Bit of Lifting

I missed "531 Wk2 W/O3" so will add in some deadlifting and handstands today with loads for the missing week.

1. Handstanding for time
2. Deadlift (3x110kg, 3x126kg, 3x142kg)

Spice Yourself Thin

Experiments in rodents show that the colder it is, the more energy they burn off as their body seeks to maintain body temperature.  There is intriguing evidence that spicy foods activate nerve receptors that trigger the same brain response as being cold does as reported by New Scientist,

• Experiments in rodents have shown that the colder it is, the more energy they burn off in this way to produce heat.
  
  As babies, we also use this system to produce heat. But there is increasing evidence that many adults retain enough active brown fat, or adipose tissue, to do it too. [Investigator Andy Whittle at the University of Cambridge], reckons this process is controlled by the brain, which orders the extra burning of fat in brown adipose tissue when it gets cold.
  
  Recent research has revealed that spicy food - such as cinnamon or capsaicin in chilli peppers - can activate nerve receptors in the skin, gut and mouth, triggering the same brain response as being cold does.
  
  Whittle's colleague Maarten Soeters cites findings from Japan published this year showing that men with active brown adipose tissue burn more energy than normal when given capsules of capsinoid compounds, similar to capsaicin (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.111.018606).
  
  Now, Whittle is hoping to see if a mixture of ingredients like capsaicin can trick the brain into thinking it is cold, and coax brown adipose tissue into burning just a little more fat than normal, helping people to lose weight over years. He is keeping the exact ingredients secret for now.

I don't generally do spice (not since my vegetarian days), but it might be time to break out Dave's Insanity Sauce one again!

Government and YOUR Diet

Another interesting  bit from The Food Program.  All the usual suspects are here - 'nutritionism', saturated fat (and Denmark's Fat Tax), sugary drinks and so forth, all against the back drop of (bwa ha ha), voluntary codes of conduct implemented in the UK:

• Can Health Secretary Andrew Lansley change Britain's bad eating habits? Sheila Dillon hears how the debate is shaping up on the "responsibility deals" aimed at changing our diet.
  With over 60 per cent of the British population now overweight or obese everyone agrees that change is needed in how we eat and what we eat. One part of the government's strategy involve so called responsibility deals, agreements with the food industry based around a series of pledges.
  A growing number of food manufacturers and retailers have signed up, pledging to reduce calories, remove salt and harmful trans-fats from food. But will it deliver a big enough change in the nation's diet?
  Sheila Dillon finds out how the Danish government has recently opted to place a tax on nutrients like saturated fat and sugar, meanwhile in New York City, mayor Michael Bloomberg has placed a ban on ingredients like trans-fats and is now placing restrictions on the size of soft drink portions.
  So, to tax, ban or adopt voluntary agreements on food? Sheila hears how the three different ideas are being developed.

 
Good listening. 

 

Just Eat Real Food....

...and you will likely eat at a calorific level commensurate with the evolved physiological trait of human daily energy expenditure!

• Western lifestyles differ markedly from those of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, and these differences in diet and activity level are often implicated in the global obesity pandemic. However, few physiological data for hunter-gatherer populations are available to test these models of obesity. In this study, we used the doubly-labeled water method to measure total daily energy expenditure (kCal/day) in Hadza hunter-gatherers to test whether foragers expend more energy each day than their Western counterparts. As expected, physical activity level, PAL, was greater among Hadza foragers than among Westerners. Nonetheless, average daily energy expenditure of traditional Hadza foragers was no different than that of Westerners after controlling for body size. The metabolic cost of walking (kcal kg−1 m−1) and resting (kcal kg−1 s−1) were also similar among Hadza and Western groups. The similarity in metabolic rates across a broad range of cultures challenges current models of obesity suggesting that Western lifestyles lead to decreased energy expenditure. We hypothesize that human daily energy expenditure may be an evolved physiological trait largely independent of cultural differences.

From 'Hunter-Gatherer Energetics and Human Obesity'.

UPDATE:  This finding above is similar in conclusion to the following study:

• TEE adjusted for weight and age or PAL did not differ significantly between developing and industrialized countries, which calls into question the role of energy expenditure in the cause of obesity at the population level.

Energy expenditure in adults living in developing compared with industrialized countries: a meta-analysis of doubly labeled water studies.

Never Leave the Playground*

Have you ever noticed how the same injury is diagnosed in various ways dependent on your age?  When you get injured as a youth the diagnosis is that "kids will be kids".  If you get injured in your middle years onward you are told you are "too old to do it/it's arthritis/you're getting on".  The underlying message is that you should slow down!

A similar thing happens when we express our natural desire to seek out novelty.  If you seek out novelty as a kid its the old 'kids will be kids' chestnut.  If you attempt to do new things after school age, your behaviour will be classified as either immature or, the older you are, a 'mid life crisis'.

People seem to forget that seeking out novelty is innate and the natural behaviour of a healthy organism.  Enrichment is fundamental to quality of life.  We are edge feeders.

Spontaneous Workout

The Truth About LookingYounger was basically a paleo diet - until such time as they can come up with cramming veggie antioxidants in to a pill.  Avoid the sun on your face (UVA Ages and UVB Burns), and be aware of the very strong correlation between sugar and wrinkles!

Although I've enjoyed respite from the awesomeness of 531, I dug out my bike and headed down to the local park for the following:

1. Muscle Ups (5, 5, 3/5)
2. Chins (12, 12, 12)
3. Handwalking (for time)
4. Planch Variations (25s, 25s, 25s)

I couldn't complete the last reps of the last set of MUs, the chins gassed me a bit as well.  Handwalking was a gas, but the teenagers on the mini-track stopped me from attempting handwalking over various ramps and other obstacles (something I've been inspired by since watching Unbeatable Banzuki).

Summer has recently come to the UK, so the last few days have been a blur of climbing, wildswimming, trampolining ("1, 2, 3, 4,  We Are Playing Pooh-Ball") and cycling with the kids.  Flash has discovered her cycling mojo and Captain Kid has recently taken to going off-road on her mountain-bike.  All good stuff.

Although I have to 'give-out' to them on occasion, they are great fun to be around.  I love how kids live in the here and now; never burdened by the past, nor by fear of the future.

I might deadlift on Friday and then rest.  We are off Glamping in Norfolk (living in a teepee), where we hope to do some sea-shore foraging.  I've also got my my eye on some wild swimming at one or two locations but will generally explore the area and see what turns up.  Should be fun.

The Truth About Looking Younger

The Beeb's prolific output of 'The Truth About....' themed programs shows no sign of abating!  The latest installment is called 'The Truth About Looking Younger':

• Plastic surgeon Dr Rozina Ali leaves the operating theatre behind for the frontiers of skin science and asks if it is possible to make your skin look younger without surgery.
  
  She discovers the latest research about how the foods we eat can protect our skin from damage, and how a chemical found in a squid's eye is at the forefront of a new sun protection cream.
  
  She also finds out how sugar in our blood can make us look older, and explores an exciting new science called glycobiology which promises a breakthrough in making us look younger.

This one interests me because of its apparent emphasis on food quality and aging.

BBC2 Horizon: Mon 23 Jul 2012 @21:00hrs.  Should be available on iPlayer.