Food and Fitness Science Roundup
By Paul RogersFor this regular roundup, I try to find work that tells us something significant or new in the context of the field of study.
New Recommendations for Vitamin D Intake for Children from the American Academy of Pediatrics
A recommendation for a doubling of recommended dietary intake of an essential nutrient for any population sector is substantial news in nutrition science. The AAP list the reasons and the strategy here.
http://www.aap.org/pressroom/nce/nce08vitamind.htm
Coffee Drinking Does not Raise Mortality
Up to 6 cups a day and risks were still normal and even slightly lower than the consumers of much more moderate quantities. Adjustment of cardiovascular risk seems to be the difference — perhaps by lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes?
Ann Intern Med. 2008 Jun 17;148(12):904-14. The relationship of coffee consumption with mortality. Lopez-Garcia E, van Dam RM, Li TY, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, Hu FB.
Also see: Does Coffee Kill or Cure?
Red Wine Seems to Cut Risk of Lung Cancer
What? Not another reason to drink red wine! The authors do counsel against excessive consumption.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Oct;17(10):2692-9. Alcoholic Beverage Intake and Risk of Lung Cancer: The California Men’s Health Study. Chao C, Slezak JM, Caan BJ, Quinn VP.
Vitamin C Interferes with Training Adaptation and Performance
I noticed the possibility of this a few years ago while researching the utility of antioxidants like vitamin C to benefit athletic performance. Vitamin C seemed to inhibit phosphofructokinase, which is an important enzyme in glycolysis (breakdown and use of glucose for energy). Considering that many athletes and fitness buffs seem to take vitamin C supplements, it may be worth noting. Moderate dietary intake is likely not a problem. We need more information on this one before the panic sets in.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jan;87(1):142-9. Oral administration of vitamin C decreases muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and hampers training-induced adaptations in endurance performance. Gomez-Cabrera MC, Domenech E, Romagnoli M, Arduini A, Borras C, Pallardo FV, Sastre J, Viña J.
Caffeine Plus Carbohydrate Increases Glycogen Storage
As far as I am aware, this is the first time this has been shown. About 500 mg caffeine is a lot of coffee though.
J Appl Physiol. 2008 Jul;105(1):7-13. High rates of muscle glycogen resynthesis after exhaustive exercise when carbohydrate is coingested with caffeine. Pedersen DJ, Lessard SJ, Coffey VG, Churchley EG, Wootton AM, Ng T, Watt MJ, Hawley JA.
New Glycemic Index and Load Tables
If you’re into the GI, you’ll need this. More on the GI in another article. I’m not a big fan.
Click through to here from the abstract and you can download the free tables.
Diabetes Care. 2008 Oct 3. International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008. Atkinson FS, Foster-Powell K, Brand-Miller JC.
Check out the Food for Life, Fit for Life Training Program. Free download available.
Food for Life, Fit for Life - Lifestyle Training Course Released
Food for Life, Fit for Life - Prevent Diabetes, Heart Disease and Cancer is a set of training modules in lifestyle preventive health. It took me 12 months to write and it’s now available for licensing. You can download a free ebook version that describes the content. Here’s what’s included:
- Training and evaluation manual for course presenters
- 120 PowerPoint slides with notes and contemporary references
- Sample learner assessment questions for each module
- Fact sheets that can be used as handouts to clients/students
- Risk evaluation self-assessment handouts for nutrition, physical activity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer
- Case studies for workgroups and workshops
- Glossary of terms
- Regular newsletter
- US and UK/Australia versions (spelling and units)
- Evidence based information, fully referenced
- Flexible licence conditions and regular, free updates for one year
- Access to a membership web site for support, updates and extra resources.
Background
I started writing this over 12 months ago as a tool to use for talks to clients and groups in fitness and personal training. Rather than the limited training course I had in mind at that time, it has now morphed into something more like a training ‘environment’ with support tools like handout risk assessments and case study tasks. I have plans to add more of these tools and content within the context of the course. For example, a basic ’sports nutrition’ module is near completion.
