Geologists in Yellowstone National Park are reporting an unusual threat to the area鈥檚 hydrothermal areas. According to a from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) observatory, lost hats are infiltrating the park鈥檚 hot springs, geysers, mudpots and fumeroles.

The park鈥檚 specially trained Geology Program is charged with cleaning up more than 10,000 iconic hydrothermal areas in Yellowstone National Park, including Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful. The team is constantly battling a daunting array of human litter鈥攊n 2025 alone, they have already collected 鈥渕ore than 13,000 pieces of trash, 4,000 rocks and sticks, and over 300 hats.鈥�

These aren鈥檛 just dollar-store hats either. The USGS estimates that headwear collected this year is worth over $6,000.

Trash floating in 驰别濒濒辞飞蝉迟辞苍别鈥檚 pristine pools is more than an eyesore. It also poses a serious risk to the delicate ecosystems inside these hydrothermal features.

鈥淒ebris thrown into a hot spring can irreversibly change its behavior, resulting in lower temperature, changes to color, and altered eruption behavior,鈥� wrote the USGS in a published on September 8.

Located just over a mile from the Old Faithful Visitor Center, the park鈥檚 famous Morning Glory Pool is one such example. It was named in the 1880s for its resemblance to the blue flower, but to shades of oranges, yellows and greens. Although features shift naturally over time, park officials have reason to believe that humans have caused the stark shift by throwing coins, trash, and other debris into it, blocking the movement of hot water into the pool and altering its temperature.

Removing all this trash isn鈥檛 an easy task. Staffers can鈥檛 simply swim into the boiling springs and pluck debris out with a net. Rather, the team uses a hodgepodge of tools, some of which are custom-made by the park with a 鈥渓ittle more than creativity and elbow grease.鈥� This array of trash-picker-uppers includes fishing rods, extra-long slotted spoons, and grabber poles up to 30 feet long.聽 The USGS added that in total, pool cleanup efforts this year have required the team to walk over 1,300 miles and drive more than 11,000 miles around the park to various hydrothermal areas.

驰别濒濒辞飞蝉迟辞苍别鈥檚 trash problem is largely accidental, according to the USGS. With more than 4.7 million visitors in 2024, it鈥檚 one of the most visited national parks in the United States. This large number of people, combined with the park鈥檚 frequently high winds, means that personal items often are blown into the park鈥檚 hydrothermal areas.

However, some of the litter is intentional, like biodegradable items such as sunflower seed shells and orange peels. While visitors may think these items are harmless, the USGS notes they are damaging to the pools and 鈥減articularly time-consuming for the team to remove.鈥�

USGS team members recover more than a few wacky items from the pools now and then.

鈥淔avorite finds from the team during the summer of 2025 include a Birkenstock sandal, a pizza box with slices still inside, a fake Louis Vuitton bucket hat, a stuffed koala toy, a ball cap with the phrase 鈥業 PEE IN THE LAKE,鈥� and a Polaroid picture of Excelsior Geyser鈥攚hich was found within Excelsior Geyser鈥檚 crater,鈥� wrote the USGS.

While these discoveries are sometimes humorous, the USGS hopes such items remain with their owners, and offers a few simple reminders for park visitors.

鈥淗old on tight to your hats, stay on marked boardwalks and trails, and make sure all your trash (even the food!) ends up in a trash can,鈥� wrote the USGS.

The post What鈥檚 the Latest Threat to 驰别濒濒辞飞蝉迟辞苍别鈥檚 Geysers? Hats. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Bill Hamilton鈥檚 chest freezer probably looks a lot different than yours. While most of us pack ours with groceries, Hamilton stores pounds upon pounds of bison dung in his.

, a professor of biology and research science at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, studies the role bison and other large herbivores play in ecosystems. In a new study published this month, Hamilton explains how bison, and their poop, are the key to a healthy environment in some parts of the U.S.

鈥淗umans have been applying dung as a fertilizer for millennia, so we know it鈥檚 an important fertilizer. Bison are a restoration story, and allowing their grazing in places like Yellowstone provides a 鈥榬eawakening鈥� of the landscape,鈥� Hamilton told 国产吃瓜黑料.

According to Hamilton鈥檚 study, freely roaming bison in Yellowstone National Park鈥攖he only place in the lower 48 where bison have continuously free-ranged since prehistoric times鈥攑lay a pivotal role in the ecosystem. Bison contribute to a healthier landscape by adding nitrogen to the soil, which supports the growth of nutrient-dense plants. The bison鈥檚 impact on the soil, in turn, supports the many animals that call Yellowstone home.

国产吃瓜黑料 of Yellowstone, most bison are domesticated and kept in confined areas, such as in zoos and conservation parks. The in the American West and Midwest could be healthier if bison were allowed to roam freely.

The study is the latest wrinkle in a simmering debate over whether bison herd size should be managed, and whether or not bison should be excluded from certain areas due to concerns about overgrazing. Hamilton鈥檚 research suggests that the eating habits鈥攁nd pooping鈥攐f large bison populations may actually help the landscape in ways previously not fully understood.

鈥淎nimals need to be able to move,鈥� Hamilton told 国产吃瓜黑料 in a phone interview. 鈥淔ree-roaming bison restore ecological processes across a long-distance migration.

A Keystone Species Returns

North America was once home to approximately 30 million grazing bison that ranged across the continent. By 1889, after being hunted nearly to extinction, that number dropped to under 1,000. In 1902, there were just 23 animals. Recent recovery efforts in areas like Yellowstone National Park have focused on returning the giant ungulates to specifically managed areas.

Bison are to Yellowstone National Park what African wildebeest are to the Serengeti, their influence on the land essential, says Hamilton. And like the wildebeest, bison dung packs a nutritional punch when deposited across the landscape.

In areas with heavy bison grazing, Hamilton found plants were denser, shorter, and more nitrogen-rich. Not only did these plants grow as much as they would have if they weren鈥檛 grazed, Hamilton’s team found them to be 150 percent more nutritious than plants growing in areas with no bison.

Weighing more than 2,000 pounds, one bison will poop enough in a typical day to fill a 3-gallon bucket. Annually, each Yellowstone bison will migrate around 1,000 miles, making back-and-forth movements over their route.聽The animals graze on grasses and other plants as they move, which the research team found helps speed up an area鈥檚 nitrogen cycle.

Nitrogen is one of the most essential nutrients found in fertilizers, and it鈥檚 also considered to be a fundamental building block of life. As bison graze, they speed up the nitrogen cycle by consuming plants and eventually returning nitrogen to the soil through their feces.

