« March 2007 | "Monthly" | May 2007 »

Don't Do This

April 30, 2007 09:41 AM

I came upon a web site that linked to mine and read a sad story, one that could progress to tragedy. A 345 pound man was embarking on a kind of last ditch effort to lose weight and regain health. He lays out his program and it is setting him up for failure and may seriously harm his health. I have a sense of how desperate some people become in attempting to control their weight. It is a microcosm of their deeper attempt to control their life or their mind.

Filled with guilt and even a somewhat repressed self-contempt, people will put themselves on a severe program that will test their will. And that their bodies cannot sustain. They are setting themselves up for failure which they must know deep in their mind. This top-down, central planning Soviet model cannot work. By making a program so arduous that the body and mind rebel they are dooming themselves to failure.

This individual will be eating protein almost to the exclusion of other nutrients. Some Omega 3 oils are tossed into his ill-conceived diet. He will become malnourished because his diet is lacking in variety, bulk, and essential nutrients. With so little plant material his diet will promote excessive oxidation and the ensuing inflammation will lesser his already marginal insulin sensitivity.

His exercise program is mind-boggling. It will wear him out and make him fatter. High volume work, done repetitiously and without real intensity or variety will promote fat, not leanness. His diet will damage his kidneys through ammonia poisoning. Believe me, your kidneys are very important. I saw that in my wife's decline and subsequent death. The kidneys do much more than filter your blood of liquids; they are crucial for homeostasis in many other ways, not just fluid balance. In particular, they emit a hormone essential for red blood cell balance. Damage your kidneys and you will become anemic, among other things.

It really isn't that hard...

Read More »

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (5)

Alternate Realities

April 28, 2007 10:57 AM

Things are not always the way they seem to be. Our press and politicians create an alternate reality by selecting data and arguing from these partial and incomplete facts to construct their own reality. We all do this, but in the end we pay the price if our model of reality is wrong. Because our national discussion is framed by the press and our politicians (are there two more unreliable sources of information and strategy than they?) it is difficult to reframe our own dialogues in a way that let's us test different models against the real data. Few of us ever have access to data that would allow a test of the alternate models of Iraqi reality.

This piece from the Strategy Page says a lot about what is going on in Iraq.

LINK · Uncertainty · Comments (1)

A Frenzy

Wonder Woman and I took some friends out to dinner last night. It was a fine meal prepared by a talented Hungarian chef with training in several continental cuisines. I had the bison fillet with broiled chard and a nice variety of grilled vegetables. WW had the Chateaubriand with the same complement of vegetables. Our friends ordered similar meals, but with the garlic potatoes or the rice. They ate ample bread before the meal, unlike WW and myself.

They did not finish their meals, nor did WW. I did and brought her meal remains home for my lunch today (I never bring my meals home because I eat everything). So, I was surprised when our guests ordered desserts. They could not finish their meals but still ordered desserts. Imi, the chef, pilled on the desserts because he treats us like honored guests and we eat there often. You should have seen the feeding frenzy that followed. As WW and I watched, our guests attacked the dessert as though they were starving. The forks were flying and it vanished before our eyes. It was almost frightening to see. It was addictive behavior for sure and the intensity of their movements was beyond anything I have seen in their actions before. They were helpless, or so it seemed, to control the pace at which they consumed the dessert.

So, here we have two people trying to control their weight and well aware of healthy eating patterns from many conversations with me on the subject. But their forks were flying over the dessert. The good food they could not finish. But, the bread and dessert vanished.

They actually ate far more calories than I and I ate all my meal, just not the junk. I don't think they were the least bit aware of what they had done. Nor do I think they were capable of controlling what they did. They were helpless in a way. As though they were addicted.

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (4)

Subsidizing Obesity

Thanks very much to a reader for this link to an excellent NYT article on how Congress promotes obesity through agricultural subsidies Fat in the Pork.

It is not so well-known that even though the fructose produced from many of these crops, particularly corn, does not elevate blood glucose the way sucrose does, it produces obesity through another metabolic pathway that also triggers many secondary problems. So, the glycemic index is not a reliable guide to obesity-producing foods. There are obesity pathways that are not related to insulin. Fructose uses one of them. More later.

