Tribal Crossfit

2/8/10

For Time

100 Burpees

100 Pull-ups

MYTH #12:

Eating animal flesh causes violent, aggressive behaviour in humans.

Some authorities on vegetarian diet, such as Dr Ralph Ballantine in Transition to Vegetarianism (63), claim that the fear and terror (if any, see myth #15) an animal experiences at death is somehow "transferred" into its flesh and organs and "becomes" a part of the person who eats it. 

In addition to the fact that no scientific studies exist to support such a theory, these thinkers would do well to remember the numerous studies that show that low saturated-fat consumption CAUSES violent behaviour in people (see notes to myth #7). Furthermore, in his travels, Dr Price always noted the extreme happiness and ingratiating natures of the peoples he encountered, most of whom were heavy meat-eaters (see references to Weston Price in notes).

Myth #12: 

63. Ballantine, op. cit.

2/6/10

For time:

3 Times

50 M Lunge

100 M Broad Jump

200 M Run

 

2/5/10 PM

"Kelly"

Five rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
30 Box jump, 24 inch box
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball

 

Joanne Mittelholtz, CrossFit Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
 

2/5/10 AM

"Griff"

For time:
Run 800 meters
Run 400 meters backwards
Run 800 meters
Run 400 meters backwards

 

In honor of USAF SSgt Travis L. Griffin, 28, who was killed April 3, 2008 in the Rasheed district of Baghdad by an IED strike to his vehicle. Travis is survived by his son Elijah.

2/4/10

Deadlift 3-3-3-3-3 reps

 

MYTH #11:

The human body is not designed for meat consumption.

Some vegetarian groups claim that since humans possess grinding teeth like herbivorous animals and longer intestines than carnivorous animals, this proves the human body is better suited for vegetarianism (61). This argument fails to note several human physiological features which clearly indicate a design for animal product consumption.

First and foremost is our stomach's production of hydrochloric acid, something not found in herbivores. HCL activates protein-splitting enzymes. Further, the human pancreas manufactures a full range of digestive enzymes to handle a wide variety of foods, both animal and vegetable. 

While humans may have longer intestines than animal carnivores, they are not as long as herbivores; nor do we possess multiple stomachs like many herbivores, nor do we chew cud. Our physiology definitely indicates a mixed feeder, or an omnivore, much the same as our relatives, the mountain gorilla and chimpanzee (who have been observed eating small animals and, in some cases, other primates) [62].

Myth #11: 

61. "Why Not Meat? (Part 2)," Down to Earth News, Dec/Jan 1998, pp. 1-4; Ballantine, Ralph, Transition to Vegetarianism, Himalayan Institute Press, PA, 1994.

62. Abrams, "Vegetarianism . . .," pp. 75-76.

2/3/10

2x5 + 15

Squat

Press

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"Fight Gone Bad!"

Three rounds of:

Wall-ball, 20 pound ball, 10 ft target (Reps)

Sumo deadlift high-pull, 75 pounds (Reps)

Box Jump, 20" box (Reps)

Push-press, 75 pounds (Reps)

Row (Calories)

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of "rotate", the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

-----

Ring Dips

Skin the Cat

Jan Hanging out 

MYTH #10:

Soy products are adequate substitutes for meat and dairy products.

The billion-dollar soy industry has profited immensely from the anti-cholesterol, anti-meat gospel of current nutritional thought. Whereas, not so long ago, soy was an Asian phenomenon, now soy products proliferate in the North American market. While the traditionally fermented soy products of miso, shoyu, tempeh and natto are definitely healthful in measured amounts, the hyper-processed soy "foods" are not.

Non-fermented soybeans are extremely high in phytic acid (54), an anti-nutrient that binds to minerals in the digestive tract and carries them out of the body. Vegetarians are known for their high rates of iron and zinc deficiencies (55).

Soybeans are also rich in trypsin inhibitors, which hinder protein digestion. Textured vegetable protein (TVP), soy "milk" and soy protein powders, and popular vegetarian meat and milk substitutes are entirely fragmented foods made by treating soybeans with high heat and various alkaline washes to extract the beans' fat content or to neutralise their potent enzyme inhibitors. These practices completely denature the beans' protein content, rendering it very hard to digest. MSG, a neurotoxin, is routinely added to TVP to make it taste like the various foods it imitates (56).

