Why Am I Craving . . . ?

By Samantha Griffith

What do cravings really mean?  We have all experienced the insatiable cravings that seem to be so specific and always correlated to food that we know isn’t, ever, paleo.  There is a lot of debate out there as to what cravings mean and why they come when they do, but there is a lot of evidence that indicates a craving stems from a deficit in a nutrient that can be alleviated given a proper, healthier, food choice. 

As you can see in this table, most of the "What to Eat Instead" options are within the paleo diet, with the exception of some dairy and legume suggestions.  Unless, following the Nutrition Challenge, you have consciously added back in some dairy or legumes, simply lean toward the paleo options.

This is definitely not to say food deficits are the only reasons for food cravings.  There are a lot of times where emotions and psychological reasons lead toward the desire to eat "comfort foods", etc.  This is not an end all, be all, rule of thumb, just a good tactic to keep around for when you can satisfy a craving without falling off the "wagon".

Another valid point to keep in mind is our water consumption. There is a reason we have required, what seems like, an immense amount of water for this Nutrition Challenge.  

"Some experts estimate that up to 80 percent of the population is chronically dehydrated, so start with water before you try to decipher your cravings."

Often, we misinterpret our bodies signal for thirst as hunger. Before trying to satisfy your hunger, try drinking a glass of water and see if your craving subsides.

Welcome to NoCoast, Coach Jurney!

You've probably seen Jurney in your classes. She's the one several ladies chase because she is a go-getter. Jurney is an impressive CrossFit athlete, but she also has an extensive background in endurance training. She is just what the doctor ordered for our coaching team. With a unique interest in stuff many CrossFitters hate on, she'll be adding to the NoCoast dynamic. Expect her in your Wednesday morning and Thursday lunch classes!

Coming from an ultra-runner's perspective, Jurney's first unofficial CrossFit workout out in 2011 left her in awe. She knows what running all day and through the night feels like - and this was a new type of challenge. As a massage therapist, functional fitness makes sense to her and is part of what she speaks to her clients about daily. She was immediately hooked and knew she wanted it to be a big part of her life.

Jurney trained under and with the coach/owners at NoCoast and has been coaching WOD's and endurance classes for just over a year now. She appreciates what NoCoast has to offer and is psyched to be a part of the team. She looks forward to being able to help you to reach your goals while continuing to learn and grow as an athlete and a coach. She believes and thinks the quote of longtime Leadville 100 race director, Ken Clouber applies well to CrossFit - "You're better than you think you are and can do more than you think you can."

CrossFit Level 1 Certification
CrossFit Endurance Certification
Certified Massage Therapist

30 Day Paleo Challenge - Week 1

By Dan Finck

Week 1 of the 30 Day Paleo Challenge is in the books! If you feel like you got hit by a truck, you’re not alone! Don’t worry, it gets better. As we stated before, sugar is a drug and it’s going to take some time for your body to kick the habit. But, once you get your body back, you’ll feel better then ever and the benefits are worth the withdrawal!

As we move through this process together, our goal is to continue to learn about good nutrition and mold our diets into a long term, sustainable resource for our bodies. Properly fueling our bodies allows our hormones to function correctly, helping our metabolism to speed up. A functional metabolism allows us to burn calories more efficiently, which in turn allows you to burn excess body fat. Lowering your body fat makes working out, day to day active, and recovery much easier. And most importantly, you are building a wall between you and diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes as they are prone to the obese. Oh ya, let’s not forget about a stronger mental focus and more durable immune system.

In order to obtain all of these benefits, our bodies need to readjust back to neutral. Paleo is a great way to do this. Not only do we cut out all sugar, but we are cutting out grains, legumes, dairy, processed foods and alcohol; all things that are foreign to the original design of the human body. As we detox through these first few weeks, your body is adjusting to the cravings and relearning to function without these speed bumps or barricades. Imagine driving your car all day long and having to slow down every 10 feet for a speed bump. What happens if we remove the bumps? Same thing happens when we remove the crap from our diet!

Hopefully I didn’t have to remind you why you’re trying Paleo, but just in case the truck not only ran over you this week, but put it in reverse and ran over you again , just know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Here are a few tips that will help us get through Week 2 a little easier:

1) MODERATION - After reading through everyone's food logs, most of us are falling into one of the following; mostly vegetarian or mostly meatatarian. It’s either all fruit and veggies with an egg, or all meat with a side of spinach. Try and find a balance. Every meal and snack should have some protein, carbohydrate, and healthy fat in it. Here’s a good example of a daily food log:

Breakfast - 3 eggs, an orange, a few strawberries, and coconut oil.

