My Plan For Health

Image from Junonia.com

Women’s plus-size activewear retailer Junonia is offering a 10-percent-off coupon to anyone who participates in active events.

When you register for any kind of run, walk, or bike event, forward your confirmation email to Junonia and you’ll receive the coupon as part of the company’s new “It Pays to Play” program.

If you’ve already signed up for the Pelotonia charity bike tour to benefit cancer research at Ohio State, then you’re eligible for the coupon! Why not get a new outfit and look good on the road August 28-30? (The outfit shown in this image is casual, but Junonia offers performance bike wear as well. I can testify that Junonia clothing is of high quality, though a bit expensive — that’s where the coupon comes in handy.)

Details of the program and a list of sample events are here.

As of today, Pelotonia is not on the list, but Junonia Marketing Associate Ira Brooker tells me that it will be added to the page with the next site update. Meanwhile, you can forward your Pelotonia confirmation email at any time to get your coupon.

And here are some other upcoming athletic events for central Ohio:

The Columbus Marathon

The Start! 2009 Central Ohio Heart Walk

The American Diabetes Association Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes

Have you seen this?

My blissed-out time in Marblehead was punctuated by a nasty case of sunburn. Like Conan O’Brien, who joked in a recent ad that his “pale Irish skin” burns “like a vampire” in the sun, my genes make me vulnerable to sunburn. My father is Irish, and like him I don’t really tan — I burn, and peel, and then I’m pale again. Or, as happened in Marblehead, I bypass the normal  sunburn and go straight for blisters.

From May through October, this is my typical routine: I slather an SPF 15 lotion all over every day — this is just to get me from the car to my office without getting singed. On my face, I wear an SPF 45 face cream, generally followed by some face powder to lend further opacity. I keep an SPF 50 sunscreen on hand at all times, and apply it whenever I plan to linger outside, even for a few minutes. I have a geeky sun hat (you saw this in my post on the geology hike) and I often wear long sleeves, even in summer.

Better wear this.

But one day in Marblehead, I donned all my layers of sunscreen early in the morning, and did not re-apply until afternoon. In between, I wandered along the Lake Erie shore sans jacket and hat, and I burned. In fact, as I sat at Marblehead Lighthouse for my photo in the blog entry below, I was already burning. I just didn’t know it.

As it happens, I’ve written about sunburn before. Bern Kohler, professor of chemistry, has done some groundbreaking work in photochemistry. He studies how DNA protects itself from ultraviolet damage, and what happens to our DNA when we get sunburned.

From writing about Kohler, I know that DNA avoids damage by converting UV rays into heat. The conversion happens in just a tiny fraction of a second (and that’s why his  lab uses special ultra-fast lasers to reveal what’s going on). Kohler explained that sunscreens like my SPF 50 lotion protect us by reflecting sunlight away from the skin, and also by dissipating UV as heat.

I also learned that sunburn happens when the DNA absorbs the UV energy instead of converting it to heat. This is due in part to the random position of the DNA molecule within our cells when the UV hits it. When the UV energy is absorbed, it triggers chemical reactions that alter the DNA’s molecular structure.

So after I returned to Columbus and my sunburn was mostly healed, I emailed Kohler to gain his perspective on what had happened to me. Here’s his chemical  explanation:

I am sure you formed vast numbers of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in your DNA along with significant quantities of 6-4 photoadducts.

Translation: Inside my DNA, chemical bonds formed where they weren’t supposed to. Luckily my DNA could employ some chemical reactions of its own to heal itself. But when DNA sustains too much damage, it can’t replicate properly. Badly damaged cells simply die — that’s what gives sunburn its sting.  Scientists also believe that chronic damage creates mutations that lead to diseases such as skin cancer — a good reason for everyone (not just the tanning-impaired) to keep applying sunscreen!

An undamaged stack of thymine bases is colored green in the DNA double helix on the left. In the double helix on the right, UV light has caused two new chemical bonds to form, fusing two thymine bases together. Graphic by Bern Kohler.

Kohler added this as well:

Take solace in the fact that the body’s repair system is highly efficient. If only man-made solar cells had the same ability to fix themselves after they get damaged by sunlight!

Hmm. So even the most high-tech electronic devices designed to harvest solar energy get damaged by sunlight! I didn’t know that. I have a really cool job because I get to learn this kind of stuff.

One downside to the email: Kohler informed me that he’s leaving Ohio State for Montana State University next month. I’m very sorry to hear that! But I hope he will stay in touch and keep us informed about his research.

Stay shady, everyone.

A fact sheet on sunburn from OSU Medical Center

More sunburn info from WebMD

On the Chapman hike, right about the time of the tick incident. Photo by Earle Holland.

Last week, I took a geology tour with scientists who came to Ohio State for the AGU Chapman Conference on Abrupt Climate Change.

We traveled just north of Newark, OH, to the edge of what was once the Laurentide Ice sheet. My boss, Earle Holland, and I escorted two visiting science writers as we all took a light hike through the woods to a creek that marked the edge of the ice 20,000 years ago.

I was woefully unprepared for the trek, and Earle suggested that a refresher on outdoor safety might be in order for the blog — especially since many people head outdoors for fun and exercise in the summer.

For instance, as we exited the woods, Earle declared that we all needed to do a “tick check” before returning to the car. I thought he was kidding, but he assured me he wasn’t. Just then, one of the reporters pointed to Earle’s sleeve and asked, “What’s that?” A tick had indeed latched onto his shirt (but not his skin, thank goodness).

I realized that I had forgotten bug repellent, as well as the other essentials of outdoor hiking.

So here is a list of the basic things to bring along as you trek into the great outdoors:

1. Water

2. Sunscreen

3. Bug repellant

4. A knowledge of what poison ivy looks like (courtesy of OSU Extension)

Trailhead of the Heritage Trail, in downtown Hilliard

If you’re looking for a good place to walk around Columbus, check out the Rails to Trails Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting local communities in converting unused railroad corridors into community trails. Many of the trails are paved, and they are all easily accessible from roads with convenient parking. A search engine will help you find a trail near your home.

My favorite is the Heritage Trail, a six-mile paved trail that runs from downtown Hilliard all the way to Plain City. I’ve never walked the whole thing at once, but according to the folks at MyPyramid.gov, doing so at a moderate pace would take about two hours and burn more than 500 calories. (A more realistic outing would be about half that long).

Just today, I registered on the Rails to Trails Web site, and took the “Burn Calories, Not Carbon!” pledge.