Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife

Michael Shermer with Bart Ehrman

According to a recent Pew Research poll, 72% of Americans believe in a literal heaven and 58% in a literal hell (more evidence of the over-optimism bias and self-serving bias). Worldwide, over two billion Christians believe that because of their faith they will have a glorious afterlife. And nearly everyone wonders about what, if anything, comes after death. In Heaven and Hell, renowned biblical scholar and historian of religion Dr. Bart Ehrman investigates the powerful instincts that gave rise to the common ideas of heaven and hell and that help them endure. From the Epic of Gilgamesh to the writings of Augustine, Ehrman recounts the long history of the life after death. In different times, places, and cultures, people held a wide variety of views, and Ehrman is adept at showing how these influenced one another and changed in response to their historical, social, and cultural situations. His driving question is why and how Christians came up with the idea that souls will experience either eternal bliss or everlasting torment. Ehrman shows that the historical Jesus, Paul, and the author of Revelation would have been utterly perplexed by such ideas. These ideas are later Christian developments. Shermer and Ehrman also discuss:

• Ehrman’s personal journey from Christian to nonbeliever
• the earliest writings on the afterlife
• why the Old Testament says nothing about Heaven and Hell
• what the New Testament says about Heaven and Hell
• early pagan influences on Judaism and Christianity
• who invented the afterlife and why
• what Jesus really said about the afterlife, souls, and immortality
• what commoners believed about the afterlife in Greek, Roman and biblical times
• myths, stories, and parables: their original meaning and use
• the real meaning of the resurrection
• Is the Kingdom of Heaven within us all?
• What does a nonbeliever say to a believer about the (non-existence) of the afterlife?

Bart D. Ehrman is a leading authority on the New Testament and the history of early Christianity, and the author or editor of more than thirty books, including the New York Timesbestsellers Misquoting Jesus, How Jesus Became God, and The Triumph of Christianity. A Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he has created eight popular audio and video courses for The Great Courses. He has been featured in Time, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post, and has appeared on NBC, CNN, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, BBC, and NPR.

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20 Healthy Foods to Add to Your Coronavirus Grocery List

From the Eat this, Not That E-zine

In the face of fears surrounding COVID-19, it's entirely practical (and even recommended) to practice emergency preparedness. That doesn't mean you should run to the nearest supermarket and buy up all the cans available—remember that hoarding food hurts communities! Better to think of this time as an exercise in smart and practical shopping. That means investing in versatile foods with a long shelf-life that will also nourish you in the most nutritious way possible during the coronavirus quarantine.

Another benefit of keeping a stocked pantry is that it will help you limit the number of times you leave the house. Plus, when you have a pantry full of healthy food items, it can help you maintain a sense of calm and readiness.

What makes a well-stocked pantry? You'll want to include healthy items that: pack a nutritional punch, keep well over time, are convenient, provide a good balance of nutrients from a variety of food sources, & are a combination of shelf-stable and fresh, nutrient-dense whole foods.

Here are some healthy foods that Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist who specializes in weight management and owner of Brooklyn-based Maya Feller Nutrition, recommends adding to your "coronavirus grocery list."

     1). Dried or canned beans & legumes: Chickpeas, Pinto beans, Black beans, Cannellini beans, Black-eyed peas, Red kidney beans, Split peas, Lentils, Lima beans--When you're building a healthy pantry, it's more convenient to stock plant-based sources of protein than it is animal protein. One of the best picks is dried beans or, for a quicker option, canned beans. Feller says, "beans are a good source of plant-based protein and fiber."

Keep in mind that both canned and dried beans have their strengths and weaknesses and choosing to go one way or another will largely depend on what you're looking for in a bean. Dry beans are usually more cost-effective and tastier, plus there are a lot more varieties to choose from than in the canned goods aisle.

On the other hand, dry stock takes some planning ahead, because they need soaking and quite a bit of time to cook. Canned beans are definitely more convenient, but you'll want to watch the sodium levels in the cans you're choosing (we recommend going low-sodium.)

