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Disclosure: I’m a member of the 2016 Rock’n’ Blog team. This year one of our perks was to select two books from VeloPress, a publisher focused on books for cyclists, runners, and triathletes. I was not required to write a review or offer this book for giveaway (though I have chosen to do both). All words and opinions are my own.

If you’ve poked around on the blog, you might have noticed one of my very first reviews for trail running shoes. That was also my very first experience with trail running, and my questionable decision to sign up for three half marathon trail runs taking place within a single week. (Note: don’t do that.) Despite my lack of judgment, or perhaps because ignorance is bliss, I had a great time and have continued to take on a trail run here and there. If you’re in Northern California, I highly recommend you take a look at Brazen Racing; if you have nothing to do on my birthday (October 9) the Sasquatch Racing Honey Badger has options for a 5k, 10k, and half marathon. (If you are one of the first ten people to use the code BAIN, you can save $10!)

Psst! Click here to tip off your friends: October is Giveaway-A-Palooza here on the blog.Click To Tweet

In hindsight, there are plenty of things I wish I’d known about trail running before I went out and picked a trail race. (It might have been nice to have a training run or two on a trail, for example!) For a fun romp through some trail advice, check out the Runner of a Certain Age Podcast Embrace the Chaos Edition

Trailhead by Lisa Jhung with illustrations by Charlie Layton (image from VeloPress)
Trailhead by Lisa Jhung with illustrations by Charlie Layton (image from VeloPress)

That’s where Trailhead comes in. Lisa Jhung’s book, subtitled “The Dirt on All Things Trail Running,” is playfully illustrated by Charlie Layton. It’s a great guide to running on trails for the beginner or someone who is otherwise newer to trail running. (If you’re already a die-hard trail runner, maybe you’d like to win a copy to give to a friend who is hesitant about off-roading?)

It comically begins by assuming you’re not sure what is and is not a trail. (Okay, maybe you’re actually not sure–there are plenty of “rails to trails” program “trails” that are really paved bike pants.)

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The first two chapters cover the potential benefits of trail running for your body and your mind. Some of them are the same as any exercise, but there are specific benefits to trail running, including a balance challenge that you don’t get from running on the road. Jhung covers the specific physical benefits of trail running for a variety of athletes, including yogis and swimmers and cross-fitters (oh my!).

The next few chapters are dedicated to the “hows” of trail running: how do you find a trail? How should you dress? How much gear do you need? While some of the basics are the same as running on the road (e.g. good socks are key, cotton clothing is like bad), some considerations are trail-specific. For example, you’re not going to find a drinking fountain or a Circle K on the trail, so you have to carry fluid–but what is the best way to do that? There’s a chapter devoted to weather and conditions on the trail (you probably don’t think about avoiding poison ivy when you run in the city), and another chapter about nutrition for trail running including special hydration issues (since again, you’re not going to find a water fountain to refill your bottle…and it might not be a great idea to drink directly from that stream).

"You haven't read Trailhead? Nope, not running that trail with you."
“You haven’t read Trailhead? Nope, not running that trail with you.”

Running on the pavement, wildlife encounters are generally limited. Sure, I stop to pet every cute dog I see (and sometimes the cats), but those are domestic-life not wildlife. Maybe you see squirrels, or a skunk, or a hedgehog (depending on where you are running). But on trails, you might run into wildlife that is actually wild, undomesticated, not likely to be seen regularly wandering suburbia: coyotes, wolves, bobcats, mountain lions…bears! Deer! Elk! Bison! Alligators! Snakes! What do you do if you find one in your path? Don’t worry, Jhung’s got you covered. (Because while the book is pretty funny, getting trampled by a moose while out on a run is not.)

Trail running also has some etiquette points that differ from pavement running. There are no garbage cans, so plan to pack out your trash. That’s obvious, but the rules for who has the right-of-way on a single-track trail are not always obvious. And what do you do if you need to take a leak in the woods? (Hint: nature does not come equipped with porta-potties. Also, you don’t want to pop a squat in poison oak.) Paved running surfaces are pretty easy to destroy and generally either take care of themselves or have assigned minders. Trails, on the other hand, are subject to erosion, and can be easily damaged or destroyed by bad behavior. Jhung also covers the basics for trail running with animals (dogs, horses, burros), so you can keep your non-human companions on their best behavior too.

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The end of Trailhead briefly covers some specific training for trail runs (including strength exercises that will benefit your running overall, but are especially suited to trail running), and trail races. I wish I’d had this advice before I signed up for my first trail runs!

Contest details: enter via Rafflecopter. I’ll pay postage to the U.S. and Canada (if you win and live elsewhere, you pay the postage). Prize consists of one copy of the book Trailhead, which is pre-read but looks like new (no creases, bent pages, cracked spine, etc.) This contest is not sponsored by, endorsed by, or affiliated with anyone other than Train With Bain. Please expect slow shipping, as Bain is running every weekend in October in a different state!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received an original Buff® for testing purposes because I am a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro, and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews. It’s a great way to help race directors see what is working and what needs improvement, and to help other runners find out what a race is really like.

The genuine article has the Buff logo on it--proof of quality and brand!
The genuine article has the Buff logo on it–proof of quality and brand!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Buff®

Okay, maybe you already knew this. If you’ve been paying attention to my blog, or have seen me at any races, then you probably know about my love affair with Buff® products. I use the UV half Buff® as a hat liner when running, which keeps my bangs out of my face and covers my ears (which never seen to get sunblock on them for some reason). I’ve used UV Buff® in the full size as a hat replacement/”do-rag,” to keep my neck warm during the pre-race chill in Arizona and Nevada, as a sweat mopper during races, and as a combination hat liner and ice holder during the 2016 Buffalo Marathon. As I started to figure out just how useful Buff® is–and how each variety (e.g. UV, infinity scarf, merino wool) is multifunctional–I could kick myself for not grabbing a drawerfull earlier. Given the chance to score a Buff® I will always be interested, and I’ve purchased quite a few for myself, friends, and family. Since I love Buff® products so much, I’m thrilled that BibRave and Buff® have an ongoing partnership!

Sweaty post-race selfie at Rock n Roll Virginia Beach
Sweaty post-race selfie at Rock n Roll Virginia Beach

It’s local.

Betcha didn’t know that! (Okay, local to me…) While the parent company (Original Buff®, S.A.) is in Spain, Buff® Inc. (the U.S. subsidiary company) is located in Sonoma County, northern California! No wonder they are a sponsor of the Levi’s Granfondo in Santa Rosa.

On my wrist to mop sweat (Half Buff)
On my wrist to mop sweat (Half Buff)

Don’t be a Pirate.

Buff® is a Brand Name that Indicates The Real Deal. Just like Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Clinique, and Nike, the term Buff® is a registered trademark. (Through the magic of WordPress I have found the ® symbol!) Unfortunately, just like you can buy knock-off Fendi and Gucci out of some dude’s trunk in many cities, there are imitation/fake/imposter Buff® products out there. (Note that it is absolutely 100% fine to sell a multi-functional headgear, headwrap, tube, etc. but calling it a “buff” when it is not a Buff® is misleading and a violation of trademark law.) For example, at least two race series I know of advertise that runners get a race-themed “buff” with registration, and the Marathon Maniacs and the Half Fanatics sell a club logo “buff” in their member stores. This isn’t just bad news for Buff®, it’s bad news for you.

First, you’re not getting a real Buff® when you buy these products, but you’re probably paying the same price–or more! When I order a Buff® or am promised a Buff®, I expect the real deal. The real original Buff® is made from a soft technical fabric that dries quickly, wicks sweat away from you, and is treated with Polygiene to prevent the build up of bacteria in the product. (The UV version blocks at least 93% of harmful UV rays, there is a reflective Buff® for low-light safety, and Insectshield® has a built-in repellent that lasts through 70 washes.)  The fabric has been tested and is warranted to meet several international standards including Oeko-Tex Standard 100 (which prohibits the use of certain types of chemicals that are known to be harmful to humans or the planet). Fake “buff” products–at least every single one I have seen–are generally made of cheaper fabric that holds the heat in, doesn’t dry quickly, and has no UV protection.

Second, you’re hurting Buff® when you buy fakes. Genuine Buff® products are reasonably priced, and there are great sales (be sure to get on the mailing list!). There is no reason for any race or club to offer a fake “buff” because Buff® offers custom products (here’s the U.S. site!) and has a low minimum order requirement (25 pieces!). Buff also supports numerous international charities with custom designs, including UNICEF, Walking With The Wounded, and World Horse Welfare. (In the U.S., charity designs include The Breast Cancer Fund, and Buff® USA sponsors the Marine Corps Marathon.)

Finding this interesting? Why not Tweet it to your peeps so they can learn about Buff(R) too? Click To Tweet

Buff® isn’t just for running!

Last year I bought a super cute Buff® headband after trying it out at a race expo. (Most headbands go shooting off of my head like a slingshot. Insert joke about having a big head here.) My intent was to use it during yoga and group ex classes to help keep sweat from my head/hair off of my face. My body is very efficient at cooling itself, which is to say I sweat A LOT during workouts. It did a great job of keeping my bangs from dripping sweat into my eyes, and further did a great job of keeping adjacent hair from sticking to my face, but there was still the issue of my ponytail whacking me in the face during sun salutations.

In addition to my large melon, I have baby-fine, stick-straight hair with zero texture. If you put a clip barrette into my hair, it will slowly slide right out–same with most hair elastics (unless applied super duper tightly)–and the giant claw-clips tend to wobble unless held in place with something else (like a shower cap) and are impractical for yoga classes. During this round of BibRave testing, I opted for a full Buff® from the National Geographic collection. (The design I picked was so awesome that it is now sold out.) At first I tried wearing it foulard/do-rag style (see the “How to Wear” video on the Buff® website). While that kept more sweat off of my face and kept all of my hair from sticking to my face, it had the unfortunate effect of letting my ponytail turn into a giant dreadlock.

