Physical Activity Offers Cancer Patients Enhanced Recovery

Cancer treatment and recovery can alter activity levels dramatically. Physical exercise may be reduced or abandoned because of symptoms. Apathy can take hold. There may also be a reluctance to participate in previous activities because of the belief that one is sick and therefore should rest. In many cases this is understandable, especially if the patient is undergoing treatments that cause severe side effects like nausea, dizziness or weakness. Surprisingly, increased activity may actually reduce many of these common obstacles. Evidence from recent studies has suggested that the health effects of exercise during and after cancer treatment dramatically improve both mental and physical health. Not only does exercise combat depression and keep the body stronger, it may even increase survival rates and lower the risk of progression and re-occurrence of certain cancers. This goes for patients with all types of cancers whether it is breast cancer, lung cancer or papillary mesothelioma. Measurable benefits of exercise during and after treatment include: increased muscle mass, improved immune function, better mobility and balance, increased stamina, decreased nausea and vomiting, improved range of motion, better sleep and improved mood and self esteem. Stretching exercises and balance training can diminish weakness or instability caused by surgeries and side effects of drugs. Targeted strength and stabilization exercises can restore the range of motion and reduce pain in affected areas. Professionally guided rehabilitation programs allow the patient to increase their activity and ability levels incrementally. In some cases, exercise can begin during chemotherapy or radiation. This must be evaluated on a case by case basis by the patient’s medical team. Not all patients can jump into a vigorous exercise program right away, but this does not mean they have to wait to begin moderate exercise. Even modest activities like brief walks and gentle swimming can be effective. Gardening, housework, and active hobbies are encouraged when the patient is strong enough to participate. When people are doing something that they enjoy, it shifts their focus to positivity. Reduction of stress and promotion of positive emotions has been shown to enhance physical health in patients with all types of diseases, and cancer patients are no different. Staying motivated to continue an exercise routine while undergoing cancer treatment or transitioning into post-cancer life can be challenging, especially if symptoms are interfering with endurance and comfort. Listening to the body carefully and taking a day off when necessary is not only perfectly acceptable but is also an important safety measure. Recovery can be a long process with stops and starts, but as long as the patient is taking steps forward, the efforts will pay off. A healthier body and lifestyle through exercise is something every cancer patient and survivor should invest in. Attaining the highest possible level of fitness during and after treatment can both improve life and extend it. Liz Davies is a recent college graduate and aspiring writer especially interested in health and wellness. She wants to make a difference in people’s lives because she sees how cancer has devastated so many people in this world. Liz also likes running, playing lacrosse, reading and playing with her dog, April.

10 Reasons to Eat Organically - and Locally

10 Reasons to Eat Organically—and Locally

By Steve Edwards

"Think globally, act locally" isn't just for bumper stickers anymore. This grassroots politics–type slogan has become an important way of thinking about where your next meal should come from. But the implications here are far more than political. Buying local—as well as organic—foods allows you to protect your family by feeding them in the safest way possible. Here are 10 reasons to add "visit the local farmers' market" to the top of your to-do list each week.

