Circadian Rhythm and Immunity

I was reading an article the other day about how the time of day can affect how well you fight off bacterial and viral infections.  Blood cells that fight infection have a peak and lag, one such cell is TLR9.  They did an experiment with mice where the mice were infected at times of the day that correlated to certain ebb and flow of the blood cell.  When the TLR9 was high, the mice survived much longer, when it was low, the infected mice died much sooner.  Another part of the study, the part I was interested in, was that mice that were vaccinated at the TLR9 peak had a stronger immune response then those vaccinated at the circadian low point.

It ties in how, if you get sick, the feeling of lethargy happens, how people that have jet lag are much more predisposed to get sick.  A few things you can do to influence your circadian rhythm in a positive manner is to go to bed at regular times, reduce the amount of light you start to take in an hour before bed and try to get natural sunlight on your eyes within an hour of waking.

Here is the article, "Your Body Clock Can Determine When You Get Sick."

Here are a few studies, "Biologic Rhythms in the Immune System."

Effects of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms on Human Immune System.

New Tests in the Works for Growth Hormone

I was reading an article the other day called Chemical Catcher.  Essentially a scientist by the name of Alessandra Luchini has developed a way to detect "biomarkers."  My understanding is the these biomarkers are a faint hint of a presence of a disease in our bodily fluid.   They are normally chewed up by our enzymes within minutes before any type of test can detect them.

If there were a way to detect these biomarkers, doctors could detect diseases much earlier.  This would offer much better outcomes for recovery.  Luchini, according to this article in Popular Science, developed a nanoparticle trap that works like a net.  So far she has been able to use this nanoparticle trap for early diagnosis of Lyme and Tuberculosis.

Amazing break throughs on the horizon.  What really caught my eye though, was a small sentence in the middle of the article.  "This test can also detect the presence of Human Growth Hormone in Urine."  Previously only GH could be detected in blood samples.  Many sports only do urine testing.    Look out sports world.  We may be on the cusp of a lot more athletes being busted.  Say, someone that goes from 19.78 to 19.26 in the 200m.  Just my own speculation though.

Congrats to "Team SEND" West Michigan Youth Climbing Club

Train Out Pain Chiropractic decided to help sponsor a youth indoor climbing team this year.  They are called Team Send and they are coached by my friend Ted Bingham.  Team Send is made up of several youth climbers in the West Michigan area. 

A few weeks ago, Team Send, qualified two of their climbers to go out to Colorado and compete in the National Championships.  Both did really well.

I've talked before about why bouldering is such a great physical activity.  This article in Outside Athlete, "Getting Ready to Boulder."

If you're looking to get your kid involved in a great sport, healthy hobby, with a lot of positive reinforcement, bouldering with Team Send would be a great activity.  

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Power Poses for more Testosterone and less Cortisol

I was reading an article online the other day and it reference a study called Power posing: Brief Non Verbal Displays Affect Neuroendocrine Levels and Risk Tolerance.

In this study a group of people were randomly assigned to one of two groups.  One group had open postures, the other group had closed postures.  There were two postures in each group.  Each posture was held for one minute.  Before and after saliva tests were done as well as a dice game for gambling that assessed risk behavior.

Those assigned to the open postures, see photos below, showed an increase in Testosterone and a drop in Cortisol, as well as more risk taking tendencies.  The opposite was true for the closed postures.  The open postures take up more space.  The closed postures shrink the person.


The implications could be pretty cool.  Will you have your athletes hold power poses before a big lift.  Have an important job interview and need a boost in confidence.  Are you trying to increase self esteem in a teenager?



The opposite is also true.  Bad posture can also lead to poor outcomes.  You're Moms old advice to sit up straight and quit slouching takes on new implications.  As a manual therapist dealing with lowback pain there's more evidence on how we need to break the negative feedback loop cycle to deal with cortisol.  How often have you seen a lowback pain patient not able to stand up straight,  they look small and crumpled up.