The finished look, from the top
The finished look, from the top

So I messed around with it more, and came up with a solution. It’s not in the video on the website, so here’s how to do it:

  1. Pull Buff® over head and all the way down onto neck, pattern side out. (Like the neckerchief in the video)
  2. Pull top edge of Buff® up over head (temporarily covering face) until bottom edge of Buff hits chin. Ponytail should be inside (not below the bottom edge). (This is like foulard/do-rag in the video.)
  3. Scrunch and/or roll bottom edge of Buff® up to hairline; multiple layers of fabric should be at the hairline. (I put it behind my ears, which I know looks dorky, but my goal was “effective sweat and hair control” and not “fashion statement.”)
  4. Grab ponytail and twist a few times, making a faux bun right next to head; using one hand to hold ponytail, grab free edges of Buff® with the other hand. (It helps to bend over a little bit while you do this.)
  5. Grip opposite sides of Buff® (it’s a tube, so anything approximate will do) and tie a single, firm overhand knot.

BOOM! Hair and sweat control in one! I used this method in multiple deep-flow style yoga classes that included inversions and plenty of movement, as well as a Lagree Method class. Gravity was no match for this baby.

Post-sweaty yoga selfie--hair intact, no sweat in eyes
Post-sweaty yoga selfie–hair intact, no sweat in eyes. (When all else fails, through a filter on it.)

 

Do you have a favorite Buff® product?

I’ve been a huge fan of keeping a food and exercise log/journal since I first started to dip my toes into the health and fitness arena. I call it “tracking,” largely because that’s how my Weight Watchers peeps refer to it. Yes, it’s kind of a pain in the butt sometimes, and I’m not 100% compliant with my own goal of tracking every day, but in my experience it’s been a huge help. When I write it down, I stick to my plans. I tend to eat healthier (because who wants to write down, “Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby, 1 pint”??). I tend to workout more because I can see lots of blank space when I haven’t been exercising.

There are many electronic options to track, including free and paid apps and websites where you can track both exercise and food (e.g. My Fitness Pal, Livestrong, FitBit) but I do best when I write things down. For one, I spend so much time on my phone and computer that I don’t really need to find another reason to do that. For two, when I’m using pen and paper it’s easy to track what I had planned versus what I actually did. Or doodle in the margins. Or reward myself with a cool gel pen with funky ink. Finally, I’m more like to review my data if I can thumb through the pages and compare multiple pages at once.

So you might wonder, why bother with tracking? Trust me, it’s not just my personal obsession.

Three reasons you might track

1. Lose Weight

My first experience with tracking was actually when my office started a Weight Watchers group. As part of the program, we kept track of what we ate each day, working to stay within our “points” allowance. Tracking to lose weight is a proven method for adherence to a weight loss program.A study called Long Term Weight Loss Maintenance indicates tracking is also useful for maintenance, noting that some of the factors for long-term success (taken from the National Weight Loss Registry data) include “self-monitoring weight, and maintaining a consistent eating pattern across weekdays and weekends.” (You can read the rest of the abstract for more.)

Mileage Data (Believe Journal)
Mileage Data (Believe Journal)

2. Collect Data

If you’re tracking food intake, you probably know to write down what you ate. Don’t forget to write down how much! You might also write down how you felt afterwards. (I know people who have discovered food sensitivities this way.) Food is really tied up in emotions, and you might discover you’re eating because you are upset or bored!

If you’re tracking workout data, what you track probably depends on what you’re doing. In the P90X programs, Tony Horton recommends writing down how many reps you got through of each exercise (in addition to how much weight you used). If you’re running, you probably want to track time and distance, but you might also want to track weather, road conditions, and other factors that could affect your run.

Tracking both food and exercise allows you to see whether there are correlations (I always run better after a half cup of coffee, I’m miserable if I had champagne the night before), or if you’ve fallen into a habit you’d like to keep up or break up with. Right now I’m also tracking my water intake and hours of sleep.

If you’re really into the idea of collecting up data, you might want to check out the Quantified Self movement and see if there is a meet-up or conference near you.

The big picture page (FitBook)
The big picture page (FitBook)

3. Plan Ahead

If you are training for an event, you probably have some kind of training plan. Runners often plan a certain number of miles or minutes per training day. But planning isn’t just for “those people” (if you’re not one of them!). Maybe you need to plan out your workouts because you’ve got a busy schedule and a full plate, and planning it out ensures it will happen. You could put the workout in your regular calendar like an appointment, then write out the details in your tracker. If you’re following a training plan from a book or magazine, you can pre-write your workout in your tracker. I find carrying my small FitBook much more convenient than bringing the magazine, and I can always note where I made changes or did more reps. Another example, you can use a tracker to plan meals for you or your family (and from that, create your grocery list!). It can save you a bunch of time and money if you plan your meals that way.

Trackers I have known and loved

First, true confession, I’m actually tracking different things in different places. I have a FitBook for food and workouts. I have the Believe Journal for running, where I also write about how the run felt, what I got right and wrong, and my general thoughts about events, etc. I track my weight in the FitBit app. It might seem horribly inefficient to have all this data in different places, but it works for me–I want the graph the FitBit app makes, but I want space to write about my runs. I use the food section of FitBook to track container equivalents from the 21-Day Fix eating plan, but formerly used it to track points.

While you can just grab any notebook and start your own tracker, I’ve not have great success with this. The main issue for me is that since the pages are not organized into days and weeks, it is just too easy to skip a day, and “just for today” turns into “I don’t track anymore.” When I first started tracking I wasn’t sure what I wanted to track, and I tried to do too much, which also made the blank notebooks less than effective. I enjoy the graphic elements of the published trackers as well.

An example of my inspiration collages
An example of my inspiration collages

Weight Watchers

There is a WeWa app now, and some of my friends love it. I’ve never tried it, in part because I found the website quite buggy when I tried to use it to track. Instead, I used the spiral-bound purse-sized trackers. Note that there is a free downloadable tracker, and those attending meetings can pick up single-week trackers (or used to be able to do so–I’ve not checking up on it lately). The link leads to the current journal, which is a 12-week hardcover, because I couldn’t find the spiral-bound one online. Pros: highly portable, used the covers for inspiration collages. Cons: not much room to track exercise, frequently ran out of room to write.

Red for 2015; Lavender for 2016!
Red for 2015; Lavender for 2016!

Believe Journal

This is a running-specific journal, with information, inspiration, and worksheet-like activities between the regular weekly tracking pages. It was created by professional runners Lauren Fleshman and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas. You don’t have to be a runner to use it though–you could use the weekly pages for any activity, the yearly overview for planning, and the worksheets apply to almost every sport. There are some runner-specific information sections that don’t cross-apply though, including a variety of speed workouts, pace charts, and training plans.  Pros: plenty of room to write, spaces are customizable, textured cover, knowledge bombs/content. Cons: too large to carry around in a purse, not designed to track both exercise and food.

Workouts on the left, foods on the right
FitBook: Workouts on the left, foods on the right

FitBook

I first met FitBook at IDEA World in…wow, 2010. FitBook had a table at the expo, and I was so excited at how much better the format would be for my purposes. FitBook has a place to record stats other than weight, a weekly planning page, and a weekly summary page with space to journal, reflect on the week and how to move forward. There are two daily pages; the left side is for exercise and the right side is for food. The FitBook website and email newsletter deliver some great content for free, including inspiration, receipts, and printable calendars and goals worksheets. Pros: lots of space to track both food and exercise, largely blank areas are highly customizable, spiral binding lays flat for easy use. Cons: some might find it too big to carry daily.

A giveaway!

FitBook and FitBook Lite
FitBook and FitBook Lite

I’ve got ONE brand new FitBook Lite! The “lite” version of FitBook is a six week version of it’s big sister, FitBook. Once you’ve got FitBook Lite in your hands, you can downdload a free kickstart ebook with a meal plan, recipes, tips, and a workout plan guide. Please note: this giveaway is not sponsored by FitBook (or anyone else) in any way.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I am a 2015 Nuunbassador. This post is not sponsored by Nuun in any way. The giveaway is not sponsored by Nuun. All opinions are my own. Many thanks to Briana of Mat, Miles, Medals for the image above.

December is more than half over, and the new calendar year is almost upon us. (I know, I know–I have to keep saying it to myself over and over, because I barely believe it!) I was fortunate enough to be selected to be a Nuunbassador in 2015, and it’s time to celebrate that adventure coming to a close.

By the way, I decided not to reapply for 2016. That decision had nothing to do with Nuun–which I still drink all the time and am just shy of obsessed with–or my experience (it was great!). So many of my friends were really excited to apply, and really deserved a chance to represent Nuun in 2016. They wanted it SO badly! Since I already had the chance to represent Nuun, and I have my fingers crossed that I’ll be chosen as an ambassador for the Detroit Marathon, I decided to step aside this year. (Hey Nuun, maybe let’s get together again in 2017?) No need to be greedy, and I want to continue to do an excellent job for BibRave in 2016.

So, let’s talk Nuun!

Nuun’s major innovation is to separate hydration from fueling. Most sports hydration drinks are designed to do both, which is why they are filled with sugar–simple sugar can be readily broken down for use as fuel. Unfortunately, many endurance athletes find that consuming too much sugar while hydrating leads to…let’s just call it unpleasant digestive side effects. Nuun decided to separate the hydration (and and accompanying electrolyte replacement) and fueling.

Nuun Active is the original, and comes in the widest variety of flavors. Nuun Active contains the optimal blend of electrolytes because you need more than sodium when running (this is why salt packets are not the best electrolyte replacement!). Nuun has sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Here’s the nutrition facts and ingredients for my favorite flavor, tropical.

Some advantages to choosing Nuun Active for hydration:

  • light flavor
  • highly portable tablet format
  • easy to change or mix flavors
  • thin, non-sticky consistency
  • add more/less water to adjust taste and consistency
Nuun fizzes a bit as it mixes itself. Only add a half tab to champagne.) Image courtesy of Mat, Miles, Medals.
Nuun fizzes a bit as it mixes itself. Only add a half tab to champagne.) Image courtesy of Mat, Miles, Medals.

Since Nuun ships as tablets in a recyclable tube, I suspect it also has less of an environmental impact, at least on the consumer side–no water is shipped so you can move more Nuun with less fuel, and using your own bottle means no disposable plastics. Finally, while the tube is recyclable, many people wash and re-purpose the tubes.

Repurposed Nuun tube. Photo courtesy of @cratina. Follow her at http://fabulosi-t.blogspot.com/
Repurposed Nuun tube. Photo courtesy of @cratina. Follow her at http://fabulosi-t.blogspot.com/

They are just the right size to carry Energy Bits, or store change for parking meters. If you travel as much as I do, you might also use the tubes to pack cotton swabs, part of a Lush bubble bath bar, or earrings.

