10 minutes of exercise yields hour-long effects

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten minutes of brisk exercise triggers metabolic changes that last at least an hour. The unfair news for panting newbies: The more fit you are, the more benefits you just might be getting.

We all know that exercise and a good diet are important for health, protecting against heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions. But what exactly causes the health improvement from working up a sweat or from eating, say, more olive oil than saturated fat? And are some people biologically predisposed to get more benefit than others?

They're among questions that metabolic profiling, a new field called metabolomics, aims to answer in hopes of one day optimizing those benefits — or finding patterns that may signal risk for disease and new ways to treat it.

"We're only beginning to catalog the metabolic variability between people," says Dr. Robert Gerszten of Massachusetts General Hospital, whose team just took a step toward that goal.

The researchers measured biochemical changes in the blood of a variety of people: the healthy middle-aged, some who became short of breath with exertion, and marathon runners.


METABOLISM: Middle-aged dieters hit a brick wall
INTERVAL TRAINING: People see results in less time
GOOD MOOD: Can run a long time after workout

First, in 70 healthy people put on a treadmill, the team found more than 20 metabolites that change during exercise, naturally produced compounds involved in burning calories and fat and improving blood-sugar control. Some weren't known until now to be involved with exercise. Some revved up during exercise, like those involved in processing fat. Others involved with cellular stress decreased with exercise.

Those are pretty wonky findings, a first step in a complex field. But they back today's health advice that even brief bouts of activity are good.

"Ten minutes of exercise has at least an hour of effects on your body," says Gerszten, who found some of the metabolic changes that began after 10 minutes on the treadmill still were measurable 60 minutes after people cooled down.

Your heart rate rapidly drops back to normal when you quit moving, usually in 10 minutes or so. So finding lingering biochemical changes offers what Gerszten calls "tantalizing evidence" of how exercise may be building up longer-term benefits.

Back to the blood. Thinner people had greater increases in a metabolite named niacinamide, a nutrient byproduct that's involved in blood-sugar control, the team from Mass General and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard reported last week in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Checking a metabolite of fat breakdown, the team found people who were more fit — as measured by oxygen intake during exercise — appeared to be burning more fat than the less fit, or than people with shortness of breath, a possible symptom of heart disease.

The extremely fit — 25 Boston Marathon runners — had ten-fold increases in that metabolite after the race. Still other differences in metabolites allowed the researchers to tell which runners had finished in under four hours and which weren't as speedy.

"We have a chemical snapshot of what the more fit person looks like. Now we have to see if making someone's metabolism look like that snapshot, whether or not that's going to improve their performance," says Gerszten, whose ultimate goal is better cardiac care.

Don't expect a pill ever to substitute for a workout — the new work shows how complicated the body's response to exercise is, says metabolomics researcher Dr. Debbie Muoio of Duke University Medical Center.

But scientists are hunting nutritional compounds that might help tweak metabolic processes in specific ways. For example, Muoio discovered the muscles of diabetic animals lack enough of a metabolite named carnitine, and that feeding them more improved their control of blood sugar. Now, Muoio is beginning a pilot study in 25 older adults with pre-diabetes to see if carnitine supplements might work similarly in people who lack enough.

Next up: With University of Vermont researchers, she's testing how metabolic changes correlate with health measures in a study of people who alternate between a carefully controlled Mediterranean diet and higher-fat diets.

"The longterm hope is you could use this in making our way toward personalized medicine," Muoio says.

Courtesy: The Health Central Network

Healthy Bones For Life in 8 Easy Steps!

Recently, I visited one of the most amazing exhibits I’ve ever seen. It’s called “Bodies: The Exhibition.” Most of you have probably seen promotional ads since it arrived in the USA several years ago. I’d highly encourage you to go for a breathtaking tour of the human body – from arteries and muscles to the 206 bones that keep you vertical.

