Our neighboring town to the south, Gilroy, is growing quite a bit. But in addition to the new residential developments, they've been setting aside some open space, and there is a new bike trail through it that starts on Hecker Pass highway. Planned for the future is extending the trail all the way to the … Continue reading Nice New Bike Trail in Gilroy
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Learn to Soar With Christine Van Loo
“If you want to fly, you have to give up the shit that weighs you down.”-Toni Morrison Christine Van Loo, Aerialist, Speaker, and Coach (http://www.christinevanloo.com/about.html) Christine Van Loo is an elite athlete that started out as an acrobatic gymnast, a sport in which she was a 7-time consecutive US National Champion, female Olympic athlete of … Continue reading Learn to Soar With Christine Van Loo
IBM Hill and Some Hill Climbing Intervals
I decided to do an out and back to the IBM hill since I omitted it from my ride Friday. This follows Dougherty Ave, I nice rural road, then Santa Teresa Boulevard, to Bernal road which climbs the IBM hill. I then returned (with a decent tailwind) to west Morgan Hill, doing seated sprint intervals … Continue reading IBM Hill and Some Hill Climbing Intervals
Toughest Ride in a While
Now that I'm done with my exercise stress test I've decided to focus more on riding. I went out for four hours today, and covered just over 50 miles. The first two hours were standing pedaling, and in the last hour I threw in a bunch of intervals. My old low-end watch recently died so … Continue reading Toughest Ride in a While
Undo It! A Book About the Ornish Lifestyle Program
Dr. Dean Ornish developed his lifestyle program decades ago, which is famous for being the first program to be scientifically proven to reverse heart disease, way back in 1990 [1]. The same program has been shown to reverse (or undo, as Dr. Ornish likes to say), other important chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, early … Continue reading Undo It! A Book About the Ornish Lifestyle Program
Did My Nuclear Perfusion Stress Test
I did my nuclear perfusion stress test yesterday. This is to check how open your coronary arteries are, at rest and under stress. Here's a quick overview: This is the first part. But in my case it was seated, on a machine that rotates you very slowly, through about 45 degrees. It took about 7 … Continue reading Did My Nuclear Perfusion Stress Test
Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet, Covid, and Other Infectious Disease
One personal anecdote I have is that for the since switching to a whole-food plant-based (wfpb) diet in early 2017 (more than four years ago), I have not had any colds or the flu. I used to get either one at least once a year, even though I've always gotten a flu shot. That didn't … Continue reading Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet, Covid, and Other Infectious Disease
Dietary fiber reduces brain inflammation during aging
In his book Fiber Fueled, which I recently reviewed, Dr. Will Bulsiewicz stresses the importance of the gut microbiome generating healthy short-chain fatty acids when consuming plant foods with lots of soluble fiber. One of these is butyrate. This important new study shows butyrate reduces inflammation in the brain, which should help with healthy brain aging. Great post, thanks, Tony
As mammals age, immune cells in the brain known as microglia become chronically inflamed. In this state, they produce chemicals known to impair cognitive and motor function. That’s one explanation for why memory fades and other brain functions decline during old age. But, according to a new study from the University of Illinois, there may be a remedy to delay the inevitable: dietary fiber.
Dietary fiber promotes the growth of good bacteria in the gut. When these bacteria digest fiber, they produce short-chain-fatty-acids (SCFAs), including butyrate, as byproducts.
“Butyrate is of interest because it has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties on microglia and improve memory in mice when administered pharmacologically,” says Rodney Johnson, professor and head of the Department of Animal Sciences at U of I, and corresponding author on the Frontiers in Immunology study.
Although positive outcomes of sodium butyrate – the…
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Staying Healthy To Be of Service
If you want to live life at its fullest, do everything possible to keep your body in vibrant health in order to give back to life a little of what it has given you- Eknath Easwaran (Words to Live By) The time spent on some of the things that promote good physical and mental health, … Continue reading Staying Healthy To Be of Service
Exercise Fights Off Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Treatment/Exercise/Neuroprotective-Benefits-of-Exercise Previously I described an inspiring video about Larry, who kept active by using a recumbent bicycle despite advance symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, so I was interested to see a new study that investigated how exercise helps with symptoms of Parkinson's disease. I learned about it on Clarence Bass's site, his discussion is here. One … Continue reading Exercise Fights Off Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
