Genki-Do: The Healthy Way

Haven’t had a chance to get on and post in the last few days but I’ll be updating my blog VERY soon with some interesting information about:

• Food cravings - their phenomenology, etc. I really want people to understand that cravings aren’t something that your body just throws at you to screw up your diet. They’re often the result of psychological and behavioural conditioning as well as various biological states.
• GVT (German Volume Training) - a summary of how to start Charles Poliquin’s famous GVT, and a separate post on my first trial run through it.
• FST-7 Training - How to incorporate FST-7 into your program and how it can help you achieve your desired look.

Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any additional ideas, comments or requests!

(Source: genki-do)

How we think about the food we eat is an important component in the multi-faceted problem that is obesity. Believe it or not, categorizing a food as a ‘snack’ or a ‘meal’ affects food consumption. Moreover  thinking differently about a food may influence how much we eat and how hungry or satiated we feel thereafter.

Capaldi, Owens and Privitera (2006) showed that the same food could be classified as a snack or a meal by different people, and how an individual categorized a food affected subsequent eating behaviour. The researchers pre-fed participants identical foods and found that those who categorized the food they recieved as a ‘snack’ ate more in the time following than those who interpreted the prefeeding as a ‘meal’. This was found to be the same regardless of whether the macro-nutrient composition of the meals were high protein or high carbohydrate.

There is no ‘SNACK’ …

One simple way to help kick start your weight loss plan without any hitches is to STOP breaking down your day into three main meals and several ‘snack’ periods. Since snacks have a smaller satiety ratio and a greater energy density, cutting down on these extra foods between meals will help to reduce daily energy intake, added sugars, refined carbohydrates, etc. from our diet. Through years of psychological conditioning, we seem to instinctively ‘know’ that snacks are likely to be sugary or salty foods that will ‘reward’ rather than satiate. Recall, if you will, what your childhood self would consider a ‘snack’ coming home from school. I’m sure that many of you weren’t bridging the time between school and dinner with celery sticks and cottage cheese! Therefore, avoid the problematic associations we’ve all formed with the term ‘snack’ by re-framing each of your sit down eating periods as ‘meals’ … not only will your food choices likely improve, but the possibility of binge eating should similarly decrease.

Reference:

Capaldi, E. D., Owens, J. Q., & Privitera, G. J. (2006). Isocaloric meal and snack foods differentially affect eating behavior. Appetite, 46(2), 117–123.

Wadhera, D., & Capaldi, E. D. (2012). Categorization of foods as ‘snack’ and ‘meal’ by college students. Appetite, 58, 882-888.

(Source: genki-do)

The Myth (?)

ZMA (Zinc Magnesium Aspartate) is well known and widely used ‘ergogenic’ supplement that is thought to significantly improve muscle strength along with concentrations of total testosterone, free testosterone and insulin-like growth factor (Brilla & Conte, 2000).

The Reasoning:

It is known that deficiencies of zinc and magnesium aspartate decrease both testosterone and IGF-1. Simultaneously, athletes are reported to have lower levels of these minerals which possibly occurs due to increased sweating and inadequate intake in their diets. By this logic, supplementation with zinc and magnesium should raise the serum levels of these minerals, thereby enhancing the anabolic hormonal profiles of athletes and improving adaptations to resistance training. 

The Facts:

To date, only one study has found a positive effect of ZMA on muscle strength and IGF-1 (Brilla & Conte, 2000). The International Society of Sports Nutrition reports that it is yet unknown whether Zinc/Magnesium Aspartate is effective in muscle building, and it certainly appears that clear proof to this effect is currently lacking. For example, an 8-week study of 42 resistance-trained males saw no significant ergogenic improvements following supplementation (Wilborn, et al., 2004). Another investigation into the effects of ZMA on serum testosterone and urinary excretion of steroid hormone metabolites found, similarly, that ZMA had no significant effects on these hormones (Koehler, et al. 2009).

The Conclusion:

Supplementation with ZMA at recommended doses does not appear to result in any adverse effects. However, more research is needed to determine whether this supplementation enhances training adaptations in resistance trained populations. Companies reporting that their ZMA product may provide increases to testosterone, etc. are likely citing the work of Brilla & Conte (2000), while ignoring the remaining studies which were unable to find any significant ergogenic benefits. Whether you invest in ZMA or not, the choice is ultimately up to you. You should be aware that the research is currently stacked against ZMA in terms of its purported benefits, and (in terms of supplements to aid recovery & lean mass accrual). As for me, I would turn to a host of other products including EFA’s, Vitamin D & Creatine before spending money on a more ‘exotic’ product such as ZMA.