As bison contribute to the broader ecosystem of Yellowstone, Hamilton’s research team suggests these benefits might be seen elsewhere. With its diverse, largely undisturbed ecosystem, Yellowstone National Park serves as a living laboratory, providing researchers with a unique window into how North American landscapes appeared before the influence of western hunting efforts.

鈥淭his version is a glimpse of what was lost when bison were nearly wiped out across North America in the late 1800s,鈥� said Hamilton. 鈥淲hen we lost bison, we lost a different way that large grazers moved across and used landscapes.鈥�

According to Hamilton, Yellowstone grasslands are functioning better now with large herds of bison than they were in the animals鈥� absence.

The Latest Discovery From Yellowstone Living Laboratory

Since its establishment in 1872, Yellowstone National Park has served as a living laboratory for the examination of natural processes. Its preserved ecosystem allows researchers to study unique opportunities in a relatively undisturbed environment, including reintroduced species once on the verge of extinction. These population shifts can cause what鈥檚 known as a trophic cascade, an ecological process in which a change in the population of a top predator affects other species lower in the food chain, triggering a chain reaction.

Wolves are one such case. After wolves were exterminated from the Yellowstone region in the 1920s, the elk population more than doubled, causing significant damage to the area’s grasses, shrubs, and trees. Following the reintroduction of wolves in 1995, research suggests that elk populations have declined to a more sustainable level, thereby improving the overall health of the ecosystem.

Similarly, beaver populations dramatically declined in much of the park by the mid-20th century due to trapping. Without beavers in the watersheds, streams and river beds eroded. Upon their return鈥攑rimarily after the reintroduction of wolves鈥攂eavers built dams and ponds, slowing water flow and restoring river ecosystems.

鈥淵ellowstone has been a success story and example for ecosystem restoration, and the return of bison is another step towards bringing it back to what it may have been in the past. When bison are given room to roam, they reawaken the Yellowstone ecosystem,鈥� said Hamilton.

The bison study contributes to a growing body of evidence that population control, whether by humans or through natural processes, is a complex and nuanced task.

For researchers like Hamilton, the next challenge lies in finding suitable locations large enough to reintroduce bison, which can then migrate in large numbers.

The post The Key to Yellowstone’s Ecological Health? Bison Poop. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Research is increasingly showing that walking鈥斺�攐ffers a staggering array of health benefits. But what makes us walk more or less? According to a in the scientific journal Nature, where we live plays an enormous role.

The study, which analyzed smartphone data from over two million people living in 1,600 cities and towns across the United States, suggests that not only do healthy, active people choose to live in walkable cities, but that simply living in a walkable city can actually encourage someone to start walking more.

鈥淓ight years ago, we published a study using smartphone data to understand people’s activity globally,鈥� behavioral scientist Tim Althoff, a University of Washington professor and co-author of the study, . Althoff explained , published in 2017, which looked at 111 different countries, was intended to 鈥渕easure physical activity at the global scale.鈥�

Walkability is way that urban planners measure a city’s amenities for pedestrians: sidewalks, crosswalks, footpaths, walking flyovers, and other ways for people to move about on foot.

The study did find major discrepancies in physical activity between various countries and cities, but it still left big questions unanswered. Chiefly, 鈥渋s it the city that makes people walk more, or do active people just choose to live there?鈥�

To answer this nagging question, Althoff and his colleagues, which also included researchers from Stanford University and tech firm NVIDIA, examined the lifestyle changes made by people moving from more walkable cities to less walkable ones, and vice versa. They looked at smartphone data from a total of 2,112,288 people, measuring their physical activity both before and after 7,447 relocations between 1,609 different cities in the U.S.

The result? If you move to a city with robust pedestrian infrastructure鈥擭ew York City, for example鈥攜ou鈥檒l probably start walking more, and the same is true in reverse. 鈥淧eople who moved from a less walkable city to a more walkable one increased their walking by ~1,100 steps a day, on average,鈥� Althoff explained, adding that the effect goes both ways. 鈥淧eople moving to NYC from less walkable places gained ~1,400 steps. People who moved away from NYC lost ~1,400 steps.鈥�

While at first glance, the study results might be explained simply by the fact that more active people are more likely to choose to move to more walkable cities, the researchers noticed that people who moved between two different cities with similar levels of walkability had no measurable change in walking habits. This suggests that not just personal preferences, but the 鈥渂uilt environment鈥� (i.e. the layout and planning of a city), plays a considerable role in the walking habits of a given individual.

The research shows that these lifestyle changes 鈥渉old across different genders, ages and body mass index values,鈥� and all were sustained over at least three months. The new walking was also mostly 鈥渕oderate-to-vigorous,鈥� which is a good thing, because that鈥檚 the level of aerobic exercise to prevent disease and improve longevity. Althoff said that 鈥渕oving to a much more walkable city nearly doubled the chances that a person would meet the national guidelines for physical activity,鈥� (150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week).

At the policy level, the big finding, said Althoff, is that 鈥渃ity planning is a powerful public health tool鈥� and investment in sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian signals, parks and plazas, isn鈥檛 just a way to make a city more appealing to those who already live an active lifestyle, but a way to encourage existing inhabitants to live a more active one, too. Many of us don鈥檛 have the financial means to pick up and move to a more walkable city, of course, but Althoff and his colleagues鈥� findings make a strong case for advocating for more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure in your own city or town.

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Mount Rainier has the shakes.

, the 14,410-foot mountain endured approximately 391 individual earthquakes between July 8 and July 11, marking the most seismically active period in the peak’s recorded history.

But don’t worry鈥攕cientists don’t think it’s a sign of anything bad. The USGS noted that not only are the quakes too small to feel underfoot, but 鈥渢he shaking from these is too small to trigger any additional activity from cliff faces or glaciers,鈥� such as rockfall or avalanches.

The earthquakes were first picked up by the seismographs at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in the early morning hours of Tuesday, July 8, and have continued for the past three days. Seismologists said the earthquakes are occurring in the earth’s crust, between two and four miles beneath the mountain. During it’s peak, the earthquakes were occurring 30 times an hour.

But these earthquakes are so minor that people cannot feel them. According to the USGS, the most violent one had a magnitude measurement of 2.3. Earthquakes below 2.5 are usually not even felt by human beings, though they can be picked up by seismographs.

Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the United States, and an active stratovolcano. Though it has not fully erupted in roughly 1,000 years, it is considered among the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to its proximity to the densely populated urban area of Seattle. Rainier is one of just 16 volcanoes in the world to be on the 鈥淒ecade Volcanoes鈥� list, a classification created by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth鈥檚 Interior (IAVCEI) to highlight volcanoes worthy of close monitoring because of the catastrophic effects of their potential eruption.

