Olive oil consumption, plasma oleic acid and stoke incidence

16th July 2011

An abstract taken from a journal submitted by Kendall Chew regarding olive oil consumption.

Objective: To determine whether high olive oil consumption, and high plasma oleic acid as an indirect biological marker of olive oil intake, are associated with lower incidence of stroke in older subjects.

Methods: Among participants from the Three-City Study with no history of stroke at baseline, we examined the association between olive oil consumption (main sample, n = 7,625) or plasma oleic acid (secondary sample, n = 1,245) and incidence of stroke (median follow-up 5.25 years), ascertained according to a diagnosis validated by an expert committee.
With lower stroke incidence (p for trend = 0.03). Compared to those in the first tertile, participants in the third tertile of plasma oleic acid had a 73% (95% confidence interval 10%–92%, p = 0.03) reduction of stroke risk.

Conclusions: These results suggest a protective role for high olive oil consumption on the risk of stroke in older subjects. Received September 27, 2010. Accepted January 19, 2011. Copyright © 2011 by AAN Enterprises, Inc. to publish are relevant.Results: In the main sample, 148 incident strokes occurred. After adjustment for sociodemographic and dietary variables, physical activity, body mass index, and risk factors for stroke, a lower incidence for stroke with higher olive oil use was observed (p for trend = 0.02). Compared to those who never used olive oil, those with intensive use had a 41% (95% confidence interval 6%–63%, p = 0.03) lower risk of stroke. In the secondary sample, 27 incident strokes occurred.  After full adjustment, higher plasma oleic acid was associated with lower stroke incidence (p for trend = 0.03). Compared to those in the first tertile, participants in the third tertile of plasma oleic acid had a 73% (95% confidence interval 10%–92%, p =0.03) reduction of stroke risk.

Conclusions: These results suggest a protective role for high oliveoil consumption on the risk of stroke in older subjects.

2011 Canoe Slalom European Championships

14th June 2011

Stafford and Stone Canoe Club and Great Britain’s Lizzie Neave claimed the bronze medal in the women’s kayak final at the 2011 Canoe Slalom European Championships in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain on Saturday 11th June.  Neave celebrated her medal success just 1 day before her 24th birthday, on the same course where she won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships. Neave delivered consistently throughout the qualification and quarter final stages. In the semi-final she posted the fastest time putting her into the final as favourite and also last paddler to go down the course – a pressure many paddlers would prefer to avoid. In the final some early mistakes left her down on the lead times but an excellent bottom half of the course secured the bronze medal just 1.5 seconds behind gold medallist Claudia Baer from Germany with reigning European and former World champion Jana Dukatova from Slovakia taking silver.
Lizzie Neave commented: “It is one of my favourite courses, I have found the course this weekend really physical but have loved racing. My run didn’t get off to a very good start and I didn’t think I had done enough to medal, but when I crossed the line and saw I was third I was really happy.”
Neave was one of five Stafford and Stone paddlers competing at the championship. Fellow women’s kayak paddler Laura Blakeman, Sydney Olympian and now aged 32, had a nervous quarter final taking the 20th and last place for the semi-final. She then brought her vast experience to the fore and raced into the final in 9th position and then improved further to secure 7th place, less than 5 seconds off the lead time.
Canadian Singles competitor Mark Proctor also had a close call. Like Blakeman he took the last semi-final place but then also delivered a much improved performance to secure a final place. Proctor, only 22 years old, repeated his semi-final performance to take 9th place overall, and also less than 5 seconds off the lead time posted by reigning World Champion Tony Estanguet of France.  
In the Canadian Doubles category Greg Pitt (age 21) and Adam Burgess (age 18) were making their Senior debut in this category. A two second penalty for touching a gate denied the young pair a place in the semi-final as they missed out by just one second.
The European Championship was the opening race for the Great Britain team this year. Future events include World Cup races, the World Championships at Bratislava in September and for the younger paddlers the Junior and under-23 European Championships at Banja Luka in Bosnia Herzegovina in July.
As London 2012 draws closer the Great Britain team will also be competing at the Olympic Test event at the Lee Valley White Water Centre in Hertfordshire at the end of July.

 

Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning

14th June 2011

This important and educational article was written by Mario Vittone and should be shared globally.