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (2)

My Own Breakfasts Again

April 27, 2007 09:59 AM

Eating breakfast in Italy was a problem. Salty cold cuts of meat and cheese, with the worst scrambled eggs were the basic choices. No fresh fruit at all. Yogurt, cereals, and rolls and bread of every kind were the other choices. Actually, dinner was not a lot better. I always skipped the Primi Piatti as it is a pasta dish. The second plate was all I ate along with the antipasto, which is the dish that precedes the all-important pasta dish.

So, I consistently ate less than almost all the people there even though I was one of the taller, heavier ones at the table. Except for the Germans, that is. They were large, jolly, ate like mad, very friendly, and for the most part fat.

I felt like I had too little fresh ingredients of all kinds and have been eating a lot of salads, celery, and fresh fruits since returning. I was longing for my own breakfasts.

This is my breakfast this morning...

Read More »

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (8)

Elba and Airoh

It was nice to ride with the KTM Adventure Tours group in Isola d'Elba. Scott Harden brought a few American riders over to ride with the group; he runs KTM Adventure Tours here in the US. I think I was the worst of the American group as I do not like enduro riding. I prefer faster riding and cross country, desert, or fast fire roads.

The Port d Ferraio in Elba from the hotel.

This Airoh helmet sitting on the handle bar of the KTM 950 Super Enduro is just gorgeous and light as air. It is an Italian design with a hinged front to open the face. Or, you can open just the shield. Their motocross helmet is just as impressive. They have to be purchased abroad for now but will be available here soon. The other bikes in the riding group are in the background. I rode a KTM 450 EXC. Nice, but not as nice as my 525.

LINK · Adventure Motorcycling · Comments (2)

Lethal Incompetence

April 25, 2007 08:00 AM

I don't really like to get into this subject, but something caught my eye and more is on the way as Iraqi intelligence documents become available and are translated.

I recall from reading Yossef Bodansky's book, The Secret History of the Iraq War (2003), that Iraqi WMD were hidden in deep bunkers under the Euphrates River and moved into Syria with Russian help. Maybe this is true, maybe not. But, Bodansky spelled out the argument and evidence in a pretty convincing way. Israeli intelligence reports noted the heavy truck convoys that moved from Iraq into Syria.

Now, there is this news story in The Spectator about a US special agent, Dave Gaubatz, who found evidence of weapons storage in deep underground bunkers, three of them under the Euphrates as related by Bodansky. An excerpt from The Spectator (the full link is here.

‘The problem was that the ISG were concentrating their efforts in looking for WMD in northern Iraq and this was in the south,’ says Mr Gaubatz. ‘They were just swept up by reports of WMD in so many different locations. But we told them that if they didn’t excavate these sites, others would.’

That, he says, is precisely what happened. He subsequently learnt from Iraqi, CIA and British intelligence that the WMD buried in the four sites were excavated by Iraqis and Syrians, with help from the Russians, and moved to Syria. The location in Syria of this material, he says, is also known to these intelligence agencies. The worst-case scenario has now come about. Saddam’s nuclear, biological and chemical material is in the hands of a rogue terrorist state — and one with close links to Iran.

In 2005, the CIA visited the sites and confirmed that they had been looted. Mr. Gaubatz's reports have vanished and an attempt by an intelligence attorney, John Loftus, to have Congress investigate Glaubatz's claims have hit a brick wall. Gaubatz argues that intelligence and political world is preventing the airing of the matter to prevent the revelation of their lethal incompetence.

John Loftus puts it more directly:

The Republicans won’t touch this because it would reveal the incompetence of the Bush administration in failing to neutralise the danger of Iraqi WMD. The Democrats won’t touch it because it would show President Bush was right to invade Iraq in the first place. It is an axis of embarrassment.

Mr Loftus goes further. Saddam’s nuclear research, scientists and equipment, he says, have all been relocated to Syria, where US satellite intelligence confirms that uranium centrifuges are now operating — in a country which is not supposed to have any nuclear programme. There is now a nuclear axis, he says, between Iran, Syria and North Korea — with Russia and China helping to build an Islamic bomb against the West. And of course, with assistance from American negligence.

There is other evidence of Iraqi involvement in terror: Iraq spies have now been convicted for spying in the US and an new Iraqi document shows that the Saddam's Fedayeen were directed to undertake operations against the US and other Western countries.

