Thursday, August 28, 2008
The benefit run last night went incredibly well, and the outpouring of support for the Reimann family was truly overwhelming! It was a lovely Portland evening, and the turnout was tremendous. We had over 500 people participating in the 2 mile run, and everyone was wearing red (as you can see from the photo!). Not only that, but we were also able to raise over $20,000 for the Reimann family, which was just fantastic!
A huge thank you goes out to all the great folks that came out last night to support the Reimanns and participate in this incredible benefit run! We here at phix were honored to just be a part of it and play a small part in helping with this event.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tomorrow, Wednesday 8/27 phix will be sponsoring a great community event in Portland called the
Run for the Reimanns, and we'd love to have you come out and join us if you happen to live in Portland. If you are a Portlander, then you have probably already heard about the
tragic plane crash that the Reimann family was involved in in early August. Though this was an incredibly tragic event, we are glad to join the community in supporting this family and helping them as much as we are able.
Please join us for this 2 mile benefit run, and don't forget to wear something red!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Well, we're definitely cheering for the U.S. men's team too since both teams are
vying for the gold medal in their final matches this week, but we at phix are a bit partial to the women's team, as we got to know them a little bit a few months ago in California.
Phix had the pleasure of sponsoring an exhibition women's water polo match at Stanford between longtime rivals team U.S.A. and Australia. Team USA came away with the win there, but what an exciting match it was!
Yesterday (maybe 2 days ago, but the time zone difference of Beijing is a bit confusing), our
team U.S.A. friends faced off with Australia yet again, and this time it was in the semifinals in Beijing. It was an incredibly intense match, and both teams definitely left all their energy in the pool, but our U.S. women came away with victory thanks to a clutch goal with just one minute remaining by team captain
Brenda Villa (making a nice
hat trick (3 goals total) for the day for Brenda!).
I am continually amazed by the level of fitness water polo requires and what incredible shape all the women are in, but if anyone can
bring home the Gold medal, it's team USA! Phix is cheering on our women's team USA from afar today as they face off with the Netherlands in the gold medal round! Go team!!!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
phix works to enhance something called "vis medicatrix naturae." In non-Latin/smarty pants terminology, that means "the healing power of nature." Meaning, in many ways, our bodies have what it takes to heal ourselves.
Hippocrates (aka the "Father of Medicine") was one of the first major figures to take to this idea of vis medicatrix naturae. He was also one of the first who voiced that what you put into your body - foods, drinks, etc. - as well as lifestyle and daily routine, were crucial to one's health. We're in good company.
Back in the day, Hippocratic medicine was practiced in a very gentile, kind way, which goes hand-in-hand with the concept of feeding your body with gentile, kind and natural ingredients, like
phix, in order to help you feel better.
Some other cool info on the man, the myth, the legend:
- There are many debatable stories about him, but one is that he helped cure
Democritos, the guy who introduced the atom into science, of insanity. Good thing he did that, cause that atom has come in handy.
- Based on the color of an illness alone, Hippocrates could correctly diagnose a disease, which he believed stemmed from imbalances in the four infamous categories he called "humors": blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Yum!
- A beehive produced honey on his tomb, which were said to have curative powers.
And like Hippocrates and his ever-famous
Oath, phix also has a little oath of its own - to dish out energy in the best way possible - the natural way.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Stop right there! Step away from the fruit drink!
Reuters recently reported that sweetened fruit drinks may lead to a higher risk of
Type 2 diabetes. I already knew they weren't exactly good for me, but I
wasn't aware there were more serious health issues to consider.
Sweetened fruit drinks are often chosen in favor to non-diet sodas. After all, anything containing the word "fruit" must be healthier than a soft drink, right? Not necessarily. According to the report, researchers at Brown University found that, "Women who drank two or more sweetened fruit drinks per day had a 31 perfect increased risk compared to those who drank fewer than one such fruit drunk a month."
That's because many of these sugary culprits are made with high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener that takes a large tole on the environment. It's very cheap to make, but requires a ton of processing. More fertilizers and insecticides are involved in its creation than you can imagine, but that doesn't stop manufacturers from pumping out the stuff.
