Friday, April 29, 2005

The Gastrocolic Reflex

For many years, one of my friends claimed he needed a big cup of coffee to encourage him to "sit" on the toilet. (Sorry that this is a "not nice" topic, but it does involve health.) As I've learned more about health, I've found out that there's something called the gastrocolic reflex and it causes a desire to use the toilet when something is put in the stomach. As time has passed, I've realized that while liquids are helpful in this regard, solid food also helps.

Part of the reason for this post is to celebrate my finding the term "gastrocolic reflex" - it was something that I'd heard mentioned a long time ago, but could not hear the actual term, so I decided to Google it and using several terms that I expected would be used in a discussion of this, quickly found the term and checked several more sites to confirm that it was what I was looking for.

In checking it, I found it mentioned on some websites that pertained to irritable bowel symdrome (IBS). I used to believe that I might have IBS, but when I changed my lifestyle, all signs of it disappeared, so I have to believe my problem was poor eating, not IBS. One of the things that the IBS sites pointed out is that soluble fiber (which is found in oatmeal, apples, and the bulk fiber laxatives, like Metamucil and Citrucel) is very beneficial for IBS. It's something that I've suggested to people for cholesterol control, but was unaware that it was good for IBS. Note that for IBS, while soluble fiber is good, insoluble fiber (aka roughage) can be an irritant and thus should be limited.

So, when you get up in the morning, fill you belly with healthy foods and beverages and prepare to "take care of business."

Don't Even Think About It!

After several years of fast food outlets offering healthier (often pronounced smaller) food choices, there is a trend towards bigger, fattier foods which are, in a word, STUPID choices for people who are trying to manage their weight.

I don't have an issue with fast food on an occasional basis, but DON'T make the bad choices often...and if you do, why not share? If it's a treat for you, it can be a treat for your kids, too!

Here's a link to the article (from NPR) that got me thinking about this (and you can listen to it if you want - there's a stream you can select): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4619086

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Heart Rate Monitoring

I am a proponent of heart rate monitoring. Rather than giving a long lecture about why it's good, I'm going to share with you two stories. They illustrate the power of heart rate monitoring, when done properly.

The first story involve none other than me. I was disappointed when after consistent efforts, my race times in the 5K races had stagnated at about the 23 minute level (7:40 miles). After talking to a number of people I respected, I reluctantly decided to try some slower, longer running. I began running with my goal to stay between 70% and 80% of my maximum heart rate. It didn't take too long for me to extend some of my runs to an hour, then an hour and a quarter. Around that time, I ran another 5K race, I don't need to tell you that I was thrilled when my time was down to around 20:30 (6:40 miles). The monitor had worked for me.

Around the same time, I and my weight loss was helping a friend who wanted to lose some weight. He was seriously overweight and while he'd try running, it beat him up pretty badly, so we put him on a power walking program and guided him with his diet. I distinctly remeber his first day with the monitor, he started walking with it and after a few minutes said quizzically, "You mean going this slowly is helping me lose weight?" He could not believe that the low intensity exercise benefitted him. Over a period of about 3 months, he lost about 25 lbs.

Unfortunately, the expression "No pain, no gain" has become well known, but it couldn't be much further from the truth. Trainers often use the expression, "Train, don't strain." This is the right way to exercise. I suspect that if pleasant activity were our memory of exercise, rather than the the gym teacher saying, "Drop and give me 20!," a lot more of use would exercise. A heart rate monitor can be a valuable tool in relearning that exercise can be fun.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

The New Food Pyramid

Cool! I can eat a whole pyramid of food and be healthy! Well, not exactly. But the revisions to the food pyramid have improved it considerably. They've added physical activity as a part of the program, and instead of the old four basic food groups, they now have 6 groups; grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meats & beans, and oils. They do a pretty good job of identifying which are better and which are worse.

One complaint that's often voiced about the USDA (and some other government agencies) is the dual role of promotion and education. These two roles often run counter to each other...how can the USDA promote beef AND potentially advise against it due to a Mad Cow Disease outbreak? But, the important thing is that they have done a pretty good job of improving the pyramid, and my first look at the sight found it informative and not overly beholden to the promotion side of the house.

You can find the new website for the UDSA's new food pyramid at: http://mypyramid.gov/

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Trans Fats - Bad, Natural Fats - Good (In Moderation)

The more I'm learning about trans fats (aka partially hydrogenated oils), the more worried I am about them. They are used in foods because they are stable, not turning rancid quickly like many liquid oils do. Let's look at the history - trans fats are a part of a learning process. In the 1970's and 1980's, we realized that saturated fats (like coconut oil) were bad for us, so we synthesized hard fats by cooking oil in the presence of hydrogen to make these partially hydrogenated oils. We thought we were looking out for our health while the food companies were able to make shelf stable foods.
As it turns out these oils are not just stable on the shelf, but also in our bodies. These fats, because they are syntethic, are apparently almost impossible for our bodies to process. So, they stay around in our bodies.
There have now been links (I'm unsure how well proven) to increased heart and arterial disease risk from consumption of these trans fats. While, I suspect, they are likely minimally risky in very small amounts, I think we should make efforts choose foods with natural fats when we are consuming foods containing fats.
Frito-Lay (as part of an effort by their parent company PepsiCo) has, from what I understand, taken trans fats out of their snack foods. I applaud this effort (but also feel the need to remind you that these are snack foods - usually high in oil and salt...I went through a period when I ate far to many of them, often substituting oversize portions of them for meals - I eat better now, but wanted to remind any of you who may fall into that trap, to change your ways). PepsiCo has recently introduced a Green Dot on many of its healthier foods, called the Smart Spot. It's a way to quickly identify healthier foods. Their website about it is here: http://www.smartspot.com/
The flip side of that argument is that many of the products PepsiCo makes are not as healthy as some different alternatives. Very clearly, a glass of their Tropicana Orange Juice is healthier than a glass of their Pepsi. But, I say eat the orange, it's better than the juice (because it contains fiber), but sometimes that's not an available (or convenient) alternative. I have serious issues with their marketing of Gatorade. My stance on electrolyte beverages is that unless you are sweating profusely for more than an hour, replacement of electrolytes through a special beverage is unnecessary. (They probably have research that will appear to contradict me, but it was likely done with high level athletes where the tiniest edge can be significant and for whom weight control is a non-issue.) So, if you are running a half-marathon or a marathon, an electrolyte beverage can be meaningful, but if you just spent 30 minutes on the stairmaster, it has little value.
I apologize for my digression, but when buying food, look for foods containing No Trans Fats, but be careful, the rules permit companies to say this even when foods contain small amounts (less than 1/2 gram) per serving. It's best to read the ingredient panel, rather than relying on a claim on the front of the package. When you have the choice, choose the brand without the hydrogenated oil.

Friday, April 01, 2005

And Sunny Evenings!

This weekend marks the transition to Daylight Savings Time. I'm looking forward to it, as it means it will be relatively easy to do workouts in the evening with light! That's a big deal to me, but it also means that I do, at least for several weeks lose some morning light.