Iraq was a threat to the US. This is supported by ample evidence. Is Syria the new Iraq?

LINK · Everything · Comments (3)

Humans as Runners

April 24, 2007 11:38 AM

A reader sends this article on humans as runners.

I have mentioned that humans can run down a horse over the course of days, primarily by keeping the horse from water and forcing dehydration fatigue. They can do the same with wild turkeys by throwing objects to keep them flying until they drop.

Neither of these activities is jogging. Running is very different from jogging or marathoning. Running is a series of bursts of varying intensity over the course of varying time intervals. Just what we are made to do. The evidence is pretty convincing: jogging just doesn't work. Running does. But, you have to have some power when you get to the prey. Joggers have little power.

The article partly makes my point: humans ruled the hottest part of the day when the largest predators were forced to rest. Extended running during the hottest part of the day is not necessary to get prey and doing hours of it would make the hunter vulnerable as it would extend beyond that safe period. A human had to be capable of sprinting, throwing, climbing and all those things that joggers are not effective at doing in order to survive the cooler parts of the day when they were more vulnerable. Besides, jogging is a solitary activity and human safety depended on being in a group.

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (5)

Nassim Taleb's Black Swan

A review of Nassim's new book, The Black Swan in Opinion Journal.

I particularly enjoyed his version of Skepticism, which he calls Academic Libertarianism. An academic libertarian (from his glossary) considers that knowledge is subjected to strict rules but not institutional authority. He is a frequent reader of the blog and says he has been drawn to my views. I am a libertarian in all things, though I do not accept the view of libertarianism posited by Libertarians. There is no institutional authority on libertarianism.

LINK · Everything ~ · Uncertainty · Comments (1)

Gun Bans and Black Swans

John Lott gives what is essentially my answer to comments on my post on guns on campus. Mike's fine comment fills it out and brings out the "streaky" nature of these tragic events. MInger's comments are on point too, with an emphasis (as I tend to have) on individual rights that we all have and ought to be free to use.

The other side of the coin on this problem is the law regarding seriously disturbed individuals. They can only be reported in most states when the individual poses an "imminent" danger to themselves or others. The behavior of disturbed individuals is so uncertain that there seldom is a correspondence between what you see and what you get. There will seldom be a sign of their future actions in their behavior; they are unpredictable.

All one sees of these individuals is irratic behavior that follows a probability distribution so diffuse that inference is almost impossible. In other words, "nobody knows anything."

In trying to say when their behavior signals imminent danger you are trying to predict rare, but disastrous events in their world of actions. It cannot be done and the law errs on the side of their rights over the rights of the potential victims.

These mass shootings are surely what Nassim Taleb calls "black swans", low probability, high consequence events. His book, Black Swan, has just been published. I read the earlier, unpublished, version and enjoyed and learned from it. Read it. It is a Black Swan among books, a rare, high consequence book.

LINK · Uncertainty · Comments (0)

Dieters Gain Weight

Have I said this before? Dieting will, in the long run, compromise your metabolism and make you fatter. It takes a while, but that is the result overwhelmingly documented in studies long enough for the new equilibrium to emerge.

Here is another bit of evidence on this hypothesis from my old Alma Mater UCLA diet study.

So, what do you do?

1. Increase your insulin sensitivity and muscle mass through exercise, intermittent fasting of brief duration, avoiding fructose and glucose-laden and starchy foods (rice, beans, potatos, pasta, etc), eating only fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts, and seafood, chicken, and lean meats.

2. Brief, intermittent activities that are challenging and fun along with a bit of intense (for you) muscle building exercise are all the excercise you need. Forget dull and damaging aerobics, but exercise at a high enough pace to gain aerobic fitness. Most of all play at exercise; don't do these serious, highly repetitive things like golf (I find it is hard to "play" at golf) or jogging.

3. The more fun you have outdoors, the leaner you will be. And, get some sunlight every day, just a bit.

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness ~ · Uncertainty · Comments (1)

1866

April 16, 2007 06:54 PM

A doctor Harley in 1866 had it right. Cut the starch. He was speaking of the diet for diabetics, but it is for all of us.

