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Thursday, 10 July 2014

Princess Health and Upcoming Talks. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Upcoming Talks. Princessiccia

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I have two talks planned over the next two months.  Hope to see you there!

Ancestral Health Symposium 2014: UC Berkeley, August 7-9

If you want to understand the most rigorous science available on leptin resistance-- a key mechanism of obesity and a major barrier to fat loss-- this talk is for you.  This is my primary area of professional expertise; I have years of firsthand research experience on the subject and I've published a number of related papers in peer-reviewed journals.  The talk will be accessible to nearly all levels of expertise.  AHS14 tickets are available here.  I've pasted the talk's abstract below.

What Causes Leptin Resistance?

Leptin is the primary hormonal regulator of body fatness.  Obese people exhibit a resistance to leptin�s effects in the brain, causing the brain to oppose fat loss by multiple mechanisms.  Research in animal models suggests that leptin resistance may be required for obesity to develop.  How does leptin resistance occur, and what causes it?  Research has not yet provided us with definitive answers, but several plausible possibilities have emerged.  This talk will review what is known about leptin resistance and its causes.

McDougall Advanced Study Weekend: Santa Rosa, CA, September 5-7

Dr. John McDougall invited me to speak at his yearly symposium after viewing my TEDx talk "The American Diet: a Historical Perspective".  I look forward to sharing my thoughts and interacting with a different audience than I'm used to.  The talk will be an expanded version of the one I presented at AHS13.  Tickets are available here.  I've pasted a modified version of my AHS13 abstract below.

Insulin and Obesity: Reconciling Conflicting Evidence

The pancreatic hormone insulin regulates the trafficking and metabolism of carbohydrate and fat, and its secretion is particularly stimulated by carbohydrate and protein.  Since circulating insulin is elevated in common obesity, and insulin influences fatty acid flux into and out of fat tissue, this has raised the possibility that elevated insulin causes common obesity, and that dietary carbohydrate is particularly fattening.  A large amount of evidence appears to support the hypothesis that insulin causes obesity, and a large amount of evidence appears to falsify it.  This presentation will outline a framework capable of reconciling this seemingly conflicting evidence.

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Sunday, 6 July 2014

Princess Health and2014 Creemore Vertical Challenge.Princessiccia

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The 2014 Creemore Vertical Challenge wasn't an "official team race" when we set our race schedule for 2014- somebody must have forgot to tell that to some of our top trail-running enthusiasts!  H+P had a very solid contingent with a few break-through performances.  Here's how we did (CLICK for full results):

50K:
Steve Park, one of H+P's best ultra-runners, was our only athlete in the 50K (a short race by his standards).  He managed a very solid 6th place OA, finishing just seconds over 5 hours.

25K:

Women's Team
Our women's team had an extremely positive and successful experience in the 25K.  With only 5 women competing, we still almost managed a complete  sweep of the OA podium!

Jessica came in 1st OA with a very solid time of 2:20:16.  Right behind her was Vicki from H+P with 2nd
place OA with a time of 2:20:56.  Then, with a HUGE breakthrough performance, Helen Broom came in with an excellent 4th place OA, just a few minutes off the OA podium.  Finally Liz and Sue had awesome performances, both coming in with very solid times, but more importantly, hilarious names (see the results page).  Great work gals!

Men's Team
Our men's team also had a great experience in the 25K.  We had 4 guys ripping up the trail, 3 of which placed in the top 6 OA!

RunnerRob, who attacked and lead the race from early on, had a very strong showing.  He battled hard, and finished with a time of 1:47, good enough for 2nd OA.  ENDURDave put his strong trail experience to work as he broke 2 hours quite easily, placed 4th OA, and easily won his AG- he's back!  Coach Dyce was in next for the team with a very solid 2:01, good enough for 6th OA.  Finally, mountain man himself was back in action on the trails for H+P.  He ran 2:12, good enough for 16th OA.  Nice work boys!

Wednesday, 25 June 2014

Princess Health and Fat and Carbohydrate: Clarifications and Details. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Fat and Carbohydrate: Clarifications and Details. Princessiccia

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The last two posts on fat and carbohydrate were written to answer a few important, but relatively narrow, questions that I feel are particularly pertinent at the moment:
  • Was the US obesity epidemic caused by an increase in calorie intake?
  • Could it have been caused by an increase in carbohydrate intake, independent of the increase in calorie intake?
  • Does an unrestricted high-carbohydrate diet lead to a higher calorie intake and body fatness than an unrestricted high-fat diet, or vice versa?
  • Could the US government's advice to eat a low-fat diet have caused the obesity epidemic by causing a dietary shift toward carbohydrate?
However, those posts left a few loose ends that I'd like to tie up in this post. Here, I'll lay out my opinions on the relationship between macronutrient intake and obesity in more detail. I'll give my opinions on the following questions:
  • What dietary macronutrient composition is the least likely to cause obesity over a lifetime?
  • What dietary macronutrient composition is best for a person who is already overweight or obese?
  • Is fat inherently fattening and/or unhealthy?
From the beginning

Read more �

Sunday, 22 June 2014

Princess Health and Princess Health andRussell Co. school board plans to make all campuses tobacco-free, renews free-lunch-for-all plan after breaking even.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andRussell Co. school board plans to make all campuses tobacco-free, renews free-lunch-for-all plan after breaking even.Princessiccia

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School districts in Kentucky often deal with health issues. The Russell County Board of Education dealt with two important ones, tobacco use and school lunch, in its meeting last week.

