Last weekend I got pretty Rowdy on my Mountain Bike and ended up getting injured. The injury sent me to the Emergency Room where the (not so gentle) nurses had to scrub and scrape all the foreign bodies out of my wounds. After this fun experience, the first thing they Did was give me a shot of antibiotics and a vial of them to go home with. While I do want to keep the bad bacteria out of my wounds, I also know that antibiotics can absolutely decimate your GUT BACTERIA. So… Ive been passing on the meds.
290620 "Sweat Analysis; A New way to See Whats going on Under the Surface."
Summer Time is highlighted by warm nights, grilling and sweaty workouts. In fact, depending on where you live, sweating is pretty much just a fact in the summer no matter what you are doing. Your sweat glands are essentially appendages of your epidermis and the liquid that they expel to cool your body and discharge waste can tell us a lot about what is going on deep inside your body. Scientists from Penn State have just released the smallest Sweat detection device ever so I decided to do some digging into the science of sweat and how we can use it to make us healthier as athletes and humans.
030220 "Say AHHHH... 3 Reasons why Being Vegan Can Be Harmful for Your Mouth"
So there I was , a place that well al know quite well. Mouth agape, laying flat on my back, beaming light shining down my gullet. And, dont forget about those stylish shades they make us wear now.. Just in case our spit goes flying or some of that super tasty tooth polish gets in our eyes! You guessed it, Im in the dentist chair. While in my meditative state, one in which I throughly enjoy, I got to thinking about… of all things.. Vegans. As science is always coming out linking one part of our bodies to the other, I got thinking about the Vegan diet and tooth decay. This is what I found out after a rousing conversation with my Dentist.
270120 "Not too Cold, Not too Hot.. Just Right.. 3 Reasons why your Body Temperature is So Important."
Do me a favor... Take the back of your hand and place it on your forehead.. How do you feel? Do you feel warm? Feel cold? Does this remind you of what your Mom used to do to you when you complained about going to school because you thought you were sick??? Our body temperature is something we use as a metric to judge how well we are doing? But why and how was this standard developed? A new study recently came out which links your body temperature to a host of evolutionary and physiological attributes . Read on and find out some things that may get you paying closer attention to that thermometer!
130120 "3 Harmful Effects of High Intensity Training on the GUT"
Everything in Moderation right?! For many of us that were around (and undereducated) 10+ years ago, we were sold on CrossFit being the end-all be-all fitness solution that we can do for the rest of our lives. SO we bought in hard, doing 1-3 workouts per day, leaving wrecked but getting really frickin fit! Even today I travel around and see how many gyms still push the same talking points and training modalities. High Intensity Fitness prescribed 5-6 days per week because it is whats popular and sells. But what is going on in the GUT can be very different from what is showing in your lean muscles and aerobic capacity…
060120 "Digging into Food Allergies. Fact VS. Hypochondria"
Ok Here is a quick Poll.. How many of you out there have been on an airplane and heard the announcement: “We will not be serving any Peanut Products on this flight due to a SERIOUS Peanut Allergy, if you have foods which contain Peanuts, please do not eat them on this flight”. Chances are, many of you are nodding your heads now. And maybe a couple of you are those Peanut fearing folks who make your presence known in every social situation you come into. Allergies to Foods has grown in the past 50 years by a staggering amount. There are fingers being pointed and science trying to uncover the reasons. Here is the latest Science behind the phenomenon.
161219 "Sunlight Deprivation and Its Effect on your Health and Performance"
Winter Months herald in a host of physiological changes, that can lead to our athletic performance dipping slightly. Our sleep patterns get messed up, our hormones bounce around, and often Seasonal Depression hits which absolutely has an effect on your drive in and out of the gym. For this reason we change our training modes and slow things down a bit. But what is going on inside your body because of the lack of Sunlight? Today we dive into some freaky facts that should prompt you to get outside and enjoy every moment of sunlight this winter.
190819 "An Editorial Perspective on Celiac disease and Gluten "
This week a ground breaking Study came out from a Team of Swedish scientists. The STUDY was the most comprehensive done on an array of children, proving that the amount of Gluten that a child consumes is related to their risk for developing Celiac Disease. The reason why this is so big is that the sample of children spans not just European but American as well. While the line has now been drawn between the Celiac and Gluten this does not fill the void of information which lies outside of this test. I have so many questions which I will lay out for you, and I encourage your thoughtful response.
010719 "The GUT Bacteria that Can help Beat Fatigue"
Its not just your lung capacity that you are developing during training. Its not just how big your muscles are getting that make you stronger or get that one last rep. A new study Published in the Nature Medicine journal may shed some more light on just how important your GUT is in relation to your overall athletic ability.
170619 "Salty or Sweet.. The Science behind your Taste Preference"
What do you crave at the Movies? Are you a Salty Popcorn lover or a Sweet Candy person? For me, its all Popcorn. The sweet nature of anything but Chocolate or raw honey is quite distasteful to me. But why is this? What makes my brain go for one thing over the other? Well, It turns out that ‘TASTE’ is both premeditated and genetic. Where some of our taste is learned through exposure and through the make up of our GUT, there is also some imprinted tastes that are bestowed on us while we were in the womb!