     2). Whole Grains: Brown rice, Black rice, Red rice, Buckwheat, Barley, Farro, Oats, Quinoa, Amaranth, Millet, Sorghum, Teff--Whole grains are a good source of B vitamins, says Feller. B-complex vitamins (a group of eight B vitamins) provide a variety of health benefits. Most notably, they're associated with managing energy levels, relieving stress, and boosting cognitive performance—all great benefits when you're cozying up at home. And let's be real, your lifestyle is about to become a lot more sedentary, so maintaining optimal amounts of fiber in your diet is crucial to keeping your digestion regular.

Another great way to stock up on fiber-rich whole grains is to buy whole-grain bread. It can freeze indefinitely, and nothing beats a good sandwich. Get inspired by our list of best breads and best sandwiches.

     3). Pasta: Regular pasta, Gluten-free pasta, Whole grain pastas, Bean-based pasta
There's no reason to fear carbs, and that especially applies to pasta. You have a variety of different options to choose from, and Feller notes that each can boost your health in its own way. For example, bean-based pastas are a good source of protein, gluten-free pasta made from corn and quinoa is a good source of antioxidants, and whole grain pastas are a good source of B vitamins.

    4). Canned, boxed or jarred tomatoes: What better to stock alongside your pasta than tomato sauce? Feller says tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a potent antioxidant, and vitamin C. This is a stressful time for everyone, and if you're worried about your immune system, rest assured that vitamin C is the nutrient to ramp up in your diet. The antioxidant vitamin has been shown to help people cope with stressful situations and treat anxiety as well as keep your immune system running smoothly.

And just think about it—you need tomato sauce for pretty much everything, from pasta, soups, stews, shakshuka, baked beans, pizza sauce, and more. Plus, there are some ingenious ways of using leftover sauce, should you have an open jar kicking around your fridge.

     5). Winter Squash: Butternut Squash, Acorn Squash, Pumpkin, Spaghetti Squash, Delicata Squash--"Depending on the type, [winter squash varieties contain] varying amounts of potassium and vitamins A and C," says Feller. If you want to avoid getting cramps from chilling on the couch all day, potassium will be your best friend. The electrolyte will help you and your muscles stay hydrated. A cup of acorn squash serves up to 19 percent of your daily value of the nutrient, while butternut squash contains 12 percent.

It might sound odd to consider squash a solid pantry item, but squash stores surprisingly well. If you keep fresh, uncut squash in a cool, dry, dark place, your squash should last between 1-3 months.

     6). Potatoes: sweet potatoes and yams and white potatoes (which include the russet, red, yellow, & Yukon Gold varieties).--Potatoes get a bad rap, but they're actually a very healthy pantry (and diet) staple. They are some of the most filling, satisfying foods (which can prevent you from eating too soon after your last meal, causing you to consume more calories than you need).

All varieties of white potato are a good source of B and C vitamins, while sweet potatoes are a good source of A and C vitamins as well as potassium, according to Feller. If you're stocking up on tubers, make sure you store them properly to prevent them going to waste.

     7). Carrots: Carrots are one of Feller's pantry staples not only because they're a source of vitamins A and C, but also because they keep for weeks and can be used in a variety of snacks and dishes. Fresh or frozen works equally well for most recipes! You'll be hard-pressed to find a soup recipe that doesn't call for carrots, but you can also roast them as a vibrant side dish, and even use them in smoothies.

     8). Citrus Fruits: Lemon, Lime, Orange, Mandarin, Clementine, Grapefruit--Citruses are a star-studded cast when it comes to hard-working pantry additions. They're bursting with vitamins and antioxidants but are also an important culinary staple. Acidity is one of the main flavor components of food, and without it, dishes can end up tasting as bland as if they were unsalted. Use lemon juice in salad dressings, soups, sauces, cakes, and crock pot creations, and even zest it into pasta dishes and vegetables.

