Posted on November 4, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows beta-blockers, used to lower blood pressure, actually INCREASE heart attack-risk.
Dr. Fuhrman's thoughts:
Patients should be given the clear facts that medications do not have a significant impact on reducing heart attacks, the leading cause of death in people with high blood pressure. In fact, because of their negative effect on lipids and glucose levels, drug treatments such as beta-blockers and diuretics may even increase the risk of heart attacks in some individuals.
Instead, Dr. Fuhrman recommends exercise and dietary intervention, like avoiding salt and eating more fruits and vegetables, to treat hypertension.
Pomegranates are particularly AMAZING for blood pressure!
Posted on November 3, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to the CDC the rate of new diabetes cases in the United States nearly DOUBLED over the last 10 years. West Virginia has the highest rate, 13 in 1,000 adults, while Minnesota boasted the lowest rate with 5 in 1,000 adults having diabetes; the Associated Press reports.
And, to make matters worse, new studies in Archives of Internal Medicine show U.S. diabetics have doubled their spending on diabetes-related drugs. Posting a total bill of $12.5 BILLION! Experts suggest finding ways to drive down the cost; via the Associated Press.
Now, a more frugal option would be HALTING the spread of diabetes! A vegetable-based nutrient-dense diet can prevent and reserves the effects of diabetes. So does exercise, like Tai Chi. And previous research shows eating more green veggies helps lower diabetes-risk too.
Posted on October 27, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Research by Tufts Medical Center claims Tai Chi, an ancient form of Chinese exercise, DECREASES knee pain from arthritis. Reuters reports:
The study provided the latest evidence that tai chi may offer benefits for people with arthritis. The Arthritis Foundation advocacy group recommends it for improving the quality of life of people with arthritis.
Tai chi is a form of exercise developed in China centuries ago. With tai chi, a person slowly performs a series of postures or movements that are low impact and put little stress on the muscles and joints. It can improve muscle function, balance and flexibility.
That’s why I started doing yoga. Oh, and a previous study determined Tai Chi also helps CONTROL type-2 diabetes. Pretty cool!
Posted on October 16, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I’m a genius! I do HUNDREDS of web searches each day. A new report claims searching the net TRAINS our brains to stay active and healthy; Reuters reports.
This is GREAT! And centenarians would agree. In a recent survey, U.S. centenarians listed “keep your mind active” as a TOP TEN tip for living to 100.
I wonder how many searches you’d have to do to STOP alcohol from shrinking your brain. Oh, and here's more tips! Check out Dr. Fuhrman’s Seven Secrets of Longevity.
Posted on October 13, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New research in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology claims listening to music gives workouts a BOOST! Via Brunel University:
Thirty participants exercised on a treadmill while listening to a selection of motivational rock or pop music, including tracks by Queen, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Madonna. They were asked to keep in strict time with the beat. The findings show that when carefully selected according to scientific principles, music can enhance endurance by 15% and improve the ‘feeling states’ of exercisers, helping them to derive much greater pleasure from the task. One significant new finding is that music can help exercisers to feel more positive even when they are working out at a very high intensity – close to physical exhaustion.
I TOTALLY agree. When I turn on the Metallica, I become a BEAST! What kind of music gets your motor running?
Via Diet-Blog.
Posted on October 10, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The National Football League has made youth FITNESS a priority. And recently, members of the New York Giants, helped build a playground in New Jersey, part of the NFL’s Play 60 campaign, encouraging kids to eat right and be ACTIVE for 60-minutes a day; via The New York Times.
Now, this is all well and good, but football has its OWN health problems. Football players, specifically NFL linemen, are SHORT-LIVED and at HIGHER risk of heart disease. The ENORMOUS size of these men—a result of “bulking up”—cuts into their lifespan.
Worse yet, the “bigger is better” trend may be undermining youth fitness initiatives, like Play 60. Previous reports have shown even HIGH SCHOOL football players are packing on the size—putting their future health at risk!
Posted on October 8, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Obesity and general unhealthiness are CHOKING this country. Most of us eat crap and DON’T exercise. But now, researchers are urging that activity-level may be the MOST important indicator of good health; the Associated Press reports.
And with that, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department has published REVISED national exercise guidelines; up to 2 1/2 hours of activity a week, including things like walking briskly, water aerobics, ballroom dancing, jogging and jumping rope.
Now, if you’ve got two left feet like me and can’t dance. You might want to try training like a Navy Seal or a MIGHTY Spartan. Remember, exercise not only helps you look good and feel great—it helps you POOP too!
Posted on October 7, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A new study, presented at the2008 American Physiological Society Intersociety Meeting, claims, just ONE session of exercise speeds up metabolism in obese people; after ONLY 90-minutes of activity study participants burned 700 excess calories; Reuters reports.
Exercise is POWERFUL medicine! Running helps people live longer, active video games allow people to overcome obesity genes and other activities, like weight-lifting, improve heart health, cut diabetes-risk and reduce depression.
That’s why I exercise like a lunatic!
Posted on October 2, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
No doubt, obesity is WHACKING the world. The United States is fat, China is fat and getting fatter, even poor countries, like Nigeria and Uganda, are obese and the British have even started printing bodyweight on children’s report cards to help control fatness.
Even global warming has been linked to obesity! Clearly, we got a problem. Now, South Korea has its own solution for combating weight-gain in kids. They’re providing FREE vouchers to health clubs for obese children; Reuters reports.
I think, like healthy eating, good fitness and exercise habits start with the parents. Bev Sklar of That’sFit watched her young daughter become very intrigued by Yoga when she saw mommy doing it. Hey, my passion for exercise was ignited by my mother—who still gets up at 4AM to run!
Posted on September 30, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Exercise does A LOT of things. Gives you a six-pack, broader chest, toned butt and even a good poop! New research claims regular exercise can RELIEVE symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, specifically constipation.
The study appears in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. Reuters reports:
Dr. Amanda J. Daley of the University of Birmingham in the UK and colleagues recruited 56 adults (mostly women) with doctor-diagnosed IBS for a study lasting 12 weeks.
The participants were randomly assigned to usual care (i.e., a "control" group) or to an exercise program, consisting of two 40-minute one-on-one exercise consultations designed to provide exercise skills, knowledge, confidence and motivation -- the goal being 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 5 days a week.
The researchers chose this type of intervention, they say, because it has been found to boost exercise in other patient groups, and because it could be more easily integrated into current healthcare practice than supervised programs.
After 12 weeks, the exercise group chalked up significantly more weekly exercise than the control group and they reported significantly greater declines in symptoms of constipation.
What a relief! Now, I’ve said it before, but it’s HARD to make a case against exercise. For example, That’sFit passes along news that EXERCISE helps lower type-2 diabetes risk and it’s already been shown that exercise improves heart health.
Now, if you’re pressed for time and can’t make it to the gym, try exercising at the office. Exercise is too HEALTHY to skip!
Posted on September 23, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Nowadays I spend MOST of my time in front of a computer. If I didn’t eat right and exercise, I’d be as big as a HOUSE! Remember, a sedentary lifestyle wallops your health.
So, if you’re a desk-dweller like me. You have to figure HOW to bridge the gap between sitting and moving. You could start with the “Workstation.” It’s the hybrid combination of a desk and a treadmill.
I’m not sure I could type and walk at the same time. I can barely THINK and type at once! I’d rather get up and stretch, especially since University of Queensland researchers determined periodic stretch breaks are good for your health. And here are some desk stretches—via The Los Angeles Times.
Also, here's a whole list of office exercises you can do; including wearing a pedometer, finding a walking buddy and taking the stairs. Actually, taking the stairs is VERY heart healthy and can dramatically increase fitness levels; from Reuters.
Or you good always do Zumba. I’ve never tried it, but apparently this Latin exercise dance-craze is taking the world by storm. Aye carumba! I’m WAY too uncoordinated for that.
Posted on September 22, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
We already the United States is FAT and getting FATTER and that obesity costs this country A LOT of money, but it just got WORSE! New research in Fertility and Sterility claims being obese may diminish a man’s fertility; Reuters reports.
Now, obesity doesn’t only affect men’s potency. Women are also at risk! Last year a study determined that obesity may prevent eggs in women’s ovaries from becoming healthy embryos; more from the AFP.
NO guy or gal wants to hear that. Good thing new research has determined that exercise can reduce fat, in this case, fat in the liver. Another clear-cut example that exercise is ALWAYS a good idea! So, eat healthy, exercise and check out these tricks to living to 113—via That’sFit.
Posted on September 18, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Exercise goofs vary. Some people put the treadmill WAY too high and others SQUEEZE into tight workout clothes and some do both!
But seriously, Parade magazine points out 3 more fitness mistakes. Have a look:
- Forgetting to warm up or cool down
I’m a stickler for all three, especially the last one—my motto is slow and steady. Actually, give the U.S. Navy SEAL workout a try, seems like a pretty inclusive routine to me.
Posted on September 16, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Imagine you’re a black bear. You’re just wandering around, minding your own business, looking for picnic baskets and—WHAM—some dude on a bike crashes into you!
What do you do? Maul his face! Briefly recall your days riding a unicycle in the circus? Or, turn tail and scamper away?
Luckily, for a Missoula, Montana middle school teacher and cycling enthusiast, the bear he “T-boned” flew over his handlebars, rolled over his head—cracking his helmet—and took off down the road; AOL News reports.
Suffering only bruising and scratches, some would say this cyclist BEAR-ly got away! Clearly, this is GREAT advertisement for bike helmet awareness.
Now, for all you mountain-bikers, no worries, BEAR-CRASHES are very uncommon. Excessive speed, unfamiliar terrain or hitting a bump are more likely causes of a crash—via The Physician and Sportsmedicine.
Regardless, I prefer my biking stationary!
Posted on September 12, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Do you lift weights? I do, four days a week: Monday, chest; Tuesday, legs; Wednesday, shoulders; Thursday, arms; and abs, everyday! Now, Dr. Fuhrman recommends resistance-training, especially if you’re a woman looking to avoid osteoporosis.
And HealthandMen offer up four reasons why pumping iron is a GOOD idea. Take a look:
- Stroke prevention: weightlifting actually decreases your blood presure, therefore reducing the risk of stroke.
- Anti-Depressant: It’s always been said that weightlifting and cardio can be great for reducing stress, but it’s not only stress that it can benefit. It’s been shown to also make people generally have a better mood about them.
- Increase Your “T” Levels: Testosterone plays an important role in protein synthesis and sexual drive as well as mood an activity. Weight lifting signals your body to produce more.
- Cuts Diabetes Risk: Weight lifting decreases blood glucose levels along with improving insulin sensitivity.
Okay, before you run out and hit the weights. You might want to check out this list of debunked muscle-myths via Men’s Health.
And a few months ago. The New York Times asked, Does Weight Lifting Make a Better Athlete?
Posted on September 9, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to Dr. Fuhrman obesity and its sequelae cost the United States over $100 billion each year—so why suffer? Just eat right and exercise! Especially since new research shows that EXERCISE seriously kicks obesity’s butt.
The study appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine. More from Julie Steenhuysen of Reuters:
When we looked at the Amish who were the most active, there is suddenly no effect of that gene," said Dr. Soren Snitker of the University of Maryland, whose study appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The findings, which suggest physical activity can overcome a genetic predisposition for obesity, may help inform the debate over whether changes in diet or physical activity will make the biggest difference in fighting obesity.
Consumer groups have pushed for laws such as July's moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in certain Los Angeles neighborhoods, while the food industry often maintains that a lack of exercise is more to blame.
Researchers focused their study on a group of 704 Old Order Amish men and women in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a religious group whose members often do not drive cars or have electricity in their homes.
Snitker said the group offered a unique mix of activity levels, with some farmers in the community still using horse-drawn plows while others holding more conventional jobs, including factory work.
Now, get this. Another study—this time in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine—claims that active video games are a great way to work out; Reuters reports. Go figure, exercising in the digital age!
For more, check out Disease Proof’s obesity and exercise categories.
Posted on September 8, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Before I joined a gym, I spent HOURS exercising in my parent’s basement. In fact, as a kid I bought a weight bench, weights, punching bag, rowing machine, pull bar and my parents bought a treadmill. Having your own mini-fitness center is SUPER convenient.
And recently, Jacki Donaldson of That’sFit cleaned out her garage and setup her own little gym. Here’s a bit:
We finally cleaned out our garage the other day and dug out from piles of debris a bunch of workout equipment. My husband bought it all not long ago, we used it for a bit, and then it somehow got buried. Boxes sat on the weight bench. Swimming towels hung from the pull-up bar. And the weights, well, they were painted with a layer of dust. No more is this the case, though. Nope, our garage looks more like a gym now than it does a storage unit and all four of us Donaldson folks are pretty inspired by the fitness potential lurking just outside our kitchen door.
Strength training has always been my weakness when it comes to exercise. I love to run, walk, and swim but I typically lack motivation for building muscle. Our new home gym is helping. Today, I ran a 3.5-mile loop around town and topped things off with a mini-garage workout. Did the same yesterday after my swim. Plan to keep on doing it. My husband, somehow lean and fit without much purposeful exercise, was out in the garage last night. I caught him doing loads of pull-ups -- how does he do them so effortlessly? -- and after his full routine, he was drenched in sweat. The most promising effect of our garage renovation, though, is how it's got our kids pumped up about pumping up. Five-year-old Danny tells us he wants to be a wrestler when he grows up. "That's why I'm working out," he says. And Joey, seven years old and a master at a perfect push-up, is working pretty hard too. His dad spots him on pull-ups, and I saw him cranking out some bench press reps last night too.
I think having some fitness equipment at home is a GREAT idea. If you’re committed to staying fit, it’s a perfect way to beat the guilt when you don’t feeling like going to the gym—know what I mean?
Also, Reuters reports that exercise can cut cancer-risk. Another reason to get moving!
Posted on September 3, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Eating right and exercising is critical. In fact, research just showed that running is a GREAT way to improve heart health, but if running isn’t your thing. Try taking the stairs!
A new study claims that simply walking up and down the stairs can reduce waist size, body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol. Ben Hirschler of Reuters reports:
Philippe Meyer of the University Hospital in Geneva studied 69 employees of the university with a sedentary lifestyle, defined as less than two hours of exercise a week and fewer than 10 flights of stairs climbed a day.
After not using elevators for 12 weeks, they increased their use of stairs to an average of 23 stories ascended or descended a day from five before, with a resulting sharp increase in fitness levels.
"This suggests that stair climbing at work may have major public health implications," Meyer told the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology. "However, the results of the pilot study need to be confirmed in a larger randomized controlled trial."
Pretty cool! Certainly we ALL can try to take the stairs more often. Remember, aerobic exercise combats metabolic syndrome, a known contributor to cardiovascular disease.
Here’s more good news. That’sFit passes along some info on how nuts—in this case, pistachios—lower heart disease-risk. Now, Dr. Fuhrman advocates eating plenty of nuts and seeds; they contain plant proteins and plant sterols that naturally lower cholesterol.
Speaking of heart health, check out this interview with Dr. Fuhrman’s friend Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. Via 90.3 WCPN: How To Eradicate Heart Disease.
Posted on August 30, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Sorry to lower the integrity of the blog, but I think this is funny. So bear with my sophomoric humor:
Go on, admit it.You laughed too!
Posted on August 29, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
From Yoga and Tai Chi to Zumba and beyond! Exercise is an important part of optimal health and researchers at Johns Hopkins University have determined that simply walking on a treadmill can help stroke survivors improve mobility. Will Dunham of Reuters reports:
Some of the treadmill walkers achieved major improvement despite coming into the study needing a wheelchair or walker to get around, and brain scans revealed positive brain changes following six months of such exercise, the researchers said.
"I think it's one of the better pieces of news in a while -- in a long while -- for the stroke survivor," Dr. Daniel Hanley, a neurology professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore who helped lead the study, said in a telephone interview.
"Improvement can occur a long time -- meaning months and years -- after the stroke," added Hanley, whose findings were published in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.
Stroke survivors can be left with paralysis or loss of muscle movement. A stroke can impair a person's gait, reducing one's mobility and fitness and promoting chronic disability.
Stroke most commonly occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is stopped or greatly reduced, depriving it of oxygen.
The study involved 71 patients, average age 63, who had a stroke an average of about four years earlier. About half were selected to walk on a treadmill for 40 minutes three times a week for six months, while the rest did stretching exercises for the same amount of time instead of the treadmill.
Of course, if you’re eating a vegetable-based diet, you don’t really need to worry about stroke. Oh, and if you are an exercise nut, keeping a diary of your fitness progress can be very helpful—via That’sFit.
Posted on August 25, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
In a population-based, case-control study, the researchers matched 1,001 men with prostate cancer diagnosed between 2002 and 2005 with 942 age-matched cancer-free controls from King County, Washington.
No overall association was observed between the risk of prostate cancer and the current or past use of statin treatment. Duration of statin use was also not associated with prostate cancer risk.
"We also found no evidence that use of a statin was associated with risk of developing more aggressive subtypes of prostate caner," Stanford said in an interview with Reuters Health. "Overall we found no support for the current hypothesis that statin use may reduce risk of prostate cancer."
However, the results do suggest a significant increase in the risk of developing prostate cancer associated with current statin use and with longer durations of use among obese men (defined as a body mass index of 30 greater).
A team led by Linda Bartoshuk at the University of Florida in Gainesville surveyed 1300 people, 245 of whom had a history of ear infections, and found that among the over-30s, those who had suffered from ear infections were twice as likely to be obese as those with no such history. A subsequent analysis of four US medical databases confirmed the link. Those who had suffered from ear infections also rated fattier foods as 18 per cent more pleasurable than the others.
Infections may damage the chorda tympani taste nerve, which is stimulated at the front of the tongue and passes through the middle ear to the brain, says Bartoshuk. She says that the nerve normally inhibits some of the creamy sensations of fatty foods, as part of a response that inhibits tactile sensations that would otherwise make us gag. But nerve damage would lower this inhibiting effect, making foods seem creamier and so more pleasurable.
The postures, breathing and meditation included in the yoga intervention were "aimed at one common effect, i.e. 'to develop mastery over modifications of the mind' ... through 'slowing down the rate of flow of thoughts in the mind,'" the researchers explain.
Women in the yoga group also listened to lectures on using yoga to manage stress and other yoga-related topics, while those in the control group heard lectures on diet, exercise, the physiology of menopause, and stress.
After eight weeks, women in the yoga group showed a significant reduction in hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disturbances, while the women in the control group did not, Dr. R. Chattha, of the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana in Bangalore, India, and colleagues found.
The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit -- or they'll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.
Alabama will be the first state to charge overweight state workers who don't work on slimming down, while a handful of other states reward employees who adopt healthy behaviors.
Alabama already charges workers who smoke -- and has seen some success in getting them to quit -- but now has turned its attention to a problem that plagues many in the Deep South: obesity.
The State Employees' Insurance Board this week approved a plan to charge state workers starting in January 2010 if they don't have free health screenings.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children devote no more than two hours per day to watching TV and playing video games.
Experts also encourage children to exercise regularly; some groups, including the AAP, recommend that boys move enough to take 13,000 steps each day, while girls should strive for 11,000. Another common recommendation is for children and teenagers to get at least one hour of moderate exercise on most, if not all, days of the week.
For the new study, researchers at Iowa State University in Ames looked at whether there were weight differences between children who met or did not meet recommendations for "screen time" and exercise.
They found that among 709 7- to 12-year-olds, those who did not meet either recommendation were three to four times more likely to be overweight than their peers who met both guidelines.
Both vaccines target the human papillomavirus, a common sexually transmitted virus that usually causes no symptoms and is cleared by the immune system, but which can in very rare cases become chronic and cause cervical cancer.
The two vaccines, Gardasil by Merck Sharp & Dohme and Cervarix by GlaxoSmithKline, target two strains of the virus that together cause an estimated 70 percent of cervical cancers. Gardasil also prevents infection with two other strains that cause some proportion of genital warts. Both vaccines have become quick best sellers since they were licensed two years ago in the United States and Europe, given to tens of millions of girls and women.
“Despite great expectations and promising results of clinical trials, we still lack sufficient evidence of an effective vaccine against cervical cancer,” Dr. Charlotte J. Haug, editor of The Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association, wrote in an editorial in Thursday’s issue of The New England Journal. “With so many essential questions still unanswered, there is good reason to be cautious.
According to the data, women's life expectancy saw a significant decline in 180 counties between 1983 and 1999. The cause for this precipitous drop? The folks at Women's Health attribute it to chronic diseases associated with obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure.
Here is a quick look at the U.S. counties that have experienced the greatest drop (numbers measured in years of average decline in female life expectancy):
Pulaski County, VA - 5.8
Radford, VA - 5.8
Dolores County, CO - 3.3
Montezuma County, CO - 3.3
San Juan County, CO - 3.3.
East Feliciana Parish, LA - 3.2
St. Helena Parish, LA - 3.2
West Feliciana Parish, LA - 3.2
Callaway County, MO - 3.0
Danville, VA - 3.0
Ted Nugent has never been one to beat around the bush so why should he stop now. Honestly I respect the man for the way he is willing and quick to speak his mind, but sometimes he’s a bit too blunt about things. Old Uncle Ted was on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations show on The Travel Channel where he was exploring the elements of Southwestern cuisine and stopped by Ted Nugents ranch in Texas. Anthony and Ted were speaking on many things to include Obesity. The Nuge’ said “Obesity is a manifestation of a cultural depravation in its most vulgar and displeasing-to-look-at form. And it’s suicide as a lifestyle.” Nugent also added “It all comes back to the horror, the soullessness of a trend in America that is the abandonment of parenting. Somebody’s got to go, ‘You can’t eat that. You’re way too fat.‘”
While I can understand what Ted is saying, Obesity is more than just an image issue. The last part of his statement is true that it may lead to certain and early death, but I think someone needs to give this guy a lesson in tact.
Posted on August 23, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Yoga master Rodney Yee will help get your abdominals into tiptop shape. Take a look:
Don't forget to breathe and don’t worry if you fart, happens to everyone! Oh, and great news ladies. New research has determined that Yoga lessens menopause symptoms.
Posted on August 21, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Yup, I’ve had Olympic fever this month. Here’s the legend Marvin Gaye singing the U.S. national anthem while the current Dream Team shoots around. Enjoy:
Now, if that doesn’t inspire you to get active—what will!
Posted on August 20, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
After testing positive for a gene mutation associated with breast cancer, actress Christina Applegate opted to have both her breasts removed. A drastic measure, but the now cancer-free star of "Samantha Who” is optimistic about her future. Via the Associated Press:
She'll undergo reconstructive surgery over the next eight months.
"I'm going to have cute boobs 'til I'm 90, so there's that," she joked in the interview, which aired Tuesday. "I'll have the best boobs in the nursing home. I'll be the envy of all the ladies around the bridge table…"
… Applegate's cancer was detected early through a doctor-ordered MRI. She said she's starting a program to help women at high risk for breast cancer to meet the costs of an MRI, which is not always covered by insurance.
The news of breast cancer initially shook her up, she said.
"I was so mad," she told "Good Morning America." "I was just shaking and -- and then also immediately, I had to go into ... 'take-care-of-business-mode,' which was ... I asked them, 'What do I do now? What -- what is it that I do? I get a doctor, I get a surgeon, I get an oncologist? What do I do?' "
The actress said she quickly made appointments, and also changed her diet to one consisting of fish, grains, beans and vegetables, avoiding processed foods.
Great job Christina! Dropping the processed foods is just what the doctor ordered. Diet is a HUGE factor in the development of all cancers, not just breast cancer. Not to mention exercise has also been shown to ward off cancer.
For more, check out: Christina Applegate's Breast Cancer Diagnosis.
Posted on August 19, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
No, not the kind that goes, “Arf, arf!” But if training like a Spartan wasn’t for you. Consider the U.S. Navy SEAL workout. Looks pretty tough, here are the requirements. Via Julie’s Health Club:
The top SEALs can meet the "competitive" requirements.
- 500 yd. swim – Standard: 12 minutes, 30 seconds. Competitive: 10 minutes
- Push-ups – Standard: 42 in two minutes. Competitive: 80 in two minutes
- Sit-ups - Standard: 50 in two minutes. Competitive: 80 in two minutes
- Pull-ups – Standard: 6. Competitive: 11 (no time limits)
- 1.5 mile run – Standard: 11 minutes. Competitive: 10 minutes
The swimming looks tough. I’m not much of a swimmer—not like 8 Olympic gold medal-winning champion Michael Phelps! Now, if you’re a horrible waterman like me, check out these swimming tips from That’sFit.
Posted on August 15, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Sweet! Running alone, I do about 16 miles a week. Not to mention another 8 miles on the elliptical machine. New research by Stanford University has determined that running helps people live longer and healthier. Reuters reports:
A study published on Monday shows middle-aged members of a runner's club were half as likely to die over a 20-year period as people who did not run.
Running reduced the risk not only of heart disease, but of cancer and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, researchers at Stanford University in California found.
"At 19 years, 15 percent of runners had died compared with 34 percent of controls," Dr. Eliza Chakravarty and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Any type of vigorous exercise will likely do the trick, said Stanford's Dr. James Fries, who worked on the study.
"Both common sense and background science support the idea that there is nothing magical about running per se," Fries said in a telephone interview. "It is the regular physical vigorous activity that is important."
The team surveyed 284 members of a nationwide running club and 156 similar, healthy people as controls. They all came from the university's faculty and staff and had similar social and economic backgrounds, and all were 50 or older.
Running is really awesome! It gives me a fantastic rush. Now, if you live near NYC, try running in Central Park. They say it’s great. Actually, just get out there an exercise, the benefits are infinite. In fact, many cancer patients are becoming avid gym rats—via The New York Times.
Posted on August 13, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
British cyclist Nicole Cooke began biking at age 11, racing her father—a former competitive cyclist—twice a day during her seven-mile trip to and from school and now she’s a 2008 Olympic gold medalist. The Telegraph reports:
The young Miss Cooke and her father, himself a former competitive cyclist, shunned the bus to dash from their home in the village of Wick, in the rolling hills of the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, to Brynteg Comprehensive School in Bridgend, where Tony Cooke taught physics.
The unusual training quickly paid off and Miss Cooke, now 25, publicly announced her life's ambition, and her talent, after winning the Welsh cyclo-cross championship in 1994.
She beat everyone in her age group - including the boys - then promptly announced in a live television interview: "I want to win a gold medal at the Olympics."
Miss Cooke was given her first bike for Christmas when she was six-years-old.
Mr Cooke said: "It was a little blue bike with stabilisers and she got very angry with the stabilisers straight away and demanded we take them off.
"Since then we've brought her a bike for most birthdays and for every Christmas.
"She had a passion for riding straight away and we all went on tandem bike-ride holidays together.
"She was always competing at school and knew this is what she wanted to do as a career.
"I used to go out cycling with her but eventually she sacked me.
Wow! That’s a tough chick. Sounds like my kind of girl. Kudos to Cooke on her win! Clearly, cycling is a great workout, but it can also save you a ton on fuel. In fact, one college student is using bike rides to help her last all summer on just ONE tank of gas—via The Huffington Post.
Posted on August 12, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
With 23 percent of British children now considered overweight or obese, parents have increasing difficulty judging whether their own child is too heavy and most consider their overweight children normal, Ivan Lewis, the British health minister, warned. The letters home are designed as an early wake-up call, aimed at helping kids avoid later health problems, including diabetes and heart disease.
Starting next month, about 1.2 million British kindergartners and children in their last year of primary school will be weighed and notes about their weight mailed home, school and health officials said.
To avoid stigma, all parents—not just those of the overweight—will get an assessment of their child. And to avoid offense, the letters will avoid the use of "obese" or "fat," substituting instead "overweight" or "very overweight."
The recall is of beef prepared for shipment to retailers but not yet cut up in supermarket sized portions.
The recall is "Class 1," meaning there is a "reasonable probability" that eating the beef "will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death," the USDA said. It is the most dangerous level of the three classes of recall.
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said the beef was sent to processing establishments and retail stores across the United States and had been produced June 17, June 24 and July 8.
The recall is of primal and subprimal cuts that are larger sections of cows, such as chuck and rib, that can be cut down for individual or family-sized packaging. It also is of "boxed beef" or carcasses that have been partially disassembled for shipping.
There is little dispute that bisphenol A can disrupt the hormonal system, but scientists differ on whether the very low amounts found in food and beverage containers can be harmful.
The National Toxicology Program, a partnership of federal health agencies, said in a recent draft report that there is "some concern" that the chemical can cause changes in behavior and the brain, and that it may reduce survival and birth weight in fetuses. The conclusion was based on animal studies.
However, the Food and Drug Administration's associate commissioner for science, Dr. Norris Alderson, told Congress in June that there was no reason for consumers to stop using products that contain the chemical.
Despite the uncertainty, consumer concern has prompted some governments and retailers to act.
A report from Brigham Young University shows only 36 percent of babies are breast-fed through six months. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding through the first year.
The data are based on a weighted sample of more than 60,000 children, collected from national immunization surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although the data are focused on childhood immunization rates, questions also were asked about breast-feeding, giving the researchers a representative sample of nursing patterns in the United States.
The researchers found that children who were most likely to be breast-fed for more than six months typically had mothers with higher levels of education and income. Married women and those who lived in Western states were also more likely to breast-feed. Hispanic women and women born in other countries were also more likely to breast-feed.
Returning to work, being a smoker or living in the Northeast decreased the likelihood of long-term breast-feeding. Notably, low-income women who participated in the subsidized Women, Infants and Children program, which provides food, milk and formula to mothers and young children, were also more likely to stop breast-feeding sooner.
Wright is not an exotic dancer in a strip club. She's a 38-year-old mother of two from Atlanta, Georgia, looking to get in a decent workout.
"It works the abs, oh my goodness, muscles I didn't even know I had," Wright chuckled.
On this night, Wright is among more than a dozen women of all shapes and sizes -- no men allowed -- attending a beginner class at PoleLaTeaz, an Atlanta dance studio owned by Angela Edwards.
"We get preachers' wives, teachers, nurses, accountants, lawyers, anyone between the age of 18 and 70," Edwards said. "It's not boring...you get to wear fun clothes, listen to good music...and release your inner sexpot."
If online listings across the country are an indication, the popularity of pole dancing is spreading across the country from Southern California to Chicago to the Bible Belt.
Researchers say those strong feelings pro and con show in themselves that it will take a large study to see what, if anything, stretching really accomplishes. If stretching were remarkably effective, athletes would notice its effects right away and everyone would agree on when to stretch and what stretching does.
The study in Norway was the inspiration of Dr. Andy Oxman, a senior scientist at the Norwegian Knowledge Center for the Health Services. He had just completed what he calls a public clinical trial. It was a sort of reality show on public television that asked whether the nutritional supplement Valerian helped with insomnia; 405 people signed up to receive Valerian or a placebo and reported on their sleep by logging onto a Web site. Some participants insisted that because they slept so well they were taking Valerian. Or they said they knew they had taken the placebo because their sleep didn’t improve.
Then, the results were announced on the TV show and published: Valerian had little or no effect on sleep. Some who maintained they had the supplement actually had the placebo and vice versa.
Yet many people are not getting enough vitamin D, which the skin makes naturally when exposed to sunlight. A nationwide survey found that 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women in the United States were not getting enough of this vital nutrient.
"The importance of vitamin D may be underappreciated," said lead author Dr. Michal Melamed, a clinical fellow at Johns Hopkins University. "There are studies that link low vitamin D levels to the development of heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, diabetes, hypertension and different cancers," she said.
The report was published in the Aug. 11 online edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
For the study, Melamed's team collected data on more than 13,000 men and women who took part in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Levels of vitamin D were collected in 1988 and 1994, and the participants were followed through 2000.
Nebraska Beef, an Omaha meat packer, has been linked to two separate outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 in the past two months. The first triggered a ground beef recall by Kroger's supermarkets. The second outbreak kicked off a ground beef recall by Dorothy Lane Market, a small chain in Ohio. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider these two separate outbreaks because they involve two genetically distinct strains of O157:H7.
Whole Foods initiated the recall after Massachusetts health officials investigating a cluster of E. coli illnesses discovered all seven victims had bought meat at Whole Foods. The chain pulled ground beef from some of its stores on Wednesday. The Nebraska Beef recall was announced late Friday night.
My colleague Ylan Mui and I have gotten some comments from people who noted that the natural food chain is telling folks no contaminated Whole Foods meat has been found yet and we reported that in our story on Sunday. But before anyone is lulled into some false sense of security, there is other microbiological evidence linking Whole Foods to the outbreak.
Posted on August 11, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
If you’re looking for some fitness inspiration, check out
U.S. super swimmer Michael Phelps and his
recent record breaking performance at the Beijing Olympics via
SportsTrick. Here's the
Associated Press report:
I’m jealous. Without water-wings, I can barely float.
Posted on August 8, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Okay, if
training like a Spartan didn’t do it for you. Check out the
Crazy Eight's Workout:
This might come in handy if you’re traveling or away from the gym.
Posted on August 7, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
In the study, 2367 12-year-old Australian school children underwent eye examinations and completed questionnaires about their daily activities.
The lowest rates of myopia were associated with the highest rates of outdoor activity, irrespective of how much near work, such as reading, the children did.
The children with the worst eyesight did lots of near work and spent very little time outside. Interestingly, the study found no benefit from playing sports indoors.
"The crucial factor was being outdoors. Time spent outdoors, as a protective factor, now appears to be the strongest environmental factor that has yet been documented,” Kathryn Rose of the University of Sydney in Australia said.
The researchers, led by Dr. Gopal K. Singh of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, report the findings in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Past studies, the researchers note, have shown that immigrants to the U.S. often have certain "health advantages" over natives that tend to fade as they become more assimilated: traditional diets are replaced by fast food, leisure time is increasingly devoted to TV and computers.
The reverse seems to be true when it comes to physical activity. Research has suggested that immigrant adults tend to exercise more as they become more acculturated.
A similar pattern emerged in the current study. Singh's team found that rates of inactivity were highest among children who were foreign- born or had two foreign-born parents (18 percent and 15 percent, respectively); but children with one foreign-born parent were similar to children whose parents were both born in the U.S. (between 10 percent and 11 percent were inactive).
Their analysis of survey data from 1,932 adults who answered questions about colon cancer risk found that only 15 percent said they used physical activity as a way of reducing their colon cancer risk. The findings were published in the August issue of Patient Education and Counseling.
Several factors may contribute to this lack of knowledge about the link between exercise and colon cancer risk.
"Patients may not be learning this information from their health-care providers and information regarding colon cancer prevention is not as well publicized as it could be," study co-author Elliott Coups said in a new release from the Center for the Advancement of Health.
Doctors may find it easier to tell patients about the general health benefits of exercise, rather than specifically referring to colon cancer, even if a patient has a family history of colon cancer or other risk factors for the disease.
Posted on August 6, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Whoa! This is hardcore, the
Spartan 300 Challenge. Via
CrossFit:
Yup, I’m thinking about trying it!
Posted on August 5, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Okay, the
handstand pushups were pretty brutal. So instead give these back extensions a try. Have a look:
I love doing back exercises and twists and all that stuff! Here’s one of my favorite Yoga poses,
wheel pose.
Via ABC-of-Yoga.com:
Yup, I can actually do it. Not perfect yet, but I’m getting there. Can any of you do it too?
Posted on August 4, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Sit ups and crunches aren’t the only way you can exercise your core. This dude shows off some cool moves. Take a look:
Well, aside from the nauseating music. They look good, very Yoga-like too.
Posted on August 2, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
If you thought
100 regular pushups was tough, trying doing 35 handstand pushups. My arms hurt just watching it! Have a look:
Yeah, I kept thinking he was going to fall too.
Posted on July 29, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I can’t. I got to 35 and crapped out. Okay, 100 may sound like a lofty goal, but
One Hundred Push Ups, a six week training program, is designed to get you there.
Getting started is easy! The
initial test determines how you rank. I ranked 4 in the < 40 age group. After that you’re ready for
week 1.
Each week requires 3 days of training at multiple intensity levels. They suggest Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—resting on Tuesday and Thursday.
At the end of the 6 week training, you’re ready! Now, before you go for the 100. They recommend taking a break for a couple days to conserve your energy. Then eating well and staying hydrated the day of the test.
During the
final test stay focused and don’t hold your breath. The program suggests breaking the 100 into groups of 10. They claim smaller chunks will make the goal more achievable. Although 100 push ups will probably still feel like 100 push ups.
And if you complete the 100, they’ve got a
nifty little badge you can stick on your blog or website. Hey, if you ask me. Doing 100 pushups is something worth boasting about!
Posted on July 29, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
"What I learned about those first two seasons is they are long. They are a grind, especially with the Western Conference not getting any easier,'' Roy said.
Roy hired a trainer, Ron Tate, who focuses heavily on stretching in addition to weight lifting. He also forces Roy to drink a gallon of water every day before 2 p.m.
In previous summers, Roy would play basketball nearly every day. Now he plays maybe twice a week, even though the Blazers would prefer it was one or less.
"I think I have gotten smarter with the way I work,'' Roy said. "It's not so much pound, pound, pound. It's more stretching and lifting with lighter weight but more reps.''
“What they are doing is developing their own system for evaluating things,” said Dr. Warwick L. Morison, professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins and chairman of the Skin Cancer Foundation’s photobiology committee, which tests sunscreens for safety and effectiveness. “Using this scale to say a sunscreen offers good protection or bad protection is junk science.”
Dr. Morison has no financial ties to sunscreen makers, and his work with the Skin Cancer Foundation is unpaid.
Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group, said the database and rating system were based on an extensive review of the medical literature on sunscreens. Of nearly 1,000 sunscreens reviewed, the group recommends only 143 brands. Most are lesser-known brands with titanium and zinc, which are effective blockers of ultraviolet radiation. But they are less popular with consumers because they can leave a white residue.
Olympic host city Beijing was shrouded in haze on Monday 11 days before the Games begin, raising anxieties about whether it can deliver the clean skies promised for the world's top athletes.
The city's chronic pollution, a sometimes acrid mix of construction dust, vehicle exhaust and factory and power plant fumes, has been one of the biggest worries for Games organizers.
Beijing has ordered many of its 3.3 million cars off roads and halted much construction and factory production in an effort to cut pollution before the Games open on August 8.
But a sultry haze persisted on Monday, and state media said Beijing might be forced to restrict more cars and shut more factories if the pollution persists.
"At baseline, before they were supposed to be following a diet or exercise plan, we found on weekends, people gained weight," study author Susan Racette, an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis said. During the week, the weight would decline. But the weekend effect was strong. "If you translate it out to a year, it could have increased weight by 9 pounds."
Before the intervention, participants ate an average of 2,257 calories on Saturday compared to just 2,021 during the week. But the average activity on weekends overall didn't differ much from average weekday activities. So, it was the food, not the lack of activity, that was to blame, Racette said.
Racette monitored the participants for a year after they started the intervention, and the weekend indulgences continued. The calorie restriction group stopped losing weight on weekends, while the physical activity group gained slightly (about .17 pounds). There were not significant weight changes in the controls on weekends.
Four years ago, ahead of the Athens Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed caffeine from its list of banned substances in sport. This was "presumably because WADA considered (caffeine's) performance-enhancing effects to be insignificant," notes Mark Stuart in a commentary published in the journal BMJ Clinical Evidence.
Stuart, a BMJ editor, has worked with doping control for past Olympic Games and helped train medical staff for the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
Despite questions about caffeine's effects on athletic prowess, Stuart points out, studies indicate that many athletes still use the stimulant. In a study published last month, for example, researchers found that of 193 UK track-and-field athletes they surveyed, one-third used caffeine to enhance performance -- as did 60 percent of 287 competitive cyclists.
Numbers like those, coupled with ads for sleep aids, persuaded yoga instructor Shanon Buffington that the time was right for a workshop she developed.
"Most of us don't sleep like babies anymore," the instructor said as participants gathered last month for her "Yoga for Better Sleep" workshop at Dallas Surya Center for Yoga.
"We're typically tired, and when we do rest, we don't sleep well.
"My goal," she said, "is to give you a toolbox of techniques." These include breathing techniques, relaxing restorative poses and an introduction to Yoga Nidra, a guided visualization.
These yoga tools work, Buffington says, by calming the autonomic nervous system, specifically by nudging the body toward the parasympathetic, or "rest and digest," state as opposed to the sympathetic, or "fight or flight," state.
A new study has found that high bone mineral density (BMD) predicts a greater likelihood of developing breast cancer, independent of how high her risk is on the often-used Gail model.
The two measurements together might be used in tandem to better predict breast cancer risk, the researchers said.
The findings, which were expected to be published in the Sept. 1 issue of Cancer, follow closely on the heels of other research linking different aspects of bone health with breast cancer risk. One study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in May found that Zometa (zoledronic acid), a drug used to treat osteoporosis, lowered the risk of breast cancer recurrence in premenopausal women.
And another study released this spring found that women with breast cancer who have a vitamin D deficiency at the time of their diagnosis were more likely to have a recurrence or to die from their disease. Vitamin D is also critical to bone health.
