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Welcome to Pro-Activity!
The weekly blog is sent via weekly email and archived here. Topics range a wide spectrum of prevention and health tactics, following best evidence research as a framework.
Craving Nutrients
Craving Nutrients
Feb 13
Maybe you saw the Super Bowl ad. Mike Tyson, up close, talking about eating whole food. Maybe you liked the message and the choice of messenger. Maybe you hated them both. Maybe you didn't think that much about it and were just there for the funny or entertaining ones (+1 for the Dunkin' ad in my opinion)...but despite some important points made in articles which reviewed the ad like this one, including the nuance between "processed" and "ultra processed", the core idea that, our health is greatly impacted by the foods we eat (and an increasing number of those are harming us), is not particularly controversial. This week 2 new studies drove the point home and helped explain why.
The first is a new look at old data. In 2019, a research team showed, in a well-controlled trial, that an ultra-processed diet actually caused people to eat more calories and gain weight. This, of course, was big news at the time. However, since then, discoveries made the data worth a second look. What the research team found this time might help us understand more fully why ultra-processed foods get a hold on our health - they bypass the natural tradeoff between nutrients and calories found in healthy whole foods, a tradeoff which may cause us to stop eating one while we search for the other.
In essence, they proved an idea that is often discussed when people talk about eating behaviors, that we not only crave tastes and textures that stimulate our brain, but nutrients and energy that drive our physiology...and when we get the right combination, we tend to be satisfied. Because ultra-processed foods have both high nutrient load (they're often fortified with vitamins) and high calorie load, there is no trade-off, and subjects tend to overconsume. The team found that while those who consumed mostly unprocessed foods actually ate more by volume, they took in 300 fewer calories on average, which is enough to make a substantial difference in health over the course of time.
A second study, published by the American Academy of Neurology, drove the point home even further. This time, it was data on the diets of more than 100,000 US Women starting at midlife and tracked for more than twenty years. The researchers on this one found clear evidence that those who adhered closely to a Mediterranean diet had a double-digit lower risk of all forms of stroke. The team based their scoring on the diet originally referred to as the Traditional Mediterranean, described here, which was "characterized by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts" as well as unrefined grains, olive oil, and fish, with a lower intake of dairy and meat. High nutrient, low process.
Of course, this isn't the first time we've talked about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Given the fact that there are already more than 1500 citations this year on the topic, it's unlikely to be the last. Maybe next time for the other lovers of good olive oil, we'll cover this one...lookout inflammation.
Until then, have a great weekend,
Mike E.
Stress as System Strengthening
Stress as System Strengthening
Feb 6
It started with a knock on the door last Thursday evening. It wasn't late, but we weren't expecting anyone, so it was strange. With a firm grip on one of the two dogs, I opened the door to a person I'd never seen before, looking a little stricken. "Hi," I said, to which she responded, "I think your chimney is on fire..."
And then, somewhere shortly after "um, what?" and "ok, thanks", I closed the door and said "call 911" to my wife, who was nearby holding the other dog as we quickly sprang into action. Within seconds, I was dousing the wood in the fireplace, and she was talking to the dispatcher. Our son, a volunteer at the local fire department (who still gets the text alerts while away at school), immediately started calling, wondering what was going on, and within minutes, we were trying to make sense of a situation that now included lots of flashing lights in the driveway. Fair to say, things were stressful there for a bit.
Although I would've much rather had the uneventful and relatively quiet evening it was shaping up to be, it was a great reminder of exactly how much can (and has to) happen in the seconds between alarm bells going off in the brain and us resolving whatever is causing them, and the benefit we gain when the cycle is completed without major harm. In a world of ever-present chronic stressors - the kind we generally try to avoid - it's easy to forget how positive and even critical the acute stress response is for survival and ultimate thriving. It's an idea that a year or so ago a global research team wrote about, detailing how the immediate release of hormones and the resulting changes in the nervous system not only allow us to focus and react, but can, with an adequate recovery phase, kick start learning and growth...the upside of stress we've often talked about, which is not only for bodily health (stronger after the stress of exercise), but also brain health and mental health, as the authors make clear.
The keys then are both in the challenge and the dosage - having enough of the right stuff to stimulate the positive cascade, but not so much that we cannot adequately recover; a physiological example of "growth from adversity" (various stoics) or for those who like Nietzsche "what does not kill me makes me stronger", in biology terms, hormesis.
