Running: A FEVER

Well, gotta be careful here because this is the entrance, the trail head said Benefield Trails, which I assume they are talking about as the north and south loop of the trail. And it said Bear Hollow trail as well. I gotta watch for the signs. Speaking of which, it took me quite a while to find this place. I thought it should be about the same distance from the Greenfield trail as the Greenfield trail is from my cabin. It turns out it was, and I wound up going way down the mountain before I turned around. There are not many places to turn around, as you can imagine. And there's a sign going down toward the picnic area on the right side, which is what I was driving on, that tells you where it is. But the glare was so much at that point from the sun on my windshield (which I need to clean on the inside) that I couldn't see it. And then, coming back the other way, the same sign was all they had; it was on the left side. And I missed it the first time around. Anyway, there was an overlook. I just happened to slow down at the overlook and saw the sign that said Benefield Trail, which is on the other side of the highway. So these trails, the Benefield trails, cross the highway four times, and I'm pretty sure there won't be any crosswalks or lights or anything. Not that you can really go super fast, but if you go fast enough to hit somebody... Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/408  

Now you can see we are on the Turkey Springs trail at Mt. Magazine State Park in Arkansas. .3 miles. Level of difficulty not specified. So we'll see how it goes. This is supposed to be an old wagon road, as described. It does look a little wider than the Greenfield trail we did yesterday. And folks, it is cold out here. You can't tell, we've got the sun shining there. It is cold. Now, down in Paris, which is the nearest town, still about 20 miles away or something, it is 51 degrees. Up here on Mt. Magazine -- 37 degrees today. Not the coldest weather I've been walking in, but it's pretty cold. I don't know what the wind chill is, but the real feel down in Paris is 40 degrees, so I know it's colder up here, certainly, because of the wind.   http://RunningAFEVER.com/407  

It is about 7:30 in the morning here on November 19, 2024. It's 51 degrees, really lovely. A clear day, you can see the sun over there in case you want to get blinded. And we're on the Greenfield trail at Mt. Magazine, which is very wet. I'm starting my second full day here. They wouldn't let me check in the first night until 4 pm. And by that time, the place was covered in fog. You could not see very much in front of you. It was kind of like the last time I was here. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/406  

There is a windstorm outside. I wasn't planning to go out today because rain was forecast. It rained last night. It was raining when I came in, and it rained a lot harder during the night. And this windstorm developed. It's very windy out there. I've got some video I'll show you of some trees and how they move in the wind. It's actually a lot worse than what it looks like. The wind was literally howling all night long. I got up this morning, and it was still going strong. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/405  

The world is fascinated with long life. Perhaps because we wonder what we would do, individually, if we had an abundance of time, the world's most valuable resource. It's fun to think about it. And so the world is fascinated by Jeanne Calment, the human with the longest documented lifespan, 122 years, 164 days. In Episode 170 I gave an overview of her life and some details about her healthy and unhealthy habits in a 30-minute show. Now I will provide a broader review of her life with more detail. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/404  

Jeanne Calment, if you don't already know, is the person who lived the longest according to documented evidence. She lived to be 122. Some of you may be intrigued by the title of this episode. Jeanne Calment died on  August 4, 1997. What is there to update? As it turns out, quite a lot. My first episode on Jeanne was published on July 26, 2019. I  recorded it on an early morning walk, as I often do for the show. So it wasn't completely about Jeanne, and it was 28 minutes long. Not long ago, I noticed that that episode was by far the most popular video on my YouTube channel, which you can find at http://YouTube.com/@RunningAFEVER Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/403  

And right now, I'm on my way to the gym. I'm on my way to the gym for the first time in a really long time. I can't even remember the last time I went to the gym. However, I have been paying them every month for that whole time. I guess I just kind of put that out of my mind. I had a debit card that had worn out and I was getting rejections at the stores. I had to get it replaced and instead of just changing the code, they changed the whole number, so everywhere I had that number saved I had to go resave it. And one of the places I had to change it was the athletic club where I work out. I waited until a payment was rejected and then changed it. But the payment was key because when I saw what the payment was, I'm like, shouldn't I be using this if I'm paying so much for it. So that kind of spurred me to go back to the gym. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/402 Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-dumbbell-lot-260352/  