Physical movement continues to make more and more headlines.  A few years ago, smiling was shown, even if physically depressed,  to cause the release of endorphins and serotonin.  Even when they are fake. Now poses have been shown to increase or decrease testosterone and cortisol.  The article goes on to basically sum it up with the old adage, "Fake it till you make it."

The way you carry yourself affects your neuroendocrine pathways.  Your are in control of way more then you think you are!

Interesting Video from Tim Ferris on the Human Body and Health Care

I have to admit I'm falling for all the marketing hype.  I've already ordered my copy from Amazon.  Anyways here is an interesting video interview Tim did for Tech TV.  If you've never heard of Mr. Ferris he is the author of "The Four Hour Workweek."  It's not exactly about working four hours so don't let it fool you.  It's about being productive and getting rid of unessential clutter and how to do it.  Very good read.

Anyways his new book is called "The Four Hour Body."  Like I said before, I haven't read it yet, but the hype seems interesting and I like the idea of doing mini experiments on your body.   In Wired magazine he did an interview where he supposedly manipulated his testosterone (raise3x)  dropped his Cholesterol and some other cool stuff.  Here is Tim talking about it.

Age is just a number: Olga Kotelko, 91 Years Old Track Star

More and more science is learning from real life that age may just be a number, not a reason.  I've written in the past about how some athletes that should in theory be past there prime continue to dominate and be the best in their sport.  Here is another remarkable example.  The full story is at the NY TIMES.  

Shoveling Snow 101: Don't Get Hurt

So we had the first snow of the year today in Grand Rapids, MI.  I can pretty much guarantee someone will come into my office next week with a sore back from improper shoveling.

First lets look at what we know to be true about the lumbar spine.  Flexion repeatedly isn't all that great.  Rotation repeatedly isn't all that great.  Flexion + Rotation = Disc Injury.  Disc's are more susceptible to injury in the morning because they hold more water and are thus less supported.  (You are actually a little taller in the morning because your discs are slightly larger.)  It requires more core strength when you have center of mass further away from your body, ie a shovel with snow on it.

Now, most people shovel in the morning.  Strike one.  Most people shovel by flexing forward and then throwing it off to the side, rotation,  in one continuous movement.  Strike two.  Most people don't even think about bracing there core.  Strike three.  You're down for the count with back pain.

Keep your back straight.  Bend from your knees and hips.  Stand up after you get a shovel full of snow and then use your hips to toss the snow to the side.  Two distinct motions. Don't pick up more snow then you can handle.  After you get snow in your shovel.  Slide your hand closer to the blade before you throw it.  This will decrease the center of mass and require less core strength.  Get an ergonomic handle if you can.  Better  yet....get a snow blower.

Outside Athlete Magazine Article: Bouldering

Here is a link to the latest Outdoor Athlete Magazine article I wrote for November. It's about the sport of Bouldering and how it can help your athletic development. Enjoy!

Getting Ready to Boulder

Your Office Chair is Killing You!

How's that for a headline,  patterned it after the evening news in about every city in America.  Sell Fear. Make a astounding claim to keep you riveted at your seat.  The problem is, physiologists may be proving that keeping you in your seat, may indeed be really, really bad for your health.  

Physiologists have been studying obesity, diabetes and heart disease and have linked sitting to shutting down the enzyme lipase.  Lipase is a big fat absorber.  Simply put, standing engages muscles and turns on the enzyme lipase (puts it in your system) regardless of exercise, to process fat and cholesterol.  Standing up also uses blood glucose.  No brainer there, muscles are used more in standing then sitting, they need energy from somewhere.  

Dr. Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri in Columbia, states that heart disease, obesity and diabetes are 2-3x higher in people that sit a lot.  

He goes on to say that standing increases lipase and so fat is absorbed by the muscles and when we sit it virtually shuts down allowing the fat to circulate in the blood stream and be deposited as body fat or go and clog arteries. 

People who sat also reduced their good cholesterol levels by 22%.  His advice, chose to stand in every activity that you can and take frequent breaks from the chair.

I know here in Grand Rapids, MI that Herman Miller the furniture manufacturer has made a stand up work station that is actually has treadmill that you walk on while working.  Pretty interesting.  The evidence is in, stand up for your health, literally.  