References:

Brilla, L.R., Conte, V. (2000). Effects of a novel zinc-magnesium formulation on hormones and strength. J Exerc Physiol Online; 3:26-36.

Koehler, K., Parr, M. K., Geyer, H., Mester, J., & Schanzer, W. (2009). Serum testosterone and urinary excretion of steroid hormone metabolites after administration of a high-dose zinc supplement. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 63, 65-70.

Wilborn, C. D., Kerksick, C. M., Campbell, B. I., Taylor, L. W., Marcello, B. M., Rasmussen, C. J., Greenwood, M. C., Almada, A., & Kreider, R. B. (2004). Effects of zinc magnesium aspartate (zma) supplementation on training adaptations and markers of anabolism and catabolism. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 1, doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-1-2-12 

(Source: genki-do)

I still remember, as a child, making conscious efforts to drink more tap water, after my dentist recommended that the Fluoride content would improve my dental health. As an adult, I find myself stupefied at how a medical professional could place the cognitive development of a child in harms way by being unable to connect the dots of over 23 human, and 100 animal studies which have linked fluoride to brain damage.

The Poison Is In The Dose (Or Is It?)

A recent Harvard meta-analysis has concluded that children who live in areas with highly fluoridated water have significantly lower IQ scores than those who live in low fluoride areas. The researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies on increased fluoride exposure in drinking water and neurodevelopmental delays. A compendium of 27 studies published over 22 years suggested an inverse relationship between high fluoride exposure and children’s intelligence. That is, higher fluoride = lower IQ. Interestingly, fluoride’s neurotoxic effects are more pronounced in children than in adults. The fluoride concentrations found in blood (serum-fluoride) can exceed levels of more than 1000-times those of some other neurotoxicants that cause neurodevelopmental damage.

Is This Really News?

There is a wealth of evidence against fluoride which reaches beyond lowered IQ in children. Other reported effects of fluoride include:

• Risk to the thyroid gland via it’s endocrine disrupting effects.
• The ability to diminish bone strength and increase risk for bone fracture.
• Increased risk of fluoride toxicity in individuals with kidney disease.
• The accumultion of fluoride in the pineal gland.
• Damage to the hippocampus.
• Impaired immune system.
• Increased tumor and cancer rate.
• Inactivation of 62 enzymes and the inhibition of more than 100 others.

What To Do, What To Do?

The scary reality is that fluoride is difficult to avoid. Joining the ongoing effort to get fluoride out of drinking water, is the only sure-fire way to ensure it’s removal from circulation. However, in the mean time there are several steps you can take to reduce your fluoride exposure -

1. Buy fluoride-free toothpaste and mouthwash.
2. Purchase a reverse-osmosis filter for your tap water.
3. Opt for bottled water, which (currently) has a lower fluoride content.

Reference:

Choi, A. L., Sun, G., Zhang, Y., & Grandjean, P. (2012). Developmental fuloride neurotoxicity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(10), 1362-1368.

National Toxicology Program (1990). Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of Sodium Fluoride in F344/N Rats and B6C3f1 Mice. Technical report Series No. 393. NIH Publ. No 91-2848. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Hoover, R.N., et al. (1991). Time trends for bone and joint cancers and osteosarcomas in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. National Cancer Institute In: Review of Fluoride: Benefits and Risks. US Public Health Service. Appendix E & F.

Cohn, P.D (1992). A Brief Rep-ort On The Association Of Drinking Water Fluoridation And The Incidence of Osteosarcoma Among Young Males. New Jersey Department of Health Environ. Health Service: 1- 17.

Bassin, E.B., Wypij, D., Davis, R.B., Mittleman, M.A. (2006). Age-specific Fluoride Exposure in Drinking Water and Osteosarcoma (United States). Cancer Causes and Control 17: 421-8.

Johnson, W., et al. (1979). Fluoridation and bone disease in renal patients. In: E Johansen, DR Taves, TO Olsen, Eds. Continuing Evaluation of the Use of Fluorides. AAAS Selected Symposium. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado. pp. 275-293.

Ittel T.H., et al. (1992). Effect of fluoride on aluminum-induced bone disease in rats with renal failure. Kidney International 41: 1340-1348.

(Source: genki-do)