Earthquake swarms typically occur once or twice per year around Rainier; though these annual swarms usually involve far fewer overall quakes. Before this week鈥檚 swarm, the largest swarm recorded at Rainier occurred in 2009. It reached a magnitude of M2.5, but did not consist of as many individual quakes, or as much energy released.

Alex Iezzi of the USGS that the recent swarm 鈥渋s the most significant event since we have been having monitoring equipment at Mount Rainier,鈥� although, 鈥渨e have to remember Mount Rainier is really old. We’ve only been monitoring it for 40, maybe 50 years now. So just because it’s the most significant one we’ve seen on equipment doesn’t mean this hasn’t happened in the past, prior to 2009.鈥�

They also confirmed that this week鈥檚 swarm, which is likely caused by 鈥渨ater moving around the crust above the magma chamber,鈥� does not indicate an increase in volcanic activity or raise threat levels. 鈥淩ight now, this swarm is still within what we consider normal background levels of activity at Mount Rainier,鈥� said the USGS. 鈥淭he volcano is not 鈥榙ue鈥� for an eruption, and we do not see any signs of a potential eruption at this time.鈥�

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Back in 1969, naval researchers took blood samples from the crew of a Polaris nuclear submarine over the course of an eight-week patrol. Three-quarters of the sailors were smokers, so carbon monoxide levels were chronically elevated in the sealed confines of the sub. After a few weeks in this toxic miasma, the crew鈥檚 levels of hemoglobin, the crucial protein in red blood cells that ferries oxygen from the lungs to the muscles, had shot up by an average of 4.4 percent. Secondhand smoke had somehow turned the submariners into aerobic superstars.

This finding, along with others like it, was filed away for decades. After all, smoking destroys your lungs, so any performance benefits are outweighed by the harms. But then, last year, the idea exploded. Scientists published fresh data showing that huffing carbon monoxide could boost endurance. Other scientists responded with editorials warning against fooling around with a gas whose nickname is 鈥渢he silent killer.鈥� And headlines around the world trumpeted the news that 鈥攃onfirmation, seemingly, of the clich茅 that elite athletes will accept any risk in exchange for victory. The full story, though, is a bit more complicated.

The quest for endurance is, in part, about hemoglobin. More hemoglobin means more oxygen delivered to your muscles, which means you can run or ride or swim faster, for longer. Starve your muscles of oxygen in training and your body responds by secreting EPO, a hormone that stimulates the production of hemoglobin-carrying red blood cells. That鈥檚 how altitude training works: There鈥檚 less oxygen available, so your body produces more EPO to compensate. (It鈥檚 also why synthetic EPO is the banned drug of choice among endurance athletes.)

Virtually all performance-enhancing drugs are associated with health risks, and that hasn鈥檛 harmed their popularity.

When you inhale carbon monoxide, some of your red blood cells ferry molecules of it (instead of oxygen) around your body. Carbon monoxide attaches to hemoglobin and doesn鈥檛 let go, making those red blood cells unavailable to carry oxygen for many hours. It鈥檚 like altitude training in a bottle: Your body will sense the oxygen shortage and respond by producing EPO. But inhale too much and you won鈥檛 deliver sufficient oxygen to your heart and brain鈥攁nd once your hemoglobin is clogged with carbon monoxide, it鈥檚 not easy to reverse. Around 1,200 people die every year in the United States from deliberate or accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.

So carbon monoxide as a performance booster has been understood but mostly unspoken. It wasn鈥檛 until 2018 that the idea got more concrete. An initial study confirmed that deliberately breathing carbon monoxide boosted EPO. The next year, researchers in China, tasked with preparing their country鈥檚 athletes for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, reported that college soccer players who inhaled the gas five times a week increased their hemoglobin levels. A , in which subjects inhaled the gas five times a day, reached similar conclusions. Most recently, a by researchers in Norway combined altitude training with twice-daily carbon monoxide inhalation for a synergistic effect.

But there hasn鈥檛 been a single verified report of an athlete actually using this technique. I reached out off-the-record to contacts in several elite endurance sports, as well as researchers in the field, and none of them had heard even rumors of real-life usage. The risk, so far, is theoretical. The headlines during the Tour de France referred to the use of small doses of carbon monoxide to measure hemoglobin levels. This technique has long been used in elite sport to check how athletes are responding to altitude training, but the doses are too low to boost performance. There is a gray area here: Once you鈥檝e got the carbon monoxide device in the team van, there鈥檚 a temptation to use it. But would elite athletes, these paragons of super-fitness, really take such a dumb risk?

Whether rational or not, we all accept nonzero risks in pursuit of goals.

It鈥檚 a fair question. In the 1980s and 鈥�90s, Chicago doctor Robert Goldman circulated a now-infamous series of questionnaires among elite athletes, asking if they would take an undetectable drug that would make them unbeatable for five years鈥攁nd then die of the side effects. Roughly half the athletes accepted the bargain, he reported. Goldman鈥檚 Dilemma, as it鈥檚 now known, is often cited as evidence of the modern athlete鈥檚 off-the-charts focus on winning, regardless of the costs. And indeed, virtually all performance-enhancing drugs are associated with health risks, and that hasn鈥檛 harmed their popularity. 鈥淵ou have guys who will go to the funeral of a friend who died from this stuff, come home, and inject it again,鈥� an anonymous Olympic runner told Sports Illustrated in a 1997 article about Goldman鈥檚 Dilemma.

But it鈥檚 not clear whether Goldman鈥檚 respondents were taking the question seriously, or whether attitudes have changed. Recent attempts to replicate Goldman鈥檚 results raise doubts. A 2018 study from Duke University estimated the 鈥渕aximum acceptable mortality risk鈥� that nearly 3,000 athletes would accept in exchange for the guarantee of Olympic gold. No one took the deal if it meant certain death. Depending on the sport and the level of competition, athletes were, on average, willing to accept somewhere between 7 and 14 percent risk of a fatal heart attack.

That鈥檚 still a big risk. But it鈥檚 comparable, the researchers point out, to the risks people say they鈥檙e willing to accept in exchange for other life-changing outcomes, like relief from their rheumatoid arthritis. And it鈥檚 not fundamentally different from the types of risk you might encounter on mountain expeditions, in extreme sports, or in the backcountry. Whether rational or not, we all accept some risks in pursuit of our goals. So it seems unlikely that the theoretical possibility of a fatal mishap will be enough, on its own, to dissuade athletes from trying to get a boost from carbon monoxide.

