The Psychology of Penis Shrinking Mass Hysterias

The following is a reprint from the Wednesday, May 28, 2014 edition of eSkeptic Magazine. It's a little long, but a curiously interesting read.

Penis Panics:
The Psychology of Penis Shrinking Mass Hysterias

BY ROBERT E. BARTHOLOMEW

It sounds like something from a poor B movie. It might even make the 1978 cult film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes seem plausible. I’m referring to scares where communities are swept up in the fear that their sex organs are rapidly shrinking. In parts of Asia and the Orient entire regions are occasionally overwhelmed by terror-stricken men who believe that their penises are shriveling up or retracting into their bodies. Those affected often take extreme measures and place clamps or string onto the precious organ or have family members hold the penis in relays until an appropriate treatment is obtained, often from native healers. Occasionally women are affected, believing their breasts or vaginas are being sucked into their bodies. Episodes can endure for weeks or months and affect thousands. Psychiatrists are divided as to the cause of these imaginary scares. Some believe that it is a form of group psychosis triggered by stress, while others view it as mass hysteria. How can groups of people come to believe that their sex organs are shrinking? We will try to unravel this mystery by briefly describing several genital-shrinking scares, their similarities, and the factors involved in triggering them.

While genitalia-shrinking is known by a variety of names in different cultures, psychiatrists refer to it with the generic term “koro.” A Malay word of uncertain derivation, koro may have arisen from the Malay word “keruk,” meaning to shrink, although it is more likely a reflection of the Malaysian-Indonesian words for “tortoise” (kura, kura-kura, and kuro). In these countries, the penis, especially the glans or tip, is commonly referred to as a tortoise head. This led Dutch scientist P.M. Van Wulfften-Palthe to conclude that this is how the modern term “koro” most likely got its name: “The fact that a tortoise can withdraw its head with its wrinkled neck under its shell literally into its body, suggested…the mechanism…in ‘koro’ (‘kura’) and gave it its name”.

The Anatomy of a Mass Hysteria

The first well-documented outbreak in modern times occurred in October and November, 1967, when hospitals on the tiny Southeast Asian island nation of Singapore were inundated by frantic citizens who were convinced that their penises were shrinking and would eventually disappear, at which time, many believed, death would result. “Victims” used everything from rubber bands to clothes pins in desperate efforts to prevent further perceived retraction. These methods occasionally resulted in severe organ damage and some pretty sore penises. At the height of the scare the Singapore Hospital treated about 75 cases in a single day. The episode occurred amid rumors that eating pork vaccinated for swine fever prior to slaughter could trigger genitalia shrinkage. One erroneous report even claimed that a pig dropped dead immediately after inoculation when its penis suddenly retracted!

The panic abruptly ended when the Singapore Medical Association and Health Ministry held public news conferences to dispel fears. Writing in the prestigious British Journal of Psychiatry, Singaporian doctor C.T. Mun described two typical cases. In one, a pale 16 year-old boy rushed into the clinic accompanied by his parents and clutching his penis. After providing reassurance and a sedative, there was no recurrence. The frightened boy said that he had heard the rumors of contaminated pork at school, had eaten pork that morning, and upon urinating, his penis appeared to have shrunk. At that point he hung on for all he was worth and shouted for help. In a second case, a mother dashed into the clinic clutching the penis of her 4-month-old baby frantically seeking help. Dr. Mun said that “The child had not been well for two days with cold and a little diarrhoea. The mother was changing his napkin…when the child had colic and screamed. The mother saw the penis getting smaller and the child screamed and [she] thought he had koro. She had previously heard the rumors. The mother was first reassured, and the baby’s cold and diarrhoea treated. The child was all right after that.”

