The inconvenient truth about osteoporosis

Statement:
Osteoporosis is caused by a lack of calcium in the diet.

Of course that's right?  It must be because that's what the experts have been telling us for the last 30 years.  Or is it?


Question:
Name one country that has one of the highest rates of osteoporosis on the planet?
Answer:
New Zealand

Question:

Physical labour, no sunscreen and a wonderful
wholefoods diet = Strong Samoan bones.

Name one country that has one of the highest dietary intakes of calcium?
Answer:
New Zealand - the land of the cow. A land that is awash with calcium.

Question:
If flour is the main ingredient in your cake recipe, will you get a better cake by adding more flour?
Answer:
No - you will get a mess of a cake that nobody will eat.

Question:
If sand is the main ingredient of concrete, will adding more sand give you stronger concrete?
Answer:
No - you will get a crumbling structure and probably be prosecuted.

Question: 

My Brother-in-law, Ioasa, flexing his guns during a
break while cycling around Savaii and Upolo.

If calcium is the main ingredient of bone, will adding more calcium make for stronger bones?
Answer:
No - you will get weaker bones and other problems such as fatigue, low thyroid, fibromyalgia, arthritis, insomnia, dry skin, heart attack, dementia and stroke - to name a few.

Question:
Which race, it is said, has the highest bone density on the planet?
Answer:
The Polynesian - the Samoans and Tongans to be specific.

Question:

My favourite Samoan dish - Lu'au - taro leaves
soaked and baked in coconut oil - fatty acids galore!

Can you identify the calcium in the traditional Polynesian diet?
Answer:
Hmmm .... Where is the calcium? I can find lots and lots of the "dreadful" saturated fats (coconut oil), lots of phosphorus and protein (reef fish and other creatures) and lots of minerals from vegetables grown in rich volcanic soil - plus seaweed - but not much calcium at all!  Oh - and there's lots and lots and lots of sunshine (vitamin D)!  No hats and no sunscreen.  And often no shirts.

Question:
If its not calcium, then what is the secret for keeping bones strong?
Answer:
A diet that is actually quite low in calcium and higher in trace minerals, including magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus - over 80 minerals in total - plus small amounts of quality protein 3-4 times a day and plenty of exposure of the body to pure sunshine!

Oh - and a little daily exercise such as short brisk walk and some upper body exercise.  Or - doing the grocery shopping without a car, hanging the washing, mowing the lawns with a hand mower, gardening or wrestling the kids.

These, when combined in balance are the perfect recipe for making very strong bones.

Oh - Avoid megadoses of synthetic vitamin D that many Drs are enthusiastically dishing out nowadays!  Same problem as too much calcium - Too much vitamin D and you get the opposite result, including fibromyalgia and fatigue.

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Our environment is increasingly becoming contaminated with toxic elements such as uranium, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead and aluminium

Our environment is increasingly becoming contaminated with toxic elements such as uranium, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead and aluminium.  Even "clean, green New Zealand" is really a dirty place when you look closely enough. Please have a listen to the interview that follows:

  

HTMA from a man who works the land - Arsenic from treated
timber posts, aluminium from fertiliser.  The high Fe, Mn and Cr
may be mostly due to the use of welding and cutting torches.
The elevated Na and K are due to stress responses - hardly
surprising!

While I may not agree with everything the interviewer and interviewee are saying, they are spot-on with regards to their concerns about the ever-increasing contamination of our environment with toxins like mercury and aluminium and the potential threats to mammals, including Human Beings. I do share their concerns about the use of aluminium deodorants, especially about the armpits and breasts by women.  Its just not a good idea.

While it does make sense to get rid of your aluminium cookware and to switch to non-toxic deodorants, I urge you not to panic.  Unless you work in a toxic environment such as an engineering workshop, or on the farm, the chances are you are okay.  We all react differently to exposure to toxins.  Some of us accumulate them while others excrete them as fast as they are being absorbed.  It comes down to our nutritional status (or lack of!) and the health of our eliminative organs (liver, kidneys) as to how efficiently our bodies can handle toxins and excrete them.

The Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is the best test available for determining if you are apt to accumulate toxins such as mercury - and to determine if there is a build-up of anything undesirable and what to do about - other than to blindly panic!