1. Local foods are safer. Or at least you can find out if they are. Organic food standards are high, but there are still companies out there attempting to cloud the rules. When you buy locally, it's easier to check out what you're buying, and you won't have to hireMagnum, P.I. to do it. The great thing about local media is that they love to cover this stuff. If for any reason a local farm is mixed up in nefarious activities, there's a good chance your paper has a reporter dreaming of a gig at The New York Times who'll be on the job for you. Even if this isn't the case, you can be inquisitive at the farmers' markets—you'll be surprised how quickly you can get up to date on the local scoop. Farmers who adhere to a strict code of ethics love to talk about others who do, and those who don't.
2. Organic foods are safer. Organic certification standards are the public's assurance that their food and products have been grown and handled according to sustainable procedures, without toxic, synthetic, irradiated, or genetically modified elements, including chemical fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, and other additives. At least that's what the law says. But even though many companies still cheat the system, most of them play by the rules. These rules are in place to help both soil longevity and the health and safety of the consumer. Many Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Now, the EPA considers 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides, and 30 percent of all insecticides, none of which meet organic criteria, to potentially cause cancer. You can't always be certain you're getting safe food, but eating organic foods stacks the odds in your favor.
3. Organic food tastes better. Many people would be amazed to taste the difference between garden-grown fruits and vegetables (and wild meat) and the offerings you find down at your local mega-grocery-mart. The main reason for this disparity has to do with something called trophic levels, which is determined by where plants and animals fall on the food chain. When food—even natural food—is manufactured, as when plants are grown in poor soil with some added nutrients, or animals are raised using drugs and a non-native diet, their physiological chemistry is altered. This doesn't just change their nutrient content—it changes the way they taste.
4. 1. Organic food is more nutritious—which stands to reason, based on the whole trophic levels thing. When soils are depleted and then fertilized, only certain nutrients are added with fertilizers. This results in the loss of many of the plants' original phytonutrients. While these lost phytonutrients aren't necessarily a major component of any individual plant, they add up in your diet and become a major component of who you are. This lack of phytonutrients in the plants in our diets has a lot to do with many modern-day maladies. With regard to meat, it's basically the same story. Animals that are fed a poor diet are, as you might imagine, less healthy to eat, because they're also missing out on essential nutrients thanks to the trophic level paradigm—just like you are.
   2. You won't have to eat genetically modified organisms (GMOs). A GMO is a plant, animal, or microorganism whose genetic sequence has been modified to introduce genes from another species. Because the long-term impact of GMOs on our health isn't known yet, they're forbidden by the Soil Association Standards for Organic Food and Farming. Furthermore, in order to qualify as organic, animals can't be fed GMOs, nor can they be fed antibiotics, added hormones, or other drugs. It is not currently required, however, that GMOs be mentioned on food labels, so it's very likely that anything not certified organic contains some GMO ingredients.
   3. Your drinking water will be safer. The EPA estimates that pesticides contaminate groundwater in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country's population. Because organic farmers practice water conservation and don't use toxic chemicals that leach into your groundwater, organic farming leads to less waste intrusion into our aquifers, which helps keep your drinking water healthier.
   4. Your kids will be healthier. The toxicity of pesticide residue is determined not only by the chemicals used, but by our body weight in relation to how much we consume. This means that your children are even more at risk than you are. It's estimated that the average child receives four times more exposure than the average adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. To try and minimize this risk, buy organic, but also make sure that your family eats a wide variety of foods.
   5. 1. To help farmers and farm communities. It's estimated that the U.S. has lost more than 650,000 family farms since 1990. The USDA estimates that half of the U.S. farm production comes from only 1 percent of farms. Organic farming may be one of the few survival tactics left for the family farm and rural communities. The majority of organic farms are still small-scale operations, generally on fewer than 100 acres, and using an average of 70 percent less energy. Small farms use far more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices than large-scale farms do. For example, small farms use manure to fertilize soil, naturally recycling it to keep the land productive. 
         
         Industrial farms produce so much manure that it's a human health risk. The overspill of manure has contaminated water wells with E. coli and other pathogens. This brings up another subject: Industrial farms still—though now illegally—feed animals the ground-up remnants of other animals that aren't naturally part of their diet. This has led to pathogens like E. coli getting into our foods in the first place.
         
         Furthermore, farm workers are much safer on small farms. A National Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides had six times more risk of contracting cancer than nonfarmers did. Due to their direct exposure, field workers on conventional farms are the most vulnerable to illness as a result of pesticide use. Organic farms eliminate that risk by eliminating harmful pesticides and other chemical inputs from their practices.
      2. For more humane treatment of animals. Factory farms treat animals like commodities. They are usually kept in tightly confined pens or cages and often never move more than a few feet for their entire lives. They are also fed the cheapest foods available, no matter how it affects their—and then our—health. Besides the fact that a host of illnesses have entered our world as a direct result of this practice, it's also just not nice. Animals on organic farms are far likelier to be raised without cruelty. They are also fed a diet much closer to what they would eat naturally, and studies tell us—surprise!—that these animals tend to be significantly healthier than their factory-raised counterparts.
      3. To promote a vibrant economy. Organic products only seem more expensive because people base their cost on their sticker price alone. However, retail price represents a mere fraction of their true cost. Market prices for conventionally grown foods don't reflect the costs of federal subsidies to conventional agriculture, the cost of contaminated drinking water, loss of wildlife habitat and soil erosion, or the cost of the disposal and cleanup of hazardous wastes generated by the manufacturing of pesticides. Compared to local farms, there's also transportation—and the pollutants that result from it—to consider. All of this means that essentially, you can pay now or pay later—just remember that you're going to be charged interest, mainly in the form of a socially and ecologically diminished world to live in.
      What if you can't find organic food? One of our members, who lives in a rural area, went to her local market and requested healthier options. Now the store owner can't keep them on the shelf. You can, with a little initiative, make a difference. After all, retail stores are in business to serve you. If this doesn't work, hit the Internet. Since "organic" is the current buzzword of the food industry, there will be options. And of course there's always your local farmers' market.
      For more information on organic and local produce, check out the Web site for the Organic Trade Association, or type "Community Supported Agriculture" into your favorite search engine.
      
      
      If you have a question or would like to learn how you can speak with Steve Edward's in person, learn from him in a group setting or use the incredible $3a week, web based meal planner, nutrition guide, calorie counter, shopping list creator - that takes all the guess work out of eating right - sign up on the form in the side bar.

