Archive for December, 2009

Smoking Exposure Now Linked to Colon, Breast Cancers

New studies also find that children exposed to smoke are at risk of lung cancer

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) — Add colorectal cancer to the list of malignancies caused by smoking, with a new study strengthening the link between the two.

And other studies are providing more bad news for people who haven’t managed to quit: Two papers published in the December issue of Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a themed issue on tobacco, strengthen the case for the dangers of secondhand smoke for people exposed to fumes as children and as adults.

Inhaling those secondhand fumes may raise a woman’s odds for breast cancer or a child’s lifetime risk for lung malignancies, the studies found.

All of the findings, while grim, could be useful in the war against smoking, experts say.

“With the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration], we’re hoping this will be a significant tool to controlling tobacco, although it could get bogged down in so many different ways,” said Dr. Peter Shields, deputy director of the Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and senior editor of the journal in which these papers appeared. “The FDA is going to have to make a lot of tough decisions about how to regulate tobacco, and the more science they have will help them.”

Is this latest round of revelations going to change current screening recommendations? Probably not, at least not yet, Shields added.

One study found that long-term smokers have a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer, a finding that factored into the recent decision by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to assert that there is “sufficient” evidence to link the two, up from its previous “limited” evidence.

“It took a long time to figure this out because the relationship [between smoking and colorectal cancer] is not as strong [as for some other cancers],” said Dr. Michael Thun, senior author of the study and vice president emeritus of epidemiology and surveillance research at the American Cancer Society. “The question was, is the association we’re seeing really caused by smoking?”

The researchers managed to adjust for other colorectal cancer risk factors, such as not getting screened, obesity, physical activity and eating a lot of red or processed meats. The issue is tricky because people who smoke are already more likely to engage in these types of behavior.

“When they took all of those other things out, smoking was still a small, elevated risk,” said Dr. Michael John Hall, director of the gastrointestinal risk assessment program at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

“We already know that smoking is bad. That doesn’t change. A positive thing that comes out of this is that if you can stop smoking earlier, you eliminate your risk later on, but the more you smoke, the risk is higher.”

This large prospective study, which followed almost 200,000 people over 13 years, found that current smokers had a 27 percent increased risk of colorectal cancer and former smokers a 23 percent increased risk compared with people who had never smoked.

People who had smoked for at least half a century had the highest risk — 38 percent higher than never smokers — of developing colorectal cancer

The good news is that people who tossed their cigarettes before the age of 40 or who had not smoked for 31 or more years had no increased risk.

Two other studies focused on the risk of secondhand smoke, or passive smoking. In one, children exposed to secondhand smoke had a higher risk of developing lung cancer as adults, researchers from institutions including the U.S. National Cancer Institute found. In another, California researchers found that adult non-smoking women who had spent long periods of time in smoking environments upped their odds of developing postmenopausal breast cancer.

The breast cancer findings were seen mostly in postmenopausal women, with a 17 percent higher risk for those who had had low exposure, a 19 percent increased risk for those with medium exposure and a 26 percent increased risk for those who had high long-term exposure over their lifetime.

Adult exposure, such as spending time in smoking lounges where others were smoking, carried the most risk, with childhood exposure appearing negligible.

For children exposed to smokers, the odds of developing lung cancer was notably higher among individuals with a specific mutation on the MBL2 gene, the other study found.

Passive smoking during early life more than doubled the risk of lung cancer among people who had never smoked, the researchers found. They noted that the risk from secondhand smoke was even higher than that noted in the U.S. Surgeon General’s report. The risk was 2.5 times higher among those with this genetic signature.

In another study, people who smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol after a diagnosis of head and neck cancer had a worse prognosis than those who abstained from these habits, according to researchers at Yale University School of Medicine and Yale’s School of Public Health, among others.

Previous research had shown that smoking and drinking alcohol before a diagnosis meant the patient was more likely to die from the cancer.

