Put Those Shoes On: Running Won't Kill Your Knees

Yes, it's true: Jogging, long thought to hurt knees with all that pounding and rattling around, may actually be beneficial for the complex and critical joint. There are caveats, though, especially for people who have suffered significant knee injury or are overweight. But for the most part, researchers say, jogging for your health seems like a good idea.

David Felson, a researcher and epidemiologist at Boston University School of Medicine, says past concern about jogging and knees centered on the continuous impact of the foot to the ground and suggestion that it caused degeneration of the knee and the onset of osteoarthritis. But when researchers actually studied the impact of running on knees, he says, that's not what they found.

"We know from many long-term studies that running doesn't appear to cause much damage to the knees," he says. "When we look at people with knee arthritis, we don't find much of a previous history of running, and when we look at runners and follow them over time, we don't find that their risk of developing osteoarthritis is any more than expected." Both types of studies agree, says Felson, that recreational running doesn't increase the risk of arthritis.

Keep reading . . .

Stuffed Squash

4 squash halved lengthwise, seeds removed
s&p
Drizzle squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

olive oil

Filling

2 T fat of choice (I used bacon grease)

1 large onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 T Italian seasoning (check ingredients. there should only be herbs in there – no fillers or preservatives)

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

10 sliced black olives (maybe 1/3 cup)

1.5 lb ground beef

1 can diced tomatoes or 3-4 chopped fresh

1-2 tsp red wine vinegar

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Weekend Challenge

10 min jog
15 tricep dips
15 squats
10 burpees

repeat this series 3 times.

Choosing Healthy Fats

GOOD FATS, BAD FATS, AND THE POWER OF OMEGA-3 FATS

For years, nutritionists and doctors have preached the benefits of a low-fat diet. We’ve been told that reducing the amount of fat we eat is the key to losing weight, managing cholesterol, and preventing health problems. But when it comes to your mental and physical health, simply “cutting the fat” just doesn’t cut it.

Research shows that, more than the total amount of fat in your diet, it’s the types of fat you eat that really matter. Bad fats increase your cholesterol and your risk of certain diseases, while good fats have the opposite effect, protecting your heart and supporting overall health. In fact, good fats—such as omega-3 fats—are absolutely essential not only to your physical health but your emotional well-being.

Keep reading . . .

Fragrant Beef Salad

Makes 2-4 servings depending on your hunger

1 pound ground beef, ground lamb is also wonderful
1 large onion, chopped
~6 cups greens (spinach, arugula and kale all work well)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes 
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin seed
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
good extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper (or a pinch of cayenne)
salt


get the how-to

Weekend Challenge

Sprints because Fast is Fun

Warm up with a jog, roughly 800 meters
High knees for 20 m - as fast as you can
Kick your but for 20 m - as fast as you can
10 Lunges each side


Sprint for 1:30 min, Walk for 1:30 min
Sprint for 1 min, Walk for 1 min
Sprint for 30 s, Walk for 30 s


Repeat!  

What this doctor learned when he was a patient

Doctor D has been blogging about the  doctor-patient relationship for a while now. It’s sort of the thing I’m known for. I’ve usually been on the doctor side of this equation. Most of my blogging, however, is to help patients figure out the weird world of medicine.

Doctor D recently found himself on the patient side of a nasty injury.

Even as Doctor D looked down and realized his leg wasn’t supposed to be that shape he said to himself, “Self, take mental notes! The readers of Doctor D’s Clinic of Doctor-Patient Relational Awesomeness will want to know about this.”

Here is what Doctor D discovered when he became Patient D:

1. Doctor D Is mostly right. Any reader of this knows that Dr. D’s insight is typically brilliant and totally useful. I found myself actually looking up posts I had written for the solid and useful advice.

But even D has a lot to learn, so from here on I shall delve into the dark secrets I could only discover when crossing the line to the patient side.

keep reading . . .