Last week, I mentioned a study on the keto diet, which can serve as a good example. While it showed mostly negative effects over the long term from the strain of "running on back-up fuel" (ketones being evidence that the body is burning predominantly fat for energy instead of blood sugar), the same may not be true with a smaller dose, such as in the shorter term. This 2026 study of studies showed a strong association between a ketogenic protocol and reduced depressive symptoms, while intermittent fasting, a similar short-term stress on the metabolic apparatus, appears to stimulate health benefits when done with moderate calorie reduction, as shown in this trial. The effect shows up in other areas as well.
Last year, hot tubs were highlighted for their ability to raise core temperature, another "good in small doses" stress for general health, and in high-level athletes, finding methods to more precisely dose training stress to unleash full potential has gone from an idea in 2021 to a recommended practice in the present moment. There is even one new theory that suggests that the ability to heal from minor burns sustained while handling fire, a uniquely human experience that started a million or so years ago, may be one of the main drivers of our adaptation and evolution as a species. For us, thankfully, we didn't have to test that theory.
Despite a scary hour or so, all signs point to a false alarm. The local FD didn't find anything at the scene, and earlier this week (on further inspection), the chimney was given a clean bill of health. No harm, no foul, and definitely better safe than sorry. Try as we might to avoid stressors that set off our physiological alarms...we are happy they're working well when we need them...which is far more likely if we keep them well maintained on days we don't. Spoiler, this too has roots in a healthy lifestyle.
Have a great weekend,
Mike E.
Respect the Fuel Light
Respect the Fuel Light
"Fatigue makes cowards of us all" as the saying goes....and no one is quite sure who said it first. Although it sounds like Vince Lombardi (one person it's often attributed to), the quote has also been attributed to US Army General George Patton. It probably doesn't matter. Whoever did actually say it first couldn't possibly have known how far down the rabbit hole the statement would take us.
Whether it be the quest to quantify and qualify the factors of fatigue which leave us uncomfortable, irritable and error-prone when we hit our threshold, or the endless supply of performances we hold up as "heroic" when people find a way to defy those same factors, it holds a place of importance and mystery in day to day life.
Take for example this week's prime time show of endurance - 5 overtime periods in a playoff hockey game - FIVE! Even in defeat, the losing goalie was breaking records for saves. How is this possible? What will it do to these players over the next games? Will injury rates go up? Plenty to speculate about there.
But it's not just "fun and games" (and professional athletics) is it? What about if it's experienced during high-stakes work like natural disaster restoration? Is it the same?
Well, no.....and yes.
No - disaster recovery work is rarely done by people with endorsement deals or deep interest in personal jersey sales. They are simply playing a different game altogether.
And yes, understanding the factors and knowing how to proceed is critical if we are to find that "zone" which seems to live in the space between hard-earned success and the risks of injury/illness/disease to get there.
Take for example this recent paper which profiled National Guard Medical Personnel during intensive disaster training. Highly trained people doing meaningful work who, when they got tired (as measured by a simple rating 0-9 scale which has been around since 1990), made substantially more errors......exactly as the researchers expected.
What really stood out to me was how significant the difference was - those who felt energetic averaged 91% accuracy (error-free) and those who felt really fatigued only 60% - a full 30% difference. Like many who perform high-risk tasks as part of their work, these included life-or-death decisions, so an error rate of 4 of every 10 chances is a little scary. If we were to give it a letter grade, the well-rested folks would be scoring an "A" or close to it where the tired folks would almost be failing....yikes.
What's the take-away?
We shouldn't be afraid of fatigue. As humans, our systems actually get stronger when we see it as a warning light and refill the tank with rest to RECOVER fully from it. However, as seen in research environments and the real world, since our performance clearly begins to degrade and the risk of failure climbs quickly when we begin to sputter and run out of gas, we should definitely respect it.
If you're running on fumes, please reach out to discuss a refueling and RECOVER strategy any time.
Stay strong,
Mike E.
TRAIN Movements, Not Muscles
TRAIN Movements, Not Muscles
I can remember like it was yesterday the first time I read the research on the sit-rise-test in 2012. As far as movement & longevity research goes, it was about as provocative as there is - after looking at 2000 people aged 50-80 and following them for 6 years, researchers found that those who had the mobility, control and balance to sit to the floor and stand back up with no use of support (no hands, knees, etc) has a substantially lower risk of dying than those who needed extra support (HERE)....wow.
