no larger than the palm of your hand, 1 of 2 tablespoons of nuts, modest amounts of good fats, etc).
Another point is that nutritionless foods (those containing lots of sugar and white floor) should be minimized as much as possible, as they'll actually destroy some of the nutrients that you consume from high qualilty sources.
And a final point is that what is marketed as healthy food isn't necessarily healthy. For instance, fruit juices are no better than soda pop due to their high fructose content, even though they do have some additional nutrients. And pretty much anything baked, even using whole grain flour, is very calorie dense but pretty much nutritionally empty - certainly there is very little bang for your nutritional buck there.
So save yourself some time and money and invest in a good anti-inflammatory diet program. It'll save you weeks or months of counting calories. Once you're on that, if you're still looking to get down to your absolute optimal racing weight, then you'll want to count calories. But just remember, this is more art than science. The calories listed on packages are averages, not absolutes. And if you are avoiding processed foods to maximize your health, good luck figuring out the caloric values of all the different ingredients that go into a meal (that's why pro teams have their own nutritionists - so the riders don't have to burn a zillion brain-calories figuring this stuff out).
The bottom line is that Racing Weight is fantastic if going long in cycling, running, skiing, or swimming is your thing. But if you are interested in speed over distance, then there's a lot less there that will be of interest to you.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Sugar
I ran across a new alternative health newsletter a couple of days ago, the New England Health Advisory. It appears to have started up last month. They've published a brochure entitled The Truth About Sugar that was interesting to read. I'd seen most of the information before, mainly from Dr. Mercola's website and his 76 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health.
The most interesting bit is a discussion of the differences between Glucose (including plain old table sugar or sucrose) and Fructose. Fructose is the sugar found in most fruit and in it's natural form, when eaten as a fruit, it's pretty much harmless, due to the fiber that slows down the digestion of the sugar. But straight fructose, as a processed food (derived from good old industrial agricultural corn), is a whole other deal.
It turns out that from every 120 calories of glucose consumed, on average, 1 calorie is stored as fat. But for every 120 calories of fructose consumed, on average, 40 calories is stored as fat! And significantly more of the fat is inter-abdominal fat, the worst possible kind.
It seems that fructose is metabolized very differently than glucose. Glucose is broken down in the body's cells, whereas most of fructose is broken down in the liver, much like ethanol (alcohol). And the way it stores the fat can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Now the liver isn't one of our bi-lateral redundant organs (like our kidneys), meaning we have only one, so we can't do without it. So processed fructose should be nowhere in our diets, yet its in most processed foods!
An interesting sidenote is that by all accounts the obesity epidemic in America started in the late seventies. Just coincidentally this is when processed fructose, which is cheaper than sugar, started entering our food supply in significant ways. In particular, this is when most soft drinks changed from formulas based on sucrose to ones based on fructose (as High Fructose Corn Syrup).
Talk about a smoking gun...
The most interesting bit is a discussion of the differences between Glucose (including plain old table sugar or sucrose) and Fructose. Fructose is the sugar found in most fruit and in it's natural form, when eaten as a fruit, it's pretty much harmless, due to the fiber that slows down the digestion of the sugar. But straight fructose, as a processed food (derived from good old industrial agricultural corn), is a whole other deal.
It turns out that from every 120 calories of glucose consumed, on average, 1 calorie is stored as fat. But for every 120 calories of fructose consumed, on average, 40 calories is stored as fat! And significantly more of the fat is inter-abdominal fat, the worst possible kind.
It seems that fructose is metabolized very differently than glucose. Glucose is broken down in the body's cells, whereas most of fructose is broken down in the liver, much like ethanol (alcohol). And the way it stores the fat can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Now the liver isn't one of our bi-lateral redundant organs (like our kidneys), meaning we have only one, so we can't do without it. So processed fructose should be nowhere in our diets, yet its in most processed foods!
An interesting sidenote is that by all accounts the obesity epidemic in America started in the late seventies. Just coincidentally this is when processed fructose, which is cheaper than sugar, started entering our food supply in significant ways. In particular, this is when most soft drinks changed from formulas based on sucrose to ones based on fructose (as High Fructose Corn Syrup).