Snack - Apple, almond butter, and turkey.

Lunch - Salad with chicken, lots of veggies (maybe even some fruit), and avocado.

Snack - Hard boiled eggs, baby carrots, and nuts

Dinner - Steak, sweet potato, broccoli, and guacamole.

2) Make sure you’re drinking half your bodyweight in water. This will help curb your hunger and allow your body to function better; dehydration slows down everything!

3) Consume the fringe stuff with caution. Even though we are allowing approved protein powder, kombucha, almond/coconut milk, and stevia, at the end of the day we are trying to kick our sugar habit. Consuming items with sugar or sweeteners is only going to slow down your progress.

4) Log your food, water, and fish oil. You need to log your water and fish oil in your food log on Beyond the Whiteboard. Make a separate post at the end of each day that has your total water and fish oil in it. If you don’t, you won’t get credit for it. Also, be as detailed as possible when logging your food; this way we can help you figure out what changes to make down the road.

5) Ask questions and read. Regularly look up blog and the resources that we recommended at the beginning of the challenge.

Unpacking the Hormones in our Food

By Leah Hosburgh

Roids may look better on a cow than a person...but still a roided cow may not be the healthiest option.

You will often see meat and dairy labels that say, “no added hormones,” or something like that. But, what exactly are they talking about? And what hormones should we be looking out for? Here is the FDA approved list:

1.       Estradiol-sex hormone, current form used in cattle has been linked to increased levels of breast cancer

2.       Progesterone-sex hormone used to increase fertility

3.       Testosterone-sex hormone used to increase weight gain in cattle. Most cattle are castrated and the supplement is used to “make up for” the lack thereof.

4.       Zeranol-sex hormone that increases growth in animal. Studies have linked some connection with increase in breast cancer and onset of puberty in humans (http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/chemicals-glossary/zeranol.html)

5.       Trenbolone aka “Fina”-steroid used to increase growth and appetite in cattle.

6.       rbGH-(Recominant Bovine Growth Hormone) Synthetically derived growth hormone developed through
DNA technology in the 1980s. Given to dairy cows to produce more milk for longer periods of time.
Side effects on animals: clinical mastitis, reduction in fertility, increase in lameness and deformities.
Side effects on humans:  stimulates production of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) which can has been correlated with the growth of human cancer cells.

Honestly, it is difficult to find enough solid, biased-free research on these topics. What I do know is it is likely that we are consuming these hormones if our cattle have been treated with it. Again feedlots are very unsanitary, so not only are they being treated with these hormones via implants, but they excrete them and then likely consume them again.

It is scientifically impossible to prove an exact cause and effect. But parties opposed to the use of these hormones would suggest they are increasing the rate of breast cancer and causing premature onset of puberty.  AKA: In the 1970s breast cancer had a lifetime risk of 1 in 10, currently, it’s 1 in 8 (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/probability-breast-cancer), and incidences in ages 20-30 years old has increased considerably in the last 5 years. Different sources say different things, but they all agree that breast cancer has become the second leading cause of death by cancer in women, right behind lung cancer (third behind heart disease). Prior to the 1970s I don’t know, but the use of at least one of these hormones became FDA approved as early as the 1930s and most were mainstream by the 1980s.

As for the puberty thing, what is now being called “precocious puberty,” is the definitive onset of puberty before the age of 8 in girls, and the age of 9 in boys (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/precocious-puberty/DS00883/DSECTION=risk-factors), and risk factors include being exposed to sex hormones at an early age. Also, the human body has a trigger based on bodyweight for when to start puberty, and exposure to growth hormones would affect this process.

Food for thought!

Sources:
http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/factsheet/diet/fs37.hormones.cfm
http://www.lowdensitylifestyle.com/the-meat-you-eat-steroid-use-in-livestock/

Organic Fruits and Vegetables?

"Pesticides are toxic. They are designed to kill things and most are not good for you" 

By: Sam Griffith

Why is it necessary for this worker to use a mask while spraying this produce that is then sold to consumers?