I'm out walking along Spring Creek here. Doing alright. Hydration report: somebody left a full bottle of Gatorade in my yard. It was unopened so I put it in the fridge. I've been drinking it and it tastes like Gatorade. But it's called Frost Glacier Freeze. But it's as cool as it is. It's not cooler because there is some formula in it that makes it cool. It's cool because you put it in the fridge. But I guess people like to hear that. Thirst-quenching glacier freeze. The colder the better. Put it on ice. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/401 Photo by Mica Asato: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-standing-beside-soccer-ball-on-soccer-field-2347870/  

400 episodes? Are you kidding me? What are the odds of that? More on that later. It's always a pleasure to know I am beating the odds, in whatever area of life I am involved in. But really, what are the odds of success, and how do we beat them? Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/400 Photo by @coldbeer: https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-in-uniforms-riding-horses-at-competition-14096925/  

It's a beautiful day today. I think it's slightly over 80 degrees. I decided to just go out for a walk. I didn't wear any sunscreen. But it looks there is some shade. We're on the other half of what we're calling the Spring Creek Trail, on the other side of the street. This is all new stuff, especially the part at the beginning with the blacktop and the yellow line in the middle. There seems to be quite a bit of shade, which is good because I didn't put on sunscreen today, and I didn't really hydrate well either. So I'm being hypocritical today. But I'm wrong, so there you go. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/399 Photo by Michael Davis

I think that may be Spring Creek actually. This is video, if you're listening to the podcast. I'm doing video because I'm on a new trail today. And I'm not sure what it's called, but for now I'm going to call it Spring Creek Trail, because it does go along Spring Creek. The only problem with that is that Spring Creek winds through the whole town. So this may not be the only trail that's beside the creek. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/398  

Well these are perhaps the most intense episodes I've ever done. There was a lot of technical info to sift through. And I hope I've made it more accessible to more people. It is exciting to know about the work that's being done in genetics and what it all may mean for our future, including how long that future may be for each of us as individuals. The goal of this episode is to try and summarize what we've been through and hit some of the highlights so they stick with us. This is important, especially with regard to the things we can do now to extend our lives. So let's get into it. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/397  

Do you really want a longer life? I always put those modifiers in—my conditions for living to a ripe age. And I think most of us would say that without some sense of enjoyment, some purpose for living, it might not be worth it. But there are other things we need to consider. What about the implications for broader society? Can we, as the human race, support this concept? I don't know if I'll answer those questions completely in this episode. However, I will explore the potential problems and benefits of having a population in which maturity takes on new meaning. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/396  

There is a range of temperatures where we're comfortable. Our bodies don't have to do any work to stay warm or cool off. When we're exposed to temperatures outside of that range, our heart rate changes, our breathing changes. We need more or less blood flow to the skin. These are the things we have to do to survive. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/394  

This episode we're going to cover exercise and its effect on aging. How different types of exercise can activate longevity genes and improve health. Now it doesn't take a genius to see that exercise can extend your life, it's common sense. But how does that work? What exactly is the process? We're going to dig deep into that and see what we come up with that might be helpful to us in understanding how exercise affects aging, and how we can optimize our activity to extend our lives. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/393  

In this series we're talking about how to stop or even reverse aging based on some scientific research in this specific field. Thus far we've explored the idea of treating aging as a disease. We have also gone into the information theory of aging, and we have studied several genes that are particularly important in the aging process, and more importantly, in the potential for reversing aging. Today is all about caloric restriction and fasting: we'll discuss the benefits of calorie restriction and intermittent fasting on longevity. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/392  