Fitness and exercise have been shown to slow age-related changes in the brain in healthy people. The latest finding suggests people with early Alzheimer's disease may still benefit.
"The message is essentially if you have Alzheimer's disease, it's not too late to become physically fit," Dr. Sam Gandy, chairman of the Alzheimer's Association's Medical and Scientific Advisory Council, said in a statement.
Researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City studied the relationship between fitness and brain volume in 56 healthy adults and 60 adults with early Alzheimer's disease. All were over the age of 60.
Posted on July 24, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Dr. Peter Libby, M.D., professor of medicine at
Harvard Medical School and chief of cardiovascular medicine at
Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, calls the push to
medicate children with statins “
an admission of colossal societal failure.” Via
The New York Times:
But I think all that misses the crux of the issue. The very discussion of drug treatment to lower cholesterol in kids constitutes an admission of colossal societal failure. Although our genetic makeup has not changed in the last 20 years, our collective girth has skyrocketed, and the epidemic of childhood obesity is going global. We need to look to our environment for the root cause of this sudden change in the shape of the human species, which in evolutionary terms is occurring in an instant. Rather than “medicalizing” childhood obesity and heart risk, we need to repair our toxic surroundings.
Another recent study, the largest ever of children and physical activity, finds that American kids experience a remarkable drop in activity levels as they reach puberty. By age 15, the wide majority of kids are moving less than one hour each weekday.
As citizens, as parents, we must strive to reinforce physical education, nutrition curricula, and encourage limitation of high-sugar beverages in schools. In too many homes, glowing television screens, computer monitors, and video game screens have supplanted the bicycles and basketball hoops of yesteryear. Our kids’ meals should reflect sensible nutrition practices wherever they’re served. (Many such practices were noted in the academy’s report, while only one tentative paragraph discussed physical activity.) Urban planners must redouble efforts to provide the sidewalks and bike paths needed by children and adults alike for spontaneous recreation.
This should be a call to action for parents. Want your kid to be healthy, get involved! “Setting an example supported by both parents is the most important and most effective way for your children to develop a healthy attitude toward food,” explains Dr. Fuhrman. Same goes with
exercise.
Posted on July 22, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Milo F. Bryant, a personal trainer and
Gazette columnist, scoffs at new research—funded by
The Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation—claiming “vindication” for low-carb diets. He contends
low-carb diets sap people’s energy. Via
The Colorado Springs Gazette:
Which brings me to the results of a study released last week. It lasted two years and determined that the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet produced greater weight loss than the fish-rich Mediterranean diet and the low-fat guidelines suggested by the American Heart Association.
I have a huge problem with this study: The Atkins Foundation helped finance it. It doesn't matter where the researchers are from. It doesn't matter how much integrity they have. They are doing a study with money from a company that can and will gain financially based on the results. This study would have had much more credence if a group unaffiliated with Atkins had paid for it, orchestrated it and found the same results.
Several nutritionists and dietitians I know have almost convinced me that mutations of the Atkins Diet are great for those who aren't as active as others.
But that leads to my next point. Many of us want to be active but find it difficult to gather the energy to do so. Still, we want the weight loss. So we seek out diets such as Atkins. And it works. We lose weight. But we're not active. And Atkins doesn't provide the fuel to get there.
Granted, Milo’s article is an opinion piece, but he’s onto something. According to Dr. Fuhrman our bodies need carbohydrates more than any other substance. He explains in
Unrefined Carbohydrates Encourage Weight Loss. Here’s an excerpt:
Our muscle cells and brains are designed to run on carbohydrates. Carbohydrate-rich foods, when consumed in their natural state, are low in calories and high in fiber compared with fatty foods, processed foods, or animal products.
Fat contains about nine calories per gram, but protein and carbohydrates contain approximately four calories per gram. So when you eat high-carbohydrate foods, such as fresh fruits and beans, you eat more food and still keep your caloric intake relatively low. The high fiber content of (unrefined) carbohydrate-rich food is another crucial reason you will feel more satisfied and not crave more food when you make unrefined carbohydrates the main source of calories in your diet.
There are a lot of people at my gym on protein-heavy anti-carb diets, but these people are notoriously flaky. For weeks they’re thin and working hard, but then they disappear for months and when they come back they’re considerably fatter—anyone else notice this?
Posted on July 17, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New research contends
exercise may slow brain shrinkage in the early stages Alzheimer's disease. Malcolm Ritter of the
Associated Press reports:
Getting a lot of exercise may help slow brain shrinkage in people with early Alzheimer's disease, a preliminary study suggests. Analysis found that participants who were more physically fit had less brain shrinkage than less-fit participants. However, they didn't do significantly better on tests for mental performance. That was a surprise, but maybe the study had too few patients to make an effect show up in the statistical analysis, said Dr. Jeffrey Burns, one of the study's authors…
…Burns, who directs the Alzheimer and Memory Program at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City, reports the work with colleagues in Tuesday's issue of the journal Neurology.
The study included 57 people with early Alzheimer's. Their physical fitness was assessed by measuring their peak oxygen demand while on a treadmill, and brain shrinkage was estimated by MRI scans.
Hey folks. Clearly, you got to exercise—not sure you can get around it.
Posted on July 16, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Sad news, Oscar Pistorius a double-amputee sprinter who
in May was cleared to compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics,
failed to qualify. Graham Dunbar of the
Associated Press reports:
“I am so excited and so happy. I really enjoyed tonight,” Pistorius said. “It was always going to be a very difficult task to achieve the individual time but there is still the hope of the relay.”
South Africa selectors will choose their team for the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Games by the weekend and can invite him to join the six-man roster for the 1,600-meter relay.
To do so would defy a public request from the IAAF because the body believes his prosthetic legs are a threat to his own and other athletes’ safety.
“I think it is the IAAF’s last desperate attempt to try to get me not to qualify,” Pistorius said.
In May he won an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn an IAAF ban which prevented him competing against able-bodied runners.
On Wednesday the New York legal firm of Dewey and Leboeuf, which steered that case, threatened a second legal action against the IAAF.
“We believe the IAAF is obligated to immediately advise the South African Federation and Olympic Committee that it has no objection to Mr. Pistorius competing in the 4x400m relay at the Beijing Games,” it said in a statement.
Win, lose, or draw. Oscar is a hero. If you’re looking for a role model or even just a little extra inspiration, Oscar's the guy. Great job Blade Runner!
Posted on July 16, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
When it comes to staying physically active, teenagers take a nosedive; 9-year olds get about 3 hours per day, while 15-year olds only get about 49 minutes during the week and even less on weekends. More from Tara Parker-Pope of
The New York Times:
While researchers have long believed that childhood activity wanes as kids enter their teen years, the study is unique because it followed about 1,000 children from around the country over time and used activity monitors to carefully track moderate to vigorous physical activity at various ages. The findings show clearly that even the most active young children experience a precipitous drop in physical activity as they hit puberty.
"I was surprised by the degree of the drop – it’s a dramatic shift,” said Dr. Philip R. Nader, emeritus professor of pediatrics at the University of California-San Diego. "Younger children appear to be naturally active, but as kids get older, they find fewer opportunities to be active.”
The activity study was part of the ongoing Study of Early Childcare and Youth Development, a 15-year look at the health of American children funded by the National Institutes of Health. Unlike many childhood activity studies, the latest research didn’t rely on parents to report a child’s activity. Instead the children wore accelerometers – devices that measure movement – for a week at a time during the ages of 9, 11, 12 and 15.
Overall, boys were more active than girls, moving on average, 18 more minutes a day. The age of 13 appeared to be a particularly vulnerable time – that’s the point for both boys and girls that weekend activity dropped below the 60 minute mark.
I’m not a parent, but I think it starts with the parents. My mom has always exercised A LOT and it certainly rubbed off on me. As early as 7th grade I started developing workout routines.
Posted on July 14, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Innovative or impractical,
makers of the “Workstation” have combined the desk and the treadmill. Could it be the perfect workplace-exercise contraption? Rob Lever of the
AFP reports:
The device allows people to work on their computers while walking on a treadmill at a slow speed of up to three kilometers (two miles) per hour, enabling small amounts of movement that supporters say have the potential to reap big health benefits.
The product made by Details, a unit of Michigan-based office furniture maker Steelcase, is selling 30 to 40 units per week, according to company president Bud Klipa.
"The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, we have numerous repeat customers," Klipa told AFP.
Products and services such as these are part of the future workplace in America and elsewhere as companies try to battle obesity and cap medical costs, according to John Challenger, chief executive of the consultancy Challenger Gray & Christmas.
"Companies are recognizing they have to find a way to get control of their health care costs," Challenger said.
Yeah, I’m not that coordinated. If I tried to type and walk at the same time the outcome would not be pretty—or legible.
Posted on July 11, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Dancing is great exercise—even if you’re a clumsy looking white guy doing an odd jig all over the world. See
Where the Hell is Matt:
I’m still smiling like a jackass! I must have watched it a dozen times. You go Matt! I found it via Tara Parker-Pope’s
Well blog:
Dance Even if Nobody Is Watching. Very touching.
Posted on July 10, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
“Summer vacation shouldn’t become a vacation from healthy eating. Kids need nutritious food in the summer just as much as they do during the school year,” Kramer said. “Parents can help by making sure there are plenty of fruits and vegetables available at home. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is a critical cornerstone of nutritious eating habits and is associated with maintaining a healthy weight and overall good health.”
While it’s important to eat fruits and vegetables every day, including them on the menu for special occasions is one way to encourage family members to make healthy food choices during holiday celebrations, vacations, and other summer activities. Here are some ideas for including plenty of fruits and vegetables in meals and snacks. Remember, more matters, so try out more than one of these ideas for healthy summertime eating.
The Food and Drug Administration ordered makers of flouroquinolone drugs - a potent class of antibacterials - to add a prominent "black box" warning to their products and develop new literature for patients emphasizing the risks.
Tendon ruptures are normally thought of as sports injuries, generally occurring among men in their mid-30s. The link to treatment with the antibiotics is highly unusual, and scientists still don't fully understand why it happens. However, FDA officials stressed that many of the serious injuries appear to be preventable if patients stop taking the drug at the first sign of pain or swelling in a tendon, call their doctor, and switch to another antibiotic.
Studying childhood obesity, University of Toronto nutritionist Harvey Anderson found that kids who watched TV while eating lunch took in 228 extra calories than those who ate without the television on.
"One of Anderson's conclusions is that eating while watching television overrides our ability to know when to stop eating," the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, which funded the study, said on Tuesday.
"In effect, mindless television watching produces mindless eating. ... Anderson has some immediate advice for parents -- turn the television off during mealtime."
Researchers at the American Cancer Society and Emory University in Atlanta calculated death rates for lung, breast, prostate and colorectal cancer by level of education among U.S. blacks and whites ages 25 to 64 for 1993 through 2001.
Death rates for each of these types of cancer decreased from 1993 to 2001 in men and women with at least 16 years of education -- a college degree -- except for lung cancer among black women, for whom death rates were stable, they found.
By contrast, among people with less than 12 years of education -- those who did not finish high school -- a statistically significant decrease in death rates during the same period was registered only for breast cancer among white women, according to the study.
Teen girls who spend a lot of time on the Internet are more likely to see their weight creeping slowly up than adolescents who spend less time in front of the computer screen, new research shows.
And the association between computer use and weight held true even when the researchers accounted for the amount of exercise the girls were getting. The Harvard researchers also found that a lack of sleep and alcohol consumption were associated with increasing weight.
"We found more weight gain -- after adjustment for height growth and other factors including physical activity -- for females who spent more recreational time on the Internet, for those getting the least sleep, and for those drinking the most alcohol," said study author Catherine Berkey, a biostatistician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
It's simple. No fancy machines required; just record what you eat on paper or using an online record. "The trick is to write down everything you eat or drink that has calories," says Victor Stevens, a researcher at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research and coauthor of the study released today, which appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. That's easy enough with labeled foods but gets harder when you're dining out or are eating an unfamiliar food. Try online calorie databases like CalorieKing.com, and watch the serving sizes—here's a good source of info on estimating what, say, an ounce of bread looks like. You'll probably still underestimate your daily intake, says Thomas Wadden, director of the Center for Weight Loss and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, but you'll very likely come closer than someone who isn't keeping a food record.
It's eye opening. In fact, some people will be so shocked at how many calories are in their thrice-daily Coke that the "aha" moment will make going on an actual diet unnecessary. Being forced to be aware of what you're eating can often be enough to help people drop weight, says Wadden.
This funny little fruit seems to crop up in lots of popular diet plans, despite a high calorie count.
The reason: It contains monounsaturated fat, one of the "good" fats. It's also packed with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, and it can help the body absorb even more. It's got no cholesterol or sodium, but it's packed with lutein, an antioxidant that contributes to healthy eyes.
Watch it, though: A medium avocado contains about 250 calories, and it's easy to shovel in a bowlful of guacamole when there are chips at hand. But when used judiciously, avocados are healthful and satisfying.
"There is a very long list of health hazards from being overweight," said Ghiyath Shayeb, the study's lead researcher at the University of Aberdeen. "Now we can add poor semen quality to the list."
But experts aren't sure if that necessarily means obese men face major difficulties having children.
"If you have a man who isn't fantastically fertile with a normal partner who is fertile, her fertility will compensate," said Dr. William Ledger, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Britain's University of Sheffield, who was unconnected to the study.
But if both partners are heavy, Ledger said that could be a problem, since obesity is known to decrease women's fertility.
Posted on July 9, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The
sunshine and fresh air does every body good.
Real Simple offers up 7 ways to spend more time outside. Take a look:
- Pack a Lunch
- Schedule Playdates for Early Morning
- Play Games Outdoors
- Setting the Backyard Buffet Table
- Serve Light Food at Your Backyard Buffet
- Serve Sweet, But Not Rich, Summer Desserts
- Setting the Scene for Dinner Outdoors
- Find Daytime and Nighttime Resources
Actually, I’ve made it a point to go running in the park at least once a week. Staying inside all the time is a real bummer.
Posted on July 9, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Metabolic syndrome is a known risk factor for diabetes and heart disease. Good thing
a new study has determined that exercise can help ward off metabolic syndrome.
WebMD reports:
After warming up, the patients in the interval training group walked or ran for four minutes at 90% of their maximum heart rate, slowed down to 70% of their maximum heart rate for three minutes, and then repeated that cycle several times.
The patients in the continuous moderate exercise group worked out steadily at 70% of their maximum heart rate throughout each session. Session duration was adjusted between the two groups to ensure similar calorie expenditures.
As expected, metabolic syndrome didn't budge in the no-exercise group, but both exercise groups got healthier.
Although both exercise groups lost the same amount of weight, the interval training group showed more improvements in how their bodies handled blood sugar and responded to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar. Also, HDL ("good") cholesterol increased by about 25% in the interval training group, but not at all in the other groups.
Given our country’s average health, I guess America is one big “no-exercise group."
Posted on July 8, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Leading by example,
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm rides her bike 3 miles to work each day.
The Detroit Free Press reports:
Granted, Granholm's three-mile commute isn't exactly a grueling workout. But most of us make plenty of short trips - to the dry cleaners, or the local supermarket/convenience store, or the movie rental place - that we could probably reach easily on a bike. Or walk to, for that matter.
It'd save a little gas, and it might add a few calories to our daily workout. It'd cut down just a bit on our personal smog emissions. But more importantly, it'd contribute to giving us all a more healthy, active lifestyle - one fueled by the recognition that our legs can, in fact, take us to meaningful places.
Kudos to Governor Granholm.
Posted on July 2, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Researchers believe that meditation and prayer techniques might alter people’s gene activity, helping them better react to stress. Amanda Gardner of
HealthDay News reports:
"It's not all in your head," said Dr. Herbert Benson, president emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "What we have found is that when you evoke the relaxation response, the very genes that are turned on or off by stress are turned the other way. The mind can actively turn on and turn off genes. The mind is not separated from the body."
One outside expert agreed.
"It's sort of like reverse thinking: If you can wreak havoc on yourself with lifestyle choices, for example, [in a way that] causes expression of latent genetic manifestations in the negative, then the reverse should hold true," said Dr. Gerry Leisman, director of the F.R. Carrick Institute for Clinical Ergonomics, Rehabilitation and Applied Neuroscience at Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K.
"Biology is not entirely our destiny, so while there are things that give us risk factors, there's a lot of 'wiggle' in this," added Leisman, who is also a professor at the University of Haifa in Israel. "This paper is pointing that there is a technique that allows us to play with the wiggle."
Honestly, I’m still wound pretty tightly, but ever since I started doing Yoga I’ve learned to soften a little—sometimes.
Posted on July 2, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The Nursing Degree Network shares a whole bunch of ways we can all live better. Here are some I really liked. Have a look:
3. Not getting enough sleep: Even though you’re not putting anything harmful in your body, not getting enough sleep can be harmful to you.
8. Being negative: Get rid of negative thoughts and feelings, and you’ll find that a life filled with feelings of gratitude, optimism and perspective will make you more successful and happy.
22. Introduce natural light: Introduce natural light into your home or office to improve your energy level.
24. Eat organic: Organic foods actually promote good feng shui and good energy, so make sure your kitchen is stocked with organic vegetables and grains.
39. Meditation: Relax your mind and de-stress with these meditation tips.
45. Go to the bathroom: It’s important to have regular bowel movements, and holding it in too long can cause an infection. Go when you need to go!
50. Add garlic to your diet: Garlic "activates liver enzymes" which clean out your system and help you detox.
62. Spend time outside: Taking a walk outside or reading a book in your yard will quickly make you feel more connected to your community and nature.
67. Clean out your inbox: Organizing your inbox by deleting old messages and moving important e-mails to separate folders will help you focus and de-clutter your mind.
72. Open the windows: Let in some of the natural elements by opening a window…even if it’s raining outside. Breathing in fresh air will calm you down naturally.
83. Pick something you enjoy: If you hate yoga, don’t do sign up for a class just because you think it’s the right thing to do. You can detoxify with any kind of exercise, including organized sports or running.
89. Exercise at work: Desktop yoga and other simple exercises can be done at work, helping workaholics detox anytime.
101. Eat broccoli sprouts: Broccoli sprouts have more "cancer-fighting, enzyme-stimulating" nutrients than regular broccoli.
The one about the going poop made me laugh. If you need to remember to go to the bathroom—you've got major problems! Be sure to
read them all.
Posted on July 2, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Denmark is the happiest nation and Zimbabwe the the most glum, he found. (Zimbabwe's longtime ruler Robert Mugabe was sworn in as president for a sixth term Sunday after a widely discredited runoff in which he was the only candidate. Observers said the runoff was marred by violence and intimidation.)
The United States ranks 16th.
The results of the survey, going back an average of 17 years in 52 countries and involving 350,000 people, will be published in the July 2008 issue of the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science. Researchers have asked the same two questions over the years: "Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?" And, "All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?"
The study, researchers say, suggests that CKD should be added to the list of conditions that are associated with weight gain, including diabetes and high blood pressure.
Obesity is a known risk factor for CKD, but the impact of weight gain in normal-weight individuals without high blood pressure or diabetes is unknown, Dr. Seungho Ryu, at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul, and associates note in their report.
In Korea, workers are required to undergo periodic health examinations. Using these data, Ryu's team followed 8792 healthy men ages 30 to 59 years with no known risk factors for CKD between 2002 and 2007. The prevalence of obesity was about 33 percent.
For example, for apricots, a cup of fresh halves is 86 percent water, with 74 calories, and a half cup of dried fruit is 76 percent water, with 212 calories. Fresh apricots have 3.1 grams of fiber versus 6.5 for dried; 0.6 milligrams of iron versus 2.35 milligrams; 15.5 milligrams of vitamin C versus 0.8 milligrams; and 149 retinol activity equivalents of vitamin A versus 160.
A cup of fresh Thompson seedless grapes is 80 percent water, with 104 calories, and a half cup of raisins is 15 percent water, with 434 calories. The grapes have 1.4 grams of fiber, versus 5.4 grams for the raisins; 0.54 milligrams of iron versus 2.73 milligrams; 288 milligrams of potassium versus 1,086 milligrams; and 16.3 milligrams of vitamin C versus 3.3 milligrams.
At a meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a joint body of the WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), officials also set benchmarks for producing gluten-free foods.
Peter Ben Embarek, a scientist in the WHO's food safety division, said the adoption of the "landmark" code of hygienic practices for powdered formula could reduce contamination from two bacteria that can cause severe illness and death in babies.
People with wheat allergies would also be protected by the standards for gluten-free food that countries pledged to work into their national legislation, and to meet in food exports under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
Most trade shows are the stuff of, if not nightmares, then at least a sleepwalk from one charmless kiosk to the next. Not so at the 54th Summer Fancy Food Show, where 20,000+ gourmet retailers, restaurateurs, chefs, media folks and plain ol' food fans spend three days chomping their way through a fever dream of some 180,000 specialty foods. The throwback "Fancy" is a bit of a misnomer by now, as there's a very wide slice of products on offer, ranging from swankity wines, oils, cheeses and caviar to humble chewing gums, ketchups, chili seasonings and snack mixes.
Most commercial brands of mayonnaise contain vinegar and other ingredients that make them acidic — and therefore very likely to protect against spoilage. When problems occur, they usually result from other contaminated or low-acid ingredients (like chicken and seafood), improper storage and handling, or homemade versions that contain unpasteurized eggs.
One prominent study published in The Journal of Food Protection found, for example, that in the presence of commercial mayonnaise, the growth of salmonella and staphylococcus bacteria in contaminated chicken and ham salad either slowed or stopped altogether. As the amount of mayonnaise increased, the rate of growth decreased. When temperatures rose to those of a hot summer day, the growth increased, but not as much as in samples that did not contain mayonnaise.
After following over 5,700 men for 23 years, researchers concluded that the faster your rate drops after exercise, the lower your risk of dying of a heart attack. To perform the calculation, first take note of your heart rate at exactly one minute after you've finished your workout. Then, take that number and subtract it from the maximum heart rate you reached during the workout. If the difference is more than 35bpm, there's a good chance you do not face an increased risk.
If, however, it is less than 35bpm, the study suggests there's need for caution. Specifically, if the difference is between 31-35bpm, your risk is increased by 40 percent; 25-30bpm, risk increase is 30 percent; less than 25bpm, risk increase is 110 percent.
In Berlin, where a ban took effect on January 1, smokers were granted a six-month period of grace that expired on Tuesday and those who breach the ban now face fines of 1,000 euros (1,575 dollars).
In the eastern state of Saxony, fines can run up to 5,000 euros but in the northern port of Hamburg and Thuringia, in eastern Germany, the highest fine authorities can issue is 500 euros.
The wealthy southern state of Bavaria is considered to have the country's toughest public smoking ban because it prohibits restaurants from opening separate smoking sections -- a practice allowed in other states.
Posted on July 1, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The report by scientists at the WHO's International Agency for Cancer Research urged more countries to adopt smoking bans in public and at the workplace, saying there was enough evidence to prove they work, without hurting businesses such as restaurants and bars.
"Implementation of such policies can have a broader population effect of increasing smoke-free environments," the researchers wrote in the Lancet Oncology special report.
"Not only do these policies achieve their aim of protecting the health of non-smokers by decreasing exposure to second-hand smoke, they also have many effects on smoking behavior, which compound the health benefits."
Watching television in America takes some getting used to. Apart from the accent, it is strange to hear companies marketing drugs directly to the consumer. Not only do they sell their own brand, but they actively name and shame their competitors' products. During a commercial break there may be two different brands of antihistamine telling you how bad the other is.
Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is the promotion of prescription drugs through newspaper, magazine, television and internet marketing. Although the drug industry is mounting major campaigns to have DTCA allowed in Europe and Canada, the only two developed countries where it is currently legal are the U.S. and New Zealand.
Studies have shown that increases in DTCA have contributed to overall increases in spending on both the advertised drug itself and on other drugs that treat the same conditions. For example, one study of 64 drugs found a median increase in sales of $2.20 for every $1 spent on DTCA. It has been reported that 10 of the leading 12 brand-name drugs with DTCA campaigns have sales in excess of $1 billion annually.
The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office on Women's Health launched BodyWorks in 2006 by training instructors in the hopes that they would bring the program home to their communities. All materials are provided free, but communities must find the resources to pay trainers and a place to offer the program.
"Throughout the years I've worked with nutritionists, I've worked with diet programs, and it's very frustrating," Dr. Monica Richter, a pediatrician on staff at the Children's Hospital Seattle and a BodyWorks instructor who coordinates fundraising to help support the program, told Reuters Health. "I'm hoping that this will be one of the answers to this growing problem."
Girls 9 to 13 years old who are overweight or obese are referred to BodyWorks through their pediatrician, or by word of mouth. Parents and caregivers attend 10 weekly 90-minute sessions, and girls are expected to show up for at least three. The goal is to give parents and caregivers "hands-on tools to make small behavior changes to prevent obesity and help maintain a healthier weight," according to the BodyWorks Web site (http://www.womenshealth.gov/bodyworks/).
However, a new study suggests that the Nutrition Facts panel found on the side of grocery store products does a poor job of getting that message across to consumers.
"It's very misleading to just throw a number out there," contends study author Elizabeth Howlett, a professor of marketing at the University of Arkansas, in Little Rock.
Her team found that the average health-conscious consumer is often misled by trans fat information found on the Nutrition Facts panel.
The main problem is that because no amount of trans fat is good for you, it makes no sense to post a percentage of the "recommended daily value" -- as is done with other ingredients such as sugar, or total or saturated fats. So consumers are just left with a number -- such as 2, 3 or 4 grams of trans fat per serving -- and no way of interpreting how unhealthy that might be.
What surprises me most about it is that the parking lot next to the field is not full. I would think people would be lined up to climb up on that roof and get a good look at the art from above.
Even a bra that perfectly maximized motion (without sacrificing support and comfort) would be useful to me only if there were a way to turn that motion into energy. For a primer on how to do that, I turned to Professor Zhong Lin Wang of Georgia Tech, who is currently working to develop fabric made from nanowires that will capture energy from motion. Wang's wires are about 1/1,000th the width of a human hair. When woven together in a fabric, these nanowires rub up against one another and convert the mechanical energy from the friction into an electric charge. According to Wang, the fabric is cheap to produce and surprisingly efficient; his team hopes to use it to create energy-generating T-shirts and other articles of clothing. A square meter of fiber produces about 80 milliwatts of power, which is enough to run a small device like a cell phone. Wang expects to have a shirt available for purchase within five years.
Many bra patterns call for about a meter of fabric, which would probably mean that a regular bra would have enough energy to power an iPod. But the fabric could also be layered, doubling or even tripling the amount of energy produced. I asked Wang whether his fabric could be used to make a bra. "Bras would be ideal," he said. "There is a lot of friction and movement in that general area. And the fabric would be thick."
Parents secretly putting things (even if it's broccoli) into their children's food without their knowing it? When they grow up, I wonder what they'll think of that?
Seems a trust is broken here, and I'm not sure it won't affect food issues these children may have down the line.
Delicious is key where food and children are concerned. If a parent wants to get a child to eat fruit, he or she can wash, chop and freeze fresh strawberries, then take a blender and pour in one cup of fat-free milk. Add three packages of artificial sweetener. Add four or five frozen strawberries, and blend. Keep adding strawberries until you have a thick, luscious strawberry milkshake that could stand toe-to-toe with any fast-food shake you've ever had.
Condition worsened
The girl grew increasingly weak and feverish and "became more limp, appears sleepy, acts as if drunk," the report said. She was hospitalized and underwent surgery and was finally withdrawn from life support. She died April 5, according to the report.
The 9- and 6-year-olds suffered from mitochondrial disorders, a spectrum of genetic diseases that has received almost no attention from federal health officials. The 9-year-old, Hannah Poling, was 19 months old and developing normally in 2000 when she received five shots against nine infectious diseases. Two days later, she developed a fever, cried inconsolably and refused to walk. In the next seven months, she spiraled downward, and in 2001, she was diagnosed with autism.
Posted on June 30, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The Detroit Free Press tips us off to some nifty exercise equipment. Take a look:
Resistance Bands
"The most beneficial equipment would be a set of resistance bands," says Ali Witherspoon, owner of A.L.I. Bootcamp in Hollywood, Fla. "They come in different strengths -- light, medium and heavy resistance -- to work your upper and lower body."
Ankle Weights
"With ankle weights, you can do a whole body workout, and ladies can do all leg exercises," says Natalie Brabner, owner of Florida Fitness Trainers in Aventura. You can tone your muscles and burn more calories just by wearing them throughout the day, and "while watching TV, you can do hip extensions and build your glutes."
Calisthenics
"There's nothing better than old-fashioned body-weight exercises," Thomas says. "They worked for Jack LaLanne and they will do the same for you." Calisthenics also have "what I call a survival slimming effect. Since you are lifting your own body weight, the body is forced to adapt. In other words, if you are heavy, this type of exercise will encourage weight loss out of the sheer will to survive."
Swiss ball
In addition to core training, such as sit-ups, which can be done on the Swiss ball, you can perform stretches and explosive athletic exercises, Thomas says. "This makes the ball the Swiss Army knife of fitness."
I haven’t done jumping-jacks since high school.
Posted on June 28, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Central Park might not have been built for running, but it’s actually becoming a great place to jog. Liz Robbins of
The New York Times reports:
For those who choose to push the boundaries of Central Park, there is every type of workout — speed, hills, distance and exploration — for every kind of runner.
Start with the 4.2 miles of dirt bridle path, in three connected sections, which offer the truest sanctuary.
From there emerges a web of paved and wood-chipped trails, adding miles and topographical variety to any run.
Even at the risk of seeing those routes become more worn, coaches, local runners and staff members of the New York Road Runners shared their favorite off-the-beaten-path runs.
Consider this a primer for thinking, and then running, outside the loop.
I’ve walked through Central Park countless times, but haven’t jogged it yet. I’ll add it to my to-do list!
Posted on June 26, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Listen, we all don’t have the time to rock climb, ski, or hike. So, just how does your average Joe stay fit?
The Detroit Free Press called for submissions. Here’re some stories that caught my eye:
"A young colleague at work turned me onto 'Dance Dance Revolution.' It helped me lose about 12 pounds." Brian Nichols, 42, Livonia
"I have a 7-year-old daughter, Miranda, and just keeping up with her is a real workout. She's involved with soccer, swimming, and tae kwon do. She and I spend a good deal of time working on her skills. As a result, I too get a decent workout." Eric Stileski, 46, and Miranda Stileski, 7, Waterford
"In my attempts to get fit and stay healthy, I find taking my dog, Eddie, for walks to be most rewarding." Jessica Shuler, 26, Novi
"I play Wallyball during the winter months and do strength and flexibility exercises at home to stay fit, and with the nicer weather, have been walking and riding my bike. Wallyball is volleyball played inside of a racquetball court." Kim Howard, 42, Novi
"I Rollerblade, walk briskly on a treadmill, play the Nintendo Wii and use an exercise ball and hand weights." Miria Strzalkowski, 39, New Baltimore
Actually, this is a good question. How do all of you stay fit? You can check out my exercise routine in this post:
Blogging and Dieting, a Follow Up...
Posted on June 24, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
One gym is turning to
ellipitical machines to help generate electricity. More from
That’sFit:
The elliptical machines at my local Gainesville Health & Fitness Center are being used for more than health and fitness. They're being used to convert the energy spent exercising into something pretty darn useful: Electrical power.
Credit for this energetic feat goes to Hudson Harr, the 22-year-old who came up with the ReCardio system -- a patent-pending technology currently wired to 15 elliptical machines and working to convert the kinetic energy from pushing pedals into electricity. The power produced by the machines is plugged straight into the utility grid, which helps produce power for the gym and offsets utility costs. Each elliptical machine can produce one kilowatt of electricity every 10 hours -- enough to charge the battery for a 2004 Toyota Prius once or a cell phone up to 397 times. So far, 150 kilowatts of electricity has been produced.
Pretty cool! I’m always on the ellipticals.
Posted on June 20, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Recently the IceNewtwork.com interviewed Dr. Fuhrman about his previous life as a figure skater and his current life as a nutrition guru. Here’s a bit:
"When I was a skater, I was always reading about nutrition, even as a teenager," says Fuhrman. Although he attended college and earned good grades, figure skating was his primary focus. When it became clear his skating career was over, he started to think about the next phase of his life. He'd graduated from college with an economics and business major and started coaching skating and working in his father's shoe business. Then he decided he wanted to go to medical school, so he took the pre-med program at Columbia.
"It was a gradual thing through my teenage years and early 20s. I had that passion for nutrition," Fuhrman says. "I felt the only way I could really express it and have an effect on society and use nutrition as medical therapy would be to get a medical degree. So I went to medical school with the idea in mind I was going to be a doctor specializing in nutrition."
Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Health Association and serves on the Advisory Panel of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. He is a certified family physician with a nutritional specialty. He is considered a leading expert on nutrition and natural healing. His 2003 best-selling book, Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Plan for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss, has gone through 17 printings.
He recently teamed up with a technology company to launch Eat Right America™ (www.eatrightamerica.com), a Web site that will give people easy access to the information he provides in his practice. It will be a Web-based community where members can get information, support and products to help change their eating habits and, hopefully, their lives.
To see Dr. Fuhrman in action, check out
his 1973 winning routine.
Posted on June 20, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Karen Voight of
The Los Angeles Times offers up
a great back stretch you can do without even getting up. Take a look:
Looks like a lazy version of
Trikonasana or Triangle Pose. Via
ABC-of-Yoga.com:
I’m all about strengthening you back.
I exercise my back almost everyday.
Posted on June 19, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A Dutch study insists that physical training should be part of a cancer patient’s rehabilitation.
Reuters reports:
After being treated for cancer, people showed significant improvements in physical function and vitality for up to three months after completing a 12-week training program. They also felt healthier, Dr. Bart van den Borne of Maastricht University and colleagues found.
Adding cognitive behavioral therapy to the mix didn't result in additional improvements, van den Borne and his team report in the medical journal Psychosomatic Medicine, but they say it's too early to conclude that this type of counseling has no value for patients.
More and more people are surviving cancer, the researchers note, but as many as 30 percent say their quality of life has been reduced and that they could use help with both physical and psychosocial issues.
To investigate what type of rehab program might be most effective, van den Borne and his colleagues randomly assigned 209 patients who had completed cancer treatment to a physical training program, or to physical training plus a weekly cognitive behavioral training session, or to a waiting list.
Exercise, always a good idea! Be sure to check out
DiseaseProof’s exercise category.
Posted on June 18, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Promoting bicycling among citizens has saved Australian public health services millions! Via
TreeHugger:
A new report, has after analysing the data, come up with a figure for the public health benefit offered by cycling. 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 health services are spared an estimated $227.2m AUD annually.
They also noted that per 100,000 participants, an individual is seven times more likely to be hospitalised playing football than riding a bicycle. And observed that “the more cyclists there are, the safer it becomes. In fact, if cycling doubles, the risk per kilometre falls by 34%.” The report’s authors were pleased to find that between 2001 and 2006 bicycle journeys to work had risen 22% in Australian capital cities, with Melbourne being the standout, recording over a 42% increase.
With the cost of gas off the charts, maybe Americans should start bicycling more.
Posted on June 17, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to a new study fitness is a very important component in determine male diabetics’ lifespan. Kevin McKeever of
HealthDay News is on it:
"Death rates were the highest for those who were 'low fit' in all weight categories," researcher Dr. Roshney Jacob-Issac, an endocrinology fellow at George Washington University Hospital, said in a prepared statement.
Researchers used 2,690 male diabetic veterans in VA hospitals, most of whom were overweight or obese based on their body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fat using height and weight.
The vets were categorized as having low, moderate or high fitness level, depending on their performance on a standard treadmill exercise tolerance test.
The researchers found that the higher the man's level of fitness, the lower his risk of dying during the study period. For example, those in the high fitness level -- whether at normal body weight or overweight -- reduced their risk of death by 40 percent. The findings were even more dramatic for those classified as obese but in reasonable good shape: a cut in death risk of 52 percent, when compared to peers not physically fit, the study found during its seven-year follow-up period.
"Diabetics should improve their fitness level or exercise capacity to at least a moderate level, by being physically active. Weight loss is great, but being active is just as important," Jacob-Issac advised.
If you ask me, exercise is always a good idea!
Posted on June 16, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Can’t sleep? Well,
a new study has determined that moderate aerobic exercise can ease the symptoms of insomnia. Robert Preidt of
HealthDay News reports:
Researchers at the Federal University of Sao Paulo divided 28 women and eight men with primary chronic insomnia into three exercise groups -- moderate aerobic, heavy aerobic, and moderate strength -- and one control group.
After the exercise session, those who did moderate aerobic exercise showed reductions in sleep onset latency (54 percent) and wake time (36 percent) and increases in total sleep time (21 percent) and sleep efficiency (18 percent). They also showed a 7 percent decrease in anxiety.
"These findings indicate that there is a way to diminish the symptoms of insomnia without using medication," study author Giselle S. Passos said in a prepared statement.
Sometimes I get up so early to exercise. It feels like I have insomnia.
Posted on June 10, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I admit it. I used to collect action figures. It started as a kid with
Transformers and
Ninja Turtles and continued with pro-wrestling as a teenager. So, obviously these
Yoga figurines have captured my now twenty-something attention.
The Seattle Times reports:
"When I am showing them poses, I also am giving them a visual," Raymond D. Fogleman said. "It's very hard when you are learning to keep that visual in your mind."
To help novices when they are practicing alone, the Hummelstown, Pa., man created 16 3-D action figures to illustrate yoga's controlled breathing and stretching techniques. He calls his product "3-D Yogis and Yoginis Box of Poses."
Fogleman, 43, started studying yoga 14 years ago and has been teaching full time since 2003. He got the idea for the statuettes after finding a toy soldier in a collection of toys three years ago. He realized that the antithesis to a soldier would be a yoga figure.
The plastic statuettes are 3 inches tall or 3 inches wide depending on the pose. Each has a 1-by-2-inch base. Each of the eight yogis (male) and eight yoginis (female) statuettes has a number and a code embossed in its base. The code corresponds to an explanation of the pose in an accompanying instructional guide.
Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years in India. It is based on the principle of mind-body unity. Estimates are that 20 million people in America practice some form of yoga.
Sorry, curiosity killed my cat. Check out these photos from
Raymond’s website:
Yoga is great exercise, but I doubt reenacting the
Civil War with these figures will burn as many calories.
Posted on June 10, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Here’s an article from Dr. Fuhrman's colleague Dr. Steven Acocella, MS, D.C., DACBN, Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist, American College of Lifestyle Physicians, and a Diplomat of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition:
In disease free individuals resting pulse rates reflect our current state of fitness. Being aware of our pulse rate can help us avoid injury when beginning an exercise regime, measure the effectiveness of various exercise routines and determine if we are under or over training. By monitoring our heart rate throughout an exercise session we can adjust our efforts in real time so that we achieve our desired results and goals. Using our heart rate as a guide we can specifically focus on improving cardiovascular health, maximizing body fat reduction, improving stamina and endurance or build lean-muscle mass. As we become more fit, plotting our resting heart rate over a period of time on a graph will demonstrate our progress as clearly as fitting into those skinny jeans again!
Heart rate training is based upon a key anchor point, our maximum heart rate (MHR). From our MHR we derive heart rate training zones. As we will see later, these zones help us target the results we want and achieve those goals from our efforts. There are 3 ways to determine what our individual MHR is, a strictly mathematical formula based on age or by measuring our heart rate during actual exercise. There are 2 methods that use our ‘perceived level of exertion’ (how we feel) during actual exercise. I prefer these exertion-based methods of capturing MHR as they better reflect individual fitness level and ability. However, a resent study reviewed some 50 different mathematical MHR formulas and identified the most reliable and accurate calculation method. The study found that the maximum heart rates obtained using this formula varied only fractionally when compared to exercise derived MHR’s in the same subjects. Certainly, for the average fitness enthusiast, both methods are useful and valid. I will present the mathematical and exercise derived methods in this article.
There are two ways to obtain your pulse, manually by feel or by using a heart rate monitor. Heart rate monitors use a transmitter housed in a chest strap worn during exercise; this device detects the heart’s electrical activity and then send this information to a receiver, usually housed in a wrist watch which displays heart rate and other data. Once only available to professional athletes, personal heart rate monitors are quite inexpensive and accessible to most of us weekend warriors. If you shop for a monitor I recommend you find one with a built in “Fit Test”, a program to calculate your heart rate zones via a guided exercise routine. Many home and most club gym exercise machines have heart rate monitor receivers built right into them. If you have access to these machines you may only need to purchase the chest strap. Some machines with built-in receivers even adjust the workout intensity automatically based upon the user’s target heart rate zones!
If you don’t have a monitor here are a few tips on taking your pulse directly. You can take your pulse on the underside of your wrist on the thumb side using your 1st and 2nd fingers (never use your thumb to take a pulse). Or, some prefer to take the carotid pulse located on the front side of your neck about 1/3 of the way down and about an inch on either side of center. Practice locating your pulse. Once you’re good at finding and feeling the pulsing blood vessel, use a second hand watch and count the pulses for 60 seconds, this is your current heart rate. Once you’re proficient you can count the pulse for 30 seconds and simply double the number. Be sure to master pulse taking before you need to do it during a heart rate test or when exercising.
