Friday, April 24, 2009

April 24th: Weekly Highlights

Health, training, and fitness highlights from around the web.

What are friends for? Turns out that not only will they bail you out of jail at three in the morning, they also help you live longer.

The Power of Friendship


When asked why he wanted to climb Mt Everest, George Mallory famously replied, “Because it’s there.” But maybe if he hadn’t spent so much time at altitude, he would have come up with something more specific.

Mountain Climbing: Bad for the Brain


Some of us jump out of bed, others need a bucket of cold water and a pry-bar to get out from under the sheets. If you’re in the first camp, here’s a look at getting the fuel you need before breakfast.

Nutritional Strategies for Early Morning Risers


Pasta has always been a staple of endurance athletes, but there’s a lot of folks moving towards a gluten-free or low-gluten diet. (Me, I’m a big fan of not over-indulging in any one thing, no matter how crazed everyone else is, nor banning anything completely from the table. All things in moderation, including, of course, moderation.) For the average weekend warrior, it’s not a big deal, but for the maniacs out there, there’s some evidence that lowering your wheat intake helps recovery by reducing inflammation. Willy Balmat, Lance Armstrong’s long-time team chef, is now working with Dr Allen Lim on the Garmin-Chipotles team, and over the last year, the team has been pushing more risotto and less pasta on the dinner table, and more rice cakes and fewer pastries in the mussett.

Lots of stories all over the place:

Movable Feast

Dr. Lim’s Rice Cakes



Many years ago, I gave up meat for Lent. Wasn't that hard, and when Easter had come and gone, I found myself, due to sheer inertia and a bit of laziness, to be what I called a social vegetarian: one who doesn't put any effort into making meat dishes, but won't refuse them if served at someone's house or if the special at a restaurant looks especially good.

Bittman's kind of doing the same there here with his Vegan-Until-Dinnertime movement. It's not anti-meat, it's just about saving it for the main course, once a day.

Back To Basics: Good For You, Good For The Earth

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