The Incident - The new captain jumped from the cockpit, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the owners who were swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. "I think he thinks you're drowning," the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. "We're fine, what is he doing?"
she asked, a little annoyed. "We're fine!" the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. "Move!" he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, "Daddy!"How did this captain know? – from fifty feet away – what the father couldn't recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint:
that's all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew knows what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, "Daddy," she hadn't made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn't surprised at all by this story.
Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life.

The Instinctive Drowning Response (IDR) – so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or
other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening (source:
CDC). Drowning does not look like drowning – Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard's On Scene Magazine, described the instinctive drowning response like this:

"Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs.

Drowning people's mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help.
When drowning people's mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly before their mouths start to sink below the surface again. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water's surface. Doing this permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

Throughout the IDR, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.From beginning to end of the IDR people's bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs".

Source: On Scene Magazine: Fall 2006: 14

This doesn't mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn't in real trouble – they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the instinctive drowning response, aquatic distress doesn't last long – but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

Other signs of drowning on the water:
•Head low in the water, mouth at water level
•Head tilted back with mouth open
•Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
•Eyes closed
•Hair over forehead or eyes
•Not using legs – Vertical
•Hyperventilating or gasping
•Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
•Trying to roll over on the back
•Ladder climb, rarely out of the water.
So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK – don't be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don't look like they're drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, "Are you alright?" If they can answer at all – they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents – children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.

Club Success as 11 members are named in the GB teams for 2011

22nd May 2011

Stafford and Stone Canoe Club are celebrating once again as 11 members of the club are named in the Great Britain Canoe Slalom Teams for 2011. A further 6 paddlers met stringent selection criteria to be named as reserves.

Selection to the Great Britain Teams involved competing in a series of very demanding, competitive events against the very best paddlers in Great Britain, during April and May.

The junior team were selected following a series of three races in Bala, North Wales, Nottingham and Grandtully in Scotland. David Bain achieved a place in the K1 men category and Jazz Royle in the C1 women category. Racing well enough to be named as reserves were Michael Wilson in K1 men, and Jazz Royle, Laura Kedwards and Beth Miles in K1 women.

The Under 23 team were selected following a series of three races all held at the National Whitewater Centre, Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham over one weekend in May. Joe Clarke was selected to represent Great Britain in the men’s K1 class, with James Bailey and David Bain being named as reserves. In the K1 women class both Natalie Wilson and Claire Kimberley were successful in gaining places, with Emily Woodcock and Jasmine Royle performing well enough to be named as reserves. The C1 men category saw Mark Proctor and Adam Burgess secure their places for 2011, with Greg Pitt and George Tatchell named as reserves. In C2 Adam Burgess and Greg Pitt achieved their place with George Tatchell and his partner Tom Quinn from Lower Wharfe Canoe Club, Yorkshire also making the team. In the C1 women class Jazz Royle was named as a reserve.

Selection to the GB Senior Team involved racing at the new Olympic Whitewater venue at Lee Valley, North London. Narrowly missing out on places in the K1 men’s team were Joe Clarke and Tom Brady, both achieving reserve status. Laura Blakeman and Lizzie Neave secured their places in the K1 women’s event and Mark Proctor made the C1 men’s team with Greg Pitt in reserve. In C2 it was another success for the partnership of Adam Burgess and Greg Pitt, with George Tatchell and Tom Quinn in reserve.

The teams will be racing at several events across Europe this Summer and will be hoping to bring back medals for Great Britain. The senior team will be racing at Seu in Spain in June for the Senior European Championships and in the Senior World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia in September. There are also four World Cup races in Slovenia, France, Germany and Czech republic that members of the Senior and Under 23 teams will be competing in.

The main 2011 race for the Juniors and the U23 team will be the European Championships which are being held in July in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The club is very proud of all the paddlers who took part in the selection events. For one club to achieve so many people being named on the GB squads, across all the canoe slalom classes is outstanding.

 

The Master Athlete ( That's you old guys and gals! )

22nd May 2011

The entire body of what follows was published by " Sports performance bulletin", part of "Peak Performance", an exceptionally good research based publishing house, which delivers sporting articles, via magazine to interested sports men and women. This particular article is worth having a look at, it was written by David Joyce.

I'm not sure if any of you caught it, but a couple of weeks ago in one of the British papers was a story of a 91 year old bodybuilder. Charles Eugster has become my new hero and I really recommend you plug his name into a search engine and read his story. Last year, at a body building championship, he performed an incredible 57 dips, 61 chin ups, 50 push ups and 48 sit ups, each in less than 45 seconds. These statistics are absolutely extraordinary for anyone, regardless of age, let alone a 91 year old that only took up bodybuilding when he was 85 years old!

