Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
A reader sent me an email with a link to an interesting and inspiring NY Times article.
This article discuss Dr. Preston Maring and his son, and their efforts to get other physicians and medical colleagues to embrace the importance of nutrition in the health and well-being of their patients.
Dr. Maring set up an all-organic farmer’s market at the Kaiser Permanente medical center at which he works. In his mind the kitchen must become as crucial as the clinic in managing and improving the health of patients.
One of my favorite quotes from the article is this:
“Food is at the center of health and illness, he argues, and so doctors must make all aspects of it — growing, buying, cooking, eating — a mainstay of their medical educations, their personal lives and their practices.”
I could not have said it better myself.
The article also goes into details about how doctors are not provided with sufficient nutrition education, and most do not feel comfortable discussing nutrition with patients (though people still ask and many doctors are more than willing to give poor advice).
Dr. Maring’s son, who is a fourth year med student, has also developed “a series of cooking classes that incorporate salient aspects of nutrition and clinical medicine.” I found that to be quite interesting and I hope that catches on at medical schools nation-wide.
We need to get doctors on board with actually providing sound nutrition advice, and it will all start with providing them with a better nutrition education. This one step alone can make a huge difference, and I sincerely hope this process continues.
I also just wanted to remind you that if you haven’t gotten it yet, today is the last day of the $50 discount on the Show and Go Training System so now is the time to buy!
Have a great weekend everybody!
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Training, Weight Loss
I know I have talked about Show and Go incessantly for the past week, but I am very excited for its release. As of this moment, Eric Cressey has just opened up the doors to his brand new Show and Go Training System!
He’s offering a huge discount on the System and is giving away some really cool bonuses for you if you act fast. But hurry they won’t last long…
You can get all the details right here!
I’ve known Eric for several years now and I can personally tell you that I consider him to be one of the finest performance enhancement coaches in the world. I have seen hundreds of Eric’s clients make the best progress of their lives under his guidance, while also improving their long-term health and performance.
I have also seen this actual program in action, and I absolutely know that it works! One of my best friends in college was a guinea pig for this program.
Now this is a guy who had been training properly for a full year prior to testing Show and Go, and he had made some nice progress. He had cleaned up his diet, gained some strength, improved his body composition as well his performance on the rugby pitch.
In the 4 months of the Show and Go program he lost 10lbs of fat, decreased his bodyfat by 4% and made some tremendous strength gains: his squat went up 30lbs, his deadlift 40lbs (to 405!), his bench by 15lbs, and his chinups by 25lbs!
These would be impressive gains from a beginner, but from a guy who had done some training on and off for a few years, and then had a solid year of high-quality training prior to, these are astounding numbers! And he did it all while getting significantly leaner and not actually dieting! He simply committed himself to some nutrition guidelines I had given to him years prior that he had never truly put to use!
To think, he did all that in just 16 weeks! Keep at it and imagine the results in a full year!
The best part about it all is though Eric and I had kicked around the idea of me writing the nutrition component for his next project for quite some time, it was actually when we were discussing this guys particular results that it truly came to fruition. And thus, the Show and Go Nutrition Guide was born!
I give Show and Go my absolute highest recommendation; from the soft-tissue improvements, the warm-ups and mobility improvements, to the top-notch training and performance improvements this book has it all. Not too mention all of the incredible bonuses and amazing Nutrition Guide!
Do yourself a favor, take your training, nutrition and performance to the next level, and get the Show and Go Training System Now!
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
It has been a crazy week around these parts. I got to enjoy an absolutely beautiful day yesterday by playing 18 on at Fox Ridge, one of the best courses in Maine. It was even better because I played with a member, which cut down my cost, and I had a gift card, so it only cost me $5!
Though after playing some excellent golf last week, I was hacking my way around the greens and couldn’t putt to save my life! Regardless it was great to get out and enjoy a little sunshine, as that will most likely be my last time out this year.
Anywho, I’ve got some interesting stuff for you today.
1. One of my classmates sent me a link to this article on NPR radio. It was all about how a judge laid the smack down on the sugar beet industry, no longer allowing them to plant genetically modified crops because of problems with cross-pollination with non-GMO and organic crops.
The genetically modified Roundup Ready (seriously what commodity crop does Monsanto not have their hands in?) beets are very similar to the Roundup Ready soybeans and corn that dominate the American Midwest landscape.
