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How Nutritional Advice Is Making Us Sick

Nutrition is full of all kinds of nonsense.

The worst examples are listed here, but unfortunately this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Here are the top 13 nutrition lies that have made the world both sick and fat.

This post originally appeared at Authority Nutrition. Copyright 2013. Follow Authority Nutrition on Twitter.

1. Eggs Are Bad For Your Health

Flickr/skampy

Eggs are so incredibly nutritious that they’re often called “nature’s multivitamin.”

The nutrients in them are enough to turn a single cell into an entire baby chicken.

However, eggs have been demonized in the past because they contain a large amount of cholesterol, which was believed to increase the risk of heart disease.

But the truth is that despite being high in cholesterol, eggs don’t really raise the bad cholesterol in the blood. In fact, eggs primarily raise the “good” cholesterol (1, 2, 3, 4).

Despite all the warnings about eggs in the past few decades, studies show that they are NOT associated with heart disease (5, 6, 7).

If anything, eggs are pretty much a perfect food for humans. They’re loaded with protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and unique antioxidants that protect the eyes (8, 9).

They are also an excellent source of Choline, a nutrient that is very important for the health of the brain and about 90% of people aren’t getting enough of (10, 11).

Despite being a “high fat” food, eating eggs for breakfast is proven to cause significant weight loss compared to a breakfast of bagels (12, 13).

Bottom Line: Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet and do not raise your risk of heart disease. Eggs for breakfast can help you lose weight.

2. A Calorie is a Calorie

Flickr/sylvar

It is often said that the only thing that matters for weight loss is “calories in, calories out.”

The truth is that calories matter… but the types of foods we eat are just as important.

That is because different foods go through different metabolic pathways in the body (14).

Additionally, the foods we eat can directly impact the hormones that regulate when and how much we eat, as well as the amount of calories we burn.

Here are two examples of why a calorie is NOT a calorie:

• Protein: Eating protein can boost the metabolic rate and reduce appetite compared to the same amount of calories from fat and carbs. It can also increase your muscle mass, which burns calories around the clock (15, 16).
• Fructose vs glucose: Fructose can stimulate the appetite compared to the same number of calories from glucose (17, 18).

Even though calories are important, saying that they are all that matters when it comes to weight (or health for that matter) is completely wrong.

Bottom Line: All calories are not created equal. Different foods go through different metabolic pathways and have varying effects on hunger, hormones and health.

3. Saturated Fat is Unhealthy

Flickr/mgerskup

For many decades, people have believed that eating saturated fat can increase the risk of heart disease.

In fact, this idea has been the cornerstone of mainstream nutrition recommendations.

However, studies published in the past few decades prove that saturated fat is completely harmless.

A massive study published in 2010 looked at data from a total of 21 studies that included 347,747 individuals. They found absolutely no association between saturated fat consumption and the risk of heart disease (19).

Multiple other studies confirm these findings… saturated fat really has nothing to do with heart disease. The “war” on fat was based on an unproven theory that somehow became common knowledge (20, 21).

The truth is that saturated fat raises HDL (the “good”) cholesterol. It also changes the LDL cholesterol from small, dense LDL (very, very bad) to Large LDL, which is benign (22, 23, 24, 25, 26).

There is literally no reason to fear butter, meat or coconut oil… these foods are perfectly healthy!

Bottom Line: New studies show that saturated fat does not increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. It raises the good cholesterol and changes the “bad” cholesterol to a benign subtype.

4. Eating a Lot of Protein is Bad For Your Health

Flickr/vinitlee

Many people believe that eating a lot of protein can damage your bones.

While it is true that increased protein can increase calcium excretion from the bones in the short term, the long term studies show the exact opposite effect.

In fact, eating more protein is consistently associated with improved bone density and a lower risk of fracture in old age (27, 28, 29).

This is one example of where blindly following conventional nutrition advice will lead to the exact opposite result.