Mixed Seafood Red Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 T coconut oil
• 2 T red curry paste 
• 1 can coconut milk
• kaffir lime leaves (optional)
• 1 Japanese eggplant, cut into chunks
• 1 cup fresh green beans, end trimmed and cut in half
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
• 2 heads baby bok choy, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup baby tomatoes, whole
• 1/4 pound salmon, cut into chunks
• 3 sea scallops, cut in half
• 3 large prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 3 tsp lime juice
• 2-3 cilantro, chopped

Get the rest! 

Weekend Challenge

How many rounds can you do in 10 Minutes?

5 Burpees
10 Pushups
15 Squats


post your results to your camp's Facebook page! 

The Problem With Serving Sizes- Anahad O'Connor

According to its label, a pint of Häagen-Dazs ice cream contains four servings. But when was the last time you measured out a fourth of a container of Cookies & Cream, then put the rest away for another day?

For many people, the reality is that much of a pint can easily vanish in one sitting. A large package of Cool Ranch Doritos lists a single serving as one ounce, or roughly 12 chips, but it’s hard to imagine keeping count of every last chip as you dig into a bag. And while 160 calories and two grams of saturated fat may sound like a small price to pay for a serving of Oreo cookies, keep in mind that technically speaking, a serving is a paltry three cookies.

In the face of mounting criticism, the Food and Drug Administration has been under pressure for years to force food makers to include more realistic serving size information on their labels. The agency regulates the serving sizes that can be listed on packages by providing food makers with detailed guidelines to follow, which list the amounts of a specific food that a person would “customarily consume” in a typical sitting. But critics say these “reference amounts” are often laughably small because they’re based in part on surveys of eating behavior that were carried out in the 1970’s, when Americans ate less food and portion sizes had not been supersized.

keep reading . . .

Salmon Salad

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon caraway seed
2 medium wild-caught salmon filets (~ pound total)
2 tablespoons homemade mayo
2-3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 or 4 small sour pickles, finely chopped  (no added sugar)
Juice of one lime


keep reading . . .

Weekend Challenge

Hitting the squats.
Squats are an amazing move not only do they work some of the biggest muscles in your body with no equipment they are also executed pretty easily form wise.  Plus, they're a functional movement, something we'll have to do forever if we want to be able to take ourselves to the bathroom alone.  Just saying.

25 Regular Squats
25 Squats, toes turned out
25 One-legged squats
25 One-legged squats

Now do some cardio-30 minute run, 1 hour bike ride, 5 minutes of jump rope.

How To Exercise While You Sit-Anna Forrest

You don't have to be working out all the time but with the sedentary work lives we live we need to de-stress and move to reduce chronic fatigue, illness and soreness.  Read the article below to keep you moving and groovin' at the office.  

I've written recently about the sequences I designed for our military to help with the stress of their work, and I'd like to share some of this with you. Let's focus first on poses you can do while just sitting in a chair.

Whether you are a fighter pilot or a "desk jockey," sitting all day is very hard on the body, even with fancy or expensive chairs. Sitting contributes to collapsed posture and low energy levels -- conditions that are far too common today. It shortens and contracts muscles in the legs and torso, and tends to exacerbate rounded shoulders and stress in the neck. Slouching inhibits digestion, causes constipation and low back pain as well as neck pain, and compromises breathing, which impairs clear thinking and leads to brain fatigue and poor decisions. It dulls the immune system so that you are more inclined to get sick and be irritable. When you are slumping, your productivity tends to decrease dramatically.

Fortunately I have some simple poses that will help you. I've done a lot of yoga poses in airline seats since I fly a lot; these are some that are helpful to me!

Let's start by learning how to breathe. Inhale and expand the ribs, feeling for moving the ribs all the way up into the armpit. Exhale, pull the belly in emptying all the used air out. This helps purify the lungs which raises your energy levels and increases your metabolism. Breathe like this throughout all these poses -- and in the rest of your life!

get the exercises . . .

Tahini Chicken

Recipe:

• 1 pound chicken breast
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon tamari or coconut aminos
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

keep reading . . .