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Achilles tendon pain and swelling training for the Oxfam Trailwalker

Over-engineered shoes with high heel-counter
that digs into the Achilles tendon when
stepping downhill, or into depressions.  Fine
for flat running - terrible for running or walking
over rough terrain.

Hi Gary,
I am training for my first Oxfam challenge but am having a lot of trouble with my left archilles.  I have read previous posts where you have suggested it may be the smaller muscles around the tendon but am finding discomfort at touching the tendon and swelling after walking on it.

I am currently travelling around south east Asia and should probably be walking a little less but I took it very easy before my trip and it still didn't seem to heal.  It gets worse the more I walk and sometime goes so tight that I have to stop I pain and give it a few minutes. Is there something I can do to strap or support it as the oxfam teailwalker is only a few months away.

I have been to a physio but he was only massaging it and then strapping it which he advised me to leave on for 24 hours and it wasn't helping only while the strapping was on.

Thank you for any advice you can give.

________________________________________
Gary:
There has been an upsurge in Achilles tendon injuries in the last year.  In fact last year was a record for me.  There are a number of causes but there is one causation that stands out above all else: Footwear.  But why now?

I think the problem is in the shoe design which has high, hard heel counters (refer photo above).  Running shoes are designed in places like California where their idea of off-road is a manicured track - nothing like the rough stuff you find in New Zealand!  The real damage happens when walking or running down very steep slopes or stepping into depressions like pot holes where the foot is forced into extreme plantar flexion while the Achilles tendon has to snap taught.  This causes a guillotine chopping of the Achilles tendon.  This action can be repeated a thousand times during an hour or so of walking or running.

It is therefore hardly a surprise that Achilles tendon injuries are on the increase in New Zealand.

Check to see if your most tender spot on the Achilles fits with where your shoes bite into the tendon.  If this appears to be the case then it is best to biff your shoes and get a new pair that has a low-cut heel counter.  If you can't bear to do this, you could resort to partly cutting away the heel counter of your $220 pair of shoes!

Please take time to read the string of articles about Achilles tendon injuries here.

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

About salt replacement during marathon training

Gary sweating like crazy while cycling around
Upolo, Samoa

Hi Gary

Sorry for the late reply - i actually had replied to your email about potential Adrenal Fatigue (I'm training for the gold coast marathon, and it's summer time in Qld, i had been suffering from dehydration) ....

I had a good read of your website like you suggested. Some great info. One thing that really stood out was the Pink Salt. 

All i can say is, WOW - what a difference. 

That 1st week using it, was my biggest volume week in many months. 

And the next week, This week, looks set to be a bigger volume week again - Should easily hit 7hrs. (It's now Sunday - last day of week, and 6hrs 20min done for the week, 2hrs done Saturday and will knock out 1hr today for weekly total of 7hrs 20min) And this week had a massive Heat Wave from Sun - Wed. 

No issue with dehydration at all. Loving it. 

The Hair analysis is a great idea - esp when things are not going according to plan. I have a few clients like that. (alcohol normally.....)  

I still cannot get over how well the Pink Salt has effected me - It makes perfect sense too. 

You're a life saver

Regards

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Gary:
Thanks for the feedback - always appreciated.

One thing this email highlights is the solutions to many health and training issues are often ridiculously simple and often very obvious.  In this case the leading cause of this runner's dehydration and exhaustion was lack of salt.  Runners need heaps of salt and one of the worst things they can do is follow a low salt dietary regime.  But not just any salt.

Avoid refined salt which has only NaCl plus a little iodine in it.  Go for the salt that civilisations were built upon the trade of - pink salt which contains at least 80 different minerals, including NaCl.

Public health sound bytes such as "cut the salt" are not always right.  In fact this health byte has got it terribly wrong and have done so for the last 20 years and caused so many health problems such as chronic fatigue, confusion, blood pressure problems, osteoporosis, thyroid and adrenal disorders and heart disease.  The new health byte should be:

"Cut the refined salt - Increase the pink salt!"

To date, I have seen no health problems with consuming pink Himalyan salt daily at the base rate of about one rounded teaspoon per day - more if you are doing heavy exercise and sweating a lot.  All I have seen is health benefits including better sporting performance.

