Vibram FiveFinger Speeds for Sale in the US

Lucky you, you non-OCD folks who were willing to wait. I paid a lot more than this when ordering from the UK.

Barefoot Running and Podiatrists

Well, this is cool:

Background: Barefoot running is slowly gaining a dedicated following. Proponents of barefoot running claim many benefits, such as improved performance and reduced injuries, whereas detractors warn of the imminent risks involved.

Methods: Multiple publications were reviewed using key words.

Results: A review of the literature uncovered many studies that have looked at the barefoot condition and found notable differences in gait and other parameters. These findings, along with much anecdotal information, can lead one to extrapolate that barefoot runners should have fewer injuries, better performance, or both. Several athletic shoe companies have designed running shoes that attempt to mimic the barefoot condition and, thus, garner the purported benefits of barefoot running.

Conclusions: Although there is no evidence that either confirms or refutes improved performance and reduced injuries in barefoot runners, many of the claimed disadvantages to barefoot running are not supported by the literature. Nonetheless, it seems that barefoot running may be an acceptable training method for athletes and coaches who understand and can minimize the risks. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 101(3): 231–246, 2011)

Well, I'd say that this: "Barefoot Running More Efficient than Shod" could be considered "improved performance", but it also likely came out after this was submitted for publication.  That's a quibble.

I really couldn't ask for a better statement at this point.

What's coolest is that this appeared in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association.

I'm always happy to write a post about podiatrists that does not include the word "dingbat".

Mark Sisson in New York City

Last night I schlepped into NYC to see Mark Sisson speak at John Durant's Paleo Meetup.

Sisson's speech was entitled "The Metabolic Paradigm Shift", and he focused primarily on how to get the paradigm to shift, as most of the folks who were that were attending because they were part of Crossfit NYC, a pro-Paleo outfit.  There weren't a lot of beginner questions.

Mark Sisson

Sisson comes across as a very smart, well-educated guy who clearly has spent an enourmous amount of time thinking about the ancestral way of eating, and what that means for our everyday lives.  He's also much better-looking in person than he is on the cover of his book or in the pictures on his site, as was evidenced by the line of attractive young women waiting to have their pictures taken with him at the end of the evening.  Every 57-year-old should look so good.  He's a walking advert for The Primal Blueprint.

His talk focused on a lot of the material presented in the book and on his blog, so I won't focus on that too much, but I will note that he's a terrific speaker.  If you ever wonder where the long, thoughtful posts that Mark's Daily Apple is known for come from, they come directly from Mark.  Several of his answers to the many questions he took could have been turned into posts on his blog just by transcribing his answers.



About 175 attendees

 He also mentioned that the book contract that Denise Minger mentioned is with him.  It's tentatively titled "Death by Food Pyramid", and sounds like it's going to be terrific.

And yes, that means that if you're wondering who to blame for Denise's Wheat Post having gone missing, we can now point a finger.

The one question I wasn't able to ask during the session (I'd asked a couple already, and Mark was spreading the love), was for Mark to explain what his motivation is for doing this.  I've had a number of people on Barefoot Ted's Minimalist Group claim that all he's trying to do is sell supplements, or books.  I don't think this is a valid complaint because I hope he does get rich doing this, it means he's successful in spreading a message I very much believe in; but primarily because he doesn't push his supplements, or his book, on his site.  You can learn all you need to know about Mark's program for free, and implement it without having to buy anything from him. That's a great service.  He clearly knows a thing or two about marketing, and he could much more aggresively monetize his site if he wanted to.

I'd love to see a clear statement of his intent on his site somewhere, which I could point naysayers to.

He did mention that his blog is the second-most popular health blog after Dr. Mercola, and also that he's sold about 100,000 books.  In other words, he's not yet getting rich from the Primal Blueprint.

If you have a chance to see Mark speak, I highly recommend it.  It was well worth my time, and he's clearly mastered a great deal of information about healthy diet and physical activity, and he's very eager to share it.

Oh, and as you might be able to make out in the picture above, he was wearing black Vibram FiveFinger Treks.

"Phytic Acid Good or Bad?"

Phytic acid is stealing your minerals

"A Review of Food Science"  Wow.  Phyticacid.org.  I guess there really is a web page for everything now.

This is a pretty cool page, actually, although since starting to eat paleo I don't eat much grains or beans, but I am a big macadamia nut fan.

The author is selling a white paper on how to reduce phytic acid in foods which may be of interesting to you. Seems steep at $11.97, but there you go.