This is a huge problem because non-GMO and organic crops get sued for patent infringement if cross-pollination occurs, even though it is through no fault of their own. There just happens to be some Roundup Ready crop nearby, wind blows the pollen to the “other” crops, and that farmer gets sued by one of the biggest companies in the food production industry for “patent infringement.”
That and the fact that Monsanto owns all of these Roundup Ready seeds, so farmers can no longer save seeds from one year and replant them the next, which is how farming has been down for centuries, probably millenia. That is now illegal. This monopoly (Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybeans make up 90% of the market) has caused farmer’s to lose their fundamental right to choose the crop of their choice.
This ruling could be a big step in improving our current food production methods, so check it out.
2. Many smart people dismiss the potential health implications from artificial sweetener intake, and I think this is a mistake. Now others take it too far and if you even consider their consumption you are playing with fire and ruining your health.
The fact of the matter is there is considerable research and mountains of anecdotal evidence, claiming that artificial sweeteners do cause plenty of health problems. In fact here is a study done on 59,000 Danish women showing that artificial sweetener intake (aspartame, from diet soda) increased risk of pre-term delivery. Just one diet soda per day increased their risk by 38%, while 4 diet sodas increased their risk by 78%!
There is also some very alarming research done in rats (here and here) which showed that consumption of aspartame within the accepted daily limits caused a tremendous increase in incidences of cancer. They also showed that exposing rats to aspartame while in the womb increased their risk of cancer even more.
Not too mention some research has shown a significant association between artificial sweetener consumption and weight gain!
And that is just for aspartame. There is also research on the negative health effects of Splenda, which I have blogged about before.
So like I said, is some minimal and random consumption going to be a problem? Probably not. But artificial sweeteners are packed into more and more things these days, even ketchup, that you might be surprised by your intake. It is definitely something to keep in mind.
3. For those of you who don’t consume much pasta as there are not many great sources or you are just trying to keep your carb intake down, here is a solid alternative – spaghetti squash. While my wife is not a fan, many people swear by it.
1 cup only has 40 calories, 10 grams of carbs and 2 grams of fiber as well as 120mg of omega-3′s. Just some food for thought for you low-carbers!
Well that does it for me today, have a great weekend everyone!
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Training
I have some very exciting news to discuss today. First I want to mention that my former boss, and good friend Eric Cressey is set to launch his new product Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel and Move Better. He sent me an advanced copy of the product, and it is absolutely incredible.
Not only that, but EC also asked me to write a nutrition manual to tag along with Show and Go, which I of course obliged! I may have gone a little overboard, since my manual alone is around 90 pages! It contains tons of content, example meal plans, recipes and more!
Leading up to the launch of the product, which also comes with sweet free bonuses from guys like Tony Gentilcore, Bret Contreras, Jim Smith and Chris Howard, Eric is going to be dropping some serious knowledge bombs that are just the tip of the iceberg contained in Show and Go.
Today is one such knowledge bomb. If you want to learn how to squat deeply and safely, Eric has just released a free video revealing several instant fixes for your squat. This squat video is just a small sample of what Show and Go provides, check it out.
On another note, I will be running (who’d have thought huh?) in the Dempsey Challenge on October 2nd. The Dempsey Challenge is “a run/walk and cycling experience which integrates the passion and support of the cancer community with the hospitality of the Lewiston/Auburn community, while providing a rewarding experience and unprecedented value to all participants and partners.”
As I am sure many of you may not know, Patrick Dempsey, the star of Grey’s Anatomy, is actually from a small town in Maine, just outside my home town. He actually attended my high school for a few years before transferring. Anyway, I have decided to participate in the 2nd Annual Dempsey Challenge now that I am home in Maine. It was a tremendous success last year, and many of my family members participated in the event.
The Dempsey Challenge benefits The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing at Central Maine Medical Center, in Lewiston, Maine. To participate in the event you are required to raise $150 in donations, and to that end I am unabashedly asking for your help.
We have all been touched by cancer; we all know people who have it, who have beaten it, and who have succumbed to it. If you wish to donate to my running of the 2nd annual Dempsey Challenge, please click here. There is definitely no pressure, but every little bit helps so even if you only have little to give it will all make a difference. Thanks.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition, Training
Well last night during my CP fantasy football draft (to be honest I am not a huge fan of my team, but what can you do) I put the final touches on my nutrition guide for EC’s new book. I am very excited that I had the opportunity to write the nutrition component for EC, but I am also very glad that it is done! It was an incredible amount of work!
