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Sugar vs. Sugar Alcohol

October 01, 2008 10:00 pm


 

Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates which are also called “polyols.” Part of their chemical structure resembles sugar, and part of it resembles alcohol — hence the confusing name. Examples of common sugar alcohols are maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt, and xylitol.

Sugar alcohols occur naturally in plants. Some of them are extracted from plants (sorbitol from corn syrup and mannitol from seaweed), but they are mostly manufactured from sugars and starches.

Sugar alcohols are like sugar in some ways, but they are not completely absorbed by the body. Because of this, the blood sugar impact of sugar alcohols is less and they provide fewer calories per gram. Additionally, sugar alcohols don’t promote tooth decay as sugars do, so are often used to sweeten chewing gum. One, xylitol, actually inhibits bacterial growth in the mouth.

It’s important to note, however, that the different types of sugar alcohols act very differently in the body (see chart below).

 
Sugar Alcohol Calories/Gram Sweetness
Compared
to Sucrose
Sources
Sorbitol 2.6 50% to
70%
Sugar-free hard and soft candies, chewing gum, flavored jam and jelly spreads, frozen foods, and baked goods
Mannitol 1.6 50% to
70%
Chewing gum, hard and soft candies, flavored jam and jelly spreads, confections, and frostings
Xylitol 2.4 100% Chewing gum, hard candies, and pharmaceutical products
Erythritol 0.2 60% to
80%
Confectionery and baked products, chewing gum, and some beverages
Isomalt 2.0 45% to
65%
Hard and soft candies, ice cream, toffee, fudge, lollipops, wafers, and chewing gum
Lactitol 2.0 30% to
40%
Chocolate, cookies and cakes, hard and soft candies, and frozen dairy desserts
Hydrogenated
starch
hydrolysates
(HSH)
3.0 25% to
50%
Sugar-free foods and candies, and low-calorie foods
Maltitol 2.1 90% Sugar-free chocolate, hard candies, chewing gum, baked goods, and ice cream

The names of the individual sugar alcohols will be on the ingredient list of any product that contains them. They will be included in the amount of carbohydrate on the label, either in the total or on a separate line for sugar alcohols. If the product is labeled “sugar-free” or “no added sugar,” the manufacturer must show the sugar alcohol count separately. As I indicated above, sugar-free does not mean sugar alcohol free.

Though sugar alcohols have fewer calories than sugar, most of them aren’t as sweet, so more must be used to get the same sweetening effect. Still, there is a range of sweetness and impact on blood sugar among the sugar alcohols.

 

The presence of Sugar Alcohol is sugar free food is the dietary version of the Enron Accounting. The label may suggest there is no calories from Sugar, thus Sugar Free label, yet is contains calories from Sugar Alcohol. This is usually listed separately and usually in fine print. By Paying close attention to the ingredients of food purchased, patients can avoid some of the common problems that we see in the office. Inadequate weight loss, weight regain, gas , bloating etc.

Folic Acid

September 08, 2008 9:46 pm



Researchers in the United Kingdom and Texas are reporting a new, more detailed explanation for the link between low folate intake and an increased risk for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer
death in the United States.

Their study reinforces the importance of folate in a healthy diet. Susan Duthie and colleagues note that researchers have known for years that a deficiency
of folate, one of the B vitamins commonly called folic acid, increases the risk of birth defects. As a result, manufacturers enrich some foods with folate.

Scientists also have found that low folate in the diet increases the risk of developing colon cancer in adults. However, scientists lack an adequate explanation of how folate depletion affects the genes, proteins, and cells
involved in cancer. In this new research, scientists grew human colon cells in folatedepleted and folateenriched tissue culture. They found that folate depletion caused increased DNA damage and a cascade of other biological changes linked to an increased cancer risk.

folic-acid

  • Folic acid, also called folate or folacin, is a B vitamin often lacking in the diet.
  • When consumed in adequate amounts by women before and during pregnancy, folic acid reduces the risk of serious birth defects of the
    brain and spine, called neural tube defects.
  • Folates also are needed for cell growth and blood production. As a fetus grows, it takes folates from the mother’s blood, which in turn
    creates a shortage in the mother.
  • Because of their control over homocysteine, an amino acid
    produced by the body, folates are thought to give some protection against heart disease. High levels of homocysteine in the blood may be a risk factor for heart attacks.
  • Additional health benefits associated with folic acid consumption include reduction in depression, colon, cervical, and breast cancers. It also may help prevent memory loss and susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease.

