VITAMIN D

There was a great article online the other day at the NY Times:

What Do You Lack? Probably Vitamin D

WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

From Wikipedia (with my comments in [brackets]):

Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids [A, E, and K are the others]….  Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin of vertebrates after exposure to ultraviolet B light from the sun or artificial sources, and occurs naturally in a small range of foods.

When synthesized in the kidneys, calcitriol circulates as a hormone, regulating, among other things, the concentration of calcium and phosphate in the bloodstream, promoting the healthy mineralization, growth and remodeling of bone, and the prevention of hypocalcemic tetany.  Vitamin D insufficiency can result in thin, brittle, or misshapen bones, while sufficiency prevents rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, and, together with calcium, helps to protect older adults from osteoporosis.  Vitamin D also modulates neuromuscular function, reduces inflammation, and influences the action of many genes that regulate the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis [programmed death] of cells

“Fat-soluble” means that these vitamins must be dissolved in fat before they can be absorbed in the bloodstream and carry out their vital functions.  Also, any excess of these fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver, which means that they are not needed on a daily basis (that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea to get them daily though).

From the NY Times article:

Every tissue in the body, including the brain, heart, muscles and immune system, has receptors for vitamin D, meaning that this nutrient is needed at proper levels for these tissues to function well.

HOW TO GET IT

Primary Source:  the sun (more specifically, ultraviolet B rays absorbed through the skin)

Other Sources:  wild-caught oily fish (salmon, mackerel, bluefish, and canned tuna) and fortified dairy products and cereal.

HOW MUCH TO GET

The article quoted some recommended serum levels of vitamin D (>30 nanograms/milliliter), but that means you have to get a specific blood test to determine your current level and a follow-up test to see if you then exceed the minimum level.  Instead just follow this simple advice to ensure adequate levels:

Regular, but not excessive, sun exposure during peak sunlight hours (10 AM – 3 PM), unprotected by sunscreen.  If you stay outside for longer than about 10-15 minutes, then you can apply some sunscreen.

Chronic sunscreen use decreases circulating concentrations of vitamin D.

Can’t I just supplement?

While I do take a supplement, I keep it at a constant but minimum level.  The dosage I take would not be enough to meet the minimum suggested serum level alone.  Further, if acquired naturally through skin, the body has a built-in cutoff system that prevents excess levels of vitamin D.  When enough is made, further exposure to sunlight will destroy any excess.  If the source is an ingested supplement, it goes directly to the liver with no cutoff mechanism to prevent excess levels.

In addition to the supplement, I also regularly eat wild salmon, tuna, and other fish that are natural sources of vitamin D.

I still try to make sunlight my main source.  As a guy stuck in the office all day, it can be difficult to get outside during peak sunlight hours without getting yelled at!  So I just make a concerted effort to get outside whenever possible:  walking the dogs, throwing the football with Lauren, or even taking my SHOP workouts outside of the garage and into my driveway or the alley!

CONCLUSION

Get some dang sunlight!

FAVORITE EXCERPTS / MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Although more foods today are supplemented with vitamin D, experts say it is rarely possible to consume adequate amounts through foods.

But the less sun exposure, the darker a person’s skin and the more sunscreen used, the less previtamin D is formed and the lower the serum levels of the vitamin.  People who are sun-phobic, babies who are exclusively breast-fed, the elderly and those living in nursing homes are particularly at risk of a serious vitamin D deficiency.

Such low levels could account for the high incidence of several chronic diseases in this country, Dr. Holick maintains.  For example, he said, in the Northeast, where sun exposure is reduced and vitamin D levels consequently are lower, cancer rates are higher than in the South.  Likewise, rates of high blood pressure, heart disease, and prostate cancer are higher among dark-skinned Americans than among whites.

ADDITIONAL INFO

QUICK FACTS:  Vitamin D

MARATON DE RIO DE JANEIRO - UN RESUMEN DE LA CARRERA

**This is a guest post from my sister, who just competed in the Maraton de Rio de Janeiro with her husband Federico**

You can find my other Race Reports HERE, HERE, and HERE.


Hola - from Argentina! Drew asked me to recap my race report, so here it goes... Federico & I ran the Rio de Janeiro Marathon (42Km) on July 18, 2010. Official Time: 4 hours 18 minutes 32 seconds (which is approximately 6 minutes per km). Not bad if I say so myself!

