Why All This Gut Talk? PART I

"In the summer of 2008, a 26-year-old man from Shanxi Province walked into a lab at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and 23 weeks later walked out 113 pounds lighter. He had not participated in a clinical trial of some new secret weight loss pill, or signed up for a punishing Biggest Loser-style exercise program, nor had he been fussed over by behavioral scientists who made his plates and drinking cups smaller with each passing week. The researchers, who were microbiologists, had simply put the man’s gut microbes on a diet.
One of the huge mysteries in studies of diet and exercise is the difference between people who get the same treatment but have remarkably different outcomes. Inevitably, some people in a study show little improvement despite weeks or even months of following what might seem like draconian changes in their normal diet and lifestyle. Other people apparently drop weight just by getting out of bed in the morning, and also improve their circulating triglycerides, total cholesterol, and biomarkers of inflammation with apparent ease. We all know someone like this in our daily life.
But why are there such extreme differences between people?
Is our DNA to blame? Our human genes may be involved in some cases but we generally share more than 99% genetic similarity with other people; more interestingly, the huge differences in peoples weight gain/loss may be driven more by the different bacteria in our intestines, which can be more than 90% different between one person and the next". (Taken from Jeff Leach's American (Gut) Gothic: 5 Things You can do for a healthier microbiome in 2013).  http://humanfoodproject.com/american-gut-gothic-5-things-you-can-do-for-a-healthier-microbiome-in-2013/


SETTING THE STAGE:
The last few years have seen an abundance of material presented to the public on the importance of gut health. In the medical and science community as well, there are hundreds of scholarly papers and peer reviewed journals being published on how our gut health is critical to robust health and vitality. The gut, and more specifically, our microbiome (the trillions of bacteria as well as their unique genes, that call our skin, intestines, and mouth home sweet home) might just be the lynchpin that connects modern day life with, quite frankly, modern day malaise.  The malaise I speak of is the throngs of folks living with chronic disease, from auto-immune disorders, metabolic syndrome, depression and anxiety, cardiovascular disease and a host of other illnesses. 

I have spoken quite exhaustively on the topic of humans amidst their ecology (see http://fluxregina.blogspot.ca/2013/01/food-challenge-update.html .... ) and have suggested that the health of the human species cannot be disconnected from the health of the local and global ecologies of which we are a part. In many ways, technology and science have allowed us to jettison our local ecologies (why of course I can eat bananas and mangoes in Saskatchewan year round) and have led in some ways to an even more diverse diet. And yet ironically,  our collective palette seems to be less and less imaginative these days. When you add to this stunted imagination, a desire for immediate gratification, the food landscape appears pretty bleak.  Try the following thought experiment: walk into the grocery store as though you were an alien visiting earth for the first time. Cellophane wrapped broccoli, cauliflower, so clean and sterile, no ragged edges, the stalks removed, no traces of decay. It is as though the grocery store has answered our collective, and bizarre desire that food be completely severed from its connection to the earth, and to the cycle of life, which demands both  death and decay.

Another case in point is our last food challenge, where many of you bravely took up the exhortation to eat organ meat once a week and to make your own broth from chicken feet and beef bones. This proved to be a gruesome experience for some as they apprehensively cut into a beef tongue or stared at a package of chicken feet that they were now expected to boil the hell out of for 24 hours.

What does all of this have to do with our microbiome? A couple of things actually - just as we are implicated within an external ecology, we also have a gut ecology. And this gut loves DIVERSITY, DIRT and DECAY. There are hundreds of various microbial species at home in our bodies. In fact, some scientists go so far as to suggest that the human body is really just a vessel for the trillions of bacteria living in our body.  And so the tables are turned, we are not the center of the universe, and in fact, we are just along for the ride. Our main function being to host this multiplicity of microbes. The first order of the challenge will be to feed your gut some diversity. You will try and eat 30-40 different plant types every week.

As further dfpreparation for our challenge, I suggest you go to The Human Food Project's Website and become acquainted with the work of Jeff Leach, the anthropologist leading this project. Mr. Leach  defines this project as "an effort to understand modern disease against the back drop of our ancestral/microbial past." http://humanfoodproject.com/

ALL ABOUT POOP

We are gearing up for our Heal Your Gut Challenge.  Here are a couple of great resources that explain the connections between a leaky gut, inflammation and auto-immune diseases. Start reading in preparation for the challenge. 