Most Singaporeans are of Chinese origin where there is a common belief in the reality of shrinking genitalia. Chinese medical texts from the 19th century even describe such cases as caused by an actual disease. Pao Sian-Ow’s book, New Collection of Remedies of Value published in 1834, states that episodes occur when “the penis retracts into the abdomen. If treatment is not instituted at once and effective, the case [patient] will die. The disease is due to the invasion of cold vapors and the treatment is to employ the ‘heaty’ drugs.”

At least 5,000 inhabitants in a remote area of southern Guangdong province, China, were affected by a genital-shrinking panic between August 1984 and the summer of 1985. Male residents of the region are reared to practice restraint in matters of sexual desire and activity, as excessive semen discharge is believed to cause poor physical and mental health, even death. If that wasn’t enough to worry about, many residents believe that certain spirits of the dead, especially female fox maidens, wander in search of penises that will give them powers. Each of the 232 “victims” surveyed by University of Hawaii psychiatrist Wen-Shing Tseng and his colleagues, was convinced that an evil female fox spirit was the culprit, while 76 percent of those affected had witnessed others being “rescued.” Most of these cases occurred at night following a chilly sensation which would appear before a feeling of penile shrinkage. Tseng and his researchers reported: “Thinking this [chill] to be a fatal sign and believing that they were affected by an evil ghost, they [koro “victims”] became panic stricken and tried to pull at their penises, while, at the same time, shouting for help”. Interestingly, several children reported shrinkage of their tongue, nose and ears, reflecting the prevalent ancient Chinese belief that any male (yang) organs can shrink or retract. Tseng investigated a separate episode in 1987, affecting at least 300 residents on the Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong province. Genital-shrinking panic is well-known in southern China, with episodes recorded in 1865, 1948, 1955, 1966, and 1974, all involving at least several hundred residents.

Dr. Tseng has sought to determine why episodes repeatedly occur in the vicinity of Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island, but never spread to the principal section of Guangdong province or other parts of China, and why it is that only certain residents in a region report koro, while others do not. It was found that those affected held the more intense koro-related folk beliefs relative to a control group from the adjacent nonaffected area, helping to explain “why each time the koro epidemic spread from the Peninsula, it would cease when it reached the urban area of Guangzhou, where the people are more educated and hold less belief in koro.” While recognizing the importance of rumors and traditional beliefs in precipitating episodes, Tseng considers koro outbreaks in southern China to be a psychiatric disorder (“genital retraction panic disorder”) which primarily affects susceptible individuals, such as the poorly educated and those possessing below normal intellectual endowment who are experiencing social crisis or tension.

Another koro episode happened in northeast Thailand between November and December, 1976, affecting about 2,000 people, primarily rural Thai residents in the border provinces of Maha Sarakham, Nakhon Phanom, Nong Khai, and Udon Thani. Symptoms included the perception of genitalia shrinkage and impotence among males, while females typically reported sexual frigidity, with breast and vulva shrinkage. Other symptoms were panic, anxiety, dizziness, diarrhea, discomfort during urination, nausea, headaches, facial numbness, and abdominal pain. Some patients temporarily lost consciousness, and many were fearful of imminent death. Of 350 subjects studied in detail, irrespective of whether they sought treatment from native healers or physicians, “most patients had recovered within one day and all within one week”.

The episode began at a technical college in Udon Thani province, with rumors that Vietnamese immigrants had deliberately contaminated food and cigarettes with a koro-inducing powder. During this period, there was a strong anti-Vietnamese sentiment throughout Thailand following communist victories in Southeast Asia in 1975, the growing influence of the Communist Party of Thailand, and the perceived control of Cambodia and Laos by the Vietnamese. Anti-Vietnamese sentiments in the region were especially strong in the month before the episode, with allegations by Thailand’s Interior Minister that there was “solid evidence” of a plot whereby “Vietnamese refugees would incite rioting in northeast Thailand, providing Vietnam with an excuse to invade” on February 15. As the episode continued, the poisoning rumors became self-fulfilling as numerous Thai citizens recalled that previously consumed food and cigarettes recently purchased from Vietnamese establishments had an unusual smell and taste. However, an analysis of suspected sources by the Government Medical Science Department “detected no foreign substance that could possibly cause sexual impotence or contraction of the male sex organ”.

