Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Quick announcement: I’ll be at the Fireside conference Sept 6-9 in Canada, and doing a live podcast on stage with the venerable Yoni Freedhoff. Would love to see you there!

Short list this week. Your spit helps you quit picky eating, breakfast boosts carb burning, and water doesn’t help with weight loss.

Next week’s Mindful Meal Challenge will start again on Monday. Sign up now to join us!

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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For the Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup. 

This week calories tell you nothing, Monsanto sues California, and how to stay motivated.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Read the rest of this story »

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week breakfast and salt are back under fire, how to count your bites, and a possible risk in hand sanitizers.

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (Yes, I took that picture of the pepper heart myself.)

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A recent New York Times article questions the conventional wisdom of the value of stretching before a workout. Instead, the best way to prepare for physical exertion is a brief, easy cardio workout followed by a series of sport-specific movements designed to loosen joints and increase blood flow to the muscles you will be using.

Multiple research studies over the last several decades have shown that stretching does not help prevent injury during a workout. Even more surprising is that stretching appears to actually weaken the muscle for a period of up to 30 minutes following the stretch, thereby hurting overall performance.

But this does not mean you should skip your workout warm up. Scientists now recommend that you begin your workout with a light, 5-10 minute aerobic exercise, such as a jog. This movement will increase blood flow to your muscles and make them more pliable and ready for additional exertion.

To improve performance in a specific sport, dynamic stretching is recommended. Dyamic stretching is a way to stretch muscles while moving, a practice that actually does appear to increase muscle power, flexibility and range of motion. Data is also emerging that it reduces risk of injury.

The goal of dynamic stretching is to perform “range-of-motion exercises that activate all of the joints and connective tissue that will be needed for the task ahead,” says Team Running USA coach, Terrence Mahon. For example, runners should do movements that activate hip and knee joints (such as squats and lunges), while golfers should perform shoulder and back movements.

That’s right, even golfers can improve performance with dynamic stretching.

A few of the best dynamic stretches are described in the article.

In sum, the new recommendation for beginning a workout is an easy, 5-10 minute aerobic exercise followed by a five minute recovery, and then a series of dynamic stretches appropriate for your sport. It is important that you complete this warm up immediately before you begin your training. Waiting too long (30 minutes) before beginning your workout can be detrimental, increasing muscle stiffness.

Although I read and believe the accuracy of this story, I think it will be hard for me to stop touching my toes and hanging my heels off a stair before going on a run. It is such a regular part of my routine and feels so natural. But according to this article that may actually be hurting my run.

What do you guys think?