From Wikipedia:

"Phytic acid (known as inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6), or phytate when in salt form) is the principal storage form of phosphorus in many plant tissues, especially bran and seeds.^[1] Phytate is not digestible to humans or nonruminant animals, however, so it is not a source of either inositol or phosphate if eaten directly. Morever, it chelates and thus makes unabsorbable certain important minor minerals such as zinc and iron, and to a lesser extent, also macro minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

"...This process can therefore contribute to mineral deficiencies in people whose diets rely on these foods for their mineral intake, such as those in developing countries.^[10][11] Contrary to that, one study correlated decreased osteoporosis risk with phytic acid consumption.^[12] It also acts as an acid, chelating the vitamin niacin, the deficiency of which is known as pellagra.^[13] In this regard, it is an antinutrient, despite its possible therapeutic effects (see below). For people with a particularly low intake of essential minerals, especially those in developing countries, this effect can be undesirable."

By "developing countries", they're being polite.  Poor people is developing countries are pretty much vegetarian, because they're too poor to afford much meat, so they often suffer from typical vitamin deficiencies, as grains don't give up their minerals too easily.

"The FiveFingers Speed is Coming to the U.S. Any Day Now!"

Excellent.  You read it here, and over here, first. ;)

Here's my first and second reviews of my favorite Vibram shoe.  I ran a race in them, although I never did get around to filing a race report.  They were excellent, over ~18 miles.

Barefoot Running and Shin Splints

Oh for heavens sake, just take their shoes off!

"High tibial shock (TS), during running has been linked to an increased risk for developing tibial stress fractures. However, gait retraining using real time feedback has been shown to reduce TS during running up to 25%. Although it is unclear what kinematic strategies are used, midfoot strike (MFS) and forefoot strike (FFS) patterns have been reported to reduce load rates in running."

From Steve Magness on Twitter

Wheat and Egypt

A while ago I posted "Wheat and Malnutrition" which contained this bit:

"We have recently completed a screening project on school children in Cairo City, Egypt. Blood samples were obtained from 1,500 children attending school in Cairo City between October 2001 and June 2004... The prevalence of [celiac disease] in this sample of Egyptian students was 53% (95% CI 0.17-0.89). This estimate may be low, as more CD cases could be diagnosed at the follow-up, e.g. in the group currently showing a positive tTG IgA and a negative EMA [partial CD symptoms]."

(This is in the Wall Street Journal, which is subscription-only.)

That's pretty incredible, as celiac is supposed to be a rare, genetically determined condition.  In my post "Wheat and Poison Ivy", I presented the notion that wheat is simply a toxic plant, like poison ivy.  Toxins are typically more toxic past a certain point, and toxicity increases with dose.  "The dose makes the poison", in other words.

Logically, therefore, those Egyptian kids should be eating a lot of wheat to induce that level of toxicity (a 53% rate of celiac disease, better understood as wheat poisoning).

Well, lo and behold:

"Wheat is the biggest dietary staple in much of the region, providing cheap nutrition in bread, pasta and couscous.

"Tunisians eat more wheat than anyone on the planet: 478 pounds per person a year, compared to 177 pounds in the U.S. Egyptians and Algerians also eat more than twice as much wheat as Americans, says the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization."

(Also from the WSJ, titled "Mideast Staggered By Cost Of Wheat", May 19.)

Celiac is also common in Tunisia, although not at the level of that Egyptian school.  I'll note that that doesn't indicate a clear dose-response level.  One would expect some variation.

So what is also announced in the WSJ on the day that they published that article on wheat consumption in Egypt? A new aid plan for Egypt. Because they buy most of their wheat; from the United States, no doubt, since we're the largest exporter in the world.  They'll use the money to buy more wheat.

It beats starving, but not by much.  And, apparently, not for long.

"Ultra Runner Podcasts"

Goeff Roes is the first guest at this aptly-named podcast. 

I haven't listened to it yet, but will subscribe later.  Should be pretty interesting.

Bacon and Eggs for Breakfast

Conventional wisdom is changing:

"1. Eat Bacon and Eggs for Breakfast
"Regularly skipping breakfast increases your risk of obesity by 450 percent. Moreover, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University found that people who regularly ate a protein-rich, 600-calorie breakfast lost significantly more weight in 8 months than those who consumed only 300 calories and a quarter of the protein.

