(no subject)

[noahgibbs]

I went to boot camp yesterday. I haven't been back for close to two years. I was pleasantly surprised by how well I got back into it. I wasn't able to do all of the various exercises, nor even as many as most of the boot campers, but I ran well and did tolerably at all the push-ups and ab work and stuff. I can get back into this, at least if I can find the time.

I gave blood on Monday. Haven't in awhile. I took it easy and avoided heavy labor all day and it didn't really slow me down, so that's good. I wonder periodically whether giving blood regularly is good, just in getting your body to keep manufacturing shiny new replacement blood. I'll continue on the assumption that it is.

Comments

[skamille.livejournal.com]

I think it is good for men, actually, if you eat a lot of iron. Since you don't regularly bleed like us women.

[angelbob.livejournal.com]

Makes sense. I'll make sure to keep eating a lot of iron, though losing a pint every eight weeks doesn't seem like it'll drain me dry any time soon...

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

Giving blood regularly can help you, especially as a guy. Some heart problems are caused by too high levels of iron and calcium(!) and giving blood regularly will help to regulate it. The iron I think weakens blood vessel walls somehow and I know the calcium works with plaque deposits to cause problems.

Seems that heart attacks for men and women averaged out once you look at the age group for women who are post-menopausal. Freaky, no?

[angelbob.livejournal.com]

Interesting... I actually make a point of not adding too much more iron to my diet because I'd heard that it could cause problems, though for some reason I thought it was related to bone density loss. I forget where I heard that. But I hit the calcium pretty heavily. Maybe I should think about not specifically taking calcium tablets and just keep taking the one multivitamin. The other things I take with it, vitamin C and potassium, are pretty innocuous as far as I know, and I definitely need the potassium when I'm exercising. It makes a large difference in how sore I get.

[blk]

Not adding too much iron is probably not a bad idea. If you have a fairly healthy and varied diet, you're probably getting enough. Men are actually more in danger of overdosing on iron than of being deficient. Giving blood regularly should also help regulate the stuff out nicely.

Symptoms of getting too little iron include shortness of breath and extreme tiredness. I used to wonder why I would literally fall asleep at work everyday around 3p until my OB put me on iron supplements.

I don't think too much calcium is as much of a problem, since your body should just excrete any extra you don't need. Way too much can decrease how effectively you absorb other minerals, though.

[angelbob.livejournal.com]

"If you have a fairly healthy and varied diet, you're probably getting enough."

Yup. Plus everything that says "fortified" is fortified with iron (among other things). I assume that's because iron is cheap.

I'm definitely not seeing the symptoms of deficiency you mention. I mean, shortness of breath and extreme tiredness, sure, yesterday, but that was right after an hour of running and doing calisthenics :-)

[griffjon.livejournal.com]

Sigh. But no one wants my blood. "You keep spending time in Malaria ridden countries!"

Yeah, well, kinda. I guess. But I stay away from the problem areas! really! mostly!