     9). Other Fresh Fruits (with a long shelf life): Apples, Pears--When fresh leafy greens are limited, Feller recommends looking to fruits as good sources of fiber. Apples and pears are particularly reliable because they can last a while in the fridge before losing their juicy texture. Add them to salads, use them in baking, or make applesauce! If you're looking for more shelf-stable options, canned or jarred applesauce is always a vitamin C-rich option.

     10). Frozen Fruit: Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Cherries, Peaches, Pineapple--Frozen fruits are packed at peak ripeness, meaning they don't lag behind their fresh counterparts when it comes to nutrition. You can easily use antioxidant-packed berries, peaches, and pineapples in smoothies. (Just be sure to add some protein powder, healthy fats, and fiber-rich seeds for a well-rounded meal-replacement smoothie.)

Frozen fruits also make the perfect breakfast item or snack. Simmer some mixed berries on the stovetop with a splash of water and lemon juice to make a jammy syrup for topping for pancakes or waffles, plain yogurt, or add some frozen blueberries to your oatmeal before microwaving it—they'll warm up and add some color and sweetness to your breakfast.

11). Frozen Vegetables: Spinach, Kale, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Peas, Green Beans, Corn (among others): Just as with fruits, vegetables are frozen at their peak, so you'll be getting the same nutritious boost of phytonutrients (plant nutrients with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits) as you do from fresh produce. Not to mention, frozen veggies can sub the fresh kind in most recipes—just take into account that they'll release some extra liquid when thawing.

12). Canned Fish: Tuna, Salmon, Crab, Sardines, Anchovies: When you want to hold off on making that next grocery trip for some fresh meat, make canned tuna or salmon your go-to source of protein (besides beans, of course). Feller recommends canned fish because it's not only convenient, it's also rich in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.

If you only keep canned tuna in your pantry for tuna salad, let this quarantine be your opportunity to try using it in new ways! We like to layer it on some crusty toast with a splash of olive oil or mix it into pasta salads with tomatoes and olives. When it comes to canned salmon, we like it in salads and sandwiches. Sardines are great for a quick homemade pate, and anchovies . . . well, they just bring that umami burst of flavor to whatever needs it (soups, pasta sauces, and even dips).

     13). Low Sodium Soups: Restaurants are off-limits, the wait for takeout is an hour, and don't even get us started on how long delivery will take. If you need a quick meal when you're sick of cooking (or just sick), nothing is as healing as knowing that hot soup is just a few minutes away.

The healthiest soups will have a balance of carbs, fiber, and protein and very low levels of sodium. Our dietitians recommend these healthy Progresso soups as best canned soup options. If you're looking to doctor up that old dusty can of Campbell's soup you've had in your pantry for months, use the different varieties in soups, pasta sauces, and casseroles.

     14). Low Sodium Broths: Chicken broth, Beef broth, Veggie broth: Yes, you can make soup with just about anything in your fridge and some water, but Feller recommends stocking up on low-sodium broths and using them as flavor enhancer. Just make sure they are truly low in sodium (under 150 milligrams per serving), which will help prevent bloating and reduce the strain on your heart.

You don't have to only use broths as soup bases, either. Use them to add flavor to any recipe that calls for water was a base—risottos, slow-cooker meat recipes, and sauces and gravies.

15). Olive Oil: Every healthy diet should include a good amount of healthy fats.
Because we're talking pantry essentials here, we can't recommend stocking up on avocados. While the fatty fruits are rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, we all know they tend to go bad much faster than it takes for them to ripen on your counter.

For a shelf-stable version of healthy fats, we recommend olive oil. Feller loves how versatile olive oil is—you'll be using it to fry up crispy chickpeas, sauté veggies, drizzle on top of bread, or preserve your garlic.

     16). Alliums: Onions, Garlic, Shallots: You have to keep your gut happy when you're shut off at home. It plays a role in many major biological functions such as your immune system, mental health, skin health, inflammation response, and appetite management. Read that list over again and you'll soon understand how important it will be to maintain proper gut health during this time.

