Newsletter #88: Short Chain Fatty Acids, Exercise, and Physical Inhabitance đ§đŒ
Hello Friends!
Welcome to the newest edition of the humanOS newsletter! Below is our own content and a roundup of the various studies and media that captured our attention this week. đ€
New humanOS Content
- humanOS Radio:Â The Align Method â 5 Movement Principles for a Stronger Body, Sharper Mind, and Stress-Proof Life. Podcast with Aaron Alexander.
On this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan speaks with Aaron Alexander. Aaron is a manual therapist and movement coach who has worked with elite athletes, celebrities, and ordinary folks to relieve pain, increase strength, and optimize their movement patterns. Aaron is a unique guy, with remarkable insight into the fundamental role of body posture and body movement in health and performance. The foundation of his message revolves around what he calls physical inhabitance. Physical inhabitance goes beyond activity - it encompasses the way that you sit, stand, walk, breathe, look, touch, listen, communicate, and generally the manner in which you occupy your body at any given moment throughout the day.
Aaron has also authored a newly released book called The Align Method: 5 Movement Principles for a Stronger Body, Sharper Mind and Stress-Proof Life. This book lays out his integrated approach of functional movement and body alignment. Becoming aligned isnât just about sitting up straight, or working out in a gym, or getting 10,000 steps per day. The Align Method is built around five basic optimizations that can be effortlessly integrated into your day:
đ§ Floor Sitting
đ§ Hanging
đ Hip-Hinging
đ Walking
đđ» Nose Breathing
To learn more about the Align Method, and how paying attention to your physical inhabitance can enhance your health and performance, check out the interview!
This Weekâs Research Highlights
đ Training for and completing a marathon for the first time lowers arterial stiffness and blood pressure.
Researchers recruited 138 untrained healthy individuals (age range 21-69 years old) who subsequently underwent six months of training for the London Marathon. After completing the race, medical assessment revealed that training had decreased systolic and diastolic central (aortic) blood pressure by 4 mm Hg and 3 mm Hg respectively. Furthermore, descending aortic distensibility increased while remaining unchanged in the ascending aorta, an impact equivalent to a 4 year reduction in vascular age. Benefits were more pronounced in older, slower individuals.
đ Short chain fatty acids generated by the gut microbiome may contribute to endurance exercise performance.
Mice were administered either antibiotics or a diet low in microbiome-accessible carbohydrates, before endurance testing on a treadmill. After two weeks of antibiotic treatment, fecal and plasma SCFA levels declined dramatically, which was accompanied by reduced endurance capacity. Similarly, six weeks of the low microbiome-accessible carb diet resulted in reduced SCFA concentrations and exercise capacity. Infusion with acetate restored exercise capacity in the mice treated with antibiotics, suggesting a potential role of SCFAs in fueling endurance activity. Furthermore, mice in the low microbiome-accessible carb group that were given a fecal microbiome transplantation from counterparts fed a diet rich in microbiome-accessible carbohydrates, as well as a single portion of fermentable fiber, showed significant improvement in their running time.
đŽââïž Women who can exercise intensely are at significantly reduced risk of dying from all causes.
Researchers examined data from 4714 women referred for treadmill exercise echocardiography. The participants walked or ran on a treadmill, gradually ramping up the intensity until exhaustion. Fitness was defined as a maximal workload of 10 metabolic equivalents (METs). Women who achieved 10 METs or more (good exercise capacity) were compared to those achieving less than 10 METs (poor exercise capacity). Over a median follow-up of 4.6 years, the annual rate of death from cardiovascular disease was nearly four times higher in women with poor, compared to good, exercise capacity (2.2% versus 0.6%). Annual cancer deaths were doubled in patients with poor, compared to good, exercise capacity (0.9% versus 0.4%). Finally, the annual rate of death from other causes was more than four times higher in those with poor, compared to good, exercise capacity (1.4% vs. 0.3%).
Podcasts We Loved This Week
- Rachel Yehuda: Epigenetic inheritance, PTSD, and the potential of MDMA therapies. Via STEM-Talk.
- David Sinclair: Informational theory of aging, nicotinamide mononucleotide, resveratrol, and more. Via Found My Fitness.
Products We Are Enjoying
pH Adjust Alkalinizing Formula
Bicarbonate (baking soda) is one of the best ergogenic (exercise enhancing) aids around. It buffers hydrogen ions that are created in higher quantities during intense exercise. Think lactic acid. Lactic acid is a lactate, which is a form of fuel, and hydrogen ions, which make the blood more acidic. The free hydrogen ions generated during exercise are what makes higher intensity exercise burn. These ions interfere with the contractile apparatus of muscles and also contribute to central fatigue, which means your brain has a harder time sending a signal to tell muscles to contract. Bicarbonate buffers the hydrogen, which in theory can make high intensity efforts have less sting. Very useful for activities that require you to perform longer at an intensity exceeding 80% of your max heart rate, like soccer, Crossfit, etc.
So why not just use baking soda from your pantry? Well, if you look at the label, youâll note that NaHCOâ, in an effective ergogenic dose, has a ton of sodium. Not great. pH Adjust, in contrast, binds the bicarbonate to both sodium and potassium and also adds magnesium carbonate. Try it and see how you feel during exercise.