Aerobic Fitness and Mortality

15 minutes of resistance exercise then 30 minutes of recumbent biking for 6 days then on the 7th day 1 hour of resistance exercise is my daily exercise plan. On the bike I reach a heart rate of 160bpm with my current resting heart rate at 55bpm. BP is 110/60. But what level aerobic fitness should I be shooting for, the resistance exercise is there to stress the bones and ensure I maintain mobility, so I am not aiming to be a strongman or anything.

JAMA. 1989 Nov 3;262(17):2395-401.Physical fitness and all-cause mortality. A prospective study of healthy men and women.Blair SN, Kohl HW 3rd, Paffenbarger RS Jr, Clark DG, Cooper KH, Gibbons LW.

According to a study where the aerobic fitness of the participants were actually measured (instead of self-reported) it seems that risk decreases markedly as one approaches moderate fitness levels, it also trends lower as fitness levels improve.

A previous post (http://hansref.blogspot.ca/2011/12/exercise-and-aging.html) about aging and exercising quoted studies where exercising did not extend lifespan significantly in a cohort from Harvard. Based on this it seems to me moderate exercise is most beneficial, takes up the least amount of time, saves the body from wear and tear and provides the benefits (maybe not life extension) but preventional benefits in terms of disease, thus improving QoL.

Related Resource w/ regards to HR: http://www.ergo-log.com/loweryourheartrate.html

Introduction to Olive Oil Production Olive Oil Processing Course

Introduction to Olive Oil Production

Tasting Olive Oil

Nate Bradley from Veronica Foods explains:

1. “Olive oils are classified in three levels of intensity, mild, medium, and robust,” Bradley explains, “start with a mild oil.”
2. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a small cup – some places have special glass tasting cups – Amphora Nueva uses small plastic cups for tasting. You may use bread to taste extra virgin olive oils, but if you’re truly interested in the flavor of the oil, use the cup.
3. Warm the oil: nest the cup in the palm of one hand, and cover the top with your other hand. Gently rock and twist the cup in your hand for about 20 seconds to warm the olive oil. The warming and the “swishing” release the fragrant aromatics in the oil – its “nose.”
4. Raise the cup to your nose but only partially lift your hand from the cup; tuck your nose into the cup, thentake a deep whiff of the oil. The first, fragrant “top notes” of the oil (its “nose”) are your clues to its flavor.
5. Make a note of the nose—is it “big” (heavily fragrant), or is there little fragrance at all? Can you identify the characteristics? “Fruity?” “Grassy?” Or, is there something more subtle?
6.Taste the oil: draw a long, slurpy sip into while curling your tongue upward, taking a fair amount of air into your mouth along with that first sip in order to aerate the oil. Roll the oil across your tongue and all the way to the back of your mouth, allowing your tongue to identify as many aspects of the flavor as possible.
7. Okay, now you may swallow the oil — some people spit at this point. By now your tongue and nose have all the information they need to tell you how it tastes. Note the flavor characteristics as well as descriptors and lingering sensations – even viscosity. Is it fruity? Peppery? Pungent? Bitter?  What did you like most? These distinctions will point you toward your favorites, and rule out other oils. With dozens of oils to choose from, you can be pretty specific.
8. When you know how to taste and identify the flavors of an extra virgin olive oil, you can start to narrow your choices down the varieties you’ll like. And with the vocabulary to describe them, you can ask for the particular characteristics you enjoy most. You’re on your way to finding a favorite.