Another myth is that protein increases strain on the kidneys and contributes to kidney failure.

The reality is a bit more complicated than that. Although it is true that people with established kidney disease should reduce protein intake, studies in healthy individuals show that protein is perfectly safe (30, 31).

In healthy individuals, protein actually reduces two of the main risk factors for kidney disease… which are diabetes and high blood pressure (32, 33, 34).

Eating a high protein diet has many other benefits, including increased muscle mass, reduced body fat and a lower risk of diseases like cardiovascular disease (35, 36, 37).

Bottom Line: Studies show that protein has positive effects on bone health in the long run and does not raise the risk of kidney disease in healthy individuals. Eating a high protein diet has many important health benefits.

5. Everyone Should be Eating “Heart-Healthy” Whole Wheat

Miss Fandango/Flickr

Commonly mistaken as a health food, evidence is mounting that wheat can contribute to various health problems.

Yes… this includes “heart-healthy” whole wheat.

Wheat is the biggest source of gluten in the diet. New studies are showing that a significant percentage of the population may be sensitive to it (38, 39, 40).

In sensitive individuals, gluten can contribute to various symptoms like digestive issues, pain, bloating, stool inconsistency, fatigue and may damage the lining of the intestine (41, 42, 43, 44).

There are also some controlled trials associating wheat gluten with various disorders of the brain, including schizophrenia, autism and cerebellar ataxia (45, 46, 47).

Not only that… but a controlled trial in humans showed that whole wheat increased various risk factors for cardiovascular disease in as little as 12 weeks (48).

Even though whole wheat is “less unhealthy” than refined wheat, the best choice would be to skip the wheat altogether.

Bottom Line: Wheat is the biggest source of gluten in the diet. Many studies are showing that wheat, including whole wheat, can contribute to various health problems.

6. Coffee is Bad for You

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Coffee has gotten a bad reputation in the past.

It is true that coffee can mildly elevate blood pressure in the short term (49).

However, long term studies show that coffee may actually reduce your risk of some serious diseases.

Coffee drinkers:

• Have up to a 67% lower risk of Type II diabetes (50, 51).
• Are at a much lower risk of getting Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s (52, 53).
• Have up to an 80% lower risk of liver diseases like cirrhosis (54, 55).

Caffeine also helps to mobilize fatty acids from the fat tissues, boost metabolism and increase exercise performance by an average of 11-12% (56, 57, 58).

Many studies have examined the effects of caffeine on the brain, showing that it can improve mood, memory, reaction time, vigilance and overall brain function (59).

You may be surprised to hear that coffee is also loaded with antioxidants. In fact, it is the biggest source of antioxidants in the modern diet, outranking both fruits and vegetables, combined (60, 61).

If you’re sensitive to caffeine or it tends to disrupt your sleep, then green tea has many of the same health benefits but a smaller amount of caffeine.

Bottom Line: Coffee contains very large amounts of antioxidants. Studies show that coffee drinkers are at a much lower risk of developing many serious diseases.

7. Meat is Bad For You

Flickr/snekse

Blaming new health problems on old foods has never made sense to me.

One example of that is meat… which humans have been eating throughout evolution, for millions of years.

For some very strange reason, many people are now blaming meat for diseases like heart disease and type II diabetes, which are relatively new.

This doesn’t make much sense at all and the studies don’t support it.

While it is true that processed meat is associated with all sorts of diseases, the same is not true for unprocessed red meat.

A massive review from 2010 that looked at data from 20 studies with a total of 1,218,380 individuals revealed that unprocessed red meat had no significant association with either cardiovascular disease or type II diabetes (62).

Other studies that included hundreds of thousands of people agree with this… processed meat is bad, but unprocessed red meat is harmless (63).

Even though some observational studies have found a link between meat consumption and cancer, review studies that look at the data as a whole show that the effect is weak and inconsistent (64, 65).

