Warrior Fit Boot Camp Fitness Fun!

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We have breakfast for dinner on our weekly meal plan every week — usually on Thursdays — because it is a wonderful way to use up leftovers or scrape together staples into something easy enough for a weeknight but that everyone loves. That’s a lot to ask from one dinner concept! But much like Pizza Friday, breakfast for dinner is equal parts clever marketing (pancakes for dinner!) and efficiency. It’s easy on the parents and exciting for the kids.

Here are 10 of our family’s favorite ways to eat breakfast for dinner.

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Elephants and naked mole rats are two animals that rarely get cancer. Scientists believe these two creatures may have genetic mechanisms that allow them repair damaged DNA (which could otherwise precipitate tumors). Unfortunately, household pets (especially cats and dogs) are not so lucky. Why are so many pets getting cancer? Indeed, these beloved creatures are experiencing higher […]

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Successful athletes are a rare breed. They posses an uncommon work ethic, an ever-growing set of physical skills, and a wide knowledge base regarding their craft. Do not be fooled however, athletic development does not begin and end on the playing field. It is my assertion that athletic prowess is the underlying key to longevity. It is a pursuit of unending mastery that should never be abandoned.

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The kitchen is a hyper-functional space, which is, perhaps, why it’s so easy to neglect its design appeal. We think your kitchen should nourish your body and your soul, so here are nine inexpensive ways to make your kitchen as good-looking as your home cooking (sorry, I had to).

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Even though we’re already into the month of March (seriously, where did February go?), Whole Foods Market has shared their trend predictions for beer and wine in 2018. You can expect lots more wine in cans, bigger bottles, and lighter brews on the horizon. Tailgaters, party planners, and anyone who needs to refresh their tastebuds from one too many heavy craft brews will rejoice.

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What is it you feel whenever you fall off the wagon? It’s usually disappointment, discouragement, and perhaps a touch of self-loathing. These emotions are like quicksand to forward progress unless you know how to work through them.

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Long before I had kids, I watched a friend of mine, a stylish food blogger and soon-to-be cookbook author, pull Amy’s macaroni and cheese out of her freezer for her kid before we left for dinner. “It’s just easier,” she explained. And in my head, I absolved Future Me from any frozen-food guilt. But, years later, I think back and wish it were only that easy. If I could count on my 2-year-old to eat her macaroni and cheese, I’d probably serve it every night, because at least she’d be eating something.

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For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering five questions taken from last week’s folate post comment board. Does folic acid increase cancer risk? It’s an open question, but I think we have a pretty good idea of where the research points. Next, what other nutrients can help people with MTHFR mutations? Is there anything else someone with a deleterious variant should focus on eating? Third, is folate good enough, or should you look specifically for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate? Fourth, how do I know if I have a MTHFR variant that increases the need for folate? And finally, what specific form of folate am I using in Master Formula?

Let’s go:

First, Terje asked:

Hi Mark. Would you care to also comment on potential increase cancer risks connected to folic acid? Particularly breast and prostate.

This is a common concern, mostly because folate has a strange relationship with cancer.

On the one hand, folate is critical for cell division, and, as you know, cancer is highly dependent on rapid cell division. Cancer cells consume a ton of folate. They demand it, so much that a class of anti-cancer drugs known as “anti-folates” block folate metabolism and arrest cancer cell proliferation.

On the other hand, folate is also critical for maintaining the integrity of our DNA. Folate deficiency can lead to DNA strand breaks (double helix is severed, must be repaired lest DNA rearrangement occur), increase the frequency of mutations, and cause cancer.

Overall, scientists haven’t found any strong links between folic acid supplementation and prostate or breast cancer. A 2013 meta-analysis of controlled human trials found no connections between supplementation and cancers of any kind, except for melanoma—for which folic acid was protective.

Those were results for synthetic folic acid. I’d have to imagine the links between folate and cancer are even more positive.