Speaking of which, it’s time to turn our attention to that part of the body most of you blow off and take for granted – your bones. Whenever I think about my bones, I recall an interview on The Today Show when Sister Genevieve Kunkel, one of the famous centenarian nuns of the Notre Dame, was asked about the secret of success for her extraordinary longevity. She winked and replied, “I have but two good traits. I’m alert, and I’m vertical!”

That became my mission statement – to stay mentally and physically vital. And vertical! You can’t stand tall and strong unless you bone up.

Everyone’s so obsessed with how much fat to remove or muscle to build, that the silent partner – our bones – is all but forgotten. You can’t see thinning bones and you often won’t know there’s a problem until your bone scan comes back abnormal or you experience a fracture.

Heads up, folks. Don’t forget to attend to your bone health now or you’ll be sorry later on. Did you know that over 34 million Americans have low bone mass and another 10 million already have osteoporosis? The 2004 Surgeon General’s report noted that 1 out of every 2 women over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture. Ouch! 80% of folks with osteoporosis are women, and the people at highest risk are Caucasians and Asians. Women have smaller less dense bones than men and that’s why we are at greater risk.

Lifestyle counts as well. Being over the age of 50, smoking, drinking excessive quantities of alcohol, lacking weight bearing and strength training exercise, and consuming a calcium-deficient diet are all risk factors for osteopenia (bone thinning) and osteoporosis (serious bone loss).

Hey, and don’t roll your eyes and think that these issues are for old folks. Wrong! You can start the process of bone loss as early as your teenage years if you’re not getting the calcium you need, rarely do weight bearing exercise and engage in poor lifestyle choices. So, listen up about your bone health, regardless of your age.

How about we promote great bone health right now? Whether you’re fine or already have osteopenia or osteoporosis, you need to integrate these simple steps into your lifestyle today.



1. Eat a bone-healthy diet. Healthy bones are all about making certain you get enough calcium in your diet. Did you know that 99% of calcium is stored in your bones? The rest you’ll find in soft tissues and blood. Dairy and soy are calcium rich as well as nuts, fish (sardines), fruits (oranges) and leafy greens such as kale and broccoli.

2. Take your calcium supplement. I’d love to think that we can all obtain the necessary amount of calcium from our diets. In this day and age, that’s unrealistic. Most women after the age of 40 need to supplement their diet with calcium. Calcium supplements come in various forms (carbonate, phosphate, citrate). Make certain to read the label (listed under nutrition facts in milligrams) to know how much you’re actually absorbing. Ideally, you’re taking 500 mg of calcium, fortified with Vitamin D, three times a day. Read the label instructions to know whether or not you need to take your supplement with meals. Feel free to switch your supplement if one form gives you any stomach upset.

3. Mind your bone-healthy nutrients. I recommend everyone take a gender and age specific multivitamin. Make sure it’s got the following bone-supporting nutrients and their RDA’s: folate 400mg; manganese 2.3 mg for men and 1.8 mg for women; magnesium 420 mg for men and 320 mg for women; phosphorus 700 mg; Vit C 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women; and zinc 11 mg for men and 8 mg for women.

4. Red alert on Vitamin D. Physicians have recently observed that more of their patients are Vitamin D deficient. I highly recommend that you ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D level. Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol is essential for the absorption of calcium and bone remodeling. 15 minutes in the sun can help to boost Vit D levels in the body but it’s usually not enough. Top that with the fact that we’re now slathering on sunblock and our Vitamin D levels are plummeting. Our diets are often Vitamin D deficient. Who’s eating liver, egg yolks and butter? We are getting some Vitamin D from fortified cereals, tuna, salmon and mackerel. The current RDA is in the process of being reassessed. Most physicians are recommending a daily intake of 2000 IU. Make sure to supplement your diet with Vitamin D after you’ve been assessed by your medical team.

5. Exercise your bones. Your bones are optimally stimulated to lay down a stronger inner cortex when you are engaged in weight bearing exercise. That means walking, running and water aerobics. Strength training is absolutely imperative to maintain optimal bone strength throughout life. There are plenty of simple exercises you can do gym-free. Check out the exercises in Fit to Live (Rodale) and celebrate how easy staying strong and vertical can be!