In a report about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup,
The Washington Post said, "The more fuel, energy and chemicals that go into processing a food, the less nutritious that food probably is." And because of its metabolic effects, consuming high fructose corn syrup often leads to eating when you're not even hungry.
But it's okay, phix is here to help. It understands our sweet tooth. It encourages our sweet tooth! And it rides us of these health concerns while working to satisfy our sugar cravings, because it comes in all-natural (keyword: natural) sweet flavors of Teaberry, Citron and Tropic. And you know how sweetened fruit drinks and sodas often leave that heavy, syrup-y, caramel-y artificial taste in your mouth? You don't get that with phix, because it's light, fresh and all about the natural goodness. No high fructose corn syrup here.
And I think that's pretty sweet.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
I'm sure you all caught the
quote reference here from the
Ben Stiller movie
Zoolander from a few years back, but man Portland is
seriously hot right now- both figuratively and literally. It's hit 100 degrees twice this week, and things should be cooling off a bit now, but man for the Pacific NW, these are some
incredible temps and pretty close to record setting (though, definitely not quite on the
Michael Phelps level by any means).
Now, on the other level of Portland being so hot right now, it was exciting to see Portland on the
front page of the Travel section of USA Today this week, and we'd have to agree that it's a really great city! After our
recent post about cycling in general and especially what a great place Portland is for it, this article seemed especially apropos. We hear at phix pride ourselves on being headquartered here in the Pacific NW, and we're proud to call both Portland and Seattle home. Interestingly enough, we were out on one of the many oh so hot bike commuter friendly bridges (the Hawthorne Bridge) in Portland just this week during the morning commute sampling phix to all our Portland bike friends. It was a ton of fun, and as usual, folks we're really excited to learn about phix as an exciting new healthy energy option!
Cheers to health Portland!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Our very own Lynea has been at it again, and this time climbed
San Luis Peak with good friend Scott Price! Way to go Lynea and Scott, and so glad phix powered you up to the top!
"I'm not in a phix, a phix is in me!"8-13-08 on top of San Luis Peak, San Juan Mountains Colorado
Scott Price
Grocery Coordinator
Whole Foods Market Southwest Region
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Meet NADH!
NADH is just one of the many ingredients in the
phix family. In order to really appreciate what getting your phix can do for you, you gotta learn the basics. Scientists are still discovering what NADH is really all about. But in the meantime, here are a few facts:
- NADH is an enzyme that's found in the inner
mitochondrial membrane of your body's cells, where much of your chemical energy gets movin' and shakin.'
- It's partially made from
Vitamin B3. Just like all Vitamin B's, B3 helps the body convert carbs into sugar, which is then burned off to produce - you guessed it - energy.
- Your brain needs "oxidative energy metabolism" in order for you to get the right amount of energy. The "oxidative" part means that the elements gain electrons. Electrons carry energy. NADH provides just that - an oxidative energy metabolism.
- Energy is handed over to NADH after you eat. Then, the energy turns into
ATP, which is your body's source of energy circulation.
- If you're stressed, fatigued, or you attend the kind of party that often results in a wicked hangover the next morning, your NADH level will drop. Meaning, your energy level will drop. Meaning, you won't feel very good.
- NADH is very expensive, and costs 5,000 BUCKS per pound, which is why most other products don’t have it. One serving of phix contains a full research dose of NADH - that would cost you about $2 per pill alone!
According to sources such as
SupplementNews.org, scientists have also found NADH a great form of therapy for people with chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS. "In a study of 35 patients meeting the criteria for CFS, 10 milligrams per day of NADH or placebo was administered for 4 weeks. After a week washout period, each group received the other treatment. The results of the study showed that NADH significantly improved the symptom score when compared to placebo."
In addition, NADH has also shown to have positive effects on those with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and other disorders which impair oxygen flow to the brain. It can also reduce the effects of
jet lag, in that it helps get that internal clock of yours ticking again.