On a purely nutritional level, soybeans, like all legumes, are deficient in cysteine and methionine, vital sulphur-containing amino acids (56). Soybeans are also lacking in tryptophan, another essential amino acid (56).

Furthermore, soybeans contain no vitamins A or D, required by the body to assimilate and utilise the beans' proteins (56). It is probably for this reason that Asian cultures that do consume soybeans usually combine them with fish or fish broths, The New Zealand government is considering removing soy formula from the market and making it available only by prescription (58).

Though research is still ongoing, some recent studies have indicated that soy's phyto-oestrogens could be causative factors in breast cancer and infantile leukaemia (59). Regardless, soy's phyto-oestrogens, or isoflavones, have been shown to depress thyroid function and cause infertility in some animals (60). As a practitioner, I have seen more than my share of vegetarians with hypothyroidism. They invariably rely on soy foods to get their protein.

Myth #10:

54. Tiney, E.H., "Proximate Composition and Mineral and Phytate Contents of Legumes Grown in Sudan," Jnl of Food Comp. and Analysis, vol. 2, 1989, pp. 67-78; Leviton, Richard, Tofu, Tempeh, Miso and Other Soy Foods, (Keats Publishing, CT),1982; Grant, T.G., Progress in Food and Nutrition Science 13:317-348 (1989); Fallon, Sally and Enig, Mary, "Soy Products for Dairy Products? Not So Fast," Health Freedom News, September 1995; Anderson, Robert and Wolf, Walter, "Compositional changes in trypsin inhibitors, phytic acid, saponins, and isoflavones related to soybean processing," Jnl of Nutr., March 1995, 518S-588S.

55. Abrams, "Vegetarianism . . .," pp. 60-61; Wilson, MD, Lawrence. "Evidence for Traditional Diets from Hair Mineral Analysis," Jnl of PPNF, Spring 1999.

56. Fallon and Enig, "Soy Products . . .,"

57. Fitzpatrick, Mike, "Soy Isoflavones: Panacea or Poison?" Jnl of PPNF, Fall 1998; see also papers on http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz>www.soyonlineservice.co.nz</a><br>58.%20See%20<a%20href=

59. Leukemia 13:317-20 (1999); Hsieh, et al., Cancer Res, 1998, Sept 1, 58:17, 3833-8

60. Ishizuki, et al., Nippon Naibunpi Gakkai Zasshi, 1991, May 20, 67:5, 622-9; Divi, et al., Biochem Pharmacol, 1997, Nov. 15, 54:10, 1087-96; Fitzpatrick, op cit.

2/2/10

2x5 + 10

Squat

Press

-----

Hang Snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

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6 Skin the Cat -Front Lever

6 Ring Dips

Welcome all the New January  Peeps

MYTH #9:

Meat and saturated fat consumption have increased in the 20th century, with a corresponding increase in heart disease and cancer.

Statistics do not bear out such fancies. Butter consumption has plummeted from 18 lb (8.165 kg) per person a year in 1900, to less than 5 lb (2.27 kg) per person a year today (52). Additionally, Westerners, urged on by government health agencies, have reduced their intake of eggs, cream, lard, beef and pork. Chicken consumption has risen in the past few decades, but chicken is low in saturated fat (chicken skin contains primarily polyunsaturated fat).

Furthermore, a survey of cookbooks published in the last century shows that people of earlier times ate plenty of animal foods and saturated fats. For example, in the Baptist Ladies Cook Book (Monmouth, Illinois, 1895), virtually every recipe calls for butter, cream or lard. Recipes for creamed vegetables are numerous as well. A scan of the Searchlight Recipe Book (Capper Publications, 1931) also has similar recipes: creamed liver, creamed cucumbers, hearts braised in buttermilk, etc. British Jews, as shown by the Jewish Housewives Cookbook (London, 1846), also had diets rich in cream, butter, eggs, and lamb and beef tallows. One recipe for German waffles, for example, calls for an entire pound of butter! A recipe for Oyster Pie from the Baptist cookbook calls for a quart of cream and a dozen eggs, and so forth and so on.