Where do I get it?

  • Foods rich in folic acid include fortified breakfast cereals, enriched breads, pastas and grains, dried beans and peas, orange juice,
    oranges, cantaloupe, avocados, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, lima
    beans, nuts, and peanut butter.
  • Some cereals are fortified with 100 percent of the recommended daily amount of folic acid.
  • Effective Jan. 1, 1998, enriched grain products, such as white bread and flour, pasta and rice, were required to be fortified with folic acid.

  • Females of childbearing age need 400 micrograms from fortified foods
    and/or supplements daily in addition to what they get from food. Because spina bifida and similar birth defects occur in the first two weeks of pregnancy, women need to build up their folate stores long before they become pregnant. Once they realize they are pregnant, it is too late.
  • Because 50 percent of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, it is even more crucial for all women of childbearing age to continually
    consume large intakes of folic acid.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a 26 percent decrease in the incidence of neural tube defects following folic acid fortification.
  • Adult men and older women need 400 micrograms (μg) of folate.
  • To obtain 400 micrograms per day through diet, eat according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and include a highly fortified breakfast cereal. For individuals unable to get enough folic acid from the diet, a vitamin supplement is strongly recommended.
  • Grain foods and breakfast cereals contribute over 62 percent of dietary folic acid, according to a study conducted by the Bell Institute of Nutrition.
 
Food Folic Acid μg/Serving
Ready-to-eat breakfast cereal 100 – 400/serving; read labels
Enriched wheat tortilla 98 / one 8″ tortilla
Lentils, cooked 180 / cup
Black-eyed peas, dried, cooked 105 / half cup
Pinto beans,chickpeas, cooked 140 – 145 / half cup
Asparagus 110 / 5 spears
Whole wheat pasta 23 / half cup
Sunflower seeds, dry-roasted 152 / half cup

What is Stevia

September 05, 2008 11:56 pm

Stevia is one of the most health restoring plants on earth. What whole leaf Stevia does both inside the body and on the skin is incredible. Native to Paraguay, it is a small green plant bearing leaves which have a delicious and refreshing taste that can be 30 times sweeter than sugar. Besides the intensely sweet glycosides (Steviosides, Rebaudiosides and a Dulcoside), various studies have found the leaf to contain proteins, fiber, carbohydrates, iron, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, zinc, rutin (a flavonoid), true vitamin A, Vitamin C and an oil which contains 53 other constituents. Quality Stevia leaves and whole leaf concentrate are nutritious, natural dietary supplements offering numerous health benefits.


Stevia is the sweetener of the future. Because the human body does not metabolize the sweet glycosides (they pass right through the normal elimination channels) from the leaf or any of its processed forms, the body obtains no calories from Stevia. Processed forms of pure Stevia can be 70-400 times sweeter than sugar. Whether these products are called Stevia, Stevioside, Rebaudioside, Stevia Extract, or Stevia Concentrate, if they are in their pure unadulterated form they do not adversely affect blood glucose levels and may be used freely by both diabetics and hypoglycemics. For people with blood sugar, blood pressure or weight problems Stevia is the most desirable sweetener.

In all of its current forms Stevia has a taste unique to itself. Along with its sweetness there is also a bitter component. The poorer the quality of the leaf the more bitterness is evident in the taste. In good consumer products, however, this bitter flavor disappears as does the slight licorice taste of whole-leaf products when appropriately diluted for consumption. Unlike artificial sweeteners, the sweet glycosides do not break down in heat which makes Stevia an excellent sweetener for cooking and baking.