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Evil Mr Sunshine

What's the skin cancer rate among New Zealand Polynesians?  I could not find any figures so asked my dermatologist.  In his opinion the rate was negligible - no more than 1/50th that for Caucasians.

So, why do we force children of darker-skinned races to "slip-slop-slap!" when they go to school?  Are we not harming their health?  In my opinion we are.

Here in the Southern Hemisphere it is mid summer and the dire warnings about the sun are once again being broadcast from the parapets.

But I have a problem with these "one-size fits-all" sound-byte health warnings.  When it comes to sun exposure we must take account of skin type.  A dark-skinned person may need up to 50 times the sun exposure of a fair person in order to stay healthy.  So, the sun health messages that apply to "white" New Zealand may be doing enormous harm to our darker-skinned citizens.

When going out in the sun, the degree of protection needed is dependent on skin type.  So, my fair-skinned niece, Jasmin, takes considerable care not to get burned; whereas my brown-skinned son, Alama, can play all day in the sun without as much as a hat.  Both will be getting their vitamin D from different degrees of exposure to the sun.

You'll love this video:

Yet another example of big business pushing health products that may be harmful. Our very own Cancer Society has been captured.  Far from being an advocate on our behalf, it comes across as being an advocate for the "cancer industry".  One of its main sources of income is from the sale of sunscreen products.  In my opinion, this compromises its advocacy role.

So, let's get this right: Stay out of the sun and slap all of these chemicals over your body to hopefully prevent one form of cancer.  But, in so doing, you are increasing your risk of dozens of other forms of cancer, including breast, prostate, ovarian and bowel cancer, as well as many, many other diseases.

Not getting out in the sun risks developing vitamin D deficiency.  Up to 90% of the population now have low to deficient levels of vitamin D.  Vitamin D is essential for health for people of all ages, including children who the cancer industry spends a lot of effort targeting (It preys on parental fears for the safety of their child).

Here’s a list of diseases that are caused or made worse by vitamin D deficiencies. • Acute lower respiratory infection • Anaphylaxis • Anemia • Anxiety • Arthritis • Asthma • Atherosclerosis • Autism • Autoimmune diseases • Bipolar disorder • Brain damage • Breast-tissue density • Chronic fatigue • Chronic pain • Cognitive ability • Colds • Craniotabes • C-reactive protein levels • Crohn’s disease • Cystic fibrosis • Dental caries (cavities) • Depression • Diabetes • Dyslexia • Eczema • Epilepsy • Falls • Fibromyalgia • Flu • Fractures • Headache • Hearing loss • Heart disease • Heart failure • High cholesterol • HIV/AIDS • Hypertension • Immune system dysfunction • Infertility • Inflammation • Inflammatory bowel disease • Insomnia • Intermittent claudication • Kidney disease • Leprosy • Leukemia • Low-back pain • Low birth weight • Lupus • Macular degeneration • Melanoma • Meningitis (bacterial) • Metabolic Syndrome • Migraines • Multiple sclerosis (MS) • Muscle strength (low) • Myeloma • Myopathy • Myopia • Necrotizing fasciitis • Neuroblastoma • Neuropathy • Nonspecific muscle pain • Nursing home risk • Obesity • Osteomalacia • Osteoporosis • Parasites • Parkinson’s disease • Periodontal disease • Peripheral artery disease • Pneumonia • Polycystic ovary disease • Pre-eclampsia • Psoriasis • Retinoblastoma • Rickets • Schizophrenia • Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) • Sepsis • Septicemia • Stroke • Tuberculosis Source: Dr. Mercola

Of course, we must be sensible and be careful not to burn when going out in the sun.  So, get outdoors and enjoy the health benefits of sunshine!

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Running on empty - why athletes eventually run out of gas

Alastair Leslie in the lead (Rod Dixon in 3rd)

Why is it that athletes seem to have only about ten years of peak performance in them after which the  slow decline begins?  

If an athlete starts training hard at 16, he or she will peak and then decline from their late 20's.  If they start at 30, they will peak 10 years later.  Think of athletes like Jack Foster and John Campbell as examples of this rule of ten years.  Once hard training begins there is a window of opportunity of roughly 10 years during which performance improves after which it levels off and then begins a gradual decline.

While some of this decline is due to the inexorable processes of ageing, this is not entirely the case as is indicated by the extraordinary careers of late starters such as Foster and Campbell.