"And no, eggs and bacon aren't unhealthy. (Overeating eggs and bacon—or anything else—is what's unhealthy.) In fact, whole eggs contain more essential vitamins and minerals per calorie than any other food. They're also one of the best sources of choline, a substance your body requires to break down fat for energy. What's more, in a recent review of dozens of scientific studies, Wake Forest University researchers found no connection between egg consumption and heart disease. As for bacon, once it's been cooked it contains just 1 gram of saturated fat per slice—and one-third of that is the kind that has no effect on cholesterol levels..."

I don't know about the truth that "regularly skipping breakfast increases your risk of obesity", but the rest sounds good.

Via Instapundit. More here: "What 'Everyone Knows' May Be Changing."

"Elk Die After Gorging on Winter Wheat"

I don't know what this means, but it's interesting:

"The winter wheat did the young elk in because their digestive systems cannot break it down and absorb its nutrients. This means some elk actually died of starvation because they were not absorbing nutrients from the winter wheat.

"'They starved to death on full stomachs,' Kirsch said."

I guess killing off ruminants that would otherwise eat your seeds is effective at limiting predation.  But I don't understand why the elk seem to find wheat addictive.  Unless they have the same reaction that people do...  Very interesting.

Follow-up to "The Runner and Toe Shoes"

So my friend I refer to as "The Runner" has finally gone and taken the plunge, sort of.  He didn't get Vibrams, instead he got the Merrell Barefoot Trail Gloves, which are the next best thing.

He took them for a run on the treadmill, and sent me this message:

"Love em.. Never going back"

His boys still wear their FiveFingers, or go barefoot, all the time.

Primal Wisdom Goes Off The Rails

According to Don's analysis, mother's milk is a solid.

Stephan Guyenet posts a comment, and I posted this comment:

"Don, this is not a compelling argument.


You cite a couple of studies, and yet the guy who's spent the last 30+ years studying saturated fat and heart disease has thrown in the towel and declared:

"...there no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD."

That link is to Stephan's blog. How do you reconcile that statement and the evidence behind it with your belief?

Chris Masterjohn also posted a compelling comment on this post (in three parts).

P.S. The post referenced above has been deleted:

"Sorry, the page you were looking for in the blog Primal Wisdom does not exist."

This is probably a good thing.

P.P.S. Don's got a new post up, where he seems to be presenting the evidence to explain his thinking behind the previous deleted post. Interesting stuff.

I still don't agree with his premise, as the commenters note, there's plenty of evidence that humans in paleolithic Africa were causing extinctions as they hunted and ate fatty animals.

The Reign of The Experts

This is a wonderful metaphor for what we've seen in shoes and diet:

“After 100 years, we’re seeing that’s not quite working.”

Yes, we're learning that much of the expert advice we've been getting for the last 100 years has turned out to be hogwash.  Hayek had this nailed:

"It may be admitted that, as far as scientific knowledge is concerned, a body of suitably chosen experts may be in the best position to command all the best knowledge available—though this is of course merely shifting the difficulty to the problem of selecting the experts. What I wish to point out is that, even assuming that this problem can be readily solved, it is only a small part of the wider problem.

"Today it is almost heresy to suggest that scientific knowledge is not the sum of all knowledge. But a little reflection will show that there is beyond question a body of very important but unorganized knowledge which cannot possibly be called scientific in the sense of knowledge of general rules: the knowledge of the particular circumstances of time and place. It is with respect to this that practically every individual has some advantage over all others because he possesses unique information of which beneficial use might be made, but of which use can be made only if the decisions depending on it are left to him or are made with his active cooperation."

The experts don't know nearly as much as they think they know, and far less than they'd like us to think.

"The Washington Diet"

"Opponents of the administration’s plans, however, shouldn’t just debate the government’s proper role in people’s health; they should also point out that its population-wide diet advice goes well beyond what science has established. “Some people in this field act more like zealots with a passion for a cause than scientists waiting for the evidence to support their conclusions,” complains California Polytechnic public-health economist Michael Marlow. As Marlow notes, America’s obesity rate was far lower back when nutrition was largely a parental responsibility, before government became widely involved in the diet-advice business."

They're making it worse, not better.

"Can Running in Minimalist Shoes Strengthen Your Feet and Legs?"

