Is barefoot running for me?

Reader Asks: "You think I should check into those super lightweight five toe shoes? Or are they all gimick?"

Ever hit the gym after work, only to facepalm when you realize you forgot your sneakers at home? According to Christopher McDougall, author of "Born to Run," it's no problemo. He promotes barefoot running, touting the Tarahumara Indians as his case in point. The tribe escaped 16th century Spanish conquistadors by running away. And they've escaped present day health maladies by running too. With routine long-distance running an integral part of their lifestyle, they remain seemingly immune to the chronic disease rampant in the rest of the globe. No shoes required.

An article by Runner's World reports the consensus among proponents, podiatrists, and physicians. They acknowledge that modern man's foot and leg musculature has weakened because of too much time in shoes. But they emphasize that if there is something to minimalist running, it is not an overnight fix. It's foolhardy to expect your body to actualize the potential of worldclass runners in the time it takes to walk to the trash and toss the sneakers. Not to mention risk glass and rocks in your feet.

If you have your heart set on following the up-and-coming trend of barefoot running, a more sensible plan is to "walk barefoot around the house, do simple foot strengthening exercises, or run a few barefoot miles a week on safe, secure surfaces." Build up slowly. And if you're out of shape, I'd advise getting to a healthy BMI first, before making the switch.

Personally? I'll keep my shoes. Granted, I've not tried the craze myself, (no Vibram Five Fingers for me yet) so I can't speak from experience. What I do know is that according to the article in Runner's World, running legend, Abebe Bikila, won the 1960 Rome Olympic marathon's gold medal sans shoes in 2:15:17. BUT four years later, he laced up some Pumas to take the Tokyo Olympic marathon's gold medal in 2:12:11.2. Seems to me, it ain't the shoes (or lack thereof) that make the athlete.

For more on the advocacy of barefoot running, read runblogger.com’s “Guide To Minimalist Running.”

You can also check out this talk by Christopher McDougall (Psst - Why is Christopher wearing shoes on the promo pic for the video wherein he suggests we go sans?).

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The Cause & Consequence of Rising Food Prices

Laurie Garrett, from the Council on Foreign Relations, explains why food prices are skyrocketing globally. And why even those of us in developed countries should be concerned. Check out these video clips. And if you want to learn more, you can read an in-depth interview on CFR's website.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Eat, Pray to Eat - Laurie Garrett
www.colbertnation.com

Why Global Food Prices are Rising ...


Health Impact of Rising Food Prices ...

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MY RUN documentary: 75 marathons in 75 days

The award-winning and critically-acclaimed documentary MY RUN premieres one night only on March 31st! Tickets are on sale now at www.fathomevents.com/myrun.

Marathon running is more than just physical endurance. It's mental fortitude. It's an indomitable spirit. And it's an analogy for life. Every day is a marathon in one way or another. Life's journey has uphills and downhills. Whether it's dealing with work demands, managing school stress, fighting a disease - we're conquering fears.

Terry Hitchcock took his life story to the road. After breast cancer took his wife, he used running to spread awareness for single parents struggling to stay afloat. It didn't matter to him that at 57 years old, he had never been a runner. He spent a year and a half training before embarking on a seemingly impossible goal: 75 marathons in 75 days.

InkTip magazine calls him "The Real-Life Forrest Gump." He just kept running despite numbing cold, blistering heat, bone fractures, and chest pains. His camera crew dwindled until it was comprised of just his son, Chris Hitchcock. Together, the two soldiered on, "strengthening an unbreakable bond between father and son - not stopping until he broke the finish line tape."

Academy Award Winner, Billy Bob Thornton, narrates Terry's inspirational story. "This powerful and uplifting documentary exemplifies a commitment to something greater than yourself and achieving something deemed impossible," writes the Indie Movie Examiner. It encourages us to take up a cause, and "be somebody's hero."

To learn more, visit the official website, or check out coverage on RunnerDude's blog.