As a trainer-presenter, your options are varied. You could select various slides or modules for presentations ranging from 2 hours to 2 days to groups or even individual clients. The target audience could include lay people or professionals in various support roles in preventive health. Presenters could include dietitians, nutritionists, fitness trainers, practice nurses, physios, diabetes educators and any support professionals working in preventive and lifestyle health. Some skill in delivering an appropriate language and idiom to audiences with variable knowledge bases would be required by the presenter.
I’ve summarised the essential elements of lifestyle disease, meaning the risks with which we burden ourselves because of our behaviour in relation to food, nutrition and physical activity. Although I mention the roles of environment and genetics, this is not the focus of the program at this time, but I do have plans to add modules that address basic issues in environmental safety in relation to food quality. Any additional modules added are included in the updates available in the licence for one year.
The core elements are:
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cancer
- Obesity
- Motivational and behavioural change
- Nutrition
- Physical activity and exercise
For example, I’ve summarised the complete content of the WCRF/AICR Expert Report: Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective so that the essential points are clear.
Licences
At present, only one licence option is available. This locks the headers and footers and PowerPoint attributions to me and no changes are permissible. I will probably also offer a ‘professional licence’ under which the licensee has the right to modify the content and replace attribution and headers etc with their identity. This would allow the licensee, with some restrictions, to modify the content and to adjust any particular aspect that did not suit their purpose or premise.
Availability
I’ve created a free ebook (pdf) version of the course, featuring the PowerPoint slide headings with content from the notes of each slide. This delivers a summary version and illustrates the content quite successfully. Not everything is fleshed out of course.
The best way to get this is to fill out the email form on the front page of the web site — or on this blog at the top right. This will redirect to a download page after confirmation. You will then get an email advising when content is updated or added, including new web and blog articles. This would be no more frequent than once each week.
I hope you take a look at the free ebook and let me know what you think. Suggestions, comments and admonitions are, of course, welcome.
What if You Could Prevent Prostate Cancer with Diet and Exercise?
By Paul RogersPreventing prostate cancer with lifestyle behaviours may not be that extreme a proposition considering the latest research from a group studying gene and prostate cancer interactions.
I should make it perfectly clear that this research is promising and profoundly interesting, but it is NOT a sure-fire cure for prostate cancer and you should not disregard advice from your treatment specialist if you have existing prostate cancer.
The prostate is a gland that sits at the neck of the urethra and bladder in men and the cancer usually occurs in men older than 40 and with increasing incidence as men age.
The study emphasized a diet high in plant foods and exercise
The pilot study, which involved well-known lifestyle researcher and nutritionist, Dr Dean Ornish, evaluated changes in prostate gene expression in men with low-risk prostate cancer who declined conventional treatments like surgery, hormone therapy or radiation and who trialled an intensive nutrition and exercise lifestyle program while undergoing evaluation for tumor progression.
The patients at a diet high in plant foods including soy, fish oil, the mineral selenium and vitamins C and E and very little of red meat and fats. They walked or did gym for at least 30 minutes, 6 days a week; did an hour of daily yoga and meditation type relaxation; and attended 1-hour weekly support sessions.
The authors emphasize that it is too early to know if this kept the cancer in check. Yet, to the surprise of the researchers, what they found was that at the gene level, genes that protect against cancer seemed to be turned on (tumor-suppressor genes) and genes that promote cancer (oncogenes) were turned off in substantial quantities.
University of California, San Francisco geneticist Christopher Haqq said”
“It is absolutely intriguing this lifestyle change can have as much effect as the most powerful drugs available to us now. We medical oncologists are always looking for drugs that can do this. It is delightful to find that diet and lifestyle can have profound effects and be complementary to drug therapies—with fewer side effects.”
What you need to know
While this looks like a valuable line of research, don’t get too carried away and reject all standard treatments if your doc advises it is too dangerous to do so. Remember that the experimental group had “low-risk” prostate cancer to start with.