Pete digs down into the study I posted the other day, and finds some really interesting answers:

"The scientists took 100 individuals, split them into two equally sized groups, and had them perform a series of exercises on a weekly basis in either Nike Free shoes or a conventional running shoe (for a duration of 6 months). The exercises included running, aerobics, skipping, and a variety of other things. They were also allowed to wear the shoes in everyday life if they so chose. They took a variety of measurements before the initiation of the study, including toe flexor strength (toe flexion is downward bending of the toes), range of motion of the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint (i.e., the joint at the base of the big toe/hallux), and the active path of motion of the same joint. They also took a subset of 25 individuals assigned to wear the Nike Frees and took MRI’s of the lower leg and foot to obtain information about muscle cross-sectional area (think of this as muscle belly size for simplicty’s sake)."

Of course this isn't news to minimalist runners (any more than it's news to Pete) as what they found here is what we all experience.  But it's pretty fascinating nevertheless.

Harry Takes the VivoBarefoot Ultra Out for a Spin

The Ultra is freakishly light and even lighter than the MWU3 once you remove the plug-in sock liner. This was closest to barefoot I've run next to the KSO.

P.S. A lengthy discussion here.

Quaker Chewy

Like this post, this is motivated by seeing an ad appear on my blog.  I agree with Richard Nikoley about these ads, but I do occasionally feel motiviated to comment on them, especially when the product promoted is diametrically opposed to the mission of this blog.

Quaker Chewy candy

So here we have the Quaker Chewy.  I presume this is part of a campaign of some sort, but out of morbid curiosity I felt compelled to go check out the ingredients, given that this ad appeared under my post on sawdust in food.

Sadly, they don't overtly include sawdust, as, along with the chocolate in the chocolate chips, that would have been one of the healthier ingredients.

This appears to be the product page for the Quacker Chewy, and happily, they include all the nutrition information (you may have to click on the nutrition tab at the bottom of the page):

Serving size   1 bar (24g)

Amount per serving
Calories 100	Calories from Fat 30

%daily value
Total Fat 3g		5%
	Saturated Fat 1g	6%
	Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg		0%
Sodium 75mg		3%
Total Carbohydrate 17g		6%
	Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
	Sugars 7g
Protein 1g

Calcium 8%

•  Iron 2%

Not a significant source of Cholesterol, Vitamin A, Vitamin C.
*	Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Ingredients

GRANOLA (WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, BROWNSUGAR, CRISP RICE [RICE FLOUR, SUGAR, SALT, MALTED BARLEY EXTRACT],WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED WHEAT, SOYBEAN OIL, DRIED COCONUT, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SOY LECITHIN, CARAMEL COLOR, NONFAT DRYMILK), SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR, COCOA BUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT), CORN SYRUP, BROWN RICE CRISP (WHOLE GRAIN BROWN RICE, SUGAR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, SALT), INVERT SUGAR, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, GLYCERIN, SOYBEAN OIL. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF SORBITOL,CALCIUM CARBONATE, SALT, WATER, SOY LECITHIN, MOLASSES, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, BHT (PRESERVATIVE), CITRIC ACID.

CONTAINS WHEAT, COCONUT, SOY AND MILK INGREDIENTS.

MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF PEANUT AND OTHER TREE NUTS.

The calories nearly add up.  Quaker claims the total calories are 100, with 30 coming from fat.  If you total the numbers they present, there are 27 calories coming from fat (9 calories per gram) 2/3s of that is coming from non-saturated fat sources.  The rest comes from the carbs (68 calories, 4 per gram) and protein (the lonely 4 calories from 1 gram).  I guess that's close enough to attribute the difference to a rounding error.

By weight, oddly, the numbers total 21 grams, while Quaker claims the total weight is 24 grams.  There's a missing 12.5%, which contains 1 calorie.  Perhaps we've found our sawdust?  3 grams (12.5%) of the total is fat, apparently coming mostly from the soybean oil.  17 grams (70.8%) is carbs, with 7 grams of "sugars" (29.2%).

So you're basically eating a bar of sugar bound together with soybean oil, and a miniscule amount of saturated fat (1 gram, 4.2%), hopefully coming from the chocolate.

This is a fine thing to feed to a lab rat if you're trying to make it sick, or if you just don't know better, but I don't understand why anyone would eat this themselves, or feed it to their childern. 

It has virtually no redeeming qualities as far as nutrition goes.

"The Diet That Shook Up Tennis"

"Novak Djokovic's Gluten-Free Ascendancy"

"...Djokovic's serve, sloppy as recently as last season, is now precise, fluid and, at times, devastating. His forehand used to break down in tense moments; now he hits winners that seem to subscribe to undiscovered laws of physics. His backhand, always solid, is now impenetrable, even with Nadal's famously high-bouncing forehand. And then there's the gluten.