2015 #TeamNuun kit
2015 #TeamNuun kit

Nuun Active is what I used all year for running. (Nuunbassadors do get a product discount, but frankly the expo special is a better price so I rarely used it.) In addition to my regularly scheduled events, this year was also the first virtual run co-sponsored by Nuun (with Motigo and the website now known as FitFam). Only Nuunbassadors and Team Nuun members could participate, and the run included a cute fitted shirt and medal. Athletes representing Nuun also had the opportunity to purchase specialty Nuun apparel twice during the year. Pactimo prints the Nuun team gear, which is quality technical gear. Most of Pactimo’s styles are for cycling, not running. So, for example, there weren’t running tights, or singlets. I opted for a pair of cycle shorts (encouragement to go to FlyWheel more often!) and a cycling jersey. (It’s got pockets on the back, so I know it wasn’t made for running.)

Andrew--find him on twitter @smartwatermelon--uses Nuun Plus in tri training
Andrew–find him on twitter @smartwatermelon–uses Nuun Plus in tri training

Nuun Plus is the newest Nuun invention. It contains electrolytes and sugar (dextrose and sucrose). Basically, it’s a way to add the fuel into your Nuun. You can easily adjust how frequently you fuel by adding Plus to some bottles, but not to others. I haven’t tried it yet, but my friends who have tried it do like it.

Nuun Energy is my favorite product, especially the cherry limeade. Like Nuun Active, it contains an optimal blend of electrolytes. Unlike Nuun Active, it also contains a B vitamin blend and caffeine. I keep a tube of the cherry limeade on my desk at work, so I have a low-calorie, less junky, option when I need an afternoon boost. (My non-Nuun choices are coffee drinks and sodas.)

Nuun All Day is a multi-vitamin disguised as Nuun! My favorite flavor is the blueberry pomegranate. The flavors are a little different, in part because the vitamin/mineral content is different. I’m not a huge fan of all of them, and as a friend of mine observed, it tastes a little “vitaminy.” I like the blueberry pomegranate all by itself, but you can easily mix it with another flavor (say half tab of each) or mix it into a beverage other than water (such as iced tea).

Finally, there’s U Natural. I’ve never tried it. U Natural is intended for use as hydration in less intense physical activities. (This is not the marathon runner blend.)

You can buy Nuun online, but buying it at your local sports or running store helps them to keep the doors open. The best price for Nuun right now is always at a race expo, where the expo special is two tubes for $10 plus a free refillable bottle.

Speaking of those bottles, I’m a bit of a water bottle junky. I came across an impressive photo of a Nuun bottle collection that essentially took up an entire kitchen cabinet. While I don’t have that many Nuun bottles, I do have quite the collection of other bottles too. When I started this year, I had two Nuun bottles: one Rock ‘n’ Roll, and one Active. I seemed to have crummy luck, and missed all the specialty bottles–the Rock ‘n’ Roll Vegas, the Kara Goucher…but really, how many do I need??

The Nuun Vegas bottle, courtesy of @crantina
The Nuun Vegas bottle, courtesy of @crantina

Throughout the course of the year it became clear I was going to end up with MANY more bottles, so I made a rule: I can only keep one in each design. I haven’t used any of the rest of them–that’s where the giveaway comes in!

I’m giving away my extra, brand-new, un-used Nuun bottles! I’ll also put some Nuun samples inside for the lucky winners! Important Note: the samples are not the Nuun-factory-sealed samples. They will be untouched Nuun tablets, poured directly from the Nuun tube into a fresh snack-sized Ziploc bag. (Remember, this isn’t sponsored by Nuun! Cut me some slack, since I’m paying for the product and the shipping; I’d hate to send you a tube and it turns out you hate that flavor.)

Nuun bottles! There will be at least 3 prizes!
Nuun bottles!
There will be at least 3 prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received complimentary 2XU MCS Elite Compression Tights to review because I am a BibRave Pro. (Per usual, all opinions are my own–you should know by now I don’t need any help with that, I’ve got plenty of ’em!) Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro here. Read and write race reviews at BibRave.com! It’s a great way to choose between conflicting races, to help runners find the best races, and the help race directors improve each year.

Oooooh! Shiny!
Oooooh! Shiny!

Compression! Before getting my hands on these 2XU MCS Elite Compression Tights, I had a little experience with the 2XU brand.  I had tried the 2XU compression capris (purchased at the expo for the Oakland Running Festival), and knew their products are designed in Australia, and made in Taiwan. At another race, I’d packed in a hurry and left my sleeves at home, so at the race expo (I think) I paid $40 for a pair of size M “Unisex Compression Performance Run Sleeve(s).” Sadly, the combination of the two makes me look a little bit like one of those biscuit packages after you’ve popped the roll and there are bits of dough poofing out on the sides.

The only other compression tights I had tried were CW-X winter-weight Stabilyx tights. I do like them, but I have a very difficult time wriggling into them (there is always much swearing and gnashing of teeth, and usually a broken fingernail or two), in part due to the stiffness of the fabric while trying to wrangle the compression web into the correct places. The 2XU MCS Elite Compression Tights are a completely different garment. If you’ve tried compression before, you should definitely try these. They might just rock your socks off.

WAIT. What about the science? But first, a nod to science and personal experimentation. If you’ve read the published studies on athletes and compression, you’ll notice most of them have really unsexy names like “Mechanical compression during repeated sustained isometric muscle contractions and hyperemic recovery in healthy young males” and deal with compression and circulatory diseases. (There’s a reason why doctors prescribe those awesomely beige compression stockings.) Studies on compression and athletic performance, with equally sexy titles like “Changes in Tissue Oxygen Saturation in Response to Different Calf Compression Sleeves” often reach conclusions that are difficult to apply to running. (That last study? “This study shows that wearing compression sleeves from various brands differently affects tissue oxygen saturation.” Super helpful.) When user-friendly summaries are reported in fitness magazines for popular consumption, it seems like each investigation had a very specific limitation (for example, male professional cyclists on indoor bikes) or comes to a conclusion that contradicts the last one. Or both.

[On a happier note, compression for recovery seems to be a good idea–but as the latest review notes, the fairly uniform data are suspect.  See Marques-Jiminez et al. Are compression garments effective for the recovery of exercise-induced muscle damage? A systematic review with meta-analysis. Physiol Behav. 2015 Oct 29. pii: S0031-9384(15)30156-6. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.10.027. You can read the abstract HERE.)  At least  a few BibRave Pro members, Angie and Heather, prefer compression for recovery.]

My suggestion? Get some compression gear and take it for a test run. I personally love running in compression (but don’t like to wear more than calf sleeves for recovery) so I was SUPER excited to try out the 2XU MCS tights. When I put on compression tights, I feel like I’m wearing a sweet little hug all over my legs. BibRave Pro Sarah totally felt that way about these tights too. When I run, my body feels much more like an action hero, as the compression holds everything in place, close to the bones, and minimizes any jiggling or lateral movement. If you’re a woman, think about the difference between running with a really good sports bra, and running with a ratty old sports bra that doesn’t give you support and control.

What distinguishes these tights from others?

The first is in the name, MCS, which means “muscle containment stamping.” It’s a pattern of rubber-ish stuff (like uncovered elastic) stamped on the inside of the tights. (It is unrelated to the gold design on the outside.) The patterns are specific to the muscles they cover, so the stamp for the quads is different than the stamp for any other part of your legs. The 2XU site describes it like this: “MCS is a revolutionary fabric support system traced over key muscle, tendon and fascia groups to focus greater compression power to wrap precise areas and reduce muscle oscillation and damage.”

Inside view, MCS on the calf (and you can see the waistband drawstring, too)
Inside view, MCS on the calf (and you can see the waistband drawstring, too)

I’m all about reducing that oscillation, thanks. BibRave Pro Kim took a much better picture of the MCS than I did, also showing the tights turned inside out.

The other thing that differs from other compression is that the 2XU MCS Elite tights use two different fabrics. There is a lighter-weight technical fabric on the front, and a heavier weight one on the backside. It isn’t awkward though, and I bet you wouldn’t notice the difference if you picked up a pair and started to try them on, unless you started out looking for that difference.

Exterior view (read: I took a photo of my thigh); you can see thinner anterior fabric, and the shadow of the MCS
Exterior view (read: I took a photo of my thigh); you can see thinner anterior fabric, and the shadow of the MCS

To me, these felt very lightweight. I didn’t struggle to get them on, though I did take care to put the MCS pieces in their correct locations. (It’s not rocket science–once you have it in your hands, it’s obvious what should go where.) They felt good on my body, and other than the mini-muffintop I get from any compression wear (I’m not the only one, BibRave Pro Jenny also noticed that) I’d like to think they looked good, too (BibRave Pro Sarah pointed out that she was turning heads in 2XU, and BibRave Pro Jess felt like a superhero). It’s not just about the looks, and it’s not a “girls like black pants” thing–check out BibRave Pro Tom’s review  or read how BibRave Pro Jeremy credits these tights with a shiny new PR.

Other features:

Graduated compression. Like medical compression garments, the 2XU MCS Elite is graduated compression. In practical terms, that means assistance with venous return (at least theoretically), as the compression helps your circulatory system work against gravity. 2XU states this also increases blood circulation for recovery and reduced muscle stiffness post-exercise.

Fabric that wicks, but doesn’t stink. The fabric wicks sweat away from your body quickly. I’m a sweaty woman when I run, and was happy these never felt wet (or even damp, really!) after a half marathon. The fabric has antibacterial properties, which probably explains why it didn’t stink even after I wore it for a ten-miler and then it had to wait a week to get washed. Care is the same as other tech fabrics (wash cold, no fabric softener or bleach, hang to dry). Bonus, it also has UV sun protection.

Attention to details. The waistband has a drawstring, so if you’re not a natural mini-muffintop like I am, you can cinch the drawstring to get a custom fit. The seams are completely flat. No matter the humidity or other conditions, I’ve never had chafing. There is also a tiny pocket to hide your key when you run.

The Verdict: Invest in 2XU MCS Elite

Yes, these tights are on the pricey side–MSRP is $149.95 (Lululemon, eat your heart out). Think of this an an investment, and if you take care of them, they will last for many, many runs. (Personally, I’d rather have one really great pair of tights that lasts than several crummier ones that fall apart and need to be replaced faster.)