Firstly, let’s determine your MHR mathematically. Simply plug your age into this equation: MHR = 205.8 – (0.685 x AGE)
For example, the MHR for a 45 year old is: MHR = 205.8 – (0.685 x 45) = 175 Beats per Minute
Now let’s look at the methods that use exercise to capture MHR. The first method, known as the Sub-Maximal HR Test is useful for people that are just beginning an exercise program, recovering from an injury, medical procedure or anyone not in good enough shape to push themselves to their absolute limit. This method instead derives MHR by estimating or extrapolating from a heart rate obtained from a less than all out effort. This test is most accurate when supervised by a professional but an average test is still quite useful.
Using walking as the ‘control effort’ - map out a 1 mile course, a ¼ mile track is optimal but not mandatory. Walk briskly (without jogging) pushing yourself into a challenging but comfortable stride. A good rule of thumb is the talk test, i.e., you should be able to maintain a conversation during this level of effort. At about the ¾ mile mark, without stopping, take your pulse. Keep walking and repeat taking your pulse a couple more times during the last quarter mile. If there is more than a few beats difference in each heart rate simply add them together and take the average to obtain a more accurate number. If you are using a heart rate monitor simply note your HR 3 times during the last ¼ mike and take that average. Now that you have your sub-maximal heart rate, add 50 beats per minute (BPM) to that number to calculate your MHR. Again, this is a working ball-park average but it’s still very useful especially for those of us closing the doughnut box and getting off the couch for the first time.
Finally, we’ll look at obtaining a MHR from the Maximal Effort Method. This method should be utilized only by those whom are already fit and in good cardiovascular health. Be forewarned that this method is quite challenging. Choose an activity such as biking, an elliptical machine, treadmill or any aerobic activity in which your body position is upright. I do not recommend recumbent exercises or swimming for the Maximal HR Test as MHR can be sport specific and these activities have the greatest variation.
The Maximal Effort Method test is designed to last about 15 minutes. Begin to exercise and after about a 3 minute warm-up begin to exercise at the level of effort described for the sub-maximal test. Maintain this level for a full 10 minutes. Once you are at this 10 minute mark the fun begins. Over about a minute, accelerate and intensify your effort until you can push no more. You should be at a level of effort that is very uncomfortable and barely sustainable. After pushing yourself at this highly competitive pace for about a minute note the reading on your heart rate monitor or take your pulse (ask a partner to help you by tracking the time for you) while maintaining your pace. It is this pulse rate during this final minute that is your MHR. Once you have obtained it you can then slow down, cool down and then fall down!
So, now that you have obtained your MHR from the mathematical or effort derived methods we’ll apply this information to get results from our workouts. The broadest application is to define a single target heart rate range to make sure you are getting something out of your workouts. This is a general heart rate range that is required to improve respiratory capacity, cardiovascular health and general overall fitness. This HR range is 60 – 85 percent of our MHR. To find your range simply calculate these 2 numbers:
- Lower limit of Heart Rate Range = MHR X .60
- Upper Limit of Heart Rate Range = MHR X .85
So, our 45 year old with a MHR of 175 BPM would have a beneficial heart rate training range of 105 BPM – 149 BPM (175 X .60 and 175 X .85).
Here’s where monitoring your heart rate during exercise begins to become useful. As we become more fit, activities that initially brought our heart rate into a beneficial range become too easy. But many of us continue our routines and hence our efforts become less productive as they no longer stress our bodies to the point of gaining improved fitness; this ‘staleness’ is avoided by heart rate guided training. We can engage the same activities but are forced to work harder to bring our heart rate into this beneficial zone. But this is only one application. MHR can be tailored for much more specific training goals.
By breaking this wide training range into more narrow ‘zones’ we can use heart rate data to customize our workout intensities for optimal and specific results. Generally, I use 4 reference zones. All are expressed as a percentage of MHR with an upper and lower limit. Although there are overlapping benefits, generally speaking each zone has a particular result associated with it. The percentages of MHR for each zone are:
- Zone I – Light Intensity 60 -70 percent of MHR
- Zone II – Moderate Intensity 70 -80 percent of MHR
- Zone III – Heavy Intensity 80 -90 percent of MHR
- Zone IV – Maximum Intensity > 90 percent of MHR
So, again using our 45 year old as an example our target heart rates would be:
- ZI = 105-122 BPM
- ZII = 123-139 BPM
- ZIII = 140-157 BPM
- ZIV = 158-175 BPM
Here’s an overview for each zone:
Zone I – This is the easiest level of intensity you can work at and still gain benefit. It’s best used for overall health, flexibility and agility and maintaining a weight reduction. This is an excellent zone to stay within during the first 1 -3 months of beginning an exercise plan to avoid injury, especially for those who have not engaged in a fitness program for a long time. It’s also the warm-up and cool down zone to enter into or come out of more intense exercise.
Exercise at this level should feel easy and pass the ‘talk test’. You should never be out of breath, feel any pain or burning and be able to maintain this effort indefinitely.
Zone II –Working out in this zone effectively builds endurance, stamina and muscle tone without significant increase in girth. It’s also excellent for cardiac strengthening and building co-lateral circulation (adding more small blood vessels in the extremities). This is an excellent zone to stay in during the first 2-4 months of training.
When in this zone breathing should be slightly labored but not difficult. You can still converse comfortably. You should not be in a ‘no-pain, no-gain’ condition but may need to vary your effort from time to time. When fit you should be able to maintain this level of effort for a few hours.
Zone III - This is the best zone to use stored fat for energy, i.e., the most efficient weight loss or ‘fat burn zone’. Zone III balances maximum caloric demand while still remaining under the anaerobic threshold, the key criteria for burning fat. In less fit people training in this zone too soon uses more glucose than fat for energy. As we become more fit and can maintain this level of intensity for longer periods of time it becomes fueled by an increasing percentage of energy from stored fat. This is why you often hear people say that they started working out and are “exercising like crazy but not losing any weight”. This is exactly why I recommend to patients that want to lose weight and are just starting out that they exercise in Zone II for a while. Pushing too far too soon can be counter-productive. It takes time for the chemical plant in our muscles to adapt to the new demands of exercise. The cells that use oxygen in producing energy increase over time (this is known as Davis’s Law) so that we can sustain a Zone III level effort for longer and longer. It’s the physiological equivalent to learning to walk before you can run, or perhaps this analogy can be applied literally!
Exercising in this zone should be quite challenging but still not painful. It’s the highest zone you can be in and still be able to carry on a conversation, albeit difficult and in-between breaths. You should be able to maintain this intensity for up to about 1 hour but that may be much shorter initially and increase proportional to you level of fitness.
Zone IV – This is the anaerobic zone whereby we use primarily glycogen (glucose stored in muscle tissue) for energy. This zone contributes greatly to the efficiency by which our muscles can burn fat in the lower zones. By pushing ourselves into this zone we raise our ‘lactate threshold’, the line between using fat verses sugar as a caloric energy source. The more time we can stay in zone IV the higher our lactate threshold and the longer and stronger we can perform athletically. This zone ‘ramps-up’ our muscles to burn fat while we’re at rest by making our ‘oven’ more efficient. Most importantly, this is the zone where the most dramatic muscle building gains live. We could call it the Buff-Zone!
Exercise in this zone can be maintained for only very short periods of time, usually seconds to a few minutes maximum. If you can maintain this zone for longer than 3 minutes you are either not in this anaerobic zone or your name is Lance Armstrong. You can not talk during this level of exertion and are in significant pain. There is no significant fat weight loss in this zone but rather a break down of muscle tissue that leads to growth. This is the ‘no-pain, no gain’ zone and if you’re in it you should be hating life.
Remember, as you become more and more fit the beneficial changes that take place are reflected in your heart rate. Make a chart and plot your resting pulse by taking it first thing in the morning before you get out of bed. Do this for a few months and you’ll see over time the line slopes lower and lower! As your resting pulse plummets the range of your resting heart rate and your MHR increases allowing your heart to work less hard at the same level of effort. By using your heart rate as a barometer of how hard you are exercising you will avoid boredom, progress plateaus and stagnation.
You are now armed with valuable and useful information about heart rate training. You can now see how knowing and using your heart rate can help you maximize weight loss goals, achieve those 6-pack abs and keep you moving onward and upward to the fittest you possible. I applaud you for taking the time to read this article, see you in the gym!
Posted on June 6, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A new study claims short high-intensity workouts are just as heath health as endurance training.
The New York Times Well blog is on it:
Researchers at McMaster University in Canada recruited 20 healthy men and women whose average age was 23. All of the study subjects rode stationary bikes. Some exercised five days a week, doing 40 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling. Others did four to six sets of 30-second sprints on the cycle, allowing 4.5 minutes of recovery time between sets; their total exercise time was about 15 to 25 minutes just three days a week.
After six weeks, the researchers found that the intense sprint interval training improved the structure and function of arteries as much as traditional, longer endurance exercise.
“More and more, professional organizations are recommending interval training during rehabilitation from diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, peripheral artery disease and cardiovascular disease,'’ said Maureen MacDonald, academic advisor and an associate professor in the department of kinesiology.
I do both. I run for a steady pace and then I sprint the last leg—it’s not how you start, but how you finish! Here’s more on my exercise routine:
Blogging and Dieting, a Follow Up.
Posted on June 6, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Protein shakes are a mega business—saturated in hype. Dr. Fuhrman talks about it in
How Safe Are Protein Drinks And Powders? Here’s a snippet:
Unfortunately, most trainers and bodybuilders are influenced by what they read in exercise and bodybuilding magazines. This is worse than getting nutritional information from comic books. Look through any current bodybuilding magazine; what are the vast majority of advertisements selling? Supplements! Most of the pages in these magazines are devoted to pushing worthless powders and pills. Supplement companies slant the opinions of the magazine article writers. The articles in the magazines are geared to support their advertisers.
Our entire society is on a protein binge, brainwashed with misinformation that we have been hearing since childhood. The educational materials used in most schools have been provided free by the meat, dairy, and egg industries for more than seventy years. These industries have successfully lobbied the government, resulting in favorable laws, subsidies, and advertising propaganda that promote corporate profits at the expense of national health. As a result, Americans have been programmed with dangerous information…
…Nutritional supplements can be marketed without FDA approval of safety or effectiveness. Athletes who choose to ingest these supplements should be concerned with the safety of long-term use. They are low-nutrient, low-fiber, highly-processed, high-calorie “foods,” whose consumption reduces the phytochemical density of your diet.
Ingesting more protein than your body needs is not a small matter. It ages you prematurely and can cause significant harm. The excess protein you do not use is not stored by your body as protein; it is converted to fat or eliminated via the kidneys. Eliminating excess nitrogen via your urine leaches calcium and other minerals from your bones and breeds kidney stones.
And now
The New York Times investigates what you need for a long workout; protein or carbohydrates. Gina Kolata reports:
Dr. Tarnopolsky, a 45-year-old trail runner and adventure racer, might be expected to seize upon the nutritional advice. (He won the Ontario trail running series in 2004, 2005 and 2006.)
So might his colleague, Stuart Phillips, a 41-year-old associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster who played rugby for Canada’s national team and now plays it for fun. He also runs, lifts weights and studies nutrition and performance.
In fact, neither researcher regularly uses energy drinks or energy bars. They just drink water, and eat real food. Dr. Tarnopolsky drinks fruit juice; Dr. Phillips eats fruit. And neither one feels a need to ingest a special combination of protein and carbohydrates within a short window of time, a few hours after exercising.
There are grains of truth to the nutrition advice, they and other experts say. But, as so often happens in sports, those grains of truth have been expanded into dictums and have formed the basis for an entire industry in “recovery” products.
They line the shelves of specialty sports stores and supermarkets with names like Accelerade drink, Endurox R4 powder, PowerBar Recovery bar.
“It does seem to me that as a group, athletes are particularly gullible,” said Michael Rennie, a physiologist at the University of Nottingham in England who studies muscle metabolism.
The idea that what you eat and when you eat it will make a big difference in your performance and recovery “is wishful thinking,” said Dr. Rennie, a 61-year-old who was a competitive swimmer and also used to play water polo and rugby.
I don’t bother with any of these “energy” products. The only thing I eat, either before or after my workouts, is
my chocolate pudding.
Posted on June 5, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Using surveillance of hospital staff to observe the ways the wipes are used routinely, researchers discovered hospital workers were using the same antimicrobial wipe on many surfaces, from bed rails to monitors, tables, and keypads. One wipe was frequently used to wipe down several surfaces or to wipe down the same surface repeatedly before being thrown away.
The research team then replicated the disinfecting methods they’d observed for laboratory analysis. The lab findings showed that some wipes were more effective than others at removing bacteria from hard surfaces but they did not kill them. When the bacteria-laden wipe was used repeatedly on one surface or on several, it spread the bacteria instead of eliminating it.
The Agriculture Department, which detected the flu in samples tested at its Ames, Iowa, laboratories, said the H7N3 strain of influenza isn't dangerous to humans. Although the Tyson flock of 15,000 chickens is being destroyed, regulators aren't blocking U.S. consumers from eating chicken raised in Arkansas, the largest poultry-producing state after Georgia.
The Tyson label has been a point of contention and confusion since it was cleared by the Agriculture Department in May 2007. As the department was moving to rescind the label, Tyson officials tried to beat regulators to the punch by announcing earlier this week that it was "voluntarily" withdrawing the label.
Removing the label quickly is a logistical and financial headache for Tyson, which said Tuesday that the Agriculture Department's June 18 deadline is "unrealistic." Tyson says it has "several months" of chicken labeled "antibiotic-free" in storage.
Agriculture Minister Chung Woon-chun said earlier Tuesday that Seoul had asked the U.S. to refrain from exporting any beef from cattle 30 months of age and older, considered at greater risk of the illness.
Presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said the president told a weekly Cabinet meeting that "it is natural not to bring in meat from cattle 30 months of age and older as long as the people do not want it."
The spokesman also expressed hope that the United States would respect South Korea's position following large-scale anti-government protests over the weekend.
The risk of being hospitalized was greatest among babies 6 months old and younger, but the increased risk persisted up until the children were 8 years old, Dr. M. K. Kwok of the University of Hong Kong and colleagues found. Children who were premature or low birth weight were particularly vulnerable.
The findings suggest that secondhand smoke exposure may not only be harmful to children's respiratory tracts, but to their immune systems as well, Kwok and colleagues say.
Hong Kong banned smoking in public places in 2007, but babies and children may still be exposed to secondhand smoke at home, the researchers note in their report in the journal Tobacco Control. While the danger smoke exposure poses to children's developing respiratory systems is well understood, less is known about its effects on overall infection risks.
Scientists previously thought that fat cells were relatively passive and inert. Now they have evidence that fat cells are metabolically active, continuously communicating with the brain and other organs through at least 25 hormones and other signaling chemicals.
For example, fat cells seem to release hormones that inform the brain how much energy is left and when to stop (or start) eating, guide muscles in deciding when to burn fat and tell the liver when to replenish its fat stores.
All this cross talk can be a mixed blessing in the body, however. A healthy population of fat cells, for example, helps the immune system fight off infection by releasing chemicals that cause mild inflammation. But an overactive group of fat cells might keep the inflammation permanently in the "on" position, eventually leading to heart disease.
Adult-onset asthma, like other inflammatory diseases that disproportionately affect women such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, may be a relatively strong risk factor for heart disease and stroke, Dr. Stephen J. Onufrak from the US Department of Agriculture, Stoneville, Mississippi told Reuters Health.
Onufrak and colleagues used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study to examine the association of asthma with the risks of heart disease and stroke according to gender.
They found that, compared with their counterparts without asthma, women with adult-onset asthma had a 2.10-fold increase in the rate of heart disease and a 2.36-fold increase in the rate of stroke.
There was no association between childhood- or adult-onset asthma and heart disease or stroke in men, or between childhood-onset asthma and heart or stroke in women.
Researchers found that among 9,100 middle-aged men at higher-than- average risk of heart disease, those with gout were more likely to die of a heart attack or other cardiovascular cause over 17 years.
The findings should give men with gout extra incentive to have a doctor assess their cardiac risks, lead researcher Dr. Eswar Krishnan told Reuters Health.
And if they have modifiable risk factors -- like high cholesterol, high blood pressure or excess pounds -- it will be particularly important to get them under control, noted Krishnan, an assistant professor at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Give Yourself Permission to Do Less.
If you're struggling to exercise at all, bribe yourself with a mini-workout--it's better than none. You may not need to, once you get going, but the "permission" should be sincere. It's not the end of the world to shave off 10 minutes of cardio or skip a few strength training exercises. Check your routine for duplicate exercises that work the same muscles --you may be able to alternate rather than doing them all every time. If the thought of an easier workout gets you out the door, it's well worth doing "less" sometimes.
Change Routes and Routines.
Another obvious tip, but one we don't do often enough. If you exercise outdoors and have found the "best" route available for your run or walk, it can be tempting to just stick to it until you are totally sick of it but don't even realize it. Find new routes, or if there are none, revisit rejects that seemed too hilly or busy or boring--they may make a good change of pace even if they're not perfect.
Posted on June 4, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Here’s another eco-friendly travel method that also doubles as a great work out. Introducing the
RailRunner. Via
TreeHugger:
Cool, but not as exciting as the
Trailcart.
Posted on June 3, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Posted on May 30, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
This is why I stick to yoga!
Apparently the beating you take while playing football can temporarily reduce your height. More from
WebMD:
Researchers report that repetitive blocking and tackling -- coupled with the weight of helmets and pads - can temporarily shave nearly half an inch off of players' heights.
They studied 10 high school football players -- lineman, defensive tackles, and others whose positions involved repetitive blocking and tackling. The average height of players before the game was 69.5 inches. Afterward, it was 69.2 inches.
Brian J. Campbell, PhD, an assistant professor of biomechanics at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, headed the study. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
Defensive Maneuvers Compress Spinal Cord
Campbell says that it's well known that people shrink over the course of a day. "If you think of your body as an accordion, gravity squeezes you together as the day goes on," he says.
I’m already only 5’5, good thing I never played football—good grief!
Posted on May 28, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I have to admit,
Wii has got me intrigued—I’m not going to buy it—but it is interesting and
some people believe Wii Fit could help solve our obesity woes? Anna Boyd of
eFluxMedia reports:
For only $89.99, the package includes the Wii Fit software disc and the hefty balance board, which measures the user’s body mass index before setting players on diverse workout routines. This board senses the user’s weight as he steps on it and uses the information to control and synchronize the onscreen games and exercises designed to improve your balance, posture and fitness. And the more you play, the more progress you make and the more games you can unlock.
What could be better for your health than Wii Fit? If you’re the lazy kind of person who doesn’t often go out and exercise with other people, then this is the perfect way to lose weight. The game gives you the chance to look and feel better by exercising in your own bedroom, with other users encouraging you to reach your goals.
It seems like Nintendo has planned it all well, as the game will be more likely to have more women among its players than men. Women seem to be more attentive to their obesity problem and are more willing to lose weight and look and feel better. Wii Fit fits them perfectly as time appears to be one of countless enemies in their effort to lose weight.
In a society where time plays an essential factor and they have to balance a family life with a career, going to fitness clubs and keeping fit is not a top priority for them. Now, the problem is solved, as their bedroom could become the perfect place to keep in shape and healthy. Moreover, they could do that involving their families, which could have significant outcomes in solving problems resulting from obesity.
As a Yoga devotee, I’m not sure
Wii Fit can deliver the intangibles of the practice; such as inner peace and developing a sense of community. What do you think?
Posted on May 27, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New research claims that athletes who “bulk up” increase their chances of developing heart disease. Joene Hendry of
Reuters reports:
"Our work demonstrates a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome, an established cardiovascular risk factor, among retired National Football League (NFL) linemen," said Dr. Marc A. Miller, of Mount Sinai Medical Center, in New York. Football linemen are position players commonly of large body size.
A clustering of heart disease and diabetes risk factors including high blood pressure, low levels of 'good' cholesterol, high levels of blood lipids (fats), and elevated blood sugar and body weight make up the metabolic syndrome.
When Miller and colleagues compared metabolic syndrome rates among 510 retired NFL players, they found that nearly 60 percent of linemen had metabolic syndrome, compared with 30 percent of those playing other positions.
Moreover, greater than 85 percent of the linemen were obese, as opposed to half of the non-linemen, the researchers report in The American Journal of Cardiology.
We’ve seen this before:
Personally, I think all professional sports should discourage this kind of training. Clearly, bigger is NOT better.
Posted on May 23, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to a new study drinking less alcohol, eating more veggies, and exercising can hold off diabetes. Michael Kahn of
Reuters reports:
Diet and exercise reduced the incidence of diabetes by about 43 percent over 20 years among 577 high-risk Chinese adults, the researchers reported in the journal Lancet.
At the end of the 20 years, 80 percent of those who changed what they ate and exercised more had diabetes, compared with 93 percent who made no changes, said Guangwei Li of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing and Ping Zhang at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The findings came as part of a series of studies addressing new research about diabetes, which affects 246 million adults worldwide, and accounts for 6 percent of all global deaths.
"The challenge is to translate research findings into substantial clinical improvements for patients. Although prospects are hopeful, they are not assured," the Lancet wrote in a commentary.
Sometimes the answers are SO obvious, but still overlooked—sigh.
Posted on May 20, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
My gym advertises Zumba classes all the time. Zumba, sounds like a strain of flesh eating disease to me, but apparently it’s great a mix of aerobics and Latin dance. Heather Newman of
The Detroit Free Press investigates:
"It truly feels like you're dancing with your friends," said Lori Fera, 24, of Farmington Hills. She loves Zumba classes so much she's training to be an instructor. "Everyone's laughing and talking and having a good time. I started going to it and got addicted."
Zumba is a hot fusion of Latin dance and floor aerobics, and it's hitting fitness clubs and YMCAs and recreation centers all over metro Detroit. Invented in Colombia in the 1990s when aerobics instructor Beto Perez forgot his music and had to use the salsa tapes he had in his car, Zumba invaded the United States in 1999. It's not quite a dance class, not quite aerobics, but something very fast-paced and hip-heavy in between…
…In practice, Zumba is like an interval workout, said instructor Debbie Lim: You alternate high impact with low, and the enforced breaks of a couple of seconds between songs give people a chance to rest briefly.
Steven Keteyian, program director of preventive cardiology at Henry Ford Hospital, said the classes are appropriate for men younger than 40-45 and women younger than 50-55 who don't have any health risks.
If you're older, or have preexisting conditions -- back pain, osteoarthritis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, history of stroke or heart disease -- you know the drill. Check with your doctor first.
Now, as much as I love an intense workout, I am way too uncoordinated and dorky to handle this. Do any of you Zumba?
Posted on May 16, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
After much ado,
Oscar Pistorius a double-amputee sprinter, who runs on specially designed metal blades, has been cleared to compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics. The
Associated Press reports:
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the 21-year-old South African is eligible to race against able-bodied athletes, overturning a ban imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
CAS said the unanimous ruling goes into effect immediately.
"I am ecstatic," Pistorius told reporters in Milan, Italy. "When I found out, I cried. It is a battle that has been going on for far too long. It's a great day for sport. I think this day is going to go down in history for the equality of disabled people."
Pistorius still must reach a qualifying time to run in the individual 400 meters at the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Games. However, he can be picked for the South African relay squad without qualifying. That relay squad has not yet qualified for the Olympics.
Pistorius appealed to CAS, world sport's highest tribunal, to overturn a Jan. 14 ruling by the IAAF that banned him from competing. The IAAF said his carbon fiber blades give him a mechanical advantage.
I’ve been following Oscar’s situation and he’s become a hero of mine—GO BLADE RUNNER! Check out
Oscar in action at the 2007 Golden Gala in Rome:
If you ever needed inspiration to get out there and exercise—be it running or anything else—just think of Oscar Pistorius.
DiseaseProof is rooting for you Oscar!
Posted on May 15, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to new research girls who start exercising at a young age protect themselves against breast cancer later in life. The
Associated Press is on it:
Middle-aged women have long been advised to get active to lower their risk of breast cancer after menopause.
What's new: That starting so young pays off, too.
"This really points to the benefit of sustained physical activity from adolescence through the adult years, to get the maximum benefit," said Dr. Graham Colditz of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the study's lead author.
Researchers tracked nearly 65,000 nurses ages 24 to 42 who enrolled in a major health study. They answered detailed questionnaires about their physical activity dating back to age 12. Within six years of enrolling, 550 were found to have breast cancer before menopause. A quarter of all breast cancer is diagnosed at these younger ages, when it is typically more aggressive.
Maybe if you’re a mother or father of a young girl the two of you could get out and exercise together!
Posted on May 15, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
DSFanBoy has reviewed Wii’s new interactive game, Let’s Yoga. Take a look:
Setting up Let's Yoga is simple. You can choose between a few models who will work through the poses with you, and select their outfits from mix-and-match pieces. There are even unlockable items, though why such a title needs unlockables is beyond me. Unlike most games, simply succeeding here seems a reward unto itself! Once you've informed the game of your name and gender, and chosen your model, you're ready to get started with the basic course: the Master's Lesson. There's also the option to go through a basic guide to yoga, which explains some of the principles of the practice, and includes a few tips for success. It's highly recommended you take the time to navigate these few screens. We'll save looking at the other modes for a later day.
Of course, before you get into the actual yoga, you need a workout space. I started out in my office, but quickly realized that between the cluttered wraparound desk and the playpen, the tiny leftover floor space wouldn't be enough. I recommend an area large enough for you to lie flat on your back with arms and legs extended in all directions. Test this by moving your arms and legs around as though creating a snow angel (protip: do this when no one is around, or they might just wonder if you've lost your damn mind). You also need both a low and high place to keep your DS, in case you need to move it closer while working through various poses. I recommend a mid-sized shelf or a chair with arms for higher poses, so that you have somewhere to put your handheld so that you can see both screens. For lower poses, of course, you can put it on the floor. Once you're set up, you're ready to begin the first lesson.
(via That’sFit)
This scares me. I sweat a lot when I do yoga and standing on an electric pad worries man. This Yoga is more my speed:
Although, the heights in that video make me nervous too—EEP!
Posted on May 14, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is set to introduce an adult fitness test. The
Associated Press reports:
The test involves three basic components: aerobic fitness, muscular strength and flexibility. The test is for people 18 and older who are in good health. It was inspired by scores of baby boomers who kept asking council members whether there was a fitness test available today that was similar to the ones they took as students, Johnson said.
The aerobic component of the tests consists of a one-mile walk or 1.5-mile run. The run is not recommended for those who don't run for at least 20 minutes, three times a week.
Push-ups and half sit-ups make up the strength test. The push-ups are done until failure. The sit-ups are done for one minute.
A stretching exercise called the "sit-and-reach" is used to measure flexibility.
The scores from all four of the fitness tests can be entered online. Other information, such as age, gender, height and weight are also part of the equation.
You won't get a presidential certificate, but the results will then show where you rank among people of the same age. For example, if someone scores in the 75th percentile for push-ups, that means 75 percent of the scores fall below your score.
I’m not sure what this is going to accomplish, but if you’re interested, check out:
http://www.adultfitnesstest.org/adultFitnesstestLanding.aspx.
Posted on May 14, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Summer is right around the corner, so shape up and hit the beach! These folks figured out how to do BOTH at the same time. From
The Los Angeles Times:
Benefits: Executing a push-up like this ratchets up the difficulty level, since the center of gravity shifts and the arm bears much more of the body’s weight. Similar to a bench press, muscles used include the triceps, pectorals and deltoids. Raising and lowering the body on one or both arms also engages the entire arm, including the biceps, and shoulder muscles. Calories burned per hour (based on vigorous calisthenics): 550.
Benefits: Slack-lining, walking a thin, flat nylon rope between two points, improves balance training, which is part of functional fitness, or training the body for real-life situations. A strong core and fit leg muscles help react to the line as it moves.
Benefits: This Brazilian blend of martial arts and dance targets the upper and lower body, plus core muscles. Incorporates kicks and arm swings that don’t strengthen muscles, but stimulate and tone them. Also promotes flexibility. Good cardio benefits from continuous, rhythmic movement. Calories burned per hour (vigorous activity, based on martial arts movements): 600
Benefits: Increased muscle strength and power in lower body muscles, because of the dynamic nature of back flips and other stunts. Development of fast twitch muscle fibers. Good for balance training. Limited cardio benefits. Calories burned per hour (based on gymnastics): 280
Just look at those blue skies and palm trees. Imagine going for a run with that all around you—I’m jealous! Be sure to check out the article for more:
Exercises fit for Muscle Beach.
Posted on May 13, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Researchers seem to think diet and exercise has something to do with prostate cancer.
The Los Angeles Times reports:
Age, genetics and hormones are the usual causal suspects in benign prostatic hyperplasia, but now some data suggest that the condition is a consequence of our Western lifestyle. In a 2006 study of 422 men published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Dr. J. Kellogg Parsons, a urologist at UC San Diego, found that men who were obese had an increased risk of prostate enlargement, with severely obese men at 3.5 times higher risk.
In another paper published this year in European Urology, Parsons pooled data from 11 studies involving about 43,000 men and found that those who engaged in regular physical activity had about a 25% lowered risk of enlarged prostates.
It's emerging evidence, Parsons says, "that the same risk factors that are contributing to cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes likely are contributing in some way to [benign prostatic hyperplasia]."
Kind of a no-brainer here, but in case you need to read more. Check out Dr. Fuhrman talking about prostate cancer and exercise:
Prostate cancer is now the single most common cancer among men in the United States. With the spread of our meat- and dairy-centered diet, it is on the rise in almost every country in the world. A meta-analysis of the best independent studies indicated that milk-drinking men seem to have a 70 percent greater chance of developing cancer of the prostate.1 This evidence exists in spite of the multiple studies that show that Vitamin D deficiency also increases the risk of prostate cancer. Since milk is fortified with Vitamin D, using it must have a significant negative effect that overwhelms the benefits from the added vitamin…
…Exercise should be a part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth and taking a shower. If you have a busy work schedule and commute, get in fifteen minutes of exercise every day before your morning shower. For example, if you routinely shower every morning, work up a sweat with some abdominal crunches, back extensions, toe raises, walk up and down the stairs in your home, mock jump rope, and then take your shower. Keep in mind; it is important to exercise your lower back frequently. Get in the habit of exercising the same time every day. Make the days where you do not exercise the exception, not the rule.
I’m not a betting man, but I bet a lot of America’s health woes could be solved by improved diet and exercise habits—what do you think?
Continue Reading...
Posted on May 12, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I’m an exercise junky and when I go, I go hard! And
That’s Fit reminds us that when you exercise, it’s all about intensity, intensity, intensity! Take a look:
Statistics show that 90-95 percent of overweight people who lose weight will regain it all (and in some cases, even more) within five years.
So, what's a person to do to stay slim? Work out harder, say researchers from Brown University. This may seem like a no-brainer at first, but what their study found was that duration during exercise does not matter as much as intensity when it comes to maintaining weight loss over time.
The good news is that you won't have to spend as long in the gym; the data shows that around 25 minutes per day is perfect. The bad news is that you won't be spending long, leisurely walks while reading a book on the treadmill anymore, because you're going to have to kick your workout into high gear.
I agree. At my gym I see so many people reading a book and lazily peddling along on an exercise bike and after months of doing this, they still look out of shape.
Posted on May 9, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
York company voluntarily recalled more than 286,000 pounds of its products.
Officials said certain products labeled Gourmet Boutique, Jan's and Archer Farms may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, although there were no reports of illness before the recall.
Listeria can cause a potentially fatal disease that it is rarely contracted by healthy people, the Monterey County Health Department reported. Symptoms include high fever, severe headaches, neck stiffness and nausea. Rare but serious symptoms can occur in those with compromised immune systems. Pregnant women make up about a third of listeriosis cases, health officials said.
Arthritis strikes more than half of the 20.6 million American adults who have diabetes, and the painful joint condition may be a barrier to exercise among these patients, a new government report shows.
Being physically active helps people manage both diseases better by controlling blood sugar levels and reducing joint pain, according to the report in the May 9 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The prevalence of arthritis is astoundingly high in people with diabetes," said Dr. John H. Klippel, president and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation. "Over half the people with diabetes have arthritis."
Nudging reluctant seniors to take physical fitness classes represents just one strategy to reduce the risk of falling. It's also vital to evaluate their vision and the medications they're taking. Aged pupils, for example, don't dilate as well in darkness or constrict as well in brightness.
One study showed that falls decreased 34 percent among seniors who had the milky opaqueness of a cataract removed from their eyes. Some specialists also point to bifocals and trifocals, which can blur vision, as potentially contributing to falls.
It's also common for lighting to be so inadequate that navigation of hallways and rooms can be treacherous, said Dr. Gary Chu, vice president for community collaborations at the New England Eye Institute.
"I've asked all the presidential candidates whether America should be smoke-free," he told a Senate committee hearing on how to tackle cancer.
"The consensus is that it's better left to the cities and states," he said, agreeing that state- or community-level bans were "the way to go."
"Second-hand smoking is something I'm very passionate about," he told the committee.
Young children who live in neighborhoods with lots of trees have lower rates of asthma than children who reside in areas with fewer trees, a new study finds. Researchers looked at asthma rates among children age 4 to 5 in New York City. Asthma rates decreased by almost one-quarter for every standard deviation increase in tree density, equivalent to 343 trees per square kilometer, the study found. The researchers said that trees may help reduce asthma rates by encouraging children to play outdoors more or by improving air quality.
Male postpartum depression may have more negative effects on some aspects of a child's development than its female counterpart, says James F. Paulson, PhD, of the Center for Pediatric Research at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va.
Paulson and colleagues reviewed data on more than 5,000 two-parent families with children aged 9 months.
They found that one in 10 new dads met standard criteria for moderate to severe postpartum depression.
That's a "striking increase" from the 3% to 5% of men in the general population that have depression, Paulson tells WebMD.
In the current study, researchers found that professional firefighters had higher-than-expected rates of colon cancer and brain cancer. There was also evidence, albeit weaker, that they had elevated risks of bladder and kidney cancers, as well as Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Dr. Letitia Davis with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues report the findings in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
Firefighters are exposed to many potentially cancer-causing chemicals released from burning materials. At the scene of the fire, toxic substances such as benzene, lead, uranium and asbestos can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
A drug from a new class of weight-loss treatments disrupted wiring needed for brain development in young mice, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday, raising concerns about using such medications in children.
Mark Bear and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studied the effects of a chemical that suppresses appetite by blocking cannabinoid receptors in the brain, the same brain mechanisms that make people hungry when they smoke marijuana.
"I think that the cautionary note is that these mechanisms play an important role in ... brain development," said Bear, whose study appears in the journal Neuron.
Even a benign lesion on a mammogram makes women and doctors nervous, and doctors sometimes recommend a biopsy anyway. But new data show that waiting six months for a follow-up mammogram is a safe option.
Researchers tracked more than 45,000 women who were given six-month follow-up mammograms after an initial scan found lesions that were “probably” benign. In most cases, they were. Only about one in 100 women were eventually diagnosed with cancer six to 12 months later, according to the study, which appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
It is well known that high blood sugar levels indicative of the diabetes that occurs during pregnancy present risks for expectant mothers and their infants. The current study is believed to be the first to show that higher blood sugar levels -- not high enough to be considered diabetes -- also convey these increased risks.
In a study of nearly 24,000 pregnant women who had their blood sugar levels tested between 24 and 32 weeks of pregnancy, researchers found that the higher the mother's blood sugar level, the greater the chances that she would require Caesarean delivery and deliver an abnormally large baby.
Posted on May 8, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to the CDC either lack of sleep or oversleeping is linked to illness. Mike Stobbe of the
Associated Press reports:
The research adds weight to a stream of studies that have found obesity and other health problems in those who don't get proper shuteye, said Dr. Ron Kramer, a Colorado physician and a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
"The data is all coming together that short sleepers and long sleepers don't do so well," Kramer said.
The study is based on door-to-door surveys of 87,000 U.S. adults from 2004 through 2006 conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
…Results were similar, though a bit less dramatic, for obesity: About 33 percent of those who slept less than six hours were obese, and 26 percent for those who got nine or more. Normal sleepers were the thinnest group, with obesity at 22 percent.
For alcohol use, those who slept the least were the biggest drinkers. However, alcohol use for those who slept seven to eight hours and those who slept nine hours or more was similar.
In another measure, nearly half of those who slept nine hours or more each night were physically inactive in their leisure time, which was worse even than the lightest sleepers and the proper sleepers. Many of those who sleep nine hours or more may have serious health problems that make exercise difficult.
Well, I guess set your alarm, but not TOO early!
Posted on May 7, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Anahad O’Connor of
The New York Times wants to know,
does running outdoors burn more calories than running on a treadmill? Find out:
According to several studies, the answer is not so simple. Researchers have found in general that while outdoor running tends to promote a more intense exercise, running on a treadmill helps reduce the likelihood of injury, and thus may allow some people to run longer and farther.
A number of studies have shown that in general, outdoor running burns about 5 percent more calories than treadmills do, in part because there is greater wind resistance and no assistance from the treadmill belt. Some studies show, for example, that when adults are allowed to set their own paces on treadmills and on tracks, they move more slowly and with shorter strides when they train on treadmills.
I prefer running outside, but, I run on the treadmill A LOT; although my treadmill skills pale in comparison to these guys. Take a look:
If I tried those moves I’d be blogging from a hospital bed—EEK!
Posted on May 6, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Do you want to live forever? I do. I plan on sticking around for as long as possible and
Dan Buettner of The Huffington Post has compiled a list of nine healthy habits that’ll help get you to 100. Take a look:
For the the last five years, I've been taking teams of scientists to five pockets around the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives. We call these places the Blue Zones. We found a Bronze-age mountain culture in Sardinia, Italy, that has 20 times as many 100-year-olds as the U.S. does, proportionally. In Okinawa, Japan, we found people with the longest disability-free life expectancy in the world. In the Blue Zones (Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, Calif.; and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica), people live 10 years longer, experience a sixth the rate of cardiovascular disease and a fifth the rate of major cancers.
- Move naturally: Be active without thinking about it. Identify activities you enjoy and make them a part of your day. Cut calories by 20 percent.
- Cut calories by 20 percent: Practice "Hara hachi bi," the Okinawan reminder to stop eating once their stomachs are 80 percent full.
- Plant-based diet: No, you don't need to become a vegetarian, but do bump up your intake of fruits and veggies.
- Drink red wine: In moderation.
- Plan de Vida: Determine your life purpose. Why do you get up in the morning?
- Down shift: Take time to relieve stress. You may have to literally schedule it into your day, but relaxation is key.
- Belong/participate in a spiritual community.
- Put loved ones first/make family a priority.
- Pick the right tribe: The people surrounding you influence your health more than almost any other factor.
These are fantastic suggestions. Be active, eat plants, and relax—perfect! You won’t get much argument out of Dr. Fuhrman:
Increasing the consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and raw nuts and seeds (and greatly decreasing the consumption of animal products) offers profound increased longevity potential, due in large part to broad symphony of life-extending phytochemical nutrients that a vegetable-based diet contains…
… Centenarian studies in Europe illustrate that those individuals living into their hundreds were likely to have consumed a plant-based diet consisting of fewer than 2000 calories per day. Multiple studies have confirmed that the thinnest people live the longest…
… As we condition our muscles and gain strength, our bones thicken and strengthen along with the muscle. Without regular exercise along the way, your bone structure can deteriorate as you get older. Some people survive with weak bones, but their quality of life suffers when they are immobilized by arthritis and osteoporosis…
…A safe and satisfying work environment, a happy marriage, a satisfying social and/or family life, and activities you enjoy are all related to positive health outcomes. Emotional wellness starts right here your finger tips end. As you respect and appreciate the value in the world around you and develop interests in other people and in such things as art, music, entertainment, sports, nature, and physical activity, you can respect yourself more for your ability and desire to appreciate the value of things not yourself.
Okinawans are fascinating people. These avid plant-eaters live a long-long time. In fact, they made
John Robbins’s list of longest-lived people in his book Healthy at 100. Check it out:
- Abkhasia: Ancients of the Caucasus, where people are healthier at ninety than most of us are at middle age.
- Vilcabamba: The Valley of Eternal Youth, where heart disease and dementia do not exist.
- Hunza: A People Who Dance in Their Nineties, where cancer, diabetes, and asthma are unknown.
- The Centenarians of Okinawa: Where more people live to 100 than anywhere else in the world.