NADH has even been used in the spatial memory-testing experiment of the
Morris water maze, in which a rat is repeatedly placed into a small pool of water, and must swim around in search of a platform. When administered, NADH has improved the animals' performance.
So, humans (and rats) have seen the benefits of this energetic enzyme, and phix is proud to call NADH one of its many trusty ingredients.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Here in the Northwest, bicycles are where it's at. Hot commodities. Must-haves. Who doesn't ride a bike around here? Anyone? Anyone?
Nobody. That's who. And that's because....
....the benefits are endless.
If you haven't yet hopped on the "bikewagon" as I like to call it (clever, right?) you should definitely consider bringing a bike into your life.
Treehugger.com (for the hippie inside) recently reported that "the study, Cycling: Getting Australia Moving, funded by the Australian government and prepared by Melbourne University and the Cycling Promotion Fund concluded that thanks to the increased health of cyclists, public heath services are spared an estimated $227.2m AUD annually."
In U.S. dollars, that's actually more like 206.7 million. But still, that shows a huge financial break. And not having to visit the doctor as much is plenty of reason to bike it.
So what does this have to do with
phix, you ask? It's simple. Northwesterners, we're
Bike People as it is. Take it from the
Vista Ridge Velo cycling club, a group of passionate bikers who ride and race throughout Portland, and are hooked on phix. By adding it to their water bottles for long rides and steep climbs, it fuels the energy and keeps it going the whole ride through.
Or, take it from Varner S. in Portland, who says, "I tried
phix in one of my water bottles on a long, really hot and hilly bike ride. I expected to really hurt and be dead-tired on the last 5 miles uphill to home, but was really pleased and surprised that I felt really good and finished strong. It would've been a different story without phix."
All this talk is making me want a new bike of my own. Something fun! Like this one!
That is totally like, my absolute dream bike. I. Want. That.
And hey, with all this money I'm not spending on gas or doctor's appointments, I mean....I kind of owe it to the economy to buy it! Yes! Of course! The bike will be mine.
You're welcome, Economy.
Friday, August 08, 2008
When I first sat down to start writing this I had been up for 40 hours. While that in and of itself is a pretty unusual occurrence, the real feat here is that after 5 years of staring at beautiful
Mt. Rainier, yesterday, 8/7/08, I stepped onto the summit. It was by far the hardest physical thing I've even done. It was also one of the most energizing and empowering experiences and one that is still sinking in.
In 2006 I set a few goals for myself, and one of them was to get in the best shape of my life. I decided that the best way to prove that was to climb Mt. Rainier. The trip was planned for one to two days depending on the weather and I went with three other folks. One of whom, Phil Arnold, was a former guide on the mountain and this was his 108th summit, so we were in good hands. We left on Wednesday morning with our 50+ lbs packs to make the climb from Paradise Inn at ~5400ft to Muir basecamp, which is at 10,200 ft. The weather forecast had called for it to be sunny during the day with thunderstorms at night. This was really disappointing as thunderstorms on the mountain are extremely dangerous and dramatically reduce your chances for summiting.
As we started our hike up, the weather started to turn and the clouds and rain started to move in. Rainier is an absolutely spectacular mountain and it is amazing to see how quickly the weather can change up there. One minute we're hiking in 70 degree weather and then all of a sudden the wind comes up, the clouds roll in and it starts to rain. It was a drizzle at first and then started dumping. Good times! I'd say that it rained fairly hard for about 1.5 hrs of the 4.5 hr climb, but by the time we got to Muir the rain had, for the most part, stopped.
At
Muir the plan was to get situated in the public shelter, make dinner, get packed up for the summit and then try to get a few hours of sleep before getting back up at 11:30pm. Phil was going to get up first, check the weather outside and make the call whether we would go for it, or whether we'd wait and try to do it a day later. We all tried to sleep, but the public shelter was more like a bus station with people coming and going and a few late arrivals kept everyone up. We probably wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway, so when 11:30 came and the alarm went off we were all ready to get going. Phil stepped outside and reported back that the weather had cleared. It was windy, but the sky was crystal clear - nothing but billions of stars.