If there really is an association between red meat and cancer (which has NOT been proven) then it is most likely caused by excessive cooking, not the meat itself. For this reason, it may be important to avoid burning your meat (66).

Also, let’s not forget that meat is incredibly nutritious. It is loaded with vitamins, minerals, quality proteins, healthy fats and various lesser known nutrients that are important for the body and brain (67).

Bottom Line: Studies show that unprocessed red meat does not raise your risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. There is a very weak association with cancer, but most likely caused by excessive cooking and not the meat itself.

8. The Healthiest Diet is a Low-Fat, High-Carb Diet

Since the year 1977, the health authorities have told everyone to eat a low-fat, high-carb diet.

This was originally based on political decisions and low quality studies that have since been thoroughly debunked.

Interestingly, the obesity epidemic started at almost the exact same time the low-fat guidelines first came out.

Since then, several massive studies have examined the health effects of the low-fat diet.

In the Women’s Health Initiative, the biggest study on diet ever conducted, 48,835 women were randomized to either a low-fat diet or continued to eat the standard western diet.

After a study period of 7.5 years, the low-fat group weighed only 0.4 kg (1 lb) less and there was no decrease in cardiovascular disease or cancer (68, 69, 70).

Other studies agree with these findings… this diet is notoriously ineffective (71, 72).

Even though it may work for healthy and active individuals… for people with obesity, metabolic syndrome or diabetes, the low-fat diet can be downright harmful.

Bottom Line: The low-fat, high-carb diet recommended by the mainstream nutrition organizations is a miserable failure and has been repeatedly proven to be ineffective.

9. Refined Seed- and Vegetable Oils Are Healthy

Flickr/torrez

Some studies show that polyunsaturated fats lower your risk of heart disease.

For this reason, many have recommended that we increase our consumption of vegetable oils like soybean oil, sunflower oil and corn oil.

However, it is important to realize that there are different types of polyunsaturated fats, mainly Omega-3s and Omega-6s.

While we get Omega-3s from fish and grass-fed animals, the main sources of Omega-6 fatty acids are processed seed- and vegetable oils.

The thing is… we need to get Omega-3s and Omega-6s in a certain balance. Most people are eating too little Omega-3 and way too much Omega-6 (73, 74).

Studies show that excess Omega-6 fatty acids can increase inflammation in the body, which is known to play a causal role in many serious diseases (75, 76).

Most importantly, seed- and vegetable oils are associated with a significantly increased risk of heart disease… the biggest killer in the world (77, 78, 79, 80, 81).

If you want to lower your risk of disease, eat your Omega-3s but avoid the refined seed- and vegetable oils.

It’s important to keep in mind that this does NOT apply to other plant oils like coconut oil and olive oil, which are low in Omega-6 and extremely healthy.

Bottom Line: Excess consumption of refined seed- and vegetable oils can increase inflammation in the body and dramatically raise your risk of cardiovascular disease.

10. Low-Carb Diets Are Ineffective and Downright Harmful

Flickr/MindzB

Low-carb diets have been popular for several decades.

Because they are high in fat, they have been demonized by nutritionists and the media.

They repeatedly claim that such diets are “unproven” or downright dangerous.

However, since the year 2002, over 20 randomized controlled trials have examined the effects of low-carb diets on various aspects of health.

Almost every one of those studies agrees that:

1. Low-carb diets lead to significant decreases in blood pressure (82, 83).
2. Low-carb diets where people are allowed to eat as much as they want cause more weight loss than low-fat diets that are calorie restricted (84, 85).
3. Low-carb diets increase HDL (the good) cholesterol and decrease triglycerides much more than low-fat diets (86, 87, 88).
4. Low-carb diets change the pattern of LDL (the “bad”) cholesterol from small, dense LDL (very bad) to Large LDL – which is benign (89, 90).
5. Low-carb diets have powerful positive effects on type II diabetes, significantly lowering blood sugar and reducing the need for medication (91, 92, 93).
6. If anything, low-carb diets appear to be easier to stick to than low-fat diets, probably because people don’t have to restrict calories and be hungry all the time (94).