We decided we would embark on a 23 week training program and run the marathon crossing the finish line together (the couple who runs together, stays together!). Before I get into to the training & the race, I want to tell you that this whole experience has been something we will always look back on and think "we did it!... together!!" We selected the Rio marathon based upon the view of the beach, not too many inclines, a cool course/ experience, and a great excuse to go to Brasil.

As our Valentines Day gift to each other, we decided to start training on February 14! Here is a look at the breakdown of our "Distance Days"


1/ Feb 14 - 3 miles, 5 K
2/ Feb 21 - 3 miles, 5 K
3/ Feb 28 - 5 miles, 8 K
4/ March 7 - 5 miles, 8 K
5/ March 14 - 4 miles, 6.4 K
6/ March 21 - 6 miles, 9.6 K
7/ March 28 - 8 miles, 12.9 K
8/ April 4 - 10 miles, 16 K
9/ April 11 - 8 miles, 12.9 K
10/ April 18 - 10 miles, 16 K
11/ April 25 - 12 miles, 19.3 K
12/ May 2 - 10 miles, 16 K
13/ May 9 - 14 miles, 22.5 K
14/ May 16 - 12 miles, 19.3 K
15/ May 23 - 15 mile, 24.1 K
16/ May 30 - 18 miles, 29 K
17/ June 6 - 12 miles, 19.3 K
18/ June 13 - 18 miles, 29 K
19/ June 20 - 14 miles, 22.5 K
20/ June 27 - 21 miles, 33.8 K
21/ July 4 - 15 miles, 24.1 K
22/ July 11 - 13 miles, 20.9 K
23/ July 18 - RACE DAY, 26. 2 miles, 42 K


This is the same "Distance Day" training schedule I used for my first marathon in 2007.  I think this is a friendly schedule if you are not in the recent habit of running for over an hour comfortably. I might have used the same outline for my long distance days, however I made many changes in general training.  The biggest and most helpful change would be that I lift weights.  This is HUGELY important.  You do not train for a marathon by just running.  You MUST lift weights.  Your training (lifting & running) will vary as you go further into it, and you will have to adjust as your body responds to the many changes and demands.  I consulted Drew many times throughout my training to ensure my weigh lifting was "SHOP-approved"... I can say that for me, the squats had the biggest impact on my leg strength.  I have also recently dominated 75 push-ups, but that's a different blog!  23 weeks of training can be very monotonous, so make sure you add variety to spice things up.  Not only did my "SHOP-approved" weight lifting improve my race time by over 30 minutes (that's right - 35 minutes people! I crushed my first time), but it also improved my general health of my joints and ability to recuperate faster after long runs.  I previously experienced more knee pain, and longer periods of soreness after running.  This training I was able to bounce back sooner, and just dominate as well.  Thanks SHOP!

There is not one secret that works for everyone... just push yourself (on your runs, and in the gym), and listen to your body and make adjustments.

OK - now for the race day report!

We arrived to Rio on the 16th to some seriously stormy weather.  Thank goodness we had so many rainy training days!  We were very nervous about the weather.  One thing is to run in a little rain, it is another to run a race in fierce winds and torrential downpour!  Luckily, the rain stopped for the race!  Whew!

We woke up at 4am, and were at the bus by 5:15 am to take us to the start line.  The bus ride was about an hour long and took us to Recreio where we waited for over an hour.  It was quite chilly outside, so we hunkered down next to a heater.

The race started at 7:30 am, and we were off!  I was unfortunately already starving by 8am since I had breakfast at 4am (next time bring a snack).  Every course is different, and no matter what you prepare for, there will always be surprises that serve as more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge.  For example: the approximate 3-4 kilometer stretch where there was cobblestone every ten steps you took.  I hated this, and it made this stretch take forever (and at such an early part of the race).  But, we had constant views of the beach, which were quite nice.

The longest distance we trained to was 34 kilometers (21 miles), so we often hit a distance of 20 kilometers.  I felt so strong at the halfway mark.  I was mentally strong, and felt my legs just powering away.  The course was completely flat thus far, so we hadnt experience any "challenges" yet.  The only course surprise we had received was the total lack of crowd support.  There were no cheering stations, or cool shows set up.  We thought for sure there would be a "Carnaval Station" and a "Samba Station"... but no!  Thank God for the iPods!

