For February 09, 2010

• A High-Protein Diet May Increase Need For Calcium
  A High-Protein Diet May Increase Need For Calcium

  By EDMUND R. BURKE, PH.D.

  Japanese Study Confirms Earlier Reports A high-protein diet, especially from meat, may lead to an increased rate of calcium excretion in the urine, according to a study of 755 Japanese men and women. This means that those who eat diets high in protein, especially animal protein, may need to consume more calcium than those who eat less protein- rich diets, study author Roichi Itoh of the Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University in Tokyo reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. If individuals with a high meat intake do not also receive enough calcium, they may be at increased risk of developing osteoporosis, Itoh noted. The study confirms the results of previous studies indicating that diets high in protein, especially animal protein, adversely affect calcium retention, she said. It has been hypothesized that calcium is lost with high-protein intake because of the increase in the glomerular filtration rate and the decrease in renal reabsorption of calcium, according to the study authors. Oatmeal for Energy Studies Show Momma's Stick-to-Your-Ribs Breakfast Powers Your Workout Many cold mornings mothers have given their children hot oatmeal before sending them off to school, because they knew that the oatmeal would stick to their ribs and keep them warm and alert till lunch. Well, chalk up another point for mother's wisdom. The latest study has shown that oatmeal can boost exercise capacity, increase endurance and extend workout time. Women who ate oatmeal 45 minutes before exercising on a stationary bike were able to maintain a designated speed for 15 minutes longer than those who ate a sweetened breakfast cereal. The women were also able to stay on the bicycle 40 minutes longer. Oatmeal is rich in soluble fiber and thus its carbohydrate energy is released into the body slowly. Carbohydrates that are quickly absorbed into the blood will cause insulin levels to rise quickly and result in hypoglycemia when the sugar is cleared from the blood. Because oatmeal is slowly broken down into carbohydrate, this slow release prevents a rapid rise in insulin and the accompanying hypoglycemia.The high concentration of protein in the oatmeal may also help slow the breakdown of the carbohydrate. So for anyone who needs long-lasting fuel for prolonged exercise and endurance sports, oatmeal may be the breakfast of choice. This natural wholesome food kept you going strong as a child and it will do the same thing for you now.

  Protein Increases Glycogen Storage Dramatic Insulin Response Protein intake during the post-exercise phase has received more attention recently in a article published in Training and Conditioning. Jean Storlie, R. D. states that combining protein with carbohydrate in the post-exercise meal increased glycogen synthesis. The maximum response from carbohydrates is between 0.55 - 0.68 grams per pound. By adding protein, you get a more dramatic insulin response which, in turn, stimulates glycogen synthesis. Consequently, the article now recommends including a protein source at 40 percent of the carbohydrate dose immediately post-exercise and at two-hour intervals to enhance glycogen repletion.

  Example: Carbohydrates = 0.5 grams/lb X 150 lb = 75 grams Protein = 40% of carbohydrate dose = 0.40 X 75 grams = 30 grams

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• Pill shows promise in preventing influenza infection
  Pill shows promise in preventing influenza infection

  TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) - A new pill expected to be available soon appears to reduce the chances of catching influenza by about three-quarters if taken daily during flu season.

  Oseltamivir, to be marketed as Tamiflu, was given in 75-milligram doses once or twice daily to 520 people for the first six weeks of the 1997-98 flu season.

  Just 1 percent of them got the flu, compared with nearly 5 percent of a comparison group that took dummy pills.

  The pill worked against both A and B flu viruses, the two major types Americans catch, researchers at the University of Virginia and five other sites concluded. Their work was funded by the pill's manufacturer, Hoffmann-La Roche.

  The Food and Drug Administration is expected to soon allow Hoffmann-La Roche to sell the drug, which would be the second of its kind approved this year.

  In July, FDA approved Relenza, a powder spray inhaled through the mouth. It has been shown to slightly reduce the duration of a flu bout and reduce chances of catching the flu from an ill relative by 79 percent.

  Doctors believe getting an annual flu vaccine is still best for most people. The researchers said Tamiflu could be useful for people who are allergic to or won't get a flu shot, as extra protection for vaccinated residents of nursing homes, or for family members exposed when someone brings the flu home from school or work.

