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“In 2013, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, a publication of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NCSA), found that 10 weeks of CrossFit improves body composition (among other things). But it also noted that among the study subjects, 16 percent had to drop out of the study early due to injury. That was a problem for CrossFit, Inc., says Tucker Jones, owner and head coach at Ballston CrossFit and CrossFit Route 7, because it was false. Some of the ‘injured’ athletes have sworn the information was fabricated, a retraction has since been added to the study and CrossFit, Inc. was awarded monetary compensation from the NCSA for the unsubstantiated claims (which the journal’s editor is said to have added in a later draft), [but] the damage was done. The media was quick to publish stories about the injury risk and the sport became known as dangerous.”

Within a CrossFit Kids program for youths of any age, skill work that incorporates nutrition information such as real-food identification and macronutrient classification is necessary to establish a foundation prior to any expectations of change. Best choices can only be made consistently once the various options are understood.

Medical journals influence how we think about birth, death, pain, sexuality, and sickness. Richard Smith, former editor-in-chief of the BMJ, therefore claims “thoughtful but not necessarily expert reader[s]” should “pay attention to the ways of medical journals, particularly as many of those ways are deficient and need reform.” In this introduction, Smith establishes the scope and context for his book, which encompasses his “unashamedly personal” reflections on the current state of medical literature, and which will be republished here in serial format with permission.

The most powerful forces that can be generated by the human body are initiated, controlled, and dominated by the hip. Unfortunately, in the majority of trainees, some degree of hip dysfunction creates unsound postures and mechanics that reduce power and stability. Such faulty mechanics arise from inadequate training and insufficient practice of critical hip movements. We term this widespread fault “muted hip function.”

“New UC Riverside research shows soybean oil not only leads to obesity and diabetes, but could also affect neurological conditions like autism, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, and depression. Used for fast food frying, added to packaged foods, and fed to livestock, soybean oil is by far the most widely produced and consumed edible oil in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In all likelihood, it is not healthy for humans.”

What is the mechanism behind muscle growth? The exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) hypothesis posits intense exercise causes damage to muscle fibers, which then repair and adapt to better tolerate future exposure to stress. Eccentric training is thought to be particularly effective in stimulating hypertrophy (muscle growth). Tyler Hass discusses related studies and evaluates popular theories about promoting muscle growth.

Placebos are used in clinical trials to demonstrate that an experimental drug is superior to the control or “inactive” pill, but sometimes placebos can contain “excipients” such as chemicals, dyes, allergens, or other confounding agents, which might unintentionally bring about symptoms in trial participants. Maryanne Demasi, Ph.D., discusses the issues that arise when placebos are not inert and how these issues may be addressed by the medical journals publishing trial results.

Non-sugar artificial sweeteners (NAS) have been alternately hailed and demonized as the sweet, low-calorie saviors of the diabetic and obese on the one hand and destroyers of health on the other. Mary Dan Eades, MD, surveys the medical literature and discusses studies that have found an association between artificial sweeteners and Type 2 diabetes (T2DM). She then summarizes current hypotheses for the mechanisms behind the association, from the disruption of the gut's microbiome to the amplification of glucose and insulin signaling.

“Fewer than half of clinical trial sponsors reported their results to a U.S. government registry within a year of the trial’s completion, flouting U.S. law and risking fines, British researchers reported on [Jan. 17]. The study, published in The Lancet, found that in spite of legal efforts to curb well-documented lapses in reporting of negative trial results, many sponsors are still not reporting their findings, potentially keeping patients and doctors in the dark about benefits and side effects of treatments.”

A case study demonstrates reversal of mild cognitive impairment in a 57-year-old nurse with metabolic syndrome.

A 2019 article describes how the Alzheimer’s research field has been trapped by a single hypothesis that, despite a complete failure to deliver effective treatments for three decades, has turned into dogma.

The Australian CrossFit® Championship, a CrossFit Sanctionals™ competition, recently announced its plans to highlight the daily life-changing work of CrossFit affiliates by using ticket revenue from its March 2020 event to sponsor gym memberships for local Type 2 diabetics. CrossFit, Inc. is proud to announce support for the ACC’s initiative via matching sponsorship.

A 2017 editorial written by Maryanne Demasi, Robert Lustig, and Aseem Malhotra argues insulin resistance, not cholesterol or calories, ought to be targeted to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.