Second, what this research does suggest is that this sort of lifestyle approach could be a really useful preventive approach to prostate cancer. You need to get that exercise and eat lots of nuts, beans, seeds like sunflower and pumpkin green vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Avoid the red meat and saturated fat as much as possible; chicken and fish is better. A few Brazil nuts each day will give you a good dose of natural selenium — about 100 micrograms or thereabout.
Read the complete study at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 2008.
Heart Disease on the Increase for Women
By Paul Rogers
While breast cancer is often a health focus for women, disease of the heart and arteries is the leading cause of death among men and women in most developed countries, accounting for about half of all deaths and associated illness.
In recent years, cardiovascular disease and deaths from it, in some groups of women, has been rising faster than for men.
An increase in type 2 diabetes, which is especially potent in women, may be the cause according to a new study in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine — and most of it is preventable with diet and exercise — a message that is already widespread.
Apparently, in the Nurses Health Study — a long-running evaluation of the health of nurses — 82% of coronary heart disease cases and 91% of diabetes cases in women could be prevented by avoiding smoking, eating a healthy diet, maintaining normal body weight and exercising regularly. Not much to ask, surely . . . and the story is much the same for men.
In fact, it is a lot to ask of many people. The message is understood, the implementation is much more difficult. Finding a way around this impasse can be a personal challenge and a public one.
Booze! Someone’s Got To Do It
By Paul RogersYou won’t find many doctors telling you to start drinking if you don’t already. They’re terrified of creating alcoholics. The truth is, drinking in moderation — and that’s the gotcha — seems to have substantial benefits, from heart disease to bone strength and, possibly, for preventing rheumatoid arthritis.
The Bad Stuff First
Moderate drinking is regarded as two drinks a day for men and one drink for women. It’s a fine line considering all the risks . . . because alcohol is a carcinogen of some power. Forget a few suspect food additives, alcohol is a known or highly suspect carcinogen (cancer causer) of the mouth and throat, breast, liver, pancreas, colon and perhaps stomach. In a statistical sense, the risk starts at one drink a day, but bear in mind that your diet and physical activity habits can lower your risk as an individual — or increase it as the case may be. Get the picture?
In addition, too much alcohol just destroys your liver — cancer or no cancer — and your brain.
The Good Stuff - Heart Disease
Moderate drinking seems to reduce the risk of heart and artery disease. Quite a few studies show that non-drinkers and heavy drinkers tend to have more heart disease than low or moderate drinkers. Red wine seems to have its own special place in the risk-reduction hierarchy, and most of this is attributed to the red antioxidant called resveratrol in red wine — but it could be something else.
The Good Stuff - Bone Density
Moderate alcohol consumption improves bone density. There, I’ve said it. This one is a bit of a sleeper because no one wants to tell women to drink alcohol because of the well-studied relationship with breast cancer. Even one drink a day tends to raise the risk of breast cancer. But again, eat well and exercise and you might just reduce this to even — and you get some bone protection as well. I’m just speculating but it’s not an unreasonable speculation.
The paradox is that alcohol (ethanol) can have estrogenic effects, which is probably how it increases breast cancer risk. At the same time this may be how it increases bone density, especially in postmenopausal women. Moderate drinking seems to provide some bone density protection for men as well. The finer points and the consumption patterns are not that well understood, so watch for revisions of this information. And needless to say, too much booze can make you fall over. Don’t overdo it. Most fractures occur from falls. Again, red wine might just be the best bet if you do partake of the demon drink.
The Good Stuff - Rheumatoid Arthritis
This one is much more contentious because the evidence is not as good. Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease that attacks the joints. Recent studies have provided some evidence that non-drinkers have more incidence of this disease — up to 50% more. It’s worth noting, although perhaps people with rheumatoid arthritis are inclined not to drink as much.
Summing Up
Boozing has risks, especially if you define boozing as more than one or two drinks a day. And for cancer, even this may be risky for some people, especially those with a family genetic component and poor lifestyle approach.
If you eat lots of whole plant foods and exercise most days of the week you can lower your risk of cancer and heart disease (and diabetes). Moderate drinking has benefits that are worth knowing about as well. How you use that information is up to you.