Sailing through kilometer 22

This was both of our favorite part of the race.  Incredible views, and just feeling good (approx kilometer 24).

Sorry for the fuzzy pic - I was running you know!

 Federico and I both hit a slump around kilometer 33 when we entered Ipanema Beach.  I am not sure if it was the recent incline that took some steam out of me, or just some other reason.  Luckily we know better than to tell each other "I am dying", as the feeling of dying is contagious!  So, as I was dying, I looked at Federico who seemed perfect - and vice versa.  We made it through.  I knew once we hit the Copacabana we were so close to being there.  I was so focused on the need to see the final stretch that I dont think I once looked (or cared) about the beach while in Copacabana.  Ha!  Also, my power song came on just in time to get me going again!  Thank you Muse "Uprising"!


Once we hit the home stretch, we were so excited.  Every amount of pain that you feel in your legs disappears (momentarily) and you just love it.  We grabbed hands and raised them as we crossed!  WE DID IT!

Rocking the SHOP t-shirt with the Marathon Medal at the Corcovado - Cristo Redentor

CHANGES TO DISD SCHOOL LUNCHES

Lauren and I get a weekend edition of the Dallas Morning News (it's free, so I think everybody gets it), and there was a really interesting article in it yesterday:

Dallas ISD taking lead role in making school lunches more nutritious

FAVORITE EXCERPTS

So long, nachos.  Hello, brown rice.  Dallas school students can also say goodbye to high-sugar cereals, potato chips and sundry other snacks when they return to school this fall.

Finally!  Not that school lunches have any impact on me since I don't have any kids, but this at least shows that somebody is paying attention and making things happen.  This new system still may not be perfect, but who could argue that taking nachos off the menu isn't a step in the right direction!

The marching orders to improve children's nutrition come from the top. First lady Michelle Obama has made the issue a hallmark of her office, and the U.S. Agriculture Department has a competition encouraging schools to offer more nutritious food.

I am absolutely not going to get into a political debate, but this is a move that I will applaud.

Hamburgers and oven fries will be offered only once every two weeks at the middle school and elementary level. And breaded and pre-fried foods will be on the menu more sparingly.  New items will include black bean burgers, hummus plates and Asian chicken bowls.  Romaine lettuce and spinach will take the place of iceberg lettuce in salads.  Brown rice will replace white rice.

Just like with most things, to truly make change it must be addressed via progressions.  Rather than eliminating fries, they will bake them in the oven vs. deep-frying them and they will serve them less often.  Continue to serve burgers, but instead of beef (low-quality, most likely) all the time mix in some black bean burgers.  Iceburg lettuce = waste of space.  So seeing this get replaced with spinach and romaine is a wonderful thing.  Over time, significant changes will definitely take place.

The healthy upgrades do come at a price. DISD already spends about $80 million each year providing 120,000 lunches, 46,000 breakfasts and 10,000 after-school snacks. The new menu's food and supplies could cost up to an extra $3 million this year, said Brad Trudeau, the district's director of food production and procurement.

Sure $3 million is a lot of money, but let's be honest, it only represents a 3.75% cost increase over the previous year and an infinite improvement in quality.  We can't even begin to calculate the costs saved in other areas such as a reduction in the childhood obesity epidemic, future healthcare costs saved for these children, and so on.

Bravo DISD.

EATING TO LIVE OR LIVING TO EAT?

I was on a plane about two weeks ago coming home from Minneapolis, and I saw the guy in front of me reading the Wall Street Journal.  On the front page of the “Personal Journal” was the following article:

Eating to Live or Living to Eat?
Stomach vs. Brain:  Discovering Why Some People Can Resist Dessert While Others Can’t

Needless to say, it caught my attention.  When he was done reading it I asked him if I could take a look.  If he objected, I was going to take it anyway and then kick his ass for being a jerk.  Luckily for him, he didn’t object.