Koro rumors, combined with pre-existing awareness of the “disease,” served to foster and legitimate its plausible existence. Suwanlert and Coats found that 94 percent of “victims” studied “were convinced that they had been poisoned.” Negative government analysis of alleged tainted substances was undermined by contradictory statements issued by authority figures in the press. Security officials attributed the tainting substances believed responsible for causing the koro in food to a mixture of vegetable sources undetectable by medical devices.

Another outbreak occurred in northeastern India from July to September, 1982. Cases numbered in the thousands, as many males believed their penises and testicles were retracting while women felt their breasts “going in.” Indian psychiatrist Ajita Chakraborty said the panic reached such proportions that medical personnel toured the region, reassuring those affected with loud speakers. Some parents tied string to their sons’ penises to reduce or stop retraction, a practice that occasionally produced penile ulcers. Authorities even went to the extent of measuring penises at intervals to allay fears. A popular local remedy was to have the “victim” tightly grasp the affected body part, drink lime juice and be dowsed with buckets of cold water. While there was evidence of pre-existing kororelated beliefs among some residents, the episode spread across various religious and ethnic groups, social castes, and geographical areas by way of rumors. Based on interviews with 30 “victims,” investigating physicians were unable to identify obvious signs of psychological disturbance.

Magical Genitalia Loss in Nigeria

If koro panics now top your ranking of the most bizarre human delusions, you may have to rejuggle your list. For in parts of Africa, there is an even stranger belief—vanishing genitalia! “Magical” genitalia loss in Nigeria has also been interpreted as an exotic, unambiguous example of isolated individual mental disturbance. The influence of socio-cultural context is evident in collective episodes of magical genitalia loss in Nigeria reported over the past 20 years. Psychiatrist Sunny Ilechukwu writes in the Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review that while working at a teaching hospital in Kaduna, northern Nigeria in 1975, he was approached by a police officer who was accompanied by two men. One of the men made the startling claim that the other had caused his penis to vanish; the officer, acting on orders from his superior, was to obtain a medical report to settle the dispute. The patient explained that he was walking along a street and “felt his penis go” after the robes worn by the other man had touched him. Incredulous, Ilechukwu initially refused to handle the case, but later agreed to conduct a physical exam, which transpired in full view of the concerned parties. The patient stood and stared straight ahead until it was announced that his genitals were normal. Reacting in disbelief, the patient glanced down at his genitals and suggested that they had just reappeared! The policeman then indicated that charges would be filed against the man for falsely reporting an incident.

This case may appear to be a clear case of isolated individual mental disturbance, as it is beyond Western credulity that people could believe that entire body parts were missing when clearly they were not. Yet, Ilechukwu reports on “epidemics” of temporary magical penis loss in Nigeria during the mid-1970s, and again in 1990. A major Nigerian episode of “vanishing” genitalia in 1990, mainly affected men, but sometimes women, while walking in public places. Accusations were typically triggered by incidental body contact with a stranger that was interpreted as intentionally contrived, followed by unusual sensations within the scrotum. The affected person would then physically grab their genitals to confirm that all or parts were missing, after which he would shout a phrase such as “Thief! my genitals are gone!”. The “victim” would then completely disrobe to convince quickly gathering crowds of bystanders that his penis was actually missing. The accused was threatened and usually beaten (sometimes fatally) until the genitals were “returned.” While some “victims” soon realized that their genitalia were intact, “many then claimed that they were ‘returned’ at the time they raised the alarm or that, although the penis had been ‘returned,’ it was shrunken and so probably a ‘wrong’ one or just the ghost of a penis”. In such instances, the assault or lynching would usually continue until the “original, real” penis reappeared.

