Plant-Based Lifestyle Power

The Easy Way To Switch To A Plant-Based Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 01:30:00 +0000

Physicians who promote healthy whole foods plant-based eating are rare. Dr. Michael Klaper is one of the best. This YouTube video featuring Dr. Klaper is a good overview of the plant-based diet and tips on switching to this way of eating.

Smoothies Have Become a Mainstay of my Nutrition

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 04:03:00 +0000

In recent years I have gravitated to eating smoothies on a regular basis as my first meal of the day.

I love smoothies for several reasons. For one thing I can pack lots of nutrition into one meal. My typical smoothie has lots of greens, kale, spinach arugula, romaine, etc. I also add fruits, nutrition powder like Garden Life Raw Meal, flax seeds, chia seeds and either almond milk or coconut water. Here is a typical recipe:

1 cup Coconut Water and 1 cup of nonsweet Almond Milk, 4 cups of organic Spring Mix leafy greens, 2 Tbsp mixed seeds (ground Flax, Chia and Hemp), 2 Brazil nuts, 4 Dates 1 Banana 1 scoop Garden of Life Sport protein, 1.5 cups mixed frozen berries, a little Frozen broccoli.

I use a Vitamix 5200 for most of my smoothies. Recently, I have also added a smaller blender’, the Tribest Personal Blender. I can quickly put together a 16 oz smoothie, with much less cleanup compared to the Vitamix.

Sometimes, I also like oatmeal smoothies for my am smoothie. Here is the typical recipe:

Ingredients
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats or quick oats.
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened almond milk.
1.5 tablespoon creamy peanut butter.
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup — plus additional to taste.
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
1 Tbsp ground flax seeds

Thoughts on Feeling Good in the Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 12:47:00 +0000

I think I may have a formula to allow me to feel better in the morning after I wake up.

For some time now, I have been feeling nauseous with irritated sinuses upon waking in the morning. I have tried different approaches to improve the way I feel both physically and mentally upon waking, but haven't stuck to anything consistently.

I may have found a morning feel good formula worth pursuing.

The steps described in this post are not new. I have tried all of this before. However, I tend not to stay consistent in my practices.

Last night I did not eat for three hours before going to bed. I drank plenty of water before retiring. As usual, I kept a water bottle next to the bed in addition to saline nasal spray. I woke up three or four times to use the bathroom, and each time I drink some water and used the nasal spray. The price I pay for staying well hydrated is that I will wake more often.

When I woke around 7:45 AM, I felt, although not ideal, much better than normal. My wife told me that her gastroenterologist had advised taking a couple times before going to bed to relieve the symptoms of acid reflux while sleeping. So, when I woke up in the morning I took a couple of Tums and indeed my stomach began to feel a bit better. So, based on last night I think the formula may be:

Do not eat for three hours before going to bed
Drink plenty of water before going to bed
Drink some water each time I wake during the night, usually 2-3 times.
Use the nasal spray often during the night to keep my sinuses moist.
Take a couple of Tums upon waking, and possibly consider Tums before going to bed.

Not eating for three hours before bedtime empties my stomach while I sleep and I believe, prevents acid reflux during the night. This is not a serious problem for me, but there is enough reflux to cause some discomfort in the morning.

Staying well hydrated overnight is also a good strategy. Although it may mean I get up more often during the night to use the bathroom, the net results on how I feel are positive.

The saline nasal spray keeps my sinuses moist and I believe relieves at least some of the post nasal drip that occurs during the night. The post nasal drip seems to irritate my throat and stomach, causing considerable discomfort when I wake.

I will keep employing the five steps listed above and see whether, over time, I can consistently feel much better upon waking in the morning.

Cron-O-meter is Amazing

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sun, 27 Mar 2016 01:08:00 +0000

Every once in a while a computer program comes along that is wonderful in that it provides excellent support to my goal of an excellent, healthy lifestyle.

One such program is Cron-O-Meter. I have not used Cron-O-Meter for some time, but my goal is to use it more frequently in the future. Cron-O-Meter has a comprehensive food database, including my own food and recipe creations. I can easily record all my food intake from my iPhone, iPad or Mac. The resulting daily summary of my food and nutrition is very comprehensive. Cron-O-Meter gives me the following benefits:

I can check to assure I am taking in all required nutrients, especially iodine and vitamin B12, which I have a hard time getting from the vegan foods I eat.
I can assure that my calorie intake is appropriate to the output, especially the mega calories I burn while cycling. I have been feeling a bit weak and down the last few days, I suspect because I have not been either drinking or eating enough, perhaps both.
I get a picture of trends in my nutrient and calorie intake, which is very helpful.
The program steers me to design meals that will give me the daily numbers that I am looking for, both in terms of calories and nutrients. I can check my nutrient intake progress as the day goes on and adjust my food intake accordingly.

This program is a real winner and I need to discipline myself to use it more often. I have found, for example, that a morning smoothie is probably a better choice than oatmeal. Oatmeal is excellent and I will continue to eat it on some days for breakfast, however, green smoothies allow me to pack in lots of nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables to start off my day thus making it easier to get all the calories and nutrients I target by the end of the day. I am most in control of what I eat for breakfast, so the smoothie can be designed to give me a head start on a day of excellent eating.

Cron-O-Meter has a very comprehensive data base of tens of thousands of foods, and there is the option to create your own recipes and foods. When I search for a food to enter into my daily log, I rarely cannot find it in the Cron-O-Meter database. The program is easy to use and, best of all for some, it is free. There is an upgrade option - Gold Subscriber - that provides the user with advertisment-free use of the program, and substantial upgrades in the nutritional analysis.

The Cron-O-Meter website is here.

Why You Shouldn’t Waste Money on Multivitamins

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 14:05:00 +0000

Thomas Campbell’s The Campbell Plan, is one of the best books that I have read on whole foods plant-based diets. The book is straightforward and clear and has become my bible for nutrition. I have read lots about the subject, but there are still some issues that I have been uncertain about, supplements, for one. Based on Campbell’s book and the subsequent article on the Forks Over Knives website, I have decided to skip supplements, with one exception. My whole foods plant-based diet should take care of my nutrition needs.