1866 Diabetic Diet

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (8)

Students and Guns

The Virginia Tech tragedy reminds me, sadly, of what John Lott said in his article that I posted a few days ago. He said students were sitting ducks because of college gun laws. If only one student had been carrying a gun, and guys in Blacksburg know how to handle guns, it might have been very different.

LINK · Uncertainty · Comments (14)

Sayulita

April 15, 2007 09:19 PM

There is a beautiful village just north of my place on the north end of the bay at Puerto Vallarta. It is called Sayulita, a surfing village and retirement spot that you ought to go to if you can. I will be spending a lot of time there when I want to surf as the bay at Punta Esmeralda is sheltered and quiet, better for kayaking and strolling to restaurants and the marina.

The day I took these pictures I was at a surfing contest, just watching.

Here are just two shots.

Looking back from the ocean to a restaurant with Palapa covered tables.

The entry to a colorful house in the center of the village. This is the kind of color you see through out the village, and much of Mexico.

LINK · Everything · Comments (0)

Isola d'Elba

I am off to Italy to ride enduro trails with a KTM group on the Isle of Elba this week. My friend Scott Harden will be leading the rides.

I will be riding a KTM 525 like my own, which is shown in this picture. I have to say, if you can reach this age and do all the things you love to do, it isn't so bad.

LINK · Adventure Motorcycling · Comments (0)

Scary Menus

I have been looking over the menu from the cafeteria of one of our larger employers, a health conscious one.

What are they eating at the cafeteria?

Monday: Appetizer -- pot stickers. Grill -- California wrap (turkey, cheese, guacomole, bacon in a WHEAT tortilla). Lunch -- Layered Mexican casserole or Chicken breast over rice with a side of fried rice, mac and cheese or asparagus. (People always seem to think that wheat is ok as a source of carbs when almost all starches are made from wheat -- bread, pasta, cereals are made of wheat.)

Chicken and asparagus are all that I would choose. Maybe the wrap without the bacon.

Tuesday: Appetizer -- macaroni wedges. Grill -- hot dot with chili. Lunch -- Roast pork tenderloin or Lasagna. Sides -- mash potato, gravy, bread stick, broccoli.

Roast pork with brocoli are all I would eat.

Wednesday: Appetizer -- potato munchers. Grill -- none. Lunch -- Fajita skillet or burrito with bean and cheese smothered (and they mean it) in sauce and cheese and sour cream. Side -- beans, rice, carrots, corn or ranch pot.

The fajita, maybe, but I would pass on the bean and cheese and the smothering.

The rest of the week is similar, with spagetti and fettucini highlighting the other days. Bread sticks, beans, and rice are featured often as sides.

All in all, about what most people are likely to eat, when they think they are eating healthy. But, I do not think they are eating healthy on this menu at all. And, it shows. There are not that many lean and healthy looking people in the place, even among the young. And the menu does not begin to describe the heavy sauces. Even when presented with this array of choices you might be surprised to find how many choose three starchy foods and bread sticks and leave the chicken breast and asparagus. And then there are the jellos, pies, cookies and other deserts. Along with the juices and sugary soft drins.

It is amazing what the body will tolerate.

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (0)

Thrifty Gene, Active Gene

April 12, 2007 07:57 AM

I have always had a bit of a problem with the theory of the thrifty gene. The theory emphasizes the ability of humans, and other animals, to store excess nutrients against future famine. Many seem to believe that it is this gene gone awry in a modern world awash with nutrients available at little energy expenditure that produces the profound obesity that we see in many modern humans and the associated metabolic derangements associated with obesity.

It is surely true that humans, and even pets and other animals, have the ability to store excess nutrients. But, the thrifty gene hypothesis fails to include the implicit assumption that there must be a trigger to turn the genes on. Presumably, the trigger would be a situation of serious undernutrition in the presence of profound energy expenditure that would turn the genes on in the fed state. That is to say, the triggering mechanism would be as though a hungry hunter exerting profoundly in the attempt to find food would at last succeed. He/she would then be in a situation to over feed and restore energy balance and add beyond those requirements a reservoir of energy as fat stores.

But, what if the attempt were unsuccessful? How would the hunter go on hungry and under nourished? There must be something that supports activity in this state, which is far more threatening to survival.

