Two years on

July 6, 2009 by Bradley

Two years down on the blogging front.

Key stats (compared to the 12 months previous in brackets):

Posts:

84 (209)

- I see a pattern developing….

- I would also like to think quality rather than quantity has prevailed this year, although that is debatable.

Busiest Day:

I can not get any data on this (for free at least) as the 29th of January 2008 is still the busiest day ever. (1,760: 29th January, 2008)

Most common search terms people use to find my blog:

key searches for year to 2009

Most popular post:

Chin Up vs Pull Up (What’s more important: Exercise or Nutrition?)

Top referrers:KitchenPT top referrers

Exercise & Death

July 3, 2009 by Bradley

To say I am an fan of exercise/training would be an understatement. However there are always people who highlight the inherit risks of exercise. Perhaps they know someone who had an heart attack whilst exercising, or maybe they got injured in the gym and just don’t see the point.

You may have also remembered reading a while back on KitchenPT how if you analyse all the Marathons run in the US over the last 30 years you find something quite amazing: they have actually decreased the number of deaths that would have otherwise occurred had the roads the races were run on were open to cars! Perhaps this says more about roads and cars than it does about exercise?

But I believe there must be a ceiling to it all. I really wonder if ultra marathon runners (for example) are really doing their bodies more good than  marathoners? I doubt it.

Diligent readers would have read in the article I posted on yesterday how

recent research has shown that the risk of dying from a heart attack in a triathlon is nearly double that of dying in a marathon alone.

It would be interesting to collaborate all the data available on exercise & death, and find the ‘optimal’ frequency, duration, type, volume, & intensity of training/exercise on health. I would hypothesise it is significantly lower than what many top endurance athletes are performing.

Sperm + Cycling

July 2, 2009 by Bradley

High intensity & high volume cycling appears to decrease sperm quality. This is pretty old news, and something all male cyclists are aware of I assure you. But by how much?

Recent research in this area has indicated that Triathletes performing over 300km per week had less than 4% of normal sperm – an amount that would mean they are

considered to have significant fertility problems

I guess one question is are these effects reversable, and if so then perhaps this is something the Natural Fertility should be made aware of…

Boiling Carrots increases some nutrients

July 1, 2009 by Bradley

Many think that fresh is best when it comes to fruit and vegetables. But in recent times this belief has been proved wrong more than a few times.

The most recent: The content of an “anti-cancer” nutrient increases when carrots are boiled whole.

However, the real kicker regarding this type of information is actually the importance of simply eating carrots – full stop! People who eat lots of fruit and vegetables every day are less likely to get a whole plethora of diseases – including many cancers.

What do you do everyday to ensure you get 5+ servings of fruit and vegetables?

If you answer “not a lot”, then perhaps you could try taking a carrot to work/school/bridge club.

Boil it if you feel the need.

One that we prepared earlier…

June 9, 2009 by Bradley

A bit of light entertainment if you are looking for a quick 3 course meal:

Alternatively, if  you are looking for a quick post-workout meal try this Tuna Melt recipe.

Massage after exercise a good thing?

May 9, 2009 by Bradley

Getting a massage is one of life’s little pleasures. However, the specific physiological benefits that you get from a massage now appear a little more dubious than some massage therapists would have you believe.

The theory that massage “increases blood flow, and assists in removal of lactic acid” always seemed plausible to me. To read research saying that massage actually impairs blood flow after exercise was more than a little of a shock.

And so should you avoid massage post exercise? I think not. I would not be surprised if in the future science proves that the psychological benefit massage brings far outweighs any small decrease in blood flow that it may cause.

It just means all the massage therapists out there are going to have to come up with some other spin line!

Why do you buy organic food?

April 23, 2009 by Bradley

omnivore's DilemmaOrganic food is booming. In my local supermarket it has about half an aisle dedicated to it, excluding fresh organic foods and breads.

So why is it so popular?

Do people buy it for environmental reasons (’it is better for the environment to eat organic’), animal welfare reasons (’a free range chicken is happier than a barn raised one’), or for health reasons (’organic is better for you’)?

The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a great book I finished recently that addresses some of these issues.

I think it is important that you can answer the following question if you do buy organic: Why? And then ensure that your ‘reason’ for buying organic is being addressed.

For example if you are buying organic because they are better for the environment, then consider where out of season organic vegetables come from. Probably flown and then trucked from a far away country (where they have to be refrigerated along the way, and then stored until they are out of season). An example in the Omnivore’s Dilemma is organic pieces of asparagus purchased in January in the States that are  flown up from Argentina that week in a 747. Solution: Buy locally produced goods that are in season.

Or perhaps you buy organic for animal welfare reasons. To quote OD:

Organic raised chicken live in very similar conditions to regular birds. They do have access to an outside area after they are 5 weeks old, which sounds ok, but when you consider they are slaughtered at 7 weeks it does not really represent the picturesque ideal of chicken frolicking in wide open fields that we would like to believe from product packaging. By all accounts the chickens do not often make it outside as it represents a potentially dangerous unknown for them. This is fine by the farmers though, as going outside makes the chickens more susceptible to infections and diseases for which they are prone seen as they are not resistant.

Solution: Buy ‘Free Range Chickens’, not ‘Organic’.

And finally, maybe you buy organic for health reasons. The bad news is there is little scientific evidence to back this up. Personally I feel organic is probably better for you (certainly no worse), and some studies suggest organically grown food has more micro-nutrients that are good for us than regular fruits and vegetables, but this difference has not been shown to result in improved health markers. Solution: Do what makes you feel good. The science is still out on this one.

Not till you’ve finished your dinner

March 7, 2009 by Bradley

There is a sad kind of irony in the kid that is struggling to finish their dinner being told they “have to” before they get their dessert. Teaching children to eat until full should be the preferred tactic around dinner time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Another piece of irony: It seems Pre-school children who are forced to finish their plates at home are more likely to eat more at snack time at kindergarten. This is probably because these children are unable to self regulate their eating to the same extent as children who eat till they are full.

So what is the answer? The author of the above mentioned article

recommends that parents provide moderate portions of a variety of foods, encouraging the child to at least try all of the foods, and let them decide whether they want additional servings.

Sounds easy enough ;-)

Your Top 10 Grocery Items

February 22, 2009 by Bradley

What are the top 10 grocery items you buy from the supermarket?

News out this week showed four types of soft drinks and two types of white bread are in the top 10 for the ‘average’ New Zealander (excluding fruits, vegetables, tobacco, and alcohol).

It would be great if Fly Buys (0r other similar card loyalty programs) would make this type of data available. It would provide a very valuable food diary from which there would be little hiding!

Excluding fruits and vegetables makes it hard, but I would guess for me it would be a grain bread, milk, baked beans, flavoured milk, pasta, fruit juice…?, which would mean I am quite different from your average New Zealander…except for the baked beans!

Suck it up or stay fat

February 17, 2009 by Bradley

Lyle McDonald writes a no-mixing-up-his-words blog on Nutrition that is worth checking out: Body Re-Composition.

His most recent topic will provide some interesting help for many I imagine: 9 Ways to deal with Hunger.

We certainly do not share exact beliefs, but I think most of his tried and tested theories are very sound.

#9 Suck it up or stay fat

…every dieter is faced with a fundamental choice which, put simply is this “What’s more important to me, losing weight, or eating this food?”