Here's the trailer:

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Should We be Paid to Lose Weight?

Would you lose weight if you got paid? A study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine suggests you would. In fact, incentivized dieters “were nearly five times as likely to meet their goal when compared with dieters who had no potential for a financial reward,” reports Time Magazine.

Christine Gary delves further into this latest wellness craze, summarizing the stakes for Tufts University's nutrition newsletter, the Friedman Sprout. Read here!

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OMG: Overrated Machines at the Gym

Reader Asks: Yesterday at the gym I heard a trainer giving a tour and he said "...these are the ellipticals, you want to avoid them..." I didn't catch the rest, but what are your thoughts on stuff to avoid in the gyms (since it's still a few months before it will be nice enough to work out outdoors around here)?

Make the best use of your gym time with efficient exercises that won't do more harm than good. Some overrated machines at the gym should pretty much be avoided at all costs. I've dubbed them OMGs. Make like Janice from Friends. Throw both hands in the air, say "Oh. My. God." and walk away from them with a dramatic show of disgust.

1). Ellipticals
Biggest Loser winner, Ed Brantley, lost 73 lbs on the show but “hated the elliptical. It was too easy. I didn’t feel like I was doing anything.” The elliptical machine is only as good as the effort you put into it (And heads up, it over-estimates your calorie burn by 31%).

According to Men's Health magazine, "Some people go so fast that it's almost momentum working for them as opposed to their having to propel the step." Use resistance. "When you make a revolution, you want to feel you're pushing the ramp down," advises the magazine. Provided you feel balanced, you can let go of the handle bars. Not holding on recruits core muscles to keep yourself stable.

Once you find the right resistance, you have to consistently push yourself. Unlike the treadmill where the belt's moving and so are you (either keeping pace or flying off the back), the elliptical permits us the luxury of slowing down; a predictable tendency when we’re tired or our mind’s are absorbed in a magazine. A heart rate monitor can keep you accountable, if you stay above the fat burning zone. Or you can incorporate intervals, pedaling at higher intensities for sustained periods of time, followed by recovery periods (ie: 90 second blasts every few min, with recoveries twice as long).

2). Leg Extension
When it comes to our body's joints, the knees are notoriously susceptible to injury. And the leg extension machine "has caused more knee injuries than any other leg exercise." Nick Mitchell, AskMen's strength and nutritional coach, explains that the movement forces the kneecap to “shear,” placing dangerous pressures on tendons and ligaments.

Personally, these machines never feel right or fit my body properly. The pivot point and lever length's structural design are made for the average-sized athlete, and fit disproportionately for any of us who are sized below or above that "average" musculoskeletal mold. Size-related issues aside, there's an inherent degree of awkwardness in the unnatural positioning in which the machine orients the body. Muscles, bones, and joints are subjected to unnecessary shear or compression stress.

Eric Cressey, who writes for Testosterone Nation, scoured the scientific literature in writing his article. He attests to the overwhelming cons associated with leg extension machines.

3). Smith Machine
I get on the smith machine and can magically lift more weight than I can with regular squat bar. That's a good cue that the machine does more than its fair share of work. It leads users to relax their abs, decreasing spinal stability while performing the movement. AskMen notes that because the bar is fixed within the rails of the vertical posts, it "locks you into an artificial plane of motion that over time will cause imbalances in the smaller fixator and stabiliser muscles" leaving you more prone to chronic injury.

The natural tendency, and proper squat form, is to move the weight in a slight arc. This is by definition impossible with the smith machine which only permits vertical up and down movements. I tend to find myself straining against the machine when I use it. So free weight squat bar trumps smith machine. If you don't have a spotter and are concerned about safety, you can use a power cage.