The vast majority of reported health benefits, both from the research laboratory and consumer experience, comes from daily use of a water based whole leaf Stevia concentrate. Scientific research has indicated that Stevia effectively regulates blood sugar and brings it toward a normal balance. It is sold in some South American countries as an aid to people with diabetes and hypoglycemia. Since its introduction into the US, numerous people have reported that taking 20-30 drops with each meal brought their blood glucose levels to normal or near normal within a short time period. Obviously each individual’s condition is different and such experimentation should be done under the supervision of a qualified physician. An important benefit for hypo-glycemics is Stevia’s tonic action which enhances increased energy levels and mental acuity. Studies have also indicated that Stevia tends to lower elevated blood pressure but does not seem to affect normal blood pressure. It also inhibits the growth and reproduction of some bacteria and other infectious organisms, including the bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease.

This may help explain why users of Stevia enhanced products report a lower incidence of colds and flu and why it has such exceptional qualities when used as a mouthwash or added to toothpaste. Many people report significant improvement in oral health after adding Stevia concentrate to their toothpaste and using it, diluted in water, as a daily mouthwash. Stevia is an exceptional aid in weight loss and weight management because it contains no calories and reduces one’s craving for sweets and fatty foods. Hunger sensations are lessened when 10 or 15 drops are taken 20 minutes before meals. Preliminary research data indicates that Stevia may actually reset the hunger mechanism in people where the pathway between the hypothalamus and the stomach has become obstructed. If so, Stevia would help people to feel satiated sooner, helping them to eat less. Other benefits of adding Stevia to the daily diet include improved digestion and gastrointestinal function, soothed upset stomachs and quicker recovery’ from minor illness. Users have also reported that drinking Stevia tea or Stevia enhanced teas helped to reduce their desire for tobacco and alcoholic beverages. Stevia concentrate tablets are available for those who want the medicinal benefits of Stevia concentrate in an easy to swallow tablet form.

Stevia leaves vary widely in quality due to many environmental factors including soil, irrigation methods, sunlight, air purity, cleanliness, farming practices, processing and storage. There are also numerous species of Stevia with differing Stevioside/Rebaudioside content. Bacterial and fungal contamination is a serious problem and one must be careful about the original source of Stevia. Chinese Stevia leaves are a poor quality, containing only 5-6% of the sweet Steviosides/ Rebaudiosides, while Paraguayan leaves contain 9-13%. Stevia should be compared according to aroma, taste, appearance and sweetness. Leaves are available in tea bags (only from Wisdom of the Ancients at the time of writing) and make a delicious tea. Tea bags may be placed in any beverage desired and make a delightful lemonade. The sweet glycosides are released more rapidly in hot liquid than in cool liquid. You may want to place a tea bag in a small amount of hot water for a few minutes and then add the sweetened water to the beverage. A mild Stevia tea offers excellent relief for an upset stomach. After use, a Stevia tea bag placed over the eyes (similar to using a cucumber) for a few minutes effectively tightens the skin and smoothes out wrinkles. Ground Stevia is excellent when sprinkled lightly over cooking vegetables and meats, cereals and salads. Besides adding its own sweet taste it significantly enhances the flavor and nutritional value of the food. Ground Stevia can be used in many cooking and baking applications.


Refined Steviosides & Rebaudiosides are the sweetest form of Stevia and may be purchased in a semi-white powder form (usually referred to as an extract) or in a clear liquid made by adding the powder to water and a preservative. The powder may be added directly to food and beverage but in very tiny amounts. The liquid is used drop by drop.

Stevioside has over 50% of the commercial sweetening market in Japan, which consumes 90% of the world’s supply of Stevia leaves. The refined Chinese Stevioside product is only 80-91% pure and some samples have been found to be high in pathogens.

Although Stevioside is a desirable sweetener it does not have the extraordinary health benefits of the Stevia leaf or products made from whole leaf Stevia concentrate.