Ilechukwu reports that incidents quickly spread like wildfire across the country. “Men could be seen in the streets of Lagos holding on to their genitalia either openly or discreetly with their hands in their pockets. Women were also seen holding on to their breasts directly or discreetly by crossing the hands across the chest. It was thought that inattention and a weak will facilitated the ‘taking’ of the penis or breasts. Vigilance and anticipatory aggression were thought to be good prophylaxis.”

The role of socio-cultural traditions in triggering episodes is evident as many Nigerian ethnic groups “ascribe high potency to the external genitalia as ritual and magical objects to promote fecundity or material prosperity to the unscrupulous. Ritually murdered persons are often said to have these parts missing”. The belief in the reality of vanishing genitalia is institutionalized to such an extent that during the 1990 episode, several influential Nigerians, including a court judge, protested vehemently when police released suspected genital thieves, and many knowledgeable citizens “claimed that there was a real—even if magical—basis for the incidents”. One Christian priest supported cultural beliefs in genital theft by citing a biblical passage where Christ asked “Who touched me?” because the “power had gone out of him,” claiming that it was a reference to genital stealing. Ilechukwu concludes that socio-cultural beliefs related to magical genitalia loss in Nigeria render sexually maladjusted individuals susceptible to “attacks.”

Unravelling the Mystery

There have been a few sporadic reports of individual penis-shrinking occurring in widely separated cultural settings, but there is little doubt that most of these people are seriously disturbed. Common themes include preoccupations with masturbation and nocturnal emissions, perceived sexual inadequacies or excesses, and ignorance, inexperience or insufficient confidence in sexual relationships. These factors may be reinforced by social and cultural beliefs about sexuality. Unlike “epidemics,” individual cases can persist for months or years in people with obvious psycho-sexual problems and psychiatric disturbance. For instance, Emsley describes the case of a man who became mentally traumatized and developed a great fear of impotence after being unwillingly circumcised in a tribal ritual. He then failed to get an erection while trying to have sex—at which point he could feel his penis shrinking. Many disturbed men who believe their penis is shrinking suffer from schizophrenia, where over-valued notions or delusions regarding damaged or impaired sexual organs can occur. In one case recorded by psychiatrists Edward Kendall and Peter Jenkins while working in a Columbia, SC, hospital, a 35 year-old schizophrenic man was hospitalized after experiencing delusions of having “the largest penis in the world.” A few days later, he tied cloth around his penis to prevent retraction, believing he was changing into a woman!

Large-scale genitalia-shrinking episodes are typified by the symptoms of anxiety persisting for a few minutes to several days and those affected always experience a complete “recovery” upon being convinced they are no longer in danger. Isolated singular cases experience more severe symptoms and may never recover. For instance, British psychiatrist Anne Cremona, treated a man who at age 18 was unable to get an erection on three different occasions while attempting intercourse. He came to believe that his penis was abnormal and experienced great anxiety, violence, drug abuse, began hearing voices (schizophrenia), and became a hypochondriac. At age 21 in 1977, while walking down the street, he suddenly felt his penis shrink half an inch, and after two years of such delusions, Dr. Cremona reported that his koro symptoms were “as frequent and distressing as ever” and were unresponsive to drug treatment. In another case, an Englishman with koro was afraid to urinate in public, fearing that friends might spot him being “unable to find his penis when using a urinal,” and tease him. His symptoms persisted for 20 years but disappeared after he received psychotherapy and drugs. With cases like these on record, it’s no wonder that some psychiatrists have assumed that epidemic koro is also triggered by similar psychological disturbances. Yet, a closer look at mass outbreaks reveals that they result from an entirely different process.