I (Gary Moller) am evidence of there being more at play than ageing alone because I well and truly peaked at about 30 years and then began a painful decline into oblivion.  In recent years I have had a dramatic resurgence in performance that has me shaving at least 20 minutes off typical two hour cycling times (My last age group race was won in just over 2hrs 20 min).  If athletic decline is all due to ageing, I should be getting slower - not faster.

Let me explain what I think happens as athletes get older by referring to the case of former national level runner, Alastair Leslie (Alastair has given permission for his personal information to be used in writing this article).

Alastair winning comfortably ahead of
 Liam Healey

At 16 years of age, Alastair Leslie was one of New Zealand's most promising middle distance track athletes.  Coached by legendary coach, Arthur Lydiard, Alastair turned out a number of impressive performances between 1975 and 1990:

• 100m - 11.6s
• 400m - 50.5s
• 500m - 1:51.07
• 1500m - 3:44.60
• Mile - 4:02.28
• 5,000m - 14.11
• Half marathon - 1hr 7minutes.

Alastair with his coach,
Arthur Lydiard

He had several races with John Walker, Rod Dixon and other international stars of the 80's before beginning the inevitable slow decline.  Now 52 years old, Alastair is feeling distinctly tired -"burned out" - and struggling to exercise enjoyably and meaningfully.

On first appearances Alastair comes across as a remarkably fit and healthy looking man with a body to kill for.  However, he has noted tell-tale signs that all is not 100% - things such as not handling stress quite as well as he might have in the past; insomnia; dry, thin skin and early signs of skin cancer; reducing exercise capacity; and fatigue.

Let's look at Alastair's Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) to identify several nutrition factors, other than ageing, that may be contributing to his "Tired Athlete" condition.

What we see with Alastair's HTMA (right) is typical of what we see in tired athletes - that he really is running on empty - most nutrients are precariously low - They should all be within the "Reference Range" and preferably on the higher than lower side.

The low magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) may compromise muscle and nerve function, the low sodium (Na) and potassium (K) are indicative of poor adrenal function and possibly blood pressure problems.  Low copper (Cu) relative to zinc (Zn) and low manganese (Mn) may lead to weak connective tissue, predisposing him to joint, muscle and ligament problems.  These may also lead to an unhealthy cholesterol profile.  The high chromium (Cr) to manganese may lead to problems with insulin resistance and blood sugar regulation.

Training with Keith Livingstone, author of
the book, "Healthy, Intelligent Training"
Circa 1980

Also of considerable interest is the presence of mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in his system.  Again, this is a common finding in all people nowadays due to the increasing contamination of our environment and food chain through the indiscriminate use of chemicals and the burning of fossil fuels - mostly coal.  Mercury, in this case, is probably due to eating canned tuna most days.  Lead contamination may be from many sources, including stripping off old paint during home renovations.  

Lead and mercury bind with many nutritional elements such as zinc, iron, calcium, selenium and magnesium rendering them unavailable for biological use.  Mercury's effect on selenium (Se) and zinc, for example, interferes with their role of protecting skin cells from UV damage and preventing chronic inflammation that may be the precursor to many cancers, including breast and prostate cancer.

Contamination by toxic elements such as arsenic (As), mercury and lead may be a greater factor in the causation of many cancers than some authorities may be prepared to admit.  Most men in New Zealand and Australia have arsenic in their systems from working with treated timber and this may explain soaring rates of prostate cancer.

Canned tuna is heavily promoted to young women as a means of healthy wieght management.  Unknown to them, the mercury in this fish species may be setting them up for skin cancer and other health problems due to the mercury wiping out zinc, selenium and iron.  This may help explain why the "Sun Smart" campaign to prevent skin cancer is a failure (In my opinion).  Cancer rates are soaring, rather than declining and its not all to do with an ageing population.

Alastair's HTMA profile is generally indicative of trends towards depression and fatigue.  It is impossible to not feel this way (tired and depressed) when running on empty.  This HTMA pattern of depletion is the rule in high performance athletes and may be more of a factor in athletes who participate in sports such as rugby where concussion is a high risk factor.  Take note of this John Kirwan!  No manner of exercise programme, self-talk, day-planning or medication is going to make all that much difference to how one feels when there are powerful biochemical imbalances and deficiencies, including the presence of toxic elements in many cases.

