This Week's Links

Here are some more good reads that I came across this week. Enjoy!

Ross Enamait gave us a new article called The Endless Search imploring us to stick to the basics and never forget that it is the individual that determines the effectiveness of a training protocol (or by extension, nutrition plan), not the protocol itself.

I found this gem on Mark Sisson's site: The Carb Pyramid. Notice the base of greens, colorful, and cruciferous vegetables. That's lettuce, spinach, broccoli and califlower, peppers, onions, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, celery, and kale, collard, mustard, and turnip greens. And plenty more vegetables that fall in that category. Round out your carb intake with some sweet potatoes and fruit depending on your activity level and maybe add in a bit of rice here and there. As Mark shows, bread and sweets are relegated to the uppermost reaches of the pyramid and there's no danger in not consuming these items at all.

Robb and Nicky discussed breakfast. I chimed in with the first comment and my thoughts on breakfast.

Dr. Eades talked about Intermittent Fasting and Inflammation. The charts at the bottom show reductions in IL-6, CRP, and Homocysteine, all markers of inflammation.

Like green tea? Here are the 9 main types of green tea from Dr. Weil's website.

More Recent Links

Here are three good articles from the past couple weeks.

Art DeVany discussed Science and Staying Young. I would say that the science Art applies to his life is largely similar to The 98% Solution. He focuses on short intense exercise sessions and eating a vitamin-packed, natural hunter-gatherer diet.

Mark Sisson brought us 8 Essential Aging Hacks.

Here is David Seaman's article on The Dietary Pursuit of Disease. He makes a valid point that present behavior is indicative of our goals for the future. If we are knowingly eating things that are damaging to the body, then we are making disease our future pursuit. We all know those people that would rather eat a chocolate bar everyday than be concerned with their health. Don't be one of them.

A Few Recent Posts and Articles

Here are a few posts from the past couple weeks that I've enjoyed:
Frank Forencich, the Exuberant Animal, discusses Who's Holistic? I really like the stuff Frank writes on his Animal Times site. I really like how he closes it out:

It doesn't matter whether you're working at a school, a gym or a studio. The age of specialization is waning; it no longer works to dig one hole, deeper and deeper while ignoring the rest of the world. The time for panoramic vision is upon us. It's time to train the whole animal.

Ross Enamait gave a link to an article showing that high intensity exercise improves learning. So go do some sprints before reading that textbook.

Here is a good read about the Mexican government educating Americans about real Mexican vs. Tex-Mex. I love the American version of Mexican food and would love to try the authentic stuff.

Shaun Boyd, at Life Reboot, has a post that focuses on a different area of health than I typically discuss: happiness (and by extension, stress). Check out his 10 Articles That Changed My Life. If you only have a few minutes or don't want to read them all, I suggest Steve Job's commencement address (#1) and Steve Pavlina's "Don't Die With Your Music Still In You" (#3).

Some Fun Links

Regina Wilshire did it again with this review of the findings of the 15th Annual European Conference on Obesity. Check out those very interesting stats on fat and saturated fat. I can't wait to see the low-fatters scramble to cover their rears again. I bet they'll claim that all of those Eastern Europeans a) drink red wine/beer/creek water/fruit juice/some other common trait that amounts to absolutely jack, b) are genetically predisposed to be obese, or c) some new version of nonsensical ad-hoc hypothesis.

Ross Enamait briefly talks about food additives.

Here is a cool article about The History of Mealtimes that I found a few weeks back. I don't have any profound wisdom to draw from the article. I just found it very interesting.

Even Da Vinci knew how to live well: Da Vinci's Guide to Healthy Living. Pretty well spot on. And he doesn't advise avoiding fat or carbs; just advises using real ingredients.

Some Interesting Reads

Here are a few good posts/articles that I've come across recently that you may enjoy.
Dr. Michael Eades on MSG vs Jimmy Moore on MSG
I avoid MSG, not because I experience any physical effects, but simply because I don't think ingestion of possible neurotoxins is a healthful endeavor. I do indulge in cheap Chinese food 2-3 times a year when I inevitably take in some MSG, but as a rule, I avoid it. Avoiding processed, packaged foods is a very easy way to avoid MSG and other possibly unseemly ingredients. Additives like this are further justification for a whole foods-based diet.

Kate Welch had a great post at her blog The Steaks Are High that touched on a study about vegetarian athletes and the need for meat. Looking at the issue logically, there is certainly a need for animal protein in the human diet given that certain essential vitamins and minerals are only contained in meat. There are great athletes that are vegetarian. There are many more that aren't.

Ross Enamait brought us another excellent post on sledgehammer training. I love his training philosophy: high intensity and cheap implements. Even if you're not a boxer, Ross' stuff is top-notch.

I just found Regina Wilshire's blog from Kate's post above and found this piece about enriching grain products with folic acid to stave off birth defects quite interesting. I was going to make a post on an article I found a month ago regarding low folic acid levels, but I lost the link so the post was never created. Enjoy Regina's take on it.

Art Devany posted an entertaining article about Way Too Much Food titled The Age of Miracles and Wonders and Bunless Whoppers. Unfortunately Devany has moved away from posting about health and fitness and has started posting about....global warming.

One of the most important aspects of living a healthy life is controlling stress. Alwyn Cosgrove had a nice post on Stress and Stressors. I don't like the word "overtraining". I think the word "under-recovery" is more applicable to the topic. Good stuff here.