Living at Higher Altitude May Prolong Life

Posted on January 13, 2017 | 2 comments
Adult life is a battle against gravity. Eventually we all lose.

Adult life is a battle against gravity. Eventually we all lose.

From P.D. Mangan:

“Death rates from both of these cancers [breast in women, colon in men] were about half as high at an altitude of greater than 1000 meters (3300 feet).  The study also found about a 30% reduction in deaths from coronary artery disease at >1000 meters.

This accords well with a number of other studies. For example, “Lower Mortality From Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke at Higher Altitudes in Switzerland“. This study found 22% less heart disease death for every +1000 meters in altitude, and 12% less stroke death.

“Association Between Alzheimer Dementia Mortality Rate and Altitude in California Counties“: This study found about half the death rate from Alzheimer’s at an altitude of 1600 meters vs that at sea level.

There’s less diabetes at high altitude.”

Source: Higher Altitude Means Much Lower Death Rates – Rogue Health and Fitness

RTWT.

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Posted in Longevity

Considering Weight Training? P.D. Mangan Lists the Essentials for Effectiveness

Posted on January 8, 2017 | Comments Off on Considering Weight Training? P.D. Mangan Lists the Essentials for Effectiveness
No evidence of anabolic steroids here. Primarily estrogen.

She won’t be at your home gym

I am a huge advocate of weight training (aka resistance or strength training).

Folks new to weight training, or simply thinking about starting a program, are often intimidated by the jargon and contradictory information available. P.D. Mangan clears up a lot of the confusion in a brief article.

I quote:

“Misconceptions and wrong ideas abound in weight training, probably because so many enthusiastic amateurs are involved in it. In this article, I’ll try to clear up some of the misconceptions with a look at at science-based weight training.

In recent articles, we saw that brief workouts, at 15 minutes, done infrequently, at twice a week, can produce significant strength gains. We saw that compound lifts, not isolation lifts, are the most effective strength exercises, and are essential for the serious strength trainer. And we saw that hard weight lifting causes muscle damage, which necessitates recovery time.

Here I’ll focus on what science has to say about additional aspects of weight lifting (resistance training). These come from “Evidence-Based Resistance Training Recommendations” by Fisher et al.”

Source: Science-Based Weight Training – Rogue Health and Fitness

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Posted in Exercise

New study suggests “Only drink water when thirsty” 

Posted on January 1, 2017 | Comments Off on New study suggests “Only drink water when thirsty” 
Be cautious when you approach this watering hole

Be cautious when you approach this watering hole

 

Many folks find it difficult to drink the usual recommended eight 8-oz glasses of water daily. That makes me wonder if there’s an underlying evolutionary mechanism at play, and maybe we don’t need that much water. Drinking untreated water exposes us to disease-causing organisms. The more water, the more pathogens.

I quote MNT:

“But how much water do we need to drink on a daily basis?

While you may have heard that eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day – known as the “8×8 rule” – is the aim, there is no scientific evidence that pinpoints precisely how much fluid is the optimal amount.

Based on studies to date, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommend that women should aim to drink around 2.2 liters of total beverages daily (around 9 cups), while men should aim to consume around 3 liters of total beverages daily (around 13 cups).

However, contrary to these recommendations and the so-called 8×8 rule, the new study suggests we should only drink when we are thirsty, after discovering a mechanism that makes drinking excess water challenging.”

Source: ‘Only drink water when thirsty,’ study suggests – Medical News Today

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Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Merry Christmas!
As a Christian, I'll be celebrating the birth of my Lord and Savior over the next few days, so I won't be posting much.

As a Christian, I’ll be celebrating the birth of my Lord and Savior over the next few days, so I won’t be posting much.

;;;

 

 

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Fish Are Polluted: Is It Still a Good Idea to Eat Them?

Posted on December 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Fish Are Polluted: Is It Still a Good Idea to Eat Them?
Dead whole fish aren't very appealing to many folks

Dead whole fish aren’t very appealing to many folks

Probably so. Mercury is the key pollutant people think about when considering polluted fish. Mercury toxicity isn’t on the list of top 10 killers in the U.S., but heart disease is.

Heart disease is #1 on the list of top causes of death, followed by cancer and chronic lower respiratory tract disease. “Heart disease” is a broad category; the primary killer is heart attacks.

Eating fish regularly seems to reduce your risk of heart attack. I favor the cold-water fatty fish like salmon, trout, herring, and sardines.

I quote the NYT:

“Numerous studies have found that people who eat fish on a regular basis are less likely to die of a heart attack than those who don’t eat it or eat it less than once a month, and a 2006 Harvard review concluded that eating one to two servings of fish rich in omega-3s every week cut the risk of dying of a heart attack by one-third.”

Source: Why Is Fish Good for You? Because It Replaces Meat? – The New York Times

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Accidents are the #4 cause of death, and suicide is #10.

PPS: Click for ideas on reducing your risk of cancer.

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Overweight Women Lose More Weight and Improve Insulin Resistance If Main Meal Is Lunch Instead of Dinner

Posted on December 18, 2016 | 2 comments
Conquer Diabetes and Prediabetes, Steve Parker MD

It may not matter whether you eat this particular low-carb meal at lunch or dinner

They say that to lose excess weight, you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.

A recent study tested whether weight loss in dieting women was more effective by making lunch rather than dinner (evening meal) the main meal of the day. Over the course of 12 weeks, dieters making lunch their main meal lost 4 lb (2 kg) more than the other group. Furthermore, the lunch eaters had better improvement in their insulin resistance (as measured by HOMA-IR)

From the abstract:

“Background: The association between the time of nutrient intake and health has been described in a few studies. To our knowledge, no study has evaluated the relation between high energy intakes at lunch compared with at dinner on weight loss in overweight and obese subjects.