With the new classification on smoking causing colorectal cancer, 17 cancers are now attributed to smoking.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more on tobacco and cancer.
SOURCES: Michael J. Thun, M.D., vice president emeritus, epidemiology and surveillance research, American Cancer Society; Michael John Hall, M.D., director, gastrointestinal risk assessment program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia; Peter Shields, M.D., deputy director, Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington, D.C.; December 2009 Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

Health Tip: Opt for Weight-Bearing Exercises

They can help build bone health

(HealthDay News) — Weight-bearing exercises are important, especially for girls and women who want to build bone strength and prevent osteoporosis later.

Weight-bearing exercises are done standing up and make the bones and muscles work against gravity.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these examples of good weight-bearing exercises:

• Fast-paced walking, running or jogging, or going for a hike.
• Gardening or cutting the grass with a push mower.
• Team sports, such as basketball, soccer and baseball.
• Racquet sports, such as tennis.
• Aerobics or dance classes.
• Bowling, karate or judo, skating or skiing.
• Lifting weights or climbing stairs.

– Diana Kohnle

Cholesterol Plays Role in Heart Failure Risk

Pumping ability reduced in those with undesirable blood levels, analysis shows

(HealthDay News) — Abnormal cholesterol levels can significantly increase the risk of heart failure, a new study has found.

U.S. researchers analyzed data on 6,860 participants in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Framingham Heart Study. None of the participants, average age 44, had coronary heart disease at the start of the study. After about 26 years of follow-up, 680 people had developed heart failure.

The incidence of heart failure was:

• 12.8 percent in participants with low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good”) cholesterol. Low HDL is less than 40 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) in men and less than 50 mg/dL in women.
• 6.1 percent among participants with desirable HDL levels (at least 55 mg/dL in men and 65 mg/dL in women).
• 13.8 percent in participants with high levels (at least 190 mg/dL) of non-HDL cholesterol, which includes triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol.
• 7.9 percent in those with desirable levels (less than 160 mg/dL) of non-HDL cholesterol.

When the researchers factored in age, sex, body mass index, blood pressure, diabetes and smoking, the risk of heart failure was 29 percent higher in participants with high non-HDL cholesterol than in those with lower levels, and 40 percent lower in those with high HDL-cholesterol than in those with lower levels.

Further analysis showed that the risk of heart attack was 13 percent higher in participants with high non-HDL cholesterol and 25 percent lower in those with high HDL cholesterol.

“This study goes a step further in implicating cholesterol levels (both HDL and non-HDL) in heart failure and suggests that cholesterol-altering therapy may have long-term benefits in preventing heart failure above and beyond its effects on preventing [heart attack],” study senior author Dr. Daniel Levy, director of the Framingham Heart Study, said in a news release from the American Heart Association.

The study is published in the Nov. 23 online edition of the journal Circulation.

More information

The American Heart Association has more about cholesterol.
– Robert Preidt

SOURCE: American Heart Association, news release, Nov. 23, 2009

Health Tip: The Skinny on Carbohydrates

What you need and how to get it

(HealthDay News) — Carbohydrates include foods with fiber, sugars and starches.

Simple carbohydrates have one or two sugars, while complex carbohydrates contain at least three sugars, says the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Simple carbohydrates with natural sugars include milk products, fruits and vegetables. Simple carbs with refined sugars — including candy, soda and syrups — have little nutritional value and should be avoided in excess, the agency says.

Examples of complex carbohydrates include starchy vegetables, legumes (such as dried peas, beans and lentils) and whole-grain foods.

The NLM says between 40 percent and 60 percent of your daily total caloric intake should come from carbohydrates, mostly from complex carbohydrates.
– Diana Kohnle

Obesity Rolling Back Gains in Heart Health

Studies show risk factors rising among children and adults, with many denying they have a problem

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) — Surging obesity rates, especially among children, may be putting the brakes on progress made in the past few decades against heart disease, researchers report.

And it doesn’t help that many obese or overweight Americans still consider their weight “normal,” as one study found.

One of several studies on the subject of obesity presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association (AHA) annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., found that adults’ blood pressure and blood sugar levels are continuing to rise, fueled in large part by expanding waistlines.