In February, the UCI, cycling鈥檚 international governing body, to boost performance, while the use of single doses to measure hemoglobin will still be allowed. This may seem like one of those wishy-washy compromises that鈥檚 almost impossible to enforce: the substance itself is permitted, but you have to promise you鈥檙e using it for the right reasons. But I think it鈥檚 the right call. Anti-doping agencies should, of course, be trying to catch unrepentant cheaters. But they also have a crucial role to play in setting broader norms about what risks we should or shouldn鈥檛 be willing to accept in pursuit of gold. Motivated athletes will do whatever the rules permit鈥攕o let鈥檚 not ask them to suck on a tailpipe five times a day, any more than we would lock them in a nuclear sub with a crew of chain-smokers.

This piece first appeared in the summer聽2025 print issue of 国产吃瓜黑料 Magazine. Subscribe now for early access to our most captivating storytelling, stunning photography, and deeply reported features on the biggest issues facing the outdoor world.

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In 2018, I convinced myself my hormones were out of whack. Acne and unusual tiredness are supposedly tell-tale signs that your 鈥擨 had both. So, I scheduled an appointment with my physician and asked him to test my hormone levels.

A quick blood draw revealed that my androgens, a group of hormones produced by the adrenal gland and the ovaries in women and testicles in men (testosterone is the primary androgen), were elevated (and likely causing my skin to flare up).

My doctor聽said my hormones were imbalanced and prescribed me spironolactone, an anti-androgen medication that鈥檚 commonly prescribed to treat acne. He sent me on my way. But I hated the drug鈥攊t made me feel light-headed and dizzy. I later learned that if you have naturally low blood pressure, the drug could lead to faintness and dizziness.

So, after a follow-up convo with my doctor, I stopped taking it and started investigating natural ways to balance my hormones.

According to internet strangers, I could cure my hormonal imbalance by drinking spearmint tea and snacking on ginger. When I asked my doctor for his two cents, he told me this advice was bogus. And even though I was desperate for some type of natural cure that could level out my hormones, I knew鈥攄eep down鈥攖hese solutions were probably (read: definitely) too good to be true.

The experts I interviewed for this story summed up hormone balancing in a few words: a trend that claims you can perfect the amount of hormones in your body through holistic lifestyle changes like tweaking your diet or taking a supplement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 mostly pseudoscience,鈥� says , a gynecologist at Stanford Medicine. Here鈥檚 why attempting to balance your hormones with food is, frankly, complete nonsense.

What Does It Even Mean to 鈥淏alance Your Hormones鈥�?

It鈥檚 well-established that hormones play an important role in many , including sleep, energy levels, digestion, and mood. As such, if you have an imbalance鈥攚hich is officially diagnosed with a blood test鈥攎any aspects of your health can feel off.

People with thyroid abnormalities, for example, may feel too hot or too cold, constipated, or anxious and jittery. And those with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may feel lethargic or sluggish.

Treatments for Hormonal Imbalances Have Long Been Scrutinized

Historically, doctors have hesitated to treat hormonal imbalances, says , a registered dietitian and associate professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Texas Tech University. Years ago, certain hormone therapy (HT) treatments were linked to , causing many doctors to stop prescribing HT.

Over the years, has shown that HT can be incredibly , but many physicians, particularly those who are wary about potential side effects, are about prescribing it.

Furthermore, many hormone-related symptoms are poorly understood, tough to treat, or brushed off as psychosomatic by some physicians. So many people have felt gaslighted by their doctors when they complain of symptoms or, like me, don鈥檛 want to take a pharmaceutical drug with nasty side effects. 鈥淲hen doctors aren鈥檛 able to address an issue or when people feel dismissed, they go to other places for information or validation and treatment because they just want to feel better,鈥� says Voedisch.

Cue in: hormone balancing鈥攖he belief that by drinking, say, matcha or swallowing supplements like ashwagandha, you can naturally increase or decrease hormones such as cortisol and, consequently, get rid of whatever annoying symptoms you鈥檙e dealing with. The trend exploded because so many people have symptoms鈥攍ike fatigue, weight gain, sleep problems鈥攖hat they want to get rid of, regardless of whether or not they鈥檙e related to hormones.

It鈥檚 now marketed as a one-size-fits-all solution for anyone who鈥檚 ever felt a little off. 鈥淧eople are saying that everything that is wrong with a person comes down to the endocrine system,鈥� says , an associate professor in the sociology department at Rutgers University who studies hormone imbalances. (Spoiler: That鈥檚 not the case.)

The Hormone Balancing Trend Is Problematic for These Reasons

One of the main issues with hormone balancing is that many of the symptoms people are trying to correct鈥攚hether it be mood swings or cravings鈥攁re often due to factors that are totally unrelated to hormones. You may be stressed out, sleep-deprived, or eating poorly. Or you could have an underlying health issue, such as anxiety, arthritis, or insomnia, that you don鈥檛 want to overlook, as there are proven treatments that can help. 鈥淵ou need to make sure you鈥檙e also evaluating for other conditions鈥� before assuming your hormones are to blame, says Voedisch.

Even if it turns out your hormones are messed up, changing your diet probably won鈥檛 cure them.

You Can鈥檛 Balance Hormones with Food

As Childress told me, the endocrine system鈥攖he network of glands that regulate hormones鈥攈as a lot of physiological processes in place that automatically keep your hormones balanced. You鈥檇 have to eat extremely poorly (think: tons of processed foods, refined grains, and red meat) to override that sturdy system and cause your hormones to go haywire.

On the flip side, adding certain foods to your diet won鈥檛 magically fix a dysregulated endocrine system. Snacking on apples won鈥檛 improve your estrogen levels, says Voedisch, and eating more yams won鈥檛 fix your body鈥檚 progesterone production. The belief you can eat your way to A+ hormones? 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a myth,鈥� she says.

However, some hormonal imbalances can improve with a specialized diet鈥攂ut not in the way you鈥檇 think. Take PCOS, for example, which causes high testosterone, leading to too much insulin in your blood. When you consume fewer foods that cause insulin to spike, such as carbs and added sugars, you can counteract the health effects of excess testosterone, which include excess body hair and, over time, a higher risk of diabetes. 鈥淭hat鈥檒l bring down the insulin, which will help relieve some of the side effects of that disorder,鈥� says Childress. But even then鈥攜our diet can鈥檛 fix the testosterone problem, she adds.

The Majority of Hormone Balancing Content Is Targeted to Women

One of the biggest themes you鈥檒l find is that the bulk of hormone-balancing content is geared toward helping women look and feel better. Such regimens often promise clear skin, youth, endless energy, or slenderness. And they鈥檙e often promoted by thin, white women鈥攕trengthening this idea that you should be or look a certain way, says MacKendrick. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not representing a range of different types of bodies or races,鈥� she says.