We made a quick breakfast (oatmeal, blueberries, and I drank as much phix as I possibly could), filled my three water bottles with phix and threw in some
nuun to help give me a little extra electrolyte replacement. Then we suited up - helmut, headlamp, gortex pants, harness, plastic boots, crampons, ice axe, food, jackets, hats, gloves, mittens, balaclava, grabbed our packs and roped up.
A typical climb is 6 to 8 hours. It's pitch black out, so all you can see is the immediate ground around you. The climb started out smoothly and the route was in good shape. First we went across Cathedral Gap, then across Ingraham Glacier, which was the site of the worse climbing disaster in US history (killed 11 people), up Disappointment Cleaver and then it was a fairly straight shot from ~12,000 ft to 14,411 to get to the summit. Around 4am there was the first glimmer of the sunrise, followed about 30 minutes later by the actual sunrise.
As we got further into our trip, weather started to form and Phil became increasingly concerned that we may have to turn back. Rainier generates its own weather and frequently nasty
lenticular clouds will form. These clouds can generate extreme winds and usually make it difficult to impossible to get to the summit. So as we started to see clouds forming around the summit, Phil decided that we were going to have to make an aggressive push to get up there quickly. I was exhausted already and wasn't sure I had the energy for this last push. I kept trying to remember what Sam had told me, "One foot in front of the other gets you to the top." As we got closer, Phil talked about just lashing the packs to the mountain and having us scramble to the top. I knew we were getting close and the urgency of the situation gave us all an extra boost. At one point I looked up and saw the ring of rocks that surround the crater and knew we were getting really close. The heat from the geothermal activity inside Rainier (dormant volcano) keeps the snow from forming and there is actually a small lake below the crater. So with time running out, I put my head down and concentrated on rest stepping and pressure breathing and before I knew it I was walking down into the crater to celebrate a successful summit. We had made it to the top in just 5.5hrs! I have to say that after 5 years of looking at the mountain it was surreal and I still have a hard time internalizing it. Here is a picture of Phil and me in the crater followed by a gratuitous phix summit shot.
We supposedly spent 45 minutes on top, but it seemed like 5 or 10 minutes max to me as I was a bit out of it. Plus the altitude at 14.4k makes you feel nauseous, makes it hard to breath and really effects your energy level. It turned out that making such a big push to get up there was the right call as we were one of the last groups of the day to make it to the summit given the weather.
Most of the injuries, and worse, in mountain climbing happen on the way down, so as we began our journey back down, I really tried to concentrate on making sure that every step was well placed. Easier said than done when you're so beat. After a few thousand feet we exited the clouds, although it was still windy, and continued the trek downward. At this point, my body and mind were going from periods of utter exhaustion to quasi-euphoria. After several more hours of climbing we made it back to Muir where we spent an hour packing up our sleeping bags and stove and other supplies before leaving to make the final 2.5hr trek back to Paradise. At 2:45pm we stepped into the Paradise parking lot and our journey was officially complete.
I've never been an intense athlete and so for me, climbing Rainier pushed me to rethink what I'm capable of. I think like in so many aspects of our lives frequently we are the ones who create these artificial limits and boundaries around what we are and are not capable of. One foot in front of the other, whether it's starting a company, taking on a project, exercising, or really moving towards any goal, gets you closer and closer to, and then eventually over, the finish line.
If you're interested, you can check out my photos
hereAs many of you know from the previous blogs on our site, one of phix's own, Sam Thompson, just tried to break the Colorado Trail speed record (483 miles, 75,000 ft of vertical gain, 8 mountain ranges in 8 days). If you get a chance, please read his last post, which is truly inspirational. http://www.seesamrun.com/blog
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Growing up, I never really drank tea. But one day, when I was away at college, I got sick. I got sick, and like all sick, helpless college students, I needed my mother. She told me to pick up a box of
green tea, and although I was skeptical at first, I heeded her advice. Since then, it has become one of my "happy foods".
Yes, I love tea of the green persuasion, and anything that uses it as an ingredient. Green tea shampoos, green tea conditioners, green tea lotions, green tea lip glosses. I can't get enough of the stuff. I would bathe in a vat of green tea if I could. Wait, can you bathe in a vat of green tea?