The premise behind the article was actually very interesting (why are some people “able” to resist dessert while others are seemingly “unable”).  They also used a scenario that hits very close to home…the office birthday party!  Ever since I entered corporate America, I have been “that guy” who never eats cake or brownies at someone’s mid-afternoon birthday celebration.  And I always get chastised for it, but it doesn’t bother me.  I actually enjoy it!  (Quick tangent:  for my birthday, some of my co-workers served raw veggies, hummus, and fruit, and everybody destroyed it and raved about how good it was.  For the next birthday, though, it was back to cake…how disappointing)

Basically what the article tells us is that there are two systems that govern hunger cues, the homeostatic system and the hedonic system.

Eating for Survival – The Homeostatic System
This system controls signals from your body to indicate that your body is lacking in something such as water, nutrients, or energy.

Eating for Pleasure – The Hedonic System
This system is governed by the reward system in your brain.  Simply seeing or smelling a food can result in the release of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that has many roles in the brain, one of which is reward.

FAVORITE EXCERPTS

Scholars have understood the different motives for eating as far back as Socrates, who counseled, ‘Thou shouldst eat to live, not live to eat.’

Socrates:  Born 469 BC, Died 399 BC.  That’s a long time ago, but he was obviously onto something!

This reminds me of another of my favorite quotes, also from a Greek (but a physician, not a philosopher) who lived around the same time as Socrates:

“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.”
-Hippocates, known as the father of Western medicine:  Born 460 BC, Died 377 BC.

‘When obese people see high-calorie foods, a widespread network of brain areas involved in reward, attention, emotion, memory and motor planning is activated, and all the areas talk to each other, making it hard for them to resist,’ says Susan Carnell, a research psychologist at the New York Obesity Research Center at Saint-Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and Columbia University and one of the investigators.

I really dislike this comment.  Perhaps this is truly a “chicken or the egg” scenario, but I doubt it.  The researcher gives the impression that obese people react differently to seeing the foods simply because they are obese.  I tend to believe that certain people react differently to seeing foods and as a result (over time) they have become obese.

Studies have found that a diet of sweet, high-fat foods can indeed blunt the body's built-in fullness signals.  Most of them emanate from the digestive tract, which releases chemical messengers including cholecystokinin, glucagon-like peptide and peptide YY when the stomach and intestines are full.  Those signals travel up to the brain stem and then the hypothalamus, telling the body to stop eating.

This concept was the main premise behind the book The End of Overeating.  More specifically, how the food industry manipulates the combination of sugar, fat, and salt in foods to influence the quantity of food people eat.

Obesity also throws off the action of leptin, a hormone secreted by fat tissue that tells the hypothalamus how much energy the body has stored.  Leptin should act as a brake against overeating, and it does in normal-weight people.  But most obese people have an overabundance of leptin, and somehow their brains are ignoring the signal.  All these findings beg the question, which came first? Does obesity disrupt the action of leptin, or does a malfunction in leptin signaling make people obese?

…are some people obese because their brains overreact to tempting food, or do their brains react that way because something else is driving them to overeat? Researchers at Yale and elsewhere are turning to such questions next.  ‘It's possible that these changes reflect how the brain has adapted to eating patterns in obese people, and that could create a vicious circle, putting them at risk for even more disordered eating,’ says Dr. Small.

CASE STUDY FOLLOW-UP

If you haven't read the story behind the SHOP Training Case Study, you can find it HERE.

The results from Max Out Day are in.  The pre-test was as follows:

1-arm pushups - max reps with each arm

1-leg squats - max reps with each leg

Pullups - max reps

5k time trial

RESULTS:

1-arm pushups - 7 (R), 5 (L)

1-leg squats - 10 (R), 7 (L)

Pullups - 6

5k time trial - 22:09

First thoughts:  there appears to be a dominant side!  Nothing too shocking about this though, and there is a very easy way to shore up that discrepancy.  When performing a unilateral exercise (e.g. 1-arm pushups), simply start with the weaker side.  When you get to the stronger side, don't do more reps than you did with the weaker side even if you have some gas left in the tank.

After talking through goals and such, I came up with the following template for the week:

DAY 1 - Strength Training
DAY 2 - Yoga
DAY 3 - Aerobic Conditioning (such as 5k, 10k, swimming, etc.)
DAY 4 - Explosive Training
DAY 5 - Anaerobic Conditioning (such as hill sprints or interval training)
DAY 6 - Integrated Circuit Training (including burpees and other conditioning drills)
DAY 7 - Active Recovery (swimming, beach volleyball, walking, extra flexibility/yoga, rest, etc.)