Anyway, here are some good blogs/articles that you should check out while you are pretending to work.
1. What a Stressed Out Bride Can Teach You About Training Success – Eric Cressey. Eric delves into how making your goals public, like telling people you are getting married, can greatly increase your chance of success, especially in fitness, performance and body composition.
2. A Little Sage Advice – Tony Gentilcore. Tony answers a question that gets asked often, “how to be a better trainer?” He explains how reading and networking are incredibly important, but that the best way to get better is to just do it!
3. The Dirty Little Secret of the Diet-Heart Hypothesis – Stephan Guyenet. Stephan has been a huge influence in my beliefs on how saturated fat affects health risk (or health improvements!), food quality affects body composition and a whole lot more. This is one of my favorite posts of his, and if you are at all interested in the actual research showing that saturated fat does not cause heart disease, do yourself a favor and check this out.
Enjoy!
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
While researching the benefits of grass-fed meat for my nutrition guide for Eric Cressey’s new book, I came across a brand-new study that I thought was really incredible.
This study looked at red meat from animals that were fed grass or conventionally-fed, and compared the amount of omega-3′s in the blood from each.
Now as I am sure you know, grass-fed meat contains more omega-3′s than conventionally-fed (along with more CLA, more vitamins A and E, and a better saturated fatty acid profile), but it was unknown if this was enough to make a significant difference in blood concentrations in people.
These researchers set up a randomized, double-blind dietary intervention for 4 weeks. This means it was well-designed (especially for a nutrition study, which are often poor).
These 20 subjects replaced their normal red meat intake with three portions of either grass-fed beef or lamb, or conventional-fed beef or lamb.
The researchers found the fatty acid composition of serum blood and platelets, overall dietary intake, blood pressure as well as blood cholesterol and lipid levels pre and post-intervention.
They found that the subjects who consumed the grass-fed meat had higher total intakes of omega-3′s (obviously) and higher blood and platelet levels of omega-3′s, but there were no significant differences seen in triglycerides, blood cholesterol levels or blood pressure.
Ok, so what does this tell us? It tells us that consuming grass-fed red meat will contribute to higher levels of omega-3′s in our diet and in our blood, which is pretty cool. While clearly just consuming grass-fed meat was not enough of an increase in omega-3′s to alter blood lipids and cholesterol (or at least not given enough time), and it was clearly shown to be a significant contributor to overall omega-3 intake.
The key is to look at the big picture, and to see how the consumption of pasture-raised and grass-fed animals will improve nutrition and health over time. 4 weeks is a very short time period to see powerful changes, but just improving blood and platelet levels is an important step in improving long-term health. Eating grass-fed meat in conjunction with pastured eggs and dairy will make an even bigger difference in the overall omega-6 to omega-3 ratio and levels of inflammatory markers.
To me it is just more proof against those who try and claim that the difference in cattle feed is not important. While I do believe that it is significantly better to consume real food like meat, grass-fed or not, than processed man-made food products (or edible food-like substances as Michael Pollan likes to call them), to claim that how the animal was fed doesn’t make a true difference is simply false.
Over time these pieces all add up. Heart disease and inflammation are not problems that are created over night. They are created from long-term diet and lifestyle choices, and improving them one piece at a time will make a huge difference long-term. Choose grass-fed whenever possible, your long-term health will thank you.
Filed under: General Health, Nutrition
Here are a few of my older blogs that you may have missed, never seen or will give you a nice recap. I think you will all enjoy having the chance to read some blogs that may have gotten “lost in the shuffle of time”.
Secret Superfood – This is a good one about a common fruit that may surprise you with its plethora of health benefits. Those of you taking baby aspirin for your heart should check this one out.
Grocery Shopping 101 – This was a highly requested topic that I covered in great detail many months ago. If you ever feel overwhelmed or unsure of yourself in the grocery store, this one is for you.
The Real Truth of Acai – Those of you who get bombarded with pitches for Mona Vie and the like will appreciate this one. I look at the actual facts and go into great detail on whether acai is worth your time.
Filed under: General Health
I am actually at the Folger Library for my UMaine Graduate School Orientation as I write this quick blog. We had about an hour and a half for lunch, and as I am still conditioned to eating food as rapidly as possible from years of eating-while-coaching at CP, I had well over an hour to kill. So here I am.