Even though low-carb diets are unnecessary for people who are healthy and active, studies show that they are extremely useful against obesity, metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes… which are some of the biggest health problems in the world.

Despite these powerful results, many of the “experts” that are supposed to have our best interests in mind have the audacity to call low-carb diets dangerous and continue to peddle the failed low-fat diet that is hurting more people than it helps.

Bottom Line: Low-carb diets are the easiest, healthiest and most effective way to lose weight and reverse metabolic disease. It is pretty much a scientific fact at this point.

11. Everyone Should be Cutting Back on Sodium

Flickr/astanush

The health authorities constantly tell us to reduce sodium in the diet in order to reduce blood pressure.

Whereas most people are eating about 3400 mg of sodium per day, we are usually advised to cut back to 1500-2300 mg per day (about 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of salt).

It is true that reducing sodium can cause mild reductions in blood pressure, especially in individuals who have elevated blood pressure to begin with (95).

But it’s important to keep in mind that elevated blood pressure itself doesn’t kill anyone directly. It is a risk factor, not necessarily a cause of disease.

Interestingly, many studies have examined whether sodium restriction has any effect on cardiovascular disease or the risk of death. These studies consistently found no effect… even in individuals with high blood pressure (96, 97, 98).

Other studies show that too little sodium can also be harmful, leading to adverse effects such as insulin resistance, elevated LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as an increased risk of death in type II diabetics (99, 100, 101).

Overall, there is no evidence that healthy people need to cut back on sodium.

Bottom Line: Despite sodium restriction being able to mildly reduce blood pressure, this does not lead to improved health outcomes.

12. Sugar is Bad Because it Contains “Empty” Calories

Flickr/luschei

Many think that sugar is unhealthy just because it contains “empty” calories.

This is true… sugar contains a lot of calories, with no essential nutrients.

But this is really just the tip of the iceberg.

Sugar, mainly due to its high content of fructose, can have severe adverse effects on metabolism and set us up for rapid weight gain and metabolic disease (102).

When we eat large amounts of fructose, it gets turned into fat in the liver and is either shipped out as VLDL particles, or lodges in the liver to cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (103, 104).

Studies in humans show that excess fructose can lead to insulin resistance, elevated blood sugars, elevated triglycerides, increased small, dense LDL and increased abdominal obesity in as little as 10 weeks (105).

Fructose also doesn’t lower the hunger hormone ghrelin and doesn’t affect satiety in the brain in the same way as glucose. This way, sugar causes a biochemical drive in the brain to eat more and get fat (106, 107, 108).

This applies to fructose from added sugars, NOT the natural sugars found in fruits.

When consumed in excess, added sugar is associated with multiple diseases, including obesity, heart disease, type II diabetes and even cancer (109, 110, 111, 112, 113).

Sugar is probably the single worst ingredient in the modern diet.

Bottom Line: The harmful effects of excess sugar go way beyond empty calories. Sugar can have severe adverse effects on metabolism, leading to weight gain and many serious diseases.

13. Fat Makes You Fat

Facebook/VelvetIceCream

It seems to make sense that eating fat would make you fat.

After all, the stuff that is making people soft and puffy is fat.

For this reason, eating more fat should give us more of it.

However, it turns out that it isn’t that simple. Despite fat having more calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates, diets that are high in fat do not make people fat.

This depends completely on the context. A diet that is high in carbs AND fat will make you fat, but it’s NOT because of the fat.

In fact, the studies consistently show that diets that are high in fat (but low in carbs) lead to much more weight loss than diets that are low in fat (114, 115, 116).

Read more: http://authoritynutrition.com/top-13-nutrition-lies-that-made-the-world-sick-and-fat/#ixzz2ienR4YuJ

MAF Test and Training Summary

On the Facebook group, and people I am coaching we have a few participants doing an aerobic test called a MAF test.  Some are logging their performance here LINK.

