Sally Young's latest running newsletter

[Brian]

Sally writes these just for fun. Here's the latest.

B

---

What¹s The BIG Idea?

By Sally Young
Email yo-...@cox.net <mailto:yo-...@cox.net>


BURIDAN¹S ASS

Somehow, two-thirds of Americans got sucked into the gravity well of
the
overfed, and came back out, McDonald¹s-plumped and super-sized.
Everybody
knows what to do about weight gain - diet and exercise - but the
chokepoint
is in actually doing it. Like Buridan¹s ass, who died in front of a
bucket
of food and a bucket of water because he couldn¹t decide if he was
hungrier
or thirstier, the morbidly obese stutter in the face of self-help.

Weight control is had not so much by doing everything right, but by
not
doing anything wrong: donuts for breakfast; fast food lunches; night
time
snacking; riding when you could be walking; hiring out DIY jobs when
the
exercise would do you good. It¹s a sure-fire way of going from
breathing to
a toe ticket, while adding to our record high weight-related medical
costs
of $147 billion.

If you want something done epically, you have to do it yourself. This
year,
Virgin Galactic took nine space tourists to weightlessness. For the
rest of
us, there¹s Virgin Health Miles. Fit or not, you can exchange miles
walked
or ran for points that count toward gift cards to major retailers,
e.g.,
Target, Amazon.com. Learn more: www.virginhealthmiles.com


BUT THE BAD NEWS ISS

There must be something more humbling than watching your body age once
you
turn fifty, but this will do just fine, thank you. The crossover from
young
to old comes abruptly; more so for menopausal women - and it makes you
realize that quality of life issues are happening in real time. But if
you
run, walk, bike, swim or otherwise do aerobics, it¹s like money in the
bank
of aging.

Research spanning 21 years by James Fries, Stanford School of
Medicine,
found that older runners, age 50 and up, are healthier and happier,
and
remain independent longer than non-runners, with the difference most
striking for women. Running delayed the onset of age-related
disability and
frailty by 16 years, and the divergence continues as participants
reach
their ninth decade.

³Late in life, you still see the benefit of vigorous activity,² said
Fries.

Over time, runners decreased their mileage or stopped, but all of them
did
some other form of aerobic exercise, and many became avid volunteers
with
their running club. The social engagement of belonging to a running
group
enhances self-efficiency and self-worth, and it offsets the late-life
depression that so frequently occurs during the fourth age, those 80
and
older.

Find a running club in your area by visiting the USA Track & Field
website
or the Road Runners Club of America website.


DO RAY ME

Rickets is on my mind as the sun greets my run through an open field.
Once a
major health concern in the US, this vitamin D deficiency was the
product of
sheltering babies from sunlight. The bowed legs from soft bones and
³floppy
baby syndrome² due to weak muscles dramatically declined with the
fortification of milk, butter, and other staples in the 1930¹s.

Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin by a reaction of ultraviolet rays
with
cholesterol. It¹s essential for absorbing calcium from the gut, and
for
muscle contractions, bone growth and mineralization. Sunlight is the
main
source of vitamin D for all creatures, and just a little is enough for
light
skinned humans: a 20-minute run during prime time (UV Index 3) can
produce
tens of thousands of units on exposed arms and legs. Melanin-rich skin
takes
longer, dependent on tone.

The Institute of Medicine is expected to release a report in May 2010
concerning the appropriate use of vitamin D supplements, its overdose,
and a
standard that identifies intake-response. Currently, assays for
³optimal
health² levels yield neck-snapping contradictions: acceptable
threshold
values can range from 15 ng/ml to 100 ng/ml, and blood sample results
vary
greatly among labs



*****

Happy running,

Sally Young