Yesterday I wrote about the ridiculous accusations put forward by ABC News about creatine and its tenuous link to compartment syndrome.
Fortunately I am far from the only one who felt the need to clear the air on the topic. Chris Shugart over at T-Nation wrote a response that I must say might even be better than my own.
Check it out: ABC News Vilifies Creatine.
Filed under: General Health
A CP client just sent me an article on abcnews.com that asks the question “Did Creatine Lead to Compartment Syndrome Cluster?”
The article alleges that creatine may have caused 13 members of the McMinnville High School football team to be hospitalized with severe muscle problems.
This article is an example of absolutely awful sensationalist reporting. It makes it sound like 13 members of the team developed this rare Anterior Compartment Syndrome, when in reality only 3 developed it. Granted that is still an unusually high number, but it seems like a rather intentional misrepresentation of the facts to me. It also has a caption under a picture of these kids in the hospital, saying that 12 were admitted for severe muscle problems. The video states 14 players! So which is it, 12, 13, 14?
The reporter states that creatine has been linked to anterior compartment syndrome, but doesn’t provide any actual data or references, when in reality the link is tenuous at best.
In a 2006 double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, cross-over study (ie – the gold standard) at the University of Connecticut this theory was put to the test (free full text!). They placed 11 well-trained athletes through tests meant to mimic conditions in pre-season tryouts.
Subjects were put through two sessions, one 120 minutes, one 80 minutes, one hour apart. The subjects completed these sessions in over 90 degree heat in moderate humidity, causing approximately 4% loss in bodyweight. A 4% loss in bodyweight is a very significant amount. At just 2% bodyweight loss athletes performances can be decreased by up to 30% and experience rapid heart rates, elevated body temperatures, and rapid fatigue.
These subjects also consumed either 21.6 grams/day of creatine monohydrate or placebo for 7 days prior to the trials as this mimics the normal loading phase of creatine, which is usually 20-25 grams per day for 7 days. I will note that I personally do not recommend loading, as you can simply take 5 grams/day and reach the same saturation point in 28 days, so why waste product and money?
Anyway, back to the study. The researchers found:
“Our results show that short-term creatine monohydrate loading did not significantly increase resting anterior compartment pressure measures. However, creatine monohydrate did affect the anterior compartment pressure responses specific to dehydration, because a small to moderate effect was reported between pre-dehydration and post-dehydration anterior compartment pressure measures. Our data showed a greater increase in anterior compartment pressure in the creatine monohydrate trial than in the placebo trial at the post-dehydration time point. We also found that creatine monohydrate had an effect on the dehydrated subjects exercising in the heat, because a small to moderate interaction was reported between pre-dehydration and 1 minute post-heat tolerant test exercise for the trials. In addition, we discovered that creatine monohydrate supplementation caused a delay in the return of post-exercise anterior compartment pressure measures to resting values in these dehydrated subjects exercising in the heat.”
Uh oh, is creatine actually deserving of the blame? Lets keep reading to see the final conclusion.
“No evidence was observed in our study that short-term creatine monohydrate loading led to the signs and symptoms consistent with anterior compartment syndrome in a dehydrated athlete performing intense, intermittent, and prolonged exercise in the heat and humidity. None of the subjects in this study complained of lower extremity aching, cramping, burning pain, or tightness over the area of the anterior compartment of the lower leg, which is consistent with most of the literature.
High dose creatine monohydrate supplementation during exercise periods of increased thermal stress showed a mild to moderate trend toward increased anterior compartment pressure measures in dehydrated males. However, our results do not support the American College of Sports Medicine’s recommendation (to avoid creatine in hot environments), because no associated symptoms of anterior compartment syndrome were seen. The differences were minimal, and the increased pressures readily equalized after intermittent exercise.”
Hhmmm, so a sterling study that mimics intense two-a-days in 90 degree heat and moderate humidity found that (large) creatine supplementation did mildly increase the anterior compartment pressure (though it quickly returned to baseline), but it did not actually cause anterior compartment syndrome nor any even any of its symptoms!
Anterior compartment syndrome almost always occurs in the lower legs, and is often caused by severe over-use of the tissues. These athletes had the problems in their triceps, which is strange in and of itself. For the tissues in the triceps to develop that type of pressure, the training had to play a role.