This is swamping recent heart-health improvements such as lowered blood levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol or fewer people smoking, experts said.

Poring over government data between 1988-1994 and 2005-2006, researchers found that adult Americans’ average body mass index (BMI) rose from 26.5 to 28.8 over that time span. To put that in context, a BMI of 25 marks the beginning of overweight, while doctors use a BMI of 30 as the threshold for obesity.

More people did achieve optimal LDL levels (22 percent versus 28 percent) and were non-smokers (rising from 45 percent to 50 percent) during the same time period, but those gains were outweighed by fewer people having good blood pressure (48 percent versus 43 percent) or blood sugar control (falling from 67 percent to 58 percent).

In fact, “many people feel the decline in [heart] risk factors is leveling off and there will be an acceleration of cardiovascular disease,” said AHA spokesman Dr. Roger Blumenthal, professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Things don’t bode well for the next generation, either: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics now put the number of obese children and teens in the United States at about one-third.

“The prevalence of obesity and oversight in the U.S. and all developed countries is on the rise and reaching epidemic proportions among both adults and children,” said Dr. David Crowley, lead author of a study on child obesity and a cardiology fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. “In the course of the past three decades, the prevalence of obesity has doubled or in some cases tripled across all pediatric age groups.”

Not only have children and teens become heavier, their hearts have become unhealthily thicker, as measured by left ventricular mass (LVM), indicating a higher risk for heart disease down the line.

“Left ventricular mass is a marker of stress on the heart and a predictor of heart attack and stroke,” Crowley explained.

Between the mid-1980s and today, average BMIs in this sample of children went from 18.1 to 19.9, while LVM jumped from 31.4 to 32.7. Males and blacks fared worse than their female and/or white peers.

There were nearly twice as many overweight and obese children in the later period compared to the earlier era: 35 percent versus 20 percent. And the number of children with abnormally thick hearts more than doubled, Crowley reported.

“The obesity epidemic is indeed having adverse effects on the hearts of children compared to two decades ago,” he said. “Today’s children have higher BMI and higher LVM and therefore are at a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. If we do not get a handle on this in this country, if kids continue to get heavier, their hearts will inevitably get thicker and kids will be at higher risk of heart attacks and stroke.”

Simple denial may be a component of this disaster, speculated a third study. It found that a large proportion of obese people believe their body size is normal and that they don’t need to shrink. Some even believe they could safely gain more weight.

Almost one in 10 surveyed said they were okay with the size of their bodies after picking from a series of silhouettes the one they felt best represented their image of themselves.

This same group also thought they were healthy, even though many of them had risk factors for heart disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

Ironically, individuals who were actually average or thin thought they were larger than they really were.

“Obesity is not benign,” noted study lead author Dr. Tiffany Powell, a cardiology fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “This underscores the need for us as physicians to understand that we not only need to target those who have misperceptions in clinical settings, but we also need to do work at developing community programs targeting those who avoid the health-care system,” Powell said.

“From our data, it looks like those who have misperceptions of body size are much less likely to be seen by physicians,” she added.

Two other groups of researchers at the AHA meeting presented yet more reasons to lose weight. In one study, obese patients who lost weight saw a healthy normalization of the chambers in the right side of the heart (although it’s unclear if this results in decreased risk for actual heart problems). And in another study, weight-loss surgery reduced the size of enlarged hearts. Enlarged hearts carry with them the risk of heart failure.

More information

There’s more on obesity’s impact on heart disease at the American Heart Association.
SOURCES: David Crowley, M.D., clinical fellow, cardiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati; Tiffany Powell, M.D., cardiology fellow, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Roger Blumenthal, M.D., AHA spokesman and professor, medicine, division of cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore; Nov. 17, 2009, presentations, American Heart Association annal meeting, Orlando, Fla.

Incidence of High Cholesterol Drops in U.S.

Down by 30 percent, but those with high levels often don’t know it, study finds

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) — The good news is that a new report shows the percentage of American adults with high LDL cholesterol, the “bad” kind that clogs arteries, decreased by about one-third between 1999 and 2006.

