Are pedicures healthy?

July 6, 2011

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In this July 6, 2011 free audio episode: beta-alanine supplementation, versaclimber, are pedicures healthy?, back-to-back long run races, phosphatidylserine, are growth hormones in colostrum bad?, eating for your body type, drinking beer during sports, limu superfoods, fructose allergies, recovering between half-ironman triathlons, when to do speed training for a sprint triathlon, and can you drink too much Green Tea?

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Listener Q&A:

====================================== [contact-form 3 “AskBen”] ======================================

Kristen asks: In one of your podcasts you spoke about beta alanine. Is this safe to take with caffeine know an empty stomach and are its effects on women different than men?

Matthew asks: I have been looking into this machine called a versa climber to help improve my running and cycling. Do you have an opinion about it? Should I just stick to running and cycling?

Joseph asks: My feet are nasty. my wife is on my case to get a pedicure, which i have refused. my latest argument is that the calluses on my feet are protective and if they sand my feet down i will get blisters. even i assume this argument has no merit. on the other hand i see no substantive reason to get one either. are there any good argument for or against getting pedicures (aside from being a man/looking pretty)?

Tony Maldonado asks: Ben, I am an experienced ultra marathoner. At least I like to think I am. I've run a 100 miler, a couple of 100k and seven 50k events. Along with a few marathons. I am a middle of the packer. I am currently training for my first 50 miler on a very familiar very hilly course. I also want to run a flat 20 miler that takes place 1 week before the 50 mile event. I usually have a low mileage run the weekend before an ultra but really want to run this 20 miler and feel I can pull it off. What are you're suggestions or thoughts on this?

In my response to Tony, I reference my article about Lightning Speed Recovery Secrets.

Chris asks: What is your opinion about Phosphatidylserine and its use with endurance athletes?

In my response to Chris, I mention Jarrow phosphatidylserine.

Kathleen asks: Goat's Colostrum seems to be such a good supplement and I want to take it. But, I've had breast cancer and the info. talks about a growth hormone. It is important that I do not raise my estrogen levels. Is this growth hormone something I should stay away from? I am not on any anti-cancer drugs because of their side effects. Also, it says goat's colostrum can raise low blood sugar. Should people with diabetes not take this supplement?

Tifani asks: In one of your podcasts, you mentioned that you were writing, or had written a book about eating in accordance with your body type. I have realized recently that I am a skinny fat person and as a vegetarian that despises weight and resistance training, I am trying to figure out what the right balance of protein/carbs/fat is for me. Thank you for any insight you can give me!

Tomaz asks: TUM (Techniche Universitat Munich, Germany) has recently published research of positive impact of beer on endurance sport (emphasizing alkoholfree beer). What is your thought on that?

Tom asks: At a running expo before a local run, a salesperson gave me a sample of a dietary supplement called “Limu Original”, the “premium fucoidan blend”. What is this?

Jack asks: I recently competed at the IM70.3 UK and was in a good position going onto the run but after about 1km of the run I began to feel bloated and sick. This GI distress continued over the whole run and so I was unable to take on any more fuel and most importantly was unable to put together the sub 1h25m half I was looking for. Instead I was forced to slow down and stop to be sick regularly causing me to finish severely disappointed with a 1h42m half. I had similar issues last season at both IM70.3 and IM UK so this year I have adopted a paleo diet similar to that outlined in Joe Friel’s book to not only improve my diet but to help reduce GI distress. I thought the reduced gluten leading up to the race would help but this was not the case. During the race I had a gel just before the swim start and then consumed 500ml of Gatorade with a gel per hour of the bike. My thoughts are that the other causes could be the energy gels consumed on the bike or inadvertently swallowing the lake water during the swim. I would appreciate your thoughts and ideas to help me discover the cause and prevent it from ruining yet another race.

Justin asks: I just finished my 2nd half ironman this past Sunday, I followed one of your training plans on training peaks an took 23 minutes off my first 1/2 iron time. I wasn't sure how it would go as I missed a TON of workouts, but I guess between absorbing as much knowledge from your podcast and doing the workouts I did it came together for me on race day. My question is I have another 1/2 iron race in just under 4 weeks now. Knowing that I have the endurance to get thru the event I want to focus on getting faster now if I can. Should I be doing large ring hill repeats and running hills to boost my strength and speed? Or why is the best way to add some speed over the next few weeks?

Sarah asks: I started doing crossfit Dec 1st. My background in fitness is a more traditional bodybuilding type workout with your typical cardio (running, elliptical etc). At first I had a hard time with crossfit since it's powerlifting type stuff, it was like I had to be trained all over again. Since then until now, I've improved greatly, but I lack in the intensity and endurance. Many times I'll stop midway to catch my breath and regroup, but I see the others pressing forth and pushing past. I'd really like to get better at it. I've heard that doing two WODs a day may help in my endurance and intensity, but isn't that overuse? I crossfit 5 days a week at 5:30 am, and my coach is stellar. What recommendations do you have for a crossfitter to get faster, stronger, and to gain endurance and stamina?

In my response to Sarah, I recommend the Elite Performance Profile from Bioletics.

Craig Huggart asks: I'm training for a sprint distance triathlon. At what point would you recommend including some speed training?

Philip asks: I recently started taking Lipton Iced Green Tea for beneficial purpose, as i could not take the plain green tea.
After bringing some 36 cans at one stretch, i realized that it would provide approx. 80 Cal for a full 330 ml can (every 100 ml is reported to produce 28 Cal). After this i have reduced the intake to 1 can a day with some exercise. Is it really harmful? will taking the 36 cans over a month really cause me health problems?

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