Check out the bios on these two smart cookies as they take you through the connection between wheat and a leaky gut.

http://perfecthealthdiet.com/about/

http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/10/wheat-is-a-cause-of-many-diseases-i-leaky-gut/

And finally, read Chris Kresser's article on macro-nutrients - protein, carbs and fat. He breaks down the specifics of each of these stressing QUALITY of FOOD.  This is an excellent starting point for anyone looking to learn more about nutrient dense food.

http://chriskresser.com/9-steps-to-perfect-health-2-nourish-your-body

Chris Kresser - Could a Leaky Gut Be Making You Fat?

For the next several weeks I will be posting articles on all things gut related as a way to prepare for our next challenge on GUT HEALTH.  Read below about leaky gut and why that might be contributing to pesky belly fat. Note that once again, leaky gut is related to INFLAMMATION.  In fact, we could have just as easily called our next challenge the ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CHALLENGE. 

As always, I encourage you to do your own research and come to your own conclusions - just make sure your opinion is an informed one!

 http://chriskresser.com/could-a-leaky-gut-be-making-you-fat

Hippocrates - "All Disease Begins in the Gut"

As many of you know, I am a big fan of fermented foods - sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha to name a few.  The thing is, no matter how "clean" your diet is, if your gut health isn't great, you really can't get the most out of nutrient dense foods. One of the ways to diversify the flora in your gut is to eat fermented foods. In the article below,  Dr. Mercola sent a sample of sauerkraut off to the lab to have the culture analyzed. They found that a 4-6 ounce serving of homemade sauerkraut had ten trillion bacteria!!!

http://nourishingplot.com/2014/06/21/sauerkraut-test-divulges-shocking-probiotic-count/


Below is an interview between Chris Kresser and Jeff Leach from The American Gut Project. Read all about pre and probiotics below.  This is a great article if you are interested in Dr. McBride's GAPS diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome).  Many doctors and scientists are reporting on the intimate connection between the gut and your mental health. Neurological disorders are also being treated with the GAPS protocol. 
http://chriskresser.com/you-are-what-your-bacteria-eat-the-importance-of-feeding-your-microbiome-with-jeff-leach

One of the more interesting ideas presented in the above interview is that folks following a low carb diet might not be getting enough resistant starch. Resistant starch is what feeds and enables bacteria to grow in your gut (I will post on this in the next few days).

When we were researching what foods to stock the Flux market with,  I was delighted to come across the Firefly Kitchens kimchi (basically Asian sauerkraut).  Check out their website below to read all about their products. 

 http://www.fireflykitchens.com/

ENJOY YOUR TEMPO

Wow! It has been such a pleasure witnessing the improvements in people's upper body strength work.  Your tempo training has been exemplary and is it ever paying off.  Why is tempo training so effective? First off, it helps to mitigate against injury.  Even the simple recognition that there is a tempo is going to slow you down and slow equals control.  This is why we don't allow people to do kip until they have a 30 sec eccentric. As I have mentioned before, the shoulder socket is very shallow and it is this shallowness which aids the shoulder to move in such complex ways.  The trade off though, is that the shoulder is prone to injury precisely because the humerus sits in this very shallow socket.  If the scapula isn't anchoring the humerus properly, you are far more prone to an impingement (the head of the humerus rubs against the roof of the acromium).  This is why we are constantly talking about scapular activation and strength.  Too often, we see people rely on momentum rather than strength but the implementation of a tempo aids in providing some quality control in the moment. A tempo also helps students to strengthen their weakest points in a movement.  If I just tell you to do an eccentric chin up I do not get an accurate assessment of your scapular strength.  But with a tempo I can quickly glean whether  you are weak at the top, the bottom, or  the middle of your pull and then use a tempo to address the weakness.

A good teacher will compel the student to adhere to the exact tempo given. If it is 5 seconds, we don't mean 3 seconds, we mean 5 seconds! Tempo training often means taking a step or two back. Try doing a ring or bar dip @ 51x1 for 5 sets as compared to no tempo.  With this tempo, you have 35 sec of time under tension as opposed to zero seconds of time under tension.  When you can do 2-3 extreme range of motion ring dips for 5 sets @ 51x1, I guarantee that the strict muscle up will not seem so daunting.