  The research appears in Thursday's edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, along with an editorial by two Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts. They wrote that Tamiflu could be a useful weapon during likely future flu epidemics, partly because two older flu drugs have significant side effects, only fight type A flu and can't attack virus strains already resistant to the drugs.

  Another recent study found Tamiflu cut the duration and severity of flu symptoms by about half in 80 adults who didn't get a vaccine.

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• Heart Attacks More Deadly for Women
  Heart Attacks More Deadly for Women

  (NBC News, July 21 1999) � Heart attacks in women are considerably more likely to be fatal than those in men � particularly for younger females, new research shows. And while doctors have thought treatment differences might explain the gender gap, the latest results suggest biological factors are to blame.

  "Women with heart attacks, particularly younger women with heart attacks, are at great risk of death and disability and must be treated very aggressively," said Dr. Laura Wexler, a physician affiliated with the University of Cincinnati who wrote an editorial accompanying two new reports in The New England Journal of Medicine. Even though women under 50 get fewer heart attacks than men of the same age, when younger women sustain heart attacks they are twice as likely to die as men, according to a study by Yale University researcher Dr. Viola Vaccarino. The research was based on a review of the records of 384,878 heart attack victims between 1994 and 1998. The study also found that the gender gap narrowed and eventually disappeared later in life.

  Over the years, experts have speculated about why heart attacks are more deadly for women, and some have suggested that differences in medical treatment play a role. While this may be part of the story, the new work suggests that biology is probably a more important factor.

  �Probably biological mechanisms play a major role, but we need to look at the big picture and take into account all aspects of the women and their care,� Vaccarino said.

  In another study, Dr. Judith Hochman, an investigator affiliated with St. Luke�s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, found that women of all ages with heart attacks and other forms of heart disease face a greater risk of complications and death.

  "I think it is incumbent upon us to figure out why and help reduce that increased risk," said Hochman, who looked at 12,142 men and women who sustained bad heart attacks, milder ones or severe chest pain. In all three categories, women were up to twice as likely to suffer serious complications. Among those who had heart attacks, the women were 50 percent more likely to die within 30 days.

  Experts say the essential message from these latest studies is that women and their doctors need to think about heart disease in a fundamentally different way.

  Until now, many women like 50-year-old Debbie Coller, who has heart disease, have been unaware of the risk � until that first incident.

  Coller told NBC News she had thought of heart disease as "a man's type of disease, just like having a baby was a woman's type of thing."

  In actuality, heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American women, taking the lives of more than 234,000 a year.

  And doctors say women like Coller need to be aware of the threat of heart disease and to take steps to prevent it. Such measures include quitting smoking and lowering their cholesterol and blood pressure.

  "Young women need to identify and modify any risk factors they might have for heart disease," Hochman said.

  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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• Ergogenic Effects Of Creatine
  Ergogenic Effects Of Creatine

  By ELSEVIER, PARIS

  Objectives. - In the last few years many athletes and persons engaged in recreational sports activities have begun using creatine supplementation. Creatine feeding is possible by oral administration of creatine monohydrate. The objectives of this paper are to recall the mechanisms by which creatine might improve performance, to discuss the known effects of creatine supplementation on exercise performance, and to examine its side effects.

  Topics. - The rate of turnover of creatine for a 70 kg male has been estimated around 2 g/d. Creatine is partly supplied by the diet that provides I g/d through meat and fish. Recent studies have shown that ingestion of about 20 g of creatine monohydrate per day is able to modulate total muscle creatine, free creatine and phosphocreatine. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of recent knowledge on the effects of creatine supplementation on exercise performance. Many studies demonstrate that creatine supplementation has beneficial effects on performance of short-duration exercises, during repeated isokinetic or isometric contractions of the quadriceps muscle, jumping or high-intensity cycling exercises. The beneficial effects of creatine supplementation on performance capacity are strongly related to the efficacy of the treatment for enhancing muscle creatine pool. If is thus clear that phosphocreatine stores play a key role for ATP resynthesis during muscle contraction and recovery. The improvement in performance following creatine supplementation is dependent on the characteristics of the exercise. It has been suggested that human skeletal muscles have an upper limit for total creatine concentration. In contrast with sedentary subjects, in athletes and well-trained subjects who have high initial total creatine concentrations in skeletal muscle, only a slight improvement in exercise performances is expected. Taken together, the results of most studies published to date suggest that only performances of repetitive high-intensity exercise bouts are positively affected by creatine supplementation. During this type of exercise, the expected increase in total creatine contributes to the fast resynthesis of phosphocreatine during recovery. Until recently, it was well accepted that except for a slight increase in body weight, no adverse effects have been associated with creatine supplementation. However, a recent report described a clinical case of renal dysfunction that was associated with oral creatine supplementation.