Welcome to Running: A FEVER, a podcast about fitness, diet, and medicine. My name is Michael Davis. My goal is to live a long, healthy, happy, active life by loving my life enough to make it last as long as possible. And long life is what this series, called Aging Reversed is all about. What if aging were really just a disease? A disease that could be treated? What if the Fountain of Youth consisted of behaviors and medication? What if you could live 150 years, or even forever? You won't find the answers to those questions in this series, but we will talk about how this could all come about, some of the research going into it, and what resources are available right now to lengthen your life scientifically. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/391  

We're getting deeper into our series on Aging Reversed. As I say at the beginning of every episode, my goal is to live a long, healthy, happy, active life right up to the end. This year I want to focus more on these simple topics and this series is about the "long" part. I take my inspiration from the book "Lifespan" by David Sinclair, which, if you have the stomach for some deep technical stuff, I recommend you read. The theory is that aging can be halted, or even turned in reverse, if we devote enough resources to the effort. That's what this series is trying to decode for you. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/390  

Last episode we talked about the topics we're going to be covering in this series about the possibility of stopping or even reversing the aging process, how that can happen, and the ethics and implications to society this revolution might bring. This time we're going to go in depth on the first of these topics, reclassifying aging as a disease: the idea of aging as a treatable disease and its implications for medical research and funding. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/389  

I am very excited about the series we are starting today. In every episode, I state my goal: to live a long, healthy, happy, active life right up to the end. I want to focus more on these simple topics this year, and we're starting with the "long" part. Living a long life has been a common desire as long as humans have inhabited Earth. Though its origins are much earlier, since the 16th century and the travels of Juan Ponce de Leon, the legend of the Fountain of Youth has been a symbol of this longing for immortality. And though no one we know of has found the legendary waters, modern medicine is still looking for its metaphorical equivalent. Many questions need to be asked when considering this topic, such as: - How do we define life? - Why do I want a longer life? - What is the price I will pay, financially, physically, or physically? - What are the moral effects? - What is the procedure? Will it hurt? - What would I do with all the extra time I would have? Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/388  

Last episode, you got the list of the 10 longest-lived people, and a new person was on the list. Unfortunately, she died in August of 2024, so there are no living people on the list for now. But she made it, nonetheless. What did she do that got her to the ripe age of 117? Are there any clues that might help some of us get there? This episode aims to determine that by looking at the life of Maria Branyas, the 8th oldest-lived person ever. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/387 Photo byy Arxiu de la família Branyas Morera - Own work, Public Domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=146061719  

And now it's time for the perennial favorite top 10 list of the oldest people ever. I'm a little surprised to realize that I didn't actually do one of these in 2024. So I'm sure anticipation for this episode is running high. Living to be 100 is still very rare, but according to a 2024 estimate by the United Nations, there are 722,000 centenarians around the world (a centenarian is a person who lives to be 100 years ole), and that number is growing fast. It is a huge 22% increase from 2023.   Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/386 Photo by shy sol: https://www.pexels.com/photo/100-road-sigange-102094/  

First of all, I want to say to all you podcast listeners that an unboxing video is included in the video version of this episode. You can see it on the blog page at http://RunningAFEVER.com/385 if you want to watch it. Well, since there was an unboxing, I guess you can figure out that I got my own pulse oximeter. It's pretty simple to use; you turn it on and clamp it on your finger, and the display shows a percentage number. But what does it mean, and why is it important? It must be important in some way because every time I get my vitals taken at a medical provider's office, they use it on me. I had no idea until I started researching this episode, so now I can share that info with you, and you'll know, too. Read the full post at: http://RunningAFEVER.com/385 Image by ai subarasiki: https://pixabay.com/users/subarasikiai-21956773/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=6582524  