Water based whole leaf Stevia concentrate offers several exceptional benefits when used regularly in skin care. When applied as a facial mask it effectively softens and tightens the skin, smoothes out wrinkles and helps to heal various skin blemishes including acne. One simply smoothes the dark liquid over the entire face, allowing it to dry for at least 30-60 minutes. As it dries you will feel the skin tightening. A drop of the concentrate may be applied directly on any blemish, acne outbreak, lip or mouth sore. People report success from applying Stevia to a variety of problem skin conditions. Stevia concentrate is also effective when used on seborrhea, dermatitis and eczema. Reports indicate that when a few drops of the concentrate are placed in cuts and scratches there is a more rapid healing of the wound without scarring. This will sting for 30-40 seconds followed by a significant lowering of pain. The concentrate is easily washed away with soap and warm water. In Paraguayan experiments the Stevia concentrate was added to a unique native herbal soap made from edible oils extracted from the seeds and leaves of trees native to the Paraguayan rain forest. Marketed in the U.S. under the name Cream of Coco Hair & Body Shampoo, the soap blends well with the concentrate. Used together these two natural products help retard the graying process and retain natural hair color, eliminate dandruff and various scalp problems, and improve the health and luster of the hair. Many Americans today add the concentrate to this native soap or to their regular shampoo and report excellent results. Most people wash the hair first and then add Stevia concentrate to the second shampoo, allowing it to remain on the hair for a few minutes before rinsing.


There has never been a complaint that Stevia, in any of its consumable forms, has caused any harmful side effects in the 1500 years of use in Paraguay and about 20 years in Japan. Scientists who have studied Stevia state that it is safe for human consumption.

Following extensive research Dr. Daniel Mowrey reported: “More elaborate safety tests were performed by the Japanese during their evaluation of stevia as a possible sweetening agent. Few substances have ever yielded such consistently negative results in toxicity trials as have stevia. Almost every toxicity test imaginable has been performed on stevia extract [concentrate] or stevioside at one time or another. The results are always negative. No abnormalities in weight change, food intake, cell or membrane characteristics, enzyme and substrate utilization, or chromosome characteristics. No cancer, no birth defects, no acute and no chronic untoward effects. Nothing.”

This brief review of the Stevia plant and its worldwide uses in no way constitutes an endorsement of such uses. At this time the FDA permits Stevia to be imported, labeled and sold only for its approved use as a dietary supplement and in skin Care. The information contained is provided for educational purposes only. Medical advice is neither implied nor intended. Please consult your health care professional for medical advice.

Additional reading and information on Stevia here.

Loss of Sleep

September 05, 2008 2:36 am



Loss of sleep, even for a few short hours during the night, can prompt one’s immune system to turn against healthy tissue and organs.

A new article in the September 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry, by the UCLA Cousins Center research team, reports that losing sleep for even part of one night can trigger the key cellular pathway that produces tissue-damaging inflammation. The findings suggest a good night’s sleep can ease the risk of both heart disease and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. Specifically, the researchers measured the levels of nuclear factor (NF)-κB, a transcription factor that serves a vital role in the body’s inflammatory signaling, in healthy adults. These measurements were repeatedly assessed, including in the morning after baseline (or normal) sleep, after partial sleep deprivation (where the volunteers were awake from 11 pm to 3:00 am), and after recovery sleep. In the morning after sleep loss, they discovered that activation of (NF)-κB signaling was significantly greater than after baseline or recovery sleep. It’s important to note that they found this increase in inflammatory response in only the female subjects.

These data close an important gap in understanding the cellular mechanisms by which sleep loss enhances inflammatory biology in humans, with implications for understanding the association between sleep disturbance and risk of a wide spectrum of medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes, certain cancers, and obesity. John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, comments: “The closer that we look at sleep, the more that we learn about the benefits of sleeping. In this case, Irwin and colleagues provide evidence that sleep deprivation is associated with enhancement of pro-inflammatory processes in the body.” “Physical and psychological stress brought on in part by grinding work, school and social schedules is keeping millions of Americans up at night,” said Dr. Irwin, lead author and director of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at the Semel Institute. “America’s sleep habits are simply not healthy. Our findings suggest even modest sleep loss may play a role in common disorders that affect sweeping segments of the population.” In other words, sleep is vitally important to maintaining a healthy body. And as Dr. Krystal notes, “these findings provide a potential mechanistic avenue through which addressing sleep disturbance might improve health.”