You know probiotics are great for your gut, but did you know that prebiotics are just as important? These are a food source for the beneficial bacteria in your gut, and they are found in foods like onions, garlic, and leeks. Believe it or not, eating raw alliums can supercharge their health benefits—raw onions have a higher level of beneficial organic sulfur compounds, while raw garlic is one of the most effective natural antibiotics.
Let's be honest, there's no home cooking without garlic and onions. They make up the flavor base of most things we know and love. Just make sure you store them properly to keep them at their peak quality.

     17). Ginger: If you're starting to feel bloated from being cooped up inside all day, make sure to add ginger to your next grocery delivery or supermarket run. (Also, make sure you go on a walk as often as possible.) Ginger is known for its anti-bloat that help soothe troubled stomachs. This root lasts a long time in the refrigerator, but you can also keep it in the freezer (which also makes it easier to grate). Use ginger in stir fries, slice it to make ginger tea, or use it to flavor soups, smoothies, and soaked oats.
18). Nuts: Almonds, Pistachios, Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Cashews, Pecans: Whether you prefer them raw or ground into a butter, nuts are the perfect healthy snack when holed up at home. One of the most common responses to being bored and stressed is—you guessed it—snacking. To maintain a healthy diet, forego greasy chips, and opt for unsalted nuts instead. Feller likes nuts as a source of "protein, fiber, and vitamin E." Besides being great for snacking, nuts and their butters are an awesome fatty flavor supplement to salads, smoothies, and baked goods.

19). Seeds: Hemp, Pumpkin, Sesame, Chia, Sunflower, Flax: Think of seeds like supplements. These little foods pack a huge micronutrient punch. For example, an ounce of pumpkin seeds delivers nearly 40 percent DV of magnesium (essential for energy production). Flaxseeds and chia seeds made our list of top 10 sources of omega-3 fatty acids (a potent anti-inflammatory nutrient), because just one serving delivers more than an entire day's worth of omega-3s.

All seeds also happen to be amongst the most fiber-rich foods, which is an essential macronutrient to ramp up when you're eating a lot of carbs. It's good to stock up on seeds no matter what your cooking abilities are. Sprinkle them over salads, roasted vegetables, oatmeal, over your entire meal, and add them to smoothies.

20). Plant-Based Milks: Almond milk, Oat milk, Soy milk, Hemp milk, Coconut milk, Hazelnut milk: They'll last much longer than regular milk and can be used for things like smoothies, oatmeal and overnight oats, lattes, and even as a dairy sub in pancakes, waffles, and baking. Some brands are better than others, so choose milks that list the smallest number of ingredients.

5 Universal Principles of Good Nutrition

from Precision Nutrition

Principle #1: As food processing increases, nutrient density decreases. Minimally-processed whole foods (such as grains, nuts, eggs, and fish) contain a vast selection of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients (plant nutrients), and animal nutrients. Though we’re still unraveling exactly which nutrients do what, a wealth of research consistently points to one resounding conclusion: Humans are healthier when they consume more whole foods and fewer refined ones. 

This is probably because the greater the degree of processing, the higher the likelihood that a food:
   Has lost nutritional value, such as fiber, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and animal nutrients.
   Has gained additives, preservatives, fillers, sugar, sodium, unhealthy fats, and/or refined starch.

This is a lot easier to see when you compare specific whole foods to their more highly-processed equivalents.

As you can see at left, the less-processed steak and potato dinner contains about 350 fewer calories and a fraction of the sodium as the fast food burger with fries, as well as a heck of a lot more protein, fiber, and other nutrients. That’s just one comparison. You could analyze any whole food along with its more refined counterpart and see similar differences in calories, sodium, and nutrients.

It makes sense that a diet rich in minimally-processed whole foods can lead to lower rates of heart disease, cancer, depression, and type 2 diabetes, among other health problems. Minimally-processed whole foods are also rich in fiber and/or protein—two nutrients that help bolster satiety. They also tend to have fewer calories per serving than highly-processed refined foods. Both traits make it easier for us to control our weight.

One randomized controlled trial even found that people ate a stunning 500 more calories per day when they consumed a diet rich in ultraprocessed foods compared to a diet rich in minimally-processed whole foods. That’s essentially the equivalent of consuming an extra meal a day!