The few isolated, individual cases often take years to recover, and do so only after the underlying sexual problems are addressed. Drug treatment can also sometimes be helpful. “Victims” of genitalia-shrinking panics recover within hours or days after being convinced that the “illness” is over or never existed, and most clearly lack any psycho-sexual problems. Episodes also share similar symptoms: anxiety, sweating, nausea, headache, transient pain, pale skin, palpitations, blurred vision, faintness, insomnia, and a false belief that body parts are shrinking. These symptoms are normal body responses to extreme fear. The penis, scrotum, breasts, and nipples are the most physiologically plastic external body parts, regularly changing size and shape in response to various stimuli from sexual arousal to temperature changes. Studies also reveal that stress, depression, illness, and urination can cause small but discernible penis shrinkage. Another key factor is the nature of human perception, which is notoriously unreliable. Perception is also preconditioned by a person’s mental outlook and social and cultural reference system. In each of the countries reporting epidemic koro, there were pre-existing beliefs that genitalia could shrivel up under certain circumstances.

Far from exemplifying group psychosis, disorder or irrationality, penis-shrinking panics are a timely reminder that no one is immune from mass delusions, and that the influence of culture and society on individual behavior is far greater than most of us would like to admit. This is a valuable lesson to remember at the dawn of a new millennium. It is all too easy to think of past or non-Western delusions with a wry smile as if we are somehow now immune or those involved were naive and gullible. Yet, the main reason for the absence of penis-shrinking epidemics in Western societies is their incredible nature. It is simply too fantastic to believe. But any delusion is possible if the false belief underlying it is plausible. So while we may laugh at the poor “misguided” Indian or Chinese for believing in penis and breast-shrinking panics, we are haunted by our own unique delusions of crashed saucers, alien abductors, and CIA cover-ups of just about everything.

Belly Fat Blues: 11 reasons why you're not losing

My friend Marlene seems lately to be targeting in on the thing plaguing a lot of us. I fould this one to be as informative as the last one of hers I posted. I'm good on some of these, but with others, I definitely have some work to do. How about you?

Belly fat blues: 11 reasons why you're not losing

Belly Fat By Carey Rossi

Belly fat won't budge? 

Genetics, hormones, or easy-to-fix mistakes could be to blame. Getting rid of your belly bulge is important for more than just vanity's sake. Excess abdominal fat—particularly visceral fat, the kind that surrounds your organs and puffs your stomach into a "beer gut"—is a predictor of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, and some cancers. If diet and exercise haven't done much to reduce your pooch, then your hormones, your age, and other genetic factors may be the reason why. Read on for 11 possible reasons why your belly fat won't budge.

1). You're getting older: 

As you get older, your ability to manage your weight changes. Both men and women experience a declining metabolic rate--the number of calories the body needs to function normally declines with increasing age. "If women gain weight after menopause, it's more likely to be in their bellies," says Michael Jensen, MD, professor of medicine in the Mayo Clinic's endocrinology division. In menopause, production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone slows down, which contributes to your metabolic rate. For men, testosterone levels also start to drop, but at a slower rate, but this shift in hormones causes women and men to hold onto weight in their bellies. The good news: you can fight this process.

2). You're eating too many processed foods: 

Refined grains like white bread, crackers, and chips, as well as refined sugars in sweetened drinks and desserts increase inflammation in our bodies. Belly fat is associated with inflammation, so eating too many processed foods will hinder your ability to lose belly fat. Natural foods like vegetables, lean meats, fruits, and whole grains are full of nutrients, many of which have anti-inflammatory properties and may therefore actually curtail belly fat.

3). You're doing the wrong type of workout: 

A daily run or Spin class is great for your heart and vascular system, but cardio workouts alone won't do much for your waist. "You need to do a combination of weights and cardiovascular training," says Sangeeta Kashyap, MD, an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic. Strength training increases muscle mass, which sets your body up to increase your metabolism. "Muscle burns more calories, and therefore you naturally burn more calories throughout the day by having more muscle," says Kate Patton, a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic. Patton recommends 250 minutes (a little over 4 hours) of moderate-intensity exercise or 125 minutes (just over 2 hours) of high-intensity exercise each week.

