Runalong

For the record, my answer to that question is "no". Some of my best friends are vegans and they have a pretty good grasp of nutrition and what it takes to be a successful vegan. That isn't one of my aspirations but I needed to clear the air before linking to this op-ed which comes dangerously close to implying a "yes" answer to the question in my title. I would say, if you are going to be a vegan, be a scientific vegan. Don't make it your religion (many vegans do). Be sure you know what you are doing (most vegans do).

My reason for linking to the article is this: Most nutritionists and nutrition-journalists drive me nuts because they are such lemmings. They just repeat the company line and don't seem capable of, or interested in, really looking at the evidence (or lack thereof) behind the recommendations they so confidently assert. The truth is: we really don't know a lot about nutrition. So even though Nina Planck doesn't provide, in the links that follow, the kind of scientific evidence for her claims that I would like to see; I appreciate the fact that she is willing to think for herself and challenge the status quo.

Her claims about "real food" may be valid. At the very least they tend to agree with my biases! Read and ponder for your own self:

Meat: Yes!
Whole Milk: Yes! (Raw)
Low-fat diet: No!
Q&A with Nina Planck

I've often commented on the fact that if you ask someone over 60 what is most important to them (temporally speaking), they always answer: health. "All that matters is if you have your health," yet, if you ask someone under 60 what they are doing to prepare for retirement years they can tell you all about IRA's and retirement plans and how they are trying to save and invest for the financial aspect of retirement, but few are doing anything to ensure that they'll be in good health in their latter years.

Now, there are no guarantees: your investments may go sour and good health may elude you even if you do all the right things. But if we sacrificially prepare for financial well-being, shouldn't we prepare for the more important matter of health?

The current Money magazine, of all sources, agrees. The greatest regret of retirees isn't failing to provide for themselves financially, but failing to invest in their health (p18). And health is a two-fer: "Want to double your portfolio's size? Exercise, cut out fats and don't smoke."

Later in the magazine they look, Money-style, at which form of exercise gives you the most health-bang for the buck. The clear winner: Running: more than four times better than swimming and seven times better than cycling (per dollar spent).

Hey, if I can inspire John Stumbo, maybe I can inspire you too!

Here we go again...

"According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. "The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined," said Bell, whose research is funded by Britain's Medical Research Council.

When it comes to being fit, experts say there is no short-cut. "If you just want to look thin, then maybe dieting is enough," Bell said. "But if you want to actually be healthy, then exercise has to be an important component of your lifestyle."

Time for our annual free running lesson for all Runalong readers!

If running was always as hard as the last two miles up South Fork this evening, nobody would run.
When you start running, all running is as hard as that. That's why most people don't stick it out.
Why make yourself miserable?

But after awhile, your body adapts. With proper training, even those last two miles up South Fork wouldn't have been so bad.
Running in an untrained body is no fun. But running in a trained body is as easy as walking.

The trick is getting through the training period.
The training period is ten weeks long.
For those ten weeks you need to commit an hour a day, five days a week.
The more days you skip, the longer it takes for running to become easy. The longer running stays unpleasant, the slower your progress, the less likely you'll stick with it until it does become easy. One hour a day, five days a week, ten weeks. The benefits of fitness to mind, body and emotions are amazing. But you've got to make the ten week commitment to get there.

Here's how to make those ten weeks more pleasant-
Go at the same time every day. Every day + same time = habit. Habits are easier than having to decide every time. If you have to think that hard about it, sooner or later you'll think, "I'll just skip this once." Even with a habit it will be a temptation. Habits are hard to form, but make life easier.
One hour: dress for running- make sure you have good shoes. Go outside- weather won't kill you. Run until it starts to feel unpleasant. One minute maybe. Walk until you recover. Repeat until twenty minutes are up. Note your location. Turn around and do the same until you are home. Take a shower and get dressed. Your hour is up.

Don't push yourself too hard. The process takes time and trying to speed it up makes it take longer. Tomorrow you will run a little more and walk a little less and go a little farther. In four to six weeks you'll be running the whole way. Don't rush it- what matters isn't how fast you can run three miles but whether you are still doing it a year from now.

After the ten weeks are up, IF you have been consistent, you may now adjust your running to your schedule. You only need to run three times a week to maintain fitness; 15 miles a week is ideal for most of the benefits of exercise and fitness. That should take you about three hours a week. That will do you until you die. After that it gets even easier!

At least not if it has "artificial butter flavor".

Along with all the revisions in dietary recommendations comes this shocking new development: we may be making ourselves more susceptible to cancer and other diseases BECAUSE WE ARE AVOIDING THE SUN!

Authorities are implicated because the main way humans achieve healthy levels of vitamin D isn't through diet but through sun exposure. People make vitamin D whenever naked skin is exposed to bright sunshine. By an unfortunate coincidence, the strong sunshine able to produce vitamin D is the same ultraviolet B light that can also causes sunburns and, eventually, skin cancer...

Those studying the vitamin say the hide-from-sunlight advice has amounted to the health equivalent of a foolish poker trade. Anyone practising sun avoidance has traded the benefit of a reduced risk of skin cancer — which is easy to detect and treat and seldom fatal — for an increased risk of the scary, high-body-count cancers, such as breast, prostate and colon, that appear linked to vitamin D shortages.

The sun advice has been misguided information "of just breathtaking proportions," said John Cannell, head of the Vitamin D Council, a non-profit, California-based organization.

"Fifteen hundred Americans die every year from [skin cancers]. Fifteen hundred Americans die every day from the serious cancers."...

Read the whole article!

Yet ANOTHER article on the mental and emotional benefits of aerobic exercise. A word of advice to any of you in mental health professions (especially if you work with troubled youth!): get ahead of the crowds on this one and do yourself and your clients a favor- soon exercise will be a standard prescription for mental health patients and juvenile delinquents- might as well lead the way!

Don't veggie, be happy.

More good news from the dietary front:

The drop in blood pressure among participants who consumed cocoa products for at least two weeks was in the same range as achieved by someone taking drugs commonly prescribed to control high blood pressure.

I've been limiting myself to about 1/2 ounce of dark chocolate a day (high fat content). I think I'll up that to an ounce. Have to be a good boy and take my meds!