http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/arts/31cult.html?ex=1311998400&en=5ff338263db405ea&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
I just browsed my RSS feeds and bumped into an article of the New York Times that says that cultural life in Beirut came to a standstill. I felt touched. I follow events their very closey because I worked there as a physician during the last civil war. I cite the article below.

“We are not updating our Web site because we are under siege!”

The war in Lebanon is now in its third week, freezing life in mid-flow. A summer season that looked as if it would be highly successful for tourism was suddenly interrupted, as were numerous music festivals, theatrical and movie openings and, because this is Beirut, wild parties. For Lebanon’s burgeoning cultural scene, the conflict has put a stop, at least for the moment, to the patient work begun after the civil war ended in 1990.

Now some movie theaters are opening their doors to refugees…

I remember when I first arrived in Beirut in 1984 cultural life was already reduced to a minimum. The few movie theatres left open only showed rather violent movies. That was it. In the beginning, ignorant as I was, I was not afraid to go to the movies all alone and by foot.
One of the films I saw was Scarface with Al Pacino. The audience were mostly armed militia guys who enjoyed every piece of violence. Strange feeling, I think I was in somehow scared. But on the other hand, I could not avoid to feel a certain thrill.
I left the theatre immerged into this world of fiction not at all aware that walking home in Beirut meant something completely different than walking home in Vienna. Only minutes later a shop got blown up behind me, perhaps 50m away. I learned my lesson. I stopped walking around without paying utmost attention.
I still got friends in Beirut. For them and all the civilians, who are just about to recover from the endless years of civil war, I hope at least a truce will be achieved soon.

Last week in Frankfurt, Germany, on a very hot and humid summer day the European Championship IRONMAN Germany took place. For those of you who never heard of an event of this kind or came across the famous IRONMAN label. It is all about a triathlon longdistance race: a 3,8 km swim, 180 km on the bike and a marathon distance of 42,2 km. Biestmilch is involved with longdistance triathlon races since 2002.

You might ask why. Very simple. Biestmilch stabilizes and can even increase endurance performance and speeds up recuperation. A sport like triathlon not only takes its toll during the race but also during the hard and time-consuming periods of intensive training. Strenuous prolonged exercise makes you vulnerable to infectious diseases, injuries, pains and many an ailment no laboratory parameter can tell you the clear-cut reason behind the problem. With biestmilch there exists an amazing substance that is capable to intervene positively with the stressed overbalanced system of your body.

Back to this specific race in Frankfurt
As I mentioned already it was terribly hot the whole week already. Before race all athletes have take part in the race conference where they a taught the rules and regulations, and where they get tips how manage this long day - for some of them it takes around 15 hours and more - without major health problems. This time because of the extreme temperature the race’s physician gave the advice to get salt tablets. Within a few hours all the pharmacies in the vicinity of the race had sold out all salt stores.
Athletes were almost panicking because of this salt problem forgetting that salt needs not necessarily be taken in form of tablets. Salt from your salt shaker at home or at a restaurant might be a solution and probably a much cheaper one.

For those who are interested I had a look into the literature whether and when salt substitution makes sense. Again, as it is the case with so many advices and recepies one might give, there is always the exception to the rule, and, there is solid data undermined by other data not less solid.

(more…)

I found an interesting, rather profound and comprehensive article on the runnersweb on oxidants and antioxidants. http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_news_frameset.html?http://www.runnersweb.com/running/news/rw_news_20060724_ERB_Antioxidants.html
It thoroughly reviews the latest studies, and does not simply recommend substitution by all means.
Scientifically evaluated the debate on oxygen free radicals is still controversial. There is no clear-cut data that place antioxidant substitution beyond all doubts. Free radicals are not only harmful, they are for good as well, they help to remove tissue debris, kill bacteria, and they speed up metabolic processes in cells. In a healthy body radicals and the corresponding buffer systems are usually in balance. Of course, a body under excessive strain produces a surplus of radicals which might not be able to be compensated by its naturally occurring buffer systems.
Therefore the diet of an endurance athlete should consider the intake of antioxidant foods (fruits, vegetables) as essential. And in extreme cases and under extreme circumstances substitution may be taken into consideration.

But please, keep in mind, radicals are not bad per se.

I would like to ask you two questions here at this point.
1. Since when are you acquainted with antioxidants?
2. What do personally think about them?

Ausschnitt aus einem Rennbericht aus Roth, 2006
http://www.psv-vorarlberg.at/artikeldetails.asp?ContentID=283
Eigentlich lief es auf der 2 mal zu fahrenden 90km langen Radrunde ganz gut, nicht so toll waren die ständigen Krämpfe in den Beinen, der brutale Wind auf der Strecke und der Umstand, dass ich bei km 50 bereits Magenprobleme bekam und Nichts mehr essen konnte.

Mehr als 50% aller Ausdauersportler werden während eines Wettkampfes von Magen-Darm-Problemen unterschiedlichster Art heimgesucht.

Trotzdem konnte ich den Solarer-Berg mit seiner Länge von 500m und einer Steigung von 12 Prozent im Jubel der 40.000 Zuseher sogar im großen Kettenblatt hochfahren. Wer dieses “Alp d`Huez” –feeling einmal hatte, der kommt immer wieder nach Roth zurück.
Nach dem eher zähen Wechsel vom Rad auf die Marathonstrecke zeigten sich natürlich sofort die Folgen der Magenprobleme beim Rad fahren. Ich bekam schon nach kurzer Zeit starkes Seitenstechen und konnte nur noch in ganz kleinen Schlucken trinken, an “Benzin” für den Motor war gar nicht zu denken. Nach ca 4 km auf der Laufstrecke, bei 36 Grad entlang der Schotterwege des Rhein-Main-Donau Kanals, kam für mich der Punkt an dem es nur noch darum ging ins Ziel zu kommen und zu finishen.
Im Stile eines Wandermannes erreichte ich nach 11h glücklich das Ende meines persönlichen Jacobsweges im Ziel in Roth.
Glücklich ja wirklich, denn ich habe nicht aufgegeben, habe mich gequält bis nix mehr ging und nächstes Jahr versuche ich`s wieder, denn aufgegeben wird nur ein Brief bei der Post, sonst nix.

Nicht aufzugeben macht glücklich, aufgeben macht unglücklich.

Das konnte man bei Nicole Leder an diesem Sonntag beim European Championship IRONMAN Germany in Frankfurt beobachten. Nicole wurde von Magen-Darm-Problemen zum Aufgeben gezwungen. Für Sie brach in diesem Moment eine Welt zusammen, ein halbes Jahr der optimalen harten Vorbereitung zerstob im Nichts.

Der Magen-Darm-Trakt gehört zu den unkalkulierbarsten Größen des Ausdauersportlers während eines Wettkampfes. Er ist außerordentlich stressanfällig. Studien, die in Australien durchgeführt wurden, führen eine der vielen positiven Wirkungen der Biestmilch beim Ausdauersportler auf ihre die Darmschleimhaut stabilisierende Wirkung zurück.

Natürlich nicht bei jedem in jedem Fall, wie man bei Nicole Leder www.lothar-leder.de sehen kann, die ja regelmäßig Biestmilch nimmt. Dennoch ist ihre sportliche Leistungsfähigkeit, seitdem sie Biestmilch nimmt, deutlich stabiler geworden.