One more thing about quality control.  I hate to be cynical but when people tell me that they can do x number of chin ups or ring dips or push ups, I rarely believe them.  Don't tell me what you can do. Show me what you can do.  A 31x1 tempo on a chin up or pull-up (where the chest must touch the bar for a full second), and the athlete must be fully extended in the bottom for 1 second, gives me an excellent idea of someone's pulling strength.  Tempo lends itself to accountability.

Handbalancing at Flux - School of Human Movement

Here are some of the Fluxers who have been working on their handbalancing and other forms of balance. I wish I could have gotten all of you in this video... But there is more to come! I hope you enjoy it. The best part of the video is the diversity of ages and abilities. 


You can also see the video on our Facebook group page.

Write your own narratives and rewrite the myths. - A Note from Coach Darci

A note from Coach Darci:
 

This is a dance piece performed and choreographed by Jozef Fruzek and Linda Kapetanea. Jozef was one of my teacher's at the last Ido Portal movement camp. As a kid I stayed away from gymnastics and dance, partly of my own doing but also because I allowed others to write my narrative for me. You are too tall for gymnastics...You are too gangly for dance. It is silly that we cling to these narratives even as adults, but after working with Ido Portal for several years I slowly shed these insecurities. Now, I love gymnastics of all sorts (the acrobatic elements, the rings) and I love to dance and I find myself craving it more and more. Hopefully, Jozef will be visiting Flux soon and you will all have an opportunity to learn from him. The sad thing is, these gendered narratives that are prescribed to young kids are still being played out. Who is typically drawn to dance? It is mostly thin girls. This is unfortunate because not only are so many other body types missing from the realm of dance, but dance itself suffers too. So often I come across dancers who are not even close to reaching their full potential because they are so weak. They display little hip drive which is essential to the generation of power in the lower body and they often cannot support their own upper body weight. Don't let others tell you or your kids what you should be doing or what you should be good at. I regret that as a scrawny ass 12 year old I felt that the world of gymnastics and dance was somehow off limits to me. Write your own narratives and rewrite the myths.

CHOLESTEROL - PART 1

Here we go again. More discussion of cholesterol.

Fat has gotten a bad rap for the last 30 years. The two mainstream myths are that fat makes you fat and that a diet high in fat leads to high cholesterol which then leads to heart disease.

The first article is by Dr. Mark Sisson. I like this one as it is a good general primer on understanding what cholesterol is and why it is a vital to our body. There are many myths out there surrounding cholesterol so it is a good idea to read both sides of the story. Because the mainstream narrative is that people with high cholesterol are more susceptible to heart attacks, I will present literature which counters this facile assumption.

In this first article below, Dr. Sisson lists and interprets all of he different acronyms associated with cholesterol readings.  Here you will get a basic understanding of HDL and LDL and Triglycerides.  The main take home message here is that LDL on its own is NOT a very good marker for heart disease, but rather what you should be concerned with is LDL that is OXIDIZED. INFLAMMATION also plays a significant role in cardiovascular health.  You can have the  size of your LDL particles tested too. Are they light and fluffy (a good thing) or are they tight and dense (a bad thing).  You can read more about inflammation and oxidation below.

The following is an excerpt from Sisson's article.
To make things simple: Inflammation and sugar, including grains and starches go hand in hand.
Free Radicals oxidize LDL, primarily trans fat (stay away from processed food). 

Officer, You Got the Wrong Guy!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Sound and reliable medical research hasn’t proven that lowering (or low) cholesterol in and of itself reduces risk of death from heart disease across a population. Yes, there is always that single isolated guy who throws off the curve, but he (or she) is a statistical anomaly and doesn’t negate the legitimacy of the model. For instance, the Japanese people of Okinawa are among the healthiest in the world. Their heart disease rate is extremely low, but they tend to have “elevated” cholesterol levels.

The fact is, half of all first time heart attack sufferers have a perfectly “normal” cholesterol profile. What does this tell you? There must be some other piece here behind the “other half” and, I would solidly argue, behind the first half. Cholesterol is a red herring.