The bad news is that too many of those who have dangerously high levels of LDL cholesterol don’t know it, said study author Dr. Elena V. Kuklina, an epidemiologist and senior service fellow at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research is published in the Nov. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“In the group with high LDL cholesterol, 60 percent of these people do not know they have this condition,” Kuklina said. “They are in two major groups — those who have never been screened, and those who have been screened but not diagnosed.”

It is not as easy to test for LDL, rather than total blood cholesterol levels, including “good” HDL, Kuklina said. An LDL test requires fasting for the previous eight hours, “and if you are not prepared for this test, it is not going to be correct,” she said. But testing someone and then not informing that person of a dangerously high LDL cholesterol level is not easy to explain, she said.

While many studies have found that overall cholesterol levels in American adults are decreasing, there has not been much information on LDL levels, Kuklina said. The study she did with colleagues at the CDC used data from consecutive results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. It found that overall prevalence of high LDL cholesterol levels decreased from 31.5 percent in 1999-2000 to 21.2 percent in 2005-2006.

But there is no single definition of high LDL, the report noted. For persons at high risk of major problems because they have diagnosed heart disease, stroke or other cardiovascular conditions, the desired LDL level is 100 milligrams per deciliter of blood. For those at intermediate risk because they have two or more risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking or a family history of heart trouble, the desired level is 130. For those at low risk because they have no more than one risk factor, the desired level can be as high as 160.

A troubling finding was that the greatest incidence of dangerously high LDL cholesterol is in the high-risk group. The prevalence of high LDL did decrease in that group, but only from 69.4 percent in the first survey to 58.9 percent in the last survey, the study authors reported.

As for the cause of the overall reduction, “we don’t know why, we can only speculate,” Kuklina said. It could be changes in lifestyle, such as better diet, or it could be more widespread use of cholesterol-lowering medications such as statins, she said.

“But we still have many people we could put on statins,” Kuklina noted.

It’s important to remember that LDL cholesterol is just “one of many risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Thomas A. Gaziano, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and co-author of an accompanying editorial.

Doctors must consider all the risk factors when dealing with cardiovascular disease, Gaziano said. “We recommend simplifying how the risk is calculated,” he said. “Once the risk is determined, therapy should be based on overall risk, not just on cholesterol.”

There are different recommendations about the age at which cholesterol screening should begin, Kuklina noted. The CDC, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association recommend that screening tests should start at age 20, she said.

“I don’t think it unreasonable to get screened once in the 20s, and then with increasing frequency in the 30s,” Gaziano said.

More information

Learn about the different cholesterols and what they do from the American Heart Association.
SOURCES: Elena V. Kuklina, M.D., Ph.D., epidemiologist, senior service fellow, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta; Thomas A. Gaziano, assistant professor, medicine, Harvard Medical School, and associate physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both in Boston; Nov. 18, 2009, Journal of the American Medical Association

Mercury in Fish Linked to High Blood Pressure

But Researcher Downplays Importance of Effect

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) — Although new research links mercury in seafood with high blood pressure, this isn’t reason enough for most people to stop eating fish, the study leader says.

“The small increase of blood pressure due to methylmercury will never outweigh the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids,” said Dr. Eric Dewailly, a professor in the department of social and preventive medicine at Laval University in Quebec and lead author of a report in the Oct. 5 issue of Hypertension.

Diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids from oily fish, such as fatty sardines, herring, trout and salmon, are associated in many studies with a reduced risk of death from heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association recommends eating two meals a week containing four to six ounces of such fish.

But because fish can contain high levels of methylmercury, which can interfere with the normal development of the nervous system and brain in fetuses and newborns, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises pregnant women, those trying to get pregnant, nursing women and children to limit their fish intake.

FDA guidelines limit intake of low-mercury fish for those individuals to 12 ounces a week and high-mercury fish to three 6-ounce servings a month. The FDA also advises avoiding fish most like to carry the highest levels of mercury — shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish.