The 180 Formula (To find the maximum aerobic heart rate):

1. Subtract your age from 180 (180 – age).

2. Modify this number by selecting a category below that best matches your health profile:

a. If you have, or are recovering from, a major illness (heart disease, high blood pressure, any operation or hospital stay, etc.) or you are taking medication, subtract an additional 10.
b. If you have not exercised before or have been training inconsistently or injured, have not recently progressed in training or competition, or if you get more than two colds or bouts of flu per year, or have allergies, subtract an additional 5.
c. If you’ve been exercising regularly (at least four times weekly) for up to two years without any of the problems listed in a or b, keep the number (180 – age) the same.
d. If you have been competing for more than two years duration without any of the problems listed above, and have improved in competition without injury, add 5. 

 For example, if you are 30 years old and fit into category b: 

180 – 30 = 150, then 150 – 5 = 145.

During training, create a range of 10 beats below the maximum aerobic heart rate; in the example above, train between 135 and 145 staying as close to 145 as possible.  Track you MAF tests weekly or biweekly for 3 months.  When you see a plateau you can switch to speed days, hill climbs, real anaerobic stuff. *

Perform the MAF Test on a track, (or repeatable surface) running at the maximum aerobic heart rate. A one- to five-mile test, with each one-mile interval recorded, provides good data. The test should be done following an easy 12–15 minute warm up, and be performed about every month throughout the year. Below is a 5-mile MAF Test of a runner training at a heart rate of 150:

 Distance Time (min:sec)
 Mile 1     8:21
 Mile 2     8:27
 Mile 3     8:38
 Mile 4     8:44
 Mile 5     8:49

During an MAF Test, it is normal for the running times to slow each mile – the first mile should be the fastest and the last the slowest. If this is not the case, it may indicate the lack of an effective warm up. In addition, the test should show faster times as the weeks and months pass. For example, over a four month period, we can see the endurance progress in the same runner from the above MAF Test. Note the aerobic speed improvement between April and July:

             April   May    June   July
 Mile 1   8:21   8:11    7:57   7:44
 Mile 2   8:27   8:18    8:05   7:52
 Mile 3   8:38   8:26    8:10   7:59
 Mile 4   8:44   8:33    8:17   8:09
 Mile 5   8:49   8:39    8:24   8:15

This improvement is typical during the aerobic base period. Some improve at a faster rate, others slower.  Most importantly, if you’re not improving within a three- or six-month period, it means something is wrong.  It may be a dietary or nutritional factor, excess stress, overtraining (such as too many miles), etc. In some cases, it may be the maximum aerobic heart rate is too high (often from choosing the wrong category in the 180 Formula).  Moreover, a reversal of aerobic function, i.e., slowing of aerobic pace during base training, may indicate an impending injury – enough of a reason to perform the MAF Test regularly.

Progress should continue in some form for three to six months or more before aerobic benefits may reach a normal plateau. Adding anaerobic work to the schedule before this plateau may impair (and ultimately even reverse) further aerobic progress.

The greatest benefit of the MAF Test is that it objectively demonstrates aerobic improvement in the form of aerobic speed. These changes also reflect competitive improvement.

© 2007 Philip Maffetone www.philmaffetone.com

*If you see NO improvements over 2 or 3 MAF tests, there's something in your training, diet or other stressors that is affecting your aeorbic performance.  email me and we'll figure it out! 