Source: http://davoliooliveoil.com/website/?p=1061

Med Hypotheses Journal: IGF1 Paper

Med Hypotheses. 2003 Jun;60(6):784-92.
A low-fat, whole-food vegan diet, as well as other strategies that down-regulate IGF-I activity, may slow the human aging process.
McCarty MF.
Source
Pantox Laboratories, San Diego, California 92109, USA.
Abstract
A considerable amount of evidence is consistent with the proposition that systemic IGF-I activity acts as pacesetter in the aging process. A reduction in IGF-I activity is the common characteristic of rodents whose maximal lifespan has been increased by a wide range of genetic or dietary measures, including caloric restriction. The lifespans of breeds of dogs and strains of rats tend to be inversely proportional to their mature weight and IGF-I levels. The link between IGF-I and aging appears to be evolutionarily conserved; in worms and flies, lifespan is increased by reduction-of-function mutations in signaling intermediates homologous to those which mediate insulin/IGF-I activity in mammals. The fact that an increase in IGF-I activity plays a key role in the induction of sexual maturity, is consistent with a broader role for-IGF-I in aging regulation. If down-regulation of IGF-I activity could indeed slow aging in humans, a range of practical measures for achieving this may be at hand. These include a low-fat, whole-food, vegan diet, exercise training, soluble fiber, insulin sensitizers, appetite suppressants, and agents such as flax lignans, oral estrogen, or tamoxifen that decrease hepatic synthesis of IGF-I. Many of these measures would also be expected to decrease risk for common age-related diseases. Regimens combining several of these approaches might have a sufficient impact on IGF-I activity to achieve a useful retardation of the aging process. However, in light of the fact that IGF-I promotes endothelial production of nitric oxide and may be of especial importance to cerebrovascular health, additional measures for stroke prevention-most notably salt restriction-may be advisable when attempting to down-regulate IGF-I activity as a pro-longevity strategy.
PMID:

Med Hypotheses. 2003 Sep;61(3):323-34.
IGF-I activity may be a key determinant of stroke risk--a cautionary lesson for vegans.
McCarty MF.
Source
Pantox Laboratories, San Diego, California 92109, USA.
Abstract
IGF-I acts on vascular endothelium to activate nitric oxide synthase, thereby promoting vascular health; there is reason to believe that this protection is especially crucial to the cerebral vasculature, helping to ward off thrombotic strokes. IGF-I may also promote the structural integrity of cerebral arteries, thereby offering protection from hemorrhagic stroke. These considerations may help to explain why tallness is associated with low stroke risk, whereas growth hormone deficiency increases stroke risk--and why age-adjusted stroke mortality has been exceptionally high in rural Asians eating quasi-vegan diets, but has been declining steadily in Asia as diets have become progressively higher in animal products. There is good reason to suspect that low-fat vegan diets tend to down-regulate systemic IGF-I activity; this effect would be expected to increase stroke risk in vegans. Furthermore, epidemiology suggests that low serum cholesterol, and possibly also a low dietary intake of saturated fat--both characteristic of those adopting low-fat vegan diets--may also increase stroke risk. Vegans are thus well advised to adopt practical countermeasures to minimize stroke risk--the most definitive of which may be salt restriction. A high potassium intake, aerobic exercise training, whole grains, moderate alcohol consumption, low-dose aspirin, statin or policosanol therapy, green tea, and supplementation with fish oil, taurine, arginine, and B vitamins--as well as pharmacotherapy of hypertension if warranted--are other practical measures for lowering stroke risk. Although low-fat vegan diets may markedly reduce risk for coronary disease, diabetes, and many common types of cancer, an increased risk for stroke may represent an 'Achilles heel'. Nonetheless, vegans have the potential to achieve a truly exceptional 'healthspan' if they face this problem forthrightly by restricting salt intake and taking other practical measures that promote cerebrovascular health.
PMID:

CR Effects (Note: Copper Detox)

It is interesting to note that the increase in detoxification pathways includes the copper detox. One of the possible risks of a vegetarian or vegan diet is the increase in copper to zinc ratio. Thus supplementation is probably necessary for the majority of vegans (especially those that consistently eat a lot of mushrooms). 10:1 Z:C is a good ratio to maintain.

Related Resource: http://books.google.ca/books?id=jl9cgClxcAwC&pg=PA294&lpg=PA294&dq=copper+ion+detoxification&source=bl&ots=n3Eay2ZoTi&sig=gfMyoQa2jydG3-1UiRJLFed7ZFA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lByiT93xMsSMiALO7rHVBw&ved=0CIEBEOgBMAI#v=onepage&q=copper%20ion%20detoxification&f=false

http://www.health2us.com/zn_cu.htm

Delayed Cord Clamping

Delayed Clamping = 2-3 min after birth or when pulsation has stopped

Benefits: increased iron stores, addition of 40-50mg/kg (fetus initial stores = 75mg/kg)
              transfer of blood @1min = 80ml, @3min = 100ml

Risk: polycythemia, hyperbilirubinemia, other neonatal disorders (no risk to mother).
 