In fact, minimally-processed whole foods may be what all successful diets share in common.Recent studies have shown that participants experienced the same amount of weight loss—regardless of carb or fat intake—as long as they minimized their consumption of refined sugars, flours, and other processed foods while emphasizing whole foods like veggies. They also experienced similar improvements in blood pressure, insulin, glucose, and cholesterol levels.

What does this mean for you? We’re 100 percent confident about the importance of whole foods, but we’re also extremely confident about something else: Progress is much more important than perfection. Rather than separating foods into “whole” and “not whole” categories, imagine a spectrum. As you can see from the graphic, as food becomes more processed and refined, it loses a little bit of its nutritional power.

The goal with whole foods isn’t to get things “perfect.” Instead, focus on making them “just a little bit better.”
A rotisserie chicken from the supermarket may not be a pastured, lovingly hand-raised, heritage variety roasted in a high-end convection oven… but it sure beats chicken nuggets.

Principle #2: Weight loss and weight gain come down to one key equation. Everyone knows this one, though not everyone believes it. It’s the energy balance equation, also known as calories in, calories out (or CICO for short), and it looks like this:
           [Energy in] – [Energy out] = Changes in body stores 
In other words:
   When you take in more energy (or calories) than you burn, you gain weight.
   When you take in less energy than you burn, you lose weight.
   When you take in the same energy as you burn, you maintain.

You might be wondering: How do we know this with absolute certainty? First, like gravity, this principle is easy to test. With gravity, you can continually release a heavy object. No matter how many times you try it, the object falls. It’s the same with energy balance. If you reduce “energy in” and increase “energy out,” you always get the same result: Bodyweight goes down.

Second, the energy balance equation comes from the first law of thermodynamics: Energy can neither be created or destroyed, only transferred from one state to another. We convert energy from food for use in our daily lives. Any excess energy we take in that we don’t use doesn’t magically vanish: Your body stores the excess (as fat).

Scientific laws are as close to facts as we can get. Can they be updated over time? Sure. In this case, however, the law has stood firm for well over a century. Why do some people say “Not all calories are equal!”? In a word: confusion.
As you can see from the illustration below, many complex factors influence “calories in” and “calories out.” Your brain, especially, can turn up or turn down metabolism, exerting a massive influence on “calories out.”

What does this mean for you? If someone wants to gain or lose body mass, they’ll want to consider overall energy balance and how to shift it in their favor. Here are a few ways to do just that.

To reduce calories in:
   Consume more fiber-rich vegetables to reduce the number of calories your body absorbs.
   Consume more protein to reduce appetite and therefore overall energy intake.
   Pay attention to hunger and fullness signals, but remember there’s a 20 minute delay for the signal to reach your brain.
   Eat slowly so the signal can catch up and you can stop eating when full, not stuffed.
   Pay close attention to portion sizes, you invariably “need” a lot less than you think!
   Manage your stress and your sleep properly to reduce hunger and cravings for sweets.

To increase calories out:
   Add strength training to build more muscle, boost overall metabolism, and burn more calories.
   Increase daily activity by taking the stairs, parking further away, and other “energy wasting” activities.
   Add cardio training (but not too much, it can become a stressor for your body if done in excess!).
   Use an activity tracker and set goals for number of steps and other activities.
   Boost your protein intake to increase the thermic (heat releasing) effect of digestion, protein has the highest thermic effect among the food groups).

Principle #3: Protein is the most important macronutrient to get right. Why? Two reasons.
   Reason #1: It helps you eat less, without feeling so hungry. Research consistently shows that protein helps you feel full longer and, as a result, lose weight. That’s, in part, because it takes longer for the body to break down protein than carbs or fat. Protein also stimulates the release of satiety hormones in the gut. When you eat protein, you naturally tend to eat less. It makes a big difference. Doubling your protein intake could help you to spontaneously consume 400 fewer calories a day. For reference, that’s roughly the number of calories in 1 ½ cups of ice cream.