Alastair in winning form

Having said this; Alastair is not depressed.  However, there is a pattern in his HTMA profile which indicates that he may not take a big hit well if one were to happen - A big hit such as a financial or family crisis, physical trauma or an infection.  It makes sense to take pre-emptive action by nudging his nutrient profile into the "Reference Range"

We can conclude from the evidence in his HTMA that a good deal of what may be attributed to inevitable ageing is actually somewhat controllable.

So, what's Alastair doing about all of this now?  It is still early days but he is well on the way to restoring his health and regaining his running "mojo".  Dietary changes are being made, including avoiding tuna.  He is taking a number of vitamins and minerals to restore healthy levels and balance as per the HTMA above.  He is also taking nutrients that help to neutralise toxins such as mercury and which assist the body with safely excreting 

them.  This process of restoring health and fitness is a slow one and will continue over a number of years.  The journey has begin and, with Alastair's permission, we will post the occasional update of his journey.

As an aside; Alastair owns "BodyShape Fitness Studio", in Tawa, Wellington, for the last 15 years and recently re-directed his passion for running towards coaching athletes.  He currently coaches several provincial and national secondary school champions.  He is using the principles of coaching that he has learnt from many of the best coaches and athletes New Zealand has produced.  If you want to learn more about his coaching services, you can email him here.

Thanks Alastair for allowing us to share your story.

Postscript:

A message from Wayne who is several years ahead of Alastair.

"There is life after burnout: You get up in the morning and climb steeply for 1400 vertical metres with a pack on your back for a four day trip"

Wayne is an inspiration to others.  He was weighed down for many years with chronic fatigue.  When he contacted me several years ago, he too, was running on empty.  To his credit, Wayne has to be the most persistent and inquiring person I have ever dealt with and he has the spectacular results to show!

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Comments about "A study on the mineral depletion of the foods available to us as a nation"

Our backyard vegetable plot in Central Wellington.
Rhubarb, brocolli, zuchini, cucumber, spinach,
beans, beans and more beans!
We are expecting a bumper crop this summer.
Note the rotting seaweed.

Rick of Rick's Running sent me this document "A study on the mineral depletion of the foods available to us as a nation over the period 1940 to 1991"which shows how the mineral content of vegetables in the UK has plunged over that period.  Looks shocking, while hardly surprising.

Here's an article from the Guardian which explains the study well and includes responses from the food industry.

Hair Tissue Analysis indicating a diet that has been
seriously deficient of minerals.

I am not at all surprised with the findings because they sit comfortably with the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis reports of which I have completed hundreds.  These reports consistently show that our modern diets are falling terribly short when it comes to supplying nutrients other than calcium (in gross excess in most cases).  This is most apparent in vegetarians who do not have the benefit of concentrated nutrients from animal sources.

The source of the problem is this:

• The faster the rate of production/growth, the lower the concentration of nutrients.
• Modern fruit and vegetables have been selectively bred to produce more sugar and less bitter nutrients.
• Soil is continuously over-cultivated by the use of pesticides and herbicides, perilously depleting minerals.
• What is replaced is only what makes plants grow fast; nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium fertiliser (NPK) and loads and loads of lime (calcium).  Humans need over a hundred different minerals to thrive.

The solutions are to:

Unhealthy products such as tobacco and alcohol like to
associate with "healthy" activities.  Note the irony of
the slogan for this nutrient-poor product!

• Grow your own vegetables in your back yards as much as you can, composting all your organic materials and adding sources of minerals such as seaweed.  Kill any bugs with your fingers, rather than smothering your plants with pesticides (Press-gang your kids into this job - wee fingers are perfect for the job!).
• Buy the rest from organic sources, if you can afford it.
• Avoid processed foods, especially breakfast cereals, including the ones that claim to make you strong and healthy.
• Eat fresh meat, milk and eggs from free range sources - not from factory farms where the animals are raised on a combination of grains, antibiotics and hormones.
• Take supplementary vitamins and minerals.  Best guided by an annual Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis.

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Correcting foot pronation (collapsing arches) with corrective exercise

With 90,000 Youtube views and climbing, this is one of the most popular and controversial video topics I have ever produced.  Pronating feet is probably the most common biomechanic fault we ever get to see. 

