FUEL: April 18, 2014

Fueling to ENDURE, Getting Specific

Spoiler Summary - Eating foods that are "low inflammatory" may improve your body and mind's resilience to the effects of stress.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been talking about stress - one of those "things we love to hate" in life, but something we all have.  Two weeks ago I tried to show some of the science behind why some experts are starting to change their stance on stress - that it's not always a bad thing.....and that how we view, label and internalize it matters to how both our brain and bodies manage it.

Last week, I stepped a little further down the lane, with a review of some of the evidence that shows how nutrition appears to be tied to whether the stresses of life manifest as a disease. I referenced the findings of several different studies that each concluded that persons with sub-optimal diets were at greater odds of developing stress-related disease and that those with more near-optimal diets had reduced risk.

So the natural question becomes - what is the optimal stress-muting diet?

To answer this question, we go back to the evidence which had a few consistent themes:

- People who had dietary patterns that featured many highly processed foods were at much greater odds of a stress-related disorder

- People who had dietary patterns that lacked fruit/vegetable consumption were at much greater odds of a stress-related disorder

- People who had dietary patterns that were considered "low-inflammatory" appeared to have some protection against stress-related disorders.

So, this loosely translates to:  Eat many low-inflammatory foods and try to avoid (or significantly limit) highly processed foods or meals that don't incorporate fruit/veggies prominently. According to the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, an "anti-inflammation diet" follows three basic principles:

1. Avoid unhealthy fats. Trans-fats and fats that are high in omega-6 fatty acids cause inflammation. These fats are found in many animal products and in any foods designed to have a long shelf life. Mono-unsaturated fats, like olive oil, are better choices. Omega-3 fats, like fish oil and flax oil, are especially good for decreasing inflammation.

2. Eat fruits and vegetables. Many studies are showing that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is good for decreasing inflammation. The more servings eaten, the better. Eight to 10 servings per day is a good goal.

3. Eat fiber. Diets high in fiber are shown to help to decrease inflammation. A good goal is about 30 grams a day, ideally from a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.      

Where should you begin? Unfortunately, it's never as simple as one-size-fits-all.  If your fuel-mix needs to be changed, you have to come up with the formula that both works (is effective) and works for you (is doable).  Maybe you can incorporate more fruits and veggies into your consumption patterns - this gives the inflammation lowering effects listed in principle #2 and the fiber listed in #3.  If not, maybe you'll do better to "avoid" as listed in principle #1.  If you're committed to the end-goal, like most, you'll find a way.

Need an example?  Just this week I got forwarded a note from someone who I had previously talked with about a condition that, much like the stress-studies quoted had been tied to inflammation.  He was ready to make a change and pulled in a colleague who was up against a similar thing. They decided to take their health head on, starting with a significant dietary change (using an approach that is very similar to the principles listed above).  The results? In less than 2 months, they both reported significant weight loss (20 or more lbs) and major changes in how their doctors were approaching their care (reduced or off medications, etc).  Pretty awesome - but NOT as surprising as it might seem.  

Of course, diet is not the only thing that can lead to increased inflammation.  A strong and active body is a better producer of certain proteins that limit inflammation than a sedentary one and exercise is well known for its effects on stress-modulation.  In addition, smoking and central (belly) obesity are known to increase inflammation.  But, like most things, FUEL is an important factor.  With a solid plan that puts the science on our side and support of friends and family it CAN be done. We're ready to talk more when you are.

Have a great week,

Mike E

RECOVER: April 25, 2014

First Things First…

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Eric Eisenhart

It’s been one full month since my last post….and maybe not so ironically, 3 weeks since the birth of our second, a son we named Thomas John Eisenhart – named after 4 of the strongest and most giving men I’ve come to know….both of his grandfathers, his great-grandfather…and one of his Dad’s truly best friends…..it’s been a whirlwind of a month…..an incredible display of strength by my wife (in the delivery room for 24 hrs. and consistent pushing for the final 3)…lots of emotional highs…..and lots less sleep!  Blogging hasn’t exactly been the top priority as I’ve made a consistent effort to keep first things first.  But now, as my life STARTS to get back to some semblance of routine…and I sit here on the eve of my 33rd birthday with what I hope to be “only” 1/3 of my life behind me…I take a moment to reflect…..how am I doing…what have I learned….where do I go from here?