"Last year, Djokovic's nutritionist discovered that Djokovic is allergic to the protein, which is found in common flours. Djokovic banished it from his diet and lost a few pounds. He says he now feels much better on court.

"A gluten-free diet can have implications far beyond the physical, especially in tennis, which taxes the mind like few other sports. The season is 11 months long, matches are grueling and can last for hours, and the slightest dip in a player's confidence can derail months of hard work. There's never anyone else to blame for a match gone awry.

"'It's mostly mental energy you're talking about, not energy supplied to muscle tissues,' said David Levitsky, a professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University, when asked about the effects of giving up gluten if one has an allergy. (An allergy differs from celiac disease, whose sufferers, Levitsky said, can incur far-reaching health effects from eating gluten, including the inability to absorb nutrients.)

"Levitsky said a gluten-free diet might have benefits for those with mild allergies, or even no allergy at all. 'The other part of the story is, if you believe in a cause of your disorder, it becomes the cause,' he said. 'We see this in many different studies. If you believe it, you change your behavior in the direction of being cured.'..."

Wheat-free has been a huge plus for me in terms of physical performance.  There's been no downside whatsoever.  Of course the Professor of Nutrition and Psychology has to blame it on the guy's mind, implying that there's no real cause, but of course we know better.

Thanks to The Healthy Skeptic.

Runblogger on the New Balance MT101

Too bad Pete's not feeling 100%, as I was really looking forward to his thoughts on my old shoes.  Looking forward to further posts.

P.S.  He took them out for a run.

Sawdust and Ice Cream

"How to detect adulteration in Spices (Ground) with Powdered bran and saw dust?"

"Sprinkle on water surface. Powdered bran and sawdust float on the surface."

Go spend a little time on Google searching on the query 'sawdust food adulteration', and you'll find links like the one above.  What is aldulterated food?

"To make impure by adding extraneous, improper, or inferior ingredients."

This is Food Safety 101.  

This post has been moved to Substack and updated.

"The Effects of Habitual Footwear Use: Foot Shape and Function in Native Barefoot Walkers"

This is a crucial paper for making the case that barefoot is superior to shod, for a number of reasons.

First, the paper appeared in a journal called Footwear Science. This is the belly of the beast, as it were, a journal from the footwear industry, not some hippy-dippy barefooter.

Second, the paper was given the Nike Award for Athletic Footwear Research for 2009:

"The winning study addressed barefoot walking in a habitual barefoot population from South India. Results showed that habitual barefoot walkers had subtle (but probably desirable) differences in foot form (i.e. a wider forefoot) and plantar pressure (i.e. better distribution) when compared to habitually shod peers. These results strongly suggest that everyday footwear should respect the foot's natural form and function."

Yes, that award is from Nike, the sneaker company.

Third, the key paragraph from the study ends with the killer observation (emphasis mine):

"While such populations are relevant in a clinical and applied context, one aspect should be borne in mind: the habitual use of footwear from early childhood may influence the shape, and probably the function of the foot. Traditional Chinese foot binding (Jackson 1990) is an extreme example showing that the human foot is a highly plastic structure, but even everyday footwear influences the foot. Studies on Chinese (Sim-Fook and Hodgson 1958) and medieval British populations (Mays 2005) found foot deformities resulting from restrictive footwear, but even recently in the USA, Frey et al. (1993) reported that 88% of the healthy women surveyed were wearing shoes smaller than their feet, and that 80% of them had some sort of foot deformity. A relevant question therefore is: is the Western foot, used in most studies, not ‘natural’ any more, and is our current knowledge of foot biomechanics clouded by the effects of footwear – in other words, are we studying ‘deformed’, but not biologically ‘normal’ feet?

"This may be considered likely, when confronting two palaeoanthropological findings...."

Nike gave this paper an award, remember.

It's here, in PDF.  Read the whole thing.

Phil Maffetone and Chris McDougall

Thanks to Luis.

Wheat and Poison Ivy

Teresa said:

"I believe you've put the cart before the horse: gluten does not cause celiac. It is a genetic disorder that can manifest in various ways. People with celiac react to gluten."

Yes, that's the conventional wisdom in the medical community. I happen to think it's wrong.