At first glance, the Canadian study appears to add high blood pressure to the list of problems linked to methylmercury in fish. Dewailly and his colleagues conducted a survey of Inuit residents of 14 Nunavik communities in northern Quebec, where the traditional diet is based on fish and marine mammals.

It found an average blood mercury level of 50 nanomoles per liter of blood, much higher than the 4-nanomole level of the general U.S. population. It also found a relationship between blood mercury levels and blood pressure after adjusting for other factors, such as smoking and physical activity.

Studies have shown that exposure to environmental mercury can affect the endothelium, the delicate lining of blood vessels, and decrease the ability of smooth muscles to relax, which could explain the slight increase in blood pressure seen in the study, Dewailly said.

It was not a great effect, he said. “For every 10 percent increase in blood mercury level, there is a 0.2 millimeter increase in blood pressure,” Dewailly said. “Even if you apply that to an entire population, that is a small effect.”

So, a 10 percent increase in blood mercury would raise a blood pressure reading from 120/80 to 120.2/80, Dewailly indicated. That is not a reason to avoid fish “if you look at the fish nutrients that are reported to be associated with so many benefits,” he said.

But it’s important to eat the right kind of fish, the oily species, Dewailly said. Anyone worried about blood pressure should avoid fish that have low levels of omega-3 fatty acids and high mercury content, such as big predator fish, including swordfish, marlin and shark, he said.

Another heart expert concurred.

“Many Americans can safely enjoy eating fish as a regular part of their diet to achieve the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids,” said Penny Kris-Etherton, distinguished professor of nutrition at Pennsylvania State University and a member of the American Heart Association Council on Nutrition Metabolism and Physical Activity Committee.

“And this includes canned light tuna, which is significantly lower in mercury than white tuna,” she said in a statement.

More information

Benefits of omega-3 fatty acids are described by the American Heart Association.
SOURCES: Eric Dewailly, M.D., professor, preventive medicine, Laval University, Quebec, Canada; Oct. 5, 2009, Hypertension

Nutrient Ratios and Caloric Intake are the Keys to Fat Loss

To get ripped, should I be on a high- or low-carbohydrate diet?

Properly managing carbohydrate and calorie intake are vitally important for getting lean. Here’s what we recommend:

If you exercise for an hour, three or four times a week, you’ll typically need to consume a number of calories equal to about 10-12 times your bodyweight in order to lose bodyfat quickly, without sacrificing much hard-earned muscle.

Some people need more calories than this, and some people might need less, but this is a good starting point.

I weigh about 195 lbs now. For me to drop bodyfat rapidly, I need to keep my calorie intake down to right around 1,950 calories a day with about 40% of these calories coming from carbohydrates. For me, that’s about 800 calories of carbs, and since each gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories, I consume no more than 200 grams of carbs a day.

Over the last decade, I’ve tried a lot of different cutting-up nutritional strategies, but keeping my carbs relatively low and controlling calorie intake always works well. However, I recently tried a new strategy—instead of dividing up my carbohydrate intake evenly among six different meals, what I do now is consume a “double serving” of carbs after my weight-training workouts, and I eliminate carbohydrates completely from my last meal of the day (making it almost all protein). Here’s an example: for my first four meals of the day, I’ll have around 30 to 40 grams of protein and 25 to 35 grams of carbs. Then, after I work out in the evening, I’ll have about 30 grams of protein and around 70 grams of carbs. Then, in my last meal of the day, I’ll eat around 30 to 40 grams of protein (2 chicken breasts and a salad) and virtually no carbs.

This produces great results in terms of fat loss, and it also seems to help me maintain my energy and recover more quickly from my workouts. (Sometimes when I’m on a fat-loss program, don’t seem to recover from my weight-training workouts nearly as well.)

Some people have had success using diets that contain 60% carbohydrates or even more, but those don’t seem to work as well for me. Others have had success using very, very low-carbohydrate diets (less than 50 grams a day), but when I tried that, I couldn’t even function; it was really hard to work out or even think straight.