My other nutrition and health guru John McDougall, M.D. also advises against supplements. So, taken together, I am convinced.

Here is what Campbell has to say about supplements:

"Many people view multivitamins as some sort of insurance policy that they use so they’ll feel that they’ve got their bases covered when it comes to nutrition. Unfortunately, it’s an insurance policy that won’t pay out and in some cases may be harmful, but people have been buying and taking multivitamins since the first one was introduced in the 1940s. I never recommend a multivitamin for general health. I think it’s a waste of money, and generally the scientific authorities agree."

Here is what Dr. McDougall has to say: "Nature's foods are complete. To make a profit, manufacturers isolate out and concentrate nutrients, like vitamins and minerals, and sell them as expensive pills. The consequence is to create serious imbalances within the workings of your cells, and then diseases follow.....Don't risk your life and waste your money on these gimmicks. The only supplement I routinely recommend is Vitamin B12."

Since I don't eat animal foods, the primary source of vitamin B12, I do take this supplement, usually in pure liquid form. Not only do I not eat animal foods, but I also try to avoid highly processed foods some of which may have been fortified with B12. So, given the importance of this nutrient, I think it is wise to use this one supplement.

Dr. Michael Gregor Shows us how Dr. Walter Kempner Put us on a Path to a Plant-Based Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 14:19:00 +0000

Dr. Gregors website is loaded with informative articles based upon sound nutrition research.

If Fructose is Bad, What About Fruit?

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 18:35:00 +0000

Here is what Dr. Michael Gregor, NutritionFacts.org, has to say,

Dr. McDougall's Advice Regarding Eating in Restaurants

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 21:45:00 +0000

John McDougall, M.D. has been my main source of nutrition information for over 8 years. His advice has never failed me. To the contrary, I owe my current good health to him. Here are some of his thoughts regarding eating in restaurants, advice that I have been following consistently.

Stephan Guyenet, PhD: Talks about the Neurology of Obesity

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 19:37:00 +0000

Stephan Guyenet provides an interesting perspective on obesity in this video.

Dr.John McDougall Disputes Major Medical Treatments- Aging Gracefully, Maybe to 100.

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 00:42:00 +0000

This video is priceless. Dr. John McDougall talks about the powerful impact of lifestyle, especially good nutrition, on our health and our functional longevity. It is 42 minutes long, but well worth the time.

More on Maximum Functional Longevity

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 19:53:00 +0000

Today I did the second of my startup weight training routines. I hesitate to call what I am doing bodybuilding, because I'm not sure I am that committed at this point. However, last week I was reading through some of the posts on Trike Asylum, a recumbent trike website, and was reading about Steve Greene’s lifelong love affair with bodybuilding.

Although Steve (pictured here) is a dedicated long-distance trike rider - he does a lot of touring on the West Coast on his trike, his main love is bodybuilding. Steve tells about his 43 year history as a bodybuilder, including a long period of time in which he owned a health club somewhere in California. He talks about his clients and some of the bodybuilding mentors that he has worked with. I should probably say that Steve's love is even broader than bodybuilding. Steve has a philosophy of life which I really admire, and to some degree have emulated, called Maximum Functional Longevity. I have done a post on my lifestyle blog about Steve's philosophy.

Plant-Based Lifestyle Power: Steve Greene's Maximum Functional Longevity

Steve is 63 years old and we have talked through post on his website frequently about our mutual philosophy about staying as functional as we possibly can as we get older. Steve believes that the key to Maximum Functional Longevity is a vegan diet, vigorous exercise including resistance training and cardiovascular training, adequate sleep (8 to 10 hours per night), minimizing negative thinking, and managing stress. Steve and I both believe that reaching the age of 100 in relatively healthy and active condition is very achievable if we manage our lives correctly. To a very great degree, we are in charge of our own health and longevity.

At any rate, Steve is a big advocate of bodybuilding, especially as we get older. He not only believes that bodybuilding is a good longevity strategy, he also believes in the shorter term that it will enhance ability and enjoyment of trike riding.

Steve's latest writing on the subject has had a major influence on me. It is not that I am a stranger to bodybuilding. I have dabbled in weight training, including vigorous weight training, on and off throughout my life. Two years ago in 2012 I spent the better part of that year in a fairly intensive bodybuilding program, with Frank Zane as as my mentor. I absolutely loved my bodybuilding routines, but when I went back to Florida in 2013 I gravitated away from bodybuilding and more into long-distance cycling again. I also love cycling. When I'm at home in Sandy Springs I have a fully equipped gym in my basement and working out is fairly easy. While in Florida, although I joined the YMCA, which has an excellent workout facility, I found traveling to the YMCA several times a week to be too much of a hassle and I gradually gravitated away from bodybuilding and into a focus on full-time cycling.

However, Steve's approach to aging and his emphasis on bodybuilding as a key element to staying maximally functional has rekindled my interest in getting back into bodybuilding. The question is how can I do both? I still want to participate in long-distance recumbent cycling events and I'm not sure whether I can both focus on bodybuilding and stay fit enough on the bike to do the long-distance events. the reality is that I have a hard time focusing on two intense activities at one time.

So I'm struggling with the question of whether I should focus on one or the other, or whether I should try to do both. My current thinking is to train intensively three times per week in the gym. I am currently on session two of a full body workout which will get me back into more intensive split routines. My plan is to do full body workouts for a month to get my body back into bodybuilding and then go into a two-way split routine upper/lower body workout routine that I will do for a couple of months. After that depending on how I feel I may go into a three-way split routine of the type I was doing when I was guided by Frank Zane's books. That all remains to be seen, however, because I'm not sure how intensively I want to get into bodybuilding at this point.

I want to continue to do bike riding, but I think I will take a more relaxed attitude about mileage and distance. I will ride more leisurely on my days off from the gym. Whether or not I participate in century rides, and other organized cycling events remains to be seen.

One thing is for sure, I feel wonderful both physically and psychologically while I am doing bodybuilding. I have to admit, that I feel better with bodybuilding than I do with grinding out miles on the bike day after day. Riding can be a complement to my bodybuilding rather than my primary activity. I am not yet sure that I'm ready to do this, but I will give it a try for the next couple weeks to see how I react, particularly after move back down to Florida next weekend. When I'm in Florida I will again face the hassle of finding an adequate gym facility near my home on Longboat Key. That may be key to whether I can stay with a bodybuilding routine.