My wheat analogy is to poison ivy. Both contain chemicals that cause the body to initiate an auto-immune response, attacking its own tissues. In poison ivy, this is most commonly the skin, for wheat in celiac disease, it's the mucosal lining of the small intestine, although it can affect any tissue in the body. I can't imagine what effect eating poison ivy would have on the lining of the small intestine if you ate it, but it can't be good.

Neither wheat nor poison ivy affects 100% of the population.

"If ingested, poison ivy can produce severe gastrointestinal effects. Some individuals, however, can consume poison ivy without effect, apparently because of a lack of reactivity in the digestive mucosa."

One manifestation of celiac disease is a skin condition called dermatitis herpetiformis. This is commonly misdiagnosed as poison ivy.

Yet the medical community regards poison ivy as a toxic plant, best avoided. No one considers the reaction to poison ivy to be a human "genetic condition", although of course it is.  Dogs and cats aren't susceptible to poison ivy, for instance.  No one proposes that you ought to eat it.

So the difference between wheat and poison ivy is that wheat is a low-grade toxic plant that most people tolerate to some degree.  Poison ivy is a high-grade toxic plant that almost no-one tolerates.

Interestingly, both wheat and poison ivy produce what's known as "Type IV Hypersensitivity".  If you go look at the Wikipedia page on the topic, most of the causes of type IV hypersensitivity are either poison ivy or wheat-caused or -associated illnesses like celiac, Type 1 diabetes, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.  I'll wager the list of poison-ivy-related illnesses would be longer if people were in the practice of eating it.

I read in one journal that celiac is the most common genetically-determined condition in the human species. But as I think I've demonstrated, poison ivy sensitivity is far more common.

The most commonly accepted estimate of celiac prevalance is 1 in 133 people. I've heard estimates of wheat sensitivity that go up to 99% of the population. It's clearly far higher than 1 in 133. My diverticulitis, for instance, is clearly caused by wheat. I can reproduce the symptoms at will be eating it. Diverticulitis affects 65% of the population by the time they're 80, and becomes common in populations after wheat is introduced.
Eating wheat is a mistake. You shouldn't eat toxic plants that humans are not adapted to eat.

Follow-up to "Are You Sure You're Allergic to Penicillin?"

So we finally got around to doing the in-office penicillin challenge described in the original post.

Sure enough, no reaction.  Sat in an office for two hours waiting to "blow up like a blowfish", as my doctor put it, and nothing happened.

Pretty cool.

Wheat Poisoning Explained

One mechanism, anyway: Lectin-Based Food Poisoning: A New Mechanism of Protein Toxicity:

"At least one form of muscular dystrophy is caused by a failure in the membrane repair mechanism [17]. We have shown here that binding of cell surface glycoproteins by lectins interferes with the exocytotic events associated with membrane repair (mucus secretion) and that lectins potently block repair. We here propose a second category of disease that can be explained as a failure in the plasma membrane repair mechanism. Lectins, we hypothesize, are toxic when present in the GI tract based on two, inter-related effects. First, resealing failure occurs within the general population of GI tract cells normally exposed to membrane disrupting levels of mechanical stress, leading to their necrosis. The second lectin-induced effect is exocytotic failure within the subpopulation of GI tract cells that normally secrete mucus, leading to a decrease in protective, lubricating mucus secretion and a consequent increase in the incidence of mechanically-induced membrane disruption events. Because lectins, based on the damage they do to the lining of the GI tract, and their hypertrophic effect, have been implicated in, respectively, celiac disease [18] and cancer [19], knowledge of this mechanism may have implications beyond a better understanding of food poisoning."

Barefoot-friendly Podiatrists

Vibram is working with one, and he's taking questions from minimalist runners on Fridays on Facebook.

"Science for Smart People"

Tom Naughton, at it again.  I watched this with my twelve-year-old daughter last night and she laughed the whole way through. She probably wasn't even aware she was learining...



Tom's movie Fat Head is a must-watch as well.

"Does Form Matter?"

Harry Hollines

At Runner's World.

The fellow in the green is Harry Hollines, a friend I met at Barefoot Ted's Minimalist Running group.

The article discusses one of our favorites topics of discussion in the group, where most of us agree that it indeed does, and that the best way to learn "good form" is to take off your shoes and listen to your best coach, your feet.

Another friend in the article above is Pete Larson, the Runblogger, who attempts to answer the question in this post.