Talk about a smoking gun...
Friday, April 9, 2010
Clogged Arteries, Part II
I just finished reading Real Food by Nina Planck, and learned a bit more about heart disease as a result. So I thought I'd share what I've learned, as it answers a few of the questions raised in my last post.
The most interesting thing I read was that a deficiency of B Vitamins and folic acid causes homocysteine levels to increase. It is excess levels of homocysteine that is believed to cause damage to arterial walls that begins the whole process of arteries clogging. Excessive sugar and white flour can cause B vitamin depletion.
Some other interesting stuff:
ADDED 4-15-10: I've been reading Healthy at 100 by John Robbins and came across a little tidbit that seems to be another piece of the heart health puzzle. His assertion is that the iron found in red meat can be problematic at high levels for two reasons. First, iron is an oxidant and tends in increase the aging process. Second, since it is in a form that is very easily assimilated it is fairly easy to get more than you need. The potential problem is that excess iron can oxidize chloresterol in your body. Oxidized chloresterol is stickier than regular chloresterol, so if you have arterial damage it is likely to block things up faster than would otherwise be the case. In my mind it makes more sense that the connection between meat consumption and heart disease has more to do with excess iron than with excess chloresterol or saturated fat. More to the point, it is excess meat consumption that is problematic. Not surprising when you see restaurants routinely serving 10 oz+ portions (even though your body can only process a few ounces of that amount).
The most interesting thing I read was that a deficiency of B Vitamins and folic acid causes homocysteine levels to increase. It is excess levels of homocysteine that is believed to cause damage to arterial walls that begins the whole process of arteries clogging. Excessive sugar and white flour can cause B vitamin depletion.
Some other interesting stuff:
- Conjugated Lineoleic Acid (CLA) is thought to reduce atherosclerosis. CLA is found in milk from grass-fed cows (mostly in butter and cream). Most cows are not grass-fed anymore, so you need to look hard to find grass-fed milk nowadays.
- The Physician's Health Study found that doctors eating fish as little as once per week were less than half as likely to have a fatal heart attach than those that at less than once per month. Fish are a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids.
- More than half of the fat found in arterial plaques is polyunsaturated. Polyunstaturated fats include corn, sunflower, saffola and other vegetable oils - those typically used in modern processed foods. Yet we're told by medical establishment to fear saturated fats...
- There are far too many sources of Omega 6 fatty acids in the typical western diet (thanks in no small part to the vegetable oils and other sources found in processed and restaurant foods). Omega 6 fatty acids are inflammatory and increase clotting, both of which are bad for heart health. While typically there is far too much Omega 6 fatty acids in most folks' diets, a deficiency in Omega 3 fatty acids can be just as problematic. Ideally your body is looking for a ratio of around 1 Omega 3 fatty acid for every 2 Omega 6 fatty acids.
- Chloresterol is not bad, but oxidized chloresterol is. Oxidized chloresterol is found in powdered eggs, powdered milk and fried foods. Powdered eggs and milks are used extensively in processed foods.
- Inflammation from infections is also a risk factor for heart disease.
ADDED 4-15-10: I've been reading Healthy at 100 by John Robbins and came across a little tidbit that seems to be another piece of the heart health puzzle. His assertion is that the iron found in red meat can be problematic at high levels for two reasons. First, iron is an oxidant and tends in increase the aging process. Second, since it is in a form that is very easily assimilated it is fairly easy to get more than you need. The potential problem is that excess iron can oxidize chloresterol in your body. Oxidized chloresterol is stickier than regular chloresterol, so if you have arterial damage it is likely to block things up faster than would otherwise be the case. In my mind it makes more sense that the connection between meat consumption and heart disease has more to do with excess iron than with excess chloresterol or saturated fat. More to the point, it is excess meat consumption that is problematic. Not surprising when you see restaurants routinely serving 10 oz+ portions (even though your body can only process a few ounces of that amount).
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