Remember, there is no ONE solution that will work for everyone. We are individuals and although there are some staples that should be included in EVERY fat loss program, the ratios of carbs-protein-fat best suited will most likely need to be adjusted person to person.

Don’t Believe All That Negative Media About Eggs

You could say that it’s a universally favorite food; it’s a staple at most breakfasts and also makes a great mid-meal snack. It’s tasty, it’s small, and it packs a punch in terms of nutrition; besides these advantages, it’s easy to cook and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, both cooked and uncooked. There have been recent arguments over the egg being a healthy food choice because of the large amount of fat it contains for its relatively small size and because its yolk was thought to raise your bad cholesterol levels. But the truth is that saturated fats do more damage to your cholesterol levels than eggs, so if you’re an egg aficionado like me, here are a few more reasons to enjoy an egg a day:

• They are rich sources of choline which is great for your brain, central nervous system and heart.
• They are rich in protein and amino acids and so help build and repair tissue and cells.
• They help your hair grow thick and luxuriant and your nails long and strong because of their sulfur content. Besides this, they also contain B12 and other vitamins and minerals that are good for your hair and nails.
• Eggs are naturally rich in Vitamin D, the mineral which helps your body absorb and assimilate calcium better. Calcium is necessary for strong bones and muscles.
• Eating eggs regularly helps prevent heart attacks and blood clots that may lead to strokes.
• Eggs are a good source of polyunsaturated fats which are much better for us that saturated fats which lead to high levels of LDL or bad cholesterol.
• Eggs have been known to improve your eyesight and prevent cataract and other eye diseases.
• They are rich in Vitamin E which has antioxidant properties and reduces the formation of free radicals in your body.
• They are rich in zinc and iron which boost your immune system and enhance the formation of red blood corpuscles in your body respectively.

Since eggs tend to host salmonella and other bacteria, cook them well before eating them. You may like your yolk runny, but the risk of an infection is just not worth it. Also, if you do have a history of cardiac disease, it’s best to limit yourself to one egg a day if you’re eating the yolk too – the albumin (or white) of an egg does not contain any cholesterol or fat. Also, some people may have an allergy to eggs, so it’s best to check if your friends are allergic to them before you bring out that delicious omelet.

This post is contributed by Shannon Wills, who writes on the topic of x ray technician schools . She welcomes you comments at her email id: shannonwills23@gmail.com

High-Impact Activity May Be Good for Old Bones
Sampling of senior athletes finds better density with some sports

(HealthDay News) — Playing high-impact sports might help boost bone mineral density in mature athletes.

The finding stemmed from a study of male and female athletes, aged 50 to 93, who took part in the 2005 National Senior Games in Pittsburgh, including 560 who competed in high-impact sports such as basketball, road racing, track and field, triathlon and volleyball.

Ultrasound scans revealed that those who participated in high-impact sports had better bone mineral density than people who participated in low-impact sports. The findings appear in the November/December issue of Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach.

“Our study represents the largest sample of bone mineral density data in mature athletes to date,” Dr. Vonda Wright, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said in a news release from the journal. “My colleagues and I were surprised to see that active adult participation in the high-impact sports had such a positive influence on bone health, even in the oldest athletes.”

Though osteoarthritis and other factors will keep some from participating in high-impact sports, Wright said, the study “suggests that high-impact sports can play a significant part in healthy bone aging.”

“With a multi-part approach and the appropriate use of high-impact exercises, individuals may be able to make greater strides against bone loss than the current treatment strategies imply,” she said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more about exercise and bone health.
– Robert Preidt

SOURCE: Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach, November 2009, news release

When we are searching for the quickest and the most effective weight loss methods we tend to forget about health; that is why we are taking tens of harmful diet pills, weight loss supplements, appetite suppressants, which do not only contain harmful chemicals, but are harmful for your overall health and digestive system. The key to an effective and healthy weight loss is nutrition. We need to eat to reach the beautiful, slim and healthy body we are dreaming of, not starve.