4). You're eating the wrong fats (or not enough of the right ones): 

The body doesn't react to all fats in the same way. Research correlates high intake of saturated fat (the kind in high fat meats and dairy) to increased visceral fat, says Patton. On the other hand, monounsaturated fats (the kind in olive oil and avocados) and specific types of polyunsaturated fats (mainly omega-3s, found in walnuts, sunflower seeds, and fatty fish like salmon) have anti-inflammatory effects in the body, and if eaten in proper portions may do your body good. But, Patton warns that eating too much fat of any kind increases your calorie intake and could lead to weight gain, so enjoy healthy fats in moderation.

5). Your workout isn't challenging enough: 

To banish stubborn belly fat, you have to ramp up your workouts. In a study published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, people who completed a high-intensity workout regimen lost more belly fat than those who followed a low-intensity plan. (In fact, the low-intensity exercises experienced no significant changes at all.) "You need to exercise at a higher intensity because the end goal is to burn more calories, and higher intensity exercise does just that," says Natalie Jill, a San Diego, Calif.-based certified personal trainer. High intensity workouts mean you're going all out for as long as you can. If this sounds intimidating, think of it this way: you'll burn more calories in less time. 

6). You're focused on spot reducing: 

Doing crunches until the cows come home? Stop it! When you're down to your final inches of belly fat, the crunch won't be the exercise that finally reveals your six-pack. "You can't spot reduce," Jill says. Instead, she suggests doing functional exercises that use the muscles in your core—abdominals, back, pelvic, obliques—as well as other body parts. "These exercises use more muscles, so there is a higher rate of calorie burn while you are doing them," she says. Marlene’s Note: The more muscle groups you can utilize in your various exercise movements, the better! Working isolated body parts has its place, but when it comes to jacking up your metabolism, level of conditioning, and calorie burn, combined, whole body movements are king!

7). You're stressed: 

Tight deadlines, bills, your kids—whatever your source of stress, having too much of it may make it harder for you to drop unwanted pounds, especially from your middle. And it's not just because you tend to reach for high-fat, high-calorie fare when you're stressed, though that's part of it. It's also due to the stress hormone cortisol, which may increase the amount of fat your body clings to and enlarge your fat cells. Higher levels of cortisol have been linked to more visceral fat.

8). You're skimping on sleep: 

If you're among the 30% of Americans who sleep less than six hours a night, here's one simple way to whittle your waistline: catch more Zs. A 16-year study of almost 70,000 women found that those who slept five hours or less a night were 30% more likely to gain 30 or more pounds than those who slept 7 hours. The National Institutes of Health suggest adults sleep seven to eight hours a night.

9). You're apple shaped: 

If you tend to pack the pounds around your middle rather than your hips and thighs, then you're apple shaped. This genetic predisposition means ridding yourself of belly fat will be harder, Dr. Kashyap says, but not impossible.

10). You have underlying medical conditions: 

If your testosterone levels are high—something that can occur with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—you might have difficulty losing weight. "If you're an apple shape and overweight, it's a good idea to see your doctor," Dr. Kashyap says, since there may also be a chance that you are prediabetic or diabetic. Thyroid disorders are also a possibility, thus should be ruled out by medical evaluation of you’re in doubt.

11). You're not committed to an effective program: 

Are you committed to the work needed to lose belly fat? "Reducing belly fat takes a combination approach of a lower-calorie diet that is also low in carbohydrates and sugar, high in fiber along with weight training and cardiovascular work, " Dr. Kashyap says. "If you are willing to do the work, you can move past genetics and lose it."

The Science of Fat Burning

This is another of my friend Marlene's notes. This one is especially pertinent to me. Maybe you can pull something from it you can use.

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The Science of Fat Burning by Len Kravitz, PhD, Christine Mermier, PhD, Mike Deyhle

Fat may seem like the enemy of civilized people—especially sedentary ones, yet we cannot live without it. Fat plays a key role in the structure and flexibility of cell membranes, and it helps regulate the movement of substances through those membranes. Special types of fat, known as eicosanoids, send hormone-like signals that exert intricate control over many bodily systems, mostly those affecting inflammation or immune function.