Most hormone-balancing content conveys a damaging and inaccurate message that when your hormones are in balance, you have the energy to be both a career woman and a mother and have a sex drive, according to MacKendrick.聽

This premise discounts the fact that female sex hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, are naturally erratic throughout a woman鈥檚 cycle鈥攖hey鈥檙e supposed to be. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no balancing that needs to happen there,鈥� says Voedisch. But hormone balancing capitalizes off a huge vulnerability鈥攖hat something about you is subpar, and you should try stabilizing your hormones to obtain this ideal physique. The messaging is much like the diet and anti-aging industries, says MacKendrick.

It鈥檚 Pseudoscience

Self-help books and influencers often claim that hormone balancing will relieve your fatigue or build muscle鈥攈ealth claims that are . 鈥淭he things these influencers are claiming are largely bogus,鈥� says Childress.

But if they鈥檙e B.S., why do so many people swear by hormone balancing? Well, they may just be eating healthier鈥攁nd when you add more nutrient-dense foods to your diet, workout regularly, and sleep better, your overall health improves. 鈥淚 think sometimes people may think they鈥檙e balancing their hormones, but they really just feel better because they鈥檙e eating better,鈥� says Childress.

Furthermore, there may be a potent placebo effect, which is a phenomenon that occurs when people鈥檚 health improves after taking a fake or ineffective treatment. You may notice that, after sipping on some hormone-balancing herbal tea for a few weeks, you feel stronger or more energetic for a bit鈥攂ut, eventually, that placebo effect will wear off, adds Voedisch.

Are the Claims That Hormone Balancing Improves Gut Health True? Maybe.

A 2021 review published in the journal suggests the gut microbiome, the community of live organisms that reside in the intestines, is influenced by sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone鈥攁nd vice versa.

For example, some researchers theorize that a poor diet聽may cause bacteria to leak out of your gut, circulate throughout your body, and activate your immune system, thereby causing a spike in insulin, which could cause the ovaries to release androgens. But that鈥檚 just a theory; there鈥檚 still a lot scientists don鈥檛 understand about the gut-hormone relationship. For now, it鈥檚 currently a stretch to say your eating habits can alter your sex hormones via your gut. 鈥淵our diet likely has very little to do with your sex hormones,鈥� says Childress.

Do This Instead of “Hormone Balancing”

Rather than experimenting with a new-age eating plan that promises to enhance your hormones, make an in-person appointment with a physician鈥攍ike an endocrinologist or gynecologist鈥攐r a registered dietitian who can look at your medical history, run diagnostic tests, and based on those results, develop a personalized care plan. They can discuss evidence-based treatments that can help you feel better.

If you do, in fact, have a thyroid disease, they can prescribe medications, such as thyroid replacement therapy, says Voedisch, and if you鈥檙e menopausal and have low estrogen, you can look into hormone replacement therapy.

And, hey鈥攊t鈥檚 always worth taking a look at what and how you eat. If you鈥檙e worried about your hormones, says Childress, it鈥檚 generally a good idea to load up on fruits and vegetables and cut out refined sugars (a la the Mediterranean diet). Prioritize your sleep, manage your stress, and get exercise. 鈥淭hese things matter just as much if not more than diet alone,鈥� she says. If you feel better, that鈥檚 great鈥攋ust know 鈥渋t may or may not have anything to do with your hormones,鈥� says Childress.

When I see a doctor or certified dietitian slinging a hormone-balancing regimen on TikTok, I want to believe they鈥檙e sharing sound medical advice. But you can鈥檛 snack your way to balanced hormones. As Voedisch told me, 鈥淚f someone is trying to sell you something your insurance won鈥檛 cover, and you have to pay out of pocket for it, I would be very suspicious.鈥�

Want more of聽国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 Health stories?聽.

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On May 29, 1954鈥攋ust 23 days after Roger Bannister entered the history books as the world鈥檚 first sub-four-minute miler鈥攁 21-year-old British woman named Diane Leather notched a similar milestone. At the Midland Counties championship meet in Birmingham, she ran 4:59.6 to become the first woman under five minutes. 鈥淭hank goodness that鈥檚 over,鈥� . 鈥淣ow I can concentrate on my chemistry exams.鈥�

In the seven decades since then, women have edged steadily closer to Bannister鈥檚 mark. The current world record, set by Kenya鈥檚 three-time Olympic 1,500-meter champion Faith Kipyegon in 2023, is 4:07.64. Her corresponding 1,500-meter world record of 3:49.04 is equivalent to a mile in roughly 4:06.5, according to the . The gap is small enough, in other words, that you might start wondering just how fast she could go, and how close to the barrier she could get, in a rule-bending exhibition race modeled after Eliud Kipchoge鈥檚 sub-two-hour marathon events.

That鈥檚 the question 听颈苍 Royal Society Open Science by University of Colorado physiologist Rodger Kram, working with colleagues Edson Soares da Silva, Wouter Hoogkamer, and Shalaya Kipp. Their conclusion: start the countdown.

The Power of Drafting

Once you start bending rules, the tricky part is deciding when to stop. A downhill sub-four mile wouldn鈥檛 be particularly interesting, for example. In their analysis, Kram et al. focus on the potential role of hyper-optimized drafting鈥攔unning behind or between other runners to minimize the effects of aerodynamic drag. These same researchers have previously published research on drafting in marathoners (which I wrote about here), suggesting that getting the drafting right can save between three and five minutes for both elite and mid-pack marathoners.

Back in Bannister鈥檚 day, having pacemakers or 鈥渞abbits鈥� leading the race and blocking the wind for you was considered controversial. The current rules permit pacemakers as long as they start at the beginning of the race. You can鈥檛 have fresh rabbits hopping in at the halfway mark, which was the key rule broken in Kipchoge鈥檚 sub-two attempts. Bannister himself was paced by his training partners for more than 80 percent of the race. Kipyegon, in contrast, was paced just past the halfway mark, and even in the first half of the race she was too far behind her pacers to get the full aerodynamic benefits of their presence. That suggests there鈥檚 still scope for improvement.

Another factor in Kipyegon鈥檚 favor is her size: she鈥檚 reported as 5鈥� 2鈥�, a full foot shorter than Bannister was. You might think that air resistance should matter less to her, since she鈥檚 smaller. But smaller runners actually have to spend a greater proportion of their energy overcoming air resistance, because they have a greater ratio of surface area to volume. Kram and his colleagues calculate that when running at four-minute pace, air resistance takes 13.5 percent of Kipyegon鈥檚 energy compared to just 11.4 percent of Bannister鈥檚. That means she has more to gain from drafting.

