Why Go Gluten-Free?

Do you go to the bathroom frequently?  Are you overweight?  Do you get stomach cramps after eating?  Oh my god! Stop the presses! You have to go gluten free or YOU WILL DIE!!!!   No seriously though, you will die.  Tomorrow.  End of story.  Oh and by the way, start doing Crossfit too.

Going gluten free is becoming more common than people with good manners these days.  This is fine we suppose, except that the only reason to go gluten free is because of something called Celiac disease and we will talk about the truth of Celiac disease in a moment.  For now, lets talk about the fact that gluten free food is more expensive.  So not only are you limiting your ability to eat tasty foods, you are also hurting your pocketbook!  Both compelling reasons to figure out whether you really should be gluten free or not.  Moving on though, lets talk about Celiac disease.

There are people who would claim a food intolerance or allergy to gluten products, but the truth is, the need to go gluten-free is the result of a disease called Celiac disease, which is classified as a genetic disorder.  A food intolerance has nothing to do with the immune system, it just means that some foods cause gastrointestinal discomfort, aka tummy aches. Food allergies result when the immune system is sensitive to some foods and it causes inflammation. Food allergies are more serious than food intolerance because the inflammation can be local (mouth and throat) or it can affect the entire body, which may be fatal. Food allergies are usually caused by some kind of food protein, for example lactose intolerance is an allergy to the enzyme lactate found in dairy products.

Both are rather unfortunate food disorders, but not nearly as limiting as celiac disease. Now, this digestive disease affects 0.5%-1% of the U.S. population. That's about 1 in 133 people. This disease targets the lining of the small intestine and makes it very difficult to absorb nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, and K, iron, folic acid and calcium which can lead to malnutrition (Thompson, 2009). No good.

The worst part is, some people don't have symptoms or their symptoms mimic those of other disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, which is why getting tested is important.  Only 1 in 56 people who exhibit symptoms of celiac disease actually have it.  Some of the symptoms include fatty or frequent stools, cramping, anemia, weight loss, fatigue and irritability (Thompson, 2009). But because these symptoms can be confused with those of other issues, it's important to get tested to find out if you really have celiac disease.  Not a really fun test, it does involve drawing a blood sample and in some cases a biopsy. However, we would MUCH rather do the test than put myself through such a drastic diet without concrete reason.

Going gluten-free is particularly difficult because foods can be contaminated by wheat products during processing and a lot of processed foods are derived from gluten (you shouldn't eat processed foods anyway, but still).

Let's talk more about the diet itself- No wheat, rye or barley. Oats are allowed but you have to be careful because it can be contaminated. Good news in today's age- breads can be found made from corn, rice, tapioca, potato, soy, etc.

I (Owl, the Rhino doesn't have any friends) have a friend from college who has celiac disease and the poor girl BARELY survived our study abroad experience in Spain because her house mom had absolutely NO idea how to deal with her dietary restrictions.  That said, most people have no idea what they are getting into when they learn that they have celiac disease (or when they decide that they feel like changing things up and going gluten-free because its a "healthy" thing to do).  The 0.5%-1% of the U.S. population that does have celiac disease really should consult a Registered Dietitian to learn more about their dietary needs.

We do also want to mention that there appears to be an increased predisposition (5-10%) for celiac disease if you suffer from Type I Diabetes or Down Syndrome.

Our main reason for writing this article is to help people better understand their own diets. If you get stomach aches, diarrhea, bloating, gas, etc., you should try to figure what foods cause that kind of reaction and if you have the opportunity, go in for a blood test.  Whether you have dietary restrictions or not, it is SO important to be aware of how your body reacts to the food you eat and how you feel emotionally after eating it.  As personal trainers, we have always recommended keeping a food journal to record everything you eat/drink and keep track of how you feel (still hungry, overly full, tired, etc) because it will tell you a lot about yourself.

For more information about Celiac disease check out http://www.uchospitals.edu/pdf/uch_007937.pdf

In conclusion, we present the following observation about economics.  You see, if demand goes down, the price goes down as well!  So the more people who go gluten-free, the less non-gluten-free food will cost!  Awesome!  So since neither of us has Celiac disease, please, everyone else go gluten-free so we don't have to pay as much for groceries!  In all seriousness however, before you choose to commit to such a restrictive diet, talk to a doctor and/or a registered dietician to find out if you really need to.  Remember fitness is all about good choices, and you can't make them if you don't have all the facts!

Yours in Fitness,
The Owl and the Rhino

P.S. Please note, as always, we are not trying to insult with our comments, merely trying to provide more information to help you make better decisions.

