Conditioning Research

This is a study to put next to or even in tension with the one I was referring to a few days ago about melatonin and the implication that I drew from it that darkness is needed to maximise your Growth Hormone production. These scientists examined the influence of acute bright light exposure on anxiety. If you read the full paper there are lots of limitations to which the researchers admit, such as a lack of a control (!) but their conclusion is that: ....consistent and significant (albeit modest) anxiolytic effects following acute bright light exposure in low anxious adults (lets just say that it cheers you up!). This is an interesting paper to read here in the UK where we have just put the clocks back as we return to GMT. In Scotland it is now getting dark at 4:30pm......and it is depressing. I personally feel better if I am able to get some sunlight during the day. Talk about seasonal affective disorder , I can feel it kicking in already! Darkness is still important for me...

Everywhere you look, people are carrying plastic bottles of water....you see it at work, on the bus, in the theatre, in church(why?!)....it is as if we are living in a chronically dehydrated society in which people are dying of thirst.... What is going on? Partly I believe that it is a fashion thing. There is a tipping point process going on in which eventually it is the standard thing to be drinking lots of water. The science as far as I can see is fairly clear : the 8 glasses a day mantra lacks scientific proof and is basically an urban myth . What is the harm of drinking lots of water? "The fact is that, potentially, there is harm even in water," explains Valtin. Even modest increases in fluid intake can result in "water intoxication" if one's kidneys are unable to excrete enough water (urine). Such instances are not unheard of, and they have led to mental confusion and even death in athletes, in teenagers after ingesting the recreational drug Ecstasy, a...

Just a quick heads up on a couple of recent bits of news about the alleged benefits of antioxidants in your diet. Firstly a study that looks at the benefits of eating the herb Rosemary: Rosemary not only tastes good in culinary dishes such as Rosemary chicken and lamb, but scientists have now found it is also good for your brain. A collaborative group from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham Institute) in La Jolla, CA and in Japan, report that the herb rosemary contains an ingredient that fights off free radical damage in the brain. The active ingredient in rosemary, known as carnosic acid (CA), can protect the brain from stroke and neurodegeneration that is due to injurious chemical free radicals. These radicals are thought to contribute not only to stroke and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s, but also to the ill effects of normal aging on the brain. And secondly one that looks at polyphenols : In the study, French scientists describe how high and low...

I came across this video on the Crossfit Central Scotland site. I really like Crossfit CS. These aren't the chiselled Californian superhero crossfitters that you see in the videos from CS HQ . These guys look like normal people....plus they are from Motherwell, which is about as down to earth as it gets. Anyway, this is an inspiring video of a 500m world record on the rower. If you have ever tried it you will know how hard this is. The 500m distance is a real challenge. It is further than a sprint, but no so far that you can settle into it. Smooth and powerful.

Here is another interesting one. The conclusion of this study was that Physical activity improves not only physical fitness but also cognitive functions - specifically reaction time. When thinking about functional training, so often we think in terms of using movements that are appropriate to those in your chosen sport or the activities of daily life that you are wishing to strengthen. For example over on hillfit , I often talk about training balance or using exercises like the lunge which mimic the movements that you use in hillwalking. But there is more to being fit and functionally fit than simply strengthening the movements that you use, or even the energy systems that you will use to power those moves. There are also things like reaction time. In a fight you need to be able to react fast to the strike coming at you. in a football match you need to react quickly to the pass coming at you....when walking in the hills and you slip on a ridge, you need to react fast to the fal...

A couple of days ago I posted some thoughts about darkness and melatonin and Growth Hormone.... In reading more about Intermittent Fasting (IF) I came across this article Augmented growth hormone (GH) secretory burst frequency and amplitude mediate enhanced GH secretion during a two-day fast in normal men. Full article available here Serum GH concentrations are increased in fasted or malnourished human subjects. We investigated the dynamic mechanisms underlying this phenomenon in nine normal men by analyzing serum GH concentrations measured in blood obtained at 5-min intervals over 24 h on a control (fed) day and on the second day of a fast with a multiple-parameter deconvolution method to simultaneously resolve endogenous GH secretory and clearance rates. Two days of fasting induced a 5-fold increase in the 24-h endogenous GH production rate [78 +/- 12 vs. 371 +/- 57 micrograms/Lv (Lv, liter of distribution volume) or 0.24 +/- 0.038 vs. 1.1 +/- 0.16 mg/m2 (assuming a distribution vol...

This article just stresses how confusing the science can be. I suppose we need to remember that the science is usually provisional. One study says one thing then another comes out and points in the opposite direction. Public health guidance on cardiovascular benefits and risks related to fish consumption Historically, concerns with fish consumption have addressed risks from contaminants (e.g., methylmercury (MeHg), and PCBs). More recently public health concerns have widened in appreciation of the specific benefits of fish consumption such as those arising from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in fish oil. Fish contains varying levels of PUFAs and MeHg. Since both address the same health outcomes (in opposite directions) and occur together in fish, great care must be exercised in providing public health guidance. Mozaffarian and Rimm in a recent article (JAMA. 2006, 296:1885-99) have made a strong case for the beneficial effects of PUFAs in reducing the risk of coronary heart dise...