How Kipyegon Could Break the Four-Minute-Mile Barrier

Kipyegon ran her mile record on a windless night in Monaco. She ran her first lap of 409.3 meters in 62.60 seconds, and the subsequent 400-meter laps in 62.00, 62.20, and 60.84 seconds. She was three to four meters behind the pacers for the first lap, 2.5 meters behind in the second lap, and 2 meters behind for the beginning of the third lap before the final pacer dropped out. Optimal (but practical) drafting, the researchers suggest, has the runners about 1.2 to 1.3 meters apart.

The key question is: how much of the energy 鈥渨asted鈥� on aerodynamic drag can you save by running close behind another runner? You can estimate this with wind tunnel experiments or computational fluid dynamics calculations, but the answers vary widely. Kram and his colleagues run the numbers with several representative values drawn from these studies.

The most conservative estimate is that you can reduce drag force by 39.5 percent at 1.3 meters behind the leader, with the savings decreasing as you drift farther back. The most optimistic one is that you can reduce it by as much as 75.6 percent with one pacer 1.2 meters ahead and a second one 1.2 meters behind you. Having a pacer behind you seems counterintuitive, but it helps keep air flowing smoothly past by minimizing the turbulence behind you.

You can use these values to estimate how fast Kipyegon would have run with exactly the same effort as her world record race but no drafting: between 4:10 and 4:12. You can also estimate what she would have run with no air resistance at all, for example on a treadmill: between 3:53 and 3:55.

And then you can plug in what she would have run with ideal pacers for the whole race. Using the more conservative 39.5 percent value for drafting effectiveness, you get a final time of 4:03.6. Using the optimistic 75.6 percent value, it鈥檚 3:59.37鈥攑retty much identical to Bannister鈥檚 3:59.4 back in 1954.

Back to Mile-Record Reality?

The calculations suggests that Kipyegon could dip under four only under the most perfect conditions. But how close to perfection can we get in the real world?

For drafting, there are two basic choices: male sub-four milers who pace the entire race, or two teams of female pacers who switch off halfway. Neither would be accepted for official records, and it鈥檚 not easy finding women who can run a half-mile in under 2:00 with an even, controlled pace. The researchers point out that the last two Olympic 800-meter champions, Athing Mu and Keely Hodgkinson, are both capable of running the pace, and happen to be unusually tall, which might increase their drafting effectiveness.

In Kipchoge鈥檚 marathons, they used an arrowhead formation with six pacers (in the first attempt) and a reverse arrowhead formation with seven pacers (in second attempt, which was successful). That鈥檚 nearly impossible to implement on a track, since the arrowhead extends to the right and left of the racer鈥攂ut Kram floats the idea of running at Franklin Field, the iconic home of the Penn Relays. Franklin鈥檚 lane four is 400 meters, meaning that Kipyegon could run in lane four with some of the arrowhead pacers in lanes three and five.

Kipchoge also benefited from hyper-optimized courses that minimized elevation changes and curves. You can鈥檛 make a track any flatter, but there may be ways of making it a few seconds faster. Geoff Burns, a biomechanist who works for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, has a couple of great articles on the benefits of and . For a 400-meter track at four-minute-mile pace, Kram figures the optimal angle for banked corners would be 7 degrees around a curve with 36-meter radius.

Finally, you could take another page from Kipchoge鈥檚 playbook and push the envelope on shoe design. Current limit the thickness of spikes to 20 millimeters, but Kram figures a slightly thicker midsole might unlock some extra super-spike benefits.

There鈥檚 one other wrinkle to consider. The original data on Nike鈥檚 Vaporfly supershoes鈥攁 study co-authored by Hoogkamer, Kipp, and Kram, as it happens鈥攆ound that they improved running economy by four percent on average, but with individual results between 1.6 and 6.3 percent. Rumor has it that Kipchoge was on the high end of this range. Surprisingly, there seems to be a similar spread in the benefits of drafting. A study led by da Silva a few years ago found that a standardized drag force burned anywhere between 4.2 and 8.1 percent more energy in different individuals. We know that Kipyegon has once-in-a-generation running ability, but we don鈥檛 know how much she stands to benefit from drafting. A sub-four might require someone who鈥檚 off the charts in both.

All of this, of course, assumes that we believe the calculations on the benefits of drafting. The wide range of calculated values for drafting effectiveness is a sign that there鈥檚 still plenty of uncertainty about the exact numbers. Kipchoge鈥檚 sub-two marathon is generally thought to have been made possible by two key levers: supershoes and drafting. But as marathon world records have continued to fall even with suboptimal drafting, I鈥檝e begun to think that the shoes must be a bigger factor than the drafting. There鈥檚 really only one way to find out for sure, though: we need a Breaking4 Project.

For more Sweat Science, join me on and , sign up for the , and check out my forthcoming book .

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In triathlon training, consistency is king. But what if that consistency was a culprit in your latest injury? As all too many of us know, like IT band syndrome, shin splints, and stress fractures often present themselves at the worst times and have been the bane of many great race preparations.

Consistent, repetitive motion with improper running form often causes these injuries. But according to new research out of the University of Florida, you probably don鈥檛 even know your form could use a tune-up 鈥� and your shoes might be the reason why.

The study, published in the journal ,聽consisted of 710 runners from various backgrounds. After asking each runner if they were a heel striker, non-heel striker (mid-foot or forefoot strike) or they 鈥渄idn鈥檛 know,鈥� the researchers examined each runner鈥檚 gait with a high-tech slow-mo motion capture system and analyzed their past running injuries.

The results were abundantly clear. Those runners who 鈥渄idn鈥檛 know鈥� their gait pattern had, by far, the greatest likelihood of sustaining a running-related injury.

The main contributing factor to runners not knowing their foot strike, or how their feet were hitting the ground, was the heel-to-toe drop of their training shoes. A higher drop, as well as higher shoe weight, led to less accurate body awareness and a higher likelihood of injury.

Additionally, those runners who changed their shoe type in the past six months were more likely to sustain a running-related injury.

So if shoes are part of the problem, is the solution simply changing them out? Yes and no. Let鈥檚 look at the takeaways and how can you apply them to reduce your risk of injury.

Shoe Choice Matters

As the study highlights, a shoes with high heel-to-toe drop and greater weight contribute to less awareness of foot strike. Opting for a shoe that has a lower drop and weight is an effective way to become more engaged (literally) with the ground and how your foot is interacting at the impact, loading, and takeoff stages of your run gait. A healthy foot will feel the ground, fully load, then utilize its 鈥渇ree鈥� stored energy to push you forward.

A more minimalistic shoe will let the foot function as it should. Further, a large heel-to-toe drop alters how the force of impact is distributed throughout the body. As shown in 聽on the effect of shoe drop on joint stress, a higher-drop results in much larger stress at the patellofemoral (knee) joint. Opting for a lower-drop shoe allows the body to distribute stress as it was designed to do, reducing excessive loading to individual joints.