Some would argue that at age 72 I am a little bit crazy beginning a bodybuilding routine. I would argue that it possibly is the smartest thing I can do to pursue my goal of Maximum Functional Longevity.

Steve Greene's Maximum Functional Longevity

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 02:30:00 +0000

One of my favorite websites is Trike Hobo's Trike Asylum. Steve Greene, the site's founder and guru is a passionate advocate of healthy living. His website is an inspiration to cycling adventure and good health.

Steve is an avid recumbent trike rider. He has taken some amazing long distance adventures on his trike and believes that life is an adventure that should be experienced to the max. His website is loaded with tales of his trike journeys those of his readers. I hope someday to venture forth on a touring recumbent trike for a long distance journey within the U.S.

Recently, Steve posted a great article on his philosophy of Maximum Functional Longevity. What is Maximum Functional Longevity? Steve says, "..Well, it is briefly defined in my head as living in a vital state, fully functional as a human being, for as long as my body is able.... Most of us think that our bodies are designed to become diseased and fall apart as we get older. I have friends who excuse their poor lifestyles by saying, "Hey, we are all going to die sometimes. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's Disease are inevitable consequences of getting old. Getting old is better than the alternative." Etc. Etc. Steve and I believe passionately that chronic illness and disability is not inevitable as we get older. If we commit ourselves to lifelong vigorous athletic activity, in my case for example, strength training with weights and recumbent bike/trike riding, and maintain an excellent eating style like a whole foods plant-based diet we increase our odds greatly of avoiding the diseases and malfunctions of aging. Steve's Maximum Functional Longevity article and the postings on this blog provide lots of information for the motivated reader to adopt a lifestyle that will lead to a healthy old age beyond the years that most people think is possible.

Steve touring on his recumbent trike

I have to admit that my track record of convincing people to making a life-long commitment to living like athletes and eating a whole foods plant-based diet is not good. Steve and my formula for health living into old age is not easy for most people used to the standard American diet and lifestyle. I will have more to say about Maximum Functional Longevity(MFL) in future posts. Steve coined the term and has written eloquently and passionately about the the concept. I will expand upon my own journey to MFL over the coming weeks.

Better Health Through Good Choices

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:03:00 +0000

I am not a big George Will fan. George is a conservative Republican columnist. His politics and mine are miles apart. Nevertheless, his op-ed this morning in the Washington Post titled Better Health Through Good Choices is right on target. I couldn't agree with him more. He says that modern medicine is not the solution to our good health. Rather, our personal lifestyle choices determine whether we remain healthy or not. Hooray for George.

This article resonated with me for several reasons. First, Will’s introduction to good health through making wise personal decisions happened in 1964, when the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking arrived. He says:

“In September 1958, a future columnist, then 17, was unpacking as a college freshman when upperclassmen hired by tobacco companies knocked on his dormitory door, distributing free mini-packs of cigarettes. He and many other aspiring sophisticates became smokers. Nearly six years later — 50 years ago: Jan. 11, 1964 — when the surgeon general published the report declaring tobacco carcinogenic, more than 40 percent of U.S. adults smoked. Today, when smoking is considered declasse rather than sophisticated, fewer than one-fifth do.”

George Will and I must be about the same age, because my journey to make wise health choices also began in January, 1964, when Luther Terry, the then United States Surgeon General, issued the first report on smoking and health. I immediately gave up smoking. Since then I have become and avid exerciser and advocate of a plant-based whole foods eating style. These, I believe, are the keys to my current good health. My first step was to give up smoking after Terry’s report. For me, that was the beginning of a journey.

In the early 90s, I served on a panel with Dr. Terry in Philadelphia. He was an Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania at the time. After the session, I had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Terry. I told him that I gave up smoking the day after I read his Surgeon General's report in 1964, the year I graduated from college. I told him that he probably saved my life. For sure, he helped keep me healthy. I will always remember that conversation with Dr. Terry.

The press is full of talk about the successes or failures of Obamacare and what we should do to improve healthcare in the United States. Of course we need to reduce, hopefully to zero, the number of uninsured in our country. But, equally important is find ways to help people make better choices about nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress reduction and other health promoting behaviors. These are the keys to good health, much more so than more medical care.

Day One: Digital Journaling for Fun and Health

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 04:03:00 +0000

For several years I have been keeping a daily journal on and off. I have always enjoyed journaling, and have posted other entries on this blog expressing my opinions about the positive health benefits of regular writing. Here is another post on journaling.

One of the challenges that I have faced with journaling, however, is that I have not been able to settle on a program that meets all of my needs. I have used Evernote, TheBrain, and Day One. I decided some time ago that keeping a digital journal met my needs better than a paper journal. The digital journal has the advantages of:

1. Electronically searching your journal entries.
2. Easily editing and correcting your journal entries.
3. Having the capability of synchronizing your journal entries across various devices, in my case my Macintosh laptop, iPhone and iPad.
4. Moving your journal entries into blogs and other computer programs easily.

I have found that the synchronization capability is especially important. To journal on a daily basis, at least for me, requires that I’m able to easily make entries in a hassle free environment. Carrying a notebook around with me every place I go would be too much trouble. I always have my iPhone and/or my iPad with me when I am out of the house. Sometimes I have my laptop computer with me. It seems that I am never without one of these three devices.

For a while I was using Evernote as my daily journal. Somehow, however, Evernote being an all purpose note taking program seemed to make it a little bit too cumbersome to keep a daily journal. And as one journal application reviewer put it, Evernote being a repository for all sorts of things, such as receipts, webpages, and other notes of all sorts makes it a less dignified place to journal your most private thoughts. I found this pretty much to be true, plus the fact that Evernote is a bit more cumbersome to use because you have to locate the appropriate folder to put your journal entries. If one is going to journal daily, or several times a day, the process of looking for the appropriate notebook to make your journal entries is an extra step I found I didn’t need.