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• Height-weight charts and you.
  Height-weight charts and you.

  Height-weight charts are statistical landmarks developed in the 1930's by looking at height and average ranges of body mass in men of military age for whom the mortality rate was lowest. These charts did not take into account specific causes of death or the quality of health prior to death. At that time a man more than fifteen percent above the highest number in the range was considered obese and a health risk. In the 1940's it also meant he was ineligible for military duty. The chart was developed by insurance companies. The numbers for women were extrapolated from the figures for men.

  In the 1980's the ranges for men and women were increased by about ten pounds to allow for the increased mass that is carried by most of us born after W.W.II.

  Height-weight charts are now regarded as outdated by health and fitness professionals. That's because total body weight, or mass, is not as important as your ratio of fat to lean tissue. This information is not revealed by a scale. Only body composition assessment, commonly called body fat testing, allows a qualified technician to accurately predict an individual's percentage of body fat, pounds of fat and pounds of lean mass and a realistic weight goal.

  Most of us have heard stories of airline attendants who were put on probation when their weight was too high for their height or lean football players who, based on height-weight charts, were told to lose weight. How many of us have weighed ourselves in the morning because we know how radically weight changes over a day?

  If you are still relying on height-weight charts to determine whether you are over or underweight, you are "out of step" with the fitness community. Dump those statistics and your scale along with it. They're worthless! Instead, consult a fitness counselor at your health club to find out how to have your body fat measured.

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• Need Help for Hurting Joints?
  Need Help for Hurting Joints?

  (From "Ask Dr. Weil, August 13 1999)

  Question: I am a 54-year-old yoga teacher and vegetarian. I'm having lots of hip pain, especially at night. I haven't found a movement that relieves it. Any suggestions?

  Answer: I would recommend getting a diagnosis based on a physical exam and X-ray. One possibility is osteoarthritis, a common cause of age-related aches and pains. You're a yoga teacher, so it could also be bursitis.

  Bursitis is usually caused by repetitive overuse or injury to a joint which irritates the bursae, cushioning sacs between the bones. The result can be chronic aching in the outer area of your hip which can radiate down into the buttocks or the outside of your leg.

  Standard medical treatment calls for a steroid injection to relieve the inflammation, but I suggest you try other measures first. The following strategies should help:

  • Take niacinamide. Start with 500 mg twice a day, increasing the dose by 500 mg every three weeks to a maximum daily dose of 2,000 mg.
  • Take one to two grams of powdered ginger per day in capsules.
  • Try boswellia, an Ayurvedic herb. Follow instructions on the package.
  • Soak in hot water as often as possible, and use ice packs if the pain is acute.

  You may also want to follow the advice in "The Arthritis Cure" by Jason Theodosakis, M.D. (St.Martin's Press, 1998) regarding glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate. Massage, acupuncture, osteopathic manipulation, and visualization may also offer relief.

  Finally, you could try DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide), a solvent (found in most health food stores) that penetrates the skin and helps heal inflammation. Paint a 70 percent solution over the painful area with absorbent cotton. You may feel some warmth or stinging and may get an odd, garlicky taste in your mouth. Apply three times a day for three days. If your hip feels better, cut down to twice a day for three more days, then once a day for a final three days. If it doesn't help after three days, discontinue use.

  You might also want to take a break from yoga. Simple rest, to keep pressure off your hip, may turn out to be the best treatment of all.

  Copyright 1999 Asklepios Enterprises, Inc.

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