Gluten Free Food List

Gluten Free Food List (Dr Perlmutter, get his 'Grain Brain' book)

The following items can be consumed liberally on your Gluten Free Diet (go organic and local with your whole- food choices wherever possible; flash frozen is fine, too):

• Healthy fat: extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, grass-fed tallow and organic or pasture-fed butter, ghee, almond milk, avocados, coconuts, olives,nuts and nut butters, cheese (except for blue cheeses), and seeds (flaxseed, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds).
• Protein: whole eggs; wild fish (salmon, black cod, mahi mahi, grouper,herring, trout, sardines); shellfish and molluscs (shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, clams, oysters); grass-fed meat, fowl, poultry, and pork (beef, lamb, liver, bison, chicken, turkey, duck, ostrich, veal); wild game.
• Vegetables: leafy greens and lettuces, collards, spinach, broccoli, kale, chard, cabbage, onions, mushrooms, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, artichoke, alfalfa sprouts, green beans, celery, bok choy, radishes, watercress, turnip, asparagus, garlic, leek, fennel, shallots, scallions, ginger, jicama, parsley, water chestnuts.
• Low-sugar Fruit: avocado, bell peppers, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, eggplant, lemons, limes.
• Herbs, Seasonings, and Condiments: You can go wild here as long as you watch labels. Kiss ketchup and chutney goodbye but enjoy mustard, horseradish, tapenade, and salsa if they are free of gluten, wheat, soy, and sugar. There are virtually no restrictions on herbs and seasonings; be mindful of packaged products, however, that were made at plants that process wheat and soy.

The following can be used in moderation (“moderation” means eating small amounts of these ingredients once a day or, ideally, just a couple times weekly):

• Non-gluten grains: amaranth, buckwheat, rice (brown, white, wild), millet, quinoa, sorghum, teff. (A note about oats: although oats do not naturally contain gluten, they are frequently contaminated with gluten because they are processed at mills that also handle wheat; avoid them unless they come with a guarantee that they are gluten-free.) When non-gluten grains are processed for human consumption (e.g., milling whole oats and preparing rice for packaging), their physical structure changes, and this increases the risk of an inflammatory reaction. For this reason, we limit these foods.
• Legumes (beans, lentils, peas). Exception: you can have hummus (made from chickpeas).
• Carrots and parsnips.
• Whole sweet fruit: berries are best; be extra cautious of sugary fruits such as apricots, mangos, melons, papaya, prunes, and pineapple.
• Cow’s milk and cream: use sparingly in recipes, coffee, and tea.
• Cottage cheese, yogurt, and kefir: use sparingly in recipes or as a topping.
• Sweeteners: natural stevia and chocolate (choose dark chocolate that’s at least 70 percent or more cocoa).
• Wine: one glass a day if you so choose, preferably red.

Here’s a sample shopping list:

• Shredded Coconut
• Kale
• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Olive Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Grass Fed Beef
• Free Range Eggs
• Avocado
• Free Range Turkey
• Free Range Chicken
• Mixed Greens
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Wild Salmon
• Berries (in moderation
• Onions
• Garlic
• Bell Pepper
• Black Pepper
• Goat’s Cheese

Quick snapshot of diet with rationale

I occasionally do a Livestrong.com/myplate daily food log as a sanity check to see where my macronutirents (protein, carbs, fats) are.

The pie chart is my ratios for what I've been consuming lately.





Typical day:

• Morning: MCT Oil in coffee (1-2Tsp)
• Late morning: 3 Soft boiled eggs (preserve the yolks!), 3 strips bacon
• Before noon: lunch leftover bison, potatoes, carrots in its broth
• Evening 2 handfuls of nuts
• Dinner: Ground Lamb, sweet potato, brussel sprouts scoops of coconut oil

It's very simple diet, so easy to maintain.  

Carbs: You'll laugh but the carbs are almost exclusively through beer. Other carbs include a few cups of sweet 'taters, brussel sprouts, broccoli, spinach

Protein: is a necessary evil that comes with my search for fats. 

Fats: I seek meats, lamb and bison preferred. Secondary sources are steak/chicken. handfuls of nuts, and scoops of MCT oil, coconut oil (in coffee, on veggies), and guac. eggs every morning, sometimes bacon.  Lamb and bison are 'always' grass- fed. Corn fed steak is 'ok'. Grass fed steak is either expensive as balls or hard to find... as balls. Chicken has little to offer, it is a filler food that is benign. I seek seafood once a week. Fatty fish of course (=cold water) like salmon. Problem is most salmon is raised in shitty water and fed soy.  