Meg made a great point:

Don’t forget the importance of choline to conserve folate stores. Some MTHFR mutants end up on megadoses of methylfolate and/or folinic acid, but the need for this would go down if they remembered to take phosphatydl choline, or to increase their consumption of foods like liver.

Great point. I’ll expand a bit.

If you don’t make/have adequate 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, either because you’re not eating enough of the precursors, you’re an MTHFR mutant (sounds pretty damned cool, actually), or you’re taking the wrong kind of folic acid/folate, choline can step up and perform many of the same tasks folate normally performs. This is a good way of getting around the folate deficiency, but you have to eat enough choline because your requirements will go way up. In one study, Mexican-American men with low folate status due to MTHFR mutations who took 2200 mg of choline per day (around 4x the normal daily dose) reduced DNA damage and improved cellular methylation.

MTHFR mutations might also increase glycine wastage. Since glycine is a crucial yet underappreciated amino acid that plays an important role in joint health, methionine metabolism, and sleep (to name a few functions), you’ll also want to eat more glycine in the form of gelatinous meats, bone broths, or collagen powder.

Creatine is another nutrient to consider. Normally, MTHFR mutations increase homocysteine, since there isn’t enough folate around to methylate it into methionine. Folks with MTHFR mutations who supplemented with creatine lowered their homocysteine levels, perhaps by regenerating tetrahydrofolate.

Susan asked:

I take a B complex, the label just lists folate. So I really should be looking for a B complex that lists 5-methyltetrahydrofolate instead?

Not necessarily. “Folate” is a good sign as well. Some “folates” are food-based folates; those will presumably have a spectrum of folate forms, just like you get in food.

Folic acid will always be listed as folic acid. You’ll know it when you get it.

Liz wrote:

I’ve been taking folic acid without any problems. How should I get checked if it’s the right one for me? If I don’t have MTHFR is it still relevant?

First, you’ll need to do a genetic test. You could ask your doctor to order one for you. They’ll probably deem it “elective,” badger you for taking an interest in your health, and refuse to order the test. You could order a dedicated MTHFR test online, but that wouldn’t be my first choice.

You get the most bang for your buck using a service like 23andMe, which gives you ancestry data and, if you pay a bit more, health data. Even if you order just the ancestry results, you’ll still get full access to the raw data that contains the health info, including MTHFR status. They just won’t do the analysis for you.

Once you have your 23andMe results, log in and download the raw data.

Submit the data to a service like Strategene for full analysis.

Read the Strategene report and look for A1298C and C677T. Those are the two main MTHFR gene variants.

The report will tell you if you have zero variants (two minuses; –) or if you’re homozygous (both father and mother passed it on; ++) or heterozygous (one of your parents passed it on; +-) for each mutation. Each “hit” (marked by a “+”) reduces your ability to make folate and increases your need for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate.

If you don’t have any MTHFR mutations, folic acid is probably safe… but you’re still better off getting your folate through food. And if supplementing, taking actual folate will work just as well and limit any potential side effects from excessive amounts of the synthetic version.

Again, if you have B12 deficiencies, folic acid will work better than “better” forms of folate.

Alex wondered:

Just because I have tried multiple types of methylfolate I was wandering if you are using the amorphous salt version (Thorne) or one of the crystalline versions (like Pamlabs medications or methyl-life)

The folate we use is calcium salt-based. The full name is L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate calcium.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care!

The post Dear Mark: Folate Follow-up appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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She was standing in front of me in the IKEA checkout line. Dressed casually chic in cute jeans and carrying a brown leather purse just the right amount of broken in. In her hands was one item: a rolled up rug. (It was the LOHALS, a $140 jute area rug.) The key words here being “one item.”

This woman had the power to brave the housewares temptation juggernaut that is IKEA and emerge with a single purchase. I had deep and immediate admiration for LOHALS lady.

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Costco’s food court hot dogs and pizzas are famous around the world, and with good reason, but all this time Costco has been missing one obvious item to complete the heavenly triumvirate of American food court junk food: a cheeseburger. Now a new double cheeseburger has been spotted at a Costco food court in California, and it looks glorious.

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