Mark's Daily Apple

Dear Mark: Encore on Omegas

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The posts involving omega-3s have spurred a lot of discussion and a good number of excellent questions. Thanks to Ed Parsons and company I thought I’d give more time to the topic and see if I can complete the picture a little more. Thank you for your comments and questions.

Dear Mark,

Can you give us some rules of thumb for getting into the 1:1 ratio ballpark? Should I be trying to hit the ratio for every meal, for each day, or by the week, or even over a longer time period?

Just to review, the hailed 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids provides your body with the appropriate balance thought to keep inflammation at bay. I would advise making the ratio a priority each day. Targeting the ratio for every meal can get unnecessarily complicated, and longer spans like a week don’t take into account your body’s constant hormonal production, which is influenced by the fatty acids.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

28

Dear Mark: Advice for Athletes

This question came from speedingwaif in the comment boards last week. We thought it was something everyone might enjoy.

Dear Mark,

I’d be very interested in reading about the different nutritional needs of average folk versus athletes. For instance do we need more protein or just more calories overall? Are there foods or nutrients that are especially beneficial to the athlete? What is a good pre-training or pre-competition meal? Should the diet of a female athlete differ greatly from the diet of a male athlete?

Thanks for the question. I really enjoy the post discussions that get going and appreciate the questions. As you may have noticed, Dear Mark has become a weekly post now, so feel free to drop me a line in the comment boards. I’ll try to answer as many questions as possible in future Dear Mark posts.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

3

Dear Mark: Weightlifting Weary

After last week’s great discussion about chronic cardio, we wanted to highlight a related question we received recently.

Dear Mark,

I workout 5-6 days a week and do a lot of weightlifting in my routine. I’ve made good progress in the last several months, but I notice myself feeling more run down lately. Got any advice?

Posted By: Mark Sisson

17

Dear Mark: Chronic Cardio

Dear Mark,

I’m still having a hard time understanding what “chronic high level training” is, exactly. How much is too much? Is there a heart rate zone you guys can give me? A time limit? Am I overthinking this??

Thanks, Charlotte, for posting this question last week. As is so often the case, another MDA reader (hats off to you, Mike OD!) offered great advice. We thought the question was well worth revisiting. First off, let’s investigate the concept of chronic cardio. Intense cardio as we commonly think of it today means long stretches at a sustained heart rate in the 80+% range.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

64

Dear Mark: Sugar Cravings

Dear Mark,

I do pretty well in the fitness department, love my veggies and get plenty of protein. My problem is that I can’t seem to shake my sugar cravings. Suggestions?

I get some version of this question on a fairly regular basis. A common theory says that we evolved to crave sweet tastes in order to seek out healthy fruits to diversify our diets. The problem comes in the current age when our inclination is bombarded with the likes of Coco Puffs, Snickers and pudding packs.

Posted By: Mark Sisson

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