It all boils down to inflammation. Inflammation is the number one factor in heart disease. This is an accepted fact now, but it still gets little attention and no real prevention or treatment. Think about it: you have your cholesterol levels checked every five years or more if your profile is “problematic.” When do you have biomarkers for inflammation checked? Unless you’ve had a heart attack or been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, probably never.

Inflammation. What is it caused by? Not fat, but carbohydrates. Yes, sugars and processed carbs are highest on the list of perpetrators here, but grains and starches as a whole contribute to the problem. LDL rises directly not with the amount of saturated fat you eat but with rising levels of inflammation caused by carbs and trans fats.

Oxidation. Furthermore, nearly every study suggests that LDL is only a true threat when it’s oxidized. What oxidizes it? Free radicals. We’re talking trans fats primarily, that beast of an additive found in countless food products (as opposed to foods). What counteracts free radicals (because we all naturally have some in us)? Anti-oxidants: veggies and fruits, of course, as well as nuts, olive oil, etc. Consider also a broad-based multi-antioxidant supplement containing those nutrients shown to decrease oxidation.

Back to the red herring issue. Substantially “elevated” cholesterol, low HDL or high LDL might be reason to give you pause, but not for the reason you might think. The number can tell you that something is amiss, but they’re a symptom of the larger concern rather than the main issue itself. Cholesterol profile can be impacted by other conditions such as hypothyroidism, untreated diabetes or pre-diabetes, pregnancy (surprise!), lactation, stress, liver conditions, heart disease (symptom, not cause of), etc. Talk to your doctor about what your numbers mean in the grand scheme of your health. And see if you can get a read on other markers, like C-reactive protein (an inflammatory indicator) and those small particle LDL numbers.

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cholesterol/#ixzz2vlYf2qGk

FOOD - What Is It? Part 1

What is Food?

It seems like a silly question to ask.

And yet, everyday we consume "stuff" that really should not qualify as Food. What sort of stuff am I talking about?  The row upon row of processed or value added products that line the aisles of our grocery stores and even health food stores.

Protein powder
protein bars
soup mixes
most things in a can (unless you canned it yourself).
gluten free products - Do we really need gluten free marshmallows, or organic mac and cheese? 
Processed food such as cereal, canned soup, or microwavable quick dishes.

What are some of the ingredients in such items?  Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose, sucralose, hydrolyzed plant protein, canola oil, silicone dioxide, maltodextrin.  This stuff isn't food.  I mean, it's not like I can pick hydrolyzed plant protein out of the garden and munch away. It won't nourish the body.

I imagine my great grandparents going into a grocery store.  How strange it would be for them!  Soy protein isolate? Disodium Guanylate? What is this stuff?  The next time you go to the grocery store, "look awry" at the products on the shelf. De-normalize these products, with their bright and shiny packaging.

Let's take a typical product that you would find on the above shelves, the ubiquitous nutri-grain bar that is a staple snack for many kids.  Read below to find out what is in one of these bars.  Or, if you don't feel like reading the whole article, here is a quick list of some of the ingredients.

"The outer portion contains:
Whole grain oats, enriched flour (which is really processed flour-- notice it's not "whole wheat flour") enriched with niacin, reduced iron, vitamin B1, vitamin B3 and folic acid, then later comes whole wheat flour and soybean oil.

So far, all that isn't too bad, although "whole wheat" should have come before, or totally substituted for, the enriched flour. But now here come the extra ingredients and additives with brief explanations, in order of appearance on the label:
tBHQ (added to the soybean oil) - Short for tertiary butylhydroquinone, this common antioxidant additive keeps the soybean oil from going rancid in your snack bar and increasing shelf life. A 2004 study in the Journal of Drug Metabolism and Disposition showed that tBHQ might have tumor promoting properties. A 1993 study published in the journal Carcinogenesis found that esophageal, nodal and stomach papillomas (benign tumors) were increased in rats given tBQH.
Citric acid (added to the soybean oil) - Also used to keep the soybean oil fresh.

High Fructose Corn Syrup - Um, haven't we heard enough about this cheap, unnecessary, man-made refined corn syrup, which has been implicated to possibly cause diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome and liver disease? Yes, this Nutri-Grain bar still contains it. It's time for us to write Kellogg's."