   Reason #2: Protein makes it easier to build and maintain muscle. Without adequate protein, our bodies just can’t function well. We need amino acids (protein’s building blocks) to produce important molecules like enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, and antibodies.

When we don’t eat enough protein, our bodies plunder it from elsewhere, like our muscles, resulting in muscle loss. This is especially true if we’re eating fewer calories than we’re burning. On the flip side, a higher protein diet seems to maximize muscle protein synthesis, which should lead to more muscle gain for people who are strength training and consuming enough calories.

This is probably one of the reasons high-protein diets are better for improving body composition than normal or low-protein diets. A review of 38 studies found that, for people who are out of shape, consuming extra protein won’t magically build any muscle—no surprises there, but for people who are really pushing themselves in the gym, eating more protein seems to boost their results, helping them gain even more muscle.

What does this mean for you? The right amount of protein for each person varies on a number of factors such as age, gender, and goals. Someone interested in packing on muscle for a bodybuilding competition might aim for as many as 50 grams of protein (or about two palm-size portions of meat) at every meal. Someone hoping to work off 20 extra pounds is going to need much less than that.

Principle #4: Fruit and vegetables reduce disease risk—and may help you lose weight, too. Among the various types of whole foods, produce deserves special mention. Fruits and veggies are loaded with health-promoting antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients. A huge body of evidence from the past 20 years definitively shows that consuming more produce can help prevent a wide range of health problems, including diabetes, stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer.

For example, by simply increasing vegetable and fruit intake, experts predict that we could prevent 20 percent or more of all cancer cases, and avoid approximately 200,000 cancer-related deaths annually. An increasing number of studies also suggest that consuming a diet rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory foods such as fruits and vegetables may lower the risk of developing neurodegenerative disease.

When it comes to cognitive performance, food beats supplements. Once nutrients, such as antioxidants, are isolated from produce and inserted into capsules, they seem to lose some of their power.

Finally, an eating pattern rich in produce can help you more easily control your weight. This effect is thanks to their fiber and water content, which helps fill you up on fewer calories. An entire head of cauliflower, for example, contains only about 150 calories.

What does this mean for you? No one fruit or veggie is king. Rather than sticking to one magic power food—for example, eating blueberries every single day—aim for a variety. Try to eat a wide rainbow of colors everyday.

Principle #5: Sleep affects what you eat—as well as your overall health. In working with over 100,000 clients, we’ve seen one issue pop up a lot. People can nail everything with their nutrition but still struggle to reach their goals. Often, that’s because they’re not getting enough sleep, and they only make progress once they prioritize sleep. 

What’s the connection? If you sleep 5 or 6 hours when you really need 7 or 8, you keep your body in a chronically sleep-deprived state, impairing your body’s ability to regulate several key hormones.
   Ghrelin levels rise, triggering hunger.
   Leptin falls, so it takes longer to feel full.
   Endocannabinoids increase, making your perception of foods seem more pleasurable.

End result: You can’t keep yourself away from the cookies. By not getting enough sleep, you’re just hungrier and you crave sweets more than you otherwise would. You’re also tired, so you exercise and move less, and more awake time means more time to raid the kitchen.

Bottom line: Sleep-deprived people tend to eat at least 300 more daily calories than people who get enough sleep.

In addition to interfering with weight loss, lack of sleep also erodes health. Just one night of sleep deprivation can lead to increased blood pressure the following day. Each year, when nearly 1.5 billion people lose an hour of sleep due to daylight savings time, rates of heart attacks jump.

What does this mean for you? Most of us just aren’t sleeping enough. Going to bed at midnight and getting up at 6? It’s not going to cut it. For ideas on how to turn things around, check out our article on hacking sleep.

Bonus principle: Internal appetite regulation is a game-changing skill… for most people. People often rely on calorie counting to guide what and how much they eat. And while it can be helpful—serving as an external guardrail that protects against overeating—there’s a downside. When people rely solely on external rules—following strict macros or calorie counts—they tend to lose touch with the internal cues that tell them when to eat and when to stop. While you might assume people need a strict food tracking method to reach their goals, we just haven’t found that to be the case.

