HOW I PROVED (AT LEAST TO MYSELF) THAT HEEL-STRIKING IS NOT A NATURAL WAY TO RUN

Since I switched from "running shoes" to barefoot and minimal footwear about 4-1/2 years ago, I have watched with great interest how runners feet contact the ground. Probably 90 % of runners that you see along the road are heel striking. There is one older lady who runs regularly in our neighborhood who has the greatest light, mid-foot strike, and just floats along...wearing regular "running shoes". Whatever happened to most of those who wear that type of shoe, didn't happen to her. Everyone else that you see, though is truckin' along, some fast, some slow, all reaching out with that big rubber clad heel, then slapping that foot down as their weight comes over the top of their extended knee. I did a little experiment that showed me just how your feet should contact the ground. During a run, I encountered a branch and instinctively my foot went toward the side to avoid it. I have a pretty reliable mid-foot strike anyway, but this one was entirely automatic. You can't suddenly jump to one side or the other and land on your heel. You will either get hurt, lose your balance, or at the very least, make an ungainly recovery. Your foot, in a sudden situation, reverts to how it was made. It lands forefoot/mid-foot to give you the best chance of a safe landing. I get most of my revelations about running WHILE RUNNING. I then started trying to re-create the situation. Your foot, left to its own devices, will land naturally to help you avoid an injury. I then tried running backward. Guess what..........it's virtually impossible to heel strike when you are running backward. (Caveat-Probably not a good idea to run backward.) Put your feet in any unusual situation during a run and they will call on those 2 million years of evolution, instantly defeating the running shoe industry's multi-billion dollar campaign to sell you thick rubber heeled shoes in which to stomp along on your run. Therein lies my point. That "Keep on Truckin'" heel strike JUST AIN'T NORMAL. Don't know any other way to say it.

CREATING A MAKESHIFT PALEO ENVIRONMENT

The initial question would be, "Is it possible?" The short answer is, probably not. We live in a modern, convenience filled, tech world. One could, I suppose, really live like our stone age ancestors, if one was willing to forego society, probably family, medical treatment, and comfort pretty much altogether. Not many people would be willing to do that, and in my opinion, anyone who goes to that extreme has some other agenda or issues separate and apart from living a healthy life. These articles aren't about doing such a thing. I, for one, am not willing to give up the benefits of living in the current age on a Quixotic quest for "Paleo-health". What we are about here is showing that, with some effort and creativeness, as well as a bit of commitment, you can access many of the benefits of living as you were evolved to live, while still being part of modern society. That's a lot of what I get from John Durant's book, "The Paleo Manifesto". I have read it once, am going to read it again, and will be doing a review in upcoming weeks, by the way. The main thing about "Paleo" is, at least from my point of view, a new way of looking at the world. There is currently too much food available and not enough demanded from us in a modern environment. Our food sources are cheap, plentiful, and mostly carbohydrate loaded. Fast food restaurants are on virtually every corner, and the food industry spends billions of dollars per year to convince us that our palates should beg for sugar, wheat, and other simple carbohydrates. Billboards and commercials are filled with sumptuous looking cinnamon rolls, waffles, bread, pie, burgers on a huge bun with mystery sauce dripping from the side, candy, cake, you name it. Switching to Paleo is not hard. Let me repeat that IT IS NOT HARD. It doesn't take long to get used to, either. You can lose those carb cravings in short order. It just takes a bit of creativeness and some commitment. 1. First of all, you gotta dump the crap in your pantry. If it's there, it might be eaten. If it's gone.........it won't. 2. Learn how to shop. If it's in a package, chances are, you don't need it. Stick to meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruit, nuts, eggs, and honey. You probably don't even need to go into those interior aisles of a grocery store where the other stuff is sold. You know, the bread, snack, cereal, canned food aisles. 3. Change how you view "food". Humans are an omnivore. We can live on pretty much any kind of food. Too many of us have been living (if you want to call it that) on highly processed, salt and additive-filled carbohydrates like instant ramen, macaroni, bread, and sugar-filled desserts. It takes a little leap at first, but you can easily get to where you need to be by no longer looking at those things as food sources. We weren't evolved to live on them, and you can't do it an remain healthy for long. Look around at the obesity rate, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. As I say repeatedly throughout these articles, I am not a medical doctor, and won't tell YOU what is right for you. I'm looking at basic truths, and giving MY opinion, sharing MY views on how to get healthy. An African lion wouldn't stand on the shore, see a blue whale spout in the distance, and view it as a food source. (OK, the likelihood of THAT little scenario is pretty remote, but work with me here. I'm trying to make a point.) You shouldn't view those junk-type "foods" as a food source. I read someplace a while back, "Don't sacrifice what you want MOST for what you want NOW." My apologies to whomever wrote that, for no attribution, but I don't know the source. How true it is, though! Breaking over and eating that pizza may momentarily satisfy some misplaced craving for carbs and salt, but certainly won't help you in your Paleo lifestyle. It won't be as satisfying as you thought, either. 4. Movement, movement, movement. I use the tag "Simulate The Hunt" (c) at the top of the page. You need to move around to expend energy. If you take in too much and move too little, your body will store it for later. Simple simple simple. You've heard this before, but you have to move. Your body was made to move, to work, to climb, to run, to swim, in general to move through your environment. It is capable of amazing physical feats. Don't sit when you can stand, don't drive when you can walk, use hand tools instead of power tools when it's reasonable to do so. Increase your energy output. Walk, walk, walk. Run if you can, even a little and then increase it. Carry heavy (within your ability) objects. Move things, climb things. Jump, play, chase. 5. Enjoy your life. 6. Spend time out in nature. Even if it's a park in the middle of a city. 7. Get your bare feet and your hands in the dirt. 8. Use natural materials when you can.

