The Running Man - Wrong Planet's New Health Column

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Read on for Matthew's article!
http://www.wrongplanet.net/article392.html

Last edited by alex on 05 Nov 2011, 12:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Thank you for posting this. I've been thinking about my own health for a while. That's got me thinking about it, even more.

Awesome! I can relate a lot to Matt's story. When I started running in high school, it improved my health and self-esteem to a point where I was able to make improvements in many other areas of my life besides just physical fitness. I fell and hurt my knee while running during icy weather while I was in college, though, and I started getting into less-strenuous forms of exercise after that. But, reading his story is making me think about starting to run again.

Is this going to be a regular column where people write in with their questions and Matt tries to answer them? If so, Alex, you might want to add a disclaimer saying Matt is not a physician, the column is for informational purposes and not intended to treat or diagnose any medical condition, blah, blah, blah.

There are a lot of litigious people out there and you never know ... I would hate to see you guys get into any trouble when you're clearly just trying to help people out by promoting healthy lifestyles.

thanks guys

if you have any questions for matt's column, please post them here!

What about more info on the other forms of exercise such as weights and cycling. Also we could use more information on nutrition.

great idea

Matt's story is inspirational.




Edited to reflect a change of mind.

Last edited by cosmiccat on 09 Oct 2010, 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

A forum with a broad spectrum of points of view on wellness in general would be beneficial.

Matt provides one perspective--that of fitness and the lifestyle changes that can support it. But health also incorporates diet and nutrition, medicine, mental and emotional fitness, community health and a variety of other topics.

I know that I'm not the only physician on WP, and I suspect that there are others who would have valuable contributions to make to a general health column. This is a great first step, so let's keep it going.

I think it could be beneficial to do an article on developing a healthy body image. Not just because I've seen a lot of people putting themselves down in the Love and Dating forum, but because I've read that women with AS are at higher risk for developing eating disorders than women without AS.

I wish I could remember her name and site the article, but I once saw an interview with a doctor who specialized in treating eating disorders and she said she thought about 25% of her female patients have some form of ASD. Just anecdotally, too, I had some problems with this personally when I was younger and I've seen other women with AS on Internet forums who have as well. Yet, it's something that doesn't really get talked about ...

I think exercise and staying active in general does help alleviate some of the pain that comes along with being an aspie. I've been running/walking 5ks weekly for the past few weeks since June, the last time I did so was a very fast paced one along the streets of San Francisco - I only stopped at stop lights. I also been putting serious miles on my bike, I got ~200 miles in 3 weeks.

I've joined a few local run/bike clubs/groups as well, they also somewhat help with socialization as well.

Would love tips for my son, who just started running track. But he is very 'selective' when it comes to what he can tolerate due to texture. Any hints on enhancing nutrition for him and for others on the spectrum?

Texture as exercise gear goes? When I played soccer and ran cross country, I hated how my uniforms, heck anything worn for exercise felt against my skin. I found lululemon works best for me in that department but it's ungodly expensive.

If you're talking about texture when it comes to food, it's a matter of preference. All I can say is this - eat good, cut out junk food/fast food/high-fructose corn syrup. On a race day, fuel up on carbs and protein - don't over do the carbs though and it's a good idea to carry a energy bar/gel for a mid-race boost. And it's important to eat well afterwards as well, our bodies will attack our muscle cells once our glycogen reserves are depleted. Of course Matt would know better about this, I speak from my experience.

Thanks, ntach: My son's main issue is with foods. His track coach has been encouraging him to eat more healthy foods, though. He only seems to tolerate grapes and carrots. Today he actually asked his Mom to keep the nachos out of his snack! One of his favorites! I'd like to get him eating more whole grain breads: that'll be my next frontier, as he only likes French bread right now: which has no value other than tasting great

He might be gluten and/or dairy intolerant, or have some other real food sensitivities ( to corn, for instance, which is one of the most common food intolerances ).

He might like white bread because of an addiction to the food opioids in gluten. A recent study found that a third ( 36.7% ) of people on the spectrum have unusually permeable intestines, ( compared to under 5% of the general population ), which allow the passage into the blood and to the brain of large molecules like the food opioid peptides in gluten and casein, and that intestinal permeability is increased in the presence of both substances, and at the same time be sensitive to the fructans in wheat, ( and onions and leeks, asparagus, among other things ) which are found in even greater quantities in brown/wholegrain bread/cereals.

Carrots are good!
.

Thank you for the feedback. More and more, I find a lot of people who are allergic to gluten. I myself am working through an exercise program called P90X, and the trainer, Tony Horton, himself advocates staying away from gluten. My son is so picky, though, that I wonder how difficult it would be to get him off of gluten. Do you yourself stay off of gluten? If so, what is your diet mainly consisting of?

Steve

I don't and will not eat regular bread like Wonder Bread, not because of the gluten but because of the junk they put into it. I eat multigrain bread or organic, "artisan" bread from the many excellent bakeries that dot the Bay Area.

My diet's carb and protein rich and even though I'm not as active as I like to be(I run 5K weekly) I have a crazy high metabolism.