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Show """the si(mm)er Tutdy, CHRDNEQUE L'M July ?6, 1977 V t KM I V Oh r I VOLUME 86. No. 9 AH o h1 ii 1 , .. .i,.ir t! r m 'i. iilVV.'. , if- - ; ii II " ,.fcwfik f Days of '47 : marathon, parade Photos by Chuck Kurzeski 5 ' I I l - - ,. ... 4 . ' " , ; . S ' Experts discuss running, diet and health BRUCE BAKER Chronicle Staff The seminar The Marathon: Body, Mind, and Disease Prevention, was held at Orson Spensor Hall this past Saturday. The speakers, all n medical experts and runners, spoke about the benefits derived from this form of strenuous exercise. The seminar was presented by the Utah Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and was the brainchild of Dr. Kreg Caulder. The enthusiastic sellout crowd, many of whom indicated they'd be by well-know- running in Monday's Deseret News Marathon, were treated to a lively discussion by the speakers. "You have 100 per cent control over the aging process in your body; I've never seen a body die from old age," said Dr. Tom Bassler, pathologist and marathon runner. He wore a bright blue warmup suit and running shoes, hardly typical doctor fare. Bassler said in his opinion, as a witness to more than 3,000 autopsies, old age is not a cause of death. He said it is a cause of diseases which have been slowly progressing in a bfxly for years, finally taking their toll. He added these diseases do not have to occur, if proper preventative mea- sures are taken. Bassler is also a proponent of a more natural diet, free of refined foods. He showed a chart comparing cultures that eat natural foods with a high percentage of fiber and bran, with the U.S. and other Western countries. In the more natural foods, the incidence of heart disease was zero, compared to more than 40 per cent in America. He also cited studies done with African Masai's and a group of South American Indians, both of whom have simple diets; equally important, their lifestyles incorporate running and walking long distances. "I just don't know any marathon runner who doesn't drink alcoholic Fluid beverages." is critical in longreplac-me- nt distance running, Bassler said. If enough liquid is not taken in to replace that which is sweated away, the kidneys can stop working and form stones. Bassler recommends drinking pint of beer for miles six run for a every has had who a stone, person 12 miles for a and pint every a who haven't. the alcohol is for those Apparently converted directly into usable energy by the body and used immediately. Dr. Jack Schaff, a cardiologist, founder and director of the Honolulu Rehabilitation Clinic, and a marathoner, said his clinic treats recovered heart attack victims with a prescription of endurance running, after nine months of which they are ready to run in a marathon. He said because of this exercise, none of his patients under 70 has died of a recurrent heart attack. Schaff said he thinks of exercise as a preventative treatment for disease. It is so potent, "...that if exercise actually came in pill form, the FDA would immediately take it off the market, saying it is as dangerous as saccarin or Red Dye No.2, but of course continuing to give tobacco subsidies," he declared. "We all live the way we want and hope we can get away with it: it s called the American lifestyle." Schaff said. "I nn .u uu, most of us know our lifestyle is not' comme.. .v. m our best health needs. We get a physical once a year to see if heart-strengtheni- . we can continue living the way we have been for another This was Schaff's philosophy of life until 1968, when at age 30, tipping the scale at 200 pounds on his small frame, he began doing research in his field of cardiology. He found people who take it easy seem to die quicker than those who were year." active. Schaff cited statistics and studies to underscore his concerns. defending woman champion in this year's Boston Marathon, who's the mother three grown children. "This year in Boston we had 150 women entrants, when about five years ago they weren't allowed to run." She said another myth is of the breasts will sag. "It does not happen." She large-breaste- d recom-med- s women run wearing a light-weigknit bikini top, for comfort. Bulging muscles have been thought to be dev eloped in w.nien who exercise a lot. but a study shows women .tui hilium men muscle per cent strength by without an increase in ht "Forty-fou- r percent of all people in the United States die of a : heart attack. Cancer only accounts for 18 per cent. Heart disease is a disease without symptoms. Sixty per cent of the time, the first symptom is death," said Bassler. Donna Schaff, a former ICU nurse and now working with her husband's cardiac patients, began running when she realized her heart her. patients could out-ru- n 50-7- 5 muscle bulk, Schaff said. "This is because of a lower level of androgenic hormone, so she can exercise without the fear of developing bulging musc- les." She noted a change in bhe said that until quite recently, a lot of myths have surrounded the endurance of the female body. It was thought by many doc tors the jarring of running would damage female organs, she said. But, "The uterus does not dangle from little strings and fall...". She cited tin- women's ih'-ni'- f attitudes about ives. She said she feels much better emotionally anu phvsically and that this change is seen in the clothes women runners wear, "... they get pretty skimpy..." Dr. George Sheehan, noted cardiologist and author of many lxxks on running, spoke about the importance of exercise, but characterized it as the need for people to get back to playing, as children do. He said this is the source of creative thinking. For exercise to do any good, a person has to enjoy what he's doing, Sheehan said. "No fitness program will work unless it's play." Sheehan stressed that running may not be the sport for everyone, and that it's exercise, find your your play. He time get important to described the hour of running he does as, "The away from and think freely, everything, head sort of my together: get a time-out.- I " Sheehan spoke in detail about the theoiv ol injuries concennatmg on those encountered by runners. Sheehan said most injuries or pains come from two sources the foot and the lack of stretching exercises. He frequently rolled up his pants leg and illustrated on his own Ixxly the things he was talking about. He said engineers may lx better at diagnosing the mechanisms involved in muse le and Ixme related injui ies than dcx tors. |