6. Stop smoking and drink in moderation. Alcohol reduces the ability of the body to convert Vitamin D to its active form, resulting in decreased calcium absorption. As well, alcohol also increases magnesium excretion, further reducing calcium absorption. Finally, alcohol interferes with the production of estrogen and testosterone, hormones that are integral to bone health. Just remember to drink in moderation. Alarms go off for smokers as well. C’mon, people. Stop smoking now. Smokers are often thinner, sedentary, tend to drink more alcohol and tend not to consume bone healthy diets. No wonder they’re at risk for osteoporosis!

7. Get scanned. If you’re 40 years old, have an initial conversation with your doctor about your personal and family risk factors for osteoporosis. Based upon this dialogue, your physician may recommend a DEXA bone scan to monitor the status of their bones over time. This is also a great segue into the conversation you want to have about bone health in general, so don’t be shy. Let’s get that discussion going as soon as possible.

8. Mind your medications. Osteoporosis has a multitude of causes ranging from poor diet to medical conditions that lead to bone thinning. Based upon the cause, there are a host of medical options from the traditional biphosphonates (e.g. Fosamax and Boniva), to selective estrogen receptor modulators (e.g. Evista), and then to a brand new category of “biologics” such as Amgen’s Prolia which is set to launch in 2011. Make certain that you have a comprehensive assessment and discussion with your physician to help you choose the most appropriate medical therapy.

Courtesy: WebMD.com newsletter

Four Belly Fattening foods to Avoid or Reduce drastically

Today I want to talk about white flour products and how they can add stomach fat.

You see, many flour-based products are made with obesity additives like high-fructose corn syrup and refined flour (which the body quickly converts to sugar).

High fructose corn syrup is bad because it shuts down leptin, a fat-regulating hormone in your body that is responsible for sending "hunger signals" from your stomach to your brain. Essentially leptin lets you know when you're full. Less leptin, more eating, even if you don't need to.

So these "foods" are just plain killer on your waistline.

Also, make sure when you are looking at the nutrition facts panel you look at servings per container because sometimes the serving size is only one piece. (Who eats one piece of anything these days?)

Here are 4 examples of the biggest offenders:

1. White bread. All white bread has refined, over processed flour. And lots of white bread has high fructose corn syrup. You should never eat white bread if you can possibly avoid it. (Neither should kids.)

2. White flour tortillas. Besides being made of refined white flour, these puppies are usually full of lard—the ORIGINAL obesity additive. But seriously, if they don't have lard, then chances are the sneaky food manufacturers have replaced the lard with partially hydrogenated oils, or trans fats (which, come to think of it, are even worse than lard). Check your labels!

3. "Wheat bread." Yep, I said it. If the bread says "wheat" or "honey wheat" or "golden wheat," it might as well be white bread colored brown.

4. Most pasta. "Enriched semolina" flour is also a highly processed wheat flour. When you eat traditional pasta, it affects your blood sugar levels the very same way that eating white bread, or a candy bar, would. And to put it simply, high blood sugar levels cause the calories you eat to be packed away as "blubber".

Source: Vitamin-Edge.com

How to stop overeating

The key is awareness and how to tell if you are about to start overeating because it's a known fact that it takes about 15 minutes for your stomach to send the signal to your brain and tell it that you are full.

So most people overeat during this 15 minute period and stuff their faces and as a result become overweight.

The secret here is to "Pay very close attention to your body."

Usually after you pause and take a deep breath that means you are full and need to stop eating to prevent overeating.

Any bite after this pause and breath is just going to make you fat.

Here's an easy way to stop yourself from overeating at this point.

Just remember that "It's more stressful to continue being fat than to stop overeating."

Train yourself to stop overeating and before you know it you'll start losing that un-wanted fat until you're able to fit into the clothes you've always wanted to wear.
-----
Have a great weekend!

Your Friend in Healthy Slimness,

Jacques