As I write this, these giths are on sale for $119.95. You can save 20% with the code BIBRAVE20. Psst! Pass that code on to Santa (or Hanukkah Harry, if you’re like my friend Liz!), it is good until 12/31/15!

I love a good discount as much as I like bling! This is me sporting the 2XU MCS Elite Compression Tights at Rock 'n' Roll San Jose
I love a good discount as much as I like bling! This is me sporting the 2XU MCS Elite Compression Tights at Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose

But hey, don’t just take my word for it. Just about ALL of the BibRave Pro team members who tried these tights LOVED them. Katherine rocked hers at the Hot Chocolate 15k. Laura killed the North Face Endurance Challenge in hers. Brenda likes them for trail running. Read more reviews from Allison, Haley, and Samantha, or watch a video review by John (I’m not quite cool enough for video yet). A legit criticism for many athletic pants, BibRave Pro Rachel would have preferred a wider waistband, something several others noted too (see Danielle’s Review).

Disclosure: I received a complimentary XX2i France 1 Dual Pack to review because I am a BibRave Pro. (Per usual, all opinions are my own–you should know by now I don’t need any help with that, I’ve got plenty of ’em!) Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro here. Read and write race reviews at BibRave.com! It’s a great way to choose between conflicting races, to help runners find the best races, and the help race directors improve each year.

In the interest of full disclosure, I haven’t actually had the opportunity to run in them. It’s a sad saga involving a very expensive lost contact lens, a lengthy insurance battle, and other epic plot elements. By the time my new lenses were approved it was time for a new prescription, and on the only day I had free to go to the eye doctor, she was sick. (I know, I know–#firstworldproblems.) So while I can’t write about how awesome it is to run wearing these sunglasses, I’ve thoroughly investigated the rest of the aspects. I’ll update this post after I get my &^%*!!?! contact lens situation resolved.

In the meanwhile, if you would rather read a review by runners who actually got to run, here are a few reviews from my fellow BibRave Pro team members: Danielle, Tom, Krissy, and Jeremy.

I’ve never owned fancy sports sunglasses. In fact, until a few years ago when I was gifted a pair of Oakley sunglasses, I really only used giveaway sunglasses I received from various promoters. Basically I was afraid to spend money on sunglasses, because throughout my life I’ve always scratched them, sat on them, lost them, and otherwise destroyed them. The secret, it turns out, is to have both a safe place for them to live (like a hard case) and protective clothing for when they travel and are not on my face (like a microfiber cloth slipcover).

This kit from XX2i had me completely covered. First–and most important to a serial sunglasses killer like me–a zippered hard case to store all components when not in use.

Exterior shot
Exterior shot, everything safely tucked inside the hard turtle shell

By the way, see those letters at the bottom? LIFETIME GUARANTEE, baby!! This is really important to me because when I spend the money to buy quality gear, I need to know the company really stands behind it. So before I even opened the box,  I headed over to the website to see what “lifetime guarantee” means to XX2i.  First, I noted the company’s mission statement: “We support people that make a difference every day. People who are committed to a healthy, athletic lifestyle and being good citizens. People who appreciate quality, innovation and no BS marketing. We are committed to producing the best possible eyewear for outdoor enthusiasts and stand behind each product we produce with integrity and pride to insure your completely satisfied no matter what. All of our products are perfect for running, cycling, golfing, fishing, tennis, sport shooting and just about any outdoor activity.” So far, so good.

Then I clicked on the “warranty” to find out the scoop. It’s much better than I expected! See for yourself: “All XX2i sunglasses come with a no questions asked Lifetime Warranty! No matter if your dog chewed on them (which we hear a lot!) or if you drove over them in your SUV, we’ll replace them for a nominal shipping and handling fee of $19.95!” They do ask that you ship by a method that can be traced, which is pretty reasonable (since packages do sometimes get lost, but there are also scammers who try to take advantage, so I don’t blame them for making that request).

Satisfied it was safe for me to touch the glasses themselves, I opened the box to see what goodies were inside.

Filled with goodies, just like an Easter egg (only less messy)
Filled with goodies, just like an Easter egg (only less messy)

As you can see, the kit contains TWO frames and FIVE sets of lenses. Assuming you and your significant other or best friend don’t like the exact same combo, you can easily share. For this picture I left the lenses as they came (wrapped in plastic and yes, that was a Twin Peaks reference), though the kit actually includes a protective cloth cover for each set of lenses. That’s in addition to the two drawstring-style cloth bags for the sunglasses (frames with lenses inside them).

On the right, you can see the additional accessories: a sports-style strap and additional nose pieces and tips. Since I’ve also lost a few pairs of sunglasses that just had to go swimming instead of canoeing, the former is important to me. The latter could be really useful if you want to match your sunglasses to your running outfits or, for example, plan to be Captain America for the Disney Avengers races.

With all these pretty parts and a lifetime warranty in place, it was time to mess with the component parts. First I decided to try swapping out the tips. It was pretty easy, though you do need to give the original tips a little twist to get them off.

White frames, black (original) and blue (swapped out) tips
White frames, black (original) and blue (swapped out) tips

Next I decided  to try changing out the lenses. I’ve never had this option with sunglasses, and it seems both practical and fun (you could have two different color lenses, just like Dr. Jacoby! why yes, that’s another Twin Peaks reference).   The kit includes five sets of lenses, and the other four will be sad if I don’t try them out right? Also, you can buy additional lenses, including prescription lenses, polarized lenses, and readers. Changing the lenses was a big leap of faith for me, as I think of sunglasses as being delicate and easily broken.

For the too-fashionable-to-wear-one-color set, and to show contrast
For the too-fashionable-to-wear-one-color set, and to show contrast

It turns out you really can manhandle the frames a bit.  The lenses too–sure, I got them all fingerprinty while changing the lenses out, but they cleaned up easily. The only pieces I didn’t test-change were the nose pieces. This is mainly because I’m not great with little tiny screws, and I was afraid that one or more would go the way of my errant contact lens. The nose-pieces are adjustable and stiff to hold shape but pliable to bend, so you can customize the fit.

Speaking of customizing the fit, I was really pleased that these frames fit me. Through much trial and tears while trying on the cute headbands at all of the running expos, I’ve discovered I have a giant melon. (You can read about the ones that finally fit me here: Bani Bands.) These frames worked just fine.

The XX2i France 2 in tortoise
The XX2i France 2 in tortoise–you can see my eyes!

Since I can’t see without my contact lenses, running wasn’t much of an option. (Surely I would have killed both the sunglasses and myself if I had tried!) So instead I did some jumping around to mimic running, though it was more like crazy jumping jacks; the sunglasses stayed put, which is exactly what I need them to do. They also feel very light, and didn’t make any effort to ski jump off the end of my nose. That’s the long and short (mostly long) of my test drive of the XX2i sunglasses dual kit.

If you want to get your own, use code “XX2iRocks” (without the quotation marks) to score 50% off of your order!

 

Disclosure: I presented Legal Advice for Bloggers at IDEA World BlogFest 2015 and am a member in good standing of IDEA. This post and the accompanying giveaway are unrelated to my presenter duties, and are not sponsored by IDEA, Sweat Pink, or any other entity. All opinions are my own–you know I’ve got plenty to go around!

BlogFest and IDEAWorld gave me enough to write about for a year (but not the extra hours in the week to #writealltheposts). This is just a re-cap of my top take-aways from the BlogFest portion.

Be your own flower
Be your own flower

#1: Authenticity is the new buzzword.

The word “authenticity” must have come up at least as many times as I am years old. As an undefined intangible in a culture that highly values individuality, it’s a perfect addition to the word collection that includes “disruptor” (formerly known as “paradigm shift”). Everyone said “authenticity” and no one defined it. At the risk of being glib, I would say it is now-speak for “be honest.”

One of my great teachers once said, “Be yourself. All the other jobs are taken.” (Yoga, philosophy, and Sanskrit expert and academic, Douglas R. Brooks.) It is just as true in the blogging world as it is in every other part of the world. The world is filled with blogs, but trying to imitate another blog (or another blogger) is pointless. You can never be as good as they are at being them. Why not be yourself? When I created my blog, I sat down and thought about what is important to me, who I am, and how to keep my blog in line with me.

For example, I’m not obsessed with partnering with brands or accruing swag (not going to lie, I do like both), and it doesn’t make sense to me to pretend to be something or someone I’m not in order to land a partnership. Seriously, if a brand wants a hardcore dedicated runner, they’re going to be disappointed. Even if the brand and product seem like a good fit, I will only promote products and services I use and truly believe in (my recommendation is my reputation, so why would I throw that away for someone else?). Another example is that I don’t like reading “breakfast lunch and dinner” posts (it seems we are calling them “lifecasting” today) so I’m not going to write them. I just don’t enjoy it. If you do, that’s fine–go be you!

Not everyone is going to love you, and that’s okay. Love yourself, be yourself, and remember that what other people think of you is largely none of your business.

Just like lunch, there is plenty to go around.
Just like lunch, there is plenty to go around.

#2:  Stop living in a scarcity mentality.

No one expressly stated this during BlogFest, or at any session I attended at IDEA, yet I thought about it all weekend.

There is enough of EVERYTHING to go around. No matter what you hope to get from your blog–a job, an ambassadorship, a certain number of regular readers, a pat on the back–there is enough for you, and me, and every other blogger. (This is, in part, because we are all different–that pesky “authenticity” thing–so we’re not really competing against each other.)

When I started teacher training at Yoga Kula in Berkeley, one of the teachers there used to collect information on all of the yoga classes in that style taught all over the Bay Area and put them into a single schedule including all teachers and all studios and locations. Some people thought she was nuts (“won’t that drive students to other classes?”) but she explained that (1) that is a scarcity mentality, based on the assumption that there are not enough students to fill all those classes, and (2) there is no “my students,” because you don’t own or control who decides to come to your class. The same is true of blogging. Sharing, promoting, or helping another blogger is not going to drive “your readers” or “your partnerships” away, and you know what they are not really YOURS in the first place! If anything, helping someone else benefits you; you look good for being kind and helpful, and you stick to being who you are and what you do best. Everyone wins.