I see several problems with the thrifty gene theory. One, modern humans, and our pets and domestic animals, never experience the profound energy drains that would trigger the over feeding mechanism. They eat whether they expend energy or not and they eat to a positive energy surplus regularly. There is no switch to turn the thrifty genes on.

Two, a thrifty gene that favors energy storage would produce a body composition that would not be adept at acquiring food or competing with more muscular individuals for mates and food. A fat, less muscular "thrifty genotype" would be less effective than an active genotype at attaining the state of excess nutrition required to survive and reproduce.

Three, a thrifty gene does an energy-depleted, tired and hungry hunter gatherer no good at all when these stores are gone. If you have no food and are depleted of energy, a thrifty gene that encourages over feeding does you no good at all when you have no food. Yet, you must go on in this state or perish.

What is required for survival in an energy-scarce environment where profound energy expenditure is required to find food is some mechanism that would permit the hunter to continue in an energy-depleted state. That is, an active gene that permits activity when food is scarce is far more valuable than a gene that permits storage in the fed state. The underfed state is far more dangerous and there must be some genetic mechanism that permits intense activity even in the underfed state.

A characteristic of humans is that they become more active when they are in an underfed state. This is, of course, essential if food is to be found. I think this is a key to understanding modern obesity and metabolic disease from a genetic perspective.

So, I think it is more important to look for the genetic components of modern obesity as a byproduct of an active gene that has gone awry in a modern world rather than as a thrifty gene gone awry.

Paradoxically, I suspect that the answer is to be found in a study of athletes, who are most comparable to ancestral humans in activity and metabolism than sedentary humans. What energy storage systems do their bodies exploit and how do their stores differ from sedentary humans? And, how do these systems go awry in sedentary, over-fed humans?

I think that by looking to the active genotype that we may find some answers that shape our understanding of metabolic disease. This exploration also leads to more fruitful strategies for improving metabolic health and performance. The thrifty gene theory just encourages us to give up because it promotes the idea that we are made to overeat. You can't fight Mother Nature. Later...

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (3)

Running Fast

A further issue about sprinting and attaining maximal speed is to consider stride frequency and stride length. Numerous studies show that animals run at the stride frequency that minimizes energy expenditure. Whether they are running slow or fast, they tend to run at that stride frequency. They vary speed by lengthening or shortening the length of the stride.

The stride frequency that mins energy expenditure balances the shock absorbing in the muscle (the eccentric phase) with energy recovery (the concentric spring phase).

To max speed you want to find your energy minimizing stride frequency and then find the longest stride length you can attain while maintaining that frequency. This applies to the phase of the run after you have reached max speed. During the acceleration phase there is less elastic recovery in the muscle and stride frequency is lower and stride length less.

You can get a good estimate of your stride frequency by hopping on one or two legs at the rate that is most comfortable. For full speed, hop with nearly fully extended legs. For acceleration, hop with bent legs. Once you find the optimal frequency, then work to lengthen the stride, but never going below your best frequency.

This model suggests that plyometrics have to be done at the right frequency to obtain maximal benefits. Most plyometric moves are done at too low a frequency for the best results. They are still beneficial, but one should do higher frequency hops, close to the optimal stride frequency, and try to max the length of the hop at that frequency. Pretty tough. Sounds like a nice, high intensity drill.

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness ~ · Sports · Comments (2)

Diets

April 11, 2007 09:08 AM

Are there enough of them yet?

There must be hundreds of diets, each with their own interpretation of some marginal science or an angle that appeals to human frailty (on this diet, you can "cheat" or some other wild promise). They all make promises that you can't keep and their failure rate is close to 100 per cent. Here is a link to some weak research on low and high carb diets (both diets are lousy) that really opened my eyes to the range of marketing and claims by diet promoters. Check the ads. It is wild. And, they all share the high failure rate that has been documented in endless research. Note, that the primary conclusion of the research reported at this link is that one diet was slightly more effective than the other over short time span, but they converged later on the same outcome. Note also that extraordinary effort was expended to insure compliance and, even then, there was considerable "cheating".

Worse yet, and not reported, is how you fare when you fall off the diet wagon; you are likely to binge and develop an unhealthy attitude toward food. You may damage your metabolism by losing muscle and organ mass and damage your health through organ or brain damage (anorexics have shrunken brains). When you add in the people who fall off the diet wagon and gain dramatic weight in the aftermath to those who merely fail to lose weight, then you realize that their high failure rate underestimates the damage done by diets.