4). Behind the Neck Lat Pull Down
The misconception on proper form with this exercise is to "pull the bar behind your head, down to your upper back." But Men's Health corrects that, "Unless you have very flexible shoulders, this exercise is difficult to do correctly, and can increase your risk for shoulder impingement syndrome—a painful condition in which the muscles or tendons of your rotator cuff become entrapped in your shoulder joint." A safe alternative that works the same back muscles is to pull the bar down in front of you, down to your collarbone.

P.S. The behind the neck shoulder press is equally bad; externally rotating shoulders behind the plane of the body. And people tend to crane (and strain) their neck when positioning the bar behind them. The better alternative is a shoulder press done in front of the body.

P.P.S. Upright Rows are a good exercise, but be mindful not to row too high, as this can also aggravate shoulder impingement syndrome.

5). Hip Abductor and Adductor Machines
Crowds flock to this perceived dynamic duo in pursuit of tighter thighs. Unfortunately these machines have a limited range of motion that works only a small portion of leg musculature. Livestrong confirms, “Any machine that isolates a muscle group…is dangerous because it causes undue stress on the joint involved... Our bodies and muscles are designed to work” synergistically, not in isolation.

You're better off performing lunges of any kind (walking, stationary, around the clock, plyo, side, bulgarian) and squats and step ups and dead lifts. These are all compound exercises. That means they work not only your abductor and adductor muscles, but also your glutes and other muscles. You'll be getting more bang for your buck; effectively targeting the entire leg muscle.

That prefaced, when lunging or squatting, stop when your thighs are parallel to the ground. I've seen people doing "deep knee bend squats." A flexion greater than 90 degrees is asking for knee injury.

Bottom line
Our dynamic bodies recruit lots of muscles in lots of ways. But exercise machines isolate single muscle groups and work them in a static up-and-down, forward-and-backward regime. They also permit you to take a load off, preserving calories you could otherwise be burning. Nine times out of ten, free weights or your own body weight will serve you better than any gym machine.

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Salt was framed

No, not Angie! I'm talking about the actual substance NaCl.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report calling for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to set mandatory national standards for the sodium content in foods. Implementation would require a "coordinated effort to reduce sodium in foods across the board by manufacturers and restaurants—that is, create a level playing field for the food industry. All segments of the food industry would be carrying out the same reductions and none would be at a disadvantage."

A Federal Initiative of that magnitude is a huge undertaking. And I'm not convinced that Salt is the villain here. It's been charged with causing high blood pressure, and consequently chronic disease. But if I check the medical literature, a definitive correlation has not been proved in either direction. For every condemning theory there's an exonerating conjecture.

Ladies and Gents of the Jury, I call my first witness to the stand. Twinkie Man!! He lowered his weight, body fat percentage, bmi, bad cholesterol, and circulating triglycerides by eating junk food. SALTY junk food -- In moderation. He limited his calories.

Second witness: Dawn Blatner, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA), says, "Being overweight is the central problem that leads to complications like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol."

If the FDA takes the salt out of my 400 calorie bag of Doritos, it'll still be 400 calories. Salt is calorie-less. I'll still gain weight if I consume immoderate proportions of processed foods. Stripping salt does not strip calories. Calories are what make you fat. Fat is what gives you high blood pressure.

So salt's been bumming around with the wrong crowd. Big deal. It hangs out with processed foods and suddenly everyone thinks it's the ringleader! It's an innocent bystander. I'll leave the jury to decide for themselves. I've said my piece.

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Mapping the Nation's Well-Being

The New York Times releases an interactive map of our Nation's well-being! Cue accompanying jingle:

If you're happy and you know it, map it out (sing twice).
If you're happy and you know it, then your stats will surely show it.
If you're happy and you know it, map it out!

Research giants Gallup and Healthways (a dynamic duo since 2008) provide the necessary map-making data. They daily interview 1000 randomly selected Americans by phone on quality of life indicators. The questions focus on six sub indexes (life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy beahvior, and basic access).

The responses are plugged into a formula, aka the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, and sorted by geographic distribution. The margin of sampling error ranges from ±2 % in smaller states to ±4 % in larger states. Check out more methodology nitty gritty here.