Unlike Pete, I don't have any doubt in the matter.  Your best form is achieved in your bare feet, and a shoe that allows you to run in a similar fashion is a good shoe.  This precludes any shoe that has a 12mm heel, or, I believe, any heel.

The Next Ugly Shoe Trend

Cool, we're trendy.  Too funny.

"Vibram FiveFingers Bikila and Sprint Long-Term Review"

In a nutshell, they last three to four times as long as sneakers.

Altra Instinct Review

"They have worked so well that I've been too busy running to take time to blog about them."

That's high praise...

Team SoftStar Miwok 100K Race Report

Congratulations!

He's running in these, if you're curious.  And it looks like he did quite well.

"Vibram USA Doesn't Like Pouting Customers, Replaces Busted Shoes"

Sounds fair.  I guess it's handy to have a blog.

My one experience with Vibram support was for a pair of KSOs that I ordered two years ago that had a manufacturing defect in one of the big toes.  There was a big hunk of something in there, and it left no room for my toe.

They replaced it immedately, no worries.

Michael Sandler Reviews Japanese Tabi Boots

Sandler's site is http://www.runbare.com/.

New SoftStar RunAmoc Prototype?

That's my guess.  They look nice.  Scroll down on for the picture.

(This was an old post that, thanks to the lovely blogger, apparently didn't get posted, despited being scheduled to do so.)

VivoBarefoot Neo Review

They sound good.

"More Proof That Paleo Pets Are HEALTHIER Pets!"

I agree with this 100%. 

My dog, like me, had chronic diarrhea until going "paleo" and cutting out the grains.  Now he's fine, has tons of energy, and looks absolutely beautiful.

I fully expect that he'll be strutting his stuff into his 90s like Nell's dogs will.

"A Tuckerman Tradition"

One of my other obsessions:

"The Inuit Paradox"

Another paradox, similar to the French Paradox, and the Taubes Paradox I noted a few weeks ago.

When are these dopes going to figure out that these multiple paradoxes mean that their theory is wrong?

Training, Fatigue, and Fitness

Fascinating post:

"Coming into form requires losing fitness."

Lebo Phalula Wins 10k Challenge in Her Bare Feet

Lebo Phalula

African women continue to demonstrate that it's possible to compete and win in your bare feet.

Thanks to JZ.

Special Forces Wearing Vibrams

Once again, Birthday Shoes does a post that I wanted to do, and does it better than I would have.  So go read it.

I'm happy not to put a question mark at the end of that title.  I've mentioned rumours before that Special Forces are wearing Vibrams, but now we have proof, and they're wearing them in real training!  Perhaps even operations?

See here for related posts.  Thanks to Josh W for finding this.

Wheat, Allergies, and Asthma

When one starts reading about the Paleo/Primal diets, one reads a lot of anecdotes about people's experiences on this diet.  Many people are able to achieve remarkable improvements in their health simply by ceasing to eat toxic foods.  Beyond remarkable, some of them seem downright miraculous.

One of the consistent threads is that people with allergies see their allergies and asthma improve after ceasing to eat wheat.  All the major paleo/primal blogs and sites have "success story" sections, the first one I started reading, at Mark's Daily Apple, is here.

The other day I posted about Dr. Davis' call for stories about people eliminating wheat from their diets.  One of the comments is about asthma improving from wheat elimination:

"My GP was amazed when I told him that I no longer needed steroids on my repeat prescription; he asked what I’d done to manage this 'because no-one comes off steroids for asthma'."

This story is extreme, but not atypical.

This post has moved to Substack!

VivoBarefoot Ultra: First Impression Review

Modular Ultra

This is one of the shoes I've been most eagerly awaiting.  Not just for me, but for my Croc-loving girls.  And not so much for running, but just to have a light, casual shoe for the summer.  Crocs are a mighty attractive package, which is why they've been so successful, but they're designed to please podiatrists, not my feet.

So I've been eagerly awaiting the Ultra's arrival, and here they are.

In the picture above, from left to right, you have: 1. An Ultra with the sock liner in; 2. two removable tongues, designed to be worn in the Ultra when the sock liner is removed; 3. the sock liner, removed; and 4. the other Ultra, with no liner and no tongue.  The bits pop together and seperate very easily.  I think most of the time I'll wear arrangement 4.

The only bummer about this arrangement is that the kevlar* liner that makes Vivo's soles puncture-proof is in the liner, not the sole.  This is due to a manufacturing problem with including the liner in the sole, but it means that if you're running in an area with cactus thorns, for instance, you're probably going to want to wear the liner.  Hopefully they'll be able to improve this at some point.