Most dieters end up fatter than when they began. A thirty pound loss is often followed by a sixty pound gain. A thirty pound loss almost never stays that way. When you diet and fall off, you fall hard. You feel a sense of failure and the bulging hips and belly constantly remind you of your failure. I would never diet nor would I put anyone I cared about on one.

What do I do and how did Wonder Woman lose 6 dress sizes? (She can't walk down the hall without starting a riot at work. Yet, nobody believes what she tells them about diet and exercise.) How did my former trainer's wife go from going-on-pudgy to slim and sleek? (She did it on her own just by reading the Evolutionary Fitness Essay. It's free under the Research link above.) How did Queen T go from over-training and gym-culture nutrition to someone who is so inspiring that she can't get out of the gym without being besieged with questions? (No one believes her answers, either.)

Read More »

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (3)

Women Protecting Themselves

The police can't do it and restraining orders don't deter. A woman has to have the ability to protect herself. A gun is better protection than a delayed police response that makes a restraining order ineffective. A determined stalker can kill anyone if they can't protect them self.

John Lott, in Flawed Laws, makes the argument and supports it with research he published with an old friend of mine, Bill Landes of the University of Chicago Law School.

LINK · Uncertainty · Comments (0)

Sprinting

April 10, 2007 09:23 PM

This question is one of many I receive on sprinting. I know I have said many times that sprinting is part of the Evolutionary Fitness lifeway, for males and females. How otherwise would our ancestors survive the predators and other enemies of the evolutionary environment? How else would they capture certain kinds of prey for food? They would go hungry jogging. And, is any other kind of activity as much fun as playful sprinting?

Here is the extended question:

I am writing to you today because I want to participate in club sprinting (I'm a law student three weeks away from graduation). Since I'd like to compete primarily in the 100 meters, I am very interested in your thoughts on power-law training as you seem to base much of your reasoning on power athletes.

I've noticed that in the past you have developed workout ideas for various individuals and I'm curious about what you might prescribe specifically for a sprinter. It seems to me that true sprinting, the way the pros do it, depends more on the glutes and hamstrings than the quads. Therefore, I'm thinking more along the lines of glute-ham raises and single-leg split squats in something like the Smith machine (with the rear leg elevated) rather than the typical back squat that is so frequently prescribed. I'm not sure how much the upper body contributes to sprint speed, but maybe some incline dumbbell presses and dumbbell rows which you seem to be a fan of?

First, sprinting is a natural and valuable human activity. If you look at hunter gatherers you will find that almost all the males and many of the females are capable of sprinting and at speeds that would rival college level 100 meter times. This is true of males whom we would think of as older these days and more likely to be in a Walmart mobile cart than running around. This is because necessity and the natural lifeway dictate that humans are free and active animals.

Muscle composition adapts to demands and is not set by genetic factors. Among hunter gather groups you find that they express a "true" genetic type because their lifeway is nearly identical. They all are capable of living in the environment that requires that they have similar capabilities. So, if you do sprint and must sprint, you will express the muscle fiber composition appropriate to sprinting. Most humans begin with about 50/50 FT/ST muscle composition, allowing for differences in the specific muscle fibers.

Some individuals will be better sprinters than others; that must always be the case as diversity was an evolutionary strategy. But, adaptation overrules genetic destiny and anyone can learn to be a good sprinter. And, anyone can express the fiber composition of a sprinter. Not, perhaps, the composition of someone who has sprinted most of his or her life. But, starting from the muscle composition that you presently posses, you can alter that to express more fast twitch muscle fiber (which all humans should naturally express, but do not in the current environment).

You tell your genes to express FT fiber when you give them a signal (through the mitogen activated protein kinases) that creates an acidic environment for the fiber expressing genes of the muscle fibers. Oxygen signals ST fiber. Acid expresses FT fiber. Jogging sends oxidative signals. Sprinting sends acid signals. Evolutionary Fitness work outs are designed to send acid signals to the muscles.

Sprinters are leaner and more muscular than joggers. They have higher HGH and more testosterone (good for females and males). So, I favor sprinting and walking to jogging.