First of all, back problems are not new to me. I've had my share for sure. I know that going back to episode 53, that was when I started having pain in my arm and pain in my back. I went to a neurosurgeon, and that was when my Forestier's was diagnosed. Recently, in the past few months, I guess, when I have gone out on the Lake Fayetteville trail, where I have been hundreds of times, I would go out, and before I was halfway through, my back would start hurting, and I would have to rest, sometimes making it all the way through. I was in some back pain there. And it was soreness, and I thought it was all muscular because I was overweight and out of shape. I thought I should keep on exercising and I would work through it. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/384  

The topic I am addressing today is near and dear to my heart because I have been obese for most of my adult life. It is also such a large topic with a volume of information that makes it impossible to address in a single episode. Perhaps a short series may be a better way to address it at some point in the future. But for now, I want to give an overview of the situation as best I can, and I hope to hear some feedback from you on what areas you would like to hear more about. Please comment on this video and I promise to read every one. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/383 Photo by Polina Tankilevitch: https://www.pexels.com/photo/fast-food-in-close-up-shot-4109256/  

As I mentioned in the last episode, these topics have been a long time coming. They were first brought up in Episode 220. Check that out at http://RunningAFEVER.com/220. That episode also mentioned a study that had just started called the CORAL study. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/382  

I've wanted to do an episode on Long COVID since way back in July of 2020. It was actually episode 220 when I first mentioned it. At that time there was essentially no knowledge of the long-term effects. Which makes sense, because the episode was recorded only 8 months after the first appearance of COVID-19 in November of 2019. Now it's been almost five years, and there is now a wealth of data. In episode 220 I also mentioned a study called the CORAL study that had just been up and running for a month at that time. There are actually several of these studies, and I will devote the next episode to them. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/381  

So, the big news is I've got braces. I've got braces for the first time in probably 45 years. I can't remember exactly how old I was when I had my braces the first time, but I was very young. Why am I getting braces? Well, I'm concerned about my appearance. I have to look good for the podcast. I have to look handsome for you people and have a bright smile, and have everything in place. So that's why I'm doing this. I have some plastic surgery coming up too. Just kidding! Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/380 Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-gray-tank-top-laughing-3812740/  

Going into this series I knew good oral care was important. That's why I chose to do the series. But I honestly had no idea how important it really is. I'm concerned about my risk of stroke and heart disease. I've been overweight most of my life, I have high blood pressure, and my parents have both had strokes. I really didn't know the extent to which bad oral care (or genetic factors in oral health) could impact my risk in those areas in particular. It gives me new motivation to treat my teeth and gums better. Possibly we need an episode on inflammation in general as well. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/379  

The dental area is not a stand-alone system. It interacts with the other systems in the body. Dental problems are so closely tied to disorders in other parts of the body that sometimes your dentist may be the first to notice the problem because dental conditions can lead to other diseases in the body. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/378 Photo by Christopher Campbell https://unsplash.com/@chrisjoelcampbell?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash     

Hopefully you can see that this series aligns with my philosophy of becoming an expert at your own health. You'll need to tap into that philosophy to build your health plan. Some of the answers you'll know from experience. For example, you have dry mouth or take some medications that can cause it. However, you may have to talk with your dentist or hygienist about the many other risk factors you could have. You can use this series as a guide. Go back and listen to (or read the blog posts of) the other episodes in the series. Make a list of the problems that could apply to you. Ask your dentist about them. But first, ask yourself some questions about them. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/377 Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/ipad-held-by-dentists-5355865/  

This is episode 7 in our 10-part series on dental health. We've already talked about dry mouth, diet, biofilm, genetics, and pH. The objective is not to preach about sweets, brushing, and flossing but to find the causes of dental health problems, understanding that many of these problems are not our fault at all and may be completely out of our control, like genetics and dry mouth. With this newfound knowledge, we'll have a better idea of what actions to take to improve. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/376 Photo by Kamal Hoseinianzade: https://unsplash.com/@teravis_sk?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash  

