I’ve always been interesting in fasting. Tried a few water fasts, once for three days, apparently that’s kinda dumb. Juice fasts as well (those are in reality sugar consumption sessions unless you stick to celery juice or the like).
Recent studies appear to be confirming that extending your normal nighttime fast might be the type of food abstinence that works. Reports say perhaps the ideal is no calories over a 16 hour period out of each 24 hour daily cycle. A high output athlete probably could not sustain that. But at a minimum this type of fast might be worth trying during recovery or healing periods. I’ve been doing 12 hours and getting clear benefits such as easily controlled weight and reduced morning sluggishness. They say the nightly fast reduces inflammation, as well as yielding the usual laundry list of benefits claimed by the alt-medicine crowd. Before this was a “thing” I used to skip dinner on occasion and not snack, and always felt super the next day. Now I know why. More here.
Arcanum hemp products — I got good results.
CBD (the none “recreational” medicinal component of marijuana and hemp) is also getting frequent play in the health-performance arena. I’ve been experimenting with various CBD products, mostly topical salves and such for stiff joints. I’ve also tried the oral versions. Results are mixed but overall positive.
Recently, a long session of keyboarding and mechanical work resulted in sore finger hinges. The pain was intense and localized enough to make for a good experiment. I knew from past experience that a few ibuprofen would take care of it. Instead, I applied Arcanum Scarco Freeze, a topical product containing “activated hemp extract” from Mary’s Nutritionals. Not expecting much from a topical, I sat back with a good book and forgot about the finger. When I remembered to flex ten minutes later, I was amazed. Somehow, even though this product does not (as far as I know) sink the active drugs through your skin (e.g., transdermal), it restored full function to my finger.
Arcanum also offers a transdermal product, “The Quill” that dispenses a trans-dermal preparation containing activated hemp extract. I got good results with this as well, but nothing as dramatic as the Sarco Freeze. Arcanum products use pure hemp extracts that are not psychoactive. This is not marijuana, it’s legal anywhere. About the only downside of CBD/hemp medicinal products is they’re pricey. Ibuprofen is cheaper — but not exactly friendly to your body. As always, dilemmas.
This past week’s posts:
Coast FL70 Headlamp review, easy controls
Ski touring words, Mount Sneffels, Colorado
Another excellent Salomon helmet, QST
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