Night time running

For those of us on Northern Hemisphere daylight is becoming a more scarce resource.  Besides a reduction of Vitamin D* we are also now visually impaired and not easily seen by others. Gotta stay safe: Need to see and be seen.  Buying a lighting system is the type of purchase you want to get right the first time.  Nothing is more expensive than buying something that you never use.  Two reasons for lighting:

• Light your way
• Night Trail Running: There are typically no street lights on trails.  Looking for a lighting system with more than 100 Lumens is a safe rule.  



Black Diamond 80-100 Lumens

Headlamps are a good solution. They leave your hands free and only cast light where you're looking.  They can be inconvenient if you're used to wearing a hat, and the pressure on the forehead can take some getting used to.  It would be nice if they were lined with a Richard Simmons terrycloth head band - alas, there always seems to be some plastic digging in to your forehead. 


• Night Road Running: In the presence of some street lighting and possible traffic, it's more important to be seen by others.  For this you'll need a handheld flashlight that you can point low, looking for road hazards and curbs and not blinding drivers or other pedestrians. A handheld is also appropriate for encountering other nighttime runners in populated areas.  The major benefit of handheld is that they allow you to avert your lighting without having to avert your gaze.  Another secret...keep one eye closed when around a car's headlights (and don't look directly into the headlights - no brainer?), this keeps the pupil in the closed eye big for better night vision later ;)

• Be seen by others

In the presence of nighttime traffic (even dusk), wearing reflective clothing and carrying battery powered glowsticks and blinking red lights all help you be more visible to the half-blind drivers out there.  Quote from Evaluation of Reflective Vest Options 

"Research on human perception (in motor vehicles) finds that drivers must first notice, and then identify, an object (in or near the roadway) in order to react to it (Beck2  2005, and Ashton 2007). Police uniforms are typically dark colored and even more difficult to see at night. The white shirt common among higher ranked officers does not add to their visibility in low light or nighttime conditions. Beck, citing research conducted in 1984, notes a driver at 30 miles per hour (mph) detects a subject in dark clothing at approximately 70 feet (giving the subject approximately 1.5 seconds to react). If the speed is 55 mph, the reaction time was under one second. Similar research by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (as cited by Ashton 2007) concluded that in a simulated work zone, a driver detected a person in non-reflective clothing at 125 feet while they detected an individual in reflective clothing at 891 feet."

7 times further reaction distance is the difference between reflective and non-reflective clothing.  That's pretty good odds for a low cost inVESTment.  One ebay search shows as low as $5 could protect you.  Search here.

Flashlight with a pivot-able head

Selecting a headlamp or flashlight (or as I do it, one each): Think about battery replacement (rechargeable or not), comfort, lighting-power, and ergonomics. When using a flashlight, the angle of your hand is important. Over time, pointing a flashlight can be an uncomfortable if you need to maintain an unnatural wrist angle. Knuckle lights, or an aim-able flashlight head can make things more comfortable.

Knuckle lights

My solution, I wear a headlamp that has a blinking red light in the back and carry a stronger handheld. Because I'm a nerd I chose a 'programmable' flashlight.  I can get it to blink fast to remind me to do pickups at time intervals, or blink slow to remind me to turn around and run home.  If you're the type to think a programmable flashlight may be fun, here's an example of one:

www.hexbright.com

Be safe.  Buy quality stuff!  Torches would be more paleo (and more fun for the pyros among us), but it just makes your neighbors a little suspicious.  I'd love to hear what your lighting solutions are, what worked, and what did NOT work.

**The way to NOT be vitamin D* deficient (or A,E,K,etc) is high cholesterol diet rich in fats. Lead a fat burning lifestyle to get the most bang for your food buck.