It does not appear, then, that meat or saturated fat consumption has risen in this century. What has gone up, however, is consumption of margarine and other trans-fatty acids, lifeless, packaged "foods," processed vegetable oils, pasteurised/homogenised milk, commercially raised livestock and plant foods, and refined sugar. These, along with exposure to a growing number of environmental poisons, are our real culprits in the modern epidemics of cancer and coronary heart disease (and other chronic illnesses) [53].

Myth #9: 

52. Rizek, et al., "Fat in Today's Food Supply," Jnl Amer. Oil Chem. Soc., 51:244 (1974).

53. See note 29 and 30, as well papers listed at http://www.realmilk.com/.

2/1/10

2x5 + 5

Squat

Press

-----

Body Weight Lynne

Five rounds for max reps of:

Push-ups

Pull-ups

-----

50 Box Jumps for Time

7 Hang Snatch Pulls to Chest

MYTH #8:

The "cave man" diet was low-fat and/or vegetarian.

Our Neolithic ancestors were hunter-gatherers, and two schools of thought have developed as to what their diet was like. One group argues for a high-fat and animal-based diet supplemented with seasonal fruits, berries, nuts, root vegetables and wild grasses. The other argues that primitive peoples consumed small amounts of lean meats and large amounts of plant foods. Once again, such notions of a "low-fat diet" are hard to reconcile with what we know of modern-day hunter-gatherer societies. Present-day African tribes readily consume the fatty portions of animals, especially organs such as the brain, liver and tongue. The Aborigines, another hunter-gatherer society, also have a diet rich in saturated animal fats (47).

Explorers such as Stefansson reported that the Innuit and North American Indian tribes would worry when their caches of caribou were too lean: they knew sickness would follow if they did not consume enough fat (48).

Canadian Indians would deliberately hunt older male caribou and elk, for these animals carried a 50-pound slab of back fat on them which the Indians would eat with relish. Native Americans would also refrain from hunting bison in the springtime (when the animals' fat stores were low, due to scarce food supply during the winter), preferring to hunt, kill and consume them in the fall when they were fattened up.

More interesting is the way political prisoners are sometimes tortured in South and Central America: they're fed a diet of lean meat and they die quickly. Why? Without the fat-soluble vitamins contained in animal lipids, the body is unable to utilise and synthesise the proteins and other nutrients present in the meat (49).

On his journeys, Dr Price never once found a totally vegetarian culture. Anthropological data support this: throughout the globe, all societies show a preference for animal foods and fats and people only turn to vegetarianism when they have to (50). Nutritional anthropologist H. Leon Abrams, Jr, has shown that prehistoric man's quest for more animal foods spurred his expansion over the Earth, and that he apparently hunted certain species to extinction (50).

Price also found that those peoples who, out of necessity, consumed more grains and legumes, had higher rates of dental decay than those who consumed more animal products (51). Archaeological evidence supports this finding: skulls of prehistoric peoples who were largely vegetarian have teeth containing caries and abscesses and show evidence of tuberculosis (50, 51).

Based on all of this evidence, it is certain that the diets of our ancestors, the progenitors of humanity, ate a very NON-vegetarian diet that was rich in saturated animal fat. 

Myth #8: 

47. Abrams, H. Leon, "The Preference for . . ."; Fallon & Enig, "Australian Aborigines."

48. Stefansson, op. cit.

49. Stefansson, op cit.; Fallon and Enig, "The Cave Man Diet," Jnl of PPNF, Summer 1997. 

50. Abrams, "Vegetarianism" and "Preference for . . ." 

51. Price, op cit.

1/28/10

2X5 +5

Deadlift

OHS

-----

Push Jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

-----

2X400

MYTH #7:

Vegetarians live longer and have more energy and endurance than meat-eaters.

Surprising as it may seem, some prior studies have shown the annual all-causedeath rate of vegetarian men to be slightly more than that of non-vegetarian men (0.93% vs 0.89%). Similarly, the annual all-cause death rate of vegetarian women was shown to be significantly higher than that of non-vegetarian women (0.86% vs 0.54%). (40)

Russell Smith, PhD, referred to in myth # 5, in his authoritative study on heart disease, showed that as animal product consumption increased among some study groups, death rates decreased! Such results were not obtained among vegetarian subjects. For example, in a study published by Burr and Sweetnam in 1982, analysis of mortality data revealed that, although vegetarians had a slightly (.11%) lower rate of heart disease than non-vegetarians, the all-cause death rate was much HIGHER for vegetarians (41).