Vitamin D Deficiency May Cause Heart Attacks
By Paul Rogers
As reported by Reuters health, a new study by Harvard University health researchers has found that men with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D are more susceptible to heart attacks, especially fatal heart attacks.
Vitamin D improves calcium absorption and is important for bone health and to prevent osteoporosis. In addition, adequate vitamin D seems to offer protection against other diseases such as cancers of the colon, breast and perhaps pancreas. The lower level of normal is 30 nanograms per millilitre of blood. The men with the greatest risk in this study had levels as low as 15 nanograms.
What you need to know
Vitamin D is formed in the skin from sunlight exposure — and is available in fortified milk and margarine products and fatty fish like salmon and sardines. Sunscreen will block vitamin D absorption so it’s important to ensure a balance between sunlight exposure and the skin cancer risk of overexposure and sunburn. Supplements are an option, but you need to get medical advice because too much can be toxic.
Personally, I try to get as much gentle sun exposure in the early hours in summer or in winter when sunburn risk is least. I do this at the beach or by training outdoors. Tanning booths are not recommended and can be dangerous.
How Exercise and Healthy Eating Protect You
By Paul Rogers
I know you’ve probably read a lot about why you should eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly, but I thought I’d summarize the essentials so that this blog kicks off on a sound basis. It’s a short, overview list and some points may need further explanation, and I’ll eventually get to that.
Manage weight. Being overweight means you have increased your risk of getting diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Eating a diet high in plant foods and fibre and low in animal fats and refined carbohydrates and sugars is a key strategy in managing excessive weight.
Exercise regularly. Physical activity assists with weight management and at the same time reduces internal or systemic inflammation, an important factor in lowering your risk of all of the above diseases.
Antioxidants rule. Plant foods contain antioxidants that regulate many factors in the disease process including the immune system, inflammation and tissue repair and protection. Antioxidants include vitamin C, E, selenium, beta-carotenes and many other plant ‘phytonutrients’ including polyphenols.
Cholesterol. Regular physical activity can raise the good cholesterol, HDL, and lower the bad cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides – probably mostly through weight loss. This reduces your cardiovascular disease risk. Yes, I know there are cholesterol ’skeptics’ out there, but I don’t agree with them, and neither does an overwhelming percentage of the medical and nutrition community.
Aerobic exercise (cardio). Increases your heart and lung fitness (cardiorespiratory), which is known to reduce your risk of heart disease — even if you carry a bit too much weight. This means regular repetitive exercise like walking, jogging, cycling, treadmill, swimming or rowing.
Weight training. Resistance exercise increases strength, balance and bone health and both cardio and weight training improve insulin sensitivity, which is important in controlling diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Animal fats. Too much saturated fat raises cholesterol yet also increases insulin resistance, which is a precursor to diabetes and heart disease. Some is okay, a lot is unhealthy.
Vegetable fats. Poly and monounsaturated fats like canola, olive, peanut and sunflower tend to improve cholesterol and heart disease risk. Trans fats, used in many commercial and fast-food products, are probably worse than animal fats. You don’t have to pour on the cooking or salad oils, just eat plenty of nuts and seeds and you get lots of fibre as well.
Fibre regulates. Fibre not only regulates your bowel habits, it also regulates your metabolism. It helps to keep control of those carbohydrates and fats you eat so that they don’t go rushing onward into the bloodstream or storage at too fast a rate, which has benefits for weight control and health.
Refined carbohydrates. These are the bagels, the biscuits, the donuts the white fluffy bread, the lollies and cakes and similar items that have become basic dietary items for many people. Too much is unhealthy, a little is okay, and athletes and hard exercisers can fit in a bit more. Keep them reigned in.
NEAT. This stands for ‘non-exercise activity thermogenesis’ — a fancy term for the activity you do when you’re not doing planned exercise. Gardening, housework, walking to the shops, chores, repairs, mowing lawn and so on. People who do most of this tend to have fewer problems with being overweight. Get off the couch or the internet and mow that lawn!
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