So what are our nation's well-being trends? "Most of our highest-scoring cities are found out West and most of our lowest-scoring cities are in the South," says research director Dan Witters. Wealthier demographics have an edge, scoring higher than economically embattled regions. And USA today reports, "nine of the 10 cities that fare best on "life evaluation," assessments of life now and expectations in five years, boast a major university, a big military installation or a state Capitol — institutions that presumably provide some insulation from recession."

By unveiling a city-by-city portrait of our nation's moods, the study lends itself as an unprecedented resource for the academic community; benefiting health statistics and behavioral economic data. Furthermore, the study is a potential tool for policymakers. "Public and private sector leaders use data...to develop and prioritize strategies to help their communities thrive and grow," concludes Gallop.

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"Eat Right with Color"

Put down the calculator. And lend an ear to the American Dietetic Association (ADA). They encourage a back-to-basics approach to better eating. This year's National Nutrition Month theme is to simply "Eat Right with Color!"

"Adding a splash of colorful seasonal foods to your plate makes for more than just a festive meal. A rainbow of foods creates a palette of nutrients, each with a different bundle of potential benefits for a healthful eating plan," says registered dietitian and ADA Spokesperson Karen Ansel. Tighten your waist band and stretch your life span? Go on ...

• Fruits and vegetables are a calorically conscious option rife with fiber, vitamins, and enzymes. A nutrient arsenal like that may help prevent chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.
• Whole grains provide dietary fiber, important for proper bowel function. USDA adds that "fiber-containing foods such as whole grains help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories."
• Dairy products supply calcium, potassium, and vitamin D. All of which "help build and maintain bone mass throughout the life cycle," writes USDA. This reduces the risk of osteoporosis or bone fractures.
  
• Lean meat doles out nutrients without excess saturated fat. Livestrong summarizes the benefits of lean meats in moderation. They pack a protein punch equal to that of overpriced supplements, along with essential amino acids needed to build and repair body tissue.

So branch out! Ansel suggests "instead of grilled chicken and mashed potatoes, consider ... grilled chicken topped with salsa, mashed sweet potato, asparagus and spinach salad with orange slices." It appeals visually, provides nutrients, and doesn't sacrifice flavor. I guess skittles aren't the only way to "taste the rainbow." ;o)

For more tips on how to "Eat Right with Color" during March and beyond, visit ADA's National Nutrition Month website.

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2nd graders grill Xtine on Antarctica

As part of their Geography unit, Harrison School District's second graders emailed me questions about running a marathon in Antarctica (March 2010). :)

Christine, can you please tell me how was your trip? I hope you had fun. How come you did not take medicine and everybody else did? –Ashawna
The medicine everyone was taking was for motion sickness. When you’re below deck, on a rocking ship, with no windows, it’s a common occurrence. Your inner ear (which plays a role in your balance) tells your brain that it feels motion, but your eyes tell your brain that nothing is moving. The brain figures that either ears or eyes are hallucinating due to poison ingestion. Cue vomit to rid supposed toxins from your system!

As for why I didn’t take any medicine? I think sometimes we are too quick to take medicine. We use it as a crutch. I wanted to see if my body could handle being tossed about the Drake Passage (allegedly the roughest waters of all the world's oceans) without medicinal aid. It could.

I don’t generally get motion sickness though. I’ll ride roller coasters all day. Some people can’t, and there’s no shame in taking medicine. But I think you could “test the waters” before taking it. You might surprise yourself and find that you are stronger than you think.

Oh, and my trip was a blast! Thanks for askin!

Why did you wear a bikini? —Dante, Cynthia, Brayam, Madison, and Julie
Hahah! My friend sarcastically told me not to forget my bikini when packing. It became an ongoing joke when people asked what I’d wear on race day. The more I joked, the more I thought, why not actually wear one on top of my clothes!? It was a hit. I looked ridiculous, made my fellow runners laugh. I like spreading smiles and good cheer.

