A Quick Look at Acai

Just got a reminder about acai berries from RealAge.com

Acai, which tastes like a curious blend of chocolate and berries, has the highest level of cancer crushing antioxidants of any fruit. Brazilians eat it pureed as a sauce or in a bowl with granola, etc. It doesn't hold up well to shipping fresh, so Americans can only get it frozen, or in liquid or powder form.

I've mostly been consuming frozen acai in morning smoothies that I make for myself, or that my beloved roommates make for me. Now I'm thinking about more adventurous recipes - maybe acai-mint sorbet, or fruit soup. I'll get back to you with my findings and recipes and some good sources for finding acai in your area. Stay tuned.

Ultimate Fitness in a Pill?

Talk about better living through chemistry...

TThis article in the New York Times states that science really is getting closer to providing people with that "magic pill" they can take to make their fitness dreams come true.

Scientists researching two drugs - Aicar and GW1516 - found that both dramatically increase muscular endurance. GW1516 does it with exercise, and Aicar does it (slightly less efffectively) without you moving a muscle. In trials using mice, both drugs tricked muscles into thinking they've been working out. Since, muscles' natural response to exercise is to become healthier and more efficient - resulting in increased endurance. According to Dr. Ronald Evans, the leader of the research team at the Salk Institute, humans and mice have similar mechanisms controlling these responses, so the drugs are likely to work on us as well.

My Take?

I'm torn.

As an advocate of exercise for fitness, self-awareness, and stress relief, it goes against my nature to recommend popping a pill that will take away all your problems. Especially when there's no information on the drugs long term effects.

On the other hand, the drug can be an important breakthrough for people with diabetes, muscle wasting conditions, etc. I can't help thinking that there are people in my family who I love very much who could benefit from something like this. I've seen firsthand what a huge obstacle it can be to go from being extremely out of shape to building a regular health and fitness practice. It's rarely as simple as telling people to get up and run.

With all that saide, I feel I should admit that it just sounds cool. In a science-fiction, "We can build him stronger." kind of way, it feels like the dawn of some kind of Super Humanity. And that makes me want to get myself a tub of popcorn - with just a touch of butter, and maybe some brewer's yeast for the B vitamins - and watch this thing work itself out.

No doubt, these drugs will ultimately offer a lot of hope to a lot of people, while also ushering in a whole new world of problems. We'll hear stories of amazing personal transformation, as well as tales of abuse and possible fatality. Let's hope we have the wisdom to a better job with this new technology than we have in the past.

Until then, I gotta run.

The Long Weekend - Detroit to Philly and back to Brooklyn

Went to Detroit for my sister Faith's theology Ph.D commencement. Saw my beloved and hilarious family. Then to Philly for my best friend's birthday. Here're the running related aspects of the trip:

Detroit
I've become one of those people who "packs their running shoes". You know. The type that marries their high school sweetheart and always flosses before bed.

The kind of person who's pious pretty much just to make other people look bad.

I.am.so.sorry.

Okay, that said...running in Detroit is a trip. It's a city that definitely needs a little love. Crazy wealth disparities and so much unrebuilt architecture. One block would be all mansions, and the next would be like a war zone. Of course, I didn't exactly see all this on foot because:

1. This whole rehab thing is taking its sweet time. The process of upping my mileage is going to be mega-gradual. (More on what that means for Hawaii later), and

2. Detroit's not a place where you run around in neighborhoods you don't know.

Case in Point: Someone tried to steal my sister's car awhile ago. From the church parking lot. While she was in church. Giving a sermon. Because she's the Pastor. And the would-be criminals knew this. Which indicates some deep deep criminality, because I'm fairly certain a stunt like that will send you directly to Hell. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

Instead, I did a few laps around Russell Woods Park just off Livernois, and took my cautious brown self home.

The next morning I was up cross-training at 4am, so that I could be ready to get on the bus to Dayton by 6:30am. I'm glad I squeezed in the extra activity, as the bus trip between Detroit and Dayton is 3 hours each way, so any extra blood flow was definitely a good thing.

Also, during the trip, I ate an entire side of beef by myself, and washed it down with a bathtub full of potato salad and some ginger ale. No joke, my sister's church members were delivering food on an hourly basis. One sister dropped off 20lbs of beef rib tips, a bucket of potato salad, and some seafood salad with pasta. Another brought fried green tomatoes, succotash, a vat of collard greens, and a second bucket of potato salad.

Actually, just typing about it makes me want to lie down for a minute, so I'll stop here.

Philly
smoked fish of many sorts - whole mackerel, trout?, salmon caviar, ceviche, zucchini chocolate cake, and in the midst of that, I packed my shoes. Didn't get to run on that short short trip, though. Man, they take up a lot of space in your bag...