2020-02-01_Fortean_Times

The“truth”

Lactic acid levels in the body certainly rise during exercise,asglu-

cose is broken down to provide energy,but there is no evidence

to show that lactates cause,orworsen, the burn. On the contrary,

the acid produced is available as fuel to cells performingavariety

of functions.Lactic acid doesn’t stop you –ith elps you keep go-

ing. Day-after soreness has absolutely nothing to do with lactic

acid. The acid does not“pool” in the muscles.Acouple of hours

after ceasingexercise,your lactic acid levels will be back to normal

–and that’s true whetheryoucarry outarigorouswarm-down, like

the cyclists,orl ie onasun-loungersmokingacheroot. Whether

the stationary bikes do any good is another debate,but they can’t

possibly have any effect on lactic acid levels.Biochemist Otto Mey-

erhof wonaNobel Prize in 1922 forexperiments which established

the theory that lactic acid build-up caused muscle fatigue.But his

work wasdoneonsevered frog legs,electrically stimulated in an

airtight jar.Scientists have known for decades that Meyerhof’s find-

ings don’t apply to non-severed, human legs in real life conditions

–and gradually,the world of sportisc atching up.

Sources

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2014/04/20/

the-lactic-acid-myth/FskVYvZDXQ6k1tR0khM9UN/story.html; http://www.

cyclingweekly.com/fitness/lactate-cycling-35412; http://www.getscience.

com/biology-explained/science-fact-or-science-fiction-lactic-acid-

buildup-causes-muscle-fatigue-and; http://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medi-

cine/1922/meyerhof/biographical/

Disclaimer

Exhaustedby all this chemistry,weache foryour corrections,via the

letters columnplease,ofa ny errors.

MYTHCONCEPTIONS

by Mat Coward

245: LACTIC ACID

The myth

Whenyouexercise,lactic acid builds up inyour muscles until it

givesyou“the burn”–pain and fatigue inthelungs and limbs that

makes itimposs ible foryou to carry on. The next day,the lactic acid

lingers,causingfurther soreness and tiredness. That’s why,att he

end ofaday’shardracing in theTour de France,the firstthings cy-

clists do is to get ontoastationarybikeand carryon pedalling while

they givetheir interviews: they are flushing the lactateoutoft heir

legs so that they’ll beabletorideagain tomorrow.

FT389 23

quizzedhimabouttheNewYork
Sun’sreve lations.Thepaper
neverpublishedaretractionor
apology.(Formoreonthe Great
MoonHoax, seeFT109:28-30.)
Earlierexamplesof the
press’scavalier attitude to truth
maybefound in 16thand 17th
century pamphlets,wherein
‘Trewand FaithfullRelaciouns’
of fantasticaleventswere
ofte npublished.ACatalonian
newsbookpublishedin 1654
reported thediscoveryof a
monsterwith “goat’s legs,a
human body, sevenarms and
sevenheads”;a1611English
pamphlet tells ofaDutch
woman wholivedfor 14years
without eating or drinking.
Earlier still,befor ethe
print era,various manuscripts
entitledTheTravels ofSir
John Mandevillebegan to be
circulated in the14th century.
Purportedly the account of an
Englishknight’stravels in the
Holy Land, AfricaandAsia
begun in1322,in fact,nosuch
personexisted, thework being
compiledby an anonymous
FlemishorFrenchauthor.
(Anthony Bale ’s translation
reviewed,FT296:59). Cy clopes,
cannibalsand dog-headed men
allappear,aswellasblemmyæ
or akephaloi,arace of people
withnohead, insteadhaving
theirfacial featuresplaced
squarelyintheir chests. Hereis
asample of the book’sstyle:
“Inthe landofBactria there
aretrees whichgrow wool as

you would findonthe body of a

sheep.Bactriaisalso filledwith

griffins,whichhave‘thefrontof

an eagleand the backofalion’,

while in Cairopeopleincubate

hens’ eggs inagianthouse filled

withhorse dung”.

Todayweliketothinkof

ourselves as better informed,

with moretrust worthymedia

outlets and politicians.But

recallthe BritishGovernment’s

2002 September Dossierthat

claimedSaddam Hussein

possessedweapons of mass

destruction(WMDs)including

chemicaland biological

weaponry, deployable within

45 minutes. These spurious

claimswere re portedinmuch

of the British tabloidpress as

proof thatIraqpresentedan

immediate threat to theUK,

and precededthe 2003 invasion

of Iraq.

Similarly, the US President’s

officialpress secretary

describedMrTrump’s2017

inauguration attendanceas

“thelargestaudienceever to

witness an inauguration, period,

bothinperson and around the

globe”,despite photographic

proof to the contrary ,and when

suchevidencewaspresentedto

Mr Trump’sspokesperson,these

inaccuracieswere described

merely as “alternative facts”.

Progress?historyanswers.co.uk,

3May 2017; D.Telegraph,26

Nov2019.Seealso ‘Fortfoolery:

Forteanaand April Fool

Hoaxes’[FT352:28-31].

ILLUSTRATIONS

BY

HUNT EMERSON

ABOVE:Some of the Moon’s remarkable inhabitants,aspictured in an illustration
in theNewYork Sunof 1835.