Now, for the flipside,
primitive people like Inuit Greenlanders and Kenyan Maasai have short life expectancies—why? Too much meat in their diets. More from Dr. Fuhrman:
Inuit Greenlanders, who historically have had limited access to fruits and vegetables, have the worst longevity statistics in North America. Research from the past and present shows that they die on the average about 10 years younger and have a higher rate of cancer than the overall Canadian population.1
Similar statistics are available for the high meat-consuming Maasai in Kenya. They eat a diet high in wild hunted meats and have the worst life expectancy in the modern world. Life expectancy is 45 years for women and 42 years for men. African researchers report that, historically, Maasai rarely lived beyond age 60. Adult mortality figures on the Kenyan Maasai show that they have a 50% chance of dying before the age of 59.2
I guess the same can be said about us; between all the fast food, beef jerky, potato chips, cheese pizza, and no exercise, Americans start dying at middle-age. We’d learn a lot from our foreign neighbors.
Continue Reading...
Posted on May 5, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A lot of attention gets paid to women’s health, but guys have plenty of hang-ups too.
Some of dudes won’t even go to the doctor. Chris Sparling of
That’s Fit tells us why:
A 2007 survey, conducted for the American Academy of Family Physicians, revealed what some guys' reasons are for not seeing a doctor. This is where I'd like to insert some fancy pie chart, but since I can't, I'll stick to bullet points.
- 36% of men only go to the doctor when they are extremely sick
- 23% of men say they are healthy and don't need to see a doctor
- 11% of men say lack of insurance prevents them from seeing a doctor
- 8% of men say they don't like doctors
- 7% of men don't go to the doctor because they are afraid of finding out that something is wrong with them
Look guys, if you're not feeling well, go see a doctor. Even if you're feeling fine, and it's simply time you had an annual check-up, go see the damn doctor, will you? If your car is making a strange rattling noise or even driving the slightest bit off, you'd have it looked at, wouldn't you? Afford your body the same respect and care.
And that’s not all.
A lot of guys have a warped sense of body image. Mike Howard of
Diet Blog explains:
Dr. David Giles surveyed 161 men aged between 18 and 36, and found that those who regularly read the magazines were more likely to be influenced by the imagery within.
A more pressing concern, according to Giles, is the steps a young man might take to look "the part". This may include obsessive exercise and/or the use of anabolic steroids.
He goes on to say: "The message in typical lads' magazines is that you need to develop a muscular physique in order to attract a quality mate. Readers internalize this message, which creates anxieties about their actual bodies and leads to increasingly desperate attempts to modify them."
Professor Naomi Fineberg, a consultant psychiatrist cautions that "we can't say for sure whether these magazines might be causing it, but it's very persuasive that cultural factors are important."
Let this be a lesson to you ladies. Men are just as crazy as you are—commence scowling now.
Posted on May 1, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Virginia Linn of
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers up some
fitness tips to get you prepared to hit the garden. Take a look:
With temperatures finally warming up, many folks already have dived into the dirt to get their garden going, but the season really takes off next month.
Are you ready?
As with any sport -- and yes, gardening is a sport, as it requires endurance, flexibility and strength -- people should get in shape for gardening. In fact, the average person can burn 250 calories an hour when planting and up to 500 calories an hour when digging.
Upper body stretch: Stand with your back straight and arms to your sides. Stretch arms straight out in front of you and hold for a count of 5. Return arms to sides. Repeat 10 times.
If they make gardening an Olympic sport, you’ll be all set.
Posted on April 30, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The new study involving nearly 39,000 women helps sort out the combined effects of physical activity and body mass on women's chances of developing heart disease, said Gulati, who wasn't involved in the research.
The study by Harvard-affiliated researchers appears in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.
Participants were women aged 54 on average who filled out a questionnaire at the study's start detailing their height, weight and amount of weekly physical activity in the past year, including walking, jogging, bicycling and swimming. They were then tracked for about 11 years. Overall 948 women developed heart disease.
Numerous claims have been made about water — that it prevents headaches, removes dangerous “poisons,” improves the function of various organs and is associated with reduced risk for various diseases. But none of these is supported by scientific evidence. The authors were not even able to find a study leading to the “eight glasses a day” rule, whose origin remains unknown.
The researchers, in the June issue of The Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, say some studies have found evidence that drinking extra water helps the kidneys clear sodium, and long-term sodium retention might increase the risk of hypertension, but no clinical significance for the phenomenon has been established. Water also helps clear urea, but urea is not a toxin.
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I never used to be a napper. In fact, daytime slumber was virtually beyond a congenitally wired type like me. My buddies would catch 40 winks on the long bus ride home from our high school, but for me that was out of the question. With age, however, my metabolism has changed. After the double whammy of a late-morning run and lunch, I'm pretty much a goner. I lie down and nod off in much the same way that Marlene Dietrich fell in love in that old song of hers: because I can't help it.
While it lasted, though, my nap resistance put me in sync with the American way of sleep: Do it all at once and strictly at night. Traditionally, we've begrudged ourselves naps. They may be forced on toddlers, recommended for pregnant women and tolerated among senior citizens with nothing better to do, but they've been frowned upon for worker bees in their prime. Recently, however, sleep scientists have discovered advantages to napping, which they view not just as solace but also as something akin to brain food. No longer written off as a cop-out for the weak and the bored, the nap is coming into its own as an element of a healthy life.
If only the millions of others beset with chronic health problems recognized the inestimable value to their physical and emotional well-being of regular physical exercise.
“The single thing that comes close to a magic bullet, in terms of its strong and universal benefits, is exercise,” Frank Hu, epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in the Harvard Magazine.
A House-Senate conference committee claims it's getting closer to adopting a bill that would ban smoking in most Pennsylvania workplaces, but it can't seem to close the deal.
The deeply divided six-member committee had planned to meet today to vote on compromise legislation to prohibit people from lighting up in most workplaces and public places.
But late yesterday, the chairman called off the meeting, saying the bill still isn't ready despite months of negotiations.
Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, a staunch critic of smoking, said the delay should only be for "a short period," meaning, probably, a few days.
According to an analysis of government statistics being released Tuesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the average dollar amount employees must pay per year for family health coverage went up by 30 percent from 2001 to 2005. During that time, incomes increased by just 3 percent.
"Nationally, insurance premium costs are going up ten times faster than people's incomes," said RWJF spokesman Michael Berman. "And in some regions, the gap is even greater. So what we've tried to do with this report is highlight for the nation's leaders what families already know; that it's getting harder and harder to afford health insurance in America."
Perhaps because Mayor Bloomberg's plan for congestion pricing in New York City has failed, the Big Apple is now trying to make up for it by becoming more bicycle-friendly. As it is, 112,000 New Yorkers bicycle on an average day, an increase of 10% over the last decade. The proposal, which is part of a new Department of Transportation strategic plan, hopes to double that number by 2015, as well as
- Add 200 miles worth of new bicycle lane between 2007 and 2009
- Install 37 bicycle shelters and 5,000 bike parking racks by 2011
- Install 15 additional miles of protected on-street bike lanes by 2010 and 30 miles from 2011 to 2015
The company declined to discuss details in the so-called not approvable letter from the Food and Drug Administration. It would not comment on whether the agency had asked for further data or new clinical trials.
The drug, which was expected to be called Cordaptive, combines long-acting niacin with a new drug that prevents the flushing side effect common to niacin -- an uncomfortable sensation of burning in the face and neck that leads many patients to discontinue taking it.
Analysts widely expected the drug to be approved, especially after a committee of European regulators last week recommended it be cleared for sale there.
It's far from the only strength-boosting exoskeleton out there, but Honda's so-called "walking assist device" is one of the few that you can actually take for a test spin -- if you happen to be attending the Barrier Free 2008 trade show in Osaka, Japan next week, that is. Apparently employing some of the same technology developed by Honda for its ASIMO robot, the walking assistant is able to obtain information from hip angle sensors to help keep its wearer upright, with the device's motors also able to increase the wearer's natural stride. That, Honda says, should make the device ideal for the elderly or those with weakened leg muscles, although we're sure they could find at least a few other buyers if it ever actually hits the market at a reasonable price.
What follows are 10 of the tips for sabotaging the stress in your life, every one somehow related to nutrition and fitness.
- Eat a healthy breakfast
- Eat more fiber
- Eat oatmeal
- Eat almonds
- Drink black tea
- Hydrate
- Stretch
- Exercise
- Do yoga
- Sleep
Broccoli also contains the phytonutrients sulforaphane, indoles, kaempferol and isothiocyanates (they'll be a test later). These difficult-to-pronounce compounds have significant anti-cancer and other health effects. Here's what the literature says about it:
- Men who ate more than a serving of either broccoli or cauliflower each week almost halved their risk of developing advanced-stage prostate cancer
- Broccoli appear to have a unique ability to eliminate Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) - a bacteria responsible for ulcers. It has even been shown to eliminate Helicobacter when resistant to antibiotics.
- Crucifers, including broccoli provide significant cardiovascular benefit. Those who diets most frequently included broccoli, tea, onions, and apples-the richest sources of flavonoids-gained a 20% reduction in their risk of heart disease.
The administration's decision to give the Defense Department and other agencies an early role in the process adds to years of delay in acting on harmful chemicals and jeopardizes the program's credibility, the Government Accountability Office concluded.
At issue is the EPA's screening of chemicals used in everything from household products to rocket fuel to determine if they pose serious risk of cancer or other illnesses.
A new review process begun by the White House in 2004 is adding more speed bumps for EPA scientists, the GAO said in its report, which will be the subject of a Senate Environment Committee hearing Tuesday. A formal policy effectively doubling the number of steps was adopted two weeks ago.
Posted on April 29, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to James Levine of the Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) lab at the Mayo clinic, movements like typing and fidgeting can help you stay slim.
Diet Blog sums up NEAT’s latest newsletter. Here are some tidbits:
- In a study, sedentary lean and overweight people were fitted with "magical" underwear which monitored every movement of the body. Subjects were fed 1000 calories above their weight maintenance levels. People who can activate their NEAT don't gain fat when overfed, while those who don't switch on their NEAT were gaining literally 10 times more fat!
- About 30% of a person's daily expenditure comes from NEAT. (The other portions are from basal metabolism and thermic effect of eating). Those who are active have higher percentages of NEAT. This is the factor we have control over.
- NEAT burns more calories than exercise in most non-athletes.
- Levine suggests that offices, schools and other public places need to be more conducive to activity. Some ideas are walking workstations and walk-and-meet tracks, where carpet tape is laid down to map out a walking route.
Certainly interesting, but if you factor in people’s poor diets, I’m skeptical about how effective “NEAT” really is. I’ll stick to my hardcore exercise routine. Stuff like this. From
The Washington Post:
Pendulum
Bridges
Decline Pushups
Although, maybe there is something to NEAT, because I always park far away from stores and make sure I get up and walk at work—do you have any of your own fitness quirks?
Posted on April 29, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Amidst all the grunting and squatting, the facts behind muscle-building can become strained.
Men’s Health debunks 7 muscle myths. More from Scott Quill:
- Lifting incredibly slowly builds incredibly big muscles: "The best increases in strength are achieved by doing the up phase as rapidly as possible," says Gary Hunter, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., the lead study author. "Lower the weight more slowly and under control." There's greater potential for growth during the lowering phase, and when you lower with control, there's less chance of injury.
- If you eat more protein, you'll build more muscle: More important is when you consume protein, and that you have the right balance of carbohydrates with it. Have a postworkout shake of three parts carbohydrates and one part protein.
- Leg extensions are safer for your knees than squats: "The knee joint is controlled by the quadriceps and the hamstrings. Balanced muscle activity keeps the patella in place and appears to be more easily attained in closed-chain exercises," says Anki Stensdotter, the lead study author.
- Never exercise a sore muscle: If you're not sore to the touch and you have your full range of motion, go to the gym. Start with 10 minutes of cycling, then exercise the achy muscle by performing no more than three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions using a weight that's no heavier than 30 percent of your one-rep maximum, says David Docherty, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at the University of Victoria in Canada.
- Stretching prevents injuries: Warming up is what prevents injury, by slowly increasing your bloodflow and giving your muscles a chance to prepare for the upcoming activity. To this end, Dr. Gilchrist suggests a thorough warmup, as well as conditioning for your particular sport.
- You need a Swiss ball to build a stronger chest and shoulders: A Swiss ball is great for variety, but center your chest and shoulder routines on exercises that are performed on a stable surface, Ballantyne says. Then use the ball to work your abs.
- Always work out with free weights: Free-weight exercises mimic athletic moves and generally activate more muscle mass. If you're a seasoned lifter, free weights are your best tools to build strength or burn fat.
The protein myth seems a little harebrained—I’m no fan of protein shakes—but I agree with the one about sore muscles. If you can move, get back to the gym!
Posted on April 25, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New research claims that exercise can actually delay the aging process.
Reuters reports:
Twenty years ago, Dr. R. J. Shephard of the University of Toronto in Ontario and his colleagues proposed that adequate aerobic capacity was a key factor in helping very old people to maintain a high quality of life and live independently. In a review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Shephard analyzes the latest data on the issue.
Regular aerobic exercise improves the body's ability to take in oxygen and use it, but a person's maximal aerobic power falls steady as people age.
According to Shephard, studies of aerobic training response in older people have shown that workouts, especially more intense physical activity maintained for a longer duration, can improve aerobic power. In fact, seven studies of this type of exercise found people's aerobic power increased nearly 25 percent -- equivalent to reversing 12 years' worth of aging-related loss of fitness.
Based on his review, Shephard concludes that elderly people who engage in progressive aerobic training can maintain their independence longer, in effect by turning back the clock on the loss of aerobic fitness that occurs with aging.
So, what are you waiting for? Get moving! And why not give these exercises a try:
Posted on April 24, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Life expectancy has declined for many women in the United States, largely due to smoking-related diseases and obesity, a study published Tuesday showed.
Nearly one in five US women saw the number of years they are expected to live decline or hold steady, starting in the 1980s, showed the joint study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Washington.
The study looked at data from more than 2,000 county "units" between 1959 and 2001.
BPA migrates into food from polycarbonate plastic bottles or the epoxy resin coatings that line canned food. The typical adult ingests an estimated 1 microgram of BPA for every kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight. Babies who use polycarbonate bottles and formula from cans get more, an estimated 10 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. A microgram represents a trace amount. Consider this: a single M&M is about a gram. If you cut it into 100,000 slices, one slice would equal about 10 micrograms.
The 2003-4 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found detectable levels of BPA in 93 percent of urine samples collected from more than 2,500 adults and children over 6.
Agriculture Secretary Edward Schafer wasn't able to estimate how many additional cattle might be affected by a total ban, and the overall economic impact is difficult to calculate, though Mark Dopp, of the American Meat Institute, said it wasn't expected to be significant. Dairy farmers get several hundred dollars for each cow they sell for slaughter.
Undercover video taken at Westland/Hallmark Meat in Chino, Calif., showed workers shocking cattle and pushing them with forklifts to force them to slaughter. That led to the recall of 143 million pounds of beef, though authorities said the health risks were minimal.
Downer cows are more prone to infections such as mad-cow disease, partly because they typically wallow in feces.
On average, food racks up about 1,000 food miles (or 1,650 "food kilometers") traveling from farms to processing or packaging plants before reaching Americans' dinner plates, the study estimates.
The whole supply chain—including delivering grains to feed cattle and delivering fuel to farms, for example—adds another 4,200 miles (6,750 kilometers).
Yet all that shipping, driving, and flying accounts for only a sliver of foods' climate impact—just 11 percent of the total—compared with the impact from producing the food itself, the study showed.
About 180 people who ate at a Chipotle restaurant near Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, became sick with a gastrointestinal illness, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Health officials began investigating the outbreak after people started arriving at local emergency rooms complaining of diarrhea, nausea, and severe vomiting.
Many of those affected were Kent State students who had eaten burritos at the restaurant on Thursday and Friday. Some had donated blood and gotten a coupon for free food at the restaurant, according to WLWT, the Cincinnati NBC affiliate.
While most environmentalists take aim at plastic, paper comes from trees, and processing bags creates greenhouse gases.
So, Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman points out, the best bag is the one you can use again and again -- provided you remember to bring it with you to the store -- and can get out of the habit of using them!
Some are even becoming fashion statements! The now chic "I'm not a plastic bag" by designer Anya Hindmarch quickly sold out in London and New York at $15 each, but are readily available at more than double that price on eBay!
In our post on Bisphenol A from Nalgene water bottles and other polycarbonate bottles, a number of commenters asked about the lining in SIGG aluminum bottles, expressing concern that their linings might leach BPA. So we asked them, and received a response from the CEO, Steve Wasik. He says that SIGG uses a proprietary liner formula from a Swiss supplier with "an impeccable reputation for quality" but that "as there are many copy-cat manufacturers in the market (most based in China) that would like to get their hands on this formula, our supplier has an agreement with SIGG to keep his formula confidential."
Wasik continues: "Very thorough migration testing in laboratories around the world is conducted regularly and has consistently shown SIGG aluminum bottles to have no presence of lead, phthalates, Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Bysphenol A (BPA), Bysphenol B (BPB) or any other chemicals which scientists have deemed as potentially harmful.
Breakfast cereals for children are less healthy than cereals meant for adults, and those marketed the most aggressively to kids have the worst nutritional quality, according to a new analysis of 161 brands.
"The cereal the parent is eating him or herself is probably better than what they're feeding their child," Dr. Marlene B. Schwartz of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, the lead researcher on the study, told Reuters Health.
Schwartz and her colleagues also found that health claims made for kids' cereals were often misleading. Cereals sold as "low fat" or "low sugar" were not lower in calories, as parents might assume, and while brands touted as "whole grain" did have more fiber, they had just as much salt, sugar and fat as other brands and the same calorie content.
New Yorkers handed over $45 million in internet sales tax last year alone. Still, that’s less than half of what the government thinks it’s owed.
So, starting in June, 2008, New York will require the largest online retailers to collect sales tax on purchases shipped to the Empire State.
Japanese farmers have had somewhat better luck with the honor system, which they employ in thousands of unmanned produce stands across the country. Many of the stands see payment rates approaching 90 percent. But in Japan, as in New York, the free ride may be coming to an end, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports, as farmers start to insist on being paid in full.
In an analysis of pooled data from previous clinical trials, researchers in the Netherlands found that when healthy adults older than 55 improved their fitness through aerobic exercise, there was also often an improvement in memory, attention or other mental abilities.
The findings appear in the Cochrane Library, a publication of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research.
Aerobic exercise is any activity, such as brisk walking, that gets the heart rate up and improves endurance, over time. This type of exercise has proven benefits for the heart.
Posted on April 21, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Here are
two great tips for building strong healthy bones. From
AOL’s Your Health:
Best Foods for Calcium: You're not limited to milk for calcium, as there are plenty of foods that are calcium-fortified naturally. Two ounces of swiss cheese provides 530 mg of calcium, more than twice the amount in 6 ounces of milk. You'll get 240mg of calcium from two ounces of sardines, two stalks of cooked broccoli gives you 250mg, six ounces of cooked collard greens provide 225mg and three ounces of almonds contains 210mg. Other sources: fermented soy products like natto, dried raw figs, rhubarb, pinto beans, turnip greens, and kale.
Exercise, Best Bone Builder: Adults who exercise regularly are able to maintain a good balance between bone-building and bone-dissolving processes in the body. Exercise also limits bone loss during old age. And it's never too late to start -- President Ronald Reagan began weight training at age 82. Most experts recommend a combination of weight-bearing exercise (walking, jogging) and muscle-building exercise (weight training). Remember to work all the major muscles -- that means chest, shoulders, arms, legs and back.
Strong bones are important, but swiss cheese isn't—yuck!. Anyway, check out this
DiseaseProof mini-series on bone health:
Speaking of non-dairy sources of calcium—take a look at seeds! From
Eat For Health:
Over the last few years, the health benefits of seeds also have become more apparent. A tablespoon of ground flaxseed, hempseeds, chia seeds, or other seeds can supply those hard-to find omega-3 fats that protect against diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.1 Seeds are also rich in lignans, a type of fiber associated with a reduced risk of both breast cancer and prostate cancer. In addition, seeds are a good source of iron, zinc, calcium, protein, potassium, magnesium, Vitamin E, and folate. The plant goes to great effort in producing and protecting its seed, filling each genetic package with high concentrations of vitamins, minerals, proteins, essential oils, and enzymes.
I’m no bird, but I eat a lot of seeds—sesame, flax, and sunflower—daily.
Continue Reading...
Posted on April 21, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
“Based on all available scientific evidence, we continue to believe that Nalgene products containing BPA are safe for their intended use,” Steven Silverman, the general manager of the Nalgene unit, said in a statement. “However, our customers indicated they preferred BPA-free alternatives, and we acted in response to those concerns.”
The National Toxicology Program in the United States released a draft report on Tuesday reporting that some rats that were fed or injected with low doses of the chemical developed precancerous tumors and urinary tract problems and reached puberty early. While the report said the animal tests provided “limited evidence,” it also noted that the “possibility that bisphenol-a may alter human development cannot be dismissed.”
The current U.S. flu season has been the worst in four years, due, in part, to a vaccine that was not a good match for certain circulating strains of flu virus, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
For strains of influenza A (H3N2) -- the most prevalent virus during the 2007-08 season, the vaccine was 58 percent effective. But it was 100 percent ineffective against influenza B infections, leaving an overall vaccine success rate of about 44 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The tests do not show that drinking water is unsafe. But they do raise important questions for regulators and city officials aware of growing concerns about potential health effects from long-term exposure to drugs in our drinking water, even at very low levels.
"There are many unknowns," said Dana Kolpin, a researcher at the U.S. Geological Survey who conducted some of the first tests that found pharmaceuticals in municipal water supplies. "On one hand, levels of specific substances are very low and appear to be nothing to worry about. But the question is whether mixtures of many substances could build to a point where there could be some harmful effects."
But the Professor Woodpecker series, the brand new set of children's books from H and T Imaginations Unlimited, Inc., is out to change that. In the first three of the planned six book series -- "Professor Woodpecker's Banana Sandwiches"; "Green Apples, Red Apples, Yellow Apples and More"; and "Professor Woodpecker Loves Cereal" (published by AuthorHouse -- www.authorhouse.com) -- Professor Woodpecker shares invaluable nutritional advice and ideas with children everywhere, and no one is better equipped to share such dietary wisdom than clever and caring Professor Woodpecker.
Authoritative yet fun, educational yet entertaining, Professor Woodpecker serves as a role model and teacher for children and those around them who help make their nutritional decisions, like parents and grandparents. Each book features the wise and witty professor, who -- while carrying on fun activities and conversations -- introduces children to important information regarding wholesome nutrition.
"If the House and Gov. Rod Blagojevich go along, foods cooked with trans fat would be banned starting in July 2009. Such food would be prohibited in school vending machines a year later.
"State Board of Education spokesman Matt Vanover said the ban may not have a big effect on school menus because manufacturers have been shying away from the substance for several years.
"Trans fat is a man-made product that improves the taste and texture of foods, but is known to raise bad cholesterol while attacking good cholesterol. It also contributes to heart disease and diabetes."
This is the scene at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where students attend weekly adaptive yoga class. Derived from traditional yoga, poses are modified for those with disabilities or health conditions.
Hundreds of miles away, longtime instructor Karen O'Donnell Clarke says the limitations could have a number of sources: multiple sclerosis (which she has), a sports injury, fibromyalgia or even a sedentary lifestyle. Post-surgical conditions, Parkinson's disease, stroke and arthritis may also cause some impairment. "Pretty much if you name a health condition, yoga can help with it," she says.
Physical therapist Sarah Knopf says the class' popularity is due to many patients asking what else they can be doing to strengthen their bodies or overcome a health challenge quicker.
Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York found that people with low levels of vitamin D in their blood experience an increased risk for a condition known as peripheral artery disease, or PAD.
PAD most often reduces blood flow to the legs, causing pain and numbness, impairing the ability to walk and in some cases leading to amputation. It develops when fatty deposits accumulate in the inner linings of artery walls, cutting blood flow and oxygen to the legs, feet, arms and elsewhere.
The researchers based the findings on a U.S. government health survey involving 4,839 adults who had their blood vitamin D levels measured and underwent a screening method for PAD that assesses blood flow to the legs.
I finally had a chance to use a Wii. After getting over some initial embarrassment, I had an awful lot of fun! I tried the tennis game and, sadly enough, I'm as bad at virtual tennis as I am on an actual tennis court. While the Wii was certainly more active than playing any other video game system, it wasn't nearly the same type of exercise as a real sport.
Both Bev and Bethany have written about the exercise potential in the interactive gaming system before. And, compared to sitting like a lump playing regular video games, the Wii is a great thing. But it doesn't take the place of real exercise. The active games are a great alternative to regular video games. Also, many of the games aren't violence based -- as a parent, I know I appreciate that. They also offer hand-eye coordination benefits. And, for kids (or adults) who aren't active at all, the games may be a stepping stone for developing interest in real sports.
Posted on April 18, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Lignans are plant compounds found in seeds, whole grains, vegetables and fruits. In laboratory studies, lignans have been shown to impact hormone levels and tumor growth. Researchers from Roswell Park and the University at Buffalo evaluated the dietary lignan intakes of 1,122 women diagnosed with breast cancer who participated in the Western New York Exposures and Breast Cancer Study (WEB Study) between 1996 and 2001. Lignan intake was calculated based on responses to a questionnaire that charted intake of over 100 foods.
The study found that dietary lignan intake had no relevance among premenopausal women with breast cancer. However, in postmenopausal women, those with a high lignan intake were 70% less likely to die from breast cancer.
Makes sense to me. Just ask Dr. Fuhrman, “Cancer is a disease of maladaptation. It results primarily from a body’s lacking critical substances found in different types of vegetation.”
Taking antioxidants like vitamins A and E to prolong life may actually have the opposite effect, new research has found.
A review of 67 studies involving more than 230,000 people found "no convincing evidence" that the vitamins prolonged life, the Press Association reported.
"Even more, beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E seem to increase mortality," according to the researchers.
However, other health specialists said the research was "flawed" and the supplements were safe to take.
I doubt vitamins are poison pills. I wonder, if you take vitamins, but continue to eat an unhealthy diet, would those vitamins REALLY help? Food for thought—pun intended.
- Helps you lose weight. Since fruits and vegetables have a lot of fiber, the more of them you eat, the fuller you feel.
- Fights cancer. In a comprehensive review of the best research on fruits, vegetables, and cancer by an agency for the World Health Organization, the authors concluded that eating more vegetables "probably lowers the risk of cancers of the esophagus and colon-rectum" and "possibly reduces the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, stomach, larynx, lung, ovary, and kidney."
- Promotes heart health. A 14-year-long Harvard study of nurses and other health professionals found that the more fruits and vegetables a person ate daily, the lower that person's chances were of developing heart-related health problems like heart attack and stroke.
- Lowers cholesterol. According to a study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, people who ate more than four servings of fruits and vegetables a day had much lower levels of LDL or "bad" cholesterol than those who ate fewer servings.
- Reduces bowel problems. The fiber in fruits and vegetables relieves constipation and helps prevent diverticulosis and colon disease.
- Improves vision. Eating your vegetables may help prevent vision problems associated with aging.
Pretty cool! And Lilly had this to say, “Seems that just about EVERYONE is hopping on the more veggies bandwagon!
Posted on April 17, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Chris Sparling of
That’s Fit has found five interesting variations of the push-up. This one sounds very technical. Check out
Plyometric Push-Ups:
Here’s the complete list:
- Plyometric Push-Ups: Very Rocky-esque move where you thrust your body upward, to the point where your hands leave the ground.
- One-Armed Push-Ups: The Jack Palance at the Oscars move.
- Spider-Man Push-Ups: That's a lot of hyphens. It's also a great way to work your chest and triceps with this climbing-type move.
- Handstand Push-Ups: Frankly, I don't even know why I'm bothering to mention this one, since my guess is that only .0000001 percent of the world population can even do them.
- Leg-Raised Push-Ups: As the name indicates, this variation of the push-up involves keeping one leg raised in the air.
Be sure to
head over to That’s Fit for all the videos.
Posted on April 15, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Don’t tell Mike Howard of Diet Blog that doing cardio is a waste of time—its NOT! Here’s what he thinks:
- The people that need to boost their health and lose fat the most need to establish a cardio-respiratory base. Trying to push an unfit individual to their physical extremes can be dangerous. Furthermore, physical discomfort is not conducive to continuing an activity and therefore long term success.
- High intensity training requires rest. Even if you are at a higher physical level, interspersing longer, slower cardio into your routine is advisable.
- Interval training does not have to be intense. In fact, you can incorporate intervals with the even the most unfit individuals.
- You can still mix it up. You can perform longer, slower distance cardio on different modes (ie. treadmill, bike, elliptical) and even incorporate intervals on those modes.
- Longer, slower cardio still burns calories. It still exercises your heart and lungs and it still helps stave off many diseases and ailments.
- Once you've established a good cardio base, incorporating more intense cardio is warranted. Be sure you are mentally prepared for such efforts
- Long, slow cardio or intense cardio in the absence of weight training will limit the benefit of fat burning.
I got your back Mike. As someone who runs many miles each week—I LOVE doing cardio! I also LOVE Yoga, and,
Yoga can works wonders for pelvic instability.
MyYogaOnline has more:
Q: I was trying to find yoga poses that were designed to stabilize the hips and pelvis and prevent a sideways rotation. I do a lot of stabilizing exercises and my hips are in alignment but my pelvis turns to one side so that my centre of gravity is turned to my right and takes my ribcage along with it. My centre of gravity seems to have shifted to the right hand side instead of being directly in front of my hips. I do a lot of meditation and I keep getting a strong feeling to do Yoga, which I do small amount of but I don’t know which asana’s would target my problem.
A: A thorough assessment by a health care practitioner will inform you of where the root of your rotation lies. Opening the hip flexors in Warrior I and lengthening through the right transversospinalis group in poses such as Half Lord of the Fishes Pose and Mariachi’s Pose could be beneficial for you at this point in time.
There can be other reasons for a rotated pelvis: weakness, muscular inhibition, and skeletal anomalies, among others. However, these are the most likely muscular causes of a rotated pelvis. Get yourself assessed to determine the cause of the rotation so that you can safely and properly determine the right course of action for your body.
Let me tell you something. I’m pretty darn good at running nowadays, but
Warrior I still drives me crazy! From
MyYogaOnline:
It’s the turning of the hips that kills me!
Posted on April 14, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The nine-member Atlantic City Council voted unanimously yesterday to approve a controversial measure that would prohibit smoking on all casino floors for the first time in the seaside resort's 30-year history of gambling.
The ordinance, which would allow smoking only in specially built nongaming lounges inside casinos, must go before the council again for a second reading April 23. But Atlantic City Mayor Scott Evans - who must sign it into law - has publicly stated his support of a total ban and of restricting smoking to the lounges, virtually assuring its final passage.
A form of substance abuse rampant in this country is rarely discussed publicly or privately. It involves abusing legally sold dietary supplements — vitamins, minerals, herbals and homeopathic remedies — all of which can be sold over the counter without prior approval for safety and effectiveness.
Although there was much publicity about the hazards of ephedra, once widely used as a weight-loss aid until it was found to be deadly, many other heralded dietary supplements have the potential for harm, especially when taken in large doses or in various combinations with one another or with medically prescribed prescription drugs.
Now, under the threat of regulation from Congress, the two industries promise to be more forthcoming about their spending. A dozen of the nation's leading drug and device makers have told Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, that they have plans or are working on plans to publicly disclose grants to outside groups. The details will be provided on each company's Web sites.
Watchdog groups say the companies are trying to head off legislation that would require public disclosure of their giving.
I know that the whole heart-rate monitoring issue is contentious. Many athletes strap on those slender black bands around the chests. Then they try to keep their rate at some percentage of their maximum, 70 percent, say, or 80 percent, depending on their goals for the workout.
For some activities, like using an elliptical cross-trainer or riding most Spinning bikes at the gym, it can be difficult to gauge your effort without a heart-rate monitor. You can’t figure out speed or distance the way you can if you are swimming in a pool or running or cycling outside. Maybe it’s all that sweating, but it always feels as if you’re working hard even when your heart rate tells you that you could do a lot more.
But experts disagree on whether heart-rate monitoring makes sense.
In the current study, Dr. Mon-Jia Tan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai and colleagues isolated and described several compounds from bitter melon known as cucurbitane triterpenoids, and tested their effects on glucose (sugar) and fat metabolism in cells and in mice.
When tested in muscle and fat cells, the researchers found, the compounds stimulated the glucose receptor GLUT4 to move from the cell interior to the cell surface, thus promoting more effective glucose metabolism. Several of the tested compounds had effects comparable to those of insulin.
Americans didn't suffer more food poisoning last year despite high-profile outbreaks involving peanut butter, pot pies and other foods.
But it's not getting better, either. Although there have been significant declines in certain food-borne illnesses since the late 1990s, all the improvements occurred before 2004, federal health officials said in a report released Thursday.
A food safety advocacy group called the report discouraging.
A top government health official said Wednesday that climate change is expected to have a significant impact on health in the next few decades, with certain regions of the country - and the elderly and children - most vulnerable to increased health problems.
Howard Frumkin, a senior official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gave a detailed summary on the likely health impacts of global warming at a congressional hearing. But he refrained from giving an opinion on whether carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas, should be regulated as a danger to public health.
University of Michigan researchers have found that tiny little tart cherries can have a big impact on heart health and on diabetes. During the study researchers fed some rats a diet that included tart cherries; a control group of rats ate a diet that was equivalent in carbohydrates and calories but contained no cherries. At the end of the study, the rats who ate cherries had improvements in weight, fat percentage, cholesterol, and inflammation. A reduction in these risk factors is good news for heart health and diabetes.
"The only explanation may be that they are standing more upright, not so much crouching," study chief Dr. Jinsup Song of Temple University told Reuters Health. Song presented the findings April 4 at the Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society's Annual Meeting.
While past studies have investigated yoga for helping improve balance in elderly women, Song noted, they have typically used a relatively demanding form of the practice. In the current study, he and his colleague Marian Garfinkel, a certified yoga instructor, worked with B.K.S. Iyengar, the originator of Iyengar Yoga, to develop a program specifically designed for older people. "The poses were very basic -- how to stand upward, how to bend forward, sideways," said Song, who admitted he found some of the poses challenging himself.
Posted on April 11, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A sedentary lifestyle can muck up your health. Good thing
researchers have determined that periodic stretch breaks are good for you. Joene Hendry of
Reuters reports:
Dr. Genevieve N. Healy, from the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues measured the non-sleeping sedentary and active time of 168 Australian adults to determine whether taking breaks might impact their weight and metabolism. The subjects were participants in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study, but did not have diabetes.
This healthy group, who ranged in age from 30 to 87 years, kept an activity diary and wore an accelerometer during all waking hours for 7 days, the researchers report in Diabetes Care. The accelerometer, worn firmly around the trunk, measured the duration, type, and intensity of physical activity in counts per minute.
The researchers considered accelerometer counts of less than 100 per minute as sedentary periods, and counts of 100 or greater as active time. Light-intensity activity was from 100 to 1951 per minute and counts more than 1951 were periods of moderate-to-vigorous activity.
Overall, participants spent 57, 39, and 4 percent of their waking hours in sedentary, light-intensity, and moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity, respectively. On average, their breaks lasted less than 5 minutes, with accelerometer counts of 514 per minute.
They found that the number of breaks from sedentary activity positively correlated with lower waist circumference, lower triglycerides, and lower 2-plasma glucose scores
Hey, you know a great way to stretch out? Yoga! Give these poses a try, they’re easy. From
ABC-of-Yoga.com, enjoy:
Cat Pose
Stand Spread Leg Forward Fold
Chair Pose
Downward Facing Dog
Oh, and be warned. If you do Downward Facing Dog near someone doing Cat Pose, they will start hissing at you.
Posted on April 11, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Could Swiss exercise balls be the next best thing for fitness? Chris Sparling of
That’s Fit digs them. Take a look:
There are dozens of abdominal/core exercises you can perform using a Swiss Ball (I'll stick to this name, since it's what I regularly refer to it as). Among the more popular moves is the crunch, which is a good thing since this exercise, when done on the ball, works both the rectus abdominis (front abs) and the obliques (side ab muscles). However, to really take advantage of this movement, it's best to do two things: 1) Keep your feet somewhat close together, and 2) Place the ball under the lower portion of your back.
The first suggestion, keeping your feet close together (but not touching. Shoulder width is fine), will force you to really push your core muscles, otherwise you'll tip over. As for the second suggestion, Japanese researchers found that placing the ball under your lower back (as opposed to being under the upper portion of your back) causes greater stimulation to your abdominal muscles.
I haven’t tried them yet, maybe I should.
Posted on April 10, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New research has determined that just four weeks of moderate exercise can boost cardiac performance. Ed Edelson of
HealthDay News reports:
In heart failure, the heart progressively loses the ability to pump blood. In the United States, doctors typically recommend three-times-a-week exercise sessions for eight to 12 weeks to help ease the condition, noted study author Stephen F. Crouse, a professor of kinesiology and internal medicine at Texas A&M University, in College Station.
His team looked at data from an Austrian rehabilitation center where 366 heart failure patients (average age 63) exercised 14 to 22 minutes on stationery bicycles six times a week. Participants also did a brisk 45-minute walk each day.
Four weeks of that regimen were enough to produce a significant increase in the participants' breathing capacity, Crouse said.
"This is something that we can recommend continuing for the rest of their lives," he added.
Now,
That'sFit passes on some information claiming that exercise also helps improve memory. More from Chris Sparling:
MRIs taken of the brain of healthy adults taken after exercise showed signs of what Columbia University Medical Center researchers called "memory-cell" growth. Earlier studies led to similar results in mice. These studies may motivate physicians to prescribe an appropriate exercise regimen to patients who suffer from memory loss and impaired cognitive function, and also to patients who wish to be proactive in their efforts at prevention.
In the meantime, unless your doctor tells you otherwise, it wouldn't hurt to start exercising anyway if you already don't. While more research still needs to be done on this exercise/memory link, there's already plenty to support its benefit to overall health.
For me, the mood boost I get is a HUGE reason I exercise—so empowering!
Posted on April 9, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New research claims practicing Tai Chi may help lower or control type-2 diabetes risk. Amy Norton of
Reuters reports:
In one study, Taiwanese researchers found that tai chi helped lower long-term blood sugar levels in 30 middle-aged adults with type 2 diabetes. In the second, an Australian team found that a combination of tai chi and qigong benefited 11 adults at risk of type 2 diabetes.
Both tai chi and qigong (pronounced "chee-kung") are ancient Chinese practices designed to promote good health. Qigong combines gentle movements, meditation and breathing techniques; tai chi involves slow, fluid movements combined with mental imagery and deep breathing.
Both are moderate, low-impact activities, and recent studies suggest that older adults could reap a number of health benefits from tai chi, such as lower blood pressure, a reduced fall risk and improved arthritis symptoms.
The new studies, both published online by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, suggest that tai chi might aid in managing type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome -- a collection of risk factors for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
I’ve never tried Tai Chi—have you?
Posted on April 8, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The number of children who got fat during the two-year experiment was half the number of kids who got fat in schools that didn't make those efforts.
"It's a really dramatic effect from a public health point of view. That's the good news," said Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University and lead author of the Philadelphia schools study being published today in the April issue of Pediatrics.
The bad news: There were still plenty of new overweight kids in the five schools - over 7 percent of them became overweight compared with the 15 percent in the schools that didn't make changes.
The study, done with mice, found that lower doses of estrogen were safer, while moderate and high doses increased the risk of kidney and heart problems.
And although the findings were in rodents, they may provide a glimmer of insight for humans as well.
"It brings to our attention the fact that HRT [hormone replacement therapy] is not something we totally have to dismiss," said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women and Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "There might be a way to give this more safely to women."
Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Thursday that its private-label Great Value milk is now being sourced only from cows that have not been treated with artificial growth hormones, such as recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST).
The retailer said its Sam's Club chain also is offering milk selections from suppliers that have pledged not to treat cows with rbST.
People suffering from the addiction—usually those righteous raw foodists, vegetarians and vegans—obsessively check labels, avoid junk food, plan menus and often eat a healthy diet so they can feel "pure." Some even make fun of McDonald's customers.
It gets worse. While an anorexic tries to severely limit calories, an orthorexic might shun foods with artificial ingredients, trans fats or high-fructose corn syrup. Orthorexics also are generally unconcerned about their weight and do not feel fat. Their diet may make them feel virtuous.
Exercise during pregnancy has cardiovascular benefits not just for the mother but for the developing fetus as well, according to research presented Monday at the 121st annual meeting of the American Physiological Society, part of the Experimental Biology 2008 scientific conference.
The results of this pilot study "imply an exciting potential benefit of maternal exercise on fetal cardiac autonomic nervous system regulation," Dr. Linda E. May from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, Missouri told Reuters Health.
The autonomic nervous system controls the body's involuntary activities, such as the beating of the heart, blood pressure, breathing rate, and functions in the internal organs.
Not surprisingly, those with a bedroom TV were more apt to watch it a lot, clocking four to five more hours in front of a television per week, the researchers said. Twice as many of the teens with a bedroom TV were classified as heavy TV watchers -- at least five hours a day -- compared to those without one.