I regularly tell my yoga students, “hey, I’m an acquired taste. If you don’t like me or don’t like my class, come talk to me. I’ll help you find another teacher and another class that better suits your needs.” Trying to keep every single student happy and returning to my class is exhausting and doesn’t serve me, but more importantly it does not serve my students. There is lots of yoga in the world. To help more people do yoga, the best thing I can do is help them find their yoga. The same is true in blogging. Sure, I know I’m going to keep evolving over time and things may change, but it’s not in my nature to write very short posts (I have Twitter for that!), I don’t rock a highly artistic and sensually beautiful design, and I’m not going to promote meat-based recipes (dude, I’m a vegetarian). If that means my blog is not for you, thanks for visiting. There’s a blog out there for you to read. If you tell me what you’re looking for and I know where you might find it, I’ll tell you.

A rising tide lifts all boats, says the proverb. As the blogging community grows and each of us gets better at what we do, we all win.

Rise and shine!
Rise and shine!

#3: Commit and Follow-Through:
Hard work is always in style.

Ignore the “under promise and over deliver” mantra of the “I’m too cool to sleep” decade. Instead, do what you say you are going to do. If you have time to throw in some bonuses, great. If not, don’t fret.

Personally, it is important to me to follow-through on what I say I am going to do. It is like keeping a promise: the best way to ensure you keep it is to think carefully about what you are committing to do before you make the promise, and then creating a plan to get it done. I’m always surprised when I hear that bloggers who committed to a campaign, or event, or whatever, simply flaked and didn’t do the work. What the what? Guys, unless something truly serious and unanticipated happens–thing emergency, injury, computer goes for a swim in the ocean–follow through on what you say you will do.

It’s ridiculously easy. For example, as a member of the BibRave Pro team, I am sometimes given the opportunity to test out products or services (or run races) related to running. If I accept an assignment, I know that means I am responsible for tweeting about the item/event, attending the #bibchat sponsored by that item/event, writing a blog post, and tracking my social media engagement. If I can’t do those things for whatever reason (maybe the time frame is wrong, for example), I don’t accept the assignment.  Going back to point #2, there is plenty to go around. I don’t need to do everything, but the things I do, I need to do well.

#4: So are genuine kindness and generosity.

This weekend many people generously shared their stories, their advice, their experience, and their knowledge. “Generosity” means freely giving what you are able to offer, without any expectation that the recipient(s) will reciprocate. Mom used to explain to me that life puts you in situations where you are absolutely forced to ask for help or rely on others. (This was definitely true when I was in high school and in a serious car accident that put me in the hospital for two weeks. My terrified parents came to visit me every day. While they were away, other people cooked meals for the family, did the laundry and the dishes, drove my brothers to sports practice and to pick out a new coat; it was actually Mom’s first day at a new job, and the man she was to replace stayed on longer in order to let her spend her time with me. Some of these others were neighbors and close family friends, but even people we did not know well at all–people who were friends of friends of friends–stepped in and did things.) Realistically, there is no way you will ever get to pay back all the people you “borrow” from, and in many cases you won’t even know who they are. Instead, Mom would say, you “pay back” by lending a hand to anyone who needs it when you are able to offer it. (This was long before “pay it forward.” I guess it is a similar idea though.)

During BlogFest, bloggers taught how to do many things (grow a social media following on different platforms, optimize SEO, work with brands). In most cases, this was less textbook information and more “secret sauce”-like things that these bloggers learned by trial and error and trying again. Sometimes it was specialized knowledge from experience in a specific industry, such as my presentation on basics of law for bloggers.

When I first started blogging, I had no idea what I was doing. I don’t have a technical background, and each new thing I try to do still involves some learning and moments of painful frustration. Heck, I still run into “why does the picture keep doing that weird thing?” and “how do I do that?” I’m fortunate to have developed a nice network through Sweat Pink, FitBloggin‘, and groups like Rock ‘n’ Blog, and when I have a question, I ask.  If by some miracle there is a question I can answer, I do.

My favorite slide from BlogFest. Thanks, Melissa Burton!
My favorite slide from BlogFest. Thanks, Melissa Burton!

#5: Page Views and Followers: Not The Only Thing (Maybe Not A Thing)

If you are a blogger, you know that any discussion of blogging inevitable includes at least some mention of SEO (search engine optimization), promoting your blog, and analytics. It kind of makes sense, because most people writing a blog would like it if other people read the blog. New bloggers often find this aspect overwhelming (especially if the actual blogging is already more than enough work!). Going back to that scarcity mentality, many bloggers also worry that their low page-views will prevent them from getting the “good” opportunities.

Seriously, that can’t be the case–because I’ve scored some great opportunities and I don’t have a huge readership. I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to try and review new Clif Bar products, serve as a Nuun ambassador, and be on Team Rock ‘n’ Blog. If all opportunities were based just on page views, I’d probably never have any of that because when I applied I didn’t even have an analytics widget installed.

Several of the presenters at BlogFest brought up the idea that bloggers and companies are catching onto the reality of blogging: it’s not a numbers game. One of the presenters, Katy Widrick, asked, “would you rather inspire 10 people, or have 10,000 pass through your blog?” Sure, we’d all like BOTH. But if you had to pick, which would you choose?

Bonus #6: each one of these points is applicable to the unwritten blog that is your life.

Two winners will share these goodies.
Two winners will share these goodies.

BlogFest “wish you were here” pack giveaway!

Please note that to win this giveaway you must NOT have been at BlogFest. (If you were there, you already have this stuff–so share the love! Invite your friends who were not there to win some swag.) By entering this contest, you expressly and affirmatively state that you were not at BlogFest 2015. I am obsessed with water bottles, and they are starting to take over my kitchen. Because of this, I’m going to give away the two water bottles I got at BlogFest. I’m throwing in a bunch of freebies, coupons, and swag too.

Important tip: if you win, you might have to wait a little while before I am able to ship the goods. Patience, grasshopper!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosures: (1) I received an advance copy of The Food Babe Way. In consideration for the advance book, I committed to review the book. I was not asked to say (or refrain from saying!) anything. (For the record, I would never accept anything for review that required me to include specific content in my review and pass it off as my opinion.) Prior to receiving the advance copy, I had ordered a copy through Amazon.com All opinions in this review are my own. (2) I have monitored Ms. Hari’s blog, Food Babe, for several years and have signed some of her petitions asking food manufacturers to disclose ingredients or reformulate products without certain ingredients.

In order to evaluate a book review, you need to know a little bit about the reviewer and the reviewer’s bias. The following points may help you evaluate my opinions on this book:

  • I’ve spent a lot of time in school and otherwise immersed in academic writing. Nutrition and food fascinate me, and I’m studying for a nutrition certification with Precision Nutrition. I read research and papers on topics that interest me for fun. My job requires me to read voluminous medical records and published medical studies. When evaluating claims, I want to read published studies and reports as well as criticism of them. Not every claim has been scientifically studied, of course, but I want to read the state-of-the-art whether that is peer-reviewed research or the pros and cons of an untested theory.
  • Food is not just “fuel,” because what your body builds and rebuilds itself by using the food you eat. “You are what you eat” is more than a trite saying, it is a scientific truth. I’m not suggesting that you’re going to turn into a chickpea, but if you eat a chickpea, your body will act like the Star Trek’s Borg and assimilate it. (Science and science-fiction in one sentence! Nerd alert!)
  • I believe people have the right to know what is in the food they are eating. I think every ingredient in a food product should be on the label. I think packaged food should be much more regulated than it is in the United States (as it is currently much more highly regulated in Europe, for example, and the economy hasn’t died). Realistically, very few people are going to just stop eating all packaged or processed food and for some–including those living in domestic violence shelters or other situations without access to refrigeration–it is impossible.
  • Not every “chemical” is a “toxin” or “poison” that deserves a bunch of hype. I understand that “chemicals” include things that are beneficial and that I absolutely want to consume every day. (Dihydrous oxide, anyone? Bottoms up!) I understand that heavy metals are harmful to human health when present in large quantities, and that heavy metals occur naturally in even the best soil and thereby become part of plants. Whether something is a “toxin” often depends on the dose; it is possible to die from drinking too much water, for example, and eating apple seeds (which contain a trace amount of arsenic) is not harmful to health over the long term. Further, some substances–such as fluoride–are still hotly debated and there is a lack of scientific consensus on their use. Finally, your body uses the digestive system, including the kidneys and liver, to remove the majority of “toxins” from your body. The easiest way to “detox” is to drink water, get some exercise, and stop putting “toxins” into your body. (People trying to sell you a juice cleanse, detox cleanse, herbal cleanse, herbal detox, etc. just want your money.)
  • I’m aware that the word “natural” is not legally regulated on product or food packages, and that manufacturers can use the word “natural” on product labels to mean anything they want. Not all “natural” things are good for human beings to eat, drink, or breathe. Crocidolite asbestos and arsenic are both “natural” by just about any definition of the term, but I don’t want either in my food.
  • As for GMOs, whether you believe that eating them is harmful to humans doesn’t matter to me. There are plenty of other reasons not to eat GMO foods, including, for example, my extreme distaste for Monsanto’s actions in and out of the U.S. and Canadian courts, and the fact that GMO crops are designed to be doused with pesticides (the opposite of the organic farming methods I’d like to see take over the majority of food production).

Let’s Review A Book!

Since the majority of this review is turning out to be constructive criticism (with very little cheerleaderage in there), I want to point out that I like this book. This book does three specific things that I find valuable. First, it encourages readers to think about what they eat, read labels, and make deliberate choices. Second, it provides an example (granted it is the author) of one person who changed her eating habits and benefitted from it.  Third, the most important part, this book outlines very specific steps the reader can take to improve food habits.

Is this a good book? That depends on your criteria for a “good” book. If you want to know where Vani Hari (aka Food Babe) comes from, her personal experience with food and changing her food choices, specific steps Ms. Hari recommends for changing eating habits, and some tasty recipes, this is a great book. If you are looking for an in-depth treatise on nutrition, or a scientific explanation that cites every study in favor of food additives as well as those against it, this isn’t your book. Ms. Hari is a food blogger, not an ivory tower academic, and a person with strong opinions–she makes absolutely zero pretense to be an unbiased journalist.