Obviously, Charles is an outlier, someone whose story made into the press precisely because it is so out of the ordinary. What it does prove though, is the fact that you are never too old to utilise a gym membership. We now know beyond all doubt that heavy strength and power training is beneficial for all adults, regardless of age. Resistance training can improve strength in untrained folk over the age of 60 by over 200%. This is despite a marked reduction in the musculoskeletal
system's ability to produce new muscle fibres. For a long time, we thought that the way in which strength improved after the age of about 35 was due to improvements in neural drive and neuromuscular efficiency. We have since shown, however, that muscles have a remarkable ability to continue to hypertrophy, right throughout life. Likewise, however, they have the capacity to atrophy if not repeatedly stressed.

"Resistance training can improve strength in untrained folk over the age of 60 by over 200%" This all tells us we should be continuing with resistance work throughout life, and that it's not too late to start. Similar principles apply to programming resistance work irrespective of age. We need to start general, concentrate on technique, progressively overload and respect the rules of SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand). This means that if we want to train strength, we need to lift
heavy things (>70% x 1 repetition max), but if we want to train endurance, we need to concentrate on lifting lighter weights but many more times (greater than about 12).

For general health, a programme that seeks to address both strength and endurance would be sound, but it is my opinion that strength work should be emphasised more than endurance. For masters athletes of course, it depends on the sport. Sprinters, throwers and jumpers will need to prioritise strength, but it would make more sense that marathon runners would place more emphasis on muscular endurance (but still, not forgetting strength work).

The obvious disclaimers about general health need to be made, (blood pressure, cardiac function etc should be assessed by a doctor prior to starting any programme as do any niggles that become more prevalent as we age, such as osteoarthritis), but the excuse of "I'm too old" simply doesn't hold water anymore, just ask Charles Eugster!

Senior Training - Training Plan

Sunday 08th May 2011

Pete W and I(Rob H) have devised a training plan that leads up to Cardiff Prem race on 18/19 June. Pete and I are not certain to be at all the sessions (we are likely to be popping off to HPP during this period). In such a case find the appropriate session and set it up for yourself, they are hopefully self explanatory. I believe that Phil McDonough and or Andy Neave will be available for the first couple of weeks to help out and get the sessions rolling. The sessions are indicative, if they need to be modified slightly, that's fine. Equally, if river levels of too low, the majority of the sessions (particularly the fitness ones) can be done on the canal.

You can find a copy of the plan on this website

How to avoid being bitten

Sunday 08th May 2011

The recent warm weather has, as those of us who have paddled in the last week or two, brought out clouds of midges and blackflies. There are a number of ways to avoid being bitten by the little critters, the
following is a list, the last of which is probably most practical, so you may wish to go straight there if you are in a hurry!
1). Destroy all the vegetation on either side of the riverbank, Midges love damp, humit undergrowth( Agent Orange, Paraquat, or flamethrower are best for this sort of work but may attract the attention of the Environment Agency).
2). Place burning braziers along the edge of the riverbank ( for those of you too young to understand the difference; a brazier is a metal basket to hold a fire and burning it was not an act of female liberation in the 1960's and, doing so nowadays would probably attract the attention of Social Services or the Police)
3). We put the overhead lights on - flying beasties are attracted to strong light, this mimicks item #2 but without the excitement. Financially it is costly.
4). Midge spray.
5). Research has shown that small bighty beasties do not like Thiamine, otherwise known as Vitamin B1, actually they dont really like any of the B Vits. Vitamin B in any form is water soluble and is easily sweated out of your body, thus producing a constant supply of Thiamine on the skin. If you do suffer from midge bites it might suggest one of two things; you are deficient in Thiamine or, you are not training hard enough. Either way, if you eat foods high in Thiamine you are likely to be bitten less often than your best friend.
By the way, Beer and Marmite, which contain Vitamin B6 seem to work.Here is a list of Thiamine rich foods. I am sure you can find more.

Beans, Broccoli, Asparagus, Oranges, Pineapple, Melon, Grapes, Wholemeal foods, Pasta, Lentils, split peas, Kale, Peppers, Cabbage, Celery, Garlic, Lettuce, Tune, Sprouts, Tomatoes.

None of this prevents the little blighters flying into your eyes and
mouth, A mosquito net may be of help here!