Girls with a bedroom television reported getting less vigorous exercise -- 1.8 hours per week compared to 2.5 hours for girls without a TV. They also ate fewer vegetables, drank more sweetened beverages and ate meals with their family less often, the researchers said.
Boys with a bedroom TV reported having a lower grade point average than boys without one, as well as eating less fruit and having fewer family meals, the researchers said.
Oteha Valley primary school, north of Auckland, has banned birthday cakes as part of a larger fat crack-down by the area's Ministry of Education.
Here's why cakes are a problem: Oteha Valley has a large number of pupils born in September and October. As a result, there's the potential for up to four cakes to arrive per week in some classes. Parents were starting to believe they were required to provide a cake for their child's birthday. Since this was both untrue and unhealthy, the school has advised parents in a newsletter to stop sending cakes to school.
During the study, the type 1 diabetics gained weight gained an average of 10.3 pounds and type 2 diabetics gained an average of 4.0. The weight gain could not be explained by a slowing of the body's metabolism, decrease in physical activity, or increase in sugar in the urine, leaving the authors to conclude that it was primarily due to overeating.
They also report that accurate assessment of calorie intake was "severely hampered by the underreporting of food intake, with (reported calorie) intakes being insufficient to meet even (the body's lowest) energy requirements."
Posted on April 7, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I’m a dork, and, an exercise nut. So, these
superhero inspired fitness tips from MSN are right up my alley. Take a look:
Spider-man Pullup
Hulk Superleap
Superman Back Extension
Thor's Hammer
I’ve got one gripe. Why no
Batman? He doesn’t even have superpowers and he’s still badass. Show the caped-crusader some respect—or else:
You’ll have to answer to him!
Posted on April 4, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
“An essential component of my prescription for diabetes is daily exercise,” explains Dr. Fuhrman.
And so it seems
exercise and bodyweight really do impact diabetes risk.
Reuters reports:
Lower cardiorespiratory fitness and higher body weight are independently associated with the development of type 2 diabetes in women, new research suggests.
"These findings underscore the critical importance of promoting regular physical activity and maintaining normal weight for diabetes prevention," Dr. Xuemei Sui, of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, said in an interview with Reuters Health.
Sui and associates followed 6,249 women between the ages of 20 and 79 years for 17 years. The women were free of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes at the outset.
A total of 143 women developed type 2 diabetes during follow up. After adjusting for a number of factors including body weight, women in the middle and upper thirds of cardiorespiratory fitness, as determined by a treadmill exercise test, had significantly lower risks of diabetes compared to the least fit third.
Granted, not exactly NEW information, but, an important reminder nonetheless.
Posted on April 4, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
TreeHugger passes along the latest fitness innovation,
The Walking Bike:
It appears to have some serious functionality issues. Check it out:
Perhaps a grizzly bear in a tutu should be riding it.
Posted on April 3, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
First,
BoreMe presents Yoga Asana with Props. Check it out:
And next, missing an 8 AM college class Yoga. Take a look:
Honestly, I’m not sure I want to try either of these—EEK!
Posted on April 3, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I’m pretty quiet in the weight room, but
one British weightlifter is being taken to court for his monstrous exercise sounds. More from the
Daily Mail:
A grunting weightlifter whose noise levels reached as high as those of a rock concert, has been hauled before the courts and fined £70 for exercising too loudly.
Fitness fanatic Giran Jobe, 36, appeared in the dock of Thanet Magistrates Court charged with 47 breaches of a noise abatement order after neighbours complained that his two hour dumbbell training sessions left them unable to sleep.
Council noise teams investigating the complaints about Jobe's power-lifting bouts at his top floor flat found that at times the noise level hit 100 decibels - as loud as a rock concert.
The first complaint against the muscle-bound carpenter was lodged in June last year and the 15-stone bodybuilder was warned by council noise police to stop using his weights.
But after just one month neighbours again complained to Thanet Council, who then fitted downstairs homes with noise recorders to monitor Jobe's activity and register the noise levels.
And in the following six months families living downstairs recorded an incredible 47 breaches of the noise abatement order - citing 'grunting and noise from the weights hitting the floor' as the major irritants.
My gym doesn’t have that many grunters, but in college, I honestly thought 5% of the student body were cavemen.
Posted on April 1, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The Mayo team examined the cardiovascular health of 233 retired NFL players, aged 35 to 65. They did this by measuring the internal diameter of the carotid (neck) artery and by assessing levels of plaque deposits that can block blood flow.
The researchers found that 82 percent of the retired players under age 50 had abnormal narrowing and blockages in their arteries greater than the 75th percentile of the general population. That means these retired players may be at increased risk for high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke.
The superintendent, Jody P. Weis, a former F.B.I. agent, came in last month as a reformer vowing to clean up the nation’s second-largest police force, and has already diversified the ranks and bolstered community relations. Now Mr. Weis, an exercise enthusiast, has shocked more than a few people with talk of mandatory fitness tests and maximum body-fat allowances (only after a year’s physical education and with exceptions, of course)…
“…I hope it’s not his opinion that this force is in bad shape as compared to others,” said Mark P. Donahue, president of the Chicago local of the Fraternal Order of Police. (Police departments across the country have long struggled with the problem of overweight officers; a chief in Florida lost his job in 2006 after sending a memo to his officers titled “Are You a Jelly Belly?”)
The requirement was supposed to take effect Monday, but a restaurant trade group has challenged it in court. The city Health Department said Thursday it was postponing the regulation's start date until April 15 because the court ruling is expected soon.
Health officials say the measure will combat obesity by forcing diners to face the caloric consequences of their orders. But the New York State Restaurant Association says the rule violates the First Amendment by forcing businesses to put what amounts to a message on their menus.
State health and agriculture officials said today that two recent cases of salmonellosis in Minnesota have been linked to raw, frozen, breaded and pre-browned, stuffed chicken entrees. The implicated product is Milford Valley Farms Chicken Cordon Bleu with a stamped code of C8021. This product is sold at many different grocery store chains.
This the fifth outbreak of salmonellosis in Minnesota linked to these types of products since 1998. The findings prompted the officials to urge consumers to make sure that all raw poultry products are handled carefully and cooked thoroughly, and to avoid cooking raw chicken products in the microwave because of the risk of undercooking.
People who are 35 or younger who keep smoking are far more prone to die from a heart-related event, have a repeat heart attack or need future treatments to clear blocked arteries compared to those who stopped smoking.
The study makes clear that smoking not only promotes a first heart attack, but poses heart risks in younger patients who have survived one, researchers said. The report was presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago.
Patients with heart failure are especially vulnerable to influenza and most doctors recommend they get flu shots, but a study suggests these annual jabs may not offer them full protection, U.S. researchers said on Saturday.
They found heart failure patients in a study had lower immune responses to the vaccine compared with healthy people of similar ages, leaving them more vulnerable to infection.
Officials in southern China sealed more than 4,000 boxes of possibly contaminated milk and the manufacturer recalled another 2,700 boxes after children became sick on drinking the product, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.
A total of 119 children, some in day care centers, fell ill on drinking the milk and 75 of them were hospitalized for two days, China's official news agency said.
Buy Local Groceries
It takes less fuel to transport locally grown or produced fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, and dairy products than it does to transport foods over long distances. As such, less pollution is produced and less fuel is used to transport local food products.
Make Smart Fish Choices
Fish populations and the health of aquatic ecosystems are at risk from overfishing, bycatch (organisms that are inadvertently killed as a result of fishing practices), and the wastes produced by fish farms. Programs such as Vancouver B.C.’s Ocean Wise Program helps locals choose sustainable fish options. This Program was launched in 2005 by the Vancouver Aquarium to work with restaurants and markets to help them buy ocean-friendly fish. The program is also intended to help consumers purchase sustainably-harvested fish and to avoid fish on the endangered list.
Posted on March 28, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Imaging technology shows that people who practice meditation that focuses on kindness and compassion actually undergo changes in areas of the brain that make them more in tune to what others are feeling.
"Potentially one can train oneself to behave in a way which is more benevolent and altruistic," said study co-author Antoine Lutz, an associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
How far this idea can be extrapolated remains in question, though.
FDA said it is reviewing reports of mood changes, suicidal behavior and suicide in patients who have taken the drug, which was Merck's best-selling product last year.
In the past year Merck has updated the drug's labeling four times to include information on tremors, anxiousness, depression and suicidal behavior reported in some patients.
The runner’s-high hypothesis proposed that there were real biochemical effects of exercise on the brain. Chemicals were released that could change an athlete’s mood, and those chemicals were endorphins, the brain’s naturally occurring opiates. Running was not the only way to get the feeling; it could also occur with most intense or endurance exercise.
The problem with the hypothesis was that it was not feasible to do a spinal tap before and after someone exercised to look for a flood of endorphins in the brain. Researchers could detect endorphins in people’s blood after a run, but those endorphins were part of the body’s stress response and could not travel from the blood to the brain. They were not responsible for elevating one’s mood. So for more than 30 years, the runner’s high remained an unproved hypothesis.
But now medical technology has caught up with exercise lore. Researchers in Germany, using advances in neuroscience, report in the current issue of the journal Cerebral Cortex that the folk belief is true: Running does elicit a flood of endorphins in the brain. The endorphins are associated with mood changes, and the more endorphins a runner’s body pumps out, the greater the effect.
People who have big bellies in their 40s are much more likely to get Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in their 70s, according to new research that links the middle-age spread to fading minds for the first time.
The study of more than 6,000 people found the more fat they had in their guts in their early- to mid-40s, the greater their chances of becoming forgetful or confused or showing other signs of senility as they aged. Those who had the most impressive midsections faced more than twice the risk of the leanest.
Dr. Carol Byrd-Bredbenner of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and colleagues found that many college students engaged in eating behaviors that could make them sick, like eating raw homemade cookie dough or runny eggs.
While people are becoming increasingly aware of food safety issues, Byrd-Bredbenner and her team note, surveys still show a substantial proportion run the risk of food poisoning by eating raw eggs, undercooked hamburger and other foods that may harbor harmful bacteria.
The disclosure of hidden tobacco money behind a big study suggesting that lung scans might help save smokers from cancer has shocked the research community and raised fresh concern about industry influence in important science.
Two medical journals that published studies by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers in 2006 are looking into tobacco cash and other financial ties that weren't revealed. The studies reported benefits from lung scans, which the Cornell team has long touted.
The IARC has labeled these occupations as "probably carcinogenic to humans," a classification the agency reserves for those exposures backed by fairly strong evidence. In 1993, the IARC found that hairdressers and barbers were probably exposed to cancer-causing substances, but at that time, evidence of an increased cancer risk in this population was "inadequate." This week's report, published in the Lancet Oncology, is based on a review of epidemiological studies published since that time.
Some of the products used by hairdressers and barbers--such as dyes, pigments, rubber chemicals, and curing agents—have been found to cause tumors in rats in laboratory studies or have been known to cause bladder cancer in humans. In some studies, increased risk has been associated with permanent dyes and use of darker-colored hair dyes.
Posted on March 28, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Deputy Editor of Shape Magazine Janet Lee takes some time to debunk fitness myths. Here’s a couple from
The CBS Early Show:
MYTH: CRUNCHES WILL GET RID OF YOUR POT BELLY. AND/OR YOU CAN ISOLATE YOUR "LOWER ABS"
TRUTH: Crunches won't get rid of body fat. You have to do cardio to do that. Crunches will firm up the underlying muscles, though. Also, there is no such thing as "lower abs." The six-pack you're going for is actually one long muscle, called the rectus abdominis, that extends from below your chest to your pubic bone. To work your abs, you should do exercises to target all four muscles: the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and the transverse abdominis.Getting a six pack is more about genetics first and percentage of body fat second. To try to get there, do a range of moves that target your entire midsection (all 4 muscles in the abs) and do cardio to burn fat.
MYTH: MUSCLE TURNS TO FAT WHEN YOU STOP WORKING OUT
TRUTH: Muscle doesn't turn to fat-ever! Some people that are very muscular and stop working out without changing their diet may put on fat though and their muscles will lose tone after 4 to 8 weeks. If you have a to take a gym break, try to work in activity in other ways (walk more, take the stairs, etc.) and cut back on what you're eating. Muscle and fat are different types of tissue, and one can't morph into the other. What can happen when you stop exercising is that you put on fat, so those once-flat abs will turn distinctly flabbier. Also, when you don't use muscle it starts to atrophy, so it's not as firm as it was.
That’s why I run, run, run! Oh, if you like video better. Check this out:
Now, here are fitness tips you can trust. Dr. Fuhrman serves up some back strengthening exercises. Check it out:<
- Seated cable row: With knees slightly bent, lean forward, then pull the handles back to your chest with elbows wide as your back comes to vertical.
- Wide cable pull downs: Pull down the cable to your chest with elbows wide as you lean back to a sixty-degree angle.
- Back extensions: Lean over exercise ball, and arch your back up like a reverse sit up, or use a back extension chair made for this exercise.
- Superman: While lying on your stomach, lift trunk and legs up off the ground like a bow.
- Alternate Superman: Use alternate arm and leg to perform the superman.
- Weighted backpack: Wear a weighted backpack for a few hours per week. Normal activities of moving around and getting up and down with a weighted backpack on strengthens the back.
In Yoga they call the alternate superman, warrior three, and the superman, peacock pose. As for the seated cable row, the most I’ve ever done is 200 pounds—ever try any of these?
Posted on March 26, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A new study has examined how the neighborhood you live in might influence your activity level. Robert Preidt of
HealthDay News reports:
The researchers found that people who live in neighborhoods with higher levels of poverty, lower levels of education, and more families headed by women are less likely than others to exercise. But this doesn't mean that poorer people are least likely to exercise, said the researchers, who found that individual income wasn't as important as neighborhood in determining exercise levels.
"We can't encourage people to exercise more without looking at the neighborhood environment in which they live," study co-author Christopher Browning, an associate professor of sociology at Ohio State University, said in a prepared statement. "Some people may have the personal resources and desire to exercise but don't live in a neighborhood in which they feel comfortable to go outside for activities."
Neighborhood-related factors that influenced exercise levels included: amount of trust among neighbors, perceived violence in the community, and beliefs that neighbors help each other. The study also found that neighborhood was more important for women than men in determining exercise levels.
Interesting, but
regardless of how much or how little you exercise—don’t cheat at it! More from Chris Sparling of
That’s Fit:
When you "cheat," it basically means that you have passed the point of technical failure and are now calling upon other muscles to help the muscles that are being trained. For example, if you're banging out a set of bench press and you start arching your back to push the weight up for a few more reps, that's cheating.
But, unlike relationships, cheating isn't always a bad thing. Forcing out a few more reps can tax the muscle beyond its comfort zone, resulting in an increased "pump." This, over time, will lead to sustained muscle growth. The trick with cheating is to make sure you are not putting yourself at risk of injury. This is why forcing out those extra reps is okay to do once and a while, but for the most part your goal should be to reach, and stop at, the point of technical failure.
Personally, I never work to muscle failure—don’t like harming my body—but what do I know? I’m an idiot. So, maybe you prefer getting your fitness tips from Super Bowl winning quarterback of the New York Giants, Eli Manning. From
The Washington Post:
All I can say is—BOO!
JaMarcus Russell is the man. Just win baby! Oh! And JaMarcus, stop eating—PLEASE!
Posted on March 25, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Of 216 reported cases so far, 68 have been confirmed by lab results, public information officer Jim Shires said. Nine people have been hospitalized, but only one was believed to still be in the hospital, Shires said.
Shires is part of a nine-person incident management team from Jefferson County that arrived to help Alamosa officials respond to the outbreak, which health officials said may be caused by the municipal water system.
Children who take vitamin D supplements may be less likely to develop type 1 diabetes later in life, according to researchers who analyzed the findings of five previously published studies.
The researchers found that children who were given additional vitamin D were about 30 percent less likely to develop type 1 diabetes than children who didn't receive vitamin D supplements. The evidence also indicated that the higher and more regular the dose of vitamin D, the lower the risk of developing diabetes.
It is tempting to look for a quick fix to cellulite, especially when so many advertisements claim to provide a solution. Unfortunately, there is no overnight cure. Nothing can get below the surface of the skin and rearrange the connective tissue or fat cells underneath. Because fat is compressible, some procedures, such as body wraps, may appear to provide a solution to smoothing the skin. But any visible effects will be temporary -- unlikely to last more than 24 hours…
…You can diminish the appearance of cellulite or reduce the chances you will get it with regular exercise, especially strength training. A good strength-training program will increase your chances of maintaining lean muscle as you get older, and this in turn reduces your chances of increasing the size of your fat cells.
But as I think about it more, I realize that when organic really pays is when this money—the very money we raised the other night—goes to fund new research that then gets into the hands of the people who really need it, such as a mom who learns that feeding their children organic foods can reduce their dietary pesticide exposure by 97 percent, and then makes the immediate switch to organic baby food. Or, people who learn that of the 11 most important nutrients, organic foods contain, on average, 25 percent higher concentrations of these nutrients, and then switch to organics in order to feed their bodies more nutrient-dense foods. How about the farmer who learns that even very low levels of organophosphate insecticides can disrupt developing brains and nervous systems, and then immediately stops spraying his crops for the sake of the health of his grandbabies growing up in a house across the field. Or a diabetes sufferer who learns that eating vegetables rich in fiber, antioxidants, and magnesium could lead to a 28 percent lower risk of Type-2 diabetes, and then starts serving his children more vegetables, so they don’t have to suffer the way mom and dad did.
"Just what the world doesn't need is another way to get as much food as they want whenever they want it," said Jeanne Goldberg, a professor of nutrition science at Tufts' Friedman School of Nutrition.
The unlimited quantity has turned some sporting events into games of can-you-top-this in the stands, with fans competing to see who can shovel the most hot dogs down their gullets. But for the most part, the scene is the same as in any other section.
"People knocking that stuff back isn't exactly the prettiest thing to watch," Drew Nurenberg, 30, of Malvern, Pennsylvania, who bought all-you-can-eat seats with his wife for a Philadelphia Flyers game last month, said. He added: "People looked like they were taking advantage of it, but not overly taking advantage."
The problem of obesity cannot be reduced simply to genetics, the researchers said, and it also cannot be blamed solely on our environments or learned behaviors. Media coverage, they advised, should highlight that the obesity epidemic is the result of a variety of factors, and that change requires a comprehensive approach that tackles the problem from all sides.
"Obesity's not rocket science," said Dr. Diane Finegood, director of CIHR's Institute for Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes. "It's a lot more complex."
Is this news? Not to T. Colin Campbell, author of the book "The China Study," which details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
"I get frustrated when I see articles like this--time and time again--being published by researchers who know not that much of their findings have already been shown before," Campbell said, when I asked him if he'd seen the study.
"These earlier results are simply ignored, thus awaiting rediscovery by some future researcher or medical practitioner. This is the main question for so many similar reports...why haven't we heard this before?"
It used to be that the only teens seen at a gym were students on athletic teams, intent on additional training.
But in recent years, some Chicago-area gyms have become preferred hangouts for a growing number of high school students who want to be fit and healthy. Many also have discovered that gyms provide something equally important: a place to gossip, flirt and socialize with peers.
Posted on March 20, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I’d like to extend a big CONGRATULATIONS to
Scott Cutshall who went from 501 pounds to 232 in under three years thanks to Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune tells his tale:
The rebirth of Scott Cutshall began Thanksgiving day 2005, a bowl of vegetable soup for breakfast kicking off a new life where nothing would be the same. Cutshall, living in Jersey City at the time, weighed 501 pounds. He was having breakfast. And then he was getting ready to go on a bike ride…
… Back up to 2004. Cutshall, a freelance jazz drummer, husband and father, 38 years old, was not sure if he'd live to see 40. He wore size XXXXXXXXXXL pants and could not tie his own shoes. He could walk only nine steps at a time. Breathing was sometimes difficult. A doctor said he would be dead in six months without stomach-reduction surgery and heavy medication…
…He ate essentially the same thing every day, three base meals developed off research from the book "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a New Jersey physician. The food equaled a daily dose of about 1,200 calories and provided all the nutrients, protein and vitamins essential for good health, though nothing more, Cutshall said…
…Cutshall emphasizes that this meal plan is not a diet. In fact, don't even say that word around him. After years of trying fad diets to lose weight, the D-word no longer exists in the Cutshall nomenclature. "It takes a total lifestyle change, with food being one part of a larger picture," he said.
But as they say, the proof is in the veggie-based pudding. Here’s Scott before:
Now get a load of Scott after:
Hey Scott, from one Jersey guy to another
—great job dude! Here’s to your newfound health and happiness! Keep it up and enjoy every bike ride.
Posted on March 19, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
That’sFit is on the money today. Here’s a cool post about carrots.
Evidently carrots are nutritional rock stars. See for yourself:
Even small amounts of carrots do the body good with their essential oils, carbohydrates, and nitrogenous composites. Well-known for their sweetening, healing, diuretic, remineralizing, and sedative properties, carrots are important for their three most powerful elements: Beta-carotene, Alpha Carotene, and Phytochemicals. Beta-carotene gives us vitamin A which strengthens immune systems, keeps the skin, lungs and intestinal track in order, and promotes healthy cell growth. Alpha Carotene helps inhibit tumor growth. And phytochemicals may reduce the risk of cancer and strokes, hinder the aging process, balance hormonal metabolism, and promote antiviral and antibacterial properties. Combine these three elements and carrots are yes, nutritional heroes. Just look at some of what they can do.
- Boost immunity, especially in older people
- Reduce risk of heart disease
- Improve muscle, flesh, and skin health
- Fight anemia
- Reduce acne
- Improve eye health
- Heal minor wounds and injuries
- Fight infection
Now, we go from carrots to your peace of mind.
Chris Sparling of insists you got to find time to just chill out. Take a look:
These days, it seems almost un-American to not be stressed. It's not that we want to be mentally and emotionally fried all the time, it just ends up happening anyway. Methods of battling back against these unwanted feelings frequently involve time commitments (i.e. joining a yoga class, meditating, exercising, speaking with a therapist, etc.), which can itself lead to more stress. Because, time? Who has any of that to spare?
Find some time. Make some time, if need be.
Look at all the wonderful plant sources of vitamin B. Honestly, I didn’t know there are this many B’s. Check it out:
I'll start today with some the many types of vitamin B and their respective health benefits.
- B1 - Found in whole grain bread, pasta, rice, and pork. This type of B vitamin helps release energy from food and also keeps nerve and brain cells nice and healthy.
- B5 - Found in fish, meat, poultry, whole grains, legumes, milk, fruits, and vegetables. This vitamin helps with the metabolizing of carbs, proteins, and fats.
- B6 - Found in chicken, pork, fish, liver, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. Great for keeping serotonin levels where they should be.
- B9 - Also known as folate, this can be found in many fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, and beef liver. It helps break down fatty acids and has also been shown in some studies to reduce the progression of cancer in some cases.
Posted on March 18, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Ali Hale of Diet Blog offers up ten tips to help you burn some unwanted calories. I thought these were pretty cool:
- Roll up your sleeves and spring-clean a room for twenty minutes
- Do an extra ten minutes on the cross-trainer or the rowing machine at the gym.
- Stroll to the local shop (fifteen minutes there and back) instead of driving.
- Each time the ad breaks come on, do a three-minute exercise blast: crunches, press-ups, jogging on the spot.
Just ask my friends, I am notorious for parking at the back of the lot and power-walking to the store—yes, I’m a dork!
Posted on March 17, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
When he became a psychiatrist in the 1970s, John Ratey didn't expect to evolve into an exercise buff. But today, the Harvard University professor and expert in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder calls exercise the single most important tool people have to optimize brain function…
…Exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, can improve cognitive performance, soften the effects of stress, help fend off addiction-related cravings and tone down the negative consequences of women's hormonal changes, Ratey says. When it comes to psychiatric disorders, he calls exercise "one of the best treatments we have."
Bacteria can cause rhinosinusitis -- an inflammation of the sinuses -- but a virus such as the common cold is often a more likely culprit so antibiotics seldom work, the researchers reported in the journal Lancet.
Yet doctors still dole out the drugs more than they should. In the United States, for instance, 80 percent of sinus patients are prescribed an antibiotic while the proportion ranges from 72 percent to 92 percent in Europe.
"What tends to happen in practice is when patients have had symptoms for a while and go see their family doctor, the doctor assumes they have a bacterial infection and gives them antibiotics," said James Young, a statistician at the University Hospital Basel, who led the study.
In the new study of about 5,000 adults, the college-educated with household incomes of more than $75,000 a year had much less of a blood protein linked to heart disease than did the poorer or less educated - as long as they weren't overweight.
But as weight crept up, so did C-reactive protein in the blood, a sign of inflamed tissue that can lead to blocked coronary arteries, says Cathy Bykowski, a psychologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
That's not surprising, because excess body fat is known to increase the protein, she says.
New research suggests that people who don't get enough sleep tend to weigh more -- and that sleep can affect levels of the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin.
"There is a dynamic balance between proper sleep and proper health. Sleep deprivation affects weight and a lot of other things. If you cheat sleep, there are a number of consequences, including affecting your hormones, appetite and mood," said Dr. Patrick Strollo, medical director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Sleep Medicine Center.
At first glance, the $45 session just looked like a bunch of boys having fun, not surprising since Lego Club members have good language skills and average or above-average intelligence. In contrast, children at the severe end of the autism spectrum may be mute and have catatonic behaviors.
But signs of problems were soon evident. A boy wearing a long-sleeve T-shirt stood amid the hubbub, staring at the floor, obsessively pulling the hem of his shirt - until leader Greg Shugar gently drew him into an activity. At a table, Lily Brown, another leader, helped two boys revise their "script" - a sheet of lined paper covered with angry scratch-outs and scribbles.
Jonathan Shanahan, 13, of Riverton, rocked from foot to foot and acknowledged that earlier that day, in school, he threw a pencil at a classmate.
"He's my archrival," Jonathan declared, holding a winged Lego beast he had created.
Breast-fed babies appear to be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes when they reach adolescence, according to findings published in the medical journal Diabetes Care.
"Dramatic increases in childhood obesity and the emergence of type 2 diabetes in youth motivate research to identify lifestyle approaches to primary prevention of both conditions," write Dr. Elizabeth J. Mayer-Davis of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and colleagues.
Folate
Use: To improve heart health
Why it works: Folate and other B vitamins help break down excess homocysteine -- an amino acid that can damage the inner lining of arteries -- possibly reducing the risk of heart disease.
Daily intake: 400 mcg
Best food sources: 1/2 cup cooked asparagus (134 mcg), 1 cup raw spinach (58 mcg), 1/2 cup cooked lentils (179 mcg)
Type 1 diabetes occurs because of pancreatic beta cell damage. These cells are responsible for insulin hormone production. The disease is becoming more common and it is expected to increase by 40% in 2010, compared to 2000.
The study showed that those suffering from type 1 diabetes have lower levels of vitamin D and are common in countries with less sunlight. It is well known that sunlight exposure stimulates vitamin D production and that supplement intake without sunlight exposure doesn't mean anything.
Lack of vitamin D is previously linked to autoimmune disorders, and this new study shows another key role of vitamins in health.
Breast cancer patients who are overweight have more aggressive disease and are likely to die sooner, U.S. researchers reported on Friday.
A dangerous type of breast cancer, known as inflammatory breast cancer, was seen in 45 percent of obese patients, compared with 30 percent of overweight patients and 15 percent of patients of healthy weight.
"The more obese a patient is, the more aggressive the disease," said Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who led the study.
Posted on March 14, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The Food and Drug Administration listed poor sanitation and other deficiencies in 47% of 199 inspections from January 2001 to February 2007, according to a report by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. None of the cases was referred to the FDA's enforcement arm for further action.
E. coli bacteria in bagged spinach from California killed three people and sickened at least 205 in 2006. The spinach may have been tainted when feral pigs roamed through cattle feces at a nearby ranch and crossed into the spinach fields, investigators from the FDA and California said last year.
The best that Dr. Julie Gilchrist, a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and one of the study’s authors, can offer is a few guidelines and observations about why studies have yet to answer the stretching questions.
If your goal is to prevent injury, Dr. Gilchrist said, stretching does not seem to be enough. Warming up, though, can help. If you start out by moving through a range of motions that you’ll use during activity, you are less likely to be injured.
In fact, Dr. Gilchrist said, in her review of published papers, every one of the handful of studies that concluded that stretching prevented injuries included warm-ups with the stretches.
The legislation is aimed at curbing the fallout from Americans' unhealthy eating habits, seen in rising rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. The hope is that the labels will help people make healthier choices when they're eating out.
But dozens of studies have produced mixed results on whether nutrition labeling improves consumers' eating habits. It can't hurt to make the information available, nutritionists say, however, the truth is, if people want a Big Mac for lunch, knowing that it has 540 calories and 29 grams of fat probably isn't going to stop them.
Scientists said they, too, are concerned about the findings of the water testing commissioned by the Associated Press, but several said that there is no need for people to stop drinking tap water.
The contaminants present are "in the parts-per-billion level and essentially at homeopathic doses," said Phyllis Gardner, a Stanford University physician and pharmacologist. "It can't possibly have an effect."
The fact that the substances are in tap water at all concerns Gardner and others. "I wish they weren't there," said Mary Vore, a professor of toxicology at the University of Kentucky. "But I will keep drinking the water."
New rules announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will tighten air quality standards set a decade ago, reflecting a growing amount of research indicating that smog poses greater health risks than previously thought.
The air in Chicago, which met federal smog standards for the first time last year, will fail again under the new limit.
Under the regulations outlined by top EPA officials, the allowable level of smog in the air will be 75 parts per billion, down from the current standard of 85 parts per billion but higher than 60 parts per billion recommended by pediatricians and environmental groups to protect children and the elderly.
A recent study of the PACE (People with Arthritis Can Exercise) program by researchers at the University of North Carolina showed significant improvements in reducing pain and fatigue among those who completed the eight-week course, with benefits persisting for up to six months after completion of the course.
"I liked it because it's not just an exercise program," said Laurie Maietta, who taught the PACE course last fall at Panther Physical Therapy in Hampton. "You have the exercise program, an educational program, and a relaxation component as well."
Arthritis sufferers tend to be less fit than seniors who don't suffer from this condition. Which is too bad, said Dr. Moira Davenport, director of sports and emergency medicine for Allegheny General Hospital, because "exercise can definitely help people suffering from arthritis. It strengthens the muscle around the affected joints, and takes away some of the pressure and pain."
The study, by researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, found that men and women who were severely obese were 45 percent more likely than normal-weight adults to develop pancreatic cancer over five years…
…Pancreatic cancer is difficult to catch early, and 95 percent of patients die within five years of being diagnosed. Because of this dismal prognosis, researchers consider it particularly important to pinpoint the modifiable risk factors for the disease.
In many ways, pediatricians do know more than parents. When your doctor says your newborn needs to ride in a rear-facing car seat, don't argue. When he says your 2-month-old with a 105-degree fever needs to get to the doctor's office -- and fast -- you'd better listen.
But there are far more areas that are gray and have no science, or not very good science, to back them up, says our panel of pediatric experts. They say that sometimes, this means your pediatrician is giving you his or her opinion, not medical fact.
"There are several ways to approach many issues in pediatrics. There isn't one clear-cut way," says Dr. Robert Needlman, co-author of the latest edition of "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care." "Pediatricians really should make a distinction between what's based on research and what's based on our own particular beliefs."
The U.S. federal standards for acceptable levels of pharmaceutical residue in bottled water are the same as those for tap water -- there aren't any.
The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the $12 billion bottled water industry in the United States, sets limits for chemicals, bacteria and radiation, but doesn't address pharmaceuticals.
Some water that's bottled comes from pristine, often underground rural sources; other brands have a source no more remote than local tap water. Either way, bottlers insist their products are safe and say they generally clean the water with advanced treatments, though not explicitly for pharmaceuticals.
Tests on mice show that diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can cause a condition known as lymphocytic bronchiolitis, said the team at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.
The condition can lead to obliterative bronchiolitis -- or "popcorn lung" -- a rare and debilitating disease seen in workers at microwave popcorn packaging plants and at least one consumer.
At least two microwave popcorn makers -- ConAgra Foods Inc and Weaver Popcorn Co Inc -- have said recently they would stop using diacetyl.
Posted on March 12, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Inhaling diesel exhaust triggers a stress response in the brain that may have damaging long-term effects on brain function, Dutch researchers said on Tuesday.
Previous studies have found very small particles of soot, or nanoparticles, are able to travel from the nose and lodge in the brain. But this is the first time researchers have demonstrated a change in brain activity.
"Convergent evidence now strongly links a class of chemicals -- acetylcholinesterase inhibitors -- to illness in Gulf War veterans," Dr. Beatrice Golomb of the University of California, San Diego, said in e-mailed comments.
She said some of the chemicals linked to these illnesses continue to be used in agriculture, and in homes and offices for pest control in the United States and throughout the world.
“It takes strength to do them, and it takes endurance to do a lot of them,” said Jack LaLanne, 93, the fitness pioneer who astounded television viewers in the 1950s with his fingertip push-ups. “It’s a good indication of what kind of physical condition you’re in.”
The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be taut like a plank with toes and palms on the floor. The act of lifting and lowering one’s entire weight is taxing even for the very fit.
A recent study suggests that possibly harmful bacteria is in the freshest fallen snow. After learning about this study I started thinking about whether or not I would allow my boys to continue eating snow. We have never allowed our kids to eat snow off of the ground but we have let them pick up snow off of something like a table or chair outside thinking that the snow there was cleaner. Our kids, like many others, have also turned their faces to the sky and let the snowflakes fall right into their mouths. Chances are that many of you, myself included, did just the same as kids and we turned out OK ;)
However, now research suggests that the snow is just plain dirty and that it may have harmful bacteria no matter how you eat it or where you eat it from.
"We knew that some data found yoga helped reduce hot flashes among healthy women but no one had studied the effects among cancer survivors," Duke University's Laura Porter, Ph.D., says in a news release.
Breast cancer survivors aren't good candidates for hormone replacement therapy. And some breast cancer treatments, such as tamoxifen, "tend to induce or exacerbate menopausal symptoms," write Porter and colleagues at Duke and Oregon Health & Science University.
In fact, those with more than 12 years of education -- more than a high school diploma -- can expect to live to 82; for those with 12 or fewer years of education, life expectancy is 75.
"If you look in recent decades, you will find that life expectancy has been increasing, which is good, but when you split this out by better-educated groups, the life expectancy gained is really occurring much more so in the better-educated groups," said lead researcher Ellen R. Meara, an assistant professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School.
"The puzzle is why we have been successful in extending life span for some groups. Why haven't we been successful in getting that for less advantaged groups?" Meara said.
A new state ban on smoking in restaurants and other nightspots contains an exception for performers in theatrical productions. So some bars are getting around the ban by printing up playbills, encouraging customers to come in costume and pronouncing them "actors."
The customers are playing right along, merrily puffing away -- and sometimes speaking in funny accents and doing a little improvisation too.
The state Health Department is threatening to bring the curtain down on these sham productions. But for now, it's on with the show.
Their reassuring finding: women who are too fat when pregnant are probably not somehow driving the obesity epidemic by programming their children to be fat.
But there is a strong link between overweight mothers and overweight children that still needs to be explained, Debbie Lawlor of Britain's University of Bristol and colleagues said.
Lawlor's team looked at the developmental overnutrition hypothesis -- the idea that if a woman is overweight during pregnancy, the higher levels of sugar and fatty acids in her blood would affect the developing fetus, dooming or at least predisposing the child to poor appetite control and a slower metabolism.
Posted on March 11, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Exercise seems to boost insulin-making cells.
Reuters reports:
After the exercise period, study participants' sensitivity to insulin had increased by 53 percent, on average, while a measure of beta cell function called the disposition index had risen by 28 percent. However there were no changes in their fat mass, levels of fat in the blood, or other factors that might explain the effect of exercise on beta cells.
"Longer-term exercise training studies are required and are currently in progress to evaluate further exercise training effects on beta cell function in age-related glucose intolerance," the researchers note.
Yup, exercise is good for diabetics. Dr. Fuhrman’s on it:
The most effective prescription for diabetes is exercise. An essential component of my prescription for diabetes is daily exercise; it is more important than daily medication. Two hundred calories a day of formal exercise on an incline treadmill and an elliptical machine are a great goal to shoot for. It is not an official recommendation of anyone except me.
But research has determined fat is bad for diabetes. More from
Reuters:
Fat mass in adulthood was the only measurement that showed a significant association with insulin sensitivity, the researchers found. After they used statistical techniques to control for age, sex and body size in adulthood, the group of men and women who were born small but caught up as adults had significantly lower insulin sensitivity than the control group.
Based on the results, Dr. R.W.J. Leunissen of Erasmus Medical Centre-Sophia, Children's Hospital and colleagues propose a "fat accumulation hypothesis," which states that "an increased accumulation of fat during childhood, independent of birth size, will result in reduced insulin sensitivity."
Yeah, you don’t want to be overweight and diabetic. Here’s Dr. Fuhrman again:
If the person is obese, with more than fifty pounds of additional fat weight, his body will demand huge loads of insulin from the pancreas, even as much as ten times more than a person of normal weight needs. So what do you think happens after five to ten years of forcing the pancreas to work so hard? You guessed it — pancreatic poop-out.
Exercise and stay thin—sounds win-win to me!
Posted on March 5, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
"Using technology to modify television viewing eliminates parental vigilance needed to enforce family rules and reduces the disciplinary action needed if a child exceeds his or her sedentary behavior limits," the authors concluded. "Perhaps most important, the device puts the choice of when to watch television in the child's control, as opposed to a rule such as 'no television time until homework is completed.'"
Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, said the study, "shows the upside to this ominous mix -- reducing screen time can help prevent childhood obesity by several mechanisms. Less screen time may be even more important to dietary pattern than to physical activity pattern. But by either means, the ends here are encouraging and highlight the importance of this strategy."
Investigations comparing caffeine with water or placebo seldom found a statistical difference in urine volume, the author wrote. “In the 10 studies reviewed, consumption of a caffeinated beverage resulted in 0 to 84 percent retention of the initial volume ingested, whereas consumption of water resulted in 0 to 81 percent retention.”
Another study, in the same journal in 2005, involved scientists following 59 active adults over 11 days while controlling their caffeine intake. They were given caffeine in capsule form on some days and on other days were given a placebo. Researchers found no significant differences in levels of excreted electrolytes or urine volume.
They're not the first; several other states have similar laws on the books, including Arkansas, which was the first in 2003.
Children will be weighed twice a year, in private. Their BMI will be tracked but kept confidential. "Sally, step into the office, step up on the scale, that's about as invasive as it gets," said Senator Joseph Carter, who sponsored the bill. "The presence of childhood obesity is staggering," he added.
Not everyone is a fan of the idea, however. Senator Preston Smith wants to keep the government out of the weight loss business and worries that pressure from schools will do more harm than good. "Come on, pick it up fat kid, we're not going to get money if you don't!" he said, mimicking what he thought school officials would say.
- Seat Belt Pillow: There are new and cool ways to go incorporate green and recycled materials into your house. These pillows are made of end-of-the line seat belt webbing otherwise destined for the landfill. A little expensive at $114, but very innovative.
- Recycled glass bowls and vase from Pier 1: You can take the green theme to other parts of your home. And one great way to do this is to decorate green. Pier 1 has a new line of hand-painted glass bowls and vases that are made from 100 percent recycled glass. They are beautiful and eco-conscious.
- Cork Bowls: This bowl is made 100 percent recycled cork (reclaimed waste material from the bottle-stopper industry). Cork is also a great choice for flooring, and made of tree bark, which is an eco-responsible alternative to petroleum-based vinyl flooring and slow-growing hardwoods such as oak.
The researchers cautioned that further studies were needed to consider factors such as diet, exercise, cholesterol levels and smoking habits that affect the risk of heart disease.
The study focused on more than 65,000 workers employed between 1946 and 2002 at four sites operated by British Nuclear Fuels plc and its predecessors. The team analyzed non-cancer death rates and cumulative radiation exposure using the workers' personal dosimeter badges.
Comparing the some 42,000 workers exposed to relatively high levels of radiation to office workers and other employees pointed to an increased heart disease risk, the researchers said.
Drinking alcohol, even moderate amounts, may boost blood pressure more than previously thought, British researchers said on Tuesday.
People with a genetic mutation that makes it difficult to consume alcohol had significantly lower blood pressure than regular or heavy drinkers, the researchers found.
People without the mutation who had about 3 drinks per day had "strikingly" higher blood pressure than people with the genetic change who tended to drink only small amounts or nothing at all.
The study involved 2,216 adolescents in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota whose eating patterns, weight and other lifestyle issues were tracked for five years. They were just under 15 years old when they entered the study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics.
The more regularly the teens ate breakfast, the lower their body mass index was, according to the study. BMI is a measure of body weight relative to height. Those who always skipped breakfast on average weighed about 5 pounds more than their peers who ate the meal every day.
Their study involved 77,721 people in Washington state ages 50 to 76, tracking their use over the prior decade of supplemental multivitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and folate to see if this would offer protection from lung cancer.