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/whats-really-in-this


NOW ASK YOURSELF, HOW ON EARTH DID WE GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE THINK NOTHING OF EATING tertiary butylhydroquinone, but nutrient dense food such as organ meat, butter, beef tallow etc, is considered unhealthy and even disgusting.  The above nutrient dense foods  have been a staple in diets all around the globe for thousands of years and for good reason! 

We need to turn these normalized assumptions on their heads. Let's get a little topsy turvy!

High Fructose corn syrup and sucralose should elicit repulsion whereas this yummy and nutrient dense beef heart pictured below should make our mouth's water!  Families should be clamoring to dive into a properly prepared beef heart. You can't beat the nutritional benefits of organ meat. Moreover, by using the entire animal, we can stretch our food budget and produce far less waste. Epigeneticists such as as Dr. Kate Shanahan argue that the modern trend away from nutrient dense foods such as organ meat is having a deleterious effect on future generations.  This makes sense. As each generation moves further and further away from real food and gravitates towards the quick and easy, how can this not  affect the health of future generations? 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/30/eating-organ-meats.aspx

Read the article above by Dr. Mercola to learn all about why organ meat has long been valued over the muscle meats (sirloin steaks and chicken breasts for instance).

How to Become a Better Mover.

Appreciate the PROCESS!

When it comes to learning movements such as the au cortado - the one that Joan is doing in the photos - you must realize that the larger movement is made up of so many tiny pieces.  It is best not to jump ahead to progressions that are beyond your capabilities. People will typically get ahead of themselves after they watch someone do the movement effortlessly.  I am guilty of this too but I have learned to recognize that behind the beauty of efficiency is hours of hard work.   Whether it is the very first progression of a movement or a finalized product (if there even is such a thing), efficiency in movement is beauty and the eye recognizes this.

So take a look at the two photos below of Joan.  Joan has spent a solid 6 months playing with the first progression of the au cortado (heel to butt, leg straight, flat hand, shoulder over the wrist).  As she became stronger and her wrists adapted to the weight required to perform the movement, she moved to the second progression, which was to add the jump.  This is what she is currently working on.

In the second photo you can see that she is conservative with her jump. She holds back from taking her hips and shoulders over the wrists. In the first photo her heel is neatly tucked into her butt and she is almost perfectly stacked over the wrists.  These details are what count. It is clear to the untrained eye that the movement in the first photo looks "right." Had Joan not taken the time to work on those little details of the first progression and yes, made them beautiful, she could not have progressed to this second level.  

Congratulations Joan. And as an aside, how cool is it that she can teach her two grandsons how to do the au cortado?

Keep Moving and Stay Young!

Darci

Understanding Cholesterol - Dr. Cate Shanahan

 Put this podcast on the next time you are making supper.

 Dr. Cate Shanahan is a board certified Family Physician. She trained in biochemistry and genetics at Cornell University before attending Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She practiced in Hawaii for ten years where she studied ethnobotany and her healthiest patient’s culinary habits.


Take a look at her books as well: 

Here is a timed outline of the podcast.


 2:21 – How a medical doctor became an advocate for truth in food and medicine
4:47 – Dr. Cate’s lightbulb moment about fats
5:43 – Why polyunsaturated fat are the fats you should avoid
7:29 – How saturated fat and cholesterol became public enemy number one
10:33 – Was smoking — not high-fat diets — the reason for increased heart attacks?
11:36 – How Ancel Keys skewed his research and screwed our health
14:30 – Why you should google “the cholesterol myth”
15:24 – Who benefits from cholesterol-reducing drugs?
16:38 – The truth about LDL cholesterol
18:05 – Why women don’t need cholesterol drugs
18:58 – Is the cholesterol cut-off score relevant?
20:16 – What cholesterol numbers should we be looking at?
21:49 – Have we been looking at the wrong numbers?
22:22 – Is LDL “all bad”?
23:27 – Why your diet is a better indicator of heart disease risk
26:04 – Does particle size matter?
27:55 – Do cholesterol drugs affect brain function?
29:50 – Do cholesterol drugs cause dementia?
33:01 – The importance of co-enzyme Q10
36:20 – Is breast cancer a side effect of cholesterol drugs?
38:00 – Do statin drugs cause digestive problems?
39:45 – Statin drugs – big pharma’s cash cow
41:10 – Medical doctor’s “paid for performance” system
43:00 – Are doctors brain storming ways to get you to take more drugs?
45:05 – Why is cholesterol in our arteries in the first place?
46:16 – Why does cholesterol build up?
47:55 – How do you know if your arteries are bad?
49:00 – The day-to-day variance in cholesterol scores
50:27 – Is Kobe drinking bone broth?
51:55 – Check out Dr. Cate’s website!
52:00 – Wrapping up.