This is especially true when they learn to listen and respond to their internal sense of hunger and fullness, a skill known as internal appetite regulation. By relaxing, eating slowly, and tuning into their thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, most people can make phenomenal progress with this one important skill.

Research is starting to back up our clinical experience, too, showing that internal appetite regulation can help people to automatically choose higher-quality foods. Is more research needed? Perhaps. But after you’ve worked with over 100,000 clients, as we have, you start to build a database of collected wisdom. Often, there’s stuff that you’ve just seen enough times to know it’s a thing. Internal appetite regulation is one of those things. With practice, the vast majority of people can eventually get in touch with their hunger and fullness signals.

What does this mean for you? There’s not as much research behind internal regulation as there is for the 5 main principles listed above, but the benefits of internal regulation far outweigh the scientific uncertainty and potential exceptions.

How Old Is Too Old For Strength Training?

from The Stack e-zine

The average life expectancy in America is about 79. Some view our 60s and beyond as our "golden years," while to others, it's more of a slippery slope. If you simply sit back and let Father Time take its toll, it can be very difficult to maintain a good quality of life. But if you're willing to take action, there are ways to fight back and continue living the life you want.

I like to think of training as an older adult as a way to "square the curve." Rather than thinking of our physical function in a parabolic format where we hit a peak in early/mid-adulthood and then gradually decline over time, we want to flatten the second half of the curve to prevent our perpetual physical decline. In layman's terms, we want to be crushing life as long as possible before we die. One of the best tools for squaring the curve is strength training.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association recently published a Position Statement in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research on resistance training for older adults (quantified as those individuals above the age of 65 years old).

In this paper, they discuss evidence-based research regarding all aspects of strength training for this population. Here, I'd like to explore the main points of the research to help you better understand strength training for an older population and how to establish a safe and effective plan. Before diving into the recommendations, why should older adults even be interested in strength training?

Because it's a proven way to help us fight back against many of the things which lead to an overall reduction in independence and activity participation. It can help reduce our risk of chronic impairments like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It can help us maintain our balance and our mobility as we age, which is crucial for avoiding falls. And, at a time when our body will naturally get weaker without intervention, it helps keep us strong.

According to the New York Times, by their early 40s, many adults are losing muscle mass at a rate of about "5 percent a decade, with the decline often precipitating a long slide toward frailty and dependence."

As we lose muscle mass and strength, our risk of mortality increases (in fact, grip strength is a strong predictor of life expectancy). We also experience a decrease in power, which makes tasks like getting out of a chair or climbing a flight of stairs more challenging.

Due to a natural decrease in bone mineral content, our bones also become more fragile with age, increasing our risk of fracture. We also experience a natural decline in certain cognitive abilities, such as memory, learning, executive function and processing speed. Strength training is a potent weapon against all of these natural, age-related processes.

This chart from the fifth edition of the NSCA's Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning drives home the point: 

A 2016 analysis from the Penn State College of Medicine found that adults over 65 who strength trained at least twice a week had "46 percent lower odds of death for any reason than those who did not" over a 15-year period.

Even after adjusting for demographic variables, health conditions and health behaviors, the effect of strength training on mortality remained significant. After the researchers controlled for physical activity level, "people who reported strength exercises appeared to see a greater mortality benefit than those who reported physical activity alone."

Unfortunately, even with all of these reasons, less than 10 percent of adults above the age of 75 engage in a strengthening routine. What exactly does the NSCA recommend? This table includes their general resistance training recommendations for healthy older adults.

Honestly, it's a pretty standard programming model. What I like about it is the emphasis on power/explosive training. These kinds of motions are crucial for certain functional movements (e.g., climbing stairs, getting out of a low chair), and I think training these sorts of fast, concentric-based movements are essential to maintaining good quality of life.