This morning turned out to be a good one for a first run in the Ultras.  It was in the low thirties when I set out for a short, three-mile run, so I started out with the sock liners in.  (Low thirties Fahrenheit: May in New England.  If you don't like the weather, wait a minute.)  My feet were plenty warm, and I continued for the first half of the run with the sock liners.  No abrasion or blisters, no real issues at all. 

At the halfway point, I stopped and took the liners out and stuffed them into my pockets.  I noted that there are little hexagonal nubs on the inside of the Ultras.  You don't notice these with the liners in, but they're quite noticable when they're out.  They're actually quite pleasant, and after a few minutes my feet got used to them.  They do provide some traction when running up or down hill: your feet don't slip around inside the shoe.

Standing there in my bare feet pulling the liners out reminded me that this would be a perfect morning for a barefoot run, but...  Sacrifices. :)

I did not use the tongues on this run, and frankly, I don't know why I ever would.  Again, there was no abrasion or blisters for the second half of the run.  I think the tongue would just get in the way, and, since the design of the Ultra is completely open, it would do nothing at all to keep debris out.

Ground feel was better with the liners out, but they don't make much of a difference.  The Ultras were simultaneously firmer than I was expecting (a good thing) and had a bit less ground feel.  I'd say the Ultras have ground feel between a KSO and a Bikila or Trek.  You only feel the larger rocks.  This would make them ideal for running a race, although since you'd run the risk of aquiring a rock due to the open Ultra EVA construction, they might not be the best race shoes.  I'd be more likely to use my Speeds, frankly, which also have a bit more ground feel.  However, while getting rocks in the Ultra is the obvious thing to worry about, due to the open design, it didn't happen on my short run.

The issue that has plagued VivoBarefoot's primary running shoe, the Evo, has been creasing of the material over the toes, leading to abrasions and blistering.  My wife won't wear her Evos at all for that reason.

Happily, that issue is entirely absent in the Ultra.  Didn't notice anything unpleasant about them at all, in fact.

My only concern with the Ultra is that the elastic laces don't do much to prevent your foot from moving around, they don't have that dial-in feel that you get with a laced sneaker.  So running up or down steep hills might be problematic, and trail running would probably be very problematic, since they're so open.

I've been a fan of VivoBarefoot for quite a while, but none of their shoes have been my favorites.  The Russell Mocs and the Vibrams are the shoes I generally reach for first.

The Ultra could easily leap to the front of the pack as the warmer weather arrives, although I may save them for a casual shoe, as these would be best for running in conditions when I could as easily be barefoot.  This is not a criticism, just an observation.  I think they would be a fine running shoe for anyone who chooses to use them as such, and I'll probably do so from time-to-time myself.

I expect that my daughters, whose favorite shoes are the VivoBarefoot kids' shoes, will be wearing these everyday.  No more Crocs!  Hurrah!

* They use some compound that's not Kevlar, which is a trademark, but is the same chemical.

Ultra Toe Spring

P.S.  I'll note that the Ultra has a lot more toe spring than the Evo does.  It was always my theory that the Evo had so many problems with abrasion because there was not enough toe spring, which is to say, too much material over the toes.

P.P.S. Wore them for a run with Chris McDougall.  They were great.

My one concern with these is that they'd be too sweaty underfoot, but this has turned out not to be the case.  There's so much airflow around your foot that your foot stays quite dry.  The only time I had a problem with sweat in the Ultra was while doing leg presses in the gym.

Dr. Davis Wants Wheat Elimination Stories

I posted mine, please go post yours.  And please read the comments, some of them are quite remarkable.

"Barefoot Running is Dead"

According to ASICS.

P.S.

"Are you a medic or a scientist?


"It’s all smoke and mirrors really. My background is as a clinical podiatrist."

Well that explains it, then.  Podiatrists.

Caballo Blanco in New Canaan, CT

Here's our thread from the Minimalist Runner's Group, and here's an article written by the woman sitting next to me at the event (the lady in the picture).

El Caballo Blanco

Micah True is a mighty nice fellow, and a great story teller.

"New Injury Study Finds No Link To Running Form Or Shoe Type"

Interesting. 

Self-reported studies are famously unreliable, and the sample size of barefoot/minimalist runners here is very small, so I'm going to hold off on going back to marshmallow shoes. ;)

Thanks to Steve Magness.