Opting for trainers with a mild drop (4-6mm) and not too much 鈥渃lunk鈥� could be an easy way to become more aware of how you鈥檙e running and stay injury-free.

If you鈥檝e been running in a high heel-toe drop shoe and dealing with injury, it might be worth trying a different shoe. Just remember, as with any change, to progress gradually into your new shoes to allow the body time to adapt. Start with one to two runs per week, and slowly progress over four to five weeks until you can wear your new shoes full time.

Self-Awareness Matters More聽聽

Yes, the type of shoes you wear can be a culprit in running-related injury, especially if they blunt the signals your body needs for good running form. This study clearly shows that enhanced body awareness while running, particularly when it comes to foot strike, leads to lowered injury risk.

Becoming more cognizant of how your body is moving and how your foot interacts with the ground is a free way to decrease your risk of injury. Yes, it鈥檚 nice to listen to music or zone out with a podcast during a long run. However, it鈥檚 likely worth it to zone in to the task at hand now and then to ensure you鈥檙e moving well.

One helpful tip is to run in front of a mirror on a treadmill so you can watch yourself run in real time. It鈥檚 easy to adopt poor running mechanics without realizing it, especially when fatigue sets in. Unlike the friendly spectator yelling, 鈥淟ooking good!鈥� at mile 23 of the marathon, the mirror doesn鈥檛 lie.

The best part about working on your running form is that it will help you develop movement patterns that make you stronger instead of more likely to get injured. More importantly, it might even help you actually look good at mile 23!

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There鈥檚 tons of evidence, from hundreds of studies with hundreds of thousands of participants, showing that exercise is an effective tool to combat depression and other mental health issues like anxiety. These studies find that it鈥檚 at least as good as drugs or therapy, and perhaps . It鈥檚 now recommended in official guidelines around the world as a or treatment. Still, there鈥檚 an important caveat to consider: is all this evidence of a connection between exercise and mental health any good?

That鈥檚 the question debated in in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, based on a symposium held at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine. Four researchers, led by Patrick O鈥機onnor of the University of Georgia, sift and weigh the various lines of evidence. Their conclusion is mixed: yes, there鈥檚 a relationship between exercise and mental health, but its real-world applicability isn鈥檛 as clear as you might think.

The Observational Evidence on Exercise and Mental Health

O鈥機onnor and his colleagues assess three main types of evidence. The first is observational studies, which measure levels of physical activity and mental health in large groups of people to see if they鈥檙e connected, and in some cases follow up over many years to see how those relationships evolve. The headline result here is pretty clear: people who are more physically active are less likely to suffer from depression and anxiety now and in the future.

Observational studies also suggest, albeit more weakly, that there鈥檚 a dose-response relationship between exercise and mental health: more is better. is enough to produce an effect, but higher amounts produce a bigger effect. It鈥檚 an open question, though, whether doing too much can actually hurt your mental health. Some studies, for example, have found links between overtraining in endurance athletes and symptoms of depression.

The big problem with observational studies is the question of causation. Are active people less likely to become depressed, or is it that people who are depressed are less likely to be active? To answer that, we need a different type of study.

The Evidence from Randomized Trials

The second line of evidence is from randomized control trials, or RCTs: tell one group of people to exercise, tell another group not to, and see if they fare differently. Overall, the evidence from RCTs lines up with the observational evidence: prescribing exercise improves or prevents the occurrence of depression and anxiety.

For example, here鈥檚 a graph from a 2024 meta-analysis of 218 RCTs with a total of over 14,000 participants, :

Dots that are farther to the left indicate how much a treatment aided depression compared to a control group. Notice that walking or jogging ranks slightly above cognitive behavioral therapy and far above SSRI drugs. That鈥檚 an encouraging picture.

The evidence still isn鈥檛 bulletproof, though. One problem is that it鈥檚 very difficult to avoid placebo effects. Participants who are randomized to exercise know that they鈥檙e exercising, and likely also know that it鈥檚 supposed to make them feel better. Conversely, those who sign up for an exercise-and-depression study and are assigned to not exercise will expect to get nothing from it. These expectations matter, especially when you鈥檙e looking at a difficult-to-measure outcome like mental health.

Another challenge is the timeframe. Exercise studies are time-consuming and expensive to run, so they seldom last more than six months. But a third of major depressive episodes spontaneously resolve within six months with no treatment, which is in part why FDA guidelines suggest that such trials should last two years, to ensure that results are real and durable.

Why Context Matters When Studying Exercise and Mental Health

The third and final body of evidence that O鈥機onnor and his colleagues dig into is the contextual details. Exercise itself seems to matter, they write, but 鈥渨ho we play with, whether we have fun, whether we are cheered or booed, and whether we leave the experience feeling proud and accepted, or shamed and rejected also matters.鈥�

For example, most of the research focuses on 鈥渓eisure time physical activity,鈥� meaning sports and fitness. But there are other types of physical activity: occupational (at work), transportation (active commuting), and domestic (chores around the house). Is there a difference between lifting weights in the gym and lifting lumber on a construction site? Between a walk in the park and a walk down the aisle of a warehouse?

One view of exercise鈥檚 brain benefits is that it鈥檚 all about neurotransmitters: getting the heart pumping produces endorphins and oxytocin and various other mood-altering chemicals. If that鈥檚 the case, then manual labor should be as powerful as sports, and working out alone in a dark basement should be just as good as meeting friends for a run on a sunny day. Both intuition and research suggest that this isn鈥檛 the case.

Instead, some of exercise鈥檚 apparent mental-health benefits are clearly contextual. Doing something that creates social connection and provides a feeling of accomplishment is probably helpful even if your heart rate doesn鈥檛 budge above its resting level. And conversely, an exercise program that leaves you feeling worse about yourself鈥攖hink of the clich茅 of old-school phys ed classes鈥攎ight not help your mental health regardless of how much it boosts your VO2 max.

This is where the big research gaps are, according to O鈥機onnor and his colleagues. It鈥檚 pretty clear at this point that exercise isn鈥檛 just correlated with mental health; it can change it. But the best ways to deploy it in the real world remains understudied. For now, the best advice is probably to follow your instincts. Don鈥檛 stress about what type of exercise you鈥檙e doing, how hard to push, or how long to go. For improving mental health, these variables seem to have surprisingly weak effects. Instead, focus on the big levers: whether you鈥檙e enjoying it, and whether you鈥檒l do it again tomorrow.

For more Sweat Science, join me on and , sign up for the , and check out my forthcoming book .