It is usually claimed that the lives of predominantly meat-eating peoples are short-lived, but the Aborigines of Australia, who traditionally eat a diet rich in animal products, are known for their longevity (at least before colonisation by Europeans). Within Aboriginal society, there is a special caste of the elderly (42). Obviously, if no old people existed, no such group would have existed. In his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Dr. Price has numerous photographs of elderly native peoples from around the world (42). Explorers such as Vilhjalmur Stefansson reported great longevity among the Inuit (again, before colonisation). (43)

Similarly, the Russians of the Caucasus mountains live to great ages on a diet of fatty pork and whole milk products. The Hunzas, also known for their robust health and longevity, eat substantial portions of goat's milk which has a higher saturated fat content than cow's milk (44). In contrast, the largely vegetarian inhabitants of southern India have the shortest life-spans in the world (45). Dr Weston Price, DDS, travelled around the world in the 1920s and 1930s, investigating native diets. Without exception, he found a strong correlation among diets rich in animal fats, with robust health and athletic ability. Special foods for Swiss athletes, for example, included bowls of fresh, raw cream! In Africa, Dr Price discovered that groups whose diets were rich in fatty fish and organ meats, like liver, consistently carried off the prizes in athletic contests, and that meat-eating tribes always dominated peoples whose diets were largely vegetarian (42).

It is popular in sports nutrition to recommend "carb loading" for athletes, to increase their endurance levels. But recent studies done in New York and South Africa show that the opposite is true: athletes who "carb loaded" had significantly less endurance than those who "fat loaded" before athletic events (46).

Myth #7: 

40. "Death Rates of Vegetarians," Am. Jnl Epidemiol. 97:372 (1973)

41. Smith, op. cit.; Burr and Sweetnam, Amer Jnl Clin Nutr, 1982, 36:873.

42. Price, op. cit.; Fallon, S. "Nasty, Brutish, and Short?" The Ecologist, (London), Jan/Feb 1999; Enig & Fallon, "Australian Aborigines," Jnl of PPNF, Summer 1998.

43. Stefansson, V., The Fat of the Land, Macmillan, New York, 1956

44. Pitskhelauri, G.Z., The Long Living of Soviet Georgia, Human Sciences Press, New York, 1982; Moore, Thomas. Lifespan: What Really Affects Human Longevity (Simon & Schuster; NY), 1990.

45. Abrams, "Vegetarianism," pp. 74-77.

46. "Carb Loading for Athletes? Not Such a Good Idea," Jnl of PPNF, Fall 1996

1/27/10

2X5 + 10

Deadlift

Front Squat

-----

"Fran"

For Time

21-15-9

Thruster 95#

Pull-ups

MYTH #6:

Saturated fats cause heart disease and cancer, and low-fat, low-cholesterol diets are healthier for people.

Despite claims that primitive societies are/were largely vegetarian, diets of native peoples the world over are rich in saturated fats and animal foods (28) and, as noted above, heart disease and cancer are primarily modern diseases. Saturated fat consumption, therefore, cannot logically cause these diseases. As with the poorly done studies of the Inuit, modern-day researchers fail to take into account other dietary factors of people who have heart disease and cancer. As a result, the harmful effects of eating refined sugar, nutrient-poor "foods," trans-fats (found in margarine and hydrogenated oils) and vegetable oils get mixed up with animal fat consumption. It is commonly believed that saturated fats and cholesterol "clog arteries", but such ideas have been shown to be false by such scientists as Linus Pauling, George Mann, John Yudkin, Abram Hoffer, Mary Enig and others (29). On the contrary, studies have shown that arterial plaque is primarily composed of UNsaturated fats, particularly polyunsaturated ones, and not the saturated fat of animals, palm or coconut (30).

Trans-fatty acids, as opposed to saturated fats, have been shown by researchers such as Enig, Mann and Fred Kummerow to be causative factors in atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cancer and other assorted diseases (31).

A recent study of thousands of Swedish women showed no correlation between saturated fat consumption and increased risk for breast cancer. However, the study did show a strong link between vegetable oil intake and higher breast cancer rates (32).