The authors also provide more specific recommendations in this table for older adults with frailty (defined in the statement as experiencing "decreases in biological functional reserve and resistance to stressors.") Even these people are candidates for resistance training! Included within these recommendations are endurance and balance training exercises, which should be a staple in any older adult's routine.

The statement goes even deeper into further modifications for those with other conditions, including osteoporosis, arthritis, mild cognitive impairment and diabetes, in this table, addressing how to potentially alter/focus exercise prescription for these folks. According to the National Institute on Aging, roughly 85 percent of older adults have at least one chronic health condition, so it's important to remember that there's no one universal baseline of "healthiness" a person must meet before they can start strength training.

How old is too old to strength train? With the right adjustments, medical screening and program design, you're never too old to strength train. Older adults can easily make excuses about why they cannot strength train, but in reality, there's almost always a solution. If there's a will, there's a way. Now, it's unreasonable to expect that you'll be able to do all the same things as the 25-year-olds at your local gym, but that's perfectly OK. It's all about "squaring the curve."

Your Barbell Back Squat may transition to standing up from a chair, and you may need to trade in your chest day for Table Top Push-Ups, but maintaining muscle strength and power is crucial for longevity. Just about any type of physical activity is good for older adults, but strength training offers some very unique benefits that can increase your odds of a long, happy, healthy life.

Is a Good God Logically Possible?

BY JAMES P. STERBA

In my new book I defend atheism, but I was not always a nonbeliever. In fact, I was in a religious order for 12 years, leaving only just before I would have had to take the final vows. In fact, I only became an atheist recently after accepting a John Templeton grant to apply the yet untapped resources of ethics and political philosophy to the problem of evil. Work on this Templeton grant ultimately resulted in my developing the argument I will be summarizing here, set out in more detail in my book. Moreover, if anyone is successful in poking a hole in my argument, I am happy to give up being an atheist. My commitment to atheism is only as strong as the soundness and validity of my argument. Undercut my argument and poof, at least in my case, no more atheist.

My argument begins by considering whether there would be a justification for God’s not preventing—hence permitting—the final stage of significant and especially horrendous evil actions of wrongdoers, the stage where the wrongdoers would be imposing their evil consequences on their victims, for example, just before the infliction of torture by a would-be torturer. I assume that there would be a justification, at least in terms of freedom, for God’s not interfering with the imaginings, intending, and even the taking of initial steps by wrongdoers toward bringing about significant and even horrendous evil consequences on their would-be victims. I also assume that there would be a justification, at least in terms of freedom, for God’s not interfering when the consequences of immoral actions are not significantly evil. So here is the question I want to consider: Is there a greater good justification for God’s permitting significant and especially horrendous evil consequences of immoral actions?

To answer this question it is important to see that goods that could be provided to us are of two types: goods to which we have a right and goods to which we do not have a right.

Goods to Which We Have a Right

Providing us with goods to which we have a right is also a way of preventing evil. More precisely, the provision of such goods by those who could easily do so without violating anyone’s rights is a way of preventing the evil of the violation of people’s rights.¹ Thus, if I provide someone with food and lodging to which that person has a right when I alone (other than God) can easily do so, I prevent that person from suffering an evil. Correspondingly, the nonprovision of goods to which we have a right is also a way of doing evil; more precisely, the nonprovision of such goods by those who could easily provide them without violating anyone’s rights would itself be morally evil.² Thus, if I do not provide someone with the food and lodging to which that person has a right when I alone (other than God) can easily do so, my omission, which is morally equivalent to a doing here, is also morally evil.

In addition, goods to which we are entitled are either first-order goods that do not logically presuppose the existence of some serious wrongdoing (like the freedom from brutal assault) or second-order goods that do logically presuppose the existence of some serious wrongdoing (like providing aid to a victim of brutal assault). For all such first-order goods to which we are entitled, the basic moral requirement that governs their provision is:

Moral Evil Prevention Requirement I: Prevent rather than permit significant and especially horrendous evil consequences of immoral actions without violating anyone’s rights (a good to which we have a right) when that can easily be done.³ […]

Read the complete  excerpt