Well this is kind of crazy- in an article from IFLScience, scientists found that rabbits exhibited symptoms of Type 2 diabetes when they were exposed to the toxins produced by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus over a prolonged period of time. While I’m sure this doesn’t mean grapplers will inevitably develop Type 2 diabetes, but you know…. Hygiene people, hygiene.
Just wanted to share with you all: check it out, and have a great day everyone!
Filed under bjj
You know how they talk about there being too much of a good thing? Apparently vitamin supplements can also fall under that category.
According to IFLScience, an article was published by the University of Colorado Cancer Center in which researchers analyzed data regarding vitamin usage and cancer, and found that those who took more than was necessary actually increased their risk of developing cancer. according to the post:
“We are not sure why this is happening at the molecular level,” explains researcher Tim Byers, “but evidence shows that people who take more dietary supplements than needed tend to have a higher risk of developing cancer.”
Ruh roh. The post goes on to assure us all not to panic, that these vitamins in the correct dosage should be beneficial for everyone.
Check it out, and have a great day everyone!
Filed under science
Confessional moment: I almost added “for Males” at the end of the title of this blog post, but considering testicular cancer is pretty specific to one gender, I felt that was a little redundant.
Anyway, as if there wasn’t enough cost and risk associated with using performance enhancing drugs, now apparently one study shows that use of this junk also increases the risk of gentlemen losing a part of their junk.
…That was terribly crude, I’m sorry.
Anyway, the article states, “[Brown University Professor] Zheng found that [Muscle-Building Supplement] users were 1.65 times as likely to get testicular cancer as those who did not use the supplements. Moreover, Zheng says, “If you used at [an] earlier age, you had a higher risk. If you used them longer, you had a higher risk. If you used multiple types, you had a higher risk.” The danger more than doubled for those who started using before they turned 25, as well as for those who used for more than three years or used more than one kind.”
Check out the article, and have a great day everyone!
Filed under PEDs
Happy Friday everyone!
For anyone who thinks playing jiu jitsu videos on their big screen TV while they are sleeping in order to learn some sweet new moves, I have some bad news for you: you may be hurting your jiu jitsu game by not letting your body fully rest.
A recent article posted in IFLScience outlines just what happens to your body while sleeping in the dark, and the sorts of issues arise when those processes are interrupted due to the presence of light when you sleep.
“The changes that result from exposure to electric light at night have biological connections to disease and conditions that are common in the modern world today including obesity, diabetes, cancer and depression.”
So do your body and jiu jitsu a favor and sleep in the dark, and have a great weekend everyone!
Filed under bjj
Are you a smoker? Do you think smoking has no effect on your lung capacity, particularly when it comes to your training?
Au contraire, mon ami.
IFLScience posted a video of two sets of lungs filling with oxygen- one set belonging to a smoker, the other set to a healthier set of lungs.
Take a look at the video and ask yourself what sort of amazing cardio you could have if you would just stop smoking. Or, if you don’t smoke, show it to someone who does, so they can contemplate the near superhuman cardio they could have if they would just quit smoking.
Otherwise, have a great day everyone!
Filed under bjj
Well, I think it does anyway, and I (sort of) have the evidence to back it up:
According to this article, a series of studies showed that strategic thinking exercises improved individuals’ abilities when it came to abstract concepts, reasoning, and innovation. Other areas of the brain also appeared to reap the benefits of the exercises, including memory, problem solving and planning.
And when you think about it, you get to a point where jiu jitsu truly becomes the “human chess” game- while still very physical, also becomes an exercise in strategy: when to go, when to stop, advancing in a position, utilizing a weakness in another player’s position. It’s all pretty interesting stuff.
Let me know what you guys think- otherwise, have a great day everyone!
Filed under bjj, Uncategorized
What…. stop the presses, people.
Engineers have successfully grown functional cartilage tissue, which means there’s hope for all of our knees and elbows in say, 10 to 15 years
Check out the article, and breathe a sigh of relief that there’s hope that you’ll be able to function, even after all the wear and tear you put your joints through.
Hooray for Science!
Luckily I have never needed to have surgery, but I know there have to be some jiu jitsu players out there that have needed operations, particularly with the knees and such. Ick. Well, good news, scientists are working on developing screws made from silk which will eventually dissolve, means less surgeries and hopefully/theoretically will mean less time off the mats. Hooray!
Check it out and let me know what you think. Have a great day everyone!
Filed under bjj
You know, I sort of wish I could find interesting science articles often enough to post them weekly, but for now I’m just sharing them with you as I find them, including this one: we all know exercise is beneficial in the long run, helping improve our quality of life especially as we get older- at least that’s what I tell myself now and again.
This recent study suggests there is a relationship between a hormone, irisin, that is released after exercise and the length of telomeres, a small region at the end of chromosomes- short telomeres have been associated with age related illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s. Individuals with higher levels of this hormone, presumably because they exercise more, were shown to have longer telomeres, meaning they were less likely to have age related illnesses. So think of it this way- every time you train, you are helping keep yourself fit in the long run, even down to the molecular level.
Hooray, science!
Filed under bjj
Update: today is the last day of the Booster Campaign to help send our team to Pans! If you want a nifty t-shirt and help out our team, click here!
The title is a little misleading, but still exciting nevertheless. We all know Staphylococcus, or staph, is a bacteria that usually lives on our skin, and for most doesn’t really cause a problem. But, sometimes this bacteria goes wrong, causes an infection, or worse has a Hulk-out and becomes MRSA, an acronym that strikes fear into the heart of every grappler.
According to this article, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Faculty of Medicine have figured out what causes the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes to go from harmless bacteria bro, to flesh eating grossness. I would highly recommend reading it, because I’m about to poorly summarize the article and will not do it nearly enough justice, but they have been able to pinpoint the amino acid that promotes the growth of the harmful bacteria, and have discovered how to arrest its proliferation.
While the research has focused on step rather than staph,this research is absolutely a step in the right direction to more effective treatments of other harmful bacteria, such as staph, which personally I think is pretty exciting!
Filed under Uncategorized
A jiu jitsu black belt student at Ribeiro Philly in Philadelphia, PA who likes to write. Obviously.
A Skirt on the Mat 