Read More »

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (4)

A Real Scientist on Global Warming

April 9, 2007 10:41 AM

Why do people believe that what exists now is either the natural state or the best state? It is a Panglossian impulse and resistance to and recognition of natural variation in all things is a human impulse, particularly among those innocent in understanding the pervasiveness of variation in nature and human affairs.

Richard Lindzen, a distinguished climate scientist at MIT, dismantles the bad science and self-serving politics of global warming in this Newsweek article.

It is foolish to believe that our current climate has a privileged place amongst the huge range of climates that have existed or are possible. And a vast over reach to think we have much effect on it at a global level. Relax, enjoy life, things are getting better. The world is getting richer all the time and that will make everything better.

LINK · Uncertainty · Comments (5)

Spectrum Freedom

One of the paradoxes that I noted in my ``Implementing a Market-Based Spectrum Policy'' (The Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. XLI (2) (Pt. 2) (October 1998)) celebrating Coase's proposal for market allocation of the electromagnetic spectrum is that spectrum is not a public good because it is wasted and allocated into broad regions for inefficient uses. Because the system for managing spectrum use is so wasteful, the abundance that technology could permit is prevented because the technology itself must be frozen in order to make the centralized and inefficient system work. Thus, even though Congress declared that the spectrum is a public good, the system they put in place made the spectrum anything but a public good. It made the spectrum scarce and available only to a privileged few (many of whom were members of Congress).

Consequently, new technologies that could so vastly expand the availability or effective supply of spectrum as to make it a public good cannot come forth in an administered system that relies of rationing, inflexible allocation, and frozen technology to manage interference. Thus, the paradox: if spectrum were made a private good, it would become so abundant that it would become a public good. More flexibility and better technology can only come forth if the spectrum becomes a private resource. And, when that happens, the capacity of spectrum to carry information will expand so vastly, that spectrum would become an essentially public good, available to all at virtually no cost.

Slowly, this is happening as this scheme described in the NYT article to exploit computer controlled, real time allocation of spectrum will "sniff out" available spectrum on the fly and match communicators in real time. So much spectrum sits idle at any point in time that the new technologies will effortlessly expand spectrum use with no intrusion on existing users or messages.

LINK · Everything ~ · Uncertainty · Comments (0)

Low Carb Research

April 4, 2007 10:47 AM

My daughter in law sent me a link she came upon reporting subtle interactions between ketogenic diet and cancer that suggest a low carb diet may be of some benefit. I found the more general link to a host of research reports on the low carb diet. It is put up by a student Josh Yelon's Low Carb Research Links

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (2)

195

April 3, 2007 04:38 PM

I sometimes wonder if dropping to 195 pounds from a long time at 208 was a good thing. I still wear all the same clothes, but could drop to a 33 pant if I could find them and they had enough room in the thighs. And, I do think I look better and feel absolutely great. I don't get quite as hot at night either. So, all in all, I think it has been a real improvement.

Why did I carry 208 for so long? I really don't know to be truthful. I felt very strong at that weight, but still have more than enough strength to do what I want. It probably was the same sort of male mentality that expresses itself in the gym or any comparative environment: something like I am the best or strongest or... whatever. After reading Steven Pinker's History of Violence (see earlier post on Things are Getting Better), it does seem natural that a male would want to feel sufficiently dominant or dangerous that would-be rivals would want to think twice about attacking. Many days would be a fight for life in the evolutionary context and it is natural to carry over attitudes and appearances that would warn off others against an attack.

But, this can go awry easily and damage appearance and health. Far too many young guys in the gym go for way too much mass and end up thick and fat. Bigger is only better if muscle and body composition go with it. It is the power to weight ratio that determines sport performance. My power to weight ratio is better than at nearly any time in my life.

With the beginning of our evening softball league any doubts I had about dropping my weight to 195 quickly vanished. I am a bit quicker no doubt. And throw better. As to power, I hit one so far out that it hit high up on the protective fence at the playground 20 feet beyond the stadium fence (no andro, no steroids, just a smooth swing and great contact on the sweet spot). The ump said she had never seen anyone hit it out of that park (but I know a guy who did with a favoring wind of which I had none). No 70 year old does that she said.