030619 "New Science, Common Knowledge.. Food is better than supplements"
If you are a long time reader of my Content, there is no mistaking my love for research studies. Im absolutely crazy for the latest published study because two things usually happen; 1. The wide variety of research being done is inspiring and it gives me deep faith in the last bastion of objective virtue . 2. The Complex Research Reaffirms a lot of the simple thinking that we already know to be true! This week, Food Vs. Supplementation in regards to probiotics. The real truth that could save you money and time.
280519 "How Quick do you Absorb Water?"
I swear that as Both a Firefighter and an Athlete, I have heard every colloquialism about hydration you can think of.
”Hydrate today so you are good tomorrow”
”Drink Before you are Thirsty”
”1 Quart Gatorade to 2 Quarts Water for the Best hydration”
If it has to do with drinking for Performance, there is no myth I have not heard. But I have always wondered about the real Science behind liquid absorption. And with a little digging, I found that there is some really interesting Research on it that you should know about. So how fast do you think you absorb water?
290419 "5 Ways to Detoxify your Liver and Improve Performance"
Take a moment right now and place your hand just below the diaphragm. Inhale deeply, exhale and take a moment to thank your Liver. This little guy has been working hard for you all your life, a thankless job but one that is essential for your life as you know it. No matter what you have thrown at it, the Liver works hard to keep you on track. If you are like me, you and your liver could share some stories! Well today we are going to give thanks to our livers and Im going to give you 5 EASY DETOXIFYING TIPS to help you keep your Liver at Peak levels and boost your performance as an athlete. Given all that you two have been through, its time.. and probably overdue.
250419 "New Science; High Fructose Corn Syrup Boosts Cancer Risk"
In case you missed it this week, a unique study came out that was picked up by all the major new outlets. I always get excited when this happens as News agencies are concentrated on reporting the low hanging fruit when it comes to science. Studies are often used to give us information that is clearly obvious like, ‘Drinking Round-up is bad for you’ and ‘Exercise is good for you’. But there is also glimmering hopes that the population is getting smarter through persistent reporting on emerging topics. High Fructose Corn Syrup is a sweetener which has garnered lots of attention because of the Diabetes epidemic. Several studies are underway which will help to educate the population about its harmful effects and the prevalence in so many of our processed foods. Lets dive in today on this study, what it says and how it is going to be part of a trend in our health consciousness.
250319 "Research Shows; Fitness is good for the GUT"
Stop what you are doing and listen. Your GUT is talking to you. As athletes we need to be listening to our muscles, our brains, and our GUT. One is nothing with out the other in this business. New research by Stephen Carter of the University of Indiana has just been released that ties athletic performance, specifically cardiorespritory fitness, to a more diverse and robust GUT. Now, You know me and the GUT. For many moons I have been touting its importance on your ability to perform as well as ensure a higher quality of life. Well, here is the first research Ive found that points directly to fitness and the GUT. Read on to find out more.
140119 " How and when to use Caffeine to Boost your Training "
In 2004 the Olympic governing Body took caffeine off the banned substances list. This supplement and naturally occurring component of some foods, finally got buy off at the highest level. Caffeine is the most studied performance substance that we take as athletes. The history of use in athletics has a long lineage, going back over a hundred years ago. But Im not here to give you a History lesson. I want to help you with your training TODAY! Caffeine supplementation in your diet is truly a science so read on to see how to maximize its benefits.
070119 "Food Allergies: The Truth and The Hypochondria"
Ok Here is a quick Poll.. How many of you out there have been on an airplane and heard the announcement: “We will not be serving any Peanut Products on this flight due to a SERIOUS Peanut Allergy, if you have foods which contain Peanuts, please do not eat them on this flight”. Chances are, many of you are nodding your heads now. And maybe a couple of you are those Peanut fearing folks who make your presence known in every social situation you come into. Allergies to Foods has grown in the past 50 years by a staggering amount. There are fingers being pointed and science trying to uncover the reasons. Here is the latest Science behind the phenomenon.
101218 "A New Study Finds: Your Probiotics aren't worth Shit"
Vanderbilt University has released a report this week that shook me up. The Headline Read, “GUT Microbiome differs among Ethnicities” which obviously sparked my attention but when I read into it more.. my thinking on bacteria flipped completely. It turns out that what I thought about boosting bacteria was naive and the scope of what I was trying to conceptualize is as big as the stars in the sky above us. But as we will discuss, the subsequent rabbit home I went down gave me extreme hope in the direction of Individualized medicine and our understanding of disease! Lets dive in.
011018 "CANDIDA GUT, WHAT it is and WHY you should avoid it"
From Aches and Pains to Cancer, Inflammation is what we as Human Beings are in constant danger of succumbing to. As Athletes we strive to mitigate unnecessary inflammation through diet and exercise. Understanding what is going on in our GUT, taking a snapshot if you will, is impossible to do from day to day and our natural immune response can be out of order. Bacteria like Candida could be overgrown in your body, creating chronic inflammation without you easily identifying the symptoms. Lets dive in today on what Candida Overgrowth is and how to eliminate it.