- How Am I Doing?

Hmmm….always my own toughest critic…my initial urge is to criticize…talk about all the things I should have accomplished by now…how much more I can / should do….BUT….if I balance that and take a look at the gifts I’ve been given…..a healthy and loving family and support network of friends….a strong faith…a beautiful part of the country to live and work….a job that allows me the opportunity to do good, meaningful work for the benefit of others all while having a bit of fun in the process….well, things seem pretty good, but certainly with room for improvement….after all, no sub-3 hr. marathon (yet)….haven’t amassed the seemingly millions I’ll need to pay for kids college (likely never)…haven’t conquered the world (alright maybe I’ll reconsider this one)…

-What Have I Learned?

Well…there have been MANY things…some things unfortunately more than once….but probably the most powerful thus far are as follows:

1) I haven’t learned everything yet, nor will I ever, but it’s important to not stop trying (had to learn this one again last year)

2) Surrounding myself with amazing, caring people has provided me more opportunity, greater experiences and higher life satisfaction than is probably reasonable for any one guy to expect.

3) Pursuing purposeful work ahead of $-full continues to yield valuable dividends.

4) Consciously putting faith and family first….although not always easiest …continues to be the right approach for me…I’d argue for others too.

Where Do I Go From Here?

I have this vision….one that builds strong people, fosters healthy families…and leverages physical resource… for the benefit of those that need it most.  I’ve mentioned it in prior posts as “Fit4Duty”……and though my progress towards this goal has been slower than I’d like….and there’s much work to be done….I believe with consistent effort….we can create a movement…..one where groups of good people come together and train for a purpose greater than personal health & well-being (although that’s clearly a nice side-benefit)…a purpose that would allow them to gain physical strength and mental stamina alongside their friends and families in the process …but most importantly prepare the group to serve and labor in communities and areas of the world with need.  If you think this sounds good and you want to be involved in the “from here” or know someone who would…drop me a comment, a message, or a re-tweet and we’ll talk next steps.

Happy Birthday to Me,

-E

FUEL: April 25, 2014

Paralyzed by the BURGER

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Eric Eisenhart

For as a long as I can remember, I’ve (from time to time) experienced the feelings some might describe as anxiety.  As a kid, I never really knew what anxiety “felt like”, and even today the only way I’ve been able to describe it is to imagine you’re taking a deep breath and for some reason can’t open up your lungs enough to get that good, full, oxygenated feeling.    It wasn’t really anything I worried about until I was old enough to know it “wasn’t normal”….and by the time I was in sixth grade, it had gotten so deeply ingrained into “mental game” that it damn near consumed me in vigorous competition.  In fact, I’d get so wrapped up in worrying about it, that any time the going got tough (in a youth wrestling match)…I’d find myself worried I couldn’t breath….and eventually allowed a downward spiral from there…..the concern would push me into a state of exercise induced asthma…and eventually I REALLY couldn’t breath….almost paralyzed until I could regain control of my mind and force it to regain control of my body.

The episodes drove a concerned young athlete and a set of worried parents to seek answers…..and after numerous doctor visits and cardiology tests, it was determined that I have mitral valve prolapse (click link if interested), and one of the main side-effects was “shortness of breath”….and so it seemed our questions were answered.  And since, with a bit more mental ease….I’ve worked through the anxiety like symptoms and couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve experienced them as a result of vigorous exercise.  Maybe it’s because I have a better understanding of what was going on…maybe it’s because multiple doctors have told me I have no more risk than anyone when taking on vigorous activity….or maybe it’s because at this point, through enough repetition without tragic outcome…I’ve learned the human body is incredibly resilient (mine not being an exception) and has far more to give than most of us think, or allow.  And believe it or not….even through maximum exertion cardiac stress tests, more than my fair share of high intensity workouts through collegiate athletics and the last 7 years competing in endurance sports (marathon, triathlon)….I’ve not had one single exercise induced episode……..BUT

….from time to time, they still occur during the “normal” day.  WHY….is it the mitral valve prolapse?