The basic template won't change much from week to week, but the specifics of each day will certainly change.  The volume and intensity of strength training and occasionally the specific exercises will change, the form of conditioning will change, and the exercises used in the conditioning circuit will certainly change.  I think this will provide a nice mix and I think the post-test after his 7 week training cycle will show some good improvements.

PROGRAM DESIGN CASE STUDY

SHOP TRAINING CASE STUDY

A friend of mine contacted me earlier in the week to get my thoughts on training while out of town (and I mean out of town for an extended period of time, not just the weekend).  More specifically, he said he had "the intention of doing plenty of strength work without setting foot inside a gym."

I already had a decent idea of the things he was interested in, but before I could actually put together a program for him, I needed to determine a few more things:

• What are his goals?
• What type of training does he actually enjoy?
• What has his training consisted of for the past 6 months?
• How much time per week can he commit to the program?

After a little back and forth, I sent him a Google Doc containing the first 2 weeks of his program.  I will share the details in a subsequent post.

The next order of business was to establish a baseline.  In order to have meaningful feedback at the end of the program, we need to know exactly where he is today.  That means MAX OUT DAY!!  However, since one of the criteria was "without setting foot inside a gym," that meant we had to get a little creative with our exercise selection and testing criteria.  The test was as follows:

1-arm pushups - max reps with each arm

1-leg squats - max reps with each leg

Pullups - max reps

5k time trial

Since we didn't have the luxury of added resistance, we just had to use a more challenging variation of each particular exercise.  Also, that makes it difficult to actually find a 1-repetition maximum, so instead we opted for max reps of each particular exercise (since we were going with harder variations, the total reps stayed relatively low).

Here is our trade-off:  I gladly put the program together, and it was completely gratis.  I will be available for ongoing technical support for the duration of the program (should he need it).  In return, he will keep detailed records of his performances throughout the week and his progress over time.  When possible he will provide video content that I can use on my blog.  Also, at the end of the program, if he is happy with his progress and has achieved his short-term goals, he will write a guest post in which he details his experience with my programming.

A couple of things I hope to determine with this case study:

• I know I can effectively program for myself, but can I do it for others?
• Equally as important as results, can I put together a program that has the correct mix of things "someone should do" and things "someone likes to do"?

JIU-JITSU UPDATE

I've been training at Machado Jiu-Jitsu for a little over 3 months now and my attendance has been very consistent.  Except for 2 weeks when I was out of town, I have been regularly 3 times per week.

Anyway, last Friday July 9th was belt testing!  This is where you get to demonstrate the skills and techniques that have been taught over the previous 3 months so that the instructors can determine if you have demonstrated mastery of said techniques.

This was my first belt test and I had no idea what to expect.  The testing was to begin at 7pm and go until 9pm, so I showed up at about 5:30pm to warm up and review some techniques with a few other people there.  The best part about the more advanced guys is that they remember what it was like to be a white belt.  There were several guys, ranging from blue belt to purple belt to brown belt, who offered to run through some technique with me.

After I was loose, we started from the feet.  We reviewed some takedowns and some throws, and we would have to know several of each for the test.  Next we moved to the ground and covered some guard passes and a few submissions once you passed guard (either from side control or the mount).  We also had to know several escapes...this time when I was the guy on bottom of side control or the mount.

We practiced for well over an hour, and then it was time for the testing to start.  We broke out into our various ranks...white belts stayed with white belts, etc.  With about 6 instructors walking around, Master Carlos would shout out a situation (e.g. guard passes!) and then each of us would have to demonstrate anywhere from 2-4 techniques depending on the situation while the other instructors walked around and took notes and critiqued.

After 2 solid hours of technique work, plus the hour that I put in before hand, I was pretty well spent.  I feel like I learned more in those three hours than in all of my training combined.

Also, before they actually awarded the new ranks to everybody, we each had one 5-minute round of rolling.  There was an odd number of white belts, so they picked my to roll with a guy who was going for his blue belt.  He definitely had better technique than I did, but I was able to hold my own and even get him in a few tough spots!

I'm in the back row towards the middle

 The instructors, Master Machado in the khaki gi third from right

They belt test every three months, so in October I'll be going for a second blue stripe on my white belt.  After three stripes, it will be time to move on to the blue belt!