Wednesday 19 March 2014

I Don't Want to Swim in a Toilet, so Please Don't Pee in the Pool


Sheila swimming in a TCU toilet, 1994.
Courtesy of TCU teammate, Walter Soza.(sozadesigns.com)
Like me, many of you have probably heard all the recent talk and read the articles about the unhealthy adverse effects of urinating in the pool.  For those who have not, here is a brief overview.
  • China Agricultural University and Purdue undertook the task of seeing what happens when swimmers pee in the pool
      • The combination of uric acid (by product of urine) and chlorine create 2 dangerous gases.  Cyanogen chloride, gas that can cause harm to the the heart, lungs, and central nervous system when inhaled, and Nitrogen trichloramine which can cause acute damage to the lungs.  If you have ever had red itchy eyes,  bronchial asthma symptoms, cold symptoms, or start losing your voice while at the pool, it could be because someone you swim with is peeing in it.
      • At a US National Swim Meet, researchers measured the levels of Nitrogen trichloramine before the meet started, then after day one the levels doubled and by day 4 levels increased by 4 times the original measurement. GROSS!!

Researchers hypothesize that the creation of this gas may be a contributing factor in many of the health problems seen in competitive swimmers.  

Okay, don't pee in the pool is the main take home from that story.  But why pee in the pool in the first place; the washroom is readily available. The first obvious reason might be that any current or former competitive swimmer (mostly the males in my experience - sorry guys) has a deep seated, ingrained fear of leaving workout mid-way through  for any reason at all (thanks coaches ).  

Not sure about any one else, but when I hit the pool, regardless of whether I've gone to the washroom just before,  my skin seems to suck up the water like a giant sponge and within a few minutes I'm running back to the washroom again!  So I looked up reason two, and this is what I found.

Immersion Diuresis 

When we jump into the water, the decrease in temperature  works on our bodies to increase urine output.

  • cold water pulls heat from our body causing blood vessels to constrict to hold heat in.
  • our blood pressure quickly rises.
  • Our body wants to lower that pressure and does this by getting the kidneys to release "excess" fluid.  Hence why we have to go pee.
  • Keep drinking during workout because,  we are not sponges sucking up pool or lake water. That liquid is not excess;  It is a natural body reaction to colder water and we are excreting fluids we actually need.
When it comes right down to it, we will almost always feel the urge to urinate when we get into a cold lake or pool, but take a minute and run to the bathroom if you absolutely can't hold it in. Try to go between sets, during warm up or something easy.    No need to help create a room full of tear gas just so you don't miss 50m of workout.






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Sunday 2 March 2014

GLUTEN LOVES ME, IT LOVES ME NOT

Today's Project:
Gluten Free Cookies and Dried Fruit for Snacking
What do US Olympic Gold Medallist, Dana Vollmer, and Canadian Ironman Champion Heather Wurtele have in common? They both live and compete on a gluten free diet. 

Last week I received an e-mail from a woman on the Master's team I train with.  Recently, she was  diagnosed as having gluten and dairy allergies and was looking for some resources to help her transition her diet. Although I am lucky not to have been afflicted by either of these sensitivities, I know a few people, and read about several high performance athletes, that unfortunately  are. So I did a bit more research and here is a snap shot of what I found.

The Celiac Foundation reports that 1 in 133 people in Canada have Celiac Disease. Other sources quote 1 in 10 have  at least some sort of mild gluten sensitivity. 

Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity can cause some common, yet unpleasant, symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, gas, anemia, constipation, joint pain and swelling. The villi in the intestine of people with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities are damaged by the immune reaction to gluten  and proper absorption of essential nutrients can be impaired.  For anyone this is a big issue, but for an athlete it's a game changer. You can read more on Dana Vollmer and Heather Wurtele at
  

Gluten is found in products containing some of the following, wheat, rye, barley, durum, graham flour, kamut, semolina, spelt, wheat germ, and wheat bran. Generally we need 15g of carbs/kg of body weight, sometimes more depending on the training cycle. Eating gluten free makes it a little harder to get the proper intake of carbohydrates needed to keep the athletic body at peak performance  and maximize recovery, especially when the easiest carbs to buy are no longer an option.  

So What Now?

Transitioning to a gluten free diet is not an easy task.  Although it is getting easier to find "edible" gluten free options at the grocery store, the selection is limited and care in reading labels is very important.  A dietitian will help guide you in the right direction.  You can find a local  dietitian at the following websites:


When shopping for food, choose fresh or frozen vegetables, dried, fresh, and frozen fruits, corn, dried beans, lentils, potatoes, squash.  Look for whole grains labelled gluten-free, such as breads, pastas, oats, granola, millet, quinoa, amaranth, sorghum,  corn tortilla, tapioca, rice, eggs, tofu, natural nut butters,  and cold pressed oils (olive, safflower, peanut, grape seed, sesame).

Here are a few examples of gluten free snacks for workouts:
  1. For quick energy, go for dried pineapple, cranberries, raisins, dates, chocolate chips (my favourite), and honey.
  2. For something that lasts a bit longer go for whole grain oats, buckwheat, coconut, quinoa, nuts and seeds.
  3. Don't forget your sources of protein when considering diet changes.  Protein aides in recovery and rebuilding of muscle tissue.

After reading the amazing stories of Dana Vollmer and Heather Wurtele, and reading some speculations that there may be benefits for those athletes not affected by gluten, I wondered if I should slowly transition into a wheat free diet.  According to the Australian Institute of Sport,  it is not necessary for someone without a gluten issue, to cut gluten from their diet. In  Runners World Magazine, Lara Field, R.D., who is also a marathon runner working with Celiac patients,  says there is no evidence that a gluten-free diet offers any performance benefits over a balanced diet containing gluten unless you have a true sensitivity.  

There are benefits to incorporating aspects of a Gluten-free diet into our everyday meals whether gluten loves you or not.  These carbs mostly have a low glycemic index  helping to sustain energy throughout the day by keeping blood sugar levels stable.  They are a much better choice than grabbing a quick sugary snack to temporarily boost energy.

Below is a list of some references and articles to look at should you be interested in incorporating gluten-free foods into your diet. There is definitely no shortage of information to be found on the Internet; however, if you want to transition your diet to completely gluten-free, and I cannot stress this enough, please consult a registered dietitian.


References:

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