Anyway, I think it's the combination of the flavor, and the fact I know what green tea can actually do for the body. In addition to its calming and soothing effects, it's got EGCG in it (which stands for some really long, unpronounceable word) which helps ward-off cancer cells. EGCG is also a lot stronger than resveratrol, which is the stuff that's in red wine and perhaps the reason why French people have a lower history of heart disease than Americans. You know, cause French people drink a lot of red wine. And so Chinese people, who put green tea in everything, have an even lower rate of heart disease than French people.
And because the leaves in green tea are steamed, unlike the leaves of other Chinese teas, the EGCG isn't oxidized and thus turned into other things. How's that for a science lesson?
That's why Phix is so cool; it's an energy-booster, but an energy booster made with all of these yummy green tea anti-oxidants - so automatically, I know that that energy is gonna be more of a calming wave than a crashing plunge.
Call me crazy, but I think green tea is truly a "happy food" for the body and soul.
....kind of like fast food, except not. Not at all.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
OK, folks. Sam has now posted
his account of his incredible journey on his website.
Let me start by saying Sam is one amazing dude--in body and spirit-- and all of us at phix feel incredibly honored and blessed to know him. For real.
The post on his blog is pretty long (you get a lot of time to think on a 400 mile run!) so I thought I'd share some choice quotes:
- "My goal in this was to become one with this amazing trail and truly enjoy being a small speck on the incredible palette of God’s immense creation as I made my way through the incredible landscapes and pushed my own body to its absolute farthest limits."
- "This was without a doubt the hardest thing I have done to date, and the hardest I have ever pushed my body, and I am continually amazed by what the human body is capable of and how perceived limits are quite far from reality."
- "phix provided me extra octane and power throughout this expedition. I was drinking 6-10 phix stix each day, and feel like it gave me a really nice extra boost in energy levels, as well as helping maintain healthy vitamin levels in my body."
Sam, from all of your teammates at phix, I'd just like to say thanks for reminding us yet again to "put one foot in front of the other on the great expedition of life."
You rock!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
In case you were wondering, our Sam came up 70 miles short of his goal of running the Colorado Trail. Sam had all the strength and energy he needed to complete the task in record time, but his support vehicle got swamped during a river crossing, bringing an end to the adventure. Sam is safe and sound back in Seattle, and more confident than ever that he can set a new speed record for the Colorado Trail. He'll be back!
Monday, August 04, 2008
OK, so I apologize for the stupid title, but it was hard to resist. Here's another of our team of phixies who gained some serious altitude this summer. (We already told you about Sam--see my previous post.) This is Lynea Schultz-Ela, at 14,269 feet, getting a little 'roof' on Mount Antero in the Sawatch Mountains of Central Colorado.
So it is probably just a coincidence that so many on our team like to get high (in the mountainous sense) but it is true that phix Energy is ideally suited for high altitude pursuits. That's because it takes a lot of energy to climb mountains (duh) and because
fluid loss increases dramatically in the cold, dry air found at high altitudes.For starters, phix is tasty, so it helps you drink more water. And phix was formulated with water soluble vitamins and electrolytes to help your body maintain its energy levels, and also to offset any fluid loss that might result from caffeine use.
There's a lot of debate about whether caffeine really does cause dehydration. (It sure makes me have to pee.) Research suggests that
consuming less than 300mg a day is probably not a problem. (One serving of phix has 85mg of caffeine.) All that peeing? It's apparently as much the water as the caffeine.
We love this
nifty little study, published in a European scientific journal, which found that mountain climbers on Everest who drank lots of tea didn't get dehydrated, and reported more positive feelings during their climb. (You're probably thinking the researchers were British but actually they were Canadian. Funny, eh?) Just imagine if they were drinking maté...
Anyway, whether it's the electrolytes, the water soluble vitamins, the caffeine or the extra fluids, we sure do find that phix is helping us enjoy some incredible views. Check back later this week for a snapshot of another phixie getting seriously high....