Of course, the best-known function of fat is as an energy reserve. Fat has more than twice the energy-storage capacity of carbohydrate (9 calories per gram vs. 4 calories per gram for carbos). It has been estimated that lean adult men store about 131,000 calories in fat enough energy to keep the average person alive for about 65 days.

For fitness professionals, the prime concern arises when the body’s fat-storage function works too well, hoarding unwanted fat that makes people unhealthy and self-conscious about their appearance. Understanding how fat travels through the body can help personal trainers work with clients to reduce excess body fat and improve athletic performance.

The Journey of a Fatty Acid to Muscle: Fat resides primarily in designated fat-storage cells called adipocytes. Most adipocytes are just under the skin (subcutaneous fat) and in regions surrounding (and protecting) vital organs (visceral fat). Nearly all fat in adipocytes exists in the form of triacylglycerols (TAGs or triglycerides). Each TAG consists of a backbone (glycerol) with three fatty-acid tails.

Depending on energy supply and demand, adipocytes can either store fat from the blood or release fat back to the blood. After we eat, when the energy supply is high, the hormone insulin keeps fatty acids inside the adipocytes. After a few hours of fasting or (especially) during exercise, insulin levels tend to drop, while levels of other hormones—such as epinephrine (adrenaline)—increase.

When epinephrine binds to adipocytes, TAG stores go through a process called lipolysis (fat splitting), which separates fatty acids from their glycerol backbone. After lipolysis, fatty acids and glycerol can leave the adipocytes and enter the blood. Fatty Acids in the Blood: Because fat does not easily dissolve in water, it needs a carrier protein to keep it evenly suspended in the water-based environment of the blood. The primary protein carrier for fat in the blood is albumin. One albumin protein can carry multiple fatty acids through the blood to muscle cells. In the very small blood vessels (capillaries) surrounding the muscle, fatty acids can be removed from albumin and taken into the muscle.

Fatty Acids Going From the Blood Into Muscle: Fatty acids must cross two barriers to get from the blood into the muscle. The first is the cell lining of the capillary (called the endothelium), and the second is the muscle-cell membrane (known as the sarcolemma). Fatty-acid movement across these barriers was once thought to be extremely rapid and unregulated. More recent research has shown that this process is not nearly as fast as once thought and that the presence of special binding proteins is required at the endothelium and sarcolemma for fatty acids to pass through. Two proteins that are important for fatty-acid transport into the muscle cells are FAT/CD36 and FABPpm.

Two Fates of Fat Inside Muscle: Once fat is inside the muscle, a molecule called coenzyme A (CoA) is added to the fatty acids. CoA is a transport protein that maintains the inward flow of fatty acids entering the muscle and prepares the fatty acid for one of two fates: oxidation (breakdown) to produce energy or storage within the muscle.

Issues related to Jogging

This article comes from my friend Marlene. She supplies me with a lot of thought provoking stuff. It's always worth the read, so take the time and see if you learn a little something to make your life just a skosh better.

Now let's get to it...

Issues Related to Jogging by Dalton Oliver

Dalton Oliver is an adjunct professor of sport and exercise science at the University of Central Florida. First things first—don’t let this article ruin the joy of a good jog. If you enjoy jogging, you’re more likely to do it, so have at it. A good jog now and then can help burn calories and improve cardiovascular health—and if planned properly it can be done with a modest risk of injury.
 Although jogging has its benefits, it can’t compete with many other workouts—options that burn more fat, deliver better cardiovascular benefits, trigger physiological responses that further enhance body composition, and present less risk of nagging inflammation and overuse injuries.



Here are a few reasons why jogging is not my first choice for most fitness clients. 