http://undergroundwellness.com/the-podcast-about-why-cholesterol-lowering-drugs-suck-226/

Some Thoughts on Movement

“It’s not that everything is good or bad, but that everything is dangerous. If everything is dangerous then we always have something to do” (Michel Foucault). I often come back to these wise words when I catch myself examining a concept using this binary between good and evil. There is much talk these days of humans returning to their primal/paleo/ancestral roots, primal being good and its opposite - modern, contemporary being bad.  But let’s take a closer look at where these various discourses are taking us, particularly when it comes to food. Too often the paleo/primal interpretative framework is being used  as an excuse to eat meat with reckless indifference to animal health and well being.  This is a dangerous road to travel.  Couple the paleo discourse with the new pseudo-feminist mantra “strong is the new skinny”. This again, is well intentioned but dangerous. What do we have now in the CrossFit world that is being mistaken as liberation - a focus on pure strength and size that is gained at the costs of ecological violence and animal cruelty. Of course, this is not only happening in the CrossFit world. In the movement world to, the world where I spend a great deal of time, there is a trend towards selfishness and pure anthropocentrism (seeing the world only from the perspective of humans).  A sense of gratitude is missing in both worlds.

What is more interesting about the current popularity of the primal is unearthing the dreams, longings and desires that are attached to these words or discourses.  Why are we so drawn to the primal?  Walter Benjamin got it right when he studied the discarded remnants of capitalism as a way into the collective psyche of nations. How will we interpret this turn to the primal 100 years from now?

My point is that everything is discursive/ideological and to suggest otherwise is disingenuous.  We like to think of movement as very primal precisely because it begins with the body.  We need to be extra cautious because of this and recognize that movement practices are constructed. We all enter the world of movement from various ideological and discursive frameworks.  I witness this ideological/discursive interpretative framework all the time.  The yoga folks and dancers poo poo on CrossFit because of their own ideological baggage - they view it as dumb strength, void of beauty. The CrossFitters scoff at dance because it is a feminized discipline and likewise are drawn to CrossFit because of the culture that has been created (high performance, suffering as elevation, functional, the capitalist desire to devour, even preparing for an enemy).

My point is not to argue that one is superior to the other but rather to recognize that the desire to move in particular ways is intimately tied to aesthetics.  There is nothing wrong with this, but what is dangerous is assuming that one comes to a practice from a neutral position.  Zizek, speaking from a psychoanalytic perspective, warns us that this neutral position from which we think we speak is quite terrifying. He has a word for it, he calls it the REAL. It is a place void of language and meaning.  He has a great metaphor that he uses to explain the real versus reality. Imagine you are in a vehicle with the windows closed. Inside is reality, the place of language, culture, and ideology. All the stuff we use to make sense of our experiences.  Then, you begin to roll down the window and the REAL descends like a formless fog of nothingness. Kind of scary. 

So embrace your discursive and ideological frameworks but recognize that they have a history, and only then will you be able to discard of them.  If acrobats, dancers and yogis would pick up a barbell once and awhile, or get on a pair of rings and gain some real upper body strength(throw out their ideological baggage) they would be better movers. If CrossFitters could throw away their timers and focus on more complex movement patterns they too would be better movers.  And I mean really focus on actual sophisticated movement practices - the kind that take time and patience to learn.

The best part of the movement camp is not that it is simply drawing on different disciplines. No, the best part is that these disciplines are actually talking to each other and affecting each other’s movement practices. Is there still an ideological and discursive framework in place? Absolutely. 

Flux folks are living the movement camp everyday and I applaud you for it.  So many of you are comfortable moving outside of your comfort zones. Congratulations! You put in the hard work and now you get to play with movement.   And what could be better than the freedom and confidence to play across the disciplines?