Well – I’m not a cardiologist….but over the last couple of years (since my last cardiologist visit just prior to my first Boston Marathon when I was told “don’t come back…if I had more patients like you, I’d be out of business”) I’ve keeping a relatively close eye on the trend of when the feelings come on.  And it seems as though two things tend to serve as a catalyst for the all-too familiar anxiety, tightness of chest, and lack of adequate breath that I got as a young athlete.

1) STRESS – shocking I know – but more on this at another time

2) Low-Grade Fuel – as in food intake.  If you’re someone who typically eats pretty healthy….with the majority of your diet coming from plant-based foods…..you know what it feels like to fall of the wagon and pay for it.  If on the other hand, you’re yet to get on that wagon and are like the roughly 97% of American’s who (according to the journal of nutrition) don’t consume enough daily fiber….you’re probably yet to experience what I’m talking about, after all…hard to fall off a wagon that doesn’t exist yet in your life (never too late to start FYI).  But for me, this past weekend….not only did I “fall off the wagon”….I took a swan dive off the very tippy top.  I let Saturday get away from me….exercised vigorously in the morning (7+ miles, then High Intensity Strength Intervals for 30 min)…had a sensible breakfast…and went back to a work project that required a bit of physical labor….and by the time I got home, I was starving for calories….and craving total crap food….a burger with all the fixings (it happens).  And with almost zero convincing of the 8.5 mo pregnant wife to go out and “not cook”….we went, and down down I fell…feeling the repercussions since (just now subsiding, now Monday and 48 hours later). So…it got me thinking.

I remember sitting through a lecture a few years back by famous Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn who boldly told his audience (many physicians, health professionals, HR representatives, fitness professionals, etc.) that we should “only consume everything in moderation if we ONLY want a moderate heart attack”…and further explained the effects that animal protein has on temporarily damaging our artery’s endothelial cells, and inhibit their use of nitric oxide (a vascular dilator that allows the artery to relax and widen).  It was a powerful statement and one I’ve not forgotten…yet consistently heard from other nutritional experts…like one of my favorites Michael Greger who quoted research stating a single meal primarily comprised of animal protein and fat can paralyze the arteries and restrict blood flow (see video HERE).  And so I wonder…..could part of the reason that we (I) feel so crappy after falling off the wagon be related to damaged endothelial cells and temporarily constricted arteries and blood flow…..hmm doesn’t seem like too far of a stretch….back to the books to learn more!

FUEL: April 18, 2014

FUEL to ENDURE.....

Spoiler Summary:  Another step down the path of resilience gained through prevention of stress-related harm.....this week some evidence of the nutritional linkage.

Last week I wrote a little bit about the impact that language (the way we "label" our world) can have on our body's response to what's going on around us....how something that seems so small, like word choice, can have such a big and lasting impact on our brain and therefore our bodies.  But, as you might expect with a story line that could take us into the wild, we only took a few steps down a winding path - and so this week I hope you'll take a few more steps with me.....how stress hits us can get a little dicey, so watch your step.

Stress is a great example of the brain-body connection, but maybe the real question is "which brain are we talking about"? The actual brain or "the second brain"? The one that has a special border designed to keep bacteria out or the one that couldn't do its job if it didn't have so much bacteria kept in?

As a review - the gut is sometimes called "the second brain" because it houses millions of nerves and therefore processes an enormous amount of information.  Some estimate that it has as many (or more) nerves as the spinal cord.  And....we know that there is at least a one-way communication link with stress and the gut.  Whether intuition and "gut feelings", or the churning and queasiness in uncomfortable situations, or even diseases of the gut that have an inseparable link to stress like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or GERD (Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disorder) - we know that when we are stressed, the gut shows outward signs of something that is largely rooted in the brain.  But what about the other direction?  What about an "upward" (gut to brain) connection?