@6 months no difference in hemoglobin (which makes sense) however there was a higher ferritin level in delayed clamping (which correlates with increased iron stores).

Source: http://apps.who.int/rhl/pregnancy_childbirth/childbirth/3rd_stage/cd004074_abalose_com/en/index.html

How 'bout Tradition?


!Kung (Wiki)

ǃKung women give birth with the earth as primary midwife (a form of unassisted childbirth) walking away from the village camp as far as a mile during labor and birthing the child alone, delivering it into a small leaf-lined hole dug into the warm sand. The child's cord is not clamped or cut (a form of Lotus birth or umbilical nonseverance), and the placenta is delivered and put next to the child, as guardian.

Ache (Wiki)

Now if one were to look at a foraging society, such as the Ache from Paraguay, when the women go into labor, they simply go into a more secluded area, squat, proceed to deliver their child by themselves, bite off the umbilical cord, put the newborn to breast, probably clean themselves and their baby, and go back to their people (hopefully to rest).

From Book: Indigenous Customs in Childbirth and Child Care By Yvonne Lefèber, H. W. A. Voorhoev

In Chimps? (Wiki)

In chimpanzees, the mother focuses no attention on umbilical severance, instead nursing her baby with cord, placenta, and all, until the cord dries and separates within a day of birth, at which time the cord is discarded.
References

The Chimp Washoe (source)

Washoe soon began eating the umbilical cord from around the infant's neck, relieving any possible suffocation. Minutes later, she delivered the equivalent of a doctor's slap by gently squeezing one of the baby's tiny fingers with her teeth. Suddenly, the infant squeaked. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. A few minutes later, Washoe delivered and ate the highly nutritional placenta. Although somewhat startling to watch, this act is common among mammals, including some human cultures, and seemed to flow naturally from Washoe's state of heightened maternal instinct.

Conclusion

Considering the importance of iron stores in growing infants (which require a ton of iron thus the recommendation of iron fortified cereal @ 6 months, in reality food should probably be introduced even earlier). In a RCT(1) the adverse effects of hyperbilirubinemia and respiratory distress seem unfounded.Thus delayed clamping of 3 min or more, at least 1 min, seems to be best, providing benefits for the infant and no risk to the mother.

References

01. BMJ. 2011 Nov 15;343:d7157. doi: 10.1136/bmj.d7157.Effect of delayed versus early umbilical cord clamping on neonatal outcomes and iron status at 4 months: a randomised controlled trial.Andersson O, Hellström-Westas L, Andersson D, Domellöf M.

Infants and Allergies

I don't have children myself, but just the thought of raising them overwhelms me in terms of all the factors that could effect them. For example, being impatient with gross motor development could be detrimental to physical ability later on (http://hansref.blogspot.ca/2012/03/dont-train-your-infant.html). Besides the physical, what should one feed their children? Especially with regards to the avoidance of the development of allergies.

One of the most interesting hypotheses I have read is the dual allergen exposure one (1):

The hypothesis also can explain different rates of food allergies in different parts of the world and changes in food allergy over time. Thus in societies in which a food is not consumed, there is no environmental exposure, and therefore allergy to that food will not occur. Allergy to kiwi was not a problem in the United Kingdom before it entered the food market in the 1970s through 1980s. In countries where consumption of peanut is high and peanut is therefore present in the environment but infants are avoiding peanuts, one would expect to see allergic sensitization (United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and Canada; Table I). In countries where consumption and therefore environmental exposure are high but infants are eating peanut regularly, one would not expect to see peanut allergy (southern/western Africa/Asia).

The paper also discusses the hygiene hypothesis and vitamin D hypothesis. One of the most convincing theories I have read so far.

http://www.eatstudy.co.uk/

http://www.leapstudy.co.uk/

Two studies going on now to explore the issue. 

References

01. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008 Jun;121(6):1331-6.Epidemiologic risks for food allergy.Lack G.

02. Food: Picky eaters : Nature : Nature Publishing Group R Kessler - 2011