None of the vitamins looked at in the study was tied to a reduced risk of lung cancer. In fact, people who took high doses of vitamin E, especially smokers, had a small but statistically significant elevated risk, the researchers said.
Originating in the Mediterranean and then spreading to the United States and Europe, rosemary was used for centuries to treat nervous system ailments, says Discovery Health. Healthwise, it's used today in aromatherapy to enhance senses and boost memory and it just happens to contain those magical antioxidants -- carnosol is its strongest -- which help prevent cancer and high cholesterol. It also helps stimulate the immune system, increase circulation, and improves digestion, according to The World's Healthiest Foods site. It contains anti-inflammatory compounds, increases blood flow to the head and brain, and improve concentration. Whew. That's some pretty good stuff.
- There is an ideal range of flexibility in each joint. People who are too flexible may be just as susceptible to injury as those who are too tight as they often lack adequate stability.
- Relative flexibility is a key factor: Often when we are tight in one joint, the adjacent joint is too flexible. The key is to try and stabilize what is too loose and release what is too tight.
- Asymmetry of flexibility is a more likely cause of injury than tightness (i.e. if one hamstring muscle is far tighter than the other).
Posted on March 4, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Here’s an interesting study.
Researchers believe that exercise might be the key to treating fatigue.
Tara Parker-Pope of Well is on it:
University of Georgia researchers decided to study whether exercise can be used to treat fatigue. The research, which appears in the February issue of the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, involved 36 volunteers who were not regular exercisers but who complained of persistent fatigue.
One group of fatigued volunteers was prescribed 20 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise three times a week for six weeks. The second group engaged in low-intensity aerobic exercise for the same time period, while a third control group did not exercise.
The study volunteers used exercise bikes that allowed the researchers to control their level of exertion. The low-intensity exercise was equivalent to a leisurely, easy walk. The more intense exercise was similar to a fast-paced walk up hills. Patients with fatigue due to serious medical conditions, such as those with chronic fatigue syndrome, weren’t included in the study.
Both of the exercise groups had a 20 percent increase in energy levels by the end of the study, compared to the control group. However, the researchers found that more intense exercise isn’t the best way to reduce fatigue. The low-intensity group reported a 65 percent drop in feelings of fatigue, compared to a 49 percent drop in the group doing more intense exercise.
I’m inclined to agree. I feel very empowered and spunky from my exercise regime—how about you?
Posted on March 3, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
You’ll usually find me at the gym by 5AM—yup, that early—yes, I realize I’m crazy, but I’m not the only one.
Jacki Donaldson of That’sFit often finds herself running at “pre-dawn.” Take a look:
Running in the dark of the early morning is the newest of my exercise approaches, designed to allow me a jump on the day ahead, to get my workout out of the way before the world around me wakes up. No interruptions. No distractions. No competing priorities. Just me, an hour's worth of time, and the hills. Or sometimes my treadmill. I also fit in a few other exercises -- mostly for my stubborn stomach -- and a shower too. By the time my husband and little boys are awake, I've accomplished what I set out to do and don't have to fret about fitting it in for the rest of day.
It took some practice to get rolling with this workout routine. Once a night owl, I now crash early. My favorite late TV shows get taped and I watch them early on subsequent nights. Hoisting myself out of bed in the morning has gotten easier too, although today I slept 15 minutes longer than intended and had to ramp up my running speed to make it home on time. Not a bad trade, though. I'm sure my body liked the jolt it got.
I’m a total early bird. In fact, if I don’t exercise in the morning, I’m edgy and antsy all day long. Anyone else share my affliction—or should I say, addiction?
Posted on February 29, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Gina Kolata of
The New York Times asks the question, “
Does Weight Lifting Make a Better Athlete?” Good question, let’s find out. Here’s some of the report:
Researchers who study weight lifting, or resistance training as it often is called, are adamant. It definitely helps, they say. But other experts in the field are not so sure.
Gary R. Hunter, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is a believer. He cites, for example, a recent study involving middle-distance runners. Three months of resistance training, he said, improved their leg strength and running efficiency, a measure of how much effort it took to run.
And, he said, it is not just runners who become more efficient.
“There is no doubt that an appropriate weight-training program would improve efficiency in pretty much any athlete,” Dr. Hunter said.
William J. Kraemer, a kinesiology professor at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, said lifting weights also can increase endurance and reduce the risk of injury, especially to connective tissue…
…But other researchers, like Patrick O’Connor, an exercise scientist at the University of Georgia, are not convinced.
Dr. O’Connor points out that the weight-lifting studies, as is typical in exercise science, are small. And each seems to examine a different regimen, to measure outcome differently and to study different subjects — trained athletes, sedentary people, recreational athletes. It becomes almost impossible to draw conclusions, he said.
That may be one reason why different athletes end up doing different weight-lifting exercises. Chris Martin, a 31-year-old chemical engineer who has an elite racing license from USA Triathlon, the governing body for the sport, works on his entire body. But for his legs, he does exercises like leg extensions using one leg at a time, to correct any muscle imbalances or weaknesses. Mr. Martin, who lives in Lawrenceville, N.J., said he got the idea from coaches and from his own reading.
“Cycling and running are one-leg-at-a-time activities,” he explained. And one-legged exercises “recruit more muscles that help the hips.”
Actually, my Yoga teacher tells the class not to lift weights and that weight-lifting strains the body and is not harmonious—I’m warming to this opinion—but I haven’t stopped lifting yet.
Posted on February 27, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
On Monday, Pfizer took the doctor and inventor of the artificial heart off the mound as pitchman for the world's best- selling medication, after his credentials - in medicine and in his own exercise regimen - came under fire.
In the ads, which began their heavy rotation on TV and in print in 2006, Jarvik touts the benefits of Pfizer's cholesterol-lowering drug. As of Monday afternoon, Jarvik's photo still appeared on Pfizer's Web site advertising the drug.
But House Democrats said the ads could be misleading to consumers because Jarvik appeared to be giving medical advice, even though he is not licensed to practice medicine. While Jarvik holds a medical degree, he did not complete the certification requirements to practice medicine.
The study raises ethical questions about when it's acceptable to withhold perhaps futile treatment and let people die, and whether public health issues should ever be considered.
"Advanced dementia is a terminal illness," said study co-author Dr. Susan Mitchell, a senior scientist with the Harvard-affiliated Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research in Boston. "If we substituted 'end-stage cancer' for 'advanced dementia,' I don't think people would have any problem understanding this."
Many experts, including the Alzheimer's Association, consider Alzheimer's and other dementias to be fatal brain diseases. Patients die of infections such as pneumonia and other complications, but the underlying cause is damage to brain cells.
“Eating a big meal just before going to bed has been found in studies to elevate triglyceride levels in the blood for a period of time,” r. Louis J. Aronne, director of the comprehensive weight control program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said. A higher triglyceride level “has been associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance,” both related to weight gain, he said.
Dr. Aronne suggested a theoretical framework for why late meals may stay with you. “If you ate 500 calories during the day but walked around afterward, your muscles would be competing with your fat cells for the calories and could burn them up as energy for physical activity,” he said. “But if you consume it at bedtime, with no physical activity, the body has no choice but to store the calories away as fat.”
Heart disease in Europe claims over two million lives every year, and cost the European Union 192 million euros (285 million dollars) in 2006, a group of health organizations said Tuesday.
A statistical study by the European Society of Cardiology and the European Heart Network also shows huge differences across Europe in death rates due to coronary artery disease and strokes, the two main types of heart disease.
Several countries in eastern and northern Europe -- notably Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia and Estonia -- have mortality rates five to seven times higher than western European nations, especially France, Portugal and Switzerland, the study showed.
Another systematic review, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise in 2004. It looked at multiple studies and found that stretching “was not significantly associated with a reduction in total injuries,” but also concluded that more research was needed.
For now, many experts say that what may work is a quick warm-up, like low-impact aerobics or walking. It also helps to ease into an activity by starting off slow and then increasing speed, intensity or weight (for lifting).
Research suggests that stretching does not affect soreness or risk of injury during exercise.
Scientists are investigating other causes for the deterioration of brain function, including the deposition of a protein called amyloid in brain tissue. This process is thought to be accelerated by inflammation in the body.
Research shows that the foods we eat probably play a role in decreasing inflammation in the body. Taking this into account, the brain-healthy diet includes:
* Five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. This includes apples and onions for their flavonoids, dark green leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach for their carotenes, cooked tomatoes for lycopene (another carotene) and blueberries for their antioxidants.
Between August and October 2007 Food Standards Agency (FSA) surveyed 2627 people about if they had five or more portions of fruit and vegetables the day before being questioned. There were 58% positive answers, which shows an increase compared to 2006's 55%. However, the increase is too low to indicate healthy diet improvement.
Besides, the survey shows disparities between different social classes: AB class reported 71% positive answers, DE class reported 45% positive answers. This means, that higher social grades are more successful in diet management that lower ones.
Disparities also occur between men and women: 63% of surveyed women were able to manage five or more portions of fruit and vegetables compared to 54% men.
Dr. Kenneth R. Wilund and colleagues found that the overall gallstone weight was 2.5-fold greater in sedentary mice compared with mice that exercised. The researchers suggest that exercise may provide similar benefit to humans.
"The basic physiology of gallstone formation is pretty similar in humans and mice," Wilund told Reuters Health. Many of the proteins involved in the liver's cholesterol and bile acid metabolism are very similar, he said.
"So it is reasonable to suggest that the changes we believe were responsible for the reduction in gallstone formation in the exercise-trained mice could also occur in response to exercise training in humans," commented Wilund, of the University of Illinois, Urbana.
Posted on February 22, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Sitting in front of a computer all day can be a real pain in the neck—literally. Good thing
new research links exercise to relief from chronic neck and shoulder pain.
Reuters reports:
The current study included 48 Danish women with chronic trapezius pain, most of whom spent much of their workday in front of a computer. Researchers randomly assigned the women to either perform supervised strengthening exercises or aerobic exercise, or to get general health counseling.
For 10 weeks, women in the strength-training group worked out their neck and shoulder muscles using hand weights, three times per week for 20 minutes. Women in the aerobic-exercise groups worked out on a stationary bike.
After 10 weeks, women who strength-trained showed a 70 percent to 80 percent decrease in their pain ratings from the beginning of the study. In contrast, those who got aerobic exercise often felt better in the couple hours afterward, but there was no long-term pain improvement.
Exercise—the cure for what ails you!
Posted on February 21, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I’m 26 and I grew up and grew out of video games. As a kid I was all about
Super Mario,
Megaman, and
Street Fighter II—I never thought I’d see the day when video games become associated with fitness.
Introducing, Wii Fit.
Reuters reports:
The Wii Fit, which will debut on May 19, will come with a weight-and-motion sensing device called the Wii Balance Board, the company said in a statement.
Nintendo is also planning to launch a new online service in the U.S. in May called WiiWare that will allow game publishers to distribute new titles over the Internet directly to users, instead of on discs.
Early WiiWare games will come from developers such as Square Enix, famous for the role-playing game franchise "Final Fantasy."
I have to admit, all this talk about the Wii and exercise has perked up my ears. I might have to dust off my subscription to
Nintendo Power. I mean, just check out how cool the
Wii Fit commercial is. Take a look:
How sweet is that? You can do Yoga on your
Wii—awesome!
Posted on February 18, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Researchers explain why regular exercise can lengthen your life and—oddly enough—it has a lot to do with length, the length of your chromosomes that is. More from Jack Kelly, of
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
The British researchers studied 2,400 twins. Their research focused on telomeres, the caps at the end of chromosomes, the structures that carry genes.
When we're young, our telomeres are long. But every time a cell divides, telomeres get shorter. When telomeres get too short, the cell can no longer divide. Cells die. Muscles weaken, skin wrinkles, eyesight and hearing fade.
Prof. Tim Spector and Dr. Lynn Cherkas of Kings College, and Prof. Abraham Aviv of the New Jersey Medical School found the telomeres in those who exercised vigorously were significantly longer than those in their twins who didn't. The difference was still significant even if the twin who exercised smoked or was overweight.
"These data suggest that the act of exercising may actually protect the body against the aging process," said Mr. Spector, who is a professor of genetic epidemiology. The study was published last month in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Telomeres, interesting—let’s find out more about them.
I ran telomeres through Wikipedia. Here’s some of what came up. Take a look:
During cell division, the enzymes that duplicate the chromosome and its DNA can't continue their duplication all the way to the end of the chromosome. If cells divided without telomeres, they would lose the end of their chromosomes, and the necessary information it contains. (In 1972, James Watson named this phenomenon the "end replication problem.") The telomere is a disposable buffer, which is consumed during cell division and is replenished by an enzyme…
…If telomeres become too short, they will potentially unfold from their presumed closed structure. It is thought that the cell detects this uncapping as DNA damage and will enter cellular senescence, growth arrest or apoptosis depending on the cell's genetic background (p53 status). Uncapped telomeres also result in chromosomal fusions. Since this damage cannot be repaired in normal somatic cells, the cell may even go into apoptosis. Many aging-related diseases are linked to shortened telomeres. Organs deteriorate as more and more of their cells die off or enter cellular senescence.
Riveting, so, how long are your telomeres? I figure with the amount I exercise, I should have telomeres from here to Staten Island!
Posted on February 15, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A recent review of scientific research suggests cranberries may offer a natural defense against the development of this dangerous disease. Researchers feel that many of these results are due to the fact that cranberries contain a greater concentration of antioxidants than other commonly consumed fruit and that these nutrients may be working together to offer even greater benefits.
The report conducted at Tufts University, and published in Nutrition Reviews, found that cranberries offered a range of different benefits that work to promote cardiovascular health. These benefits include effects on cholesterol as well as on blood pressure and the development of blood clots, all established risk factors for heart disease.
One in five of all male deaths and one in 20 of all female deaths between the ages of 30 and 69 will be caused by smoking, said the study, conducted by a team of doctors and scientists from India, Canada and Britain and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"The results we found surprised us, because smokers in India start later in life and smoke fewer cigarettes or 'bidis' than those in Europe or America, but the risks are as extreme as in the West," said Prabhat Jha of the Center for Global Health Research at the University of Toronto, the lead author of the study.
On average, the students gained 14 pounds, added 2.6 inches to their waistline, and padded their body fat percentage by 3.7% during the study.
Blood samples provided by the students throughout the study show a spike in levels of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase (ALT). ALT levels rose quickly -- typically within a week -- after the students started the fast-food diet.
Tuna is one of those annoying pregnancy foods that might be really, really good or really, really bad for the baby.
Instead of driving yourself crazy (like I did!) trying to guess the proper amount to ingest without putting increasing your mercury level to the point of now return, you can use the handy dandy Tuna Calculator that will give you a suggested weekly serving based on your weight.
PCC Natural Markets is prohibiting suppliers from using cloned animal products in their food. It also wants them to disclose where ingredients are from and what they mean by terms such as "natural flavors."
These moves come months after the Seattle chain eliminated high-fructose corn syrup from its eight stores and began identifying the countries of origin for its meat, seafood, peanuts and fresh and frozen produce.
According to the research, red wine and alcohol consumption were found to have virtually identical impact on health, with one drink of either substance helping to reduce the work rate of the heart.
The findings, which are published in the February edition of the American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology, could challenge the perception that polyphenol content of red wine is responsible for cardiovascular benefits.
Red wine has been linked to extended survival rates of mice and prevented the negative effects of high-calorie diets, in other testing, due to the presence of the polyphenol, resveratrol.
"You're in a dark, gloomy place," said Bruce Hollis, a leading vitamin D researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina. "In the winter, you could stand outside naked for five hours and nothing is going to happen."
Increased use of sunscreen has turned a seasonal shortfall into a year-round condition for many people. A recent survey in Britain found 87 percent of adults tested during winter, and more than 60 percent in summer, had subpar vitamin D levels. Doctors in many parts of the world — including California — report a resurgence of childhood rickets, soft bones caused by lack of vitamin D.
Tobacco giants Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco actively collude with cigarette smugglers to gain a foothold in lucrative developing markets, campaigners alleged on Wednesday.
"Transnationals benefit in a number of ways from the illicit trade in tobacco," said Kathyrn Mulvey, director of international policy with the lobby group Corporate Accountability International (CAI).
Posted on February 14, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Julie’s Health Club shares the secrets of Forrest Yoga for core fitness. Check it out:
The following move—elbow to knee—is a foundation of the practice:
- Lie on your back and clasp your hands behind your head. Bend your legs, lift your feet and position your knees over your hips. Your feet should be off the floor and slightly lower then the knees.
- Inhale as you lift your shoulder blades off the floor.
- Holding your breath, press your low/mid back into the floor and lift your tailbone.
- Exhaling, reach both elbows toward your left thigh and straighten the right leg. (Both shoulder blades and the low back stay off the floor. The tailbone stays up.) Pull your belly in at the end of the exhale.
- Inhaling, move the torso back to center and the knees back together. Your head and shoulder blades stay up. Hold your breath.
- Repeat the movement on the other side, making sure your low/mid back is still pressed into the floor and your tailbone is still up. Do between five and eight repetitions, emphasizing good form.
Posted on February 13, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I hate to fly! The only exercise I get on a plane is an exercise in panic and fear, but not this guy.
Dr. Charles van der Horst turns a plane into his own personal gym.
The New York Times tells his story:
To this day, every place I go I find the time to exercise. It’s a wonderful way to see the country and to get that endorphin rush that makes a bad day a little more tolerable. For me, running through dusty fields of Malawi and hearing the Islamic call to prayer is mesmerizing. And I can’t help but smile, when I’m running through a village and these gorgeous little African children start running with me yelling, “azungu,” which can mean stranger, foreigner or white guy — all of which are true.
My colleagues and friends still have a tough time believing I spend a short layover in London doing laps in a pool. Or that I walk through German customs wearing my ratty running shorts. My daughters tell me I should get rid of them. Despite their embarrassment, I won’t. The shorts are too comfortable.
The ultimate eyebrow raiser is on the South African Airways flight back from Johannesburg to the United States. This endless trip is enough to drive anyone crazy. My solution is to go into the restroom halfway through the flight and change into workout clothes. I then do a full hour of calisthenics, crunches, push-ups and lunges in the aisle of the plane. I’ll ask the stewards for a lot of those steamy washcloths, and then retreat to the restroom for a sponge bath. I’ll sleep like a baby for the rest of the flight.
Okay, I’m an exercise nut—yoga, running, weights—but like I said, on a plane, I’m like a cat in water—EEK! Now, get this. Dr. Fuhrman is also a plane exerciser. Get a load of this:
Hey, I do stuff like that too on the planes. Stretching, lunges, one-legged knee bends, toe raises. Except I don’t sponge bath after. It often is a surprise that I am the only one exercising in the back of the plane. I usually get to know the stewardesses in the back galley, while I am exercising and stretching and wind up talking to them about their diets and sometimes I’ll meet someone who will pull out their bag of veggies and fruits to show me they do not eat the junk plane food.
I’d call him crazy, but I’d be risking my job—oh, wait. Oops!
Posted on February 12, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
As someone who lifts weights and runs, I found this very interesting. Apparently
new research has determined that strength training is just as good as endurance training at burning off fat. The
NewScientist reports:
Running and other endurance activities build up what's known as "slow" or type I muscle. It is rich in mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of cells, and research has shown that this type of muscle combats weight gain and reduces the incidence of metabolic problems. "Fast" or type II muscle - the kind you build when pumping iron - is mitochondria-poor and was thought to be less effective in reversing weight gain.
Kenneth Walsh at Boston University School of Medicine and his colleagues were curious to know how weight training affects metabolism.
In the spirit of pumping up, check out these posts for some unique exercises:
Posted on February 8, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Yippee! Yoga news.
New research has determined that Yoga can help survivors of natural disasters. C. Vidyashankar, MD of Reuters reports:
A 1-week yoga program reduced stress and anxiety among survivors of the tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean islands of Andaman and Nicobar in December 2004, researchers from India report.
Dr. Shirley Telles and her team from the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation in Bangalore conducted a stress management program for the survivors a month after the tsunami occurred. Forty-seven adults, of different cultural backgrounds, were enrolled in an 8-day intensive "Vivekananda yoga" program consisting of loosening exercises, physical postures, regulated breathing and guided relaxation for 1 hour every day.
Self assessment of symptoms and measurements of heart rate and respiratory rate were carried out before and after the program.
Cool! Hey, if you find news about your favorite exercise, write about it,
email me, and I just might make you a guest blogger!
Posted on February 6, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Here’s neat post from
Diet Blog. Sure, we train our arms, abs, legs, and chest—that’s the obvious stuff—but what about the not-so-obvious? Like
your serratus anterior. Mike Howard offers some seldom seem exercise tips. Check it out:
Serratus Anterior
A couple of inches below our armpits lay a bumpy or “serrated” muscle that helps keep the shoulder blades (scapulae) stable and flush against the ribs where it’s supposed to be. A possible sign of a weak serratus anterior is a “winged” shoulder blade (a poking out).
Exercise: Scapular Push-up
Find an elevated surface such as a bench or a chair. Place hands slightly more than shoulder width apart.
Keeping body in line (relatively straight from back of the head to the heels) let your shoulder blades collapse inward and than push them out – WITHOUT moving your elbows.
Repeat 12-20 times.
I’ve got to give these a try. This article reminds me of yesterday’s post:
Dudes, Get a Rockin' Butt!
Posted on February 5, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Wow, I feel uncomfortable with that title—moving on. “
The average guy tends to train what he sees—which explains why so many workouts are chest-heavy and arm-emphasizing,” explains Martica Heaner, MA, MEd, on MSN
Health & Fitness. Here’s more:
Many men are happy to pummel their biceps into oblivion with an exhausting regimen of an endless variety of curls. The butt? Not so much.
Glutes are not just for looking great in your blue jeans, they are key muscles that affect the stability and strength of your spine and knees. So to perform well in any sport that involves powerful sprints and jumps, and to ensure optimum body alignment during many upper and lower body exercises, well-trained glutes are a must…
…HOW TO DO IT: Choose a weight that is heavy enough to challenge your target muscles, but not so heavy that your joints feel strained. Start with dumbbells that are at least five to 15 pounds and gradually work up to heavier weights, depending on the exercise.
Yeah, you do see a lot of dudes bench-pressing and doing curls, but, you hardly ever see some guy toning his core, legs, or in this case, butt. As for me, I work my whole body and maybe that’s why I do yoga, to obtain the elusive “yoga butt.” From
Urban Dictionary:
The ultimate external sign of a strong and powerful body. Only after years of practice can a man or woman achieve a yoga butt. It is perfectly proportioned, very tight, high, and sculpted. A yoga butt means you also have yoga arms, yoga abs, yoga legs, etc. It is very sexy and it immediately turns eyes and makes people jealous or inspired.
Hey, fellas, this might be a good goal to work towards. Consider this, one of my best friends is a girl—a hot chick by the way—and here’s what she had to say about a guy having a nice butts. Take a note:
I think all women can appreciate a finely curved, well muscled posterior on a man. Sure, big biceps make us swoon, and who doesn't love some six pack abs? But, there is just something extra sexy about a man who looks as good going as he did coming!
Trust me, you’ll find yourself in front of a mirror today, trying to flatter your own gluteus maximus.
Posted on February 4, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I love cats—actually, I love all animals, but especially cats—in fact, I adopted a cheetah. Yes, a cheetah! His name is
Echo and he lives at the
Australia Zoo. Look how handsome:
Now, we’ve all heard that pets can make us feel better, but can a cat be a personal trainer? Well,
Libby Sentz’s cat has certainly got her moving.
Poked & Prodded has more:
I know that people and their pets are supposed to end up looking alike, but limping alike? I found out last week that she shares my diagnosis—severe osteoarthritis of the hips.
Mine is so bad that I’ll need a hip replacement eventually. But somehow she’s been doing a much better job than I am with managing her symptoms…
…My feline friend is setting such a good example that I’ve been motivated to develop my own take-care-of-myself routine. I’ll call it the Wonder-Kitty Plan.
- After hitting snooze in the mornings, I will put my heating pad on my hip. (My cat sleeps there, so this will help her too.)
- I will begin my stretches in bed, just like she does.
- When she starts hopping around and climbing bookshelves, I will roll right into the tedious strengthening exercises that physical therapists of surgeries past have urged me to stick with.
- I will take my supplements with breakfast when she takes hers.
- And once a week I will shell out for some form of manual therapy. Or maybe I can bribe my husband to massage the kitty and me together.
Makes sense to me, I used to spend plenty of time exercising with my cat—chasing her butt around the house!
Posted on February 1, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Well, not exactly earth-shattering news, but
new research claims losing weight by either diet or exercise is good for the heart.
Reuters is on it:
Researchers found that among 25 healthy but overweight middle-aged adults, moderate weight loss appeared to restore some the heart's youthful elasticity -- making it easier for the heart to relax between contractions and refill with blood.
It did not appear to matter whether the weight loss was achieved through diet changes or exercise, the researchers report in the American Journal of Physiology.
"If individuals want to do something that's good for their heart, then my message to them is lose weight by the method they find most tolerable," Dr. Sandor J. Kovacs, the senior researcher on the study, said in a statement.
"They're virtually guaranteed that it will have a salutary effect on their cardiovascular system," said Kovacs, a professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.
This reminds me of a report that came out this fall. It’s about how
exercise can help prevent heart failure. Here’s a refresher from Amanda Gardner of
HealthDay News:
According to two studies that were to be presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., that response can dramatically enhance patients' ability to move and work out.
"Both studies point to the beneficial effect of exercise on patients with heart failure," said Dr. Sidney Smith, past president of the American Heart Association and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Science and Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
"These observations provide some understanding into the mechanisms which [make exercise helpful]," Smith said.
More than 5 million people in the United States have heart failure, a condition that affects the heart's ability to pump blood throughout the body.
And listen, we all know that adhering to a healthful diet is extremely heart-healthy. Take avoiding saturated fat for example. Dr. Fuhrman explains:
Saturated fat is the element of the modern diet that shows the most powerful association in these medical research studies with high cholesterol and premature death from heart attacks.1
In light of all this, I figured now is a great time to interject this quote from, my hero,
Howard Stern. He dropped this on Wednesday’s show. Take a look:
I believe diet is the key for getting rid of a lot of illness.
Short, sweet, and to the point. Thanks Howard!
Continue Reading...
Posted on January 30, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A study published Monday hints that fitness buffs appear to have "younger" DNA than the chronically sedentary. The finding could help scientists understand the effects of exercise and aging at a molecular level.
Previous research has shown that being physically active reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer and other diseases, potentially extending longevity.
Previous research has shown that older people have shorter ends than younger folks. Indeed, biologists say they shrink every time a cell divides.
Some 84 million people risk dying from cancer over the next decade, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
The IAEA, the UN atomic watchdog, is involved in the fight agaist the disease through its Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT) division, which shares the organisation's knowledge of radiotherapy techniques with other partners in the field.
PACT head Massud Samiei told journalists that "the cancer epidemic will gather pace in developing countries."
About two-thirds of the cases were children who took the medicines unsupervised. However, about one-quarter involved cases in which parents gave the proper dosage and an allergic reaction or some other problem developed, the study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The study included both over-the-counter and prescription medicines. It comes less than two weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned parents that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are too dangerous for children younger than 2.
The key is for both spouses to be comfortable expressing anger, rather than one or both suppressing anger, University of Michigan researchers report.
"The key matter is, when the conflict happens, how do you resolve it?" asks Ernest Harburg, PhD, professor emeritus with the University of Michigan's School of Public Health and psychology department. "If you bury your anger, and you brood on it ... and you don't try to resolve the problem, then you're in trouble."
Harburg's team found a higher death rate among married couples in which both spouses suppress anger, compared with other married couples. Their findings appear in the Journal of Family Communication.
Studies in the past have demonstrated that cannabis can cause cancer, but few have established a strong link between cannabis use and the actual incidence of lung cancer.
In an article published in the European Respiratory Journal, the scientists said cannabis could be expected to harm the airways more than tobacco as its smoke contained twice the level of carcinogens, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, compared with tobacco cigarettes.
The method of smoking also increases the risk, since joints are typically smoked without a proper filter and almost to the very tip, which increases the amount of smoke inhaled. The cannabis smoker inhales more deeply and for longer, facilitating the deposition of carcinogens in the airways.
BREAKFAST CEREALS
Seventh-Day Adventists are credited with creating breakfast cereals. They founded the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where they manufactured and promoted wholesome cereals. Will Keith Kellogg was an Adventist who discovered corn flakes in 1894 when a pot of cooked wheat was overcooked and then dried. Each grain became a separate flake. He introduced Rice Krispies in 1929. The Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company was founded in 1906.
THE DOUGHNUT
Originally introduced by the Dutch as sweet dough fried in pork fat (known as "oily cakes"), the doughnut has been around a very long time, although its popularity surged with the doughnuts served to solders in World War I. The term "doughnut" either comes from the small balls of dough that looked like nuts, or a recipe from a mid-19th century cook who added nuts to the center of her fried dough and therefore referred to them as dough "nuts." The legend goes on to say that her son, a sea captain, didn't like the nuts so he had them cut out, creating the famous doughnut shape that we know today. Doughnuts remained as snacks, not breakfast -- often served in theaters -- until the doughnut machine was invented in the 1930s. By the 1940s and 1950s, Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Doughnuts had been introduced, and the pairing of coffee and doughnuts secured their place in the breakfast repertoire. By the 1950s, "drop" doughnuts became very popular and Orange Drop Doughnuts showed up in the Betty Crocker Cookbook. Since no rolling or cutting was required -- just drop spoonfuls of batter into hot oil -- this category of doughnuts caught on quickly.
The number of Americans being diagnosed with and also living with type 2 diabetes is soaring, presenting a major health and economic crisis for the United States, a new study reports.
"What's alarming is we have 47 million uninsured people, but these people [in the study, enrolled under Medicare] are all insured. So in this kind of insured program, we have so many people who are not adhering to the recommended care," said Frank Sloan, lead author of the study published in the Jan. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Sloan is professor of health policy and management at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
The ayurvedic menu at Ananda Spa has been designed to balance the three doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The doshas are roughly similar to our ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph body types, but they’re even more detailed, taking into consideration the shape of the face, skin type, hair, eyes, and temperament. Everyone is a mix of the three, but one dosha is predominant. If the doshas are balanced, you’ll enjoy good health, if not, you’re basically screwed…
…Once you know which dosha you align with, your ayurvedic practitioner will help you get in harmony through your food choices. To balance a Vata dosha, for example, you’re apparently supposed to eat mostly warm foods, such as soups, stews, warm milk, warm cereals, and baked bread (cream and butter are on the list too). And Vatas are advised to avoid cold foods, such as salads, iced drinks, and raw vegetables and greens. Hmm … doesn’t sound ideal for someone who is lactose-intolerant and loves her veggies.
Posted on January 25, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Uncontrolled diabetes wreaks havoc on the body, often leading to kidney failure, blindness and death. A new study shows that the nation's unchecked diabetes epidemic exacts a heavy financial toll as well: $174 billion a year.
That's about as much as the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and the global war on terrorism combined. It's more than the $150 billion in damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.
The incidence of diabetes has ballooned — there are 1 million new cases a year — as more Americans become overweight or obese, according to the study, released Wednesday by the American Diabetes Association. The cost of diabetes — both in direct medical care and lost productivity — has swelled 32% since 2002, the report shows.
Diabetes killed more than 284,000 Americans last year, according to the diabetes association.
- Much to my personal delight, Yoga is growing in popularity. Katie Zezima of The New York Times investigates a boot camp for Yoga teachers. Check it out:
In May 2006, Sue Jones started YogaHope, an organization that teaches yoga at eight Boston-area women’s homeless shelters, substance-abuse treatment programs and domestic-violence safe houses, as well as two programs in Seattle. The focus is on teaching restorative yoga, and though many teachers have completed at least 200 hours of training, it is not a requirement.
Driven by a sometimes missionary zeal and a sense that yoga has become an exclusive pursuit, a small but growing number of yoga practitioners are forming organizations that teach yoga in prisons and juvenile detention centers in Oakland, Calif.; Los Angeles, Seattle and Indianapolis. They are working with the addicted and the homeless in Portland, Ore., and with public-school students in New York City.
Though concern about the cost of yoga is an issue (studio classes can cost $20 for a drop-in session, though some offer free or low-cost classes taught by less experienced teachers), most of the practitioners are motived by a desire to introduce yoga to those who might need it most, but wouldn’t think to do it on their own.
Stop-and-go pushup
Assume a pushup position. Brace your core and lower your chest to the floor. When you’re halfway down, pause 2 seconds before continuing. Then, when your chest is 2 inches from the floor, pause again for 2 seconds before pushing halfway back up. Hold for 2 more seconds, then straighten your arms. Do eight reps.
Stop-and-go split squat
Stand with one foot 3 feet forward and hold a barbell across your shoulders. Rise on the ball of your back foot, then bend at the knees. When halfway down, pause for 2 seconds. Pause again when your back knee is just off the floor. Push halfway up, pause again, and return to the starting position. Do six reps with each leg.
The campaign, to be launched in the summer, will form part of a wider strategy including aspects like food labelling, urban design and the promotion of exercise.
Department of Health officials said it will use simple messages -- such as the "five pieces of fruit and veg a day" slogan -- and be based on research into what actually works to make people change from unhealthy lifestyles.
"Tackling obesity is the most significant public and personal health challenge facing our society," said Health Secretary Alan Johnson as he launched the 372 million pound cross-government strategy.
"A didgeri-what?" you ask. While aborigines in Australia have been playing this long wooden trumpet for centuries, it's just recently been redefined as a modern-day medical device. Researchers reporting in the British Medical Journal evaluated 25 people with sleep apnea--a breath-stealing condition caused by flabby throat muscles--and found that those who took 4 months of didgeridoo (DIH-jeh-ree-doo) lessons had about 31/2 times less daytime sleepiness than the folks who didn't blow their own horns. The newly minted musicians also snored significantly less. Credit this uncommon cure to vibrations that exercise tissue in the mouth and throat, says researcher Milo Puhan, Ph.D. "When these muscles are strengthened, the tongue has less tendency to obstruct the airway."
If huffing on a wooden tube to treat your sleep apnea sounds a tad too weird, then you probably aren't familiar with the alternatives. The most commonly prescribed option is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which involves spending every night hooked up to a machine that pumps air down your throat to keep it from collapsing. The other approach is surgery, and that's only 30 to 60 percent effective. Now are you ready to toot the didgeridoo? You can pick up a beginner-friendly model for about $80 at L.A. Outback (laoutback.com). And don't worry; it's intuitive to learn, says co-owner Barry Martin. You purse your lips and blow into it with the beat.
- Diet Blog hardly has a glowing endorsement for “Slim Coffee.” Jim Foster thinks it’s nothing but a big scam:
It must be so tempting for unscrupulous entrepreneurs:
Find an obscure weight loss product from somewhere overseas. Re-brand it. Hype it up. Create an infomercial. Make millions.
This time it's Slim Coffee. The claims are impressive: "Reduce appetite. Clinically tested. Lose 5 pounds per week". All from drinking coffee with a few supplements added (or so they say).
The makers of Slim Coffee have been pursued by the FTC - resulting in a $923,000 settlement.
Previous studies had suggested that people living in polluted areas are more at risk of heart disease. For example, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine last year showed that women in 36 American cities were more likely to develop heart disease if the air they breathed was rich in particles measuring 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter - known as PM2.5s - which are present in car exhaust fumes.
It now seems that a greater hazard may be posed by so-called "ultrafine" particles, about a dozen times smaller at 0.18 micrometres wide. The latest study in mice has shown that they clog up arteries with fatty atherosclerotic deposits, and chemically alter "good" cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, reducing its beneficial effects.
How does yoga help a professional athlete's game?
Yoga improves balance in the body and works the smaller muscles that normally wouldn't get worked. It also improves range of motion, whether that means swinging a golf club, throwing a baseball or shooting a basketball. It builds stamina through breath control and teaches techniques for relaxing in tense moments. Most important, yoga gives you confidence that your body will do what you want it to do when you need it to.
Posted on January 24, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Yesterday, Steve a loyal
DiseaseProof reader sent me a great email. First he wanted to talk about
sesame seeds and tahini. Here’s what he had to say:
I never realized that sesame seeds should actually be dark. WOW! These days I am having trouble even finding raw tahini, I have never seen dark tahini. I guess I am going to have to start doing what you do, just sprinkle them into recipes. I will have to hit the "health food" stores to find them. The health food stores here in Waterloo are basically pathetic, pills and potions and expensive "detoxes", one for each organ in the body it would seem.
Hey! If you know where to find some raw tahini, speak up! Next, Steve wanted to weigh in on
ab-machines and other fitness gizmos. Take a look:
I know what you mean about the ads on TV for fitness apparatus. They constantly give the impression that working the abs will reduce belly fat (spot reduction). I don't use an ab machine, but I am sympathetic to these little types of gizmos for working out. I have a minimalist "spare bedroom gym". I have one-ended dumbbells (for wrist exercises), one of those medieval things for working the back of the neck, tubing for hip rotations, and a Dynamic Axial Resistance Device (DARD) which works the oft-neglected shins.
Anyone else have a gripe about infomercial fitness gizmos? Do tell! Finally, Steve explains why he is mad at his town library. Check it out:
One last thing, I am going to chide my local library. I noticed only one Dr. Fuhrman book (Eat to Live), but about six different Suzanne Somers books. Come on! We are supposed to be a world leading "intelligent community", and this just looks bad.
Thanks for the email Steve! Keep reading. Remember, if you ever want to tell me something, just shoot an email to
diseaseproof@gmail.com, or, make a comment. I’m always happy to hear from you. Peace.
Posted on January 24, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Hey, it’s stating the obvious, but it’s still cool.
A new study claims the more fit you are, the longer you are likely to live. Jamie Stengle of the
Associated Press reports:
The research builds on what is already known about the benefits of exercise and fills in some gaps by addressing the effects of fitness in blacks.
"A little bit of exercise goes a long way," said Peter Kokkinos, lead author of the study. "Thirty minutes a day, five days a week of brisk walking is likely to reduce the risk of mortality by 50 percent if not more."
With 15,660 participants, the researchers said the study is the largest to look at the link between fitness and mortality. The study also sets itself apart by looking at how exercise affects blacks, whose death rates are higher than whites. About 43 percent of the veterans in the study were black.
For more exercise news, check out
DiseaseProof’s exercise category.
Posted on January 23, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Maybe we don’t need all the fancy workout machines because new research has determined that
simply walking an hour a week can cut colon cancer risk.
Reuters reports:
While just an hour of walking a week seemed to protect against the disease, the more strenuously women exercised, the lower their risk, Dr. Kathleen Y. Wolin of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and colleagues found.
"Our findings suggest that participation in lower intensity activities may be sufficient to reduce risk though more vigorous activity provides comparable or perhaps additional risk reduction," they write in the International Journal of Cancer.
Research showing that exercise reduces colon cancer risk has been "consistent and convincing," Wolin and her team say, but questions remain about the intensity of exercise necessary to reduce risk.
An hour a week seems pretty skimpy to me, but
don’t go turning to a over-hyped infomercial ab-machine.
Diet Blog thinks they’re bupkis. Take a look:
Not true. Here's a reality check.
What the ab machine will NOT do:
- Give you a fake tan.
- Reduce your body fat percentage to single digits.
- Make you look pretty.
- Give you white teeth.
- Build massive biceps and pecs.
- Build muscular thighs and calves.
- Build shredded deltoids.
- Increase overall strength.
- Give you a slender waist.
- Give you large perky breasts.
To gain the above things, you will need a combination of; months to years of diligent cardiovascular and strength training, a powerful commitment to maintain a fairly strict diet (often with different goal phases of 'bulking' and fat loss), and possibly some cosmetic surgery and other cosmetic work.
Now, if you’re a gym-rat like me. You’ll never give up the gym for an hour of walking or the latest ab-blaster. So for us,
Poked & Prodded shares tips for finding the right fitness club. Check it out:
If you are looking to join a new club, keep these smart-shopping tips from CR in mind.
- Get a free trial. You’ll likely have to listen to a sales pitch, then can work out for one day, or even one week.
- Ask about membership choices. Seniors or students can usually get special rates; many chains have levels of membership based on club access or amenities.
- Ask about payment options. You might pay more for a month-to-month plan, but it offers more freedom than a full-year contract.
- Don’t get pressured by a ‘special.’ Clubs run promotions all the time; about half the clubs had specials on the day Consumer Reports’ survey respondents visited.
- Try bargaining. Haggling down enrollment fees and even monthly dues worked for some of the Consumer Reports shoppers at big chains.
If you can swing it, joining a gym is well worth the cost. Think of it this way, you’re investing in your health.
Posted on January 21, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I’m not a pedometer guy, nothing against them. I’m just not so neurotic that I need to count every step I’ve taken, but for those who do.
New research has concluded that pedometers help you lose weight.
Reuters reports:
People who added 20 to 40 minutes of walking a day lost a small but steady amount of weight, the team at the University of Michigan found.