Objective: We compared the effect of high energy intake at lunch with that at dinner on weight loss and cardiometabolic risk factors in women during a weight-loss program.Design: Overweight and obese women [n = 80; body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2): 27–35; age: 18–45 y] were asked to eat either a main meal at lunch (LM) or a main meal at dinner (DM) for 12 wk while in a weight-loss program.

Conclusions: The consumption of higher energy intake at lunch compared with at dinner may result in favorable changes in weight loss in overweight and obese women after a weight-loss program of 12 wk. The consumption may also offer clinical benefits to improve insulin resistance.”

Source: Beneficial effect of high energy intake at lunch rather than dinner on weight loss in healthy obese women in a weight-loss program: a randomized clinical trial

I don’t have the full text of the research report, so I don’t know what kind of diet the women were on. The researchers seem to be based in both Iran and Great Britain. I don’t know the nationality of the women participating. The metabolism of Iranians may be different from Brits.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: My books don’t taste good at either lunch or dinner.

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Bodybuilders Sell Steroids to Maintain Social Status and Maintain Their Own Usage

Posted on December 11, 2016 | Comments Off on Bodybuilders Sell Steroids to Maintain Social Status and Maintain Their Own Usage
Exercise helps postpone death

I doubt she’s juicing (i.e., taking anabolic steroids)

This study was based in Europe, so may not apply to the U.S.

Anyway…

“Many bodybuilders illegally sell steroids to help fund their own use of performance and image enhancing drugs and maintain their social status in the weightlifting community, a new academic study has found. Researchers at Birmingham City University analysed more than 60 criminal cases and interviewed dozens of people involved in the purchase and sale of performance enhancers in the Netherlands and Belgium, to identify the different types of people drawn to selling the drugs.

The report found that sellers often broke the law to help fund their own use of steroids and that most viewed the substances no differently to high street supplements such as protein powders, energy bars or sports drinks.”

Source: Bodybuilders illegally sell steroids to fund own use and maintain social status, finds report

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Women Reduce Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes With Strength Training

Posted on December 9, 2016 | Comments Off on Women Reduce Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes With Strength Training
That's a dumbbell in her right hand. I work-out with those myself.

That’s a dumbbell in her right hand. I work-out with those myself.

I don’t have access to the full scientific report, but I’ve posted part of the abstract below.

The biggest problem with the study at hand is that physical activity apparently was surveyed only at the start of this 14-year study. Results would be much more robust if activity was surveyed every year or two. My overall activity level seems to change every two or three years. How about you?

Moving on.

“Compared to women who reported no strength training, women engaging in any strength training experienced a reduced rate of type 2 diabetes of 30% when controlling for time spent in other activities and other confounders. A risk reduction of 17% was observed for cardiovascular disease among women engaging in strength training. Participation in both strength training and aerobic activity was associated with additional risk reductions for both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease compared to participation in aerobic activity only.

CONCLUSIONS: These data support the inclusion of muscle-strengthening exercises in physical activity regimens for reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, independent of aerobic exercise. Further research is needed to determine the optimum dose and intensity of muscle-strengthening exercises.”

PMID 27580152

Source: Strength Training and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease. – PubMed – NCBI

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Cardiovascular disease includes heart attack, cardiac death, stroke, coronary angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass grafting.

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Free “Paleo Asian Cookbook” From Alfie Mueeth

Posted on December 6, 2016 | Comments Off on Free “Paleo Asian Cookbook” From Alfie Mueeth

Author Alfie Mueeth tells me via email that his new recipe book will be available for free “tomorrow.” I don’t know what time zone Alfie’s in, so I don’t know when tomorrow starts and stops. Tomorrow for me is December 7.

The link Alfie gave me is https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MPX9QNF?utm_content=buffer46c9c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

or

http://track.mlsend3.com/link/c/YT01MTEzMDY3MzA5OTEyNTczMzAmYz1pMHQ0JmU9MTkyOCZiPTcyNTkxMjkzJmQ9cDJjNGYxYw==.56-8LPN0zt_VA7GZZp3yT19Dx9eAL27uPihfIUDVf_M

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Posted in Recipes

Reduce Your Cancer Risk Via Diet and Exercise

Posted on December 3, 2016 | 2 comments

You need to worry about cancer because you have a roughly four in 10 chance of coming down with invasive cancer. (Skin cancers like squamous cell and basal cell are quite common, but rarely invasive.)

Dr. David Gorski is a breast cancer surgeon. He’s looked at the scientific literature on the linkage between diet and exercises, and the risk of developing cancer.

Here’s his conclusion from his review at Science-Based Medicine:

“You can reduce your risk of cancer by staying active and exercising, eating a healthy diet with a lot of plant-based foods and minimizing intake of processed meats, limiting alcohol consumption (although I think the WCRF/AICR guidelines go a bit too far in saying that you shouldn’t drink at all if possible), and maintaining a healthy weight. (Of course, if you stay active and eat a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight will probably not be a problem.) Conceptually, it’s easy to do. In practice, as I’m discovering, it’s anything but easy.”

Source: Diet and exercise versus cancer: A science-based view « Science-Based Medicine

The Mediterranean diet seems to protect against cancer.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: One of the reasons I write diet books is that I want to keep you from getting cancer.

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