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When , one of the first things she talked about in her post-race speech was period tracking.

鈥淔or this race, a lot of things were actually coming together,鈥� she said in her finish-line interview after the win. 鈥淪o for example, I was in the first half of my menstrual cycle, and I always told myself, once this happens on a world championship race day, this is the chance. I feel so much stronger than in the second [half].鈥�

It鈥檚 not the first time Philipp called out her menstrual cycle as a factor in her triathlon success. After setting an Ironman record of 8:18:20 at Hamburg in 2022, period tracking was a 鈥済ame changer鈥� in optimizing her training and nutrition.

Does this mean all triathletes with a period should track their menstrual cycles with the same attention to detail as power meter data, nutritional intake, and sleep? Could period tracking really help athletes crack the code for a PR?

If you spend any time on social media, you probably assume the answer is 鈥測es.鈥� Women鈥檚 health and performance 鈥� specifically, as it pertains to hormones, is a hot topic right now. There鈥檚 no shortage of influencers and self-proclaimed experts offering advice on how to use period tracking to optimize athletic performance, but actual credentialed experts proffering detailed advice and protocols? Those are harder to come by. That鈥檚 because the science of period tracking for athletic performance is in its infancy, says Dr. Kelly McNulty, sports physiology researcher at Northumbria University and founder of .

It鈥檚 great that we鈥檝e had this boom in menstrual cycle tracking,鈥� says McNulty. 鈥淢enstrual cycle tracking is more common now, and it鈥檚 advocated for, especially within elite environments, as something athletes should be doing. There鈥檚 a tendency that everyone鈥檚 a female health expert now, but on the flip side of that, the science isn鈥檛 quite there yet. We don鈥檛 want to be giving bad advice off low-quality research.鈥�

That鈥檚 not to say period tracking is a bad idea 鈥� only that athletes should beware of one-size-fits-all advice on how women perform during certain phases of the cycle. Let鈥檚 take a deeper look at how to make period tracking work for you, whether you鈥檙e just starting out in triathlon or an Ironman World Champion.

What the science says about period tracking for athletes

As Triathlete has written about before, . The major contributing factor to this dearth of information is a belief that it鈥檚 simply 鈥渢oo complicated鈥� to study women 鈥� their monthly menstrual cycle and resulting hormonal fluctuations skew otherwise straightforward results. The lack of research on this topic means data collected on males is extrapolated to females, and female athletes usually train based on recommendations made for male athletes.

McNulty was part of a 2021 research team that reviewed more than 5,000 studies across six popular sport and exercise journals, , with as few as 6% of studies focusing exclusively on females. McNulty later found聽that even fewer studies looked at women by life stage 鈥� a particularly 鈥渋nvisible鈥� cohort is women going through midlife, perimenopause, and menopause. Simply put, the science on women isn鈥檛 that great, and though it is an area of increasing interest for researchers, McNulty says it will still be five to 10 years before there鈥檚 a robust body of high-quality research.

Still, McNulty warns, 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 an expert now. And so everyone鈥檚 coming out saying that they will tailor your training plan to your menstrual cycle, and it sounds too good to be true in a lot of ways. We don鈥檛 want to come in and tell people, 鈥楴o, this is a bad idea,鈥� but we do feel really strongly about making sure that people know that if you鈥檙e paying for someone to do that, and they鈥檙e claiming they鈥檙e an expert, that nobody鈥檚 really fully an expert on that, except for the people who are currently doing the research 鈥� and even they don鈥檛 have all the answers.鈥�

There are, of course, some already-published studies that indicate hormone fluctuations aren鈥檛 a complication; they鈥檙e actually key to understanding and optimizing athletic performance in women. Hormones like estrogen and progesterone rise and fall throughout a woman鈥檚 month-long menstrual cycle, influencing everything from how she performs in training or racing to how she recovers. have found hormones may affect ligament laxity, suggesting injury risk may increase at various stages of the cycle. There is also evidence that when hormones fluctuate, so too does a woman鈥檚 body鈥檚 ability to maintain proper hydration levels, metabolize nutrients, and regulate body temperature 鈥� unique factors critical to female athletic performance.

Should you avoid period-tracking apps for athletes?

These studies, plus a growing demand for women-specific health advice, have led to an influx of period-tracking apps for athletes, which help women monitor where they are in their monthly cycles. Some apps even recommend what kind of training to do (or avoid) and when.

Though such apps can be enlightening for female athletes looking for insights on their individual physiology, that there currently isn鈥檛 enough research to make standard recommendations related to period tracking and sport performance.

That doesn鈥檛 mean that period tracking is a waste of time; only that experts aren鈥檛 at the point to confidently say 鈥渙n X day of the cycle, women are best off doing Y workout and recovering with Z food.鈥� McNulty says the information period-tracking apps give is often generic, and given the variety in menstrual cycle experiences among women, the information presented might not always be suited to the specific athlete. Some with putting highly-sensitive health information into such apps.

While women wait for the scientific community to endorse a substantial body of evidence, there are still things athletes can do, McNulty says: 鈥滻f you are a female athlete or a coach/practitioner supporting a female athlete, then I recommend that you dive into the research and learn all you can about the potential effects hormones can have on women鈥檚 physiology. But do this with a critical eye.鈥�

McNulty also says women can develop their own 鈥渂espoke athlete guidelines,鈥� where each athlete uses her own expertise of her own body to identify patterns in performance. 鈥淲hen you learn more about your own menstrual cycle 鈥� what symptoms you experience and how you perform, train, and recover on certain days 鈥� you can use your knowledge and understanding to determine what bits of the research might apply to you and which don鈥檛. From there you can begin to tweak and adjust things to maximize or manage performance/training depending where you are in your cycle,鈥� she says.

It鈥檚 in these individual experiences of the menstrual cycle 鈥� not the advice of an app 鈥� where the biggest insights lie. 鈥淓very woman is different, and the research is only the beginning from which we can build our individualized content from,鈥� McNulty says. 鈥淏ut this only happens if we understand our bodies first.鈥�

How to track your period as an athlete

Tracking the menstrual cycle can be as simple as circling a day on a paper calendar or marking an X in your smartphone on the first day of your menstrual flow, or period. The menstrual cycle is counted from the first day of one period up to the first day of your next period.

The average menstrual cycle is 28 days long, but each woman is different. Some women鈥檚 periods are so regular that they can predict the day and time that the next one will start. Other women experience menstrual cycles that vary in length. Medically, periods are considered 鈥渞egular鈥� if they usually come every 24 to 38 days.

That menstrual cycle is further divided into four phases:

The post Should Female Athletes Track Their Periods? Here鈥檚 What the Science Says. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.