Dr. John Cannell on vitamin D

This is a great explanation on the potential benefits of Vitamin D. Something to keep in the back of your mind in a few months, until then, get outside and enjoy the sun!

Sleep and Growth Hormone: Tips for success

So you now want to keep those Growth Hormone levels high and appreciate a great nights sleep. So here are a few helpful tips.

1. Keep your room as dark as possible. Think back to the caveman.

2. Keep your room cool. 66-68 degrees has been shown to be pretty optimal.

3. If you wake up for any reason, keep the lights off. Only in darkness will your body produce melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that is released by the pineal gland, it produces healthy sleep cycles (along with a lot of other healthy stuff!).

4. Keep the electromagnetic levels to a minimum. Keep your bed at least 3 ft from alarm clocks, tv's, radios. In the perfect environment, leave this stuff out of the bedroom.

5. Get on a regular schedule. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day....even the weekends. According to Ayurdevic medicine 10 pm to 6 am is the optimal cycle. I think it depends on the person....I know personally that 1 am to 9 am is great from me.

6. According to feng shui, you should sleep with your head to the North.

7. Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon and night. Hopefully that's a no brainer.

8. For men, a zinc/magnesium supplement will often times help. Try taking it an hour before bed.

So there are 8 tips to help achieve peaceful slumber and get those GH levels back up. Do you have any tips that you have found work great for you?

Sleep and Growth Hormone: Thats when the magic happens!

"We don't sleep to dream"
"We sleep to build stamina,"
"Energy to do our thing"
"Grab your camera!"
lyrics from FORT MINOR

Sleep is the most important tool you will ever have when it comes to recovery and regeneration. You know you don't get stronger lifting weights right? Lifting actually destroys your body, it's the recovery your body throws at the process that makes you stronger. The number one reason is Growth Hormone.

Growth Hormone is a hormone your body produces. Its effects include but aren't limited to: decreased body fat, increased muscle mass, supports a strong immune system, increased energy, healthy skin, increased bone density, just to name a few.....sound great right? Well your body produces a little over half of this when you sleep, so when you start cutting hours, your cutting out growth hormone and those hours start to add up. Having trouble losing that last little bit of belly fat and your eating and exercising right? Check your sleep patterns. Not getting stronger in the gym? Again, check your sleep patterns.

I don't know of any hard training athletes that don't get 7.5-9 hours a night. In fact, most even sneak in a nap to add sleep to their routine. If your not reaching your athletic goals or aren't recovering from your workouts, look at your sleep, it may hold the answer. In the next post I'll show some practical ways to improve the sleep your getting.

Learning Is Never Wasted

If you ever get a chance to watch Slum Dog Millionaire, watch it. It's a pretty fun movie. It has, I think, a pretty cool message. No learning is ever wasted. You will never know when the weird things you learn will become useful and beneficial. That English Lit degree may become useful even if your job is now in finance. No learning is ever wasted. Ben Carson, the tremendous and gifted neurosurgeon credits his interest in classical music getting him into Johns Hopkins. They interviewer and he had a shared love of Bach. It separated him from all the other gifted and qualified candidates. It's one of the main reasons I think hobbies are so beneficial. Out of the blue you will learn something that may help you with your "career." So read and participate and pursue your hobbies, you will never regret learning something new, and in the process may help yourself in unimaginable ways.

Wheres the Glamour

Lots of people get the idea that because you compete for a country like the United States, that you lift and train in the finest facilities in  the world no matter where you are.  This week the U.S. National bobsled  team and I are in Whistler, BC.  Were here for two weeks training and getting ready for the track that will be site of the 2010 Olympic games.  Scene here is a pretty typical scenario.  The weights we travel with set up in a hotel garage.  It's about 30 degrees Fahrenheit.  There is ice on the floor in some spaces.  This is TJ Burns getting ready to finish his last set of squats.  It's not always glamorous, it's not always comfortable, it can be cold and dark, but this is where champions are made.