Product Review; The Right Stuff - NASA developed serious hydration for serious athletes

During my most recent endurance event (www.silvermannv.com) I was granted the opportunity to test an hydration / electrolyte replacement product that is relatively new to the market.  In case anyone from the FTC is watching and in the interest of transparency the product was provided at no charge for my use during this event and I am not being compensated by the distributor / manufacturer.
The product "The Right Stuff" is a concentrated electrolyte solution originally developed by NASA for use by the astronauts to combat the effects of dehydration - which seems to afflict every astronaut on every flight.   Dehydration affects me on every long course event I've ever done - extended training too.  No matter if it's a long swim, ride or run, I cramp - when I cramp I cramp bad - like debilitating rolling on the ground crying for my mommy bad.  I've tried everything to prevent the killer cramps but no amount or combination of hydration and  supplementation has ever worked for me.  My particular genetic make-up means I'm a heavy sweat-er and a salty sweat-er.  Cramps are just something I've learned to deal with...until this past weekend.

The Right Stuff  comes in easy to handle 16.5ml plastic vials with a tear off top.  You simply squeeze the contents of a vial into 16oz or more of any fluid you're going to consume and viola!  no more dehydration!  The manufacturer recommends 1 vial per hour of racing.   I downed 5 vials for a 6+ hr event and was utterly and completely cramp free during and after my triathlon.
After years of habitually suffering from mega leg cramps after 50 miles or so I was racing on eggshells anticipating the first twinges of muscle mis-fire and lock-up.  They never came.  I was so relieved.
I'm sure it will take a few more events to re-gain my confidence and compete without holding back for fear of painful cramps but, I feel certain I've found my electrolyte replacement supplement.

As to the aesthetics of The Right Stuff;  It's a little salty, a little tart and completely palatable.  It contains no carb's whatever.  I put 2 vials in a 32oz aero water bottle which I consumed within 90 min.  I had no issue with flavor -in fact its preferable over tap water.  I put 2 vials in a 3hr bottle of endurance formula (that contains no electrolytes) and could not taste the product.
I consumed the final vial in T-2 squirting the berry flavored vial into my mouth and chasing with 8 0z of water then heading out on the run.   I was free from any gastric distress throughout the race. 
I gave an extra vial to a fellow racer in T-2 who wasn't able to get his shoes on due to cramping.  He later passed me at mile 7.  I'm just glad he wasn't in my age group.
Based on my experience with The Right Stuff-USA I enthusiastically recommend you go to the web site www.therightstuff-usa.com and order some.  

Lactate Threshold Work Outs - The Keys To Success

We're 7 weeks out from Silverman Triathlon www.slivermannv.com.  I've been doing significantly more running this season than I have in past seasons.  The reason being, my run sucks I have a squatty body with tree stump legs better suited to rugby than distance running.  Triathlon is a swim, bike, run race not a swim bike race.  That said, I want to improve my PR's (and run splits) therefore I need to attack my weaknesses.
To that end I start a 6 week series of lactate threshold track workouts this week.  I learned this from my coach Frank Lowery www.lowerymultisports.com.  These are painful (brutal really) sprint work outs that - moaning and groaning aside - are the key to success in terms of improving run times, efficiency & strength.
If your in Henderson NV on Thursday mornings between now and October 22nd - drop by the track at Green Valley HS and join me.
Here's what the work outs look like.
Each session begins and ends with 1.5mi warm up / 1.5mi cool down + stretching
3 x 50 yd strides + 2 x 100 yd strides - these start slow and build to sprint pace and help transition the body into fast run mode
Main set. - these are run at 90% to 95% of max effort.  The key is constancy - 1st lap as fast as last lap, focus is on form and pace - creating muscle memory and mental toughness. Rest interval is half the distance run (run 200 cool down 100 and so on)
Week 1. 2 x 100 6 x 200, 1 x 400 (1800)
Week 2. 2 x 200, 3 x 400  2 x 200 (2000)
Week 3. 1 x 200, 1 x 400, 1 x 600, 1 x 600, 1 x 400, 1 x 200 (2400)
Week 4.  1 x 400, 2 x 800,  2 x 400 (2800)
Week 5.   1 x 400, 1 x 800, 1 x 1200,  1 x 800, 1 x 400 (3600)
Week 6   3 x 1600 (4800)  
These are my work outs - yours may vary of course.
Last spring I used this series to set PR's in my 5k, 10K & 1/2 marathon races.
For the last two years I've taken 3rd place in my division at Silverman  (last year I shaved 44 min of my overall time and still I took 3rd).  In 2009 I'm looking for redemption.

The Silverman Triathlon - Follow me as I train to race the most challenging course in America

Silverman Trailer from Momentum Advertising/Production on Vimeo.

Now here is a young man going places Go George!!

Dick & Ricky Hoyt - The Most Inspirational Team Ever!

These guys were on my mind on a recent long run. If you have never seen them and heard their story - take a few minutes and be inspired.

I am continuosly inspired by the courage of others

Are you kidding me? I wanna grow up to be this guy

Success Story - Look at this transformation