1). Mechanics: Jogging offers less reward for the risk when compared with sprinting and walking. Of the three, jogging’s angle of force requires the greatest amount of vertical displacement. Conscientious walking and elite-level sprinting translates more force horizontally, engages a broader range of motion and minimizes jarring throughout the body, especially the torso.
Speaking of the torso, a common deficiency in many joggers is posture. A long jog has a jarring effect on the postural muscles, which can eventually result in improper body position. Although it’s possible to minimize jarring by concentrating on form throughout a run, joggers tend to lose form when they “tune out” during long runs. Walkers, on the other hand, usually maintain good form during long walks.
Sprinting produces a much higher amount of force, but this is actually a good thing, since muscle groups surrounding joints create stability when they contract. The quicker the stride, the more stability the muscles are able to provide.



2). Metabolism: Since sprinting requires more force and a greater range of motion than jogging, it’s more metabolically demanding.

We also know that a combination of sprinting and walking increases metabolism better than simple jogging. 
Also, sprinting requires more fuel than jogging, which is better for those who want to slim down. When training for body composition, we want to make movements as inefficient (and inherently difficult) as possible.

As with any movement, the more you jog, the more efficient you become at it, and the longer you need to run to trigger the same response, which leads me to my next point. 

3). Overuse Injuries: Despite its inherent flaws as a mode of exercise, jogging can be safe for those who use proper technique.

However, the high volume and frequency of most jogging programs make even the smallest injuries grow significant over time. If a jogger pauses his or her training to heal, his or her aerobic system will begin to atrophy, and all that hard-earned progress will feel like an exercise in futility. That’s why, even for my clients who love to jog, I recommend a routine that taxes the aerobic system without the repeated load on the knee joints.

4). Specificity: Training specificity is one of the simplest, yet most misunderstood, principles in exercise programming. Every movement you make should get you closer to your goal. So, unless your goal is to jog better, you should probably be doing more functional exercises.

If your goal is body composition, even the best jogs can’t deliver the results that anaerobic programs can.

Alternatives to Jogging: Get better results faster by training with the following workout programs.



Intervals: By combining sprinting and walking, you get the best of both worlds: tapping your anaerobic threshold, sustaining your heart rate and refining your running mechanics for transfer to sports. This is why we see less jogging on football fields and basketball courts today. Learn how to improve your conditioning with Tabata interval training.



Circuit Training: By ordering your workouts to move from exercise to exercise with little rest, you maintain an elevated heart rate while tapping anaerobic thresholds and activating a variety of muscle groups. Circuit training gives you a solid workout in a short amount of time and offers endless opportunities for customization. This is the cornerstone of most popular group exercise programs.



Swimming, Biking and Incline Walks: Although I may appear to be biased toward anaerobic training, "pure" aerobic training definitely has a place for those who already do resistance training more than three days per week. For this crowd, swimming, biking and uphill walking complement resistance training to enhance body composition and overall fitness. All rely heavily on the aerobic system and are normally safe to perform to fatigue.



Multi-Planar Movements: I am a big fan of multi-planar movements (exercises involving multiple directions) for a number of reasons. The additional muscle activation and movement inefficiency leads to more caloric output and adaptation. Also, multi-directional movements could lead to better joint function and dynamic stability. Plus, I simply enjoy seeing creative movement in my clients; it shows they are engaged in their training. Crossovers, backpedals, and lateral movements of any kind are all solid options.



Sports: I'm a big fan of competitive sports play. Want to challenge your muscles? Go all-out in a game of basketball. The sports I recommend most to my fitness clients are soccer, basketball, tennis, racquetball, football and volleyball, in that order. Notice how all these sports can be seen as forms of interval training?

Uphill Sprints: Sprinting uphill is good for the body because it relies very little on the eccentric and elastic contribution at the joints. As a matter of fact, the exercise is almost entirely concentric force production, a method often used in rehabilitation to strengthen, but not break down, muscle groups.