TheBrain is an excellent program for keeping a large database in a mind mapping format. I was using the program for my journal for awhile, but it suffers from the disadvantage of not having an iPad and iPhone program, plus the fact that it too is a repository of all sorts of different types of information and lacks the “environment” for a journal where all sorts of private thoughts are being recorded.

I also was using Day One journal application for a while and thought it was a good program, however, I reacted against the idea of a separate program to only do journaling. Recently, however, I have changed my mind. After extensive reading of reviews about Day One, I’ve come to the conclusion that it may indeed be the best program. Day One has an iPhone and an iPad program, synchronizes very well between all three of my devices using Dropbox, and is designed specifically for keeping a daily journal. The developers of Day One have taken great pains to create a very user-friendly digital environment for keeping a daily journal.

Day One has several very positive features:

1. Synchronization across multiple digital devices.
2. Password protection
3. Reminders that prompt me to make entries into my journal on the daily basis
4. Markdown program as a method of applying formatting to my journal entries
5. A very attractive user interface on both Macintosh and iOS devices

Day One is also very easy to use. Simply click on the + and a new entry space pops up. So, I have been using Day One now for several days once again. I am enjoying using the program and find that I am now using it on a regular basis, on some days, making multiple entries. I’m using the program to record daily events, private thoughts and feelings, new ideas that I have, impressions about news, reviews of books, reviews of restaurants, and general observations about the people around me. I’m sure that as time goes on I will come up with all sorts of creative ways to use my journal. One of the things that I’m considering is keeping the journal on regular basis for several years, perhaps the rest of my life, and then leaving a hard copy of my journal for my children and grandchildren.

Upon reading many reviews of the various journal programs, I have come upon a couple very good ideas to enhance my journaling experience. One reviewer has developed a template that he can easily apply to an open empty page and Day One that provides him with some useful prompts for his daily journaling. He developed the template in a program like Text Expander. I tried this with Text Expander and was able to develop a very useful template that I can apply which prompts me to fill-in my thoughts and a lot of categorical areas. What follows is the template that I use, which I am sure will undergo lots of evolution going forward:

Last Night

When I woke last night, what thoughts did I have?

How did I feel when I woke

How did I react to the thoughts?

Now

What am I thankful for right now?

How am I feeling right now?

What am I afraid of?

Today

What are today's ToDos?

What are my plans for today?

What training will I do today?

What one thing must I accomplish today?

What books will I read (listen to)?

I also discovered another useful tool that facilitates the journal process. I use Dragon Dictate for Mac speech-to-text program on my laptop and I couple it with Dragon Dictate Microphone which allows me to dictate my journal entries into Day One using my iPhone as the microphone. I don’t always use the microphone, but when I do I find that I have a more free-form flow of ideas, and seem to be somewhat less inhibited about including deeper more personal thoughts into my journal entries. I am sure that is a very individual thing and some people might not want to use a speech to text approach to journal entries.

So, I plan on using Day One as my primary journaling tool going forward. I consider journaling to be not only a lot of fun, but a very good practice to aid in psychological health. I know that it will be very entertaining and informative for me to look back into history and see what I was thinking and feeling a year ago, three years ago, five years ago, etc. As I move forward with my journaling experiences, I will be sharing them here.

Where's the Healthy Bread?

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 14:16:00 +0000

Last night I went to Publix. Went there to buy some bread and was surprised at how few healthy choices there were. The bread choices either eggs, dairy and/or lots of artificial ingredients. Ended up buying some whole wheat pita from Toufayan, which was okay, but had too much salt -- 225 milligrams per serving. Guess one has to make the bread oneself in order for it to be healthy.

Hydration and Morning Depression

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 12:41:00 +0000

When I woke this morning, I was thinking about why some (many) mornings I wake feeling physically and mentally depressed. This is not my normal state of mind. I am usually quite cheerful and upbeat during the day and evening. My daily workouts are an important factor in feeling good. These darker moods are most mostly confined to early morning upon waking.

The other night when I was fighting a head cold, I took great care to drink LOTS of water. Keeping well hydrated is thought to be an effective way to reducing the bad symptoms of a head cold. This is because coughing, sneezing, blowing noses and draining sinuses causes the body to lose water.

The morning after I took special care to drink a lot, I felt much better than normal, even though my cold was still in its peak phase. This caused me to ask whether dehydration might be the cause of my feeling blue in the morning. Since I ride my bike relatively long distances on most days, it is possible that I am in a constant state of dehydration. The condition would be exaggerated in the morning since I have gone 6-8 hours without drinking anything. If I go to bed slightly dehydrated, the condition becomes more severe throughout the night.

As I write this, I do feel a little down. Last night I did drink more than usual before bedtime, but probably not enough. Certainly I didn’t drink as much as I did the other night when I woke feeling relatively upbeat and ready to go.

I will experiment with keeping a water bottle with me during the evening and making sure I drink lots before bedtime. The downside is that it might cause me to wake, even more than usual, to pee during the night. We’ll see.

Riding My Trike in Traffic

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 07:32:00 +0000

**Riding My Trike in Traffic**
This morning when I flipped open my computer to write, what popped up was the discussion forum on Bentrider
Online, the recumbent website that I frequent several times per day. Yesterday, I posted some thoughts about riding my recumbent trike safely (as safely as possible) in traffic. Here is what I said:
*I have been riding my trike (Vortex +) for two years without incident. Here are my preferences:
—Ride away from traffic as much as possible. I mostly train on my trike and don't use the trike as a commuter or to just get from point A to point B. I have a few tried and true routes that I use continually for training. Some have light traffic, but none have heavy traffic. I am not hesitant to load my trike into my van and drive to a safe place to ride.
—When in traffic, I constantly check my mirrors, ride to the right in heavier traffic that is moving fast, but will take the center of the lane when I can when approaching intersections. Intersections are the highest risk. I never go through one unless it is completely clear, even at the risk of delaying the car behind me. In any situation where cars may turn right or left in front of me, I am especially vigilant.
—Stay ultra visible. I use bright flashing Dinotte lights front and rear. In heavier traffic, I usually bring the flag along too.
Trikes are, IMO, more stable and more maneuverable in traffic than two wheelers. Stopping and starting is much easier. If I have to ride with traffic around, I prefer the trike.
My subjective judgement is that all forms of bike/trike have about the same level of risk, but, as I said, I feel more in control on a trike. The key determinant is the skill and awareness of the rider.*
One of the other posters said this:
*Yes we have a passing law here in Illinois too but trying getting it enforced after the person is already gone or you have been run off the road into a ditch.
I think there are a lot of great comments in the thread as well, but as other posters have said, your safety is always going to be up to you. There really is no "SAFE" so to speak, only "Safer Practices!" We are just like doctors who are practicing medicine, we hope that someday we will get it right! That is why we call it practice.
Unfortunately in today's world, drinking and driving isn't bad enough, now we have texting and driving.*
Bottom line is that there will always be safety issues when riding any bicycle or tricycle with traffic around. Our safety is largely up to us, and there will always be the danger of actions by motorists that put us at risk.