When you were racing, did you win or lose? –Kelsey
I came in first place in my age group (20-39 years old); 5th place out of the 18 women who finished; 28th place out of the 70 people who finished the marathon.

The beautiful thing about marathons is that if you cross the finish line, you win. No matter how long it takes you. There were 70 finishers that day; so 70 winners. And it was a great effort put forth by all!!

What did you do before the marathon? What did you do after the marathon?—Dhajia
Before and after the race we sat on the ship, eating and chatting. Ship staff offered educational lectures, documentaries, and slide shows on Antarctica. Weather permitting, we took rafts out to land to explore.

Why were there only 100 people in the race? –Cory
Scientific research bases line the race route and we need their permission (and that of the countries they represent) to run on their “land.” Antarctica is considered politically neutral, but some countries get territorial. They mistakenly think we harm the environment by running. Not really, our foot prints vanish with the next snowfall. But to keep everyone happy, few runners are allowed.

Why doesn't Antarctica get much sun? —Jezeriah
Antarctica does not get any sun during its winter because of the way the Earth is tilted on its axis. Cool link.

What animals live in Antarctica?—Alyssa
Penguins, blue whales, orcas, colossal squids, fur seals, leopard seals, krill, phytoplankton.

Do penguins swim fast? –Karizma
Very fast! Gentoo penguins boast the fastest swimming speed; 22 mph in short bursts. They can’t keep that speed up for long though. You more often see them swimming at a speed of 7.5 mph.

When you walked up to a penguin, did it bite? –Sabella
We had to stay 5 meters away (15 feet) from penguins. Everyone is very conscious about preserving the environment and leaving as little impact on the White Continent as we can.

If it was their choice to waddle up to you, that was allowed. And if you sat down and held very still, many of them did come close! Curious bunch! They never bit us.

Do penguins walk slow or fast?—Christopher
On land, they waddle slowly; adorably awkward; Hopping over rocks, and holding out their wings for balance as they teeter along. Here’s a video I took.

What do penguins eat? –Natalie
Some eat squid and fish. But mostly they love krill; small crustacean that kind of look like shrimp.
Seals, whales, seabirds ALSO love krill. It’s everyone’s favorite food! “the pizza of the Antarctica buffet.” More info.

Did you see a killer whale? –Andrea

No Free Willy sighting. The captain alerted us over the ship loudspeaker whenever he sighted a whale, but by the time we made it on deck, the whale had disappeared.

We had a joke about our fruitless attempts to see whales. It came about after one particularly frantic stampede from our cabins to the deck of the ship. A fellow runner commented, “I didn’t know marathon runners could move that fast, you’d think we were all sprinters!”

Was it super duper fun? –Destiny
Hahha, yes, super duper fun. It was a hard race to run, but achieving your goals is one of the best feelings in the world. So dream big. No limits.

For more pics, clicky here.

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Move over BMI. New way to measure obesity proposed.

I've run 4 marathons. Nurses fawn over my resting heart rate. And yet, according to my Body Mass Index (BMI), I'm overweight. Sad trombone. Which is why my interest was peaked at seeing headlines heralding a new way to measure obesity.

"The Body Adiposity Index, or BAI, relies on height and hip measurements to determine whether a person is truly overweight," reports Reuters.

How is this different than BMI? Body Mass Index (BMI) calculates a person's height to weight ratio (specifically it's a person's body weight in kg divided by the square of his height in meters). It's the go-to method for researchers and doctors alike to screen for obesity, but this doesn't always give an accurate health picture. Two people can have the same BMI number and different flab factor. Athletes with more lean muscle mass (which weighs more than fat), could have BMIs that fall in the overweight to obese range, even though they boast good cardiovascular fitness and low risk of chronic disease. Take Matt Stafford, the quarterback for the Detroit Lions. At 6'2" 232 lbs, he sneaks in JUST under obese with a BMI of 29.8. Does this guy look anywhere near obese to you?!! Why don't we ask the two hotties gyrating all up on him. Case closed.