10 Things Dad Should Do To Stay Fit

So, since we have decided to start a blog together about fitness(since we really don't know anything about anything else and want to feel important), we decided, in the spirit of Father's Day, to start with a blog about general fitness tips for Dad!  So here it is please sit back, prepare to laugh, cry, or send hate mail to one of us(probably the Rhino), and enjoy learning(hopefully) about fitness!


1.  Find a new form of transportation.
Dad- There are so many ways to get to work other than driving ALL by yourself! Is walking or biking an option?  Perhaps you could attempt busing or carpooling? Heck, this is the northwest, swim to work!

Owl: I have an ongoing theory that driving is the number one stress factor in the U.S. Everyone is rushing around, there are a million things to watch out for, you have to fill the tank all the time these days...I say the U.S. specifically because it is more difficult to find alternative transportation, but not impossible. The biggest reason most of us choose to stick to driving, is simple- convenience.  Driving can save time, but that's about it. In the grand scheme of things, it feels great to start and end the work day with a nice bike ride. Not only because its a great workout, but because it saves money and keeps me mentally present and focused (not that I space out while driving..).

Rhino:  So here's the deal, you can burn up to 250 calories per mile when bike riding (assuming you are actually pushing the pedals, so downhill does not count).  This means that if you have to commute 5 miles to work, you can burn almost 2500 calories per day when combining the two trips.  Yes, this means you can stop at the pub on the way home and have a beer (although I do not advocate drinking and riding!).  My point is, why go workout after work, when you can workout on the way to and from?

2. Join a recreational sports team.

Owl:  My dad definitely has his health and fitness flaws, but he has been on a rec hockey and baseball team my entire life.  Life has a way of making it really difficult to commit to a team or gym, but its SO worth it. I won't throw all my eggs in the basket by telling you all of the benefits of regular exercise, but trust me, you'll feel better and sleep better!  I personally commit myself to rock climbing at least twice a week.  There are several indoor rock climbing gyms all over the place and its such a fun way to spend a couple-few hours exercising. The social aspect of joining a rec team doesn't hurt either!

Rhino:  Cricket is awesome!  Wait, I have no idea how to even play that.  I meant frisbee golf, yeah thats the one.  Anyways, we all know that community provides you with an external source of accountability.  While I hate to admit it, as I believe you should be able to motivate yourself, sometimes it is good to have other people making sure you are taking care of yourself and staying fit!  So go out there and do a sport with your friends!  There are many league options available for all kinds of sports if you take a couple minutes to search Google (and if you find a Cricket league, let me know, because I and so IN!).


3. Get some sleep!

Owl: I fear that all of you dads work too much and sleep too little.  It shouldn't be mission impossible to get 8 hrs of sleep every night! By turning off that brain of yours and getting some shut eye, you'll be more productive the next day because your mind has had the opportunity to process everything you did throughout the day before and your body has been able to repair and revitalize itself.  Don't feel guilty for sleeping! It's almost POINTLESS to do ANYTHING if we don't sleep.

Rhino:  Why would you not want to sleep?  I mean, as a friend of mine used to say, "Man I love sleeping!  Sometimes I wish I could wake up, just so I could go back to sleep!"  So I could get sciencey (don't try and find that in the dictionary), and tell you how glycogen recovery, daily information processing, tissue repair, emotional release, fluid dispersal within the body, secretion of human growth hormone increases, testosterone initiates the process of muscle growth, and digestion rate increases, but I won't.  Just do it man.

4. Make dinner for your loved ones!
Dad- its time to do the cooking! No instant meals, no short cuts.  You'll find that the work is worth it.

Owl: My dad is an amazing cook. However, as the years go by, he becomes less and less ambitious in the kitchen.  Find a fun recipe and try it out!  Even if the home-cooked meal is pasta or pizza, it's going to be a lot better than the processed food you would otherwise buy and it'll taste better because of the crazy amount of work you had to put into it!

Rhino:  So not only will you eat healthier if you eat at home (still working on proving that one, but I'm pretty sure its true), you exponentially increase your chances of getting lucky!  The problem with restaurants is that although you may have an idea of what you are getting, you know nothing about the quality of the ingredients used in its preparation.  Having control over the quality of the ingredients you use allows for total control over your nutrient intake (more to follow in future articles).  That and I just like getting lucky!

5. Go for a walk with your loved ones!
Dad, take mom for a walk. Holding hands is not optional.

Owl:  Walking after dinner is a great way to digest, if only because it helps to reduce stress, thereby allowing your body to focus on the breakdown and absorption of your food.