Understanding Gluten and the Gut

This is a nice little article that clearly explains the connections between gluten, your immune system and inflammation. 

http://primaldocs.com/opinion/how-gluten-wreaks-havoc-on-your-gut/

A message from Dr. Andreo Spina

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_NR3_58t6s&feature=youtu.be 


Dear Patient

I will be frank with you as I believe that this is the best, and only way to get this point firmly across before any treatment plan is commenced. This short note is in response to your specific claim that the “last guy” didn’t “fix” you.

Now, before we get into the specifics let me start by saying this….we don’t “fix” anything. We do not have magic hands that somehow heal tissues that are damaged. All we do is induce changes, or alter the ‘environment’ of the tissues such that they will be better able to heal themselves and accept physical training (which is what ‘fix’s’ things). But aside from what we do….lets discuss what YOU do.

First of all, it is not your ‘right’ to be pain free…nor to be ‘healthy.’ There is no universal power that is monitoring your health status. In fact, from an evolutionary perspective, the commonality of body aches and pains makes perfect sense. In evolutionary biology there is a well known concept referred to as the “Caveman Principal” which states that humans have not undergone any substantial physical (or mental) alterations in over 100, 000 years. What that tells us is that your mind and body still functions as if you are living in a forest/jungle and your life’s work includes only hunting and gathering food requiring countless hours of physical exertion with intermittent periods of rest (when it is dark out so as not to be eaten by nocturnal predators). As such, the body does not understand driving in a car, sitting to watch a movie, talking on a cell phone, lazy-boy recliners, and countless other technological innovations that have been developed within the last say 100 years (to be generous)…and from an evolutionary perspective, the time-span of 100 does not even register as any amount of time at all. Thus, while you are sitting hunched over at your desk for 8 hours per day staring at your computer while talking on the phone and sipping your high fat vanilla chi latte (with 3 sugars), your are doing so in a physical form that isn’t even accustom to a bipedal posture from an evolutionary sense.

What am I getting at? Well, civilization has forced our bodies far from doing the activities that we were designed for as hunter-gatherers. Thus, in order to compensate for said fact, a considerable amount of WORK is required in order to maintain the human form and REDUCE the risk of injury and pain (notice I said reduce and not prevent which is impossible). By work I mean MOVING in order to increase physical capacity…ie. exercise.

We are DESIGNED to do physical activity on a regular, daily, hourly basis. When you were told by your GP that you should do 20 min/day of ‘mild’ physical activity his recommendation was based not on what YOU need, rather on epidemiological studies that look to decrease the mortality rate of the human race by a fraction of a percentage (or something of the sort). YOU, as a separate physical entity/being, require more… a lot more….or at least you do if you want to be ‘healthy’ and function well. Which begs the ultimate question, “do you WANT to be healthy?”

Now before you answer, please consider what I mentioned above, and the fact that your health is not a right bestowed upon you as reward from simply being born. You can "want" something...or WANT something, there is a difference. YOUR health takes WORK….and quite a bit of it. I cannot give you YOUR health. I can only inform you of what YOU are required to do in order to achieve and maintain it. There is no need to negotiate with me, as I don’t make the rules. In fact, I am living with the same rules that you are. My medical training did not include the ‘secret’ to health and longevity. There is no secret. I simply do what you are supposed to do. You have been told by several people that exercise is good for you…that eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts/seeds is good for you…that getting sleep is good for you…that stress reduction is good for you…that meditation is good for you….that moving is good for you. Unless you have lived under a rock for your whole life, you know what to do. “What to do” takes effort, and commitment by YOU…not me.

So I ask again….do YOU WANT to be healthy?

Sincerely
Dr. Andreo A. Spina
...just another human

Charles Poliquin "The (Many) Negatives of Aerobic Training

"What about the cardio?" This is the question often posed to me at Flux. Much of this obsession with long distance running began with the aerobics craze in the 80s.  Read below to understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic and more importantly, how each affects weight gain and weight loss - in particular weight gain around the abdominal region.