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness ~ · Sports · Comments (14)

Nine Days, Six Pounds

Wonder Woman's sister came out from Philly to spend nine days with us. She lost six pounds eating the way we do (Evolutionary Fitness). It was mostly the eating since she was not well enough to do EFit work outs. I taught her a few things about posture and exercise, but she had only one quick work out on my home cable set. I had her do one legged squat presses, incline bench presses, and lat pull downs (hands in line with the forearm, not turned out with the knuckles up). I showed her the abdominal brace and how to do crunches the right way.

She said she never ate so much food and could not believe the six pound loss. Her face slimmed so much she looked younger. She could not believe the brevity of the simple work out I had her do. No one believes it, until they see the results.

The tricky part about eating at restaurants is to send the bread plate back, drop the croutons, and to have vegetables instead of pasta, rice, potatoes, or beans. You have to stay at it as the servers ply you with the stuff and few people turn them down. "Did you save room for dessert?" is a favorite ploy of servers. Why would I do that is my answer.

It was nothing more than habit that had her eating the way she did before she came to visit. Given the cost of the packaged foods she ate, she will readily afford the better food she enjoyed while here. It does seem that everyone has trouble dropping breakfast cereal ("But, I eat whole wheat or oatmeal.") and bananas. They are guaranteed to make you fat.

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (2)

Reforming Islam

Following the penetrating video talk by Evan Sayet I posted a few days ago on weak thinking (see Indiscriminateness) comes this brave and revealing article in the WSJ Opinion Journal by a former Islamicist now committed to reforming Islamic violence.

I read the Bernard Lewis book several years ago, as well as many of his more recent articles and talks that the author refers to. Professor Lewis does judge in his What Went Wrong? and it is a sophisticated assessment of the turning point in Islamic teaching. Dr. Hamid reveals how the unwillingness to judge the barbaric practices that Islamicists promote is part of the rejection of judgment that has become part of the modern gestalt that Evan Sayet described so brilliantly. To accept and defend Sharia on cultural relativistic grounds is a rejection of liberal principles and human dignity.

Neither of these brave thinkers notes that Islamic teaching follows the money: the radicalization of Islam is funded and promoted by certain groups. Immams used to be poor scholars on bicycles. Now they command huge madrassas and mosques, are surrounded by staffs and drive Peugeots. They are bought and paid for by states ruled by extremists.

LINK · Everything · Comments (4)

Andro

April 1, 2007 01:05 PM

With MLB starting back up the topic of Mark McGwire and andro's contribution to his home run output comes up again. And, the investigations into steroid use continue and the trashing of Barry Bonds continues. It may become relentless this season as he approaches Hank Aaron's record of 714 home runs.

We can't definitively reject steroids as contributors to Bonds' past records and his approach to the life time record because the research is impossible to do. My paper on home runs raises hard questions and casts doubt on the role of steroids in home run performance. Really, it puts most of the discussion to rest because it shows that nothing has changed in home run hitting, once the number of games, at bats, and larger players is taken into account.

We can look at andro though because it is still possible to do the research and I came across a study, not yet published, done at East Tennessee State University in their Andro project that sheds light on the issue.

In a nutshell, andro does nothing for strength and power. The pituitary adapts to the increased testosterone from andro ingestion and begins to shut down production of luetinizing hormones that direct the testes to produce testosterone. At the end of the 12 week study, during which subjects took 200 mg of androstenediol or androstenendione, testosterone rose then declined and went right back to the baseline level at which they entered the study. The control subjects, who did the same weight training as the others, but did not take andro in either form, gained the same strength and power as those who took andro. And, they had slightly higher testosterone because of the stress of the work outs.

But, wait, it gets worse. Not only did they gain nothing, the andro users ended up feminizing their bodies. Their estrone and estradiol levels went up 47 to 92%. And their levels of HDL declined, producing an elevated cardiac risk profile.

They did not have the subjects try to hit home runs, but given that the strength gains of all three groups, including those who trained but without taking andro, were identical, there would be no gains there either.

In short, andro users gained nothing in strength and power (their pituitary learned to live on higher exogenous testosterone and shut down its own production) and they feminized themselves and raised their cardiac risk. Remember, it is all non-linear; what goes in isn't what comes out. Here it was the opposite: more male testosterone precursors produces a more feminine you.

Are you still reading those body builder mags and their ads?

LINK · Evolutionary Fitness ~ · Sports · Comments (6)