What I read this week: Fitness, Rehab, Performance, etc.
A book! And some research articles! (Jan. 1-7, 2023)
Plant-based diets may not negatively impact athletic performance
This study—a continuation of a previously published study known as SWAP-MEAT (get it? It’s a pun!)—randomized 22 participants into one of three groups: one that ate a plant-based diet, one that ate a plant-based diet with meat alternatives (think Impossible “meats”), and one that ate an ominivorous diet with special focus on red meat and poultry.
The authors were researching how diet impacted performance during weight-lifting and edurance running. The old-school perspective is that those who consume mostly or entirely plant-based diets don’t consume enough protein to maintain the muscle mass and strength needed to perform athletic feats optimally.
However, the results of this study kick sand in the face of that notion. “Our findings suggest recreational athletes can maintain athletic performance on both an omnivorous diet and two diets that are predominately plant-based,” the authors concluded.
There were nonsignificant differences in average endurance and strength performance among the athletes, regardless of diet. Those who consumed plant-based diets—with and without meat alternatives—possessed less body weight and body fat at the conclusion of the study. All athletes took in enough protein to satisfy the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommendations for athlete health.
The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee:
Mukherjee’s latest is an excellent, scintillating read, particularly for those—like myself—who fancy themselves as anatomy/biology nerds.
While the entire book seamlessly weaves together the history, science, and future behind many of the cells that comprise the human body, I was particularly drawn in by six pages toward the end focusing on osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis—“OA” to those in the medical field and simply “arthritis” to the layperson—is a condition that impacts perhaps billions of lives worldwide. It used to be taught that OA—the breakdown of joints—was caused by “natural wear-and-tear”; basically, lots of use leads to lots of OA.
But that isn’t the case. Many studies have shown that moderate levels of activity can actually reduce the odds of developing OA and there seems to be a genetic component as well. Well, Mukherjee (and his research associates) argue in The Song of the Cell that there is yet another factor that gives rise to OA: the death of so-called OCHRE cells.
OCHRE cells—which stands for osteo (bone), chondro (cartilage), and reticular, the tissues that these stem cells grow—are most prominently found in the growth plates of children and spur the process of growing taller; as a child grows, their growth plates slowly fuse as the OCHRE cells that create bone diminishes. By the time the child reaches adulthood, their OCHRE cells have more or less disappeared. (Mukherjee notes that the cells that help repair bone in adults—termed LR cells—are similar in function though they are located in the shafts of bone rather than the growth plates, explaining why adults no longer grow but are able to repair bone.)
In adults, OCHRE cells can be found at the very ends of the bone, located virtually at the bone-to-bone interface. However, if a significant enough “injury” is incurred—I use injury in quotes because I mean it in a vague sense not specific (i.e. ACL tear, etc.)—these stem cells die, rendering them unable to grow bone and cartilage. This cartilage loss is ultimately what leads to an OA diagnosis. Mukherjee thus proposes a theory: [OA] first, is an imbalance caused by the death of [OCHRE cells] that cannot generate adequate bone and cartilage to keep up with the demands of the joint.”
Mukherjee describes various studies that have since validated his theory, many of which are in the process of being published. Perhaps the future of OA treatment is in getting these OCHRE cells to work, rather than slumber, in adults.
(An aside: To my knowledge, it’s unknown what causes OCHRE cells to activate, but could electricity potentially play a role? This study on electroacupuncture of the knee—aka electric dry needling—saw participants experience cartilage growth following treatments of 20 minutes, every other day, for four weeks. Two needles—among others—were inserted directly into the knee joint—where OCHRE cells lie—and were exposed to a low-frequency electrical current.)
Apparantely humans walk weird and now whe know why?
It’s all about saving energy:
“It’s like nature came up with a clever trick to circumvent the limits of human body design,” [study author Daniel Renjewski] says. “The foot stays planted as long as possible to keep us balanced. But the ankle takes advantage of that downtime, slowly building up energy for the eventual release…The team realized that the second bounce in our gait, when the knee bends just before the foot takes off, gives the ankle the final push it needs to fling the leg into the next step.”
Neat!