Lesson learned about drinking lots of fluids while exercising

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 01:19:00 +0000

The weather in Atlanta over the past few days has been very hot and humid. I have learned a valuable lesson about keeping properly hydrated when exercising, especially when exercising vigorously.

Yesterday, I rode my recumbent bike with some friends on the Silver Comet Trail. It was VERY humid. I sipped water during the 30 mile ride. For the last 15 miles we rode hard, and the harder I pushed, I became preoccupied with speed, and forgot to drink. At the end of the ride I, and my buddies, were quite tired. When I got home I ate lunch, and feeling very spent, I took a nap. I slept deeply for a couple of hours. Little did I know I was building up dehydration in my body.

Today, I had scheduled a century (100 mile) ride in Cartersville. I didn't sleep well last night and woke this morning feeling tired and unmotivated to ride. Nevertheless, I showed up at the ride at 6:30 am feeling unprepared to go 100 miles, even though I have trained extensively doing 7 centuries so far this year. This one should be a 'piece of cake' except this ride is very hilly.

I started about 7:00 am, and after about 20 miles, decided to do a shorter ride and skip the full century. It was again very humid today with temps in the high 80s. I struggled through a 60 mile ride. At the end, I was very tired, more so than normal for this length ride.

When I returned home, I ate lunch and took another nap, but felt lousy upon waking. My lack of a good night's sleep was part of the problem, but finally diagnosed the problem as dehydration. Yesterday, I drank inadequate amounts of fluid on the ride, given the weather conditions. Last evening, I did not adequately replace the fluids that I had lost during the ride. This, I think, led to my bad mood, and trouble sleeping. I woke this morning dehydrated and tired, never making up for the lost fluids. During the ride today, I drank, but, again, inadequately for a hot humid day.

This evening I finally figured out why I felt so bad before, during and after today's ride. Over the past couple of days I had built up a serious case of dehydration. After I drank LOTS of water this evening, I immediately felt much better. The problem was that I was used to drinking a certain amount of water during my rides, but failed to adjust to the hotter, humid weather. The dehydration affected my mood, and my performance during today's ride. From now on I will drink lots of water before, during, and after my rides.

Dehydration is a health issue for all of us, whether we are athletes or not. Keeping well hydrated will have a positive impact on our moods, performance and overall health. Valuable lesson learned!

Stone Mountain Park - Riding, Listening and Meditating

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:13:00 +0000

The thunderstorm started, luckily, just as I was finishing my trike ride at Stone Mountain Park. I started early to beat the bad weather. Today my timing was perfect.

Although a bit humid, the weather before the storm was ideal for riding. A couple of times per week, I stow my recumbent trike in my minivan and drive to the park for 2-3 hours of leisurely riding and, usually, listening to an audiobook on my iPhone. During the week, the traffic is very light, so donning my listening headset and enjoying a book on the ride is safe. Today's book was Storyteller, by Jodi Picoult.

Stone Mountain Park is very hilly. And, the hills are mostly steep. My trike is ideal for this type of terrain. I can move along at a relatively leisurely average pace, about 13 mph. I can ascend the mountains with no worries about losing my balance (some of the grades are over 15%) and get a terrific cardiac workout. Today, I covered about 35 miles in 2:44.

There is something joyful about exercising the body and the mind at the same time. Not only can I concentrate on the book while riding, the strenuous riding seems easier as I focus (mostly) on the listening. At the end, it is very satisfying to have both enjoyed the book and the ride all at the same time.

The riding course at Stone Mountain park is composed of five mile and seven mile loops, which overlap. The terrain is all up and down hill. The seven mile loop contains Heartbreak Hill, which is a third of a mile steep climb that builds to well over 15 percent grade at the end. I sometimes shy away from this climb when on my two wheeler, but on my trike I climb Heartbreak Hill without any qualms. On today's ride, I entered the climb while listening to an especially engaging part of Picoult's book, so the hard ascent seemed much easier than usual. My mind was on the plot, not the burning in my thighs. My ride today included over 2500 feet of climbing, which seemed easy, as I enjoyed the book.

Heartbreak Hill is my periodic medical checkup. I figure that if I can do this climb repeatedly, and feel good about it, my health is in good shape. Well, I am exaggerating a little, but clearly as I age, climbing Heartbreak Hill on my trike is one of the events that I use to measure my overall fitness. If I can do 4-5 hill repeats on Heartbreak Hill in one workout, well, then my conditioning is reaching its peak. I am ready to compete with the younger folks. Although, frankly, I do not compete much these days. Mostly, I compete versus myself.

There is an additional dimension to my riding at Stone Mountain Park. When I ride this challenging course, and listen to a good book, in a sense, I am also meditating. This workout is very relaxing psychologically. I always feel calm and in good spirits during and after. If I am worrying about something before the ride, those worries tend to melt away as I proceed. At the end my mind is clear and my thoughts are joyful.

I love working out hard. I also love to read. By combining the two, I have a wonderful day.