At the outset, I’m not a fan of the book’s full title, The Food Babe Way: Break Free from the Hidden Toxins in Your Food and Lose Weight, Look Years Younger, and Get Healthy in Just 21 Days! I’m sure the editors and publishing house had a great deal of say in this, as their job is to market the book and sell books. Also, from reading about advertising, public relations, and the book industry, I’m aware that books that promise to deliver a result within a specific number of weeks or days sell very, very well. (Examples: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 10-Day Detox Diet, 40 Days to Personal Revolution.) Book marketing experts suggest making a big promise in the title to help sell the book. (See “Book Marketing, the 10 Commandments of Nonfiction Book Title Success” by Roger C. Parker, on bookbuzzr.com He also recommends the numbers strategy.) Personally, I think the subtitle hurts Ms. Hari’s big-picture message, which is about making informed food choices and creating food habits that are sustainable in the long term. It also begs to have the credibility questioned due to the big claims and use of “Hidden Toxins.” Seriously, even my eyes rolled when I saw that! At least they didn’t try to put the word “diet” in the title. (I hate the word “diet,” but that is a topic for a separate post.)

One of the things that sets Vani Hari apart from other food bloggers is that when she publishes a post (or “investigation”) dedicated to a specific topic, she doesn’t just rely on fear-mongering (chemicals!) or her own opinion (it’s bad!). Instead, she takes the time to do some research on her subject. For example, in her February 5, 2015 post regarding the use of BHT in breakfast cereals, Ms. Hari backs her claims with citations to outside sources. Even if you disagree with the politics of the Environmental Working Group, the citation she provides is to their summary of publications about BHT, which includes the information necessary to go read those publications yourself. She also cites to articles available via PubMed, including one from the Oxford University publication Carcinogenosis, and articles available via Wiley; there are also citations to publications by the European Food Safety Authority (a European Union agency). You can click on the citations and go read the research–you can see for yourself if Ms. Hari is blowing smoke or accurately representing the research. That’s transparency, and it is a good thing. (See “Kellogg’s & General Mills: Drop the BHT From Your Cereal – Like You Do In Other Countries!” at Food Babe.)

FB book

But let’s talk about the actual book now, right?

The Foreward by Mark Hyman is very complimentary, yet the excessive hyperbole–comparing Ms. Hari to Rachel Carson and Marin Luther King Jr.–is a bit much. Dr. Hyman made a more apt comparison when he described Ms. Hari as “a modern-day David, facing the Goliath of the trillion-dollar food industry[.]” Since Ms. Hari cites his work and lists his books in the recommended reading list, it looks a little mutual-love-festy. Meh. I’m not sure that anyone but me and the other dyed-in-the-wool nerds actually reads forewards anymore, so let’s move along.

The Introduction begins en media res, just as any good tale should (at least according to what I learned in my college literature classes): with Ms. Hari in a conference room trying to convince Kraft Foods to take the artificial dyes out of their macaroni and cheese in North America. (As she points out, they had already done this in Europe, so it wasn’t some impossible quest.) Ms. Hari is very opinionated and refers to the artificial dyes as poison and chemicals, which is a legitimate point of view–they are petroleum products that can cause allergic reactions–but starting the book out this way is going to turn off a large percentage of potential readers. It’s clear to me at the outset that this book was written specifically for the “Food Babe army” (people who read Ms. Hari’s blog or follow her on social media and often join her in petitions to change the way processed foods are made) and not to convert the unbelievers. The Introduction continues with a brief before and after of Ms. Hari. It explains how she ate growing up as a kid, and later as an independent young adult. You learn how she got the name “Food Babe” and how she attributes positive changes in her life and body to radically changing how she ate (basically moving from eating mostly fast food and packaged foods while drinking tons of soda, and towards eating mostly whole and unprocessed foods while drinking tons of water and some teas). Like any good social media offering should, the Introduction ends with a “call to action,” first by asking questions (e.g. “Do you find yourself unable to focus during the day?”) and then by making promises (e.g. “I will show you how to…Develop twenty-one positive, everlasting habits, a day at a time, that will get you off chemical-laced food.”)

Part I: THOSE TRICKY SONS OF…

Chapter 1. Easing readers into the “why” behind the call to action, Ms. Hari continues with stories about the ingredients in Yogoforia, Chipotle, Chik-fil-A, and Subway. She also tells how she ran for a delegate seat to the Democratic National Convention so she could start a conversation about genetically modified organisms (GMOS). In the two days since the book launched, I’ve read multiple criticisms of Ms. Hari’s extremely simplified explanation of what a GMO is, but I have read zero criticisms of the reason Ms. Hari gives for fighting GMOs: “Genetic modification is done to make a fruit or vegetable more hardy or impervious to the application of specific pesticides. These pesticides are linked to myriad diseases.” Unfortunately the end notes don’t include a citation to back that claim. I’m not bothered by this because I’ve listened to enough radio reports on asthma, lung ailments, and cancer in the farmworkers of California’s Central Valley, where pesticide application is epidemiologically linked to these health problems. (Remember Cesar Chavez and the grapes, anyone?) Further, I’d add (because Ms. Hari does not) that pesticides don’t just “go away” after they are sprayed on crops or rinsed off of produce, and there are more sustainable farming methods available to us. After explaining why she targets food companies instead of the government, she gives a super-short history of the FDA. (For a longer, more thorough explanation with a more neutral tone, I highly recommend reading Pandora’s Lunchbox by Melanie Warner. Ms. Hari cites it in Appendix B: Recommended Reading and Resources, and I found it a quit and easy read.)

Chapter 2 focuses on what Ms. Hari calls “The Sickening 15.” These are:

1. Growth Hormones in Meat
2. Antibiotics
3. Pesticides
4. Refined and Enriched Flour
5. Bisphenol (BPA)
6. High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
7. Artificial Sweeteners
8. Preservatives
9. Trans Fats
10. Artificial and Natural Flavors
11. Food Dyes
12. Dough Conditioners
13. Carrageenan
14. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
15. Heavy Metals and Neurotoxins

This section is overly ambitious in the amount of material it tries to cover. Each of the 15 gets just a cursory treatment (though there are citations relevant to some of them in the end notes, but most people won’t read them). Some of the items on this list are pretty easy and don’t require a lot of space to convince most people they probably don’t want to eat them. For example, BPA, MSG, and trans-fats have been widely covered by the news media, and it’s going to be hard to find anyone who actively promotes eating antibiotics and pesticides or something called a “neurotoxin.” (Side note: Ms. Hari puts the hotly debated fluoride in this category, right in between ethanol and lead and along with arsenic PCBs, and DDT.) A few of the other categories are much less convincing.

Let’s take #4, for example. Ms. Hari gives a two paragraph critique/explanation. First, this flour is stripped of its fiber and nutrients during processing, and the manufacturers then add “synthetic nutrients” back in, and may bleach it to obtain a whiter color by using chlorine or peroxide. Second, “a number of breads are loaded with added sugar to make them taste better.” A critical reader is not going to find this a convincing reason to put white flour on the same list as pesticides. I get that the fiber is taken out and Americans have notoriously low fiber-intake. To be more convincing, I would like Ms. Hari to explain why “synthetic” nutrients are inferior to non-“synthetic” nutrients. While it sounds scary to say the flour is then bleached with chlorine or peroxide, is there any evidence that chlorine residue or peroxide residue remains in the finished ingredient (flour) or product (bread or other baked good)? If so, is there any evidence that chlorine or peroxide residue is harmful if eaten? I mean, I’m CERTAIN that I’ve swallowed some swimming pool water so surely I’ve gulped down in a few mouthfuls of pool water more chlorine than is in a slice of Wonder bread. As for peroxide, I used a home remedy mouth and tooth wash after getting my wisdom teeth removed that contained (among other things) hydrogen peroxide. Wouldn’t two weeks of brushing with that concoction give me a higher dose than eating a muffin? Finally, the entire second paragraph is about sugar added to bread, not about what makes “refined and enriched flour” something to leave out of my diet. (Though that–and “the Food Babe Way” paragraph following it–are good arguments for avoiding junky white bread and reading labels.) While there is more information on white flour later in the book in the section about choosing carbs, it really belongs here, where it might encourage someone to read far enough to get to the section about choosing carbs.

To be clear, I am not a giant fan of refined and processed white flour. I think Ms. Hari is right on the money, but could have done a much better job of explaining it and documenting the state of the science and nutritional knowledge.

Chapter 3‘s title, “Cut Out the Chemical Calories” is, again, an indicator this is preaching to the already-converted. Over-reliance on the word “chemical” is a legitimate criticism of this book. (I would have called this chapter, “Cut Out the Fake Food.” Not that anybody asked.) This section is again overly ambitious, in that it attempts to cover a large amount of territory in a small amount of space. As a result, the quality of the information presented is somewhat uneven. The topic of obesogens gets a mere two pages (of which only two and a half paragraphs explain it), sufficient to potentially induce panic or fear but insufficient to provide an education. The claim that fructose is “metabolized in the body like a fat,” is not exactly true. (See: “All About Fructose” by Ryan Andrews at Precision Nutrition.) Fructose is initially digested like any other monosaccharide, though it has some unique properties. Fructose is then metabolized exclusively in the liver, where it can be converted to glucose derivatives and eventually stored in the liver as glycogen. Because the liver has a limited amount of space to store this glycogen, any excess fructose will be stored as fat. As Mr. Andrews explains, “a very high single-serving dose of fructose is much more likely to find a home around your middle.” Hopefully Ms. Hari will correct this in subsequent editions of the book, explaining that due to the manner in which it is metabolized in the liver, fructose is more likely to be stored as fat than used as energy.

One area where Ms. Hari could have saved space is in her critique of various “diet” plans, as her criticisms of the various diets are basically the same (i.e. all can include GMOs, pesticides, and those nasty “chemicals” and for those that include meat they can include antiobiotics). She could also have omitted every one of the sections titled “the chemicals you might eat on this diet” as with the exception of raw foods and paleo, each one is just another example of how processed foods contain a wide variety of additives that we might want to reconsider eating. This wasn’t particularly helpful or persuasive. By skipping this section, Ms. Hari could have spent more time clearly explaining obesogens and presenting more of the science and facts about the “Sickening 15.” By the way, may of Ms. Hari’s critics have written Amazon reviews that claim nothing she says in the book is backed by research. This clearly indicates they have not read the book, which includes 10 pages of end notes in Appendix D. I assume the choice to use end notes instead of footnotes was made by the publisher, as many readers are turned off or intimidated by footnotes. Personally I find it unfortunate, as it means critical readers have to constantly flip from the chapter they are reading back to the end notes to determine whether there is a note applicable to the fact, claim, or recommendation they are reading.