Most of the experts interviewed for the article actually pointed the finger at the over-training that must have occurred for this syndrome to develop. Yet creatine gets the blame?
These athletes had just begun their training camp under a new head coach on Monday with symptoms being reported by Tuesday! No it couldn’t have anything to do with a new head coach trying to instill discipline and physically exert these kids into the ground. High school football coaches never do that! It must be the creatine!
Sarcasm aside, could creatine have contributed? Sure, especially if these high school kids were taking amounts outside the recommended doses then it might have made a small contribution, but the cause? I think not. I tend to lean towards the overzealous training myself.
It just drives me nuts how reporters like this know that claiming that over-training high school athletes may have lead to anterior compartment syndrome is not as sexy nor as provocative as stating that a nutritional supplement caused it.
While there are a lot, and I mean a lot, of shitty supplements out there that high school kids feel compelled to take, there are also a lot of good ones. Plain, high quality creatine monohydrate is the most studied supplement in history, and it has a sterling track record. If it really is such a dangerous substance, how do hundreds of thousands, probably even millions of athletes take it without also developing anterior compartment syndrome?
The literature has noted that the only consistently documented side effect of creatine supplementation is bodyweight increase! This is one of the primary purposes of supplementing with it!
What about the possibility that these kids did take creatine, but a poor one, with who knows what else in it that contributed to this issue? I think that is very likely knowing the nature of high school kids wanting to take the most “extreme” supplements that will get them insta-jacked.
What sounds better to a high school football player: Sodium Creatine Phosphate Matrix and Creatinol-O-Phosphate-Malic Acid Interfusion, or Creatine Monohydrate Powder?
Is the blame really on creatine monohydrate itself? I don’t think so, and a better reporter would have made it clear that the link is tenuous at best, used a less sensationalized title, and maybe actually gathered more data before pointing any fingers.
On an interesting aside, Dr. Donald Christie was one of the experts interviewed who said that creatine is most likely not the cause. Dr. Christie works in my home town of Lewiston, Maine and I know him quite well. Of course he also tossed the word bugaboo into his quote, making us Mainers look even more awesome.
Filed under: General Health, Training
This past weekend I paid a little visit to CP. It was nice to see some friendly faces, do some coaching, catch up with the staff and get in a brutal 20 minute Prowler push medley (after doing some other strong man work).
I hate the Prowler, and I hate EC for programming that the day I come down. I could hardly move my legs for about 10 minutes after finishing they were so exhausted and full of blood.
After driving back home to Maine that evening (a shade under 3 hours) I played and walked 18 holes of some ugly golf at Poland Spring Golf Course the next morning. It was a beautiful day, though there were some very strong winds that made some shots quite interesting.
It was the first time I had ever played a links-style course, and I can’t say I was a huge fan. The pin placements were brutal, especially with the lack of rain so the greens were incredibly fast. I won’t even discuss my score, suffice to say that out of the four of us, at least I came in second. Walking 18 holes is always much more tiring than I expect, and as long as you are slugging down a 6-pack on the way, is some pretty good exercise. On an interesting aside, the Poland Spring Golf Course was the first golf course built at a resort in the US.
The following day my wife and I went whitewater rafting with my parents and sisters on the Kennebec River. Minus the fact that it was overcast and actually somewhat cold, it was fun as hell and I always enjoy crashing down a raging river and hitting some big rapids.
It was also quite fun to see both of my sisters, my mom and my wife fall out, while my dad and I managed to hold strong and actually stay in the raft. We went with Crab Apple Whitewater for those possibly interested in the experience. They do a great job and they have the best location due to the fact that as soon as you exit the river you merely toss your raft up on a trailer and then walk across the road directly to their base. All other companies you have to get back on a school bus and travel back to the base, some as far as 45 minutes away.
All in all it was a busy weekend, but definitely fun and active. A point it really drove home for me was you don’t have to just go to the gym to get some exercise, there are tons of opportunities just waiting for you outside your door! Even the training session at CP was something that really could have been done just about anywhere. You can flip tires, carry heavy stuff for long distances, smash stuff with a sledgehammer, drag heavy tires for time and more to get in a fun, varied and intense conditioning session in. Not everything has to be bench presses and curls!
Take advantage of this beautiful summer before the cold days of winter keep you bundled up inside. Though there is always snow-shoeing.
Posted on September 24th, 2010 by Brian St. Pierre
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