Vitamin D to treat heart failure

July 03, 2008 9:40 pm


 

Strong bones, a healthy immune system, protection against some types of cancer: Recent studies suggest there’s yet another item for the expanding list of Vitamin D benefits. Vitamin D, “the sunshine vitamin,” keeps the heart, the body’s long-distance runner, fit for life’s demands.

University of Michigan pharmacologist Robert U. Simpson, Ph.D., thinks it’s apt to call vitamin D “the heart tranquilizer.” In studies in rats, Simpson and his team report the first concrete evidence that treatment with activated vitamin D can protect against heart failure. Their results appear in the July issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology. In the study, treatments with activated vitamin D prevented heart muscle cells from growing bigger – the condition, called hypertrophy, in which the heart becomes enlarged and overworked in people with heart failure. The treatments prevented heart muscle cells from the over-stimulation and increased contractions associated with the
progression of heart failure.

About 5.3 million Americans have heart failure, a progressive, disabling condition in which the heart becomes enlarged as it is forced to work harder and harder, making it a challenge even to perform normal daily activities. Many people with heart disease or poorly controlled high blood pressure go on to experience a form of heart failure called congestive heart failure, in which the heart’s inability to pump blood around the body causes weakness and fluid build-up in lungs and limbs. Many people with heart failure, who tend to be older, have been found to be deficient in vitamin D.

“Heart failure will progress despite the best medications,” says Simpson, a professor of pharmacology at the U-M Medical School. “We think vitamin D retards that progression and protects the heart.”

The U-M researchers wanted to show whether a form of vitamin D could have beneficial effects on hearts that have developed or are at risk of developing
heart failure. They used a breed of laboratory rats predisposed to develop human-like heart failure. The researchers measured the effects of activated Vitamin D (1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3, a form called calcitriol) in rats given a normal diet or a high-salt diet, compared to control group rats given either of the same two diets, but no vitamin D treatment. The rats on the high-salt diet were likely to develop heart failure within months.

The rats on the high-salt diet, comparable to the fast food that many humans feast on, quickly revealed the difference vitamin D could make. “From these animals, we have obtained exciting and very important results,” Simpson says.

After 13 weeks, the researchers found that the heart failure-prone rats on the high-salt diet that were given the calcitriol treatment had significantly lower levels of several key indicators of heart failure than the untreated high-salt diet rats in the study. The treated rats had lower heart weight. Also, the left ventricles of the treated rats’ hearts were smaller and their hearts worked less for each beat while blood pressure was maintained, indicating that their heart function did not deteriorate as it did in the untreated rats. Decreased heart weight, meaning that enlargement was not occurring, also showed up in the treated rats fed a normal diet, compared to their untreated counterparts. Simpson and his colleagues have explored vitamin D’s effects on heart muscle and the cardiovascular system for more than 20 years. In 1987, when Simpson showed the link between vitamin D and heart health, the idea seemed far-fetched and research funding was scarce. Now, a number of studies worldwide attest to the vitamin D-heart health link.

The new heart insights add to the growing awareness that widespread vitamin D deficiency—thought to affect one-third to one-half of U.S. adults middle-aged and older—may be putting people at greater risk of many common diseases. Pharmaceutical companies are developing anti-cancer drugs using vitamin D analogs, which are synthetic compounds that produce vitamin D’s effects. There’s also increasing interest in using vitamin D or its analogs to treat autoimmune disorders.

In more than a dozen types of tissues and cells in the body, activated vitamin acts as a powerful hormone, regulating expression of essential genes and rapidly activating already expressed enzymes and proteins. In the heart, Simpson’s team has revealed precisely how activated vitamin D connects with specific vitamin D receptors and produces its calming, protective effects. Those results appeared in the February issue of Endocrinology. Sunlight causes the skin to make activated vitamin D.