Rhino:  Uh yeah, see above comments about getting lucky.  Ok, so the truth about "cardiovascular" exercise will be discussed in more depth later in another article, but here is a teaser.  You don't have to run or bike ride to get your heart rate up, and getting a positive, for lack of a better word, effect from "cardio" requires only a minor increase in heart rate.  So go for a walk and while the effects will not be identical to the people out running, they will be similar and enough to keep your doctor off your back.

6. Trade your ice cold six pack for a six pack you don't buy at the store!
Dad, mom is lying when she says she likes your beer gut.  You don't have to put away the beer for good, but little moderation here and a little exercise there will help you tame the beer gut beast.

Owl:  There is nothing wrong with indulging in an ice cold one after a long day of work, but moderation and balance goes a long way. By reducing the amount of beer, soda and "junk food" you ingest, you'll be taking a HUGE step in improving your health.  At the very least, I challenge every dad to drink a tall glass of water for every glass you have of anything else.

Rhino:  Did you know that alcohol is a testosterone inhibitor? I won't tell you how bad alcohol is for weight loss, but yeah, testosterone inhibitor = bad.  Aside from the, errr, obvious side-effects of it being a testosterone inhibitor, this also means that you will have both impaired tissue recovery from daily wear and tear, as well as decreased ability for muscle development.  Need I say more?  No muscles, gaining body fat, lack of recovery ability, and "other" problems doesn't inspire me to go out boozing.

7. Don't ignore your kids at the playground.
Dad, its tempting to sit down on that bench and relax while your kids run around screaming, but join in! Go crazy! Run around with them, jump with them, climb with them!

Owl:  Running around with your children and/or pets may not sound like much of a workout, but odds are it'll be more beneficial than a 45min walk.  When you use those short bursts of energy to chase this kid and jump around with that kid, your body needs more energy for you to do it.  Essentially, its a higher intensity activity and it'll burn more calories and "build" more muscles!

Rhino:  So if you don't join a league, just play with your kids!  Not only will it make you feel younger, but it will also help you stay active!

8. Avoid Fast Food.
Making dinner for the family is one thing, avoiding fast food for every meal is quite another!

Owl:  By choosing to eat only food that Great Grandma Bessy would recognize (i.e. nothing in a box, tin, wrapper), you will be able to avoid or reduce health concerns such as high blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol.

Rhino: Not sure what to say about this other than if you think McDonald's is a good idea, this is not the right blog for you to be reading.  Done.

9. Do something OTHER THAN the bench press.
Sure, the bench press is fun, but seriously, how big does your chest need to be?

Owl: Being a female, I should leave this to the Rhino, but I will say this: you do not use your chest for nearly as many activities as you do, say, your back, your stomach and your legs.

Rhino:  Did you know that if you have a bigger chest than the man next to you, it is a fact that you make more money, have a hotter wife, drive a nicer car, own a bigger house, and just in general are more awesome?  Well, ok, maybe I exaggerate.  But the point is, there is only one major muscle that is worked during the bench press (an oversimplification, but bear with me), your pectoralis major.  Doing a pull-up works your latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids, deltoids, etc.  I could keep going but the thing is, no matter how many I name, the number is already greater than one and they are ALL major muscles.  The truth about fitness is that appearance means very little and the fittest person is the person who can handle the greatest workload and still be able to function afterwords (again a simplification and my opinion, but bear with me until a later date).  So doing bench press, while fun, has a low muscular demand and as such, does not develop your overall fitness.  So do some pull-ups.  Or squats.  Or anything beside Bench Press.

10. Go do some SQUATS!

Owl:  Squats are SOOO great for you because, let's face it, we sit down and get up all the time! And most of us do it wrong.  It is important to learn how to squat properly because we need to be able to protect our back when we bend over.  To put simply, squatting is a very functional exercise because you are moving in a way your joints are designed to move. And hey, you're strengthening your legs, your ass and your core (which includes your stomach and low back).

Rhino:  Squats are awesome.  We will talk about these more in-depth later (at least if I have anything to say about it!) but real quick I will make one comment.  Just as a trees branches don't grow until the trunk can support it, your upper body can't get bigger until your lower body is strong enough to support it.  Again, more to follow.

Notes:

Disclaimer- when we refer to your loved ones, wives, children, pets, etc; we are not intending to make any assumptions. We don't care who wears the pants, who you are cooking for, chasing after or doing squats with, just so long as you are doing it.

This being our first article here on Logical Lessons in Health, we would love to hear (well, see) any questions or comments you have. We will be writing a new article every Sunday and although this first article was fun, we will be much more scientific in the future :) That said, let us know what you are curious about in the health and fitness world!  Oh yeah, and Happy Father's Day!

Thank you!