Part II: 21 Days of Good Food and Good Habits

This section is broken up into three sections that roughly translate to habits around drinks, habits around food at home, and habits around food elsewhere (e.g. travel, grocery store). Think of it as eat, drink, and be merry. (Or in order, drink, eat, and be merry.) These are a set of 21 habits Ms. Hari personally practices and recommends. It is set up so the reader can add one new habit each day for three weeks.

Chapter 4: “Fluid Assets for Food Babes.” The first seven habits can be summarized as follows: (1) warm lemon water each morning; (2) green juice or green smoothie daily; (3) NO drinks with meals (also don’t chew gum and maybe drink ginger tea); (4) “Be Aware of What’s in Your Water” (filter all water, also applies to showering); (5) eat less dairy; (6) quit soda; and (7) “Love Your Liver” (a discussion of alcohol, including additives in beer). In principle, I think most people who are on board with consuming fewer additives (or avoiding the “Sickening 15”) would be on board here. Drink more water? Get some of your greens in by hiding them in a drink? Quit soda? Of course! We all know we should be better at hydrating ourselves, right? And if you want to avoid hormones and antibiotics, conventionally produced dairy is a good way to start. All of these recommendations sound like fine and healthy habits to me. At the minimum, even the most conservative reader or the most voracious critic is going to have a hard time arguing any of these habits are harmful.

While none of the habits recommended in this section are actually harmful, this is an area where the skeptics are going to have a “Where’s the science?” field day. For starters, there are no citations to back up the claims Ms. Hari makes in the chapter on drinking hot lemon water or apple cider vinegar.

  • Of the six citations in the end notes, two are to The Townsend Letter, a source of dubious credibility and quality: (1) content includes articles on practices not backed by any science, such as iridology; (2) the doctor who maintains Quackwatch.com lists it as “not recommended;” (3) the publication website admits in the disclaimer that “We encourage reports which frequently are not data-based but are anecdotal. Hence, information presented may not be proven or factually correct.”; (4) publisher and editor, Dr. Jonathan Collins, has been publicly criticized for using chelation therapy (FDA approved for treatment of mercury and lead poisoning) for vascular disorders (See http://www.ncahf.org/nl/1996/7-8.html) but there is no evidence that chelation therapy is effective for this use, according to the Mayo Clinic (see http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/chelation-therapy/basics/definition/prc-20013013).
  • A third citation from a more than dubious source is to the Gerson Healing Newsletter, which is published by the Gerson Institute, which describes itself as ” a non-profit organization located in San Diego, California, dedicated to providing education and training in the Gerson Therapy, an alternative, non-toxic treatment for cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases.” (Text taken from http://gerson.org/gerpress/about-us/). Yet Gerson Therapy, which includes coffee enemas, juicing, and supplements, hasn’t proven to cure cancer, and has caused life-threatening infections via their treatments. (See http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cancer.html for a thorough explanation and citation to sources of underlying facts.) So that’s 3 out of 6 references that are untrustworthy.
  • A fourth reference is to Reverse Aging, a book that recommends drinking alkaline water (not acidic water like lemon water) and isn’t a worthy reference even on the topic of “reverse aging.” (See The Healthy Skeptic by medical journalist Robert J. Davis, especially chapter 9 and “Position Statement on Human Aging” written and joined by a crowd of MDs and PhDs published in the Journal of Gerontology at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12145354?dopt=Abstract or http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/antiagingpp.html).
  • That leaves us with the only two citations for the entire chapter that have any merit:
    • One, an article from the peer-reviewed European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, “Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects.” Nothing at all to back the claims about drinking warm lemon water or apple cider vinegar every morning (and who eats “a bread meal”??).
    • Two, an article from the Environmental Nutrition newsletter, “Pucker up for lemons and limes: tart, refreshing and healthful.” Unfortunately this article is only available to subscribers, so I wasn’t able to see more than the first paragraph. I actually found two articles with this title, both of which appeared to have recipes.

I spent about an hour with Google, PubMed, Precision Nutrition, and WebMD, looking for any publications to back the claims about drinking lemon juice and came up with nothing. What I don’t understand is why Ms. Hari didn’t either cite to a respected publication about Ayurveda or interview an Ayurvedic clinician who also teaches; drinking warm lemon water in the morning is a practice I recognize as recommended by some yoga teachers and Ayurvedic practitioners. No, this is not the same as providing a citation to peer-reviewed, published research, but as others will point out if I don’t: who is going to fund and conduct a study on drinking lemon water? (You can’t patent it. You can’t put it in a pill and sell it.)

Does this  mean there is no benefit to drinking lemon water in the morning? NO! In fact, I’m actually going to try it out for a few weeks and see how it feels in my body. It seems logical that starting the day by hydrating is a good thing, since sleeping means hours spent losing water through respiration and not taking in any fluids. Since dehydration is often confused with hunger signals, I’m not at all surprised to read individual anecdotal reports that people ate less after adding more fluid to their bodies.  At least one article I read hypothesizes there might be a psychological effect, in that starting the day with what feels like a virtuous act may encourage you to make better choices throughout the rest of the day. Plus hey, it tastes nice.

As for apple cider vinegar, I think it is lovely in salad dressings.  Alas, WedMD reports there is insufficient evidence to support health claims. See Apple Cider Vinegar. If you really want to drink it, go right ahead–just be sure to dilute so you don’t get an unpleasant burning sensation in your mouth/throat or take the enamel off of your teeth.

Two more points I’d be remiss without addressing.

One, in the section that discusses drinking more water–specifically filtered water–Ms. Hari also recommends installing water filters for the shower/bath. Initially this sounded a little extreme to me, but then I rent a place connected to plumbing laid down in the 1950s that does all it can just to pump the water to my house, and I have neither permission nor incentive to install water filters. (Also, I’ve read my local water utility reports on water quality, and investigated where my water comes from and how it is processed.) Setting that aside, if you are worried about additives and chemicals in your bath water, you’d probably better step out of the bath and examine the bath products, soap, shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, cosmetics, and other lotions and potions you apply to your skin. You think processed food is complicated? It doesn’t hold a candle to beauty products! (If you are interested, check out Look Great, Live Green: Choosing Bodycare Products that Are Safe for You, Safe for the Planet by Deborah Burnes and start making your own body care products.)

Two, in the part about reducing dairy intake, Ms. Hari recommends raw milk, which is unpasteurized (non-homogenized) milk. She does not even pay lip service to the potential hazards of raw milk or explain what pasteurization is or why milk in this country is generally pasteurized. Since she didn’t explain, I will. Pasteurization is a process that prevents infected milk from entering the food supply. The process was invented after the initial discovery of germ theory in the 1890s. The idea was that treating the milk would prevent the milk from spreading diseases from cows to humans. Before we had a way to test milk for bacteria, pasteurization was the best way to prevent diseases from spreading. Unfortunately, the old version of “Big Food” wasn’t any more trustworthy than the modern one, and after the discovery of tests to determine which cows were infected with things that could be passed on to humans there were some unscrupulous farmers who lied and falsified test results, so unpasteurized milk still had a decent chance of passing on a disease or two.

Now we know that E coli, Listeria, Salmonella, tuberculosis, diphtheria, thyphoid, strep, and other potential disease-causing organisms can be present in raw milk. These are especially dangerous to people with weak immune systems (including very young children, very old people, pregnant women, and those going through chemotherapy). That’s why the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies recommend those people avoid raw milk. This isn’t to say there is no safe raw milk in the world. (I find it very reasonable that Ms. Hari’s grandparents and neighbors, who shared a cow they had a vested interest in keeping very healthy, drank and cooked with that cow’s raw milk.) This IS to say that if you choose to consume raw milk, you need to be aware of the potential dangers and be very careful about where you buy raw milk and how you handle and store it. I also recommend you read the article, “Got E. Coli? Raw Milk’s Appeal Grows Despite Health Risks” in Scientific American, and keep yourself up to date on the state of the research regarding raw milk and the motivations for the political arguments on both sides of the raw milk debate.

Chapter 5: “Food Habits for Food Babes.” The next group of habits revolves around making better food choices. If you are following the 21-day plan, habits #8 through #14 are about making little changes in how you choose what to chew. Skip fast food? Makes total sense. Eat less sugar? Of course that’s a healthier habit! Get choosey about which meat you choose to eat (if you eat meat at all–I don’t)? Yes, all for it! Eat more fresh, raw produce? Great idea!

Again, there are many items that could be better researched, documented, and explained.  Yes, cellulose is “the same ingredient that is in sawdust” [page 149] but it is also in kombucha (“The kombucha culture is a collection of yeast and bacteria encased in cellulose.” Precision Nutrition article, “All About Kombucha”) and in most plants, including plants you eat (see discussion in “All About Raw Food” on Precision Nutrition, and “All About Fiber” on Precision Nutrition, as well as any basic biology textbook). Day 9, “Detox from Added Sugar,” could be much better documented, especially regarding the potentially unhealthy effects of consuming artificial sweeteners. I know there are reputable publications because I’ve seen them. While Ms. Hari accurately points out that Truvia, the Coca-Cola Company’s “stevia sweetener,” also contains erythritol, she doesn’t point out that erythritol is actually the main ingredient! Day 10, “Eat Meat Responsibly,” spends more time explaining Ms. Hari’s relationship to meat than explaining exactly how grain-fed (factory farmed) beef differs nutritionally from grass-fed beef; this would have been a great opportunity to set out a more detailed explanation of the Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio, foreshadowing Day 13’s focus on a healthy fat balance.