I had the good fortune this week of presenting on this exact topic to a group of folks in Newark, NJ. Although a bit of a gross topic for some (there are not many who really want to discuss the inner-workings of the gut), it was a chance to go a little deeper on a critically important topic - to not only reinforce that stress is NOT the insurmountable enemy it sometimes feels like - but that, believe it or not, our FUEL choices can have a major impact on our stress load and impact on our working system.

The more we look, the more evidence comes to light.  Here are some examples:

• a 2011 study which, after controlling for several variables, showed a 15% to 32% reduction in the likelihood of having anxiety and depression respectively in adults based on dietary choices

• a 2012 study which showed an even more profound impact (15% and 62% for anxiety and depression respectively) in adolescents or

• two different 2014 studies which showed significant impacts ranging from 15% to 40% reductions in those same likelihoods based on consumption patterns,

Of course, if you stop and think about it, it makes total sense - how much more would any "machine" struggle or sputter if you gave it the wrong fuel mix?  Why should it surprise us that the body and mind are more likely to show signs of struggle (stress) if we put in the wrong stuff?

The hardest part might be accepting that there IS an ideal fuel mix for the body.....and the further away we get from that ideal, the more our performance suffers.....and the long-standing suffering shows up in the form of injury and chronic disease.

So what can we do?  Well the short answer is - keep learning, ask questions - you've got resources when you're ready to use them.  The longer answer is - a topic for another post.....maybe next week....a little further down the path.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

RECOVER: April 4, 2014

Performance Enhancing Thoughts - are they legal?

Spoiler summary - words shape beliefs, beliefs shape reactions, reactions shape health.....we're closer to understanding why.

"I was so stressed out". Ever catch yourself saying those 5 incredibly powerful words?....Was it today?  Me too. What if it were a good thing?  What if that heart-racing, rapid breathing, near-anxious state was actually a good thing - your body getting ready for the challenge ahead?  Could it be? You decide.

In an effort to satisfy our curious minds and further our knowledge of what it "really takes" to achieve, the team stumbled upon a very interesting TED Talk and dove deeper to find a 2012 Association for Psychological Science paper on a subject that everyone interfaces with: STRESS. Although the academic nature of the paper made it a cure for insomnia in some readers, the authors (University of Rochester, U of California San Fran and Harvard U) flexed some fairly impressive evidence that might help turn the whole stress-is-bad thing on it's head - literally.

One of the key concepts was the power of language to shape a situation....and therefore our body's response to it.  Take for example the words "challenge" and "threat". Although they both represent something difficult, as you get below the surface, they are on very different sides of that fine line.  Challenge can be very positive - a difficult thing that is actually very positive if you choose to deal with and overcome it.  Threat on the other hand is usually very negative - a difficult thing that is likely to hurt you if you DON'T choose to deal with and overcome it.  As it turns out, deep in the recesses of your brain, when you are deciding between that fine line of "is this challenge?" or "is this threat?", your body primes itself differently.

From the study: "...challenge is characterized by improved cardiac efficiency and dilation of the peripheral vasculature, whereas threat decreases cardiac efficiency and constricts the vasculature in anticipation of damage or defeat"

What this means is that both challenge and threat kick your nervous system into a higher gear.....but they do so in very different ways....each starting a very different reaction by the body.  When the situation seems hard but winnable (challenge) your nervous system kicks on and OPENS the valves of the pipes....but if you interpret the situation as a high potential for defeat (threat) the nervous system kicks on an CLOSES the valves.

Need a classic example? People who exhibit test-taking anxiety (threat) often describe cold-clammy hands (less blood flow b/c valves are closed) - even to the point where rubbing hands together to "warm-up" seems to have some benefit.....but that bottom-up (hands to mind) attempt may have only been half of the solution.  What if you could see the situation as a hard, but winnable challenge (mind to hands), would it impact your performance? The research says yes.  One study demonstrated that people who were taught to understand that their body's responses (heart rate going up for example) were normal responses - i.e. the body gearing up for the challenge - not only performed better on the task, but recovered faster from it.