Treatment invariably consists of the fitting of expensive orthotics, some costing over $900 a pair (including consultations).  In my opinion, 90% of orthotics are unnecessary, don't work and create more problems than they fix by restricting natural foot mechanics, causing "clumping" running styles and transferring the shock and, therefore the problem, further up the legs.

The long term solution lies in improving the balance of strength between the intrinsic foot muscles and the muscles of the lower leg - as well as posture.  This process takes a long time and involves breaking very old habits such as standing and sitting with one or both feet splayed out like a duck.

My only concession to orthotics principles is the fitting of a flexible heat-moulded inner sole which allows normal foot movement while giving some support when the weak foot bottoms out at the peak of the foot strike.  Interestingly, this kind of innersole is mostly unavailable in shoe shops nowadays - other than my website.  Their disappearing off the retail market coincides with the widespread introduction of "strategic partnerships" between sports shoe companies, retailers and professional foot clinics.  Here's an example of this.  

So, you go to a shoe shop, they get you to trot on a treadmill, tell you that your feet pronate and recommend you consult a particular foot specialist who will fit orthotics, paid in part, by ACC or another insurer.  If you are seeing a foot specialist, you will be directed to a particular retailer to get suitable shoes to go with your brand new "clumpers".  The retailer no longer stocks self-help products such as heat-moulded inner-soles. This is how it seems to work nowadays, does nothing to improve foot health, other than giving temporary relief, while contributing to blow-outs in health-care and insurance costs.

To my surprise this e-book and video has attracted considerable criticism from some professional quarters.  Despite this, I have not had to modify anything said and demonstrated.  This is because the criticism, to date, has no credible basis and can only be seen as attempts to protect a lucrative meal ticket for the foot industry.  A meal ticket which I think has been abused as a therapy.

Text

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Long Runs - Long Rides and their effect on fat and carbohydrate metabolism

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your time. I recieved your e-mail address from your website after reading Keith Livingstones book on Lydiards principles. Am so very happy to be able to ask you a question

In the book Lydiard principle recommends doing long runs with no carbs. I'm a cyclist trying to use his principles, and on the bike a long equivalent ride would be 5hrs or so. Would you recommend going this long also without carbs? Can only manage 3.5hrs at the moment but am working on it.

All other areas look as though they can transfer across ok :)

Many thanks Gary, take good care Clarence 

________________________________________

Gary:

Clarence, rather than muddle about trying to explain what can be quite confusing; especially since what we are saying seems to run counter to "mainstream" advice, I decided to ask the author of the book, Dr Keith Livingstone, to do the honours of providing the answer.

As an aside; Keith and his twin brother, Colin, were born in Kenya and raised in New Zealand. In their 20's Keith and Colin were more like rockets than runners. While I can claim to have done some training runs with Keith, I saw mostly his rear end while he set about innocently wasting me!  Keith was one of the most promising 5 and 10km runners during the 70's but he chose study over running which was a good decision - I guess.  Keith is a bit of a bright spark and he knows his exercise physiology back to front, especially as it applies to running and cycling.

For a little more about Keith, the Author of HIT, please go here.

Just one further comment from me: What Keith explains below may appear to be running contrary to what most mainstream nutritionists and exercise physiologists tend to advise - like loading up on carbs here, there and every-where.  I think the root cause of this dissonance in advice is because the food industry has captured academia and the media: Research that sets out to prove the benefits of hi-carbs gets the funding and the ones that produce findings in support of carbs gets all of the publicity.  The rest get buried - if they ever get off the ground in the first place.  Over 70% of academic studies never see the light of day and fewer than 10% of these ever get published in a peer reviewed journal and then only a few of these get into the popular press - and this is after the funding bias in favour of carbs has done the first weeding out!  You see; the food industry want you to buy highly priced super-processed foods (if you can call this food!) that are made from super-cheap stuff like soy, corn and wheat extracts.  There is no money to be made by trying to sell you a corn cob.  The money is in taking that raw 10 cent corn cob and converting it into several sports gels and selling them to you for 2-5 bucks each.  Got the idea?

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Keith:
In my book Healthy Intelligent Training, I advised runners that they SHOULD NOT try to do their long runs by running the last few kilometers by sucking on carbohydrate gel sachets, etc.

