The Inflammation Dilemma ...Are Grains Good For Us?

As a support and shout out for my friend (Zoe Whynot) who has started a new blog….a MUST read…….eatpaleo4life.blogspot.com

I am looking at this strictly from the point of view as an athlete in training and preparing for an “Endurance” race/competition.

Grains no doubt have a lot of nutritious elements and components which no doubt can sustain us.  However they also contain other elements that have proven to be detrimental to the active athlete.  (An active athlete was described in a Running Publication as someone who exercises in his/her chosen sport 3 times per week for 20 minutes or more), believe it or not less than 3% of North Americans….Yes I Know!

SO what happens….??. Proteins when converted to amino acids we are able to absorb through the lining of the small intestine, into the bloodstream and delivered to our cells ….Ye energy…

Grains have a Protein that does not get broken down to an Amino Acid, the protein molecule stays intact and after time breaks down the membrane of the small intestine and get absorbed directly into the blood…

What do we do? We attack? Anti Bodies charge the Protein (Lectin) in turn causes inflammation and we are put in this cycle that continues on and on…In fact it only takes one hit every 14 days to keep this cycle going.

How does this affect me you may say?...Well most reading this will be strenuously working out, in some shape or form over the next few days at cross fit, training for a marathon, doing brick workouts or some endurance high intensity tabata protocol. When we do this we put our muscles into repair mode, we want our bodies to react accordingly and start the protection and healing process…

Well if we are in the Grain Cycle are we fully getting the 100% we need to recover and repair so that we can go back out and do it all again and again…I think not. So as our Grain consumption increases based on what our society is telling us we need to eat so the repair cycle gets longer and longer..This leads to fatigue and injury. What makes this even worse is that the Protein I am talking about actually has a much higher content in Whole Grains…..So next time you’re at a Sub shop and you order that 12 Grain Foot Long with all the fixens maybe a salad would or could be better.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

CHI-rs

James

Body In Balance

As athletes we spend a lot of our spare time figuring out what we should be eating / drinking ...what is right to eat / drink, what to eat / drink to be optimal runners, how much and when should we eat / drink??? All great questions and all important for creating an inward Balance.....
But how much time do we spend on actually finding out if our skeleton,  the thing that holds up our body, that allows us to move in many directions is "IN BALANCE"...
From the runners I have run with and actually trained the answer to a man is very little.

Why is that?

Its not that simple of an answer. I believe reason No 1 is that most believe running is a natural thing and we all should be able to do it without any thought process attached. Again in theory "TRUE"  however the "It should come natural",  principle no longer applies. We no longer live, play, grow the way our ancestors did? From a vey young age we stop being active, we stop playing, we put undue stress on our bodies and we become misaligned through sitting, driving and other activities.
Then we start running and we add distance,  if we are 1cm out of balance due to limited flexability - tight muscle groups, or even low back issues this manifests itself in over use / corrective activities on one side that comes out as runners knee or other ailments.

What is the solution?

Get "In Balance". Go see a Physiotherapist or Chiropractor and even a Massage Therapist to take a look at you especially if you are experiencing pain or any discomfort... Dont do what most do and run through the pain...get it looked at right away by a professional and do not listen to the locker room doctors.. :)
If you can get the body aligned and in balance so that every foot strike is even then you will be amazed as was I as to how much your form and body movement improves...Making you an effecient runner.

CHI-rs
JR