We have been talking a lot about organic, non-organic, and grass fed in conjunction with our meat and protein consumption; the same caution needs to be given in the way that we purchase and view our fruits and vegetables. Pesticides are any substance, or mixture of substances, intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest. As declared by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), there are a few different types of pesticides that are used on food, which include:

Insecticides to control insects
Rodenticides to control rodents
herbicides to control weeds
Fungicides to control mold and fungus
antimicrobials to control bacteria

In this list of pesticides, the word "control" is really indicative of "kill". The EPA states that these pesticides are used to "protect" our food from pests, but the chemicals that are being applied in order to "protect" our food doesn't give consumers the same protection.  

As we are immersing ourselves in the paleo lifestyle, fruits and vegetables are a primary source of clean nutrients and an absolute staple in our diet.  It is very important to eat those fruits and vegetables, but we need to get them as clean as we can.

There is a list of what is call the "Clean 15" and the "Dirty 12" that is put out annually by the EGA (Environmental Working Group) which indicates the least contaminated and most contaminated by pesticides.  So . . . which ones should I buy organic?  If we are deciding between which produce is more important to invest in organic, the "Dirty 15" are the heavy hitters that would be worth the financial sacrifice. Buying organic is going to mitigate the pesticide residue as no pesticide or chemical fertilizer is used to grow the organic produce that is then shipped to grocers. Keep in mind, that is important to wash your produce regardless - that will significantly help eliminate some of the pesticide residual present.

It is estimated that we can reduce our pesticide exposure by 80% by buying organic on these 12 "Dirty" foods.

There is a lot of criticism about the tolerance levels the EPA and FDA allow for pesticides, which is not a far stretch from the leniency Leah talked about with the USDA and meat regulations.  At the end of the day, the decision is up to us.  We cannot put our trust and health in the hands of big corporations that are providing produce for the masses, adequate research and individual knowledge is the key to understanding what we are putting into our bodies, and our families. 

As we would expect any chemical to be harmful, pesticides can significantly affect liver function, hormone system disorders, birth defects when consumed by their mothers, cancer, and many other diseases.

Mega Omegas: Gets your 3s and 6s Right.

By Dan Finck

When comparing our generation to the Paleolithic era, there are a lot of obvious differences. One thing we as CrossFitters have be trying to emulate, is the way they ate. The Paleo Diet consists of lean meats, lots of vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, some starch, and no sugar. As CrossFitters, we are always looking to find the best ways to train and live, and of course how we fuel our body is a huge part of that. We’ve found that the Paleo Diet is the cleanest, most natural way to eat, and it makes perfect sense that these foods are the foods that our bodies were designed to live off of.

As we begin to break down the Paleo Diet over the next month, we’ll find that within these Paleo/whole food groups, there are healthy and super healthy choices we can make. For example, you can go to the store and buy an apple or you can buy and organic apple. They both deliver high quality micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), but obviously the organic apple is better for us, as it is free of pesticides.

The same can be said for meats. The only difference is that grass fed meat actually does have higher quality micronutrients. What an animal eats directly affects what we consume when we eat meat; if you haven’t seen Leah’s last two articles check them out ASAP!

Some of the more important micronutrients are Omegas 3 and 6. Both are essential fatty acids that our body needs to function and we can only get them through food. Omega 3 helps reduce inflammation in the body and research studies have shown that omega 3 may help lower the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. Omega 6 has been shown to maintain bone health and the reproductive system, and can also help regulate your metabolism.

Just as omega 3 reduces inflammation in the body, omega 6 promotes inflammation in the body. Both are important, but in order for them to work together they must be balanced. Omega 3 and 6 are balanced somewhere around 2:1 - 3:1 (omega 6: omega 3). The problem in our society today is that the ratio is somewhere between 20:1 and 50:1. The reason for this is cheap, poor quality food. Unless an animal is able to eat what they were meant to eat, then they’re fatty acid ratio is out of whack, which means our ratio is out of whack. If our omega 3 and omega 6 aren’t balanced, this can lead to a whole host of problems, which are listed above. The reason is that we don’t have enough omega 3 fatty acids reducing inflammation in our body.

So, how can we attempt to balance your omegas? Start by paying attention to the meat products you buy and eat. Wild caught, grass fed, free range meats will be naturally higher in omega 3. The leaner the meat, the better; and don’t be afraid to eat fish once or twice a week. Speaking of fish, everyone should be taking fish oil everyday! Look for a brand that is high in omega 3 and consume at least 4 grams daily.