People also get vitamin D from certain foods and vitamin D supplements. Taking vitamin D supplements and for many people, getting sun exposure in safe ways, are certainly good options for people who want to keep their hearts healthy. But people with heart failure or at risk of heart failure will likely need a drug made of a compound or analog of vitamin D that will more powerfully produce vitamin D’s effects in the heart if they are to see improvement in their symptoms, Simpson says.

Vitamin D analogs already are on the market for some conditions. One present drawback of these compounds is that they tend to increase blood calcium to undesirable levels. Simpson’s lab is conducting studies of a specific analog which may be less toxic, so efforts to develop a vitamin Dbased drug to treat heart failure are moving a step closer to initial trials in people.

heart-muscle-cells-in-rats

left: Heart muscle cells in untreated rats bred to develop heart failure show signs of disease: Cells are irregular in size and shape and show fibrotic lesions (areas in purple). Right: Heart muscle cells remain healthy in rats treated with calcitriol, the hormone that Vitamin D becomes in the body. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Michigan Health System)

Exercise for Your Bone Health
Vital at every age for healthy bones, exercise is important for treating and preventing osteoporosis. Not only does exercise improve your bone health, it also increases muscle strength, coordination, and balance, and leads to better overall health.

Why Exercise?
Like muscle, bone is living tissue that responds to exercise by becoming stronger. Young women and men who exercise regularly generally achieve greater peak bone mass (maximum bone density and strength) than those who do not. For most people, bone mass peaks during the third decade of life. After that time, we can begin to lose bone. Women and men older than age 20 can help prevent bone loss with regular exercise. Exercising allows us to maintain muscle strength, coordination, and balance, which in turn help to prevent falls and related fractures. This is especially important for older adults and people who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis.

The Best Bone Building Exercise
The best exercise for your bones is the weight-bearing kind, which forces you to work against gravity. Some examples of weight-bearing exercises include lifting weights, walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, tennis, and dancing. Examples of exercises that are not weight-bearing include swimming and bicycling. While these activities help build and maintain strong muscles and have excellent cardiovascular benefits, they are not the best way to exercise your bones.

Exercise Tips
If you have health problems – such as heart trouble, high blood pressure, diabetes, or obesity – or if you are over age 40, check with your doctor before you begin a regular exercise program. According to the Surgeon General, the optimal goal is at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days, preferably daily. Listen to your body. When starting an exercise routine, you may have some muscle soreness and discomfort at the beginning, but this should not be painful or last more than 48 hours. If it does, you may be working too hard and need to ease up. STOP exercising if you have any chest pain or discomfort, and see your doctor before your next exercise session.

If you have osteoporosis, ask your doctor which activities are safe for you. If you have low bone mass, experts recommend that you protect your spine by avoiding exercises or activities that flex, bend, or twist it. Furthermore, you should avoid high-impact exercise in order to lower the risk of breaking a bone. You also might want to consult with an exercise specialist to learn the proper progression of activity, how to stretch and strengthen muscles safely, and how to correct poor posture habits. An exercise specialist should have a degree in exercise physiology, physical education, physical therapy, or a similar specialty. Be sure to ask if he or she is familiar with the special needs of people with osteoporosis.

A Complete Osteoporosis Program
Remember, exercise is only one part of an osteoporosis prevention or treatment program. Like a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, exercise helps strengthen bones at any age. But proper exercise and diet may not be enough to stop bone loss caused by medical conditions, menopause, or lifestyle choices such as tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption. It is important to speak with your doctor about your bone health. Discuss when you might be a candidate for a bone mineral density test. If you are diagnosed with low bone mass, ask what medications might help keep your
bones strong.

