Tuesday, 02.21.12: CrossFit Counter Culture Nutrition Class

Monday, 02.20.12: a non-loss!

congratulations to members of the cfcc outdoor-indoor soccer team for last night's first non-loss!  as any member of the team will attest, it is absolutely okay to celebrate a 4-4 tie.

didn't know we had a team?  on the team and didn't know we had a game?  this sunday's (2/26) game is at 6pm at the encinitas ymca fields.  come on out and drink an adult beverage from a red cup and cheer us on ... or throw a post up to the blog for more details.

Saturday, 02.11.12: Fat Knowledge

Here is a little bit written by our affilate friends at CrossFit Verve. I thought it was well written and want to share it with everyone 

Blood cholesterol is much more of a matrix then simply the two labels HDL and LDL.  Within each type there is also particle size and other lipoproteins profiles.  Only some of which are actually linked to increased CVD.  

“A diet-disease question that has become contentious in recent years is saturated fats and the role they might play in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease.  The traditional view has been that certain saturated fats down regulate the LDL receptor and thereby increase plasma concentrations of LDL cholesterol, which in turn increases the risk of coronary artery disease.  It is being recognized that this traditional model of atherosclerosis and CAD is overly simplistic, primarily because CAD is a multifactorial disease involving numerous dietary and genetic factors acting in concert with one another.  The dietary glycemic load, the omega6/ omega3 fatty acid balance, chronic inflammation, trans fatty acids, homocysteine, alcohol intake, exercise, smoking and numerous other dietary and lifestyle factors play key roles in the pathogenesis of CAD“. – Dr. Lorin Cordain’s Phytochemicals Nutrient Gene Interaction.

One thing that is certain is that we all have (or most of us and if we don’t then our families do) a belief in the fat hypothesis.  That fat will make us fat and cause cardiovascular disease.  The evidence just does not support this hypothesis and while the medical community is slowly embracing this fact.  Heart disease and obesity are increasing in our society that consumes less and less fat then it did 30 years ago.  But the problem has not gone away, it has increased.  

“Our cholesterol levels have been declining, and we have been smoking less, and yet the incidence of heart disease has not declined as would be expected. That is very disconcerting, it suggests that something else bad is happening…

“What’s forgotten in the current controversy is that the low-fat dogma itself is only about 25 years old. Until the late 70′s, the accepted wisdom was that fat and protein protected against overeating by making you sated, and that carbohydrates made you fat.  - What if it’s all been a Big Fat Lie – Gary Taubes  (This is a must read)

So where does this leave us?  I think it is important to know what is happening in your body.  If your cholesterol is going up due to a Paleo diet, it maybe be because of an introduction of high Omega 6 foods like almonds or saturated fats like coconut oil.  Is that bad? I would argue that it is not and does not produce the low density LDL that is a HD risk factor. I would also argue that if you stopped eating a paleo diet and switched to a vegetarian diet say, you would not decrease your chances of HD or decrease you cholesterol.  As we’ve seen low protein and low fat diets produce high cholesterol.

So again where does that leave us?  For me, I will continue to track as many health markers as make sense.  I will make changes and modifications to my lifestyle, diet and exercise and I strive to reach my best health possible.  Cholesterol being a marker, but only one small marker in a much bigger picture.  The Paleo and Zone diet are a launching pad to a healthy nutritional plan.  It is not the only way and many, many, many people have made small changes here and there to make these prescriptions fit their needs and desires.  For instance I recently upped by blocks by 3 per day and immediately lost 5 pounds.  Clearly that was a good decision.  A few months ago I eliminated all fruit and vegetable, while it was easier for me to stick to, I was sluggish and didn’t have the energy I needed.  That was a bad decision.  You tweak and experiment and you go back to the baseline when you need to to reset the system.  

While nutrition is a growing science, I can tell you one thing.  If you are eating real food and moving your body you will be far healthier then if you didn’t and from there we can make it right for you!

Wednesday, 02.08.12: A blog from our friends at CrossFit Verve

We get asked this question all the time, so here’s our answer to, what about calcium?

Bone Remodeling

Did you know that your skeleton is brand new every ten years?  It’s true, bone is living tissue and is continually going through a remodeling process.  Just like when our home becomes old and we remodel the kitchen, when our bones become old the body replaces it with new bone.  This process is called remodeling.  In this process there are two big players; osteoblasts and osteoclasts.  Osteoclasts remove bone or are more commonly thought of as the vehicle that steals calcium from the bones, to use where it is needed in the body.  Osteoblasts deposit new bone or take absorbed calcium and deposit it to form new bone.  A bone remains dense when osteoclasts are removing bone from the inside and osteoblasts are depositing bone on the outside at a balanced rate.

One big factor in keeping this system in balance is stress.  Remodeling and the formation of additional bone can modify the strength of bone in direct response to the amount of stress that is applied to it.  Stress to the bone increases osteoblast activity in the bone tissue.  A removal of stress decreases osteoblast activity. Stress is defined as load bearing.  Does it feel heavy, if yes then you might be able to call it stress.  This is why swimming is not in the top running for sports for your grandma should pick up.

Calcium and Bone Health

In the US calcium intakes are one of the highest in the world.  However, the US also has one of the highest rates of bone de-mineralization (osteoporosis or muted osteoblast activity, increased osteoclast activity).  Bone mineral content is dependent on not just on calcium intake (where we focus our attention), but on a net calcium balance (intake – excretion). 

Excretion is initiated by MANY factors, however they are mostly diet and exercise related.  Calcium needs to maintain a base level in the blood.  If you go below the base level you die.  No joke!  This is probably why the human body was designed with one big calcium storage (the skeleton) to keep these levels in balance.  You see calcium is not only used to make bone, but it initiates muscle contraction (this includes the heart), blood clotting and the release of neurotransmitters.  It’s pretty darn important, imagine ANY of those functions being blocked.  No calcium in the blood, muscles stop contracting, heart stops, you die, nuf said.

Dietary calcium excretion from bone is dependent on acid/base balance. All foods upon digestion ultimately must report to the kidney as either acid or base. When the diet yields a net acid load, the acid must be buffered by the alkaline stores of base in the body. Calcium salts in the bones represent the largest store of alkaline base in the body and are depleted and eliminated in the urine when the diet produces a net acid load. The highest acid-producing foods are hard cheeses, cereal grains, salted foods, soda (diet included), meats, and legumes, where as the only alkaline, base-producing foods are fruits and vegetables. Because the average American diet is overloaded with grains, cheeses, salted processed foods, soda and fatty meats at the expense of fruits and vegetables, it produces a net acid load and promotes bone de-mineralization. By replacing hard cheeses, cereal grains, and processed foods with plenty of green vegetables and fruits, the body comes back into acid/base balance which brings us also back into calcium balance. Diets containing high acidity contribute to the development of osteoporosis and renal stones, loss of muscle mass, and age-related renal insufficiency due to the body’s use of calcium to buffer pH.

What promots calcium intake and bone density? Eat your veggies and lift weights.

Reference: Anatomy & Physiology eighth edition, Seeley, Stephens, and Tate, 2008.

Sunday, 02.05.12: Rx Jump Ropes Clinic!

Double Under Clinic: February 11th at 11:00am-2:00pm

Master your double unders with the help from David Newman, Double under Guru and owner of RX Jump Ropes. This 3 hour clinic will consist of various drills and technique of mastering double unders.

Please see Zia for more information Clinic $50 Clinic & Rope $75.

Please note, if you are purchasing a rope to use at the clinic, you will need to pre order it with Zia.