American Urologic Association Changes Stance on PSA Testing

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:58:00 +0000

USA Today published an article today headlined

Urology group stops recommending routine PSA test

This is an amazing development. The Urological Association has for many years been one of the more aggressive promoters of the PSA exam. The new guidelines published by the Association are as follows:

PSA screening in men under age 40 years is not recommended.
Routine screening in men between ages 40 to 54 years at average risk is not recommended.
For men ages 55 to 69 years, the decision to undergo PSA screening involves weighing the benefits of preventing prostate cancer mortality in 1 man for every 1,000 men screened over a decade against the known potential harms associated with screening and treatment. For this reason, shared decision-making is recommended for men age 55 to 69 years that are considering PSA screening, and proceeding based on patients’ values and preferences.
To reduce the harms of screening, a routine screening interval of two years or more may be preferred over annual screening in those men who have participated in shared decision-making and decided on screening. As compared to annual screening, it is expected that screening intervals of two years preserve the majority of the benefits and reduce over diagnosis and false positives.
Routine PSA screening is not recommended in men over age 70 or any man with less than a 10-15 year life expectancy.

This represents a major departure from the past and, hopefully, signals a much more conservative and sensible use of the PSA exam.

Statin Drugs Linked to Kidney Disease

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:30:00 +0000

According to a recent post on Dr. Joel Fuhrman's blog DiseaseProof, there is a strong link between the use of statin drugs and kidney disease. Below is an except from this post. For the full article follow this link.

"Those who began taking high potency statins had a 34% increased risk of being hospitalized for acute kidney injury within the first six months of statin therapy compared to those on lower doses. Although this study did not evaluate the risk associated with low-potency statin use vs. no statin use, the data does establish that statin drugs may have harmful effects on the kidney.^"

"Now, new data has confirmed the connection between statin use and acute kidney injury. Acute kidney injury is a sudden loss of the kidneys’ filtering capability; the normal functions of removing waste products from the blood and balancing fluid and electrolytes cannot be carried out. Acute kidney injury is a serious condition that can lead to permanent damage or loss of kidney function or even death. In the current study, high-potency vs. low-potency statin doses were compared (high potency was defined as minimum 10 mg rosuvastatin, 20 mg atorvastatin, or 40 mg simvastatin). The study examined Canadian healthcare records to investigate a total of 2 million patients who had been newly prescribed a statin, and the incidence of hospitalization for acute kidney injury during early statin use."

^{The
main message in Dr. Fuhrman's post is that we have a choice when facing
elevated cholesterol, we can either take a medication such as statin
drugs, which not only increase the risk of kidney damage, but also make us more vulnerable to liver and muscle damage, or we can make lifestyle changes that are also effective at lowering cholesterol but with zero side effect. Switching to a whole foods plant-based diet, and getting regular moderate to vigorous exercise are extremely effective at lowering the risk of heart disease. So which will it be -- drugs or lifestyle changes. To me, the choice is obvious.}

Eating Healthy Fights the Flu

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:13:00 +0000

A post today on Dr. Fuhrman's DiseaseProof blog proclaims that eating health is the best way to fight the Flu. Here is the text:

Disease Proof
Posted at 8:00 AM on January 17, 2013 by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

Eating Right Gives the Most Protection During This Flu Season

We are having lots of viral illness going around, and I was asked to comment on the flu vaccine again. Certainly, with the flu virus circulating this season, flu-phobia is everywhere. Plus, there is a shortage of flu vaccines, so what are we to do? The answer is eat right, get enough sleep, and keep your hands away from your face (until right after you wash them). It is very difficult to get a significant viral inoculum if you do not put your hands near your mouth and nose. Remember, when you are in public, such as at work or school resist the temptation to touch your face or put your hands near your nose or mouth. That works, because you can’t get enough virus in the orifices of your body just by breathing the air, unless someone coughs right on you.

Plus, the flu shot is not very effective anyway. Please consider that over 200 viruses cause influenza and influenza-like illness; both produce the same symptoms, such as fever, headache, aches and pains, cough, and runny nose. Laboratory tests are required for doctors to tell the two illnesses apart. Both illnesses last for days and both rarely lead to death or serious illness. Even in the best-case scenario, vaccines might be effective against only some influenza A and B, but those represent less than 10% of all circulating viruses.

Each year, the World Health Organization makes recommendations for which viral strains should be included in the upcoming year’s flu vaccinations. So the vaccines may have some effectiveness against specific viral strains, but the degree to which the vaccine-included strains match the virus actually in circulation varies from year to year.

So that means that even if you are in that 10 percent of sick people with flu-like symptoms who really have influenza A or B, only about half of those vaccinated will be helped by the vaccine because the other half will have strains that were not included in the vaccine.1 And even with the best matching conditions the vaccine may diminish your symptoms somewhat, but not necessarily preclude you from catching the flu. The internationally renowned Cochrane Collaboration investigated this issue directly by reviewing all the relevant studies, involving over 70,000 participants. The most impressive thing about this meta-analysis was that the authors were completely independent from the U.S. vaccine manufacturers and the powerful pharmaceutical and vaccine lobby, so the reported results were unbiased.

They assessed all trials that compared vaccinated people with unvaccinated people. The combined results of these trials showed that even under ideal conditions (vaccine completely matching circulating viral configuration), 4% of unvaccinated people and 1% of vaccinated people became infected – the vaccine had only a minor benefit. They authors estimated that under average conditions, 100 people need to be vaccinated to avoid one set of influenza symptoms or you would have to be vaccinated every year for 100 years, to save yourself one flu episode. Interestingly, the study showed that flu vaccine did NOT significantly affect the number of people hospitalized or working days lost, and did not prevent flu-associated complications or those rare flu-associated deaths.1, 2 So even though the vaccine had some very slight effects, the benefits were very small. In fact, in children two years and younger they found the effectiveness of the vaccine was no better than a placebo.3

The Cochrane review’s authors were highly critical of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, with its members having financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies. They noted that industry-funded studies were more likely to report findings favorable to the vaccines, that there was evidence of “widespread manipulation of conclusions” in those studies. The authors disagreed with the CDC’s recommendation for universal vaccination at all ages without clear evidence of significant effectiveness and safety. Certainly the elderly, the group most vulnerable to non-pandemic flu, should benefit the most, but this also is not observed as the vaccine does not work well in the elderly because of their decline in immune function.3, 4

To summarize, the vaccine does have some slight effects in reducing flu incidence and severity, but in those at most at risk, the very young and the very old, it is not yet clear whether the vaccine has any protective effect at all.