"The increase in physical activity can be expected to result in health benefits that are independent of weight loss," said Dr. Caroline Richardson, who led the study.
"Increasing physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular problems, lowers blood pressure and helps dieters maintain lean muscle tissue when they are dieting."
Writing in the Annals of Family Medicine, Richardson and colleagues said they reviewed nine studies involving 307 men and women. They took part in studies of pedometer use that ranged from four weeks to a year.
Now, if you’ve got a pedometer, but you think it’s too cold to go outside and use it, think again.
Scientists contend that cold weather is no excuse for not exercising. More from Gina Kolota of
The New York Times:
The problem with exercising in the cold, exercise physiologists say, is that people may be hobbled by myths that lead them to overdress or to stop moving, risky things to do.
Some worry that cold air will injure their lungs or elicit asthma symptoms. Or they are convinced that they are more susceptible to injury when it is cold and that they have to move more slowly — forget about sprinting or running at a fast clip.
But lungs are not damaged by cold, said Kenneth W. Rundell, the director of respiratory research and the human physiology laboratory at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa. No matter how cold the air is, by the time it reaches your lungs, it is body temperature, he explained.
Some people complain that they get exercise-induced asthma from the cold. But that sort of irritation of the respiratory tract is caused by dryness, not cold, Dr. Rundell said. “Cold air just happens not to hold much water and is quite dry,” he said. You’d have the same effect exercising in air that was equally dry but warm.
But I hate the cold! Oh well, time to bundle up like an Eskimo—and where’s my pedometer?
Posted on January 18, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Permit me to grumble for a second. Actually, I’d forgotten about this particular gripe until I read this article in
The Oregonian.
Laura Oppenheimer talks about the all newbies that hit the gyms as part of their “New Year’s resolution.” Take a look:
For newcomers, January could make or break a resolution to get fit in 2008. But for gym rats, this is the worst time of year: The invasion of the "Resolution People."
"I have some members that actually stop coming to class in January because it's crowded," says Danielle Ford, fitness manager at Cascade Athletic Club in Gresham. "They hate it."
Gyms add more new members in January than any other month, says the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.
Cascade Athletic Club, for example, expects to sell 150 memberships at its Gresham location, up from 75 to 100 in a typical month. Plus, regulars spend more time at the gym now that the holidays are over and, for some, the numbers on the scale have inched up.
At Giants Gym in Portland, owner George Kidd says he counts on happy members to advertise for him. So he needs to combat conventional wisdom about New Year recruits: "They come into the gym, they spend all this money and then they fail." Studies show more than half of new exercisers quit within six months.
Honestly, I’m happy for people that want to change their life and use the New Year as a starting point, but the people that don’t stick with it and hog all the good machines, talk on their cell-phones, and simply meander, really do get on my nerves—know what I mean?
Posted on January 16, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Pay attention ladies.
Some new research has determined that exercise may ease the symptoms of menopause.
Reuters is on it:
Researchers found that middle-aged women who exercised regularly had lower levels of stress, anxiety and depression around the time of menopause than those who did not exercise regularly.
The findings, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Medicine, add to evidence that physical activity can benefit mental, as well as physical, health.
"With the aging population, physical activity represents one way for women to stay mentally healthy," Dr. Deborah B. Nelson, the lead researcher on the study, said in a statement. "Physical activity can help throughout the menopausal transition and afterwards," added Nelson, a public health researcher at Temple University in Philadelphia.
The findings are based on data from 380 Philadelphia women who were 42 years old, on average, and premenopausal at the beginning of the study. Eight years later, 20 percent were menopausal and another 18 percent were in the late transitional phase.
Now, for fellow gym rats like me, Julie from
Julie’s Health Club talks about
why exercise is her favorite drug. Take a look:
I almost always come back from my workouts slightly high but also more focused, confident, alert and social. Two groundbreaking new books that view exercise as medicine explain why: Physical activity enhances the mind by balancing the brain's neurotransmitters along with other chemicals. Weight loss, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness are simply welcome side effects that come from breaking into a sweat.
"I tell people that going for a run is like taking a little bit of Prozac and a little bit of Ritalin because, like the drugs, exercise elevates those neurotransmitters," Harvard psychiatrist John Ratey writes in "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain" (Little, Brown, $24.95). "Keeping your brain in balance can change your life."
It certainly did for world-class endurance athlete Christopher Bergland, an ultrarunner who holds the Guinness World Record for running farther and faster on a treadmill than any other human (153.76 miles in 24 hours).
The runner’s high is cool, but sometimes instead of a high, I get a “oh my god, I’m going to drop dead!”
Posted on January 14, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A Danish study has determined strength training exercises can help relieve chronic neck pain. Robert Preidt of
HealthDay News reports:
The Danish researchers found that specific strength training exercises produced prolonged relief of neck muscle pain, but general fitness training led to only a small reduction in neck pain.
The study included 94 women with chronic neck pain who did assembly line or office work -- 79 percent of them used a keyboard for more than three-quarters of their working time. The women were assigned to one of three groups: supervised specific strength training (SST) exercises for the neck and shoulder muscles; high-intensity general fitness training (GFT) on a bicycle ergometer; or health counseling but no physical training.
The women in the two exercise groups worked out for 20 minutes three times a week for 10 weeks. Those in the SST group showed a marked decrease in neck pain with a lasting effect after the training ended, while those in the GFT group showed a small temporary decrease in neck pain after exercise.
Come to think of it. Reading all this health news everyday certainly gives me a crick in the neck!
Posted on January 11, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Most people are convinced that milk is the only REAL source of calcium—hogwash! Dr. Fuhrman makes it quite clear, fruits and vegetables—especially green vegetables—are loaded with calcium. He talks about in his book
Eat to Live. Take a look:
Many green vegetables have calcium-absorption rates of over 50 percent, compared with about 32 percent for milk.1 Additionally since animal protein induces calcium excretion in the urine, the calcium retention from vegetables is higher. All green vegetables are high in calcium.
In fact, if you break it down per calorie. Many fruits and vegetables contain far more milligrams of calcium than foods like milk and eggs. Check out this chart:
Now, here’s something really cool—ladies pay special attention—
new research has determined that a calcium-rich diet and lots of exercise early in life, is a great way to maintain strong bones later in life. Pohla Smith of
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jan Grudziak likens the process of building bones strong enough to prevent osteoporosis to investing in a retirement fund. But in the case of bones, the fund is built from childhood on by eating calcium-rich foods and doing weight-bearing exercise.
His metaphor is particularly apt for women, who have lower peak bone mass than men, start to lose it much earlier and lose it at a slightly faster rate.
"The best picture is that it's an investment for the future," said Dr. Grudziak, of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. "With the retirement for bone, the age is 30 to 35. You have to drain the investments." Just like retirement funds, the earlier and bigger the investment, the more bone strength you have to lose…
…"It's been quoted that less than half [of the girls] get the calcium quantities they need," said registered dietitian Cindy Miller, who is part of the clinical nutrition staff of Children's Outpatient Nutrition Counseling Center. "For ages 9 to 12 it might be better. They're younger and parents might have a little more control over them than a teen who goes out to a restaurant and won't order milk. ... They say only 15 percent of teen girls get the required amount of calcium."
That amount is 1,300 milligrams, the high-calcium equivalent of four dairy servings. One serving is 8 ounces of milk or yogurt or 11/2 ounces of hard cheese, Ms. Miller said. Other good sources include pudding; dark leafy vegetables, particularly collard and turnip greens and broccoli; calcium-fortified or calcium-set soy; dry beans; and calcium-fortified foods like orange juice, soy milk or rice milk.
You got to love the kudos being given to veggie calcium—very cool!
Another great source of plant calcium is flaxseed. Here’s what Dr. Fuhrman has to say about this neat little seed. Have a look:
Flaxseed is rich in lignans, a type of fiber associated with a reduced risk of both breast cancer and prostate cancer, and omega 3 essential fatty acid, also known as alpha linoleic acid (ALA), which is essential for health maintenance and disease prevention. In addition, flaxseed is a good source of iron, zinc, calcium, protein, potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, and folate.
Now, as far as exercises goes. We all know it’s good for us, but, do you know the proper way to do different exercises? If you don’t, these
exercise demonstrations from
The Washington Post will get you up to speed. Here’s a couple:
Good thing that guy’s not straining too hard. In that position…bad things could happen—EEK!
Continue Reading...
Posted on January 8, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
No time to join a gym. Don’t fret,
there’s plenty of ways to exercise at home. Madeline Vann of
HealthDay News offers up a list. Here are a few points:
- Check with your doctor to find out if you are able to start a new fitness routine and schedule a visit with a physical trainer to get a baseline measure of your strength, flexibility and endurance.
- Buy the correct equipment to meet the goals you set once you know what your baseline health and fitness levels are. Buy hand weights to build tone and strength. On the other hand, a treadmill will help with heart health and endurance, said Colleen Greene, wellness coordinator with MFit, the University of Michigan Health System's health promotion division.
- Creative use of household items may cut costs. A can of soup can be used as a weight for repetition. Certain fitness programs focus on using your own body to provide resistance.
- Get outside. Many outdoor activities, from cross-country skiing to playing with children, are great ways to increase physical activity.
- Get support from friends and family. According to Greene, it is helpful to have a friend to work out with -- and just as welcome to have a family member who is willing to watch the baby or wash the dishes while you take a walk.
Growing up, my mom used to do aerobics while holding cans of corn, at the time I just figured she was a nut, turns out she was cutting edge—who knew?
Posted on January 7, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
When I think Coca-Cola, I think unhealthy beverage, liquid sugar, caffeine addiction, and most vividly—DON’T DRINK—but,
ExerciseTV thinks coke is an exercise ally.
Diet Blog is on it:
Exercise TV – a video on-demand network that produces workout videos and other training tools is partnering with Coca Cola. In the agreement, numerous brands from Coca-Cola’s portfolio of beverages will be featured through a variety of integration channels.
Coca-Cola continues to make great strides in educating the public about the importance of exercise, and how its broad range of products can benefit health-conscious consumer.
Said Jake Steinfeld, founder of ExerciseTV.
Try as I may, it is difficult for me not to be bothered by this marriage.
Coke’s recent introduction of “healthier” beverages to the market notwithstanding, you can never separate the pod from the mother ship. Coca Cola’s core product will always be… Coca Cola. It’s the same as if it were to be sponsored by a fast food chain. After all, fast food chains do sell salads.
I’m with
Diet Blog on this one. When I think about this marriage, I smell bull poop; especially when you consider soft drinks’ role in the obesity boom. Remember this from Soda Surcharge, Will it Work? Take a look:
Coca-Cola’s exercise advocacy sounds like the work of highly paid corporate spin doctors to me. What do you think?
Posted on January 4, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Here’s a stunning revelation,
if overweight and obese people exercised even a little bit, they’d be healthier. Jack Kelly of
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:
According to a study published in Science magazine in 2003, the typical American aged 20 to 40 has been gaining about 2 pounds a year. That could be prevented if we burned just 100 additional calories per day. We could burn an additional 100 calories each day by walking briskly for 10 to 15 minutes, dancing for 20, or doing housework for 30.
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit group financed mostly by restaurants and food manufacturers, who have a vested interest in keeping us (over) eating. But the CCF's report is partially supported by two recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
About two-thirds of American adults are overweight, and half of these are obese, according to the National Institutes for Health. Obesity is defined by the NIH as having a body mass index of 30 or more. A person with a BMI of 40 or higher is considered morbidly obese. Body mass index is a ratio of an individual's weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in meters). A BMI of from 18.5 to 25 is considered optimal.
In the first study, published in JAMA Nov. 7, Katherine Flegal and her collaborators found that people who are overweight, but not obese, are at a lower risk for death than are people of normal weight. (Underweight people and the obese are at a significantly greater risk.)
In the second study, published in JAMA Dec. 4, Dr. Xuemei Sui and his collaborators found that senior citizens who keep fit are at a substantially lower risk for death, even if they are overweight.
Posted on January 2, 2008 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Yoga induces a feeling of well-being in healthy people, and can reverse the clinical and biochemical changes associated with metabolic syndrome, according to results of studies from Sweden and India. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and high blood sugar.
Dr. R.P. Agrawal, of the SP Medical College, Bikaner, India, and colleagues evaluated the beneficial effects of yoga and meditation in 101 adults with features of metabolic syndrome. In the study, 55 adults received three months of regular yoga including standard postures and Raja Yoga, a form of transcendental meditation daily, while the remaining received.
The most important part of pulmonary rehabilitation is aerobic exercise, which boosts your endurance and strengthens your muscles, lessening your symptoms and improving your tolerance for activity. It usually involves walking on a treadmill or cycling on a stationary bicycle. The particular exercises you do will depend on your tolerance for exercise and the condition of your joints, bones and muscles.
If you can't walk due to severe breathlessness, you may start off on a stationary bicycle or make cycling motions while sitting in a chair. If you can walk but have little endurance, you may use the treadmill, slowly increasing the time and intensity of your workout. Many rehabilitation programs also offer strength and flexibility training. That's because people with COPD often have weak arm, leg and trunk muscles that limit physical activity. Strength training may be done by lifting weights, using weight machines or pulling on elastic bands. Flexibility training consists of stretching exercises.
Increasing exercise and or losing weight are often the most popular New Year’s resolutions – and lack of time is the most stated reason for not exercising…
…If you have your own office, consider keeping a resistance band or a couple of sets of dumbbells at your desk. You can squeeze in some quick upper body exercises while you are on the phone. If you work in a cubicle or don’t want people to see you exercising at your desk, a full water bottle can be your dumbbell.
Local malls open early for walkers to stretch their legs before shoppers arrive. Some malls have partnerships with health care agencies, which provide seminars and equip walkers with pedometers, T-shirts or bottles of water.
"Here walking is very, very popular. You see the numbers increase as it gets colder," said Cheryl Rouse, director of mall marketing at Southridge Mall.
As much as walking is a healthy choice, it's also a social gathering for the walkers.
"You see a lot of unity out there," Rouse said.
1. Join a fitness center that is convenient to your lifestyle. “It’s great if you see that a fitness center across town is all new and sparkly, but if you have to fight cross-town traffic to get there it’s probably not a good choice,” advises Greene. It is also important to make sure the center’s hours mesh with your schedule, if it offers child care or other programs you may need and that it has a qualified staff.
2. Ask questions. Don’t be shy about learning all that the fitness center has to offer, says Greene. Most gyms have specialists and personal trainers that can help you navigate equipment and devise the best plan for your fitness needs. You should also get the OK from your doctor as you begin a new workout routine, and ask any questions that you may have about your health.
3. Try things you’ve never done before. “If you think Pilates is something for dancers only or if you think yoga means standing on your head, most gyms will have some sort of special drop-in rate for either the first week or first few sessions of a class,” says Greene. “Go ahead and try it! You may find that you like it.”
1. Cardio
"Basically anything that uses your full body to get your heart pumping." said Holland.
— At least 30 minutes of moderate cardio exercise a day
— This includes brisk walking, running, swimming, biking, or exercise videos
— If you don't have time in your day for the full 30 minutes, try three 10 minute bouts of exercise throughout the day
2. Strength training
"As we get older the muscles are getting smaller and losing the ability to contract," said Holland. "We can change this by strength training. The other thing we see is that mature adults have higher fat content. There is more diabetes due to lower muscle mass, so strength training is essential to regulate glucose metabolism."
Work those muscles twice a week for 30 to 45 minutes by doing exercises such as:
— Pushups (if you're a beginner, do them against a wall to start)
— Using a resistance band which is light weight and inexpensive
— Bicep curls and tricep extensions
— Modified squats and lunges which works many muscles at once
And make sure you leave 24 to 48 hours between strength training because your muscles need time to bounce back and rest. You don't want overuse injuries.
Posted on December 27, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Robert Preidt of
HealthDay News takes a look at
mixing exercise with childcare. Here’s an excerpt:
"Childhood obesity is an epidemic that threatens the future health of our nation. We know that about 57 percent of all 3- to 5-year-olds in the United States attend child-care centers, so it's important to understand what factors will encourage them to be more active, and, hopefully, less likely to become obese," study co-author Dianne Ward said in a statement. Ward is director of the intervention and policy division in the nutrition department at University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.
In their study, Ward's team evaluated the physical activity levels of children at 20 child-care centers in North Carolina.
They found that children did more moderate and vigorous physical activity if the child-care center: had more portable play equipment, such as balls, jump ropes, hula hoops and riding toys; offered more opportunities for indoor and outdoor active play; and provided physical activity training and education for staff and students.
Clearly, the TV is not a good babysitter.
Posted on December 21, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Do you count calories? I hope not. I don’t. Big waste of time if you ask me, but, I’m just a dopey blogger, what do I know? Here Dr. Fuhrman talks about calorie-counting:
With calorie-counting and point-counting and having to weigh, measure, and calculate amounts eaten, you are following a diet. Who wants to diet and measure portions forever? I enjoy eating. I eat the way I advise all my patients to do, yet I am not overweight. Why? I enjoy eating lots of great tasting stuff and not having to worry about my weight or my health. Intellectually, I know that I am doing the right thing to prevent heart disease and other medical problems from developing in my future. Dieting and measuring out thimble-sized portions of food for the rest of one's life is not something that fits in naturally and permanently into anyone's lifestyle.
And it seems those
calorie-counting meters on gym equipment are no better. In fact, many experts think they’re pretty inaccurate. Gina Kolata of
The New York Times reports:
You can use your heart rate to gauge your effort, and from that you can plan routines that are as challenging as you want. But, researchers say, heart rate does not translate easily into calories. And you may be in for a rude surprise if you try to count the calories you think you used during exercise and then reward yourself with extra food.
One reason for the calorie-count skepticism is that two individuals of the same age, gender, height, weight and even the same level of fitness can burn a different amount of calories at the same level of exertion.
Claude Bouchard, an obesity and exercise researcher who directs the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., found that if, for example, the average number of calories burned with an exercise is 100, individuals will burn anywhere from 70 to 130 calories.
Part of that is genetic and part is familiarity with the exercise. The more familiar you are with an exercise, the fewer calories you use at the same level of effort, he found in a research study. Subjects rode stationary bicycles six days a week for 12 weeks. They ended up burning 10 percent fewer calories at a given level of effort after their training. The reason, he said, is that people perform an exercise more efficiently as they become more accustomed to it.
There also is a seldom mentioned complication in calculating calories burned during exercise: you should subtract off the number of calories you would be using if you did nothing. Almost no one does that, Dr. Bouchard said. But for moderate exercise, the type most people do, subtracting the resting metabolic rate can eliminate as much as 30 percent of the calories you think you used, he added.
Resting metabolic rates, though, differ from individual to individual and also differ depending on age, gender, body mass, body composition and level of fitness, so guessing at your resting rate also is fraught with error.
Personally, I could care less what those meters read. I go for duration and intensity. Whatever the calories will be, will be—how about you?
Posted on December 21, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to new research
it’s good to be fit even if you’re overweight. Will Dunham of
Reuters reports:
Men and women who were fit, as judged by a treadmill test, but were overweight or obese had a lower mortality risk than those of normal weight but low fitness levels, the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed.
Exercise expert Steven Blair of the University of South Carolina and colleagues tracked about 2,600 people age 60 and up, examining how physical fitness and body fat affected their death rates over 12 years.
Those in the lowest fifth in terms of fitness had a death rate four times higher than participants ranked in the top fifth for fitness.
Here’s some pictures form
the slideshow that accompanied the report—should be no surprise why I picked them—take a look:
Let me know what exercise activities you’re into and I’ll keep an eye out for related news!
Posted on December 20, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to a new study,
Americans want fit finances before a fit body.
Reuters is on it:
After a year of record mortgage foreclosures and slumping home prices, Americans are more determined to shape up their flabby finances in 2008 than their bodies, according to a study released by Countrywide Bank on Tuesday.
Some 67 percent of the 1,002 adults surveyed nationwide said that becoming financially fit is a top New Year's resolution, while 57 percent are committed to becoming physically fit in 2008.
"The results of the survey are an indicator that people are finally putting financial health on par with physical health," said clinical psychologist Dr. Melody Alderman in a statement from Countrywide.
This is certainly a tough call. I mean if you’re broke, that would seem to take priority. What do you think?
Posted on December 20, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
So what will be
the most popular fitness crazes for the new year? Jack Kelly of
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette breaks them down. Take a look:
The most important fitness trend for 2008 will be the availability of "educated and experienced fitness professionals" to run health clubs, conduct exercise classes, and serve as personal trainers, said the American College of Sports Medicine, an organization that certifies fitness professionals.
Increasing the number of fitness professionals nudged out programs to fight childhood obesity and personal training for the top spot in the ACSM's second annual survey of what its more than 20,000 members worldwide think will be the top fitness trends for the new year. Programs to fight child obesity topped the list in last year's inaugural survey.
Personal training jumped from seventh in last year's survey to third.
Yoga clocked in as number ten—yippee!
Posted on December 19, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Diet Blog’s come up with some interesting
holiday gifts for the health conscious member of your family. Here’re a couple neat ones:
A Heavy bag combo set:
Everlast's 40-Lb Martial Arts Fitness set features a heavy bag, hand wraps, bag gloves, and a jump rope. A 70 pound kit is also available (if you think you can handle it). Rocky Soundtrack sold separately.
Adjustable Dumbbells:
Or not – you could also get sets of weights according to your needs and space constraints. The adjustable kinds where you don’t have to unscrew anything are easy to use and take up little space. They do push past the $100 mark once you get higher than 25lbs though.
I have both of these. I used them a lot when I was teenager. I really recommend the adjustable dumbbells. Makes life A LOT easier! Oh! And be sure to read
Diet Blog’s disclaimer—priceless!
Posted on December 7, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
“Exercise is important for healthy psychological function,” claims Dr. Fuhrman. Well, is he right? I venture to say yes, but see for yourself.
According to new research exercise may boost the brain's natural antidepressants.
Reuters reports:
The findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, point to potential new ways to treat depression in people.
Studies have found that exercise can help ease depression symptoms, but the reasons for the benefit have not been clear. For the new study, scientists used a tool called a microarray to examine how exercise changed gene activity in the brains of mice.
They focused on a brain region known as the hippocampus, which has been implicated in mood regulation and in the brain's response to antidepressant medication.
The researchers found that mice that had a week's worth of workouts on a running wheel showed altered activity in a total of 33 genes, the majority of which had never been identified before.
Posted on December 6, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New research has determined that fitness gives a better indication of lifespan than bodyweight. The
AFP reports:
People over 60 who exercise and are fit live longer than their sedentary peers, regardless of weight and body mass, researchers said in a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Earlier research showed that obesity and sedentary habits increased the risk of death in middle-aged adults. The study carried out by University of South Carolina researchers tested the premise for the first time among older adults.
"We observed that fit individuals who were obese ... had a lower risk of all-cause mortality than did unfit, normal-weight, or lean individuals," said the study's lead author Dr Xuemei Sui.
Not that surprising. Exercise is important, regardless. Check out this brief quote from Dr. Fuhrman’s book
Eat to Live:
Despite the well-known benefits of exercise, only about 15 percent of Americans engage in regular physical activity. In people of all body weights, poor aerobic fitness is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality.1
To me, I see this as a reason to get slim AND get fit—don’t you think?
Continue Reading...
Posted on December 4, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
“No rules only for children,” Dr. Fuhrman points out in
Disease-Proof Your Child, “If the parents are not willing to follow the rules set for the house, they should not be imposed on the children.” This not only applies to diet,
That’s Fit shows it applies to
exercise too. Take a look:
Too lazy to roll up that purple yoga mat, my kids were greeted with a bright, squishy rectangle this morning. They also spotted the battered yoga tape lying next to the TV. The clutter elicited a positive response -- my three-year-old daughter put in the tape and immediately began gentle spinal twists, sun salutations and a Namaste gesture. She used to be my yoga buddy. She'd missed it, too.
I saw the proof this morning. Modeling fitness to your kids is a promotional strategy. So leave the 3 pound barbells and yoga mat lying around. Invite your kids to occasionally workout with you. Until puberty, they pretty much want to be with you most of the time.
Kudos to
That’s Fit, but who would have thought…kids imitate their parents? No! You don’t say. Now, obviously I’m geeked about Yoga mention and I’m doubly-geeked about this link. Check out
ABC-of-Yoga for
animated step-by-step Yoga instruction. It’s really cool. Look:
Yoga rules! As you’ll soon see—hint-hint, wink-wink—Yoga really helped me…
to be continued.
Posted on November 28, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New
research claims not enough milk, exercise, and sunshine is causing rickets in some children. Lauran Neegaard of the
Associated Press reports:
It's not just that they don't drink fortified milk. Bodies make vitamin D with sunlight. With teen computer use, urban youngsters without safe places to play outdoors and less school P.E., it's no wonder D levels are low. Because skin pigment alters sun absorption, black children are particularly at risk.
Rickets marks the worst deficiency, where bones become so soft that legs literally bow. Rickets was once thought to have been eradicated with milk fortification, but "I am now treating rickets in a way that I never treated it 20 years ago," says Tosi, who diagnoses rickets or super-low D levels in children every month at a bone clinic she runs for mostly inner-city children.
Doctors who've never seen rickets can miss it. Charlene Bullock repeatedly asked her 5-year-old's doctor why his leg was bending inward and he could no longer run with his playmates. It took a trip to Tosi's special clinic to learn Na-shun had rickets — the once energetic child had quit running because his bones ached like an old man's.
Fortunately, rickets caught early is easily cured with high-dose infusions of vitamin D and calcium, and Bullock's son quickly rebounded. "He's doing everything with that little leg."
I wasn’t sure how to approach this report. So, I asked Dr. Fuhrman for his input. Here’s what he had to say:
I saw plenty of kids with rickets in my medical school and residency days in the inner cities. Clearly, lack of exercise and sunlight, especially in those with darker skin is creating an epidemic of bone disease. Milk is fortified with Vitamin D, and can be the only D and calcium source in people who do not eat vegetables. I agree that the public needs to be better educated in these important nutritional issues.
Now, in regard to milk, exercise, and sunshine, these posts should explain things. Take a look:
Regular Exercise Pays Big Health Dividends
“As we condition our muscles and gain strength, our bones thicken and strengthen along with the muscle. Without regular exercise along the way, your bone structure can deteriorate as you get older. Some people survive with weak bones, but their quality of life suffers when they are immobilized by arthritis and osteoporosis.”
Cow's Milk and Kids Aren't Made for Each Other
“Milk, which is designed by nature for the rapidly growing cow, has about half its calories supplied from fat. The fatty component is concentrated more to make cheese and butter. Milk and cheese are the foods Americans encourage their children to eat, believing them to be healthy foods. Fifty years of heavy advertising by an economically powerful industry has shaped the public's perception, illustrating the power of one-sided advertising, but the reality and true health effects on our children is a different story.”
Importance of Vitamin D
“Sun exposure is perhaps the most important source of vitamin D because exposure to sunlight provides most humans with their vitamin D requirement. The further you live from the equator, the longer you need to be exposed to the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Season, time of day, cloud cover, smog, and sunscreen affect UV ray exposure and vitamin D synthesis.”
In a nut shell—good, bad, good.
Posted on November 27, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
So Dr. Fuhrman, how do you feel about exercise? “Exercise is important for healthy psychological function and to maintain significant muscle and bone mass as we age,” he said in a previous post, “It has been shown to improve mental function; to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; and to improve sleep patterns, aiding healthful cycles of deep sleep.”
And the word might be spreading! According to
Reuters more Americans are getting up off the sofa and moving around. Will Dunham reports:
In 2005, 46.7 percent of U.S. women and 49.7 percent of U.S. men engaged in regular exercise on a weekly basis, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on a survey of 356,112 adults nationwide.
That represents an 8.6 percent increase in the rate among women and a 3.5 percent rise among men from a similar survey in 2001. Blacks continued to lag whites but made some strides.
The CDC said 33 percent of U.S. adults are classified as obese, compared to 15 percent in the 1970s. Obesity, attributed in part to people getting too little exercise and eating too much of the wrong foods, has become a rising problem in the United States and worldwide, contributing to chronic diseases.
"The positive picture is that American adults are increasing their regular physical activity," said Isa Miles, a CDC epidemiologist who contributed to the report.
Exercise is great. I’m a serious gym rat. Just part of the total transformation I…
to be continued.
Posted on November 21, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Roger Sinasohn of ParentDish wants to exercise—he really does—but with the kids’ busy schedule he just can’t find the time. Here’s his dilemma:
After that, I would sit in the hot tub and kibitz for a bit and then walk home, often stopping at a coffee shop to drink a cup of joe and work on my novel.
I was down to my lowest adult weight ever and well on my way to hitting 200lbs. Then, we had kids. Rachel leaves very early in the morning, so I have to stay home with the kids until it's time for school or until someone is here to watch them. After work, I come straight home and get started on dinner, and cleaning up, and getting the kids to bed -- the whole nine yards. By the time they're in bed, and I'm working on stories for ParentDish, my vision is getting blurry and my brain starts shutting down for the night.
Well, if Roger figures out when to exercise, he might want to give
this abdominal workout from The Detroit Free Press a try. Take a look:
Lie on a mat with your arms extended out and palms facing down. With your legs in the air directly over your hips, position a stability ball between your ankles. With your abs tight, squeeze the ball.
With your right shoulder pressed to the floor, rotate your legs to the left as close to the floor as possible. Then, engage your abs to raise the ball back to the starting position and repeat to the other side. Try 12 repetitions to each side.
I’ve used a ball before—it’s okay—more for beginners. How do you work your abs? Oh, and please head over to
ParentDish and give Roger some exercise advice.
Posted on November 20, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be one of those old people whose spine barely budges above 45 degrees. That’s why I exercise my back like CRAZY! And according to
this video report by The New York Times core conditioning is pivotal. See for yourself:
Yippee, Yoga! My newfound obsession and believe me it works! Now, Dr. Vad isn’t the only one who thinks keeping your back in tip-top shape is a good idea. Dr. Fuhrman feels the same way; when you exercise really pay attention to your lower back. Here’s a quote:
Ideally, exercise should be a part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth and taking a shower. If you have a busy work schedule and commute, get in fifteen minutes of exercise every day before your morning shower. For example, if you routinely shower every morning, work up a sweat with some abdominal crunches, back extensions, toe raises, walk up and down the stairs in your home, mock jump rope, and then take your shower. Keep in mind; it is important to exercise your lower back frequently. Get in the habit of exercising the same time every day. Make the days where you do not exercise the exception, not the rule.
And here Dr. Fuhrman provides some simple exercise tips. Take a look:
- Seated cable row: With knees slightly bent, lean forward, then pull the handles back to your chest with elbows wide as your back comes to vertical.
- Wide cable pull downs: Pull down the cable to your chest with elbows wide as you lean back to a sixty-degree angle.
- Back extensions: Lean over exercise ball, and arch your back up like a reverse sit up, or use a back extension chair made for this exercise.
- Superman: While lying on your stomach, lift trunk and legs up off the ground like a bow.
- Alternate Superman: Use alternate arm and leg to perform the superman.
- Weighted backpack: Wear a weighted backpack for a few hours per week. Normal activities of moving around and getting up and down with a weighted backpack on strengthens the back.
Give that cable pull-down a try, its no joke!
Posted on November 13, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to the
Associated Press it
is possible to beat the battle of the bulge, and, prevent climate changes. Seth Borenstein is on it:
How? Get out of your car and walk or bike half an hour a day instead of driving. And while you're at it, eat less red meat. That's how Americans can simultaneously save the planet and their health, say doctors and climate scientists.
The payoffs are huge, although unlikely to happen. One numbers-crunching scientist calculates that if all Americans between 10 and 74 walked just half an hour a day instead of driving, they would cut the annual U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, by 64 million tons.
About 6.5 billion gallons of gasoline would be saved. And Americans would also shed more than 3 billion pounds overall, according to these calculations.
And don’t forget!
Cow Farts are bad news too, and, is it true?
Less Meat, Cooler Temps?
Posted on November 9, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Who would have thought?
Regular exercise can help prevent heart failure—no duh! Amanda Gardner of
HealthDay News has more:
According to two studies that were to be presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., that response can dramatically enhance patients' ability to move and work out.
"Both studies point to the beneficial effect of exercise on patients with heart failure," said Dr. Sidney Smith, past president of the American Heart Association and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Science and Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
"These observations provide some understanding into the mechanisms which [make exercise helpful]," Smith said.
More than 5 million people in the United States have heart failure, a condition that affects the heart's ability to pump blood throughout the body.
However, researchers are beginning to understand that heart failure woes come not only from this pumping disorder but from changes in the legs and other parts of the body.
Posted on November 8, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A new study has determined that
a healthy diet and physical activity successfully lowers cancer-risk; specifically avoiding red meat and alcohol. More from the
Adventist News Network:
After a mega-study of 7,000 previous studies, scientists have offered 10 recommendations for avoiding preventable cancer, including maintaining a healthy weight and limiting consumption of red meat and alcohol.
The report, released by the London-based World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) on October 31, is the largest collection of data ever brought together on the subject, researchers said…
“…This report is a real milestone in the fight against cancer, because its recommendations represent the most definitive advice on preventing cancer that has ever been available anywhere in the world," project director Martin Wiseman said in a media release.
Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church said the international Protestant denomination's emphasis on healthful living and celebration of life is now further backed by evidence.
I’m not a religious guy, but kudos to the Adventists for endorsing this. Dr. Fuhrman is also a big fan of healthy diet and exercise for a cancer-free life. Here are some quotes:
Researchers at the University of Tromsø in Norway report that women who exercise regularly reduce their risk of developing breast cancer substantially. Their study involved more than 25,000 women age twenty to fifty-four at the time of their energy into the study. The researchers found that younger, premenopausal women (under forty-five years old) who exercised regularly had 62 percent less risk than sedentary women. The risk reduction was highest for lean women who exercised more than four hours per week; these women had a 72 percent reduction in risk…
…Studies have repeatedly shown the correlation between consumption of raw vegetables and fresh fruits and a lower incidence of various cancers, including those of the breast, colon, rectum, lung, stomach, prostate, and pancreas.1 This means that your risk of cancer decreases with an increased intake of fruits and vegetables, and the earlier in life you start eating large amounts of these foods, the more protection you get.
So I guess I had a good day today then? Veggies and fruit for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and running, weight-training, and yoga tonight.
Continue Reading...
Posted on November 1, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Mike Howard of
Diet Blog tell us
Why Everybody Needs to Train With Weights. Here’s a bit:
One thing that is not negotiable is resistance training (weight training). Every adult should train with weights. No cardio in the world will give you the multitude of benefits that resistance training provides…
…Getting stronger through weight training will make daily tasks easier. Grocery shopping, housework, moving furniture, getting in and out of cars, on and off toilets – things we don’t give much thought to will be improved through weight training…
…Many studies show that people die from inactivity, not just from aging. As people age, they lose muscle, when this happens, their immunities weaken and because of this they are more likely to die of cancer and infectious diseases. Our ability to kill germs is often the result of low levels of muscle tissue. Larger muscles have readily available antibodies to fight off infections.
Being strong is no joke. Just consider what it does for bone strength. Dr. Fuhrman explains:
A good measurement of your bone density and strength is to test the strength of the muscle that moves that bone. Bone density correlates perfectly with muscle strength. As we condition our muscles and gain strength, our bones thicken and strengthen along with the muscle. Without regular exercise along the way, your bone structure can deteriorate as you get older. Some people survive with weak bones, but their quality of life suffers when they are immobilized by arthritis and osteoporosis.
Personally, I weight-train at least four days a week.
Posted on October 29, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to a new study,
exercise helps overweight kids learn. Lose weight and get smarter—one heck of a bargain! Robert Preidt of
HealthDay News reports:
Three months of daily, vigorous exercise can improve overweight kids' thinking, U.S. researchers report.
Physical activity can also lower their diabetes risk, reduce their body fat, and strengthen their bones, says a team that looked at about 200 overweight, inactive children, ages 7 to 11.
All the children learned about healthy nutrition and the benefits of physical activity. In addition, a third of the children exercised 20 minutes a day, and another third exercised for 40 minutes. During the exercise sessions, the children played running games and used hula hoops and jump ropes to get their heart rates to 79 percent of maximum -- considered a vigorous workout.
When I was a kid I used to run around all day, but I was still a little dummy!
Posted on October 17, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Well, this is an odd report. Judy Foreman of
The Boston Globe asks the question, “
Is dieting or exercise better for weight loss?” Let’s find out:
In a small, randomized, controlled clinical trial, Ravussin divided three dozen overweight but healthy men and women into three groups. One group reduced their calorie intake by 25 percent. Another group cut calories by half as much (12.5 percent) while increasing energy output through exercise by 12.5 percent; and the third group made no diet or exercise changes.
The researchers looked at weight loss, body composition, and measures of superficial and deep fat. They found that it doesn't matter whether people lose weight by diet or by exercise or a combination, although exercise has the important benefit of improving cardiovascular health.
"So long as the energy deficit is the same, body weight, fat mass, and abdominal fat will all decrease the same way," said Ravussin, in an e-mail.
Posted on October 16, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
J&B Meats Corp. is recalling 173,554 pounds (78.7 tonnes) of frozen ground beef products sold under "Topps" and "Sam's Choice" labels due to possible E. coli contamination, the U.S. government said this weekend.
The Coal Valley, Illinois-based company produced the patties in June and distributed them to retail stores nationwide, the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service, or FSIS, said in a statement.
Scientists reported progress yesterday toward one of medicine’s long-sought goals: the development of a blood test that can accurately diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, and even do so years before truly debilitating memory loss.
A team of scientists, based mainly at Stanford University, developed a test that was about 90 percent accurate in distinguishing the blood of people with Alzheimer’s from the blood of those without the disease. The test was about 80 percent accurate in predicting which patients with mild memory loss would go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease two to six years later.
A diverse group of low-income women participated in the study, Dr. Alyson B. Moadel of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, noted in an interview with Reuters Health. "Our patients really enjoyed the yoga classes, it was very well received by them," she said. "It really fit in with their own cultural interests."
There is mounting evidence that yoga can improve quality of life in both healthy and chronically ill people, Moadel and her team point out in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, while quality of life may be particularly affected for cancer survivors who belong to ethnic minorities and other underserved minority populations.
The ban on phthalate makes California the first U.S. state to impose severe limits on a chemical that is widely used in baby bottles, soft baby books, teething rings, plastic bath ducks and other toys, said Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, the bill's author.
"I think parents will be comforted that when they buy one of these chewy products it will be safe," Ma told The Associated Press on Sunday after the bill was signed into law.
New suspected cases of foot and mouth disease in sheep have been reported in Britain, the environment ministry said on Monday, in another county from the confirmed cases in this year's outbreak.
A three-kilometre (1.8-mile) temporary control zone has been imposed around premises close to the town of Rye, near the southern English coast, after sheep showed possible symptoms of the disease. Tests were being carried out.
Good news for us early birds who grit their teeth to get through the afternoon because our evolutionary bio-rhythms are at their lowest ebb.
Research by Liverpool’s John Moores University has shown that the mere thought of an afternoon siesta can help reduce the risk of a heart attack. The length of the nap is irrelevant as it is in the minutes just before we drop off when the beneficial changes to our body take place.
President Hu Jintao said Monday China would step up efforts to improve food safety and prevent the spread of animal diseases, in a speech opening the Communist Party's five-yearly Congress.
"We will intensify efforts to prevent animal and plant epidemic diseases and improve the quality and safety of agricultural products," Hu said.
Later in the speech, he said: "We must ensure food and drug safety."
A turning point came in 2002, scientists conclude Monday in the annual "Report to the Nation" on cancer. Between 2002 and 2004, death rates dropped by an average of 2.1 percent a year.
That may not sound like much, but between 1993 and 2001, deaths rates dropped on average 1.1 percent a year.
The big change was a two-pronged gain against colorectal cancer.
Posted on October 4, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A Pittsburgh basketball camp is doing its part to help kids with asthma. Jill Daly of
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:
It's easy to understand why the children don't participate in sports, said Dr. David Skoner, asthma specialist at Allegheny General Hospital's Division of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology.
"Exercise triggers [asthma] symptoms in 90 percent" of children with asthma, he said. Sometimes parents don't even know why it is their child is not interested in sports, he said.
"We've got to find a way to get these kids exercising," he said. "Not exercising leads to rising obesity and makes asthma worse."
The two camps are recruiting children from throughout the region. Both combine asthma education and basketball skills.
The new camp is a partnership between AGH and the university's DiSepio Institute for Rural Health and Wellness. Other community health organizations are involved as well. Basketball skills are taught by the university's head basketball coach, Bobby Jones, and his players.
For more on
exercise and
asthma, be sure to check out their categories.
Posted on October 2, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
I’ve been doing Yoga for a few months now and I can tell you firsthand—it’s an amazing work out! If you’re curious about it,
Health answers a few questions about Yoga. Check it out:
Claim: Yoga can help you lose weight. | TRUE
How much depends on the type, how often you do it, and your diet (of course). More-athletic styles—most notably ashtanga, a.k.a. power yoga—burn more calories and help build more muscle (which translates into an even higher number of calories torched) than more-meditative versions. A 150-pound woman can work off more than 460 calories during a single hour of power yoga (versus around 170 calories for a traditional yoga session). Many celebrities, including Serena Williams, love how yoga helps them stay in shape.