We've gotten to the 6th installment of this series all about healthy and unhealthy teeth. Our focus is not on the brushing, flossing, and avoiding sweets that you've heard about all your life. It's about finding the causes of tooth decay. With this knowledge, we can better understand how to move forward and improve the state of our teeth. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/375  

It's the 5th in our series of 10 episodes specifically about dental health. We're trying to find out how to obtain and maintain oral health by learning the causes of various dental problems and addressing the causes with a plan of treatment, hygiene, and changes in behavior. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/374 Image by Mahmoud Ahmed: https://pixabay.com/users/mahmoud-ahmed-16261757/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5297378  

It's #4 in our series on taking care of your teeth. The difference from what you may have heard before is that we are exploring the why and how of the problems that happen in the mouth. With that knowledge, I think we can understand the link between the causes and the solutions to provide a better plan for dental health. At least, that's the plan. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/373  

This episode will be focused on diet. How does our diet affect our teeth and mouth positively and/or negatively? What can we do to improve this aspect of our health by eating differently? And what foods exactly are good and bad for us when it comes to the dental area? I hope to answer these questions and more in this episode. And if you have a question that I don't answer today, one of the best ways to ask it is to do so in a comment to this video. Just scroll down and start typing. I'll be notified of the comment and I will attempt to answer either in reply to your comment, or in a future episode if I think it might be beneficial to the whole audience. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/372  

It's the 2nd in our series of 10 episodes about Dental Health. The series explores the why and how of dental issues and then how to take action to correct and prevent them. This time we're talking about dry mouth. What causes it? Why is it a problem and not just an uncomfortable condition? What can be done about it? Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/371  

Today we are starting a new series on dental health. Why is dental health important? Does it really fit within the bounds of fitness, diet, and medicine? Well, yes! We're going to talk about fitness. We're going to talk about how what you eat and when you eat can impact your dental health. And at a minimum, dental care is part of your overall medical life. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/370  

So, it's the 84th and final episode in our series "Shattering the Yo-yo". Last episode, we took a look back at the last episode of 2018, number  111 which was actually published on January 2nd of 2019. But I suppose it was so close I decided to put it in review. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/369  

Hello and welcome to Running: A FEVER! My name is Michael Davis and this is a podcast about fitness, diet, and medicine. My goal is to live a long, happy, healthy, active life right up to the very end. And I do that by loving my life enough to make it last as long as possible. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/368 Image by StartupStockPhotos: https://pixabay.com/users/startupstockphotos-690514/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=593313  

Welcome to Running: A FEVER. My name is Michael Davis. This is a podcast about fitness, diet, and medicine. My goal is to live a long, happy, healthy, active life right up to the very end. And I want to do it by loving my life enough to make it last as long as possible. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/367 Image by Lucas Jackson: https://pixabay.com/users/lucasjackson1-37274570/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=8073610  

I'm pretty sure I was very critical of the keto diet from the beginning. And even in this interview, you can tell that Michael had lost a lot of weight, but his wife, as his medical professional, told him this was not a healthy way to eat. It seems pretty obvious to me that a diet of almost all fat cannot be healthy, despite what the body is doing. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/366 Image by healthguru: https://pixabay.com/users/healthguru-18125424/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5534051  

Episode 108 was recorded at Devil's Den State Park, which I have been to many times. And I was undoubtedly on the Yellow Rock trail. I've never been on an other trail there, which makes me think maybe I should try some of the other ones. But I love the view from the top, which you can see in the pictures from past episodes. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/365 Image by Jörg Husemann from https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=643600  

Hello and welcome to the 79th in our series Shattering the Yoyo. My name is Michael Davis, and this is a podcast about fitness, diet, and medicine. My goal is to live a long, healthy, happy, active life right up to the very end. I just want to love my life enough to make it last as long as possible. Episode 107 is packed with good information and advice. I love the overall positivity of these episodes, which were published near the end of 2018. Read the full post at http://RunningAFEVER.com/364 Photo by Vlad Chețan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/low-angle-photography-of-man-jumping-2923156/