There are some basic minerals and vitamins that are needed by our organism to work properly, to remain healthy and give us the needed strength and energy for a proper weight loss. Basic vitamins like A, C and E are vital for our organism and overall health. Only with an optimum intake of vitamins can our body’s weight related functions, like fat burning, metabolic rate, calorie burning or appetite work properly. So vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 and vitamin C are necessary for weight control.

For normal thyroid hormone function and metabolism vitamin B is essential.  Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3) can be found in eggs, fish, milk, liver, kidney, almonds, green leafy vegetables or fruits, so the inclusion into our daily meal of these food types is necessary. Our capability to utilize fat can severely be blocked by the deficiency in the B5 amount found in our body, so eating meat, nuts, eggs, beans, kidney and liver, wheat and green vegetables can keep our body’s B5 balance.

Vitamin C is proven to control the fat storage hormone in our body; it also helps in energy gain, the reparation of red blood cells, ones, immune system and absorbs iron for energy gain. Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, broccoli, strawberry, fruits and vegetables, green peppers.

So instead of damaging your metabolism with chemicals found in fat burners and diet pills get your daily amount of vitamins, eat properly and you will certainly get the energy and vitality needed for a healthy weight loss.

Submitted by Guest Blogger Susan Brown

Susan Brown is a health webmaster specializing in nutrition and diet with a passion for food, health and fitness. She writes weight loss themed articles for related sites.

Time to Take Control of that Midsection

We all want a flat stomach, defined abdominal muscles and a toned torso to give us a great shape as well strong core. Here is the definitive guide to everything you need to know about how to achieve it including food advice, work outs and yes a bit of science for you nerds!

Research has shown that having a large waist is known to increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic health condition. Studies also show that women who have a waistline measuring 35 inches or more have a great risk of heart disease and diabetes. For men the figure is 40 inches.

The Core Muscles

1. Obliques- these muscles rotate your torso and work with the transverse abdominis to support your centre during movement.

1. Rectus abdominis- this muscle is the fitness aesthetic, in other words it creates that all important 6 pack. However its main ‘practical’ function is to flex and curl the trunk.

1. Transverse abdominis- this is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and wraps laterally around your centre acting like a belt.

1. Psoas major / iliacus- better known as the hip flexors these lift the thigh up to the abdomen and limit excess joint motion in the hip.

1. Erector spinae- this collection consists of three muscles and straightens the back and spine.

Why We Gain Fat Around Our Waist

The reasons for gaining a little too much excess around your middle can be varied. One cause is stress and the related hormone cortisol as this tells the body to store fat around your vital organs (most of which are in the torso region).

To combat this factor try to make sure you are getting enough sleep, which reduces stress levels significantly as well as taking measures to actively reduce parts of your life that make you stressed, incorporating time in your life for relaxation and down time.

Of course one of the main reasons for belly fat is your diet. Certain foods make us retain water leading to bloating. So even if you have wonderfully toned core muscles, they are never going to show. The main culprits are wheat and dairy as many people are intolerant to these causing water retention. Other bloating prone foods are refined sugars, cakes, biscuits, pastries, cereals, sweets, white bread and rice.

Not only are certain foods prone to bloating a cause for concern but the fat content of certain foods can lead to excess fat storage around your middle. To many foods containing saturated fats and high fat percentages will overtime build up the size of your waist. So getting a diet rich in fruit and vegetables as well as low fat alternatives will cut down any unnecessary fat build up. Try Monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) rich foods such as sesames, soya bean, walnuts, flaxseeds, avocados and dark chocolate as these are a healthier alternative to other fat rich foods.

A Few Fat-Belly Food Ideas:

• Caffeine

• Green tea extract

• CLA

• Protein rich foods

• Eliminate added sugar

• Don’t fear fat, just the bad ones

• Drink plenty of water to reduce water retention

Strengthen Your Core

This can be one of the most important factors in achieving a flat stomach. With a strong core, your abdominal muscles will be constantly working to pull your stomach in. Having a strong core, abdominals and back will stabilise and protect your spine which becomes more and more important the older you get. The more you work from the core, the lesser the load on your back, reducing the chance of injury.