Maybe the "that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger" mindset that was very much a part of the tough fabric of the times a generation or two ago was right? Maybe there was a physiological reason why - "you're fine....it builds character" was some of the most sage advice ever given.  Maybe.....the challenges we overcome not only define who we are in the stories we tell.....but how healthy we'll be when we're telling them.

Let us know when you're ready to learn more.

Have a great week,

Mike E.

CONNECT: March 28, 2014

Dive on in, the data feels fine....

Spoiler Summary: You are what you track? Sort of....add a splash of "what gets measured gets done" and you're on to something.

A week ago, I learned to listen.....again.  Admittedly, it's a lesson I relearn here and there - but this time it was a lesson in listening to my body's warning signs.  I won't bore you with the details (see Pro-Activity's Facebook or Twitter feeds if you're just DYING to know), but the basic lesson was that while ramping up training to get ready for a late-July triathlon I pushed a little too hard. It was not the first time and not the end of the world.  Thankfully, experience helped me to catch it early and avoid a major setback.....but if I had relied on objective information (data) and not solely intuition, I'm confident that I would have avoided it all together......and before I knew it I was traveling back in time.

Did you ever have one of those little scales used to measure proper meal portions?  Growing up we did.  I can still picture it sitting there on the counter, owned by my mom who by then had easily earned a PhD in Nutritional Science from the University of Curious Minds or the College of Find-Your-Own-Answers.  It was a painstaking effort (I'm sure) to manually translate "intake" into objective information, but the mini-scale was the technology of the day and it worked. It helped many people understand both what they were doing right and where the gaps were - and for some, it still does.

Fast forward a few years and pedometers and accelerometers were bursting onto the scene, helping folks begin to understand their movement (or lack thereof) patterns.  Bring the time-machine to the present and we have GPS enabled devices, some with continuous heart rate monitoring, designed not only to assist in translating all that MOVE data into a body-stress value, but provide insight into the FUEL and rest required to ensure we RECOVER fully.  Add this to the wealth of information that can be grabbed from just a few drops of blood and building your own unique control panel is doable....but this might be just the beginning.  

In the world of collegiate and professional athletics, athletes are being continuously monitored during games and practices which is having an impact on training approaches to minimize injury and maximize performance....and plenty of assumptions and long-held practices are being challenged.....but it's not just in elite athletes.  Did you know that a Canadian company is promising to deliver a device that uses light-technology to analyze your blood-flow and therefore the quality of your nutrition? A host of activity and sleep-trackers already exist and recently stories have leaked that Apple is creating a "health book" app on the next generation i-devices. Maybe the future is now.

It's not without some concern of course.  Where is all that data going? Who has access to it? For how long? Is it anonymous? Could it somehow get into the wrong hands? No one really knows, which makes some (rightfully) a bit queasy; but when it comes to health, it seems to have the makings of an incredibly important set of tools in assisting those with goals to get-there faster or more efficiently if used properly. Maybe not surprisingly to those who appreciate our geekier-side, we've been watching closely for a few years and wading in a little further each day.....testing first on ourselves and then inviting others to join in.....and although we don't always listen closely enough, what we're learning is very, very interesting.

So what about you, have you done it yet?  Have you tried tracking and translating yourself into bits and bytes? Have you tried to make changes based on trend-spotting your personal data? Have you dabbled in the quantified self? Do you use data to help guide your decisions and aide your attempt to ENDURE?

If not, it might be a good time to learn more. There's more to come here, but if you've got a geekier side too we hope you'll reach out and ask questions; we hope you'll get involved in the discussion; we hope you'll CONNECT the data - and the dots - it might just be the edge you need to achieve at a level you weren't sure you could.

Now go do something extraordinary,

Mike Eisenhart, PT

Managing Partner, Pro-Activity