Why would I say this? Surely that heavy-legged, wooden feeling we get as the last of the accessible carbohydrate stores gets used up isn't desireable, is it? Well, in a circular way, yes- it’s extremely desirable. There’s really no better way I know of to get the body to switch its attention to conserving glycogen (stored muscle sugars in endless chains of glucose molecules) than by taking that tank to ‘empty’ a few weeks in a row in long efforts until the body then says “But hey- I can MAKE more of this stuff by stripping down fatty acids into glucose by another route!”

(“Triglycerides”, which are often represented as “bad fats” by people who should study and think more, can be considered “Three -glucoses”. With a twist of a bit of each end, and a ‘yank’ between each section, done in the machinery of the slow twitch fibers’ mitochondria, in each of those fatty acid molecules there are a few potential high-energy glucose molecules once they've been cleaved off and re-badged.)

A body trained this way on the Lydiard principles will soon adapt, and the “heavy-legged, wooden feeling” doesn’t occur at all in long runs over two and a half hours any more. In fact, one starts to move along at very good high-aerobic speeds on a mixed-fuel of carbs and fats, just about as efficiently as on carbs alone. This leaves decent stores of muscle glycogen that can be accessed late into a long aerobic race like the marathon, or late into a competitive ride, without the need for “gu-gels”, etc. If you train to get super-efficient on dual-fuels, and hop into a race , you can always “top up” within the race for a superlative result (maybe a big negative split!). However- practice it once or twice outside a race just so that you don’t have any surprises on race day!

So if we can find a way to ‘train’ the body over a number of weeks in incremental steps to strip down the nearly endless supplies of free fatty acids floating around, and re-badge the ‘triglycerides’ that make up a high proportion of accessible fats within the muscle cells into glucose for higher-power output, then we’re using the metabolic portion of the slow twitch fibers to supply ready fuel for our fast twitch fibers that supply the power necessary to move anyone at much faster than 4m20s Km speed.(8.5 mph for a runner).

On long runs, we should make an effort to stay hydrated , because glucose needs a fair bit of water around it to get into the system. The way to get things going when running is something like a 3.5 hour run with the first 90 minutes at slow jogging pace, and then do a normal 2 hour run on top of that, and see how good you feel at the end.

On long bike rides, the trick is to never go off the small front ring on a road bike, and ‘spin’ for as long as possible at low intensities, with the heart rate quite low, near only 65% intensity on the Karvonen Heart Rate scale. (Gary explain this.. it’s in the book- I’m going to bed). (Gary’s advice: Read the book!)

On other rides through the week that have different purposes to the fat utilisation purpose of the long ride, naturally enough we go at sustained intensities that are higher, to our level of training and tolerance.http://hitsystem.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/book3.jpg

The great, and very very big Miguel Indurain, one of the few multiple winners of the Tour de France, gave Lance Armstrong this low-intensity tip as more or less his ‘secret’ to conserving muscle glycogen. On the big front ring, we can push higher speeds for sure, but it’s done by utilising higher power output that tips the scales towards more fast twitch fibre use, and thereby ripping through glycogen stores. Since we do much the same amount of nett work for a given distance, whether we do it with high speed and high power, or whether we take it a little steadier, the small front ring and lower heart rate will make sure you’re using slow twitch more, thereby stripping down those triglycerides and free fatty acids in the mitochondrial energy factories without touching your glycogen stores much.

As a rule of thumb, the more strength or power required to turn the pedal, the more the likelihood you’re recruiting fast twitch and using glycogen, and vice-versa with respect to the far more aerobically efficient and fuel-efficient slow twitch fibers.

So if your ego can handle fat weekend warriors with spare tyres passing you on the waterfront, start there, but also be prepared for the odd granny to go past. Then you’re really doing it well, and after your fatty acid metabolism kicks in, you’ll find you can go a very long way without the need for carbs.

HOWEVER- always have some carbs on hand just in case your system isn’t quite right one day and you ’bonk’ thirty kilometers from home! I’d also suggest eating every couple of hours after about 5 hours if you do longer rides; toasted sandwiches of cheese, ham, and tomato were perfect fuel for me when I did a few all-day charity rides several years ago, as well as a water-pack with grape juice (alkali, full of potassium) diluted by about 1:3 with water. Fruit juices such as apple or grape are alkali (= good!), whereas orange juice is too acidic and can muck up your stomach quite badly. Any fruit drink should be diluted to roughly 6g sugars/liter (6% w/v), or less on hot days.