The best way to train your core muscles is with uneven surfaces such as a BOSU balancer, stability disc or wobble board. When training on uneven surfaces such as these your core muscles ( transversus abdomunis and rectus abdomunis as well as obliques) will be activitated to stabilise your body, tightening your middle. To increase the difficulty of these movements as you gradually improve try using weights incorporated into the movement.

Weight training is an excellent way to build up total body strength but be careful about segmenting muscles too much as this can isolate different body parts instead of working the body as a whole. The focus should be on how your whole body connects and combining moves such as a lunge with a side twist and a bicep curl.

Exercise

Ok, I’m not about to suggest 1000 sit ups before you worry, but regular exercise will burn fat around your middle as well as toning up the muscles around your core. Daily cardio sessions will work to burn fat from the area but to see results this must be sustained over a period of time and working at a high intensity.

Additionally, other floor exercises will target the abdominals specifically such as: ‘the plank’, ’side plank’, ‘medicine ball twist’, ‘bicycle’, ‘gym ball crunch’ and ‘leg lifts’ and will tone the stomach even more. Making sure you add a variety of moves into your training will assure that all of the different areas of your core are worked.

Tips for a Great Ab Workout

1. Think of a functional workout- doing exercises that stimulate the way you move your body in everyday tasks and you’re on your way. Instead of simply doing the same old sit-up routine switch it up to stimulate a wider range of muscles. The key is to try and train all three areas of your core- ’sagittal’ (left and right halves of your torso), ‘transverse’ (upper and lower) and ‘frontal’ (back and front). Such moves as ‘ decline bench leg raise’, ‘heel to toe crunch’, ‘Russian twist’, ’side plank and front plank’, ‘oblique side crunch’ and ‘abdominal roller’ aim to work on all areas of your core muscles to give you maximum definition.

1. Save your abs until last- do abdominal exercises at the end of your workout. This way the abs won’t be tired early when you may need them for those core moves and in other exercises.

1. Use the ball- exercising on a gym ball forces your muscles, including your abs to work harder to stabilise your body than on a solid surface.

1. Maximise the range of motion- doing crunches using a gym ball allows you to work the abs through a greater range of motion than on the floor so engages more muscles.

1. Stand up- working out your abdominals ensures your back muscles are also used. Some floor move can switch off you back leading to imbalances. Try wood chops and jack-knives.

1. Work the lower abs- the lower section of the abs can be tricky to work. To ensure you get a six pack and not only a four pack try reverse crunches on a gym ball or leg lifts.

Posture

Good posture can work wonders to improve the shape of your silhouette and general physique. Learning to stand up straight elongates the back and prevents slouching which can be bad for your spine. A great way to develop the correct posture is by trying out a yoga or Pilates class where posture and form is a key component.

Ab Facts

1. The configuration of your abdominals can’t be changed with exercise, diet or anything else- but you can improve it
2. As a rule of thumb torso training works the upper abs while leg raises work the lower abs.
3. Only perform side bends with heavy weights if you want to thicken your waistline.
4. To gain a muscular body don’t perform excessive ab exercises as strenuous exercises on the abs shut down its growing process. However if your goal is taught tight abs, work to your limit.
5. Contrary to popular belief sit ups do work the abdominals but crunches and leg raises are superior.
6. A clean eating diet is a must for a 6 pack.
7. Regular cardio will aid the fat burning process making your abs more refined.
8. Lower reps (8-12) with higher resistance build muscles whereas higher reps with lower resistance tone and condition.
9. Don’t neglect the rest of your body when look for toned abs
10. Regular ab exercises should always be balanced with regular back exercises to maintain balance.

While it is certainly true that some of us must work harder at creating a flat, strong core and midsection, it is also absolutely true that ANYONE can do so. Follow the above tips and tricks and you will be well on your way to reaching your ab goals!

Author Gemma Carter is a qualified life and fitness coach. She offers online coaching for a diverse range of needs. Visit her website www.cartercoaching.co.uk or email her at gemma@cartercoaching.co.uk

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