NOT JUST RUNNING-LIVING

I often write about minimalist/barefoot running issues, minimalist shoe reviews, etc. Running is just something that I like to do. I want to look beyond ONLY the running, and talk about minimalist/barefoot LIVING. When you first transition from "traditional" shoes, you have to do it somewhat slowly, as your feet, primarily, are weak from years of being encased in rubber/leather/canvas, and your ankles, tendons, calves, (and on up the chain) are in need of conditioning to be able to run as you were made to run. Nearly EVERY runner that you see on the road, from those you see at the head of the pack in an event to the weekend casual "jogger", are running along, clomping down on the heel and slapping the toes down with every step. I have kind of made a game of it, in that when I am on the road, whether running or driving and see a runner coming toward me, I look to whether I can see the bottom of their foot as they take a step. Generally, if you can see the bottom of their shoe, they are presenting it as they reach out with their heel. As I started to say, barefoot/minimalist RUNNING strengthens your feet/legs. What about barefoot/minimalist LIVING? Do you have a good barefoot run, then throw on the old sneakers/worn out "running shoes" to prepare to work in the yard? If so, I think you may be missing a great opportunity for conditioning. I spend a lot of time working outside. I mean A LOT! We are fortunate to have a fruit orchard and large seasonal garden, however it takes a lot of physical work to keep it going. Whether I am trimming trees, removing stumps, fixing irrigation pipe or laying in firewood, I'm not wearing shoes. I do some of it barefoot, and much of it in some good old tire tread sandals with paracord laces. These are the ones shown in the photo above, taken before I did some customization on them, and switched to the paracord. Plenty of protection for the bottom of your feet from thorns, etc., but no cushioning, and lots of free foot movement. Such work strengthens your feet, as they move in ways that just don't happen while running. When I have worked outside for the day, my feet have that great "happy tired" feeling after a good hard trail run. I've been bending them, stepping on logs, rocks, pushing over stumps, you name it, for 8 hours or more. You can't buy that kind of foot workout. Now I've been doing this for a long time, and I'm not advocating anything, just providing my perspective and experience. I go so far as to chop and split firewood this way, and to the uninitiated, that could be fraught with danger. I'm just providing the point of view that our primitive ancestors didn't run down a buck, then change into their old Nikes to go gather firewood. This is about getting back to our primal roots, and living more closely to the way they did in order for our bodies to be healthy. If you don't do a lot of your living/working either barefoot or in minimal footwear, you are missing a great conditioning opportunity.

Jack Osbourne: High fat low-carb ketogenic Paleo diet helps multiple sclerosis - National diets | Examiner.com

Jack Osbourne: High fat low-carb ketogenic Paleo diet helps multiple sclerosis - National diets | Examiner.com:



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THE F.C.S. EPIDEMIC (FOOD CELEBRATION SYNDROME)

I work in an office environment. Just a few people, but LOTS in adjacent offices/rooms, etc. The problem that this presents is that there is, with several hundred people in a building, most of us interacting throughout the day, there is virtually ALWAYS something that somebody wants to celebrate. Birthdays, Retirement, Promotions, Holidays, people getting hired, transferred, married, having babies. Seldom, it seems, does a day go by when there isn't SOMETHING that SOMEONE wants to "celebrate". This alone is not a bad thing. It makes people feel good, after all. The problem is HOW they celebrate. I will use this morning as an example. We had the "trifecta". Someone, in an adjacent office, decided, "What the heck, it's Friday." So they brought a giant box (probably 15-20 count) of assorted doughnuts, chocolate covered, sugar glazed, sugar dipped, etc. etc. The box was just laying open on a table where EVERYONE would pass by during the course of the morning. The box was soon decimated, save a few scraps. Now, cut the scene to OUR office. Interns last day, so they bring a pound of candy to share with everyone. Another intern's last day, so they have someone deliver cookies, candied cookies and candy. Yesterday was "The next to last day for the interns", so someone bought a cake. This is learned, and accepted behavior in our society, and it is horribly unhealthy. We have a huge obesity rate, and this behavior is a big contributing factor, I think. We celebrate everything with food.......not just food, but JUNK, full of sugar and wheat. There won't be a quick fix to this, and I've certainly posted about it before. Until we stop raising our kids to think that every happy event involves sugar, we will continue to pass this on to future generations. Find another way to celebrate. Buy a card, a gift, whatever, as long as it isn't food. In my humble opinion, as always.........