Keith Livingstone

_______________________________________

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Does the Mirena contraceptive have anything to do with my degenerating Achilles tendons??

"Hi Gary, 

Former elite athlete with depressed copper levels
associated with Mirena (progesterone) contraceptive,
consequently suffering severe back and sacroiliac
pain, including lumbar spondylolisthesis.

I have a theory to put to you. I have had a Mirena for 5 years, started running 4 years ago and for the entire period have suffered achilles tendonopathy that just wouldn't respond to the normal treatment. 

Near the end of the 5 year term the tendonopathy disappeared completely and inexplicably. Recently I have had the Mirena replaced and guess what - the achilles pain is returning. 

If the plan is to remove the Mirena I'd have to find another treatment for menorrhagia.

What do you think?"

"K"

________________
Gary:

Example of a young woman with elevated copper
associated with oestrogen contraceptive use,
consequently suffering tendon, ligament damage
and stress fractures.

There is definitely a link between the use of contraceptives such as Mirena and tendon and ligament disorders.  


I have now completed hundreds of Hair Tissue Mineral Analyses and can now dig out examples of just about any health condition you can think of.  Menstrual and connective tissue disorders are among the most common.  Let me explain why:

Adequate amounts of zinc and copper are needed in the body for the normal production of elastin and collagen, which are the primary components of tendons and ligaments, including the spinal discs.  Copper, specifically, is necessary for the cross-linking of proteins that give strength and integrity to these structures.  Zinc is required for the body to synthesize protein, therefore, an imbalance between copper and zinc can lead to tendon, ligament and structural abnormalities.

Copper and zinc regulate the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone.  Oestrogen is closely associated with copper; when the level of one rises, so does the other.  Zinc is associated with progesterone; the levels of these two rise in tandem.  Hence the use of copper in intrauterine contraceptive devices.

An imbalance between the hormones Oestrogen and progesterone, as well as zinc, copper and other nutritional factors, is likely to be the chief culprit contributing to menstrual problems including painful, heavy bleeding (menorrhagia).

If a woman has a high tissue copper level, her flow may be prolonged and heavy.  If a woman has dominant zinc levels, she may have a light and short menstrual flow, and her breasts may become extremely tender.  Too much copper, on the other hand, can also stop menstruating.  Women with eating disorders typically stop menstruating. High tissue copper levels are typically found in women suffering anorexia and bulemia.


Copper is an antagonist of iron.  Women with high tissue copper levels typically have low iron.  Iron supplementation may temporarily raise iron levels but the problem of low iron will persist for as long as copper remains elevated.


The liver regulates copper levels.  Men and women with elevated tissue copper levels often have a history of liver stress, typically a severe viral infection such as hepatitis, glandular fever or a severe case of influenza.   Women with heavy bleeding and other menstrual disorders may find relief with various combinations of contraceptives; but this is not remedying the underlying causes which could be a combination of factors, including poor liver function.


You might be wondering; "how come my medical specialists have never mentioned any of this to me?"  Well, they should have studied this in great detail as medical students.  Sadly, there is little interest in these matters in clinical situations with treatments well and truly entrenched in applying extremely expensive and often invasive patented treatments.  Basic elements and vitamins, such as zinc, magnesium and vitamin C, can not be patented.  They are ubiquitous and they are cheap.  There is no money to be made from prescribing them.


The health problems that you have described are very common, affecting countless thousands of women in New Zealand, let alone elsewhere.  These problems may be attributed to the near universal use of contraceptives, both uterine and oral, and from increasingly early ages when natural hormone levels are surging and attempting to find their natural, healthy levels.

Women are the unwitting subjects of an uncontrolled experiment 

on the grandest of scales

The next step in finding a healthy, life-long solution is to identify the underlying drivers of your tendon degeneration and heavy periods.  You can do this with a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis which I can arrange for you and then run you through the options for correcting any imbalances that show up.


For further reading about the relationship between hormones, minerals, ligaments and contraceptives - and female athletes, please go here.

___________________________________

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.