So maybe it's time we update the 200 year old method we currently have for measuring obesity. The research team behind BAI admits their method requires further testing, but thinks their new index has promise as a useful measure of percent body fat, especially in remote areas where reliable scales are scant (fieldwork).

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Obesity program for minority children has lasting benefits

Full text study pdf here

BACKGROUND
Ethnic minorities in inner-city impoverished populations have the highest rates of pediatric obesity. And yet, scant published evidence exists regarding successful treatment programs for this demographic. The Yale Bright Bodies Weight Management Program seeks a solution; offering lifestyle intervention for predominantly Black and Hispanic obese children living in the Greater New Haven area.

RESEARCH AIMS
To assess the efficiency of their initiative, researchers conducted a year long “randomized controlled trial that compared the effects of Bright Bodies to the outcomes of conventional clinical management.” Bright Bodies proved the victor, boasting positive changes in anthropometric and metabolic markers beyond those in the clinical group.

As a follow up study, researchers asked if the reported health improvements would still be there a year after completing the weight management program. A novel step for a behavioral intervention study, considering most report only short term outcomes.

SUBJECTS
The study sample consisted initially of 209 ethnically diverse participants; 8-16 year olds with BMIs above the 95th percentile. Excluded were: children diagnosed with medical conditions that would impede full program participation, children prescribed medications that would induce weight gain/loss, and children involved in coexisting weight loss programs.

METHODS
Children randomly assigned to the Bright Bodies group attended lifestyle intervention sessions twice weekly for the first 6 months and twice monthly for the following 6 months, with no active intervention for the last 12 months. These sessions included 40 min classes on good nutrition and weight-control skills, followed by a 50 minute aerobic workout. Where applicable, parents attended classes with their children. They were encouraged to align the household’s grocery shopping and cooking options with the healthy eating the program promoted.

Children randomly assigned to the control group had doctor check-ins every 6 months. At these visits they’d receive 30 min of general diet and exercise counseling followed by 30 min of psychosocial counseling. Parent involvement was not stressed.

RESULTS
Of the 174 children who finished the 12 month randomized trial, 76 were available for follow-up data at 24 months. Dropout rates were not statistically different among the control clinical group and the lifestyle intervention group.

When compared with a standard clinical care, the Bright Bodies group showed sustained improvements in body weight, body composition, plasma lipids and insulin, and insulin sensitivity. Limitations of this study include high attrition rate at 24 months, lack of information from food diaries or activity records, and lack of psychosocial measures.

SIGNIFICANCE
“This study, unprecedented because of the high degree of obesity and ethnically diverse backgrounds of children, reveals that benefits of an intensive lifestyle program can be sustained 12 months after completing the active intervention phase” writes study author. The outcome gives us hope that behavior change is possible, even in the most challenging and underrepresented populations.

ARTICLE/AUTHOR INFORMATION
M. Savoye, et al. "Long-term Results of an Obesity Program in an Ethnically Diverse Pediatric Population." A randomized clinical trail. Pediatrics Feb 7, 2011

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Hottie Body Hump Club

At the risk of plummeting the professionalism of my blog, I'm going to post this comedic skit on the latest workout fad.

Jimmy Kimmel promotes his spoof workout video, "Hottie Body Humpilates” or "HoBo" for short. The talk show host turned fitness guru reveals how he keeps Hollywood's A-listers svelte. The concept is simple: hump to lose your lumps. The parody includes fawning endorsements from leading ladies. Scarlett Johansson, Sofia Vergara, Minka Kelly, Jessica Biel, Kelly Ripa, Emily Blunt, Jessica Alba and Eva Longoria all get in on the fun. Well played, Mr. Kimmel.

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