Probably one of my favorite Christmas presents this year was a book I knew and loved as a child, but thought I'd lost long ago; The Boy's Book of Strength, by C. Ward Crampton. It's been out of print for decades, but you can still get a well-used copy at Amazon, or perhaps by knowing me well and being very nice. How did I get it back? My step-dad was cleaning out his basement, of course.
Given that I've been grown for decades, one might be surprised that this book still resonates with me. Even stranger, given its 1936 publishing date, one might figure the science would be out of date. Remarkably, it holds up very well.
What's so good about this book is that Dr. Crampton, then the medical consulting doctor for Boy's Life, ably cuts through the jungle of misinformation available then and now about diet, exercise, competition, and more. The first thing the reader sees is that Dr. Crampton (an overgrown boy himself) knows what really motivates young people; the urgent need to make the starting eleven, five, or nine. (being a "southerner" from NY, he misses the need to make the starting six...sorry Chad) In doing so, he puts together a remarkable book with advice that holds together well today, and really ought to be used (with small reservations) in health classes even today.
No complex dissertations about the interactions and absorption of all nutrients; he simply noted that just as a car is made of iron and rubber, a boy needs the "iron and rubber" of protein and vitamins as well as the "gasoline" of fat and carbohydrates to be healthy and strong. He even noted why whole grain breads are superior to white bread in a way that young minds (and not so young) will understand; slower, better digestion. He ably notes that if you need caffeine and sugar to keep going, you might do better to slow down and get some good rest and food. (sorry about those cokes, Mark...he gets me for my coffee, too)
In the same way, Dr. Crampton cuts through misinformation about exercise, noting that routine calisthenics and a brisk walk can do more for athletic performance than any number of other measures. He does all this with a reverence for the past and the religious traditions of his readers that is remarkable for that time of eugenics and rationalism.
In short, the book is remarkable for the moderation with which it presents basic facts of life and health to young men, and it's at least partially responsible for the good health I've enjoyed so far. It's also a basis for the physical education my family is doing for home education. Two thumbs up!
The DFL Has A Bit Of A Felon Problem
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Last week, the SD12 DFL Committee [1] endorsed convicted felon Judd Hoff,
who has been credibly implicated in stalking his opponent, Rep. Mary
Franson, by ...
3 hours ago
4 comments:
On a related note, I just heard that Starbucks is going to stop brewing decaf after noon to save costs, since they don't sell a lot of it. Counter-intuitive, what? The only thing I can figure is that a high proportion of Starbucks afternoon and evening customers use coffee as a drug rather than or in addition to a pleasant beverage, and only the breakfast crowd contains a significant number of people who like coffee but want to limit or eliminate the caffeine.
Seems crazy to me, but knowing how a lot of people regard and use coffee nowadays, not that surprising.
I heard that too about Starbucks and it sure wouldn't work for me, as I do have decaf if I'm having coffee after about 2 or 3 PM.
Interesting post by the way. There are some basic, time honored health measures that will always be positive.
Pentamom; you've left off preaching and gone to meddling, I'm afraid. :^)
OK, you're right; it is generally a drug for a lot of those who like it. On the other hand, most decaf loses something in the translation for true afficionados. If you can take office coffee, though, Starbucks decaf is not that bad. That was always available after the managers' meetings where I worked--not the "leaded," though.
Well, I'm not criticizing people for drinking caffeine. I generally "need" a small amount each day -- normally two mugs of half-caf through the first half of a day, sometimes the equivalent amount in full strength. I'm a slow starter in the morning myself. And I do agree that decaf isn't quite the same, flavorwise.
But my point is that apparently those who go in to Starbucks in the afternoon and evening are, by and large, using the coffee to "keep going," whereas a healthier practice would be to maintain nutrition and exercise, and cut back on the caffeine in the second half of the day to ensure better rest at night -- and voila, they might not need that late-day dose to keep going.
Anyway, my point isn't to criticize those who do it so much as to observe that Starbucks overall sales pattern reflects the caffeine-driven aspect of our culture which seems to be only worsening as younger and younger people are "using" coffee (it's now pretty rampant in high school), rather than the health-oriented aspect of our culture which would dictate cutting back on the caffeine later in the day. It's as though there are two strong cultural forces pulling against each other, and the caffeine model is winning against the health model, within the Starbucks market. I guess that's sort of to be expected in a coffee market, but it's mildly surprising that there isn't a stronger contingent of those who realize the benefits of cutting back on the caf, while still wanting a good (if overpriced) cup of coffee.
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