Maintaining Aerobic Fitness

June 04, 2008 9:53 pm

Killer Stairs? Taking The Elevator Could Be Worse For Your Body

For years, scientists have been proclaiming the benefits of exercise. Studies showing that regular exercise benefits human health have exploded in number, examining many health problems ranging from cancer and diabetes to arthritis and pre-mature death. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found direct evidence to support the claim of the Centers for Disease Control that a reduction in daily physical activity is an actual cause of many of the risk factors for chronic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The research team also found that it only takes about two weeks of reduced activity for individuals to start noticing the effects. “A low level of daily physical activity not only doesn’t help your current health status, it could be the reason you got sick in the first place,” said Frank Booth, professor of biomedical sciences in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. “Our study looked at what happened when a group of individuals reduced their daily physical activity. Our findings indicated that if there is a lack of normal physical activity, a person greatly increases the chances of developing a chronic disease. Previously, we thought that not exercising just wasn’t healthy, but we didn’t think that a lack of activity could cause disease. That assumption was wrong.”

Booth and researchers at the University of Copenhagen conducted two different studies in Copenhagen. In the first study, participants were asked to reduce the amount of steps they took per day from 6,000 to 1,400 for three weeks. instead of walking or taking the stairs, participants were instructed to use motorized transportation, such as a car or elevator, in every situation possible. The second study asked participants who were more active, averaging 10,000 steps per day, to reduce their activity to 1,400 steps per day for two weeks.

The number of steps the average American adult takes per day is 7,473, although Americans who are inactive typically take about 2,100 steps each day. At the end of each study, participants were administered a glucose tolerance test or a fat tolerance test, or both. These tests measure how fast the body is able to clear glucose or fat from the blood stream. The researchers found that after two weeks of no exercise and very little activity, participants had much higher levels of glucose and fat and took a much longer time to clear the substances from their blood streams than before. The longer it takes the body to clear the blood stream of the substances, the higher the likelihood that a person will develop diabetes or other chronic diseases.

“We used to think that it is healthy to be physically active, but this study shows that it is dangerous to be inactive for just a couple of weeks,” said Bente Klarlund Pedersen, coauthor and lead investigator of the study and professor of internal medicine and director of Centre of Inflammation and Metabolism at the University of Copenhagen. “After 14 days of reduced stepping, subjects experienced accumulation of the dangerous abdominal fat, while also developing elevated blood-lipids, a sign of -prediabetes and cardiovascular disease. If you choose the passive mode of transport and abstain from exercise, than your risk of chronic disease is likely to increase markedly.”

“When the doctor says to go and exercise, they are not just telling patients to do that to improve their health; increasing daily stepping could actually reverse a cause of chronic disease,” Booth said. “When extra fats and sugars (glucose) don’t clear the bloodstream, they go where we don’t want them and cause problems for our bodies’ typical metabolic functions.”

The researchers also found that the total skeletal and muscle mass in the body decreased when activity decreased. Booth says that longer studies are needed to help answer more questions about the detrimental effects of long-term physical inactivity.

The study is being published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) the week of March 18

Maintaining aerobic fitness through middle age and beyond can delay biological ageing by up to 12 years and prolong independence during old age, concludes an analysis published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Aerobic exercise, such as jogging, improves the body’s oxygen consumption and its use in generating energy (metabolism). But maximal aerobic power starts to fall steadily from middle age, decreasing by around 5 ml/[kg.min] every decade. When it falls below aound18 ml in men and 15 ml in women, it becomes difficult to do very much at all without severe fatigue. In a typical sedentary man, the maximal aerobic power will have fallen to around 25 mil/[kg.min] by the age of 60, almost half of what it was at the age of 20.

But the evidence shows that regular aerobic exercise can slow or reverse the inexorable decline, even in later life. Research shows that relatively high intensity aerobic exercise over a relatively long period boosted maximal aerobic power by 25%, equivalent to a gain of 6 ml/ [kg.min], or 10 to 12 biological years. “There seems good evidence that the conservation of maximal oxygen intake increases the likelihood that the healthy elderly person will retain functional independence,” says the author. The other positive spin-offs of aerobic exercise are reduced risks of serious disease, faster recovery after injury or illness, and reduced risks of falls because of the maintenance of muscle power, balance, and coordination.

Amino Acids

June 02, 2008 7:55 pm

What are Amino Acids and why we need them?