 

Kendall

Lea Valley White Water

Friday 22nd April 2011

See the Lea Valley photos here

Jack Weddell has made a video of himself paddling at Lea Valley. View his channel here for more of his videos

 

 

  Winners of Club awards are....

15th April 2011

Senior Athlete

The following people where considered for the awards:

• Joe Clarke: Winner of senior British Open in Nottingham.
• Greg Pitt: 7^th place at the Senior European championships in Bratislava.
• Lizzie Neave: Bronze medal at the Augsburg World Cup.
• Mark Proctor: 5^th place at the Senior European championships in Bratislava.

And the Winner is....

Mark Proctor

In the Canadian Single class Mark Secured his place in the GB Senior team finishing 2^nd in selection only beaten by Beijing Olympic Silver medallist David Florence. Whilst in the Canadian double Class Mark and his partner Tom Brady also from Stafford & Stone Canoe Club secured top place in Under 23 selection.

With his places secured in the GB Senior and U23 teams, Mark's focus turned to the international calendar. The first challenge was the World cup series where Mark continued his good form with his best result coming in La Seu D'Urgell, Spain with a 12^th place finish. His next Challenge was the Under 23 European Championship in Leipzig, Germany. Mark had a good championship in the Canadian double class and Secured 4^th place along side partner Brady in the final - only missing out on a Bronze medal by 0.45 seconds and Gold by 1.66 seconds. Buoyed by his performance in Germany, Mark was confident moving in to the Senior Europeans in Bratislava, Slovakia. Good performances in qualification and semi finals secured Mark a place in his first senior final at Major Championship. Mark went on to finish 5^th in the final and top Britain in the Canadian single class. Sport Stafford Borough recognised Mark's success in 2010 and named him Male performer for 2010.

Fox Award (Junior 18)

The following people where considered for the awards:

• Natalie Wilson: 7^th place at Junior European championships in Leipzig.
• Adam Burgess: 6^th place at Junior World championship in Foix.
• David Bain: Final of Junior Europeans and Team silver medal at Europeans.
• Joe Clarke: Winner of Junior and U23 Selection, Team Silver medal at Junior Europeans.

We found this category incredibly difficult to picker a winner in. Both Adam and Natalie had practically identical performances throughout the year. Both, won their category in junior selection, both made a final in a major championship (and came close in another) and both won a team medal. However, as we've only got one award, and, due the fact that she gained selection and competed well in the Augsburg World Cup and snuck another Junior team medal... the Winner is........

Natalie Wilson

Natalie firmly established herself as Britain's top performing junior female slalom kayaker in 2010. She won her second junior GB team selection series in 2010, having also been selected as first junior boat in 2009. She also excelled at GB U23 and Senior Team selection, gaining a place in the U23 team as well as 2^nd reserve in the Senior GB Team, thus winning the chance to race at the Senior World Cup in Augsburg where she was one place off qualifying for the semi finals in her first senior international event.

Natalie's main focus for competition in 2010 was the Junior World Championships in Foix, France, where she secured a Gold Medal in the team event along with fellow Stafford and Stone Kayaker Emily Woodcock and Bethan Latham from Yorkshire. The same world champion women's team also won a Silver Medal at the Junior European Championships in Leipzig, Germany, coming a very close second to the German team. An error in Natalie's semi final run at Foix cost her a place in the individual final at the Junior Worlds, but she was on full form in Leipzig to secure a place in the final at the Junior European Championships, posting the second fastest time of the day in the semi-final round, and finishing 7^th overall - a personal best.

Natalie was the fastest junior competitor at the British Open for the second year running, and some fine paddling throughout the domestic season means she finished 2010 ranked 5^th overall in Great Britain, as well as being the highest placed GB junior in the world ranking table.

 

Star Award (Junior 16)

The following people where considered for the awards:

• Mikey Wilson. 1^st in Tacen Teen cup in Slovenia, 2^nd J16 in Premier rankings.
• Laura Kedwards, Promoted to the premier division and Winner of Division K1W.
• Jack Weddell, Philippa Hipkiss, Beth Miles all secured promotion to the premier division.

And the Winner is........

Mikey Wilson

Mikey had a good season in 2010 improving his ranking in the premier division to 19^th from 39^th in 2009 and was also the 2^nd highest ranked Junior 16 in K1 men. Mikey also competed in the International Teen cup series in Tacen, Slovenia where he finished 1^st.