Those of us that are healthy need not worry about the dangers of the flu anyway. No treatment, drug or vaccine is without risk, and you only have to read the circular with the vaccine to be informed of those clear risks. Also, if you do get a flu shot, never get a shot from a multi-use vial, which contains more mercury and preservatives than the single dose vials.

On the other hand, eating your G-BOMBS has no known side effects.

Note: G-BOMBS = Greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries.

The Health Benefits of Journaling

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:04:00 +0000

I continue to explore the many benefits of keeping a daily journal. Maude Purcell, pictured here, has written an excellent article titled The Health Benefits of Journaling. In this article she summarizes the benefits:

"Clarify your thoughts and feelings. Do you ever seem all jumbled up inside, unsure of what you want or feel? Taking a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and emotions (no editing!) will quickly get you in touch with your internal world.
Know yourself better. By writing routinely you will get to know what makes you feel happy and confident. You will also become clear about situations and people who are toxic for you — important information for your emotional well-being.
Reduce stress. Writing about anger, sadness and other painful emotions helps to release the intensity of these feelings. By doing so you will feel calmer and better able to stay in the present.
Solve problems more effectively. Typically we problem solve from a left-brained, analytical perspective. But sometimes the answer can only be found by engaging right-brained creativity and intuition. Writing unlocks these other capabilities, and affords the opportunity for unexpected solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.
Resolve disagreements with others. Writing about misunderstandings rather than stewing over them will help you to understand another’s point of view. And you just may come up with a sensible resolution to the conflict."

I have been keeping a daily journal since the end of October. I can relate to each of the benefits Ms. Purcell mentions. The "Know yourself better" benefit is especially strong. By recording the significant events of your day, you begin to see patterns...what makes you happy, what makes you unhappy. The daily journal becomes an owner's manual to how to better lead your life.

When I began this exercise, I had low expectations. However, the power of keeping a daily journal quickly becomes evident as you commit to recording your thoughts daily. I highly recommend it.

The Benefits of Daily Journaling

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 03:07:00 +0000

Day One Electronic Journal

Since the last week in October I have been experimenting with keeping a daily journal. I have found great benefits to this activity, and I am surprised at the enjoyment I am getting from chronically my daily moods, activities, important events, etc. For the next several weeks, I will record my experiences with keeping a journal for those interested.

I am beginning to see some tangible benefits from keeping a daily journal. Journaling helps keep life in perspective. I look back on entries I made to my journal in the past, and it helps me measure my feelings today, compared to then. If, for example, I am in a bad mood today, and see life as a dark adventure, I have only to look back, sometimes a few days, to see that I was very happy.

Journaling also helps fulfill my need to express myself. Writing down my feelings helps me assess my moods from a more objective vantage point. Thoughts and feelings that I would be reluctant to share with others, can be written in a secure environment where only I can see it.

Keeping a journal also allows me to keep a running history of my life. I am amazed at how quickly I forget important events that may have happened just a month ago. By periodically reviewing my journal, events stay fresh in my mind. When did my son buy his new car? How was I feeling before the presidential election? How did I feel afterwards? Journaling is a memory enhancer. I am now less likely to say to myself "when did that happen." The date is either in my mind, or just a journal-read away.

I have also discovered a way to always have my journal accessible. I now use Day One. Just started using it today, and was able to include most of my journal entries back to the end of October, December 10. Day One is a computer program. I have a version on my Macbook Air, iPad and iPhone. One of these gadgets is always with me. So, when I feel like writing, I can.

One of the other advantages of keeping a journal on a computer is the ability to quickly add photos, icons, doodles and other visual tools to a journal entry. "Pictures are worth a thousand words." Images add significantly to making a journal entry vivid and memorable. For example, while training on my bike, I can take a quick photo with my iPhone, enter the photo in my journal and keep a great visual history of the ride.

The article on this website, summarizes many of the real advantages of journaling.

Thoughts on the Aging Athlete from Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

noreply@blogger.com (Howard Veit) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 18:48:00 +0000

I have been following Dr. Gabe Mirkin's writings for many years. A former runner, Gabe is now a cyclist. Along with his wife they ride a tandem, and separately. Dr. Mirkin publishes a weekly Fitness and Health e-Zine Newsletter, which shares wisdom about exercise and health. Here is more information about him.

At age 77, Mirkin is a true inspiration. He and his wife regularly ride 30-60 miles on their tandem.

There have been some articles in respected research publications recently that suggest that intense endurance training may be harmful to the hearts of aging athletes. In his last e-Zine, Dr. Mirkin addresses this issue(see below), and concludes that the risk of inactivity is far greater than the risks of activity, even intense activity. You can subscribe to the e-Zine here.

At age 70, I am especially interested in this subject. I ride between 150-200 miles per week, and work out twice per week with weights. Next year, I have joined the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association's year-rounder program. My goal is to ride at least one 90-140 mile ride per month and accumulate 1500 miles or more with long distance rides. My yearly goal is 8,000 miles or more. Am I harming my health?

Below is the article I refer to from Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine
December 9, 2012:

_____________________________

Healthy Older People Can and Should Compete in Endurance Events An editorial in the January 2013 British medical journal,
Heart, states that "Running too fast, too far, and for too many
years may speed one's progress toward the finish line of life."
The author bases his opinion on two recent reports presented at
medical meetings:
* DISTANCE: One study of 52,600 people followed for 30 years
showed that runners had a 19 percent lower death rate than non
runners, but those who ran more than 25 miles a week did not live
longer than non-runners.
* SPEED: Another study showed that runners who ran slower than
eight miles per hour lived longer than non-runners, but those who
ran faster than 8 MPH did not live longer.
These two studies are far too limited to make you think that
older people should limit how much and how intensely they
exercise. THEY APPEAR TO SHOW THAT INTENSE OLDER RUNNERS DO NOT
GAIN AN ADVANTAGE OVER NON-RUNNERS. THEY DO NOT SHOW THAT RUNNING
IS HARMING THEM. No reasonable physician should use just this
data to recommend limiting exercise in older people. Overwhelming
evidence shows that exercise helps prevent and treat obesity, high
blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, and certain
cancers, and helps to prolong life.
I am 77 years old and ride a bicycle more than 200 miles per
week, race three times a week at 20 MPH, do interval training once
a week, and lift weights seven days a week. I have no plans to
change my training.
James H. O'Keefe, a cardiologist in Kansas City who was an
elite triathlon athlete, summarizes his concerns about older
people exercising far and fast (Mayo Clinic Proceedings (June
2012;87(6):587-595). He believes that too much exercise damages
the heart and arteries by:
1) causing heart muscle to release enzymes (troponin and B-type
natriuretic peptide) into the bloodstream, a sign of heart damage.
2) scarring the heart muscle
3) increasing calcium plaques in the large arteries
4) causing irregular heartbeats, in particular atrial
fibrillation.
He is concerned about these findings in spite of the fact
that he has no data to show that older exercisers are harmed by
these changes. Overwhelming data show that exercisers have lower
rates of disability and death (Arch Intern Med, 2008;168(15):1638-1646),
and are healthier and live more than seven years longer than
non-exercisers (Med Sci Sports Exerc., 1993;25(2):237-244).
REFUTING HIS ARGUMENTS COLLECTIVELY: The apparent heart
damage is the same type of muscle damage that is seen in the
skeletal muscles of trained athletes. Here is why these changes
are as beneficial to the heart muscle as they are to the skeletal
muscles.
Every serious athlete learns that all training is done by
"stressing and recovering". IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A MUSCLE STRONGER,
YOU HAVE TO EXERCISE SO INTENSELY THAT YOU DAMAGE THAT MUSCLE.
Then when the muscle heals, it is stronger than before it was
damaged. So, knowledgeable athletes:
* Take a hard workout that damages their skeletal muscles. They
know this because they feel burning during exercise, and soreness
in their muscles eight to 24 hours after this intense workout.
* Then they take less intense workouts for as many days as it
takes for the muscles to heal and the soreness to go away. If they
do not take easier workouts on the days when their muscles are
sore, they often injure themselves.
So workouts for knowledgeable athletes in all sports
typically alternate one or more days of intense workouts with as
many easy workouts as needed to allow recovery.
REFUTING EACH POINT INDIVIDUALLY:
1) HEART MUSCLE RELEASES ENZYMES (TROPONIN AND B-TYPE
NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE) INTO THE BLOODSTREAM, A SIGN OF HEART DAMAGE:
This is the training effect that you expect from proper exercise
training. If you don't "damage" a skeletal muscle, it will not
become stronger. If you don't "damage" the heart muscle, it will
not become stronger. These enzymes that leak from the heart muscle
into the bloodstream return to normal in less than a week, in the
same manner that enzymes from damaged skeletal muscles return to
normal in the same amount of time.
2) SCARRING OF THE HEART MUSCLE: The "scarring" of heart
muscle is the same as the scarring in skeletal muscles. It
disappears after the muscle heals and is necessary for muscles to
become stronger. (Refer to the parts of muscles in the picture at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~sjjgsca/MuscleSarcomere.gif ). Skeletal
muscles are composed of thousands of muscle fibers. Each fiber is
a long rope made up of a series of thousands of similar blocks
called sarcomeres, lined end to end to form a long chain. Each
block attaches to the next sarcomere at the "Z line". Muscles
function by shortening a little bit at each of the thousands of "Z
lines". The "Z lines" all shorten simultaneously and the entire
muscle then can contract. The "Z lines" are where muscles are
damaged. It is damage to these "Z lines that causes muscle growth
after healing, which makes muscles stronger.
3) INCREASED CALCIUM PLAQUES IN THE LARGE ARTERIES: Plaques
in arteries may have more to do with the diet of endurance
athletes than their exercise programs. High mileage athletes burn
far more calories each day than do casual exercisers. Therefore,
they have to eat far more food in order to have the energy to
power their muscles during training. The extra food that athletes
eat is likely to contain far more saturated fat, sugar, high
glycemic-load foods, red meat, sugared drinks, and calories. All
of these food components can increase the formation of plaques in
arteries. Therefore, it is probably the increased intake of
plaque- forming foods, and not the extra mileage, that may negate
some of the benefits of long and hard exercise. Athletes who eat
huge amounts of food and restrict these unhealthful components
should have almost no plaques at all. I think that future studies
will demonstrate that the increased deposition of plaques has
nothing to do with running more miles or faster miles.
4) IRREGULAR HEART BEATS, IN PARTICULAR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION:
At this time, we do not know if there really is an increased risk
for irregular heartbeats in endurance athletes. All we know is
that older competitive athletes suffer from irregular heartbeats
just as younger athletes and non-athletes do. Furthermore, we
have no evidence that older athletes are at increased risk for the
harmful side effects of irregular heartbeats: fainting, accidents
or sudden death.
The main concern about atrial fibrillation is that the
patients are at increased risk for clotting in general and strokes
in particular. However, nobody has shown that older endurance
athletes with atrial fibrillation are at increased risk for
clotting or strokes.
Dr. O'Keefe himself writes: "Sudden cardiac death among
marathoners is very rare, with one event per 100,000
participants." Here are two of his references: Med Sci Sports
Exerc. 2012;44(6):990-994; N Engl J Med . 2012;366(2):130-140.
BENEFITS OF ENDURANCE EXERCISE IN ALL AGE GROUPS: Dr
O'Keefe is completely honest and reasonable in listing the
following ways exercise helps to prevent and treat heart attacks:
* Increases the good HDL cholesterol
* lowers triglycerides
* treats obesity
* lowers high blood pressure
* Improves insulin sensitivity
* lowers blood sugar
* strengthens arteries
* helps with smoking cessation
* reduces psychological stress
* lowers hematocrit and blood viscosity
* expands blood volume
* prevents clotting
* increases blood flow to the heart
* increases collateral circulation to the heart
* increases tolerance of decreased blood flow to the heart
* reduces atherosclerosis
* enlarges arteries leading to the heart
* reduces major sickness and death
MY LAST WORD ON THE SUBJECT: I am 77 years old and plan to
continue riding my bicycle 200 miles a week.
Note: I have sent this to the Wall Street Journal in
response to their article, "One Running Shoe in the Grave",
November 27, 2012.