Claim: Yoga cures asthma. | FALSE
Many asthma patients believe doing certain types of breathing techniques can help reduce their symptoms. But research published in the medical journal Thorax suggests that yogic breathing isn’t one of them: Participants who used a device that mimicked the breathing technique pranayama saw no improvement in their asthma symptoms.
And don’t forget about
DiseaseProof’s new exercise category!
Posted on October 2, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Okay busy bees, this should make you feel a lot better about yourselves.
A new study claims organized driven people have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Carla K. Johnson of the
Associated Press has more:
A purposeful personality may somehow protect the brain, perhaps by increasing neural connections that can act as a reserve against mental decline, said study co-author Robert Wilson of Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.
Astoundingly, the brains of some of the dutiful people in the study were examined after their deaths and were found to have lesions that would meet accepted criteria for Alzheimer's -- even though these people had shown no signs of dementia.
"This adds to our knowledge that lifestyle, personality, how we think, feel and behave are very importantly tied up with risk for this terrible illness," Wilson said. "It may suggest new ideas for trying to delay the onset of this illness."
Previous studies have linked social connections and stimulating activities like working puzzles with a lower risk of Alzheimer's. The same researchers reported previously that people who experience more distress and worry about their lives are at a higher risk.
Couple this with last year’s report showing that exercise helps stop Alzheimer’s and task masters everywhere can rejoice! Now, if you also eat healthfully, you’re in really good shape because Dr. Fuhrman links superior nutrition to Alzheimer’s prevention. Here’s a quote:
Alzheimer’s dementia is an irreversible brain disorder that typically develops in the elderly. It leads to memory loss, personality changes, and a general decline in cognitive function.
With the high incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in our aging population, more and more research is underway to come up with novel treatments for this brain disease. Given the large distortion of brain architecture that occurs in Alzheimer’s, it is unlikely that drug treatment will offer a solution to this debilitating problem.
Green vegetable consumption was low and animal fat consumption was high in the past histories of Alzheimer’s patients.1,2 Japanese studies have found the same relationships: individuals with low consumption of vegetables and high consumption of meat were found to be the ones most likely to develop Alzheimer’s.3
Just as in the case of heart disease, the world’s leading researchers on the subject consider diets high in animal fat to be the major factor in the causation of Alzheimer’s. Oxidative stress to our brain tissue from the combination of a diet rich in saturated fat and low in the antioxidants and phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables lays the groundwork for brain damage later in life. Deficiencies of DHA (a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid) which often are found in Alzheimer’s patients, also have been shown to promote dementia.4 Inadequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids found in flax and hemp seeds, walnuts, leafy greens,and certain fish also are implicated in the etiology of Alzheimer’s.
All this certainly gives you a fighting chance against this often mysterious disease. For more on Alzheimer’s, check out
DiseaseProof’s Alzheimer’s category.
Continue Reading...
Posted on September 28, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The FDA is in charge of 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, mostly fruits and vegetables, and has been criticized as being too passive in handling the growing surge of imports into the United States. Total imports, including food, total $2 trillion annually.
"FDA has failed to implement literally hundreds of proposed solutions to specific import problems, which would have enabled the FDA to begin to progressively focus its limited resources where the risks are indeed the greatest," said Benjamin England, a former FDA official who co-founded a consulting firm that helps foreign and U.S. companies meet FDA import rules.
- Are you a runner? If you are, you might want to consider running with a group. It’s a lot more fun. Gina Kolata of The New York Times explains:
Those who run in packs are part of a select society, or maybe a self-selected society. Anyone can join, but you have to run and you have to go to the designated meeting place at the designated time. You might join a club that sponsors runs each week or you might go to a place like a parking lot behind a school where runners gather on weekend mornings. It’s not hard to find these meeting places; local running groups and running stores know where to go. And when you show up, ready to run, the society opens up to you.
For the most part, these groups are not made up of people who are jogging for their health or because they want to lose weight. They are made up mostly of people who have been running long enough to be able to continue for miles and miles. And they love it. They are running for the sheer joy of it and for company to push them to run longer and faster and to share the inevitable pain that comes with the effort to improve.
People newly diagnosed with coronary artery disease had nearly double the normal incidence of colorectal tumors and cancers, a study by Hong Kong researchers found.
Both the tumors and the heart disease "probably develop through the mechanism of chronic inflammation," said the report by researchers at the University of Hong Kong that's published in the Sept. 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Liquid candy" to detractors, sweetened soft drinks are so ubiquitous that they contribute about 10 percent of the calories in the American diet, according to government data.
In fact, said Dr. David Ludwig, a Harvard endocrinologist whose 2001 paper in the Lancet is widely cited by obesity researchers, sweetened drinks are the only specific food that clinical research has directly linked to weight gain.
"Highly concentrated starches and sugars promote overeating, and the granddaddy of them all is sugar-sweetened beverages," said Ludwig, who runs the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children's Hospital in Boston.
- Get your food and go - Many work and social functions involve a large table covered with tasty looking morsels. Don't be one of those people who stand next to the table. Get your plate, put your food on it, and leave the table. Period.
- Choose a small plate Seems obvious - But a large plate typically means lots of food and all hope of appropriate portion size is abandoned
Health Canada is aware of the growing body of evidence on the role of vitamin D in relation to health. While a number of independent recommendations concerning vitamin D intake have been issued by various organizations, Health Canada believes these recommendations are premature and that a comprehensive review that looks at both benefits and safety needs to be undertaken before the Department can issue a revised recommendation.
Erectile dysfunction is the consistent inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. In a study of 4,763 Chinese men aged 35 to 74 years who were free of blood vessel disease and who reported that they had been sexually active within the last 6 months, the researchers found a significant statistical link between the number of cigarettes smoked and the likelihood of erectile dysfunction.
"The association between cigarette smoking and erectile dysfunction was found in earlier studies," said first author Dr. Jiang He of Tulane University School of Public Health, New Orleans. "However, most of those studies were conducted in patients with hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and cardiovascular disease. What distinguishes this study is that it is the first to find this association among healthy men."
- Reduces risk of injury by strengthening muscles and joints.
- Increases and restores bone density, helping prevent osteoporosis.
- Builds lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories than fat.
Posted on September 27, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
A new study claims aerobic exercise helps kids control their asthma. Megan Rauscher of
Reuters is on it:
In the study of children with appropriately-treated asthma, supervised aerobic exercise training improved aerobic fitness and curbed feelings of breathlessness induced by physical activity.
Moreover, daily doses of inhaled steroids were reduced by 52 percent in children who participated in the exercise training, while the doses remained unchanged or increased for children in a comparison "control" group who did not exercise.
"Physical conditioning in asthmatic children receiving appropriate medical treatment also improved health-related quality of life, especially their asthma symptoms and exercise capacity," study author Dr. Celso R. F. Carvalho, at the University of Sao Paulo, told Reuters Health.
Sure, exercise is important, but did you know
asthma can be controlled with proper nutrition? Just check out these success stories:
Posted on September 21, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
If exercise was a stock, it’d be a blue-chipper. According to new research
soccer is better for you than jogging. Maria Cheng of the
Associated Press reports:
Each period of exercise lasted about one hour and took place three times a week. After 12 weeks, researchers found that the body fat percentage in the soccer players dropped by 3.7 percent, compared to about 2 percent for the joggers.
The soccer players also increased their muscle mass by almost 2 kilograms (4.5 pounds), whereas the joggers didn't have any significant change. Those who did no exercise registered little change in body fat and muscle mass.
"Even though the football (soccer) players were untrained, there were periods in the game that were so intense that their cardiovascular was maximally taxed, just like professional football (soccer) players," said Dr. Peter Krustrup, head of Copenhagen University's department of exercise and sport sciences, who led the study.
They’re both still exercise, so I’m not sure you can go wrong with either one. Now, here’s even better news.
Reuters reports
exercise is on par with drugs for aiding depression. Read on:
In a study of 202 depressed adults, investigators found that those who went through group-based exercise therapy did as well as those treated with an antidepressant drug. A third group that performed home-based exercise also improved, though to a lesser degree.
Importantly, the researchers found, all three groups did better than a fourth group given a placebo -- an inactive pill identical to the antidepressant.
While past studies have suggested that exercise can ease depression symptoms, a criticism has been that the research failed to compare exercise with a placebo. This leaves a question as to whether the therapy, per se, was responsible for the benefit.
Not sure what else to say, except maybe—get moving America!
Posted on September 20, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Dr. Stern, a specialist in geriatric emergency medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, noted that the elderly took about 40 percent of prescribed drugs, roughly twice what younger adults take, and that they suffered twice as many adverse drug reactions as younger people.
“The average community-dwelling older adult takes 4.5 prescription drugs and 2.1 over-the-counter medications,” Dr. Stern reported. Polypharmacy is responsible for up to 28 percent of hospital admissions and, he added, if it were classified as such, it would be the fifth leading cause of death in the United States.
- Curious about back exercises? This article in The Detroit Free Press should give you plenty of ideas. The roman chair—eek—sounds like a torture device! Have a look:
Training your lower back can improve your posture, develop your abdominal muscles and help prevent lower back pain and injury. A great twist on an old favorite is the low-cable back extension. This is a little more challenging than the traditional exercise, but it's a welcome change of pace.
First, position a roman chair or back extension machine inside the cable station. The machine should be squarely facing the weight stack with enough distance between the machine and the weight stack that there is still tension on the cable when you are at the bottom of the exercise.
Weight training works just as well as running on a treadmill or biking to help the most important symptom of type-2 diabetes -- long-term control of blood sugar -- Canadian researchers said on Monday.
Doing both aerobic and resistance training lowered blood sugar levels better than either alone, researchers said -- and both appeared to be safe.
At least 194 million people worldwide have diabetes, and the World Health Organization expects the number to rise to more than 300 million by 2025.
Reading the food labels was "a little bit confusing, but after a while I got used to it," said the fifth-grader from suburban Doral.
"Since I find parents are not doing a bang-up job (teaching nutrition), I think it's important to empower the children with their own information," said Miami registered dietitian Ronni Litz Julien.
The FDA partnered with the Cartoon Network earlier this year to launch a public education campaign encouraging children ages 9 to 13 - or tweens - to read the nutrition facts on food labels.
"Patients are using the Internet to find health-related quality information, and the information is out there," noted lead researcher Dr. Michael J. Leonardi, from the department of surgery at David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. "But the information is inconsistent and varies from Web site to Web site," he said.
A lot of Web sites try to rank hospitals, Leonardi said. But because there is no standard way of calculating quality differences, Internet sites come up with different results for the same hospitals, he noted.
The tainted bag of Dole’s Hearts Delight salad mix was sold at a store in Canada, officials said. Neither Canadian health officials nor Dole Food Co. have received reports of anyone getting sick from the product.
The voluntary recall, issued Monday, affects all packages of Hearts Delight sold in the United States and Canada with a “best if used by” date of September 19, 2007, and a production code of “A24924A” or “A24924B,” the company said.
Worried that you'll take up running and then quit? No chance. Just follow our simple but surefire training program. It just might be the most exciting time in your entire running career. But you won't necessarily realize it.
First steps...starting out...the beginning of a great adventure. In fact, in lots of ways, it's sort of a declaration of personal independence. A statement that says, "In a world that confronts me with mechanical convenience and idle luxury at virtually every turn, I have decided, nonetheless, to improve my physical fitness."
Of course, at issue is the fact that for doctors coming into close contact with many ill patients, all that extra fabric and buttons and ties and watches are just additional places for bacteria to colonize and hop on over to the next person.
Will it help? Not sure, but I suppose it falls under the "can't hurt" category. The article also notes that a study of doctors' ties a few years' back showed that almost half were contaminated with a minimum of one species of pathogen--so eliminate the dirty tie, maybe they'll pass around fewer germs? Time will tell, I suppose.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said new labeling on the drug will note that ailments, including QT prolongation, a disorder of the heart's electrical system that can lead to a life-threatening condition, have been observed in post-marketing studies.
The drug is also sold generically under the name haloperidol.
Several other drugs for schizophrenia, including a much newer J&J drug including Invega, have warnings about the risk of the serious cardiac effect.
Posted on September 18, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The Diabetes Blog takes a look at
boxing, as an exercise routine. Check it out:
There's a workout, and then there's a Work Out. And THEN, there's a BOXING WORK OUT. Trust me, there's a reason why boxers are able to spend over a half an hour in a ring exchanging punches and not go into cardiac arrest. It's because these guys and gals have trained their butts off for months before ever stepping foot in that arena, let alone that ring…
…You'll burn far more calories doing this workout than you will on a stair-stepper or walking on a treadmill, and you'll do so during less time. Intensity is the key. Like I said, there's a workout, and then there's a Workout. And then there's a BOXING WORKOUT. Try this routine and, before long, you'll be wearing a grey track suit and running the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
I’m sorry. I’m a sucker for
Rocky references!
Posted on September 14, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Exercise—do you get enough of it? Hopefully you do, because according to Dr. Fuhrman it’s absolutely imperative for a long healthy life. He explains:
Exercise is important for healthy psychological function and to maintain significant muscle and bone mass as we age. It has been shown to improve mental function; to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; and to improve sleep patterns, aiding healthful cycles of deep sleep.
Ideally, exercise should be a part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth and taking a shower.
And it’s especially good for bone health. I’ll let Dr. Fuhrman continue his riff on this. Enjoy:
If you plan on living a long time, you want to have your bones last along with you. A good measurement of your bone density and strength is to test the strength of the muscle that moves that bone. Bone density correlates perfectly with muscle strength. As we condition our muscles and gain strength, our bones thicken and strengthen along with the muscle. Without regular exercise along the way, your bone structure can deteriorate as you get older. Some people survive with weak bones, but their quality of life suffers when they are immobilized by arthritis and osteoporosis.
Personally, I’m an exercise nut. Between running, weight-training, and yoga I spend at least eight hours working out every week. Oh! Speaking of yoga, check this out.
A new study claims Yoga can help breast cancer survivors from all walks of life.
The Cancer Blog is on it:
A new study from researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine shows that yoga can benefit ethnic minority breast cancer survivors, particularly African-Americans and Hispanics, as well as those from under-served communities.
During the 12 week study, researchers compared quality of life measures between two groups of women with early stage breast cancer; one group took a weekly yoga class and the other group didn't. More women in the non-yoga group experienced a worsening of social well-being compared to the yoga group. The yoga classes seemed to offer social support, which may have helped counteract loneliness and isolation, which is common after a cancer diagnosis.
Pretty cool—right? Now, if you’re a gym-rat like me and like reading about exercise and fitness. Be sure to peruse
DiseaseProof’s new exercise category. Your one-stop-shop for all your exercise news—well, not really—but they’ll be lots of information in there for sure.
Posted on September 14, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
The new case was discovered close to a farm south of London where an outbreak was first reported last month.
Restrictions imposed then were only lifted four days ago and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) imposed a new England-wide ban on the movement of cattle, sheep, pigs and other ruminants.
Cattle were ordered slaughtered on the affected farm, near Egham, west of London. Egham is 13 miles (21 kilometres) from the village of Normandy, where foot and mouth disease was confirmed on August 3.
- I’m sure you’ve heard of dirty money, but what about dirty energy? It’s a big deal. Some 2 billion people’s health may be threatened by it. More from Reuters:
The health of about 2 billion of the world’s poor is being damaged because they lack access to clean energy, like electricity, and face exposure to smoke from open fires, scientists said on Thursday.
Dangerous levels of indoor air pollutants from badly ventilated cooking fires are a common hazard, while lack of electricity deprives many of the benefits of refrigeration.
Congress last month approved an extra $50 billion for the program, but U.S. President George W. Bush threatened a veto, calling it a move toward nationalized health care, which he opposes.
Bush wanted only a $5 billion increase in the plan's $25 billion cost over 5 years. Congress would come up with the extra dollars by hiking cigarette taxes 45 cents per pack and cutting Medicare payments to private health insurers.
New Jersey's program has covered 122,000 children, and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine said the new rules would deny coverage to 10,000 kids. In the past 18 months, 100,000 more children have been enrolled in both SHIP and Medicaid, which aids the poor, he added.
It’s one of the mysteries of sleep: Why is it that mild exercise can be invigorating, but strenuous endurance exercise — whether it’s crew practice, long runs as training for a marathon or juggling back-to-back workouts to prepare for a triathlon — makes people groggy?
Elite marathoners know that hunger for sleep all too well.
Deena Kastor, who won the London Marathon last year and set an American record, said she sleeps 10 hours at night and takes a two-hour nap every afternoon. Steven Spence, a marathoner who won a bronze medal at the 1991 world championships in Tokyo, had the same sleep habits when he was training.
A review of data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act found that federal officials inspect companies growing and processing salad greens an average of once every 3.9 years. Some proposals in Congress would require such inspections at least four times a year.
In California, which grows three-quarters of the nation's greens, processors created a new inspection system but with voluntary guidelines that were unable to keep bagged spinach tainted with salmonella from reaching grocery shelves last month.
Despite widespread calls for spot-testing of processing plants handling leafy greens after last year's E. coli outbreak, California public-health inspectors have not been given the authority to conduct such tests, so no such tests have been done, the review found.
In the pact, China also pledged to step up inspections of its exports and take other steps to ensure that those products meet U.S. standards, said Nancy Nord, acting head of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. That will include joint efforts by the two countries to increase understanding of those standards among manufacturers and exporters.
The absence of such an understanding allowed paint suppliers to provide lead paint to companies making toys sold by Mattel Inc. and other companies, said Chuanzhong Wei, vice minister of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Lead paint has been banned on toys made in the United States since 1978.
"That's why we decided we should intensify the exchanges between importers and exporters in the field of standards," Wei said, speaking through a translator.
People who are just moderately overweight have an increased risk developing heart disease, even if they are otherwise healthy, according to pooled data from published studies.
As study chief Dr. Rik P. Bogers noted in an email to Reuters Health, the data show that "even if overweight and obese persons succeeded in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol to normal levels, they would still have a higher risk of coronary heart disease than their normal-weight peers."
Thus, the worldwide increase in the number of people who are moderately overweight "may drive the incidence of coronary heart disease upward," Bogers and colleagues warn in a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Posted on August 17, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Colette Bouchez of WebMD busts nine major fitness myths. This one about abdominal fitness is really good. I’m sure some people will be getting red-faced. Take a look:
Fitness Myth No. 2: Doing crunches or working on an "ab machine" will get rid of belly fat.
Don't believe everything you hear on those late-night infomercials! Harr says that while an ab-crunching device might "help strengthen the muscles around your midsection and improve your posture," being able to "see" your abdominal muscles has to do with your overall percentage of body fat. If you don't lose the belly fat, he says, you won't see the ab muscles.
But can doing ab crunches help you to lose that belly fat? Experts say no.
"You can’t pick and choose areas where you’d like to burn fat," says Phil Tyne, director of the fitness center at the Baylor Tom Landry Health & Wellness Center in Dallas. So crunches aren't going to target weight loss in that area.
"In order to burn fat, you should create a workout that includes both cardiovascular and strength-training elements. This will decrease your overall body fat content," including the area around your midsection, he says.
Posted on August 2, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Considering I spent thirty-minutes lifting weights this morning, this report makes me smile. Howard Schneider of
The Washington Post explains
weightlifting is an important part of everyone’s workout. Read on:
You can now add weightlifting to the creeping set of obligations. It's not explicit in the government's overall guidelines, but the more detailed suggestions from agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a couple of rounds of resistance training each week. (And that includes you cardio junkies out there because aaaallllll thaaaaatttt time on the treadmill won't guarantee that you can sit up straight when 27 becomes 77.)
This won't make a lot of us happy. The basic exercise recommendations are pretty easy to cope with: Take a walk. Ride a bike. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Weightlifting, on the other hand, conjures the threat of being stuck next to some grunting mesomorph who will one day be governor. The chance of injury is greater. The advice gets confusing and may include a lecture about how, if you don't disrupt the Z lines between your sarcomeres, it's a waste of time.
It's manageable, however, if you understand some basics. The reason there is so much varying advice -- over what exercises to do, how frequently and how intensely -- is that this is an enterprise that should be tailored to your goals and your body. Cardio focuses on training just one muscle, the heart. There are more than 600 others that need attention.
For more on exercise, enjoy these posts:
Posted on July 30, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
As someone who exercises an average of ten hours a week, I love reading reports like this.
New research suggests young type-1 diabetics benefit from exercise. When is exercise ever a bad thing? Anyway, Madeline Vann of
HealthDay News is on it:
The researchers analyzed the physical activity levels outside of school and cardiovascular health of more than 23,000 subjects between the ages of 3 and 18. They found that heart health increased as the amount of physical activity increased.
The more active the children were, the lower the percentage of patients with high cholesterol and triglycerides. Nearly 40 percent of those with no regular physical activity had high cholesterol and triglycerides. Of the children who were active once or twice a week, 36 percent had high cholesterol and triglycerides, and for those who were active three or more times a week, only 34.4 percent had high cholesterol and triglycerides.
Writing in the August issue of Diabetes Care the researchers reported that children who were active at least once or twice per week were also less likely to have high blood pressure than those who had no exercise.
Since we’re talking about type-1 diabetes, it’s important to remember there is
Hope for Type 1 Childhood Onset Diabetics.
Posted on May 24, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Yesterday we learned that
exercising early in life really pays off later in life—very cool! And now,
Reuters is reporting that exercise after breast cancer treatment improves quality of life. Read on:
Previous studies have shown that exercise improves physical and psychological health for breast cancer survivors, but it has been unclear if the benefit came from the exercise itself or from the increased attention women got from participating in the programs.
To isolate the effects due to exercise from those due to attention, Dr. Amanda J. Daley, from the University of Birmingham, and her associates designed a study that included not only an active exercise group but also a placebo exercise group as well as a usual-care group.
The participants were 108 women who had been treated for breast cancer between 1 and 3 years before, and who were physically inactive.
You just can’t beat some good old-fashioned exercise!
Posted on May 23, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New research claims that exercising when you’re young pays high dividends as you age. Robert Preidt of
HealthDay News reports:
Staying trim and healthy in younger years can lead to a healthier, more mobile old age, U.S. researchers say…
…Reporting in the International Journal of Obesity, they found that women and men who were obese at ages 25 and 50, as well as at the time of the study, scored significantly lower on physical performance tests than those who were normal weight at those ages…
…Women who were overweight but not obese at ages 25, 50 and between 70 to 79 also had lower physical performance test scores than those with normal weights at those ages.
The study also found that men and women who were overweight or obese in early- to mid-adulthood had lower scores than those who became overweight or obese in late-adulthood.
Good news for all you lifelong gym-rats out there.
Posted on April 5, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Alright, let me apologize for pairing the word “old” and “ladies” in the same phrase—please, I’ve already been hit with too many purses in my life! Anyway, two new reports are out claiming that exercise is a great way for women to stay healthy as they age. First up, Margie Mason of the
Associated Press explains that
exercise may fend off arthritis in women:
An Australian study suggests the more time older women spend exercising, the better their chances are of staying pain-free from one of the biggest chronic conditions plaguing developed countries.
Even exercising as little as one hour and 15 minutes a week now can make a difference over the next three years, according to findings recently published in the journal Arthritis Research & Therapy.
"I don't think the results are suggesting that you should just become this maniac exerciser," said lead author Kristiann Heesch from the University of Queensland, Australia. "What it does suggest is that just adding some walking and moderate activity to your life can make a big benefit."
And get a load of this one. Eric Nagourney of
The New York Times reports that
increased physical activity aids menopausal women. Have a look:
For the study, the researchers took 164 women and divided them into three groups. For four months, one group walked, one did yoga and one remained inactive…
…In this study, the women taking part in the walking and yoga programs also said the problems associated with menopause decreased and their overall quality of life improved. “Interestingly,” the researchers said, “yoga participants also appeared to benefit in the sexual domain.”
As an admitted gym-rat, I love news like this. I think exercise is one of life’s most simple pleasures.
Posted on March 22, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Fifteen minutes of exercise might not seem like a lot, but in this age of Sony Playstations and Mp3 Players, it’s a start.
A new study claims 15 minutes of moderate exercise makes children 50 percent less likely to become obese than inactive children.
Reuters reports:
A study of 5,500 children who agreed to wear a motion sensor device showed that those who exercised more were less likely to be obese -- and that short bursts of intense activity seemed to be the most helpful…
…"Our data suggest that higher intensity physical activity may be more important than total activity," Andy Ness of the University of Bristol and colleagues wrote.
Are there kids that actually play outside nowadays? When I was a kid we had Nintendo, but still, if I couldn’t get outside to play a game of wall-ball once a day, my head would explode.
Posted on March 21, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
We all know exercise does a body good, but can it work wonders for our minds too? The answer seems to be yes. Eric Nagourney of
The New York Times reports on
new research claiming exercise helps fight natural memory loss:
Now a new study suggests a possible explanation for why this is so. The report, which appears online in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, says working out may stimulate the growth of neurons in a part of the brain associated with memory loss.
The researchers, led by Dr. Scott A. Small, an associate professor of neurology at the Columbia University Medical Center, looked at changes in the brains of volunteers who worked out on exercise equipment.
Posted on March 15, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Dr. Fuhrman’s radio show Nutritional Wisdom airs live Wednesdays at 11am EST with an encore presentation Thursdays at 3pm EST on VoiceAmerica. Here’s a peek at this week’s episode:
Strength training is essential for long term health. Learn how to protect yourself against muscle loss, frailty, falls and fractures by preventing sarcopenia. Join Dr. Fuhrman as he welcomes guest Steve Reis, one of the original Master Trainers of the SuperSlow Exercise Guild and owner of Santa Rosa Strength, a health facility teaching strength training programs based on Progressive Resistance Exercise.
Check out the Nutritional Wisdom category for previous episodes.
Posted on February 28, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Exercise never seems like a bad thing, and, unless your workout involves being chased by a pack of rabid dogs, you can always use some. Here’s more good news. According to a new study
exercising for five or more hours a week can cut women’s breast cancer risk in half. Emily Brown, Bloomberg of
The Boston Globe reports:
Strenuous or moderate exercise from the teens to about age 50 reduces the risk of some types of breast cancer by as much as 55 percent, according to a study published in yesterday's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Previous studies asked women about current exercise habits and not activities over time.
"It's long-term activity that matters," Leslie Bernstein, one of the study's authors, said in an interview. "This may explain why asking women what they currently does not adequately capture physical activity relevant to breast cancer risk. It is really activity during reproductive years and into the early 50s in our study, which predicts breast cancer risk."
Posted on February 16, 2007 by Joel Fuhrman
From the March 2004 edition of Dr. Fuhrman’s Healthy Times, here is Dr. Fuhrman’s third secret to longevity:
Despite the well-known benefits of exercise, only about 15 percent of Americans engage in regular physical activity. In people of all body weights, poor aerobic fitness is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality.1
Exercise is important for healthy psychological function and to maintain significant muscle and bone mass as we age. It has been shown to improve mental function; to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; and to improve sleep patterns, aiding healthful cycles of deep sleep.
If you plan on living a long time, you want to have your bones last along with you. A good measurement of your bone density and strength is to test the strength of the muscle that moves that bone. Bone density correlates perfectly with muscle strength. As we condition our muscles and gain strength, our bones thicken and strengthen along with the muscle. Without regular exercise along the way, your bone structure can deteriorate as you get older. Some people survive with weak bones, but their quality of life suffers when they are immobilized by arthritis and osteoporosis.
Ideally, exercise should be a part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth and taking a shower. If you have a busy work schedule and commute, get in fifteen minutes of exercise every day before your morning shower. For example, if you routinely shower every morning, work up a sweat with some abdominal crunches, back extensions, toe raises, walk up and down the stairs in your home, mock jump rope, and then take your shower. Keep in mind; it is important to exercise your lower back frequently. Get in the habit of exercising the same time every day. Make the days where you do not exercise the exception, not the rule.
Here's more from this DiseaseProof miniseries:
Continue Reading...
Posted on January 12, 2007 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Now in this ever-wonderous age of technology we live in, I’ve noticed something. Gyms are being invaded by cyborgs! I see it everyday. At my gym everyone and I do mean everyone, comes wired with some sort of battery powered device. Be it a mp3 player, cellphone, or one of those blackberry thingies—sometimes all three!
And, in the odd chance that someone is not toting a gadget they are usually utterly transfixed by at least one of the dozen television screens. That in most cases are actually mounted to the treadmills. Personally I don’t mix entertainment and exercise. For me, music and TV are just background noise. I like to focus on what I’m doing, I don’t know, something about holding heavy weights above my head makes me want to pay attention, call me crazy.
Well according to this article by the
Associated Press my attitude might be a good thing. It seems
some experts believe all these gadgets can distract us from listening to our bodies. As the report points out this can be potentially hazardous. Michael Hill has more:
But are those distractions good or bad for exercisers? Researchers say it cuts both ways. Yes, a dose of video or audio can inspire better workouts. But distractions can also hurt performance. In a way, music can add some static to the mind-body connection…
… In a 2005 study, British researchers put 18 undergraduates on stationary bicycles to pedal either to silence or to "popular electronic dance music" on headphones. Participants worked about 13 percent harder to the up-tempo music compared to silence. One of the researchers, Sam Carr, suggested in an e-mail interview that music competes with an exercisers' awareness of how hard they're breathing, or how much their legs ache.
Okay, I admit it, the
Rocky theme song makes me workout a little harder. But how many of you have been running and all of a sudden that
Eye of the Tiger song comes on? Then you crank the treadmill up real high only to bring it down real low before the song is over, while exaggerating some kind of ache. Guilty!
Posted on November 16, 2006 by Joel Fuhrman
From the July 2003 edition of Dr. Fuhrman’s Healthy Times:
The first three back exercises involve use of gym equipment. Never attempt to lift heavy weights with your back. Perform smooth movements with an amount of weight light enough for you to be comfortable doing at least twenty repetitions.
1. Seated cable row: With knees slightly bent, lean forward, then pull the handles back to your chest with elbows wide as your back comes to vertical.
2. Wide cable pull downs: Pull down the cable to your chest with elbows wide as you lean back to a sixty-degree angle.
3. Back extensions: Lean over exercise ball, and arch your back up like a reverse sit up, or use a back extension chair made for this exercise.
4. Superman: While lying on your stomach, lift trunk and legs up off the ground like a bow.
5. Alternate Superman: Use alternate arm and leg to perform the superman.
6. Weighted backpack: Wear a weighted backpack for a few hours per week. Normal activities of moving around and getting up and down with a weighted backpack on strengthens the back.
Posted on September 19, 2006 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
For some people getting to the gym or pulling out the exercise equipment is either too expensive or just a hassle. In a recent article Jacqueline Stenson of
MSNBC offers up
advice for deciding which fitness options are right for you, and are the most economical:
The average health club membership in the United States is just $35 a month, according to Brooke Correia, a spokesperson for the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, based in Boston.
A little more than a dollar a day isn't so bad if you view that money as an investment in your health — exercise can help stave off heart disease, diabetes and other costly ills. But membership fees are money down the drain if you don't use the club regularly. And once you sign up, you're usually locked into at least a one-year agreement.
To curb costs, shop around for a basic gym without the frills. Fancy clubs with expansive workout rooms, spas, pools, juice bars and other high-end amenities come with fancy fees. Also find out whether the gyms you're checking out offer month-to-month memberships, suggests Correia. That way, if you don't like a gym, it turns out to be too inconvenient to get to during rush hour, or your job sends you to the Shanghai office for three months, you're not stuck.
Posted on September 12, 2006 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Do you exercise? Got a gym membership? If you do you’re not alone, millions of Americans workout everyday in hopes of losing weight and staying fit.
But exactly how effective is it? Jane E. Brody of
The New York Times reports on new research compiled to help answer this question:
In the August/September issue of ACE Certified News (published by the American Council on Exercise), Ralph La Forge, managing director of the Duke Lipid and Disease Management Preceptorship Program at Duke University Medical Center, compiled a detailed analysis of the various factors that influence the effect of exercise on weight loss.
Mr. La Forge started by refuting the prevailing belief that since a pound of fat (when burned) gives off 3,500 calories and since running or walking a mile burns 100 calories, a person should lose a pound for every 35 miles. In other words, if a previously inactive person starts running or walking five miles a day, that person should lose a pound a week, all other things being equal.
La Forge doesn’t appreciate this brushstroke explanation:
This estimate fails to subtract the number of calories that person’s body would have used had it just sat still for those hours. Rather, for a 154-pound person, the net caloric cost would be 54 calories per mile when walking up to 3.5 miles per hour, 97 calories speed-walking at 3.5 to 5 m.p.h., and 107 calories jogging or running.
In other words, running uses nearly twice the calories used when walking at a moderate pace over the same distance. Your starting weight is also a factor: if you weigh less than 154 pounds, the caloric burn is proportionately less; if you weigh more than 154, it is higher.
Furthermore, if you walk or run on a treadmill, the aid of the machine diminishes the number of calories your body uses by about 10 to 15 percent of what the machine says you are burning. But, Mr. La Forge noted, there is a positive side: “The mechanical advantage of some machines enhances exercise comfort and reduces impact and musculoskeletal stress.”
The article is worth a read, La Forge goes to explain other factors associated with how people lose weight through exercises, like bodyweight and gender. In
Eat to Live Dr. Fuhrman explains exercise’s role in weight-loss and superior health:
Exercise is important, but if your ability to be active and exercise is limited, do not despair. My more aggressive menu plan will still enable you to lose weight. Obviously, those unable to exercise require a stricter diet. Some people have health conditions that preclude them from exercising much. However, you should till try to devise an exercise prescription to fit your capabilities. Almost everyone can do something; even those who cannot walk can do arm exercises with light weights and use an arm cycle.
Exercise will facilitate your weight loss and make you healthier. Vigorous exercise has a powerful effect on promoting longevity. If you have the will to adopt this plan and take good care of yourself, you will find the will exercise. “No time to exercise” is not an excuse. If you have time to brush your teeth, take a shower, or go to the bathroom, you can make some time to exercise. Take frequent five-minute exercise breaks—walk stairs or stand up then sit down slowly in your chair twenty times. Lots of people with no time to exercise or join a health club can usually go up and down stairs in their home or place of work. Try doing as many flights as you can two or three times a day. Walking twenty or more flights a day is an effective way to achieve your goal. Most of my patients have a health in their house—that is, a stairway leading to the upstairs floor, and most have one going down to the basement as well. I ask them to walk up and down the two flights ten times in the morning before they shower and ten times at night. It takes only five minutes, but it really works.
I also encourage patients to join a real health club and use a variety of equipment to utilize many body parts for maximum results. The more muscle groups that are exercised, the more metabolically active players you have on your team to help you meet your goals. It is definitely helpful to have access to an assortment of exercise equipment, such as ellipse machines, treadmills, steppers, recumbent bicycles, and numerous resistance machines. When you tire of one machine, you can move on to a new one.
Posted on August 17, 2006 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
One solution to the obesity epidemic might be to hit it where it starts, childhood. According to
HealthDay News the American Heart Association (AHA) is calling for efforts to promote more physical education in schools. Alan Mozes reports:
"Kids spend a lot of time in the schools for a lot of years, and in order for them to be as physically active as they need in order to be healthy, schools are going to have to take the initiative," said Russell Pate, chairman of the group that drafted the recommendations, and a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina, in Columbia.
Fueling the concern, the AHA said, is the dramatically rising obesity rates among American children over the past two decades: About 16 percent of kids aged 6 to 19 are now considered overweight.
And a 2003 survey showed that more than one third of the students spend no more than 20 minutes a day on vigorous activity, while their time in front of the TV is up to three hours daily, the AHA added.
The AHA is putting significant pressure on schools to ensure children get enough exercise.
HealthDay relays some of their reforms published in
this week’s Circulation:
- Schools to establish a daily minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity during school hours, and set up health education programs that encourage exercise and discourage sedentary behavior;
- Schools to establish optional exercise programs outside school hours, provide extracurricular sports clubs, and promote safe walking and biking routes to school;
- States to ensure that physical education (PE) programs are taught by certified and highly qualified teachers, and to hold schools accountable for the adequacy of such programs and for ensuring they are part of a core curriculum;
- Child development centers and elementary schools to ensure at least 30 minutes of daily recess for exercise;
- Higher education groups to establish programs that produce highly qualified PE and health education teachers.
Posted on August 2, 2006 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
According to
HealthDay News the
results of a new study are defying the conventional wisdom that exercise doesn’t make the human heart slow down. It seems that extreme exercise can actually tire the heart and slow it by ten percent. Ed Edelson reports:
For the study, Dr. Euan A. Ashley, an assistant professor of cardiology at Stanford University and his colleagues set up shop at the finishing line of an ultra-endurance race called the "Adrenalin Rush," held in the Scottish Highlands. The annual event is grueling even by "iron man" standards, with one or two competitors usually requiring hospitalization after every race.
As athletes crossed the line after 90 hours of biking, climbing, swimming, paddling and rope work, the researchers tested their hearts.
The athletes' average heartbeat had slowed from what was measured before the race, by about 8 percent for athletes who did not carry the ACE fitness gene and 13 percent for those who did carry it.
Posted on July 14, 2006 by Joel Fuhrman
From Dr. Fuhrman’s book Eat to Live:
Researchers at the University of Tromsø in Norway report that women who exercise regularly reduce their risk of developing breast cancer substantially. Their study involved more than 25,000 women age twenty to fifty-four at the time of their energy into the study. The researchers found that younger, premenopausal women (under forty-five years old) who exercised regularly had 62 percent less risk than sedentary women. The risk reduction was highest for lean women who exercised more than four hours per week; these women had a 72 percent reduction in risk.
Diet and exercise have a much more important role to play in cancer prevention than mammograms and other detection methods. Keep in mind that mammograms merely detect, not prevent, cancer; they show disease only after the cancerous cells have been proliferating for many years.1 By that time the majority of cancers have already spread from their local site and surgically removing the tumor is not curative. Only a minority of women have their breast cancers detected by a mammogram have their survival increased because of the earlier detection.2 The majority would have done just as well to find it later. I am not aiming to discourage women ages fifty to sixty-five from having mammograms; rather, my message is that this alone is insufficient. Mammograms, which do nothing to prevent breast cancer, are heavily publicized, while women hear nothing else about what they can do to prevent and protect themselves against breast cancer in the first place.
Do not underestimate the effect of a superior diet on gradually removing and repairing damage caused by years of self-abuse. Do not be discouraged just because you cannot bring your risk down to zero because of your mistakes in the past. The same thing could be said for cigarette smokers. Should they not quit smoking, merely because their risk of lung cancer can’t be brought down to zero when they quit? Actually, lung cancer rates are considerably lower (about one-fifth) in countries that have a high vegetable consumption, even though they may smoke like crazy.3 Raw fruits and vegetables offer powerful protection; leafy greens are the most protective.4
My main point is that our population has been ignoring those interventions that can most effectively save lives. We search for more answers because the ones we have found are not to our liking. Our most powerful artillery on the war against breast cancer, and cancer in general, is to follow the overall advice presented in my book
Eat to Live and begin at as young an age as possible.
Continue Reading...
Posted on July 14, 2006 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Following up on Wednesday’s report claiming even small amounts of physical activity help seniors live longer are these exercise tips from CNN. The video contends exercise is essential for maintaining flexibility and bone strength as you age, but warns people to be mindful of their changing bodies and to adjust activities accordingly.
Posted on May 23, 2006 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
New research concludes staying active decreases the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The New York Times reporter Nicholas Bakalar reports:
Researchers studied a group of more than 2,200 people over 65 and without dementia from 1994 to 1996, then followed them through October 2003, examining their mental abilities with standard tests and their physical performance with strength and agility tasks.
During the follow-up, 319 people developed dementia. Of them, 221 had Alzheimer's. But the poorer their physical performance at the start of the study, even among people with no signs of dementia, the more likely they were to develop dementia.
The associations held even after adjusting for age, family history of dementia, heart disease and other factors.
The study appears in The Archives of Internal Medicine.
Posted on May 4, 2006 by Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
Yesterday children from all fifty states exercised in unison for fifteen minutes. The program called All Children Exercise Simultaneously (ACES) hopes to encourage kids to incorporate regular exercise into their lives and adopt healthy diets. Matthew Verrinder of the Associated Press reports:
Len Saunders, a grinning New Jersey elementary school gym teacher started Project ACES in 1989. Students in all 50 states and at least 50 other countries were urged to exercise en masse for 15 minutes Wednesday, all to curb alarming rates of childhood obesity. ACES stands for All Children Exercise Simultaneously.
"Now we just have to get them to do it every day, and we'll be fine," said Saunders, 45, who teaches at Valley View Elementary School, about 25 miles west of Manhattan. "The obesity epidemic is crazy in our country right now. This is not going to change their lives for the 15 minutes today, but it may motivate them to exercise in the future."
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