State officials are pushing to get schools to make their campuses tobacco-free as a way of discouraging smoking, since Kentucky has the highest percentage of smokers in the nation and ranks near the top in youth smoking.

The Russell County school board heard first reading of a policy that would ban use of tobacco products on all school campuses at any time, including events such as outdoor athletic contests. "Board Member Gerald Murray indicated that those who attended the meeting were for the complete ban, and wanted the public informed that if they had concerns, either for or against the ban, they need to attend the next board meeting to be heard," The Times Journal of Russell Springs reports. "The next reading and vote will be at a special called meeting on June 30."

June 30 was the original deadline for school districts to decide whether to participate in the federal program that makes free meals available to every student in school districts with certain levels of poverty and public assistance.

The board voted to stay in the program after Nutrition Director Susan Melton reported "the program has resulted in a 73 percent breakfast participation rate, an increase of 28 percent compared to 2012-2013 school year, and nearly double the state breakfast participation rate of 39 percent," the Times Journal reports. "The lunch participation rate was 90 percent over the last school year, up eight percent from 2012-2013."

The newspaper notes that the district has to pay only 6 percent of the cost, compared to 20 percent in the normal program, which charges some students regular or reduced prices for meals based on their family income. Some school districts have not joined the program, saying they might lose money on it, and Russell County feared likewise, but Melton said it "has been essentially 'break even' for the county" and has benefits; research has shown that hungry children are less able to learn.

�We went into this last year understanding we may lose $12,000 to $15,000,� Board Member Steve Kerr said. �But we all agreed that if we did lose that it was still well worth it. And with it being a break even situation you couldn't ask for anything better than that. And with the way it looks for the coming school year, I'm extremely pleased with it. Our students are the ones who benefit so that makes everything worth it.�

The state Department of Education expects about 100 of Kentucky's 173 public school districts to participate during the coming school year in a federal program that makes free meals available to all children in a school if at least 40 percent of its students already qualify for free meals through federal programs, Valarie Honeycutt Spears reports of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Princess Health andTriathlon/Duathlon Results: June 21st-22nd.Princessiccia

Princess Health andTriathlon/Duathlon Results: June 21st-22nd.Princessiccia

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This was the first big multi-sport weekend of the year for the team.  We had athletes in a number of different races and distances.  Here's how they all did:

Guelph Lake 1

Try-a-Tri

  • Mailman had a great debut in triathlon, placing 13th OA and winning his AG!
Olympic Triathlon
  • Adam had an awesome race in Guelph, finishing with a time of 2:23 and 6th in his AG.  
  • Despite limited training in the swim and bike, Jordan had a great race.  He managed a time of 2:27, good enough for 7th in his AG.  
Olympic Duathlon
  • After being plagued by injuries for a number of months, Erik had an outstanding return to the duathlon world.  He finished with a time of 2:10, and placed 3rd in his AG.
Sprint Triathlon
  • Despite just racing the day before, Jessica had a great race.  She finished in 1:21, and placed 7th in her AG.
Ironman Syracuse 70.3
  •  IronLuke CRUSHED the half in Syracuse.  He finished with a time of 4:32, good enough for 5th in a very competitive AG
  • Graham Dunn started off strong, battled some serious cramping during the run, and finished with a stellar time of just over 5 hours!  

Princess Health and2014 Heart Lake.Princessiccia

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Despite not officially planning to race Heart Lake as a club race, H+P still had a solid contingent tackle this challenging, hilly course.  Here's how we did:

  • RunnerRob had a great return to trails.  He place 4th OA and 2nd in his AG with a time of 55:27 for the 14.4K.
  • Dave also had an awesome racing, cracking the top 10 OA, and placing 2nd in his AG.
  • Mike was in next for the team with a very sold 68 mins and 19th OA.
  • Craig was in next for the team, finishing 25th OA with a time of 70 minutes.
  • Jessica was in next for the team with a very solid 72minutes, placing 4th OA for females.
  • Vicki also had a great race, finishing just a few minutes after Jessica, cracking the top-10 OA for females!
  • Cari had an awesome race in the Sport race, finishing easily in the top 20 in her AG!
Team Results
  • The team results were scored based on a point system.  H+P was lucky enough to walk away with the win out of 10 total teams.  CLICK HERE for the full results.  


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