The Framingham Heart Study is often cited as proof that dietary cholesterol and saturated fat intake cause heart disease and ill health. Involving about 6,000 people, the study compared two groups over several years at five-year intervals. One group consumed little cholesterol and saturated fat, while the other consumed high amounts. Surprisingly, Dr William Castelli, the study's director, is quoted in the Archives of Internal Medicine (July 1992) as saying:

In Framingham, Mass., the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol ... we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active.

It is true that the study did show that those who weighed more and had higher serum cholesterol levels were more at risk for heart disease, but weight gain and cholesterol levels had an inverse correlation with dietary fat and cholesterol intake. In other words, there was no correlation at all (33).

In a similar vein, the US Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial, sponsored by the National Heart and Lung Institute, compared mortality rates and eating habits of 12,000+ men. Those who ate less saturated fat and cholesterol showed a slightly reduced rate of coronary heart disease (CHD), but had an overall mortality rate much higher than the other men in the study (34).

The few studies that indicate a correlation between saturated fat reduction and a lower CHD rate also clearly document a sizeable increase in deaths from cancer, suicide, violence and brain haemorrhage (34). Like the bone density experiments, such things are not told to the public.

Low-fat/cholesterol diets, therefore, are decidedly not healthier for people. Studies have proven over and over that such diets are associated with depression, cancer, psychological problems, fatigue, violence and suicide (35).

Children on low-fat diets suffer from growth problems, failure to thrive, and learning disabilities (36). Despite this, sources from Dr. Benjamin Spock to the American Heart Association recommend low-fat diets for children! One can only lament the fate of those unfortunate youngsters who will be raised by unknowing parents taken in by such misinformation.

There are many health benefits to saturated fats, depending on the fat in question. Coconut oil, for example, is rich in lauric acid, a potent antifungal and antimicrobial substance. Coconut also contains appreciable amounts of caprylic acid, also an effective antifungal (37). Butter from free-range cows is rich in trace minerals, especially selenium, as well as all of the fat-soluble vitamins and beneficial fatty acids that protect against cancer and fungal infections (38).

In general, however, saturated fats provide a good energy source for the vital organs, protect arteries against damage by the atherogenic lipoprotein (a), are rich in fat-soluble vitamins, help raise HDL levels in the blood, and make possible the utilisation of essential fatty acids. They are excellent for cooking, as they are chemically stable and do not break down under heat, unlike polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Omitting them from one's diet, then, is ill-advised (39).

Myth #6: 

28. Abrams,Leon. "The Preference for Animal Protein and Fat," Food and Evolution (Temple University Press; PA), 1987; see also Price, op cit.

29. Fallon and Enig, "The Oiling of America," Nexus, Dec 1998Jan 1999 and FebMar 1999; Yudkin, John, Pure, White and Deadly, (Davis Poynter, London), 1972; Pauling, Linus, How to Live Longer and Feel Better, (Avon Books, New York), 1985; Hoffer and Walker, Putting It All Together: The New Orthomolecular Nutrition, Keats Publishing, CT), 1995; Mann, George, (ed). Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense (Veritas Society; London), 1993; Cleave, T.L., The Saccharine Disease, (Keats Publishing; CT),1975.

30. Lancet 344:1195 (1994)

31.Mann, George, "Metabolic Consequences of Dietary Trans-fatty Acids," Lancet 343:1268-71 (1994); Enig, Mary et al., Fed. Proc. 37:2215, July 1978; Kummerow, F. "Nutritional Effects of Isomeric Fats," Dietary Fats and Health, Horisberger and Bracco, eds. (Amer Oil Chem Soc; IL), 1983, pp. 391-402.

32. Wolk, A. et al., Arch of Inter Med, 158:41 (1998); see also Chris Mudd's Cholesterol and Your Health (American lite Co; OK), 1990, for a thorough discussion of studies that show high polyunsaturate intake with increased cancer rates.

33. Hubert, H. et al., Circulation 67:968 (1983) 

34. Jnl of American Med. Assoc. 248(12):1465, September 24, 1982 

35. Lancet 339:3/2/92

36. Food Chem. News, October 3, 1994

37. Fallon, Enig, and Connolly, op. cit., pp. 17-18.

38. Ibid, pp. 14-15.

39. Enig, Mary, "Trans-Fats and Saturated Fats: Not the Same," Jnl of PPNF, Winter 1998.