 The following articles are written by Charles Poliquin, a very well respected exercise physiologist who has worked with countless olympic and other high performance athletes. You don't need to do crazy amounts of cardio to lose weight! In fact, long slow duration activity may hinder your weight loss goals, increase inflammation and raise cortisol levels.


http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/728/The_(Many)_Negatives_of_Aerobic_Training.aspx


Take a look at the article below, also by Poliquin on the different types of belly fat and what they mean.  Again, the best way to combat belly fat? High intensity Training!

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/698/Belly_Fat__Lose_It.aspx

This is Ido Portal

Please take the time to listen and watch this interview with Ido Portal. Many of you have never met Ido. When he first visited Flux I think our gym membership was about 50 people!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLogFAbTlDI

Flux Potluck

Hi All,

We will be holding a Flux Potluck THIS SATURDAY, Feb. 9th from 5 to 9 pm at MvTavish. We will be announcing the winners of our food challenge as well.!Please keep sending me your thoughts on our latest challenge. I need to know how things went for you.

Remember Cool Springs pick up is between 4 and 5pm so we will start things going at 5pm.  This potluck is definitely for the whole family so please bring your partner, children!

For all our NEW Flux Members, this is a great opportunity to get to know folks in the Flux community! 

Best,
Coach Darci and Charity

                                  

 

Food Challenge Update

Hi all,
If you would be so kind as to send me as much information as possible regarding your experiences and outcomes for this last food challenge. I am interested in the qualitative and quantitative.  Inches lost, weight lost, etc. Number of points you gained.  Your experiences. Did you find the cooking time consuming? How did the challenge affect your social life? Eating out and drinks with friends. Did your kids get involved? Whatever you think is relevant! Please email me your responses.

Thanks so much. We are looking at having a end of challenge party as well.

Coach D

Food Challenge Update

Our latest food challenge has brought us much closer to understanding the origins of the word DIET. For the Greeks, diet simply meant way of life. I believe you folks have once again proven you are part of the vanguard when it comes to a thoughtful meditation on the food we eat.
A nuanced understanding of food begins with how we understand the concept of ECOLOGY.

What is ECOLOGY?  For a working definition of ecology I went to good ol' Wikipedia.

ECOLOGY AS:
The scientific study of the relationships that living organisms have with each other and with their natural environment. 
For well over 300 years now, the western world has understood the human as having dominion over its ecology. The story goes something like this, humans control and manipulate nature through technology and science.  This way of thinking is coming back to bite us on the ass. Just ask the drought ridden farmers of the American mid west. Or take a look at scientific recordings on soil quality right here in Saskatchewan.
There is another way of thinking about the human animal.  Humans as part of, rather than outside of, a local ecology. When we start to think of  humans, not as the great manipulator of nature, whereby technology will keep us fat and happy, but as one small and very humble piece of the puzzle, we soon realize that while humans are stewards of the land, their is an internal logic to nature that humans would be wise to wake up to.  A very quick example to illustrate my point. Soil is more than just a chemistry equation. Rich fertile soil is far beyond getting just the right mix of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Fertile soil is the result of hundreds, if not millions of years of decay, of a complex and symbiotic relationship between the human and the non human animal. Please listen to Allen Savory speak on holistic management. In this piece he explains that holistic management begins with some tough questions, What kind of life do I want to live? What kind of community do I want to help foster? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQGy0vxeL_k&noredirect=1While Allen is speaking directly to the question of land stewardship we just as easily can ask the same questions about food choices. What kind of life do I want to live and share with others?  If the answer is  to see food as simple fuel for our body, then I really won't care where our food comes from. I will just eat the required amount of protein and vegetables and be done with it.
If workers rights are important to me, I might think about the corporations that are growing and preparing my food.
If food safety is a concern for me, I will be questioning how food is prepared and packaged.
If it is important to me that local businesses thrive, this will be reflected in my food choices.
If I am concerned about wastefulness, I might learn how to get the most nutrients out of an animal carcass.
If I want my children to have a deep appreciation for food, eating out will not be high on my list of priorities.  If I want my children to be self-sufficient, I will value cooking time as family time.  

You get the idea.
Coach D. 

Discipline!

Check out these fabulous wall walks by Trudi and Joan. They keep a rigid bodyline and small steps all the way to the bottom. Joan had a small hiccup on the last step but that was an anomaly for her.  Well done you two!