Amino Acids are the building blocks of the body. Besides building cells and repairing tissue they fare involved in our immune system to fight infections. They are also the building blocks of the proteins. When protein is broken down by digestion the result is 22 known amino acids.

As the building blocks of protein, amino acids are vital to our wellbeing. Next to water, amino acids in the form of proteins make up the greatest portion of our body weight. They comprise tendons, muscles and ligaments; organs and glands; hair and nails; important body fluids, and are necessary part of every cell in your body.

The amino acids are separated into two categories Essential and Nonessential. Essential amino acids are those that cannot be manufactured by our body, hence, it is essential that you obtain tem from your diet. Our body can manufacture non-essential amino acids, however, it must have the correct combination of essential amino acids and supporting nutrients to optimize healthy protein maintenance, so supplementation may be desirable. 20 amino acids are needed to build the various proteins used in growth, repair and maintenance of body tissue.

Dieters and anyone consuming an inadequate number of calories may not be consuming adequate amounts of amino acids. In these cases, the body will break down the protein in muscle tissue and use those amino acids to meet the needs of more important organs or will simply not build more muscle mass despite increasing exercise.

Unlike carbohydrates and fats the body does not store protein to any significant degree and, it must be consumed on a daily basis.Drinking more than one soft drink daily — whether it’s regular or diet — may be associated with an increase in the risk factors for heart disease, Framingham researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

“We were struck by the fact that it didn’t matter whether it was a diet or regular soda that participants consumed, the association with increased risk was present,” said a senior author of the Framingham Heart Study. “In those who drink one or more soft drinks daily, there was an association of an increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome.”

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including excess waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of highdensity lipoprotein (HDL “good” cholesterol) and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person’s risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Prior studies linked soft drink consumption to multiple risk factors for heart disease. However, this study showed that association not only included drinking regular calorie-laden soft drinks, but artificially sweetened Make no mistake- It does not matter if the soda is regular or diet! diet sodas as well, researchers said.

The Framingham study included nearly 9,000 person observations made in middle-aged men and women over four years at three different times.

In a “snapshot in time” at baseline, the researchers found that individuals consuming one or more soft drinks a day had a 48 percent increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome compared to those consuming less than one soft drink daily.

In a longitudinal study of participants who were free of metabolic syndrome at baseline (6,039 person observations), consumption of one or more soft drinks a day was associated with a 44 percent higher risk of developing new-onset metabolic syndrome during a follow-up period of four years.

Diet and regular soft drinks linked to increase in risk factors for heart disease.

The researchers also observed that compared to participants who drank less than one soft drink daily, those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a:

  • 31 percent greater risk of developing new-onset obesity (defined as a body mass index [BMI] of 30 kilograms/meter2 or more)
  • 30 percent increased risk of developing increased waist circumference
  • 25 percent increased risk of developing high blood triglycerides or high fasting blood glucose
  • 32 percent higher risk of having low HDL levels
  • A trend towards an increased risk of developing high blood pressure that was not statistically significant.

Researchers then analyzed a smaller sample of participants on whom data on regular and diet soft drink consumption was available from food frequency questionnaires. Participants who consumed one or more drinks of diet or regular soda per day had a 50 to 60 percent increased risk for developing new-onset metabolic syndrome. It didn’t matter whether it was a diet or regular soft drink.

Results also were not driven by the dietary pattern of soft drink users, i.e, by other food items that are typically consumed along with soft drinks,” The researchers adjusted the analyses for saturated fat and trans fat intake, dietary fiber consumption, total caloric intake, smoking and physical activity, and still observed a significant association of soft drink consumption and risk of developing the metabolic syndrome and multiple metabolic risk factors.”

There are number theories as to what is the cause for this observation. Future studies will be needed to identify the causal relationship between soda consumption and its associated health issues.

For a free brochure about the American Heart Association’s diet and nutrition recommendations called “Making Healthy Food and Lifestyle Choices: Our Guide for American Adults,” call 1-800-AHA-USA1.