Since then we’ve tested hundreds if not thousands of people not to predict their demise, but as a great way of helping them to learn exactly how mobile (or not) they are, and connect something they care about (future health) to something actionable today - their movement. It started a conversation that ultimately turned into a headline I’ve said aloud countless times: “Movement is a window into your future health” and it’s helped to show people real progress as they improve....so what’s not to love?
Well, like most things provocative, the details sometimes get glazed over when the headline is attention grabbing enough. There is a tendency to sensationalize (and “study for”) the test instead of what the test reveals: lower body movement, strength and power combined with aerobic fitness, balance and coordination ALL matter. Any one of them without the others is not nearly as effective. With that in mind, training movements and not muscles is a great way to add resilience against injury and improve overall athleticism and performance. This is particularly true for key zones in the body such as the hip and shoulder, connections and crossroads to the torso.
Squatting for example, that is the ability to achieve a hips below knees position with heels on the floor, is an excellent and highly functional mobility goal for many (maybe even most) individuals. It’s a classic fundamental human movement (like walking/running/reaching), something that almost everyone can do when we are kids but tends to get lost as we advance through our “working years”. It is also something that can, if dosed and graded appropriately, significantly impact pain at the knees and lower back because mobility there (hips) can help distribute forces that sometimes get focused at the joints above (lower back) and below (knees). Although we always suggest loose enough fitting clothes to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions (super bowl throwback), it’s one of the movements that are always near the top of the priority list.
So, as I shared last week, even if you struggle with the “test”......the news is good; progress is attainable for most, and incremental work can get us there.
Let us know how it goes….and, of course, if you need help with ways to improve.
Have a great weekend,
Mike E.
Chirping Detectors & Barking Dogs
Chirping Detectors & Barking Dogs
I woke up out of a deep sleep to the howling bark of Charlie. He’s a fairly generic “yellow dog” we adopted a few years back. He’s mostly a good pet and running partner who mostly respects the fact that in our house dogs live downstairs. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I didn’t need to get everyone out of the house or call 911; that I
must’ve missed one of the 9 volt batteries during the annual smoke detector refresh. It was now yelling at me in that chirping tone that only seems to happen in the middle of the night. I didn’t hear the smoke detector....slept right through its chirps, but I definitely heard Charlie and knew how to respond. I’m not sure if he just hates the chirp too or if he was really trying to make sure we reacted, but his amplification of the bells/whistles going off was enough to get me to act.
20 years ago I witnessed a similar scenario in a very different context. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in Moorestown, NJ meeting a group of folks who did underground and buried electric cable work and casually asked if anyone had experienced something similar to the numb & tingly hands I had read about in a recent journal. One person nodded, the next person said “yeah” (almost like “of course....duh”) and then person by person, like the wave rolling through a stadium, nearly every person in the room that day said they had. Intrigued, I asked a ton more questions and was able to piece together that some people heard their body chirp, knew it was time to perform some routine maintenance and reset the sensor, while others had an amplified response that often included pain. Something we now know to be the difference between a normally sensitive and an amplified (“sensitized”) nervous system.
Fast forward to today. There I was, in front of a group I had never met before, demonstrating testing and correction techniques of the exact same structures and sensors. Their eyes lit up when they realized they could ”quiet barking dogs” and ultimately calm irritated areas, long enough to “change the battery” and get the system back into a rest mode. It only got better when I explained that certain foods, such as those heavy in nutrients & fiber and naturally low in sugar & processing (fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, certain spices, etc) as wells as improved sleep, stress management and even human connection all could help make the changes permanent. It’s one of my favorite realizations to watch take over a room; almost like stress melting away as people understand that THEY are at the controls of most aches and pains. It’s one of the cooler things we get to see; people who with a little guidance and active nudging, reset their systems and get back to freely moving about their lives.
The human sensory experience is truly fascinating. It can be scary when the chirps and barks of pain are going off. The good news is, if we know how to interpret the messages and react appropriately, when to ask for help and when to just change the battery, we can usually reset & restore the system. Let us know if you need help getting started.
Have a great weekend,
Mike E.
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