Since she spent half of page 69 dumping on the raw food diet, Day 11 (“Eat Raw More Than Half the Time”) would have been a great location to remind readers that the nutritional content of some foods increases when cooked (Ms. Hari cites carrots and tomatoes on page 69), set out those foods and some credible sources explaining why and how that is true. She also misses a prime opportunity to re-hook the reformed dieters in her readership with the fact that because raw produce has a larger volume than cooked food (or meat or processed food) with similar caloric value. Read: raw foods full up your tummy, triggering the satiety hormones that signal your brain to stop eating. I take issue with the Day 13 proclamation that “cooking oils are largely responsible” for screwing up the omega-3 to omega-6 relationship (because clearly factory farm, grain-fed beef–what’s in the processed food and fast food and even the butcher shops in this country–plays a gigantic role here). Also, Ms. Hari falls prey to the “coconut oil is healthy!” fad, without addressing the differences between what the only published research studied (coconut oil with a very high medium-chain fatty acid content) and what we can buy at the store (not so much with the medium-chain fatty acids). Day 14’s discussion of adding in superfoods could have referenced Mario Villacorta’s new book, The Whole Body Reboot: The Peruvian Super Foods Diet to Detoxify, Energize, and Supercharge Fat Loss, especially regarding pichuberries (which I suspect are the same as the “golden berries” discussed on page 209). I’m a little surprised Ms. Hari didn’t mention Energy Bits (a small U.S. company that produces algae tablets that are 100% pure algae and third-party certified GMO-free). Perhaps in the second edition? (Ms. Hari if you are reading this, I’d happily send you a sample of Energy Bits. I love them!)

There are some things that are done well too, of course. The day focused on carbs briefly addresses ancient grains, using zucchini and squash “noodles,” bean pasta (processed food, to be sure), and intact grains. Most people think “carbs” means “white bread and pasta” and don’t think beyond that to the better-for-you choices, like sprouted breads. Each time one of the new habits involved “taking away” something–like fast food–Ms. Hari points out a variety of substitutes or better choices. Plus there are recipes in the back of the book, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Chapter 6: “Feats of A Real Food Babe” is the last piece in the third section of this book. This section is all about habits involving food choices and environments. It addresses GMOs, dining out,  what to keep in the kitchen, the grocery store, cooking (as opposed to heating up things from packages), sleep (“fast every day”), and travel.

This section is where the very hands-on advice comes into  play, and is probably my favorite of the three chapters in this section of the book. The pages on shopping provide concrete advice on how to keep the grocery bills down, directly contradicting the naysayers who complain, “eating healthy is to expensive!” For example, she points to private-label (“store brand” or “house brand”) options available at even Walmart and Target. She provides a list of priorities for choosing organic over conventional (to avoid pesticides, etc.) and refers to the Environmental Working Group’s “Clean 15” and “Dirty Dozen” lists for more information. Ms. Hari also provides a list of places to find coupons, online shopping choices, what to freeze, what to make from scratch to save; she also highlights strategies such as planning in advance (how many people do you know that either shop without a list or buy random things not on the list?), shopping at farmers’ markets, and CSAs.

Part III: The 21-Day Food Babe Way Eating Plan and Recipes

True confession: I’m not a big meal-plan follower. It’s a combination of things…I’m lazy (or busy, or tired, or whatever), I travel a lot for work, and I don’t like to cook on weeknights. If you are a fan of a plan, there are 21 days of meals set out for you, as well as a bullet point list of multiple snack options.

The eating plan starts out with a brief note on ingredients–guidelines for choosing the staples you need to cook (butter, flour, oils, soy sauce, etc.). There are more than 50 recipes for beverages, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, and pretty much any other ordinary occasion you might want to eat. The recipes include relatively ordinary options that probably won’t scare your average American too much: sweet potato fries, lemon lime cooler, frittatas, tomato kale soup, white bean chili, mac ‘n’ cheese. There are also some more adventurous choices, such as My Perfect Green Juice, quinoa veggie scramble, carrot ginger salad dressing, Moroccan veggie and chickpea soup. None of the recipes calls for fancy cooking skills or complicated techniques. Most of them are limited to 6 or fewer steps, and include instructions to chop/slice/dice, heat/simmer/boil, and similarly familiar actions. The My Basic Green Smoothie recipe translates roughly to “throw this stuff in a blender and hit go.” These are non-intimidating recipes that should be accessible to most people, even some kids who are old enough to be trusted with sharp objects.

The End

When I was a kid, we wanted to stay up as late as possible. When the movie credits started to roll for The Wizard of Oz (a once-a-year televised treat in those pre-VCR days), we begged Mom to let us “watch the over part.” The appendices in this book are a pretty good over part.

Appendix A outlines the basic steps for creating an online petition to change the food system.

Appendix B is a list of recommended resources. The items on the list are principally things intended for popular consumption, such as Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser; the list of blogs is longer than the list of books. The recommended websites don’t include Pub Med (or even WebMD). The items on the list vary wildly in quality. It is my personal opinion that Ms. Hari’s continued recommendation of Dr. Oz and Dr. Mercola tarnishes her reputation and needlessly opens her to criticism. (For those who are unaware, a recent review of the advice and recommendations on the Dr. Oz show found that “For recommendations in The Dr Oz Show, evidence supported 46%, contradicted 15%, and was not found for 39%.” This study was led by Cristina Koronwynk at the University of Alberta and can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g7346 Mercola, an osteopath–not MD–who has appeared on the Dr. Oz show much to the dismay of most of the medical profession, and has received repeated warning from the FDA to stop making illegal claims about the supplements and other devices he peddles on his website–which include a tanning bed and multiple types of vitamins. Read “FDA Orders Dr. Mercola to Stop Illegal Claims” on Quackwatch for the dates and descriptions of the FDA warnings, as well as other citations.
While there is a decent set of end notes, Ms. Hari does not clearly distinguish between and among peer-reviewed published research, published articles, studies, news articles, and publications that are editorial or opinion.

Appendix C is a chart listing companies and the amounts of money they contributed to fight bills for mandatory GMO labeling from Oregon, Washington, California, and Colorado. Since all bills are subject to unsavory amendments and additions or deletions, and many are poorly drafted at the outset, I would have liked to see the texts of these bills included. (I might be the only one though; I’m nerdy like that).

Appendix D is the bibliography/end notes

 

CONCLUSION

Writing a book is a TON of work. Vani Hari’s first foray into the book world is an ambitious attempt to cover a lot of material in one volume. While it falls short of my expectations in terms of fact-checking and documentation, I recognize that I’m trained to be a critical reader and that the vast majority of the Food Babe Army (and the rest of the world) is likely to find me a nit-picky rhymes-with-witch. (I’m good with that.) I’m excited to try out the recipes, and implement some of the suggestions for eating while traveling. I really do hope there is a second, expanded edition in which Ms. Hari edits and adds, explains and educates, and maybe reorganizes some of the contents a bit.

We need a reasonably sane “voice of the people” type of food activist on our side, the side of the people who need to eat and would to know what it is we are eating and how it might affect us. Publicly criticizing large, rich food manufacturers is not a recipe for popularity. It makes you a target. I’m glad there is someone willing and able to publicly take concrete actions. A big old-fashioned protest is nice, but mass mob scenes don’t get results. Focused and carefully thought out demands, backed by a small army of consumers, DO get results–as Vani Hari has demonstrated repeatedly.

Win a book!

Want to win a copy of The Food Babe Way? Since I now have two–the one I pre-ordered and the one I received to review–I’m giving one away. It’s an easy read, and even with all the things I criticized about the book I still think it is a worthy read. If nothing else, it is guaranteed to give you some new things to think about food AND some tasty recipes that are pretty easy to make.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Back in 2o12, I was selected to be one of the original Women’s Health Magazine “Action Hero” team members. The main purpose of an Action Hero was to promote the Run 10 Feed 10 event, benefiting FEED. The event has changed over the years and sprouted in new cities. There’s even an app! I retired from the Action Hero program after three years, but still think this is a great event. To see if there is one near you, check out the official Run 10 Feed 10 site.

Are you Hungry?

According to the World Food Program, a division of the United Nations, hunger is the world’s most solvable problem. The problem isn’t a lack of food–we have plenty on the planet. It’s about connecting that food to the hungry people that need it. Media showcase the obvious problems daily: hungry people living in war zones where the roads used to deliver food are no longer safe, or where armed conflict has forced people out of their homes and farmers away from their fields, or in areas struck by disasters from hurricanes to annual floods to earthquakes. Since most of us see that news via wifi or high speed internet from the comfort of secure homes with heat and running water, it is easy to forget that there are hungry people right here in the United States. Hunger may not be as widespread or severe as it is in other places (the World Food Program doesn’t even operations in the United States) but it still exists.

Pizza: a treat for me, a luxury for many.

Hunger isn’t seasonal.

You might think of hunger around the holidays–when there are always plentiful food drives and various churches, synagogues, temples, and other organizations sponsor holiday meals for needy families–but a child is just as likely to be hungry when school lets out for the summer and they don’t have access to the federal school lunch program. According to the FEED Foundation, a big proponent of school meals and the charity beneficiary of Run 10 Feed 10, the number of hungry has increased more than 30% since 2007. Hungry children suffer even more than hungry adults, as an empty belly makes it hard to stay focused and learn in school. Hungry kids don’t get the nutrients they need to grow, and often suffer health problems into adulthood.

Here is your call to action: sign up now to Run 10 Feed 10 (http://www.run10feed10.com).

As you run your 10k, you’ll know you’ve fed at least ten hungry children. If you choose to fundraise, you can feed even more!  The fundraising commitment–if you choose to go that route–is only $100.  That’s really low and easily achievable; just ask ten of your friends to kick in $10, or ask 20 friends to donate one day of latte/smoothie money ($5), and you’re there.  The events are fun, filled with women and men out to share a run and a cause.  Each participant is guaranteed a friendly run and a post-race gathering, complete with your very own FEED Foundation bag.

If you’re like me, you can go grab this from your fridge. Many Americans can’t, and many don’t have a home with a fridge.

The information in this paragraph is outdated. Check out the main site, link above! Until September 1, you can use the code WHBAIN to save on your registration fee (and still feed ten meals!).  The complete listing of events is at http://www.run10feed10.com  While I’m based in the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ll be running in Los Angeles on September 29.  Other members of The Women’s Health Action Hero team will be at every scheduled event, and are creating events in other cities.  Check out http://www.run10feed10atlanta.com if you are in Georgia!  If you can’t make any of the events, simply run your own: you choose the when and where, and Run 10 Feed 10 will send your FEED bag directly to you.

Who’s in??

If you don’t want to Run 10, you can still help Feed 10! Check out the event’s Crowdrise page, and donate to the fundraiser of your choice.