Category Archives: Exercise

New Study Shows Obesity Rate Is Actually Far Worse than Previously Recognized

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

In the United States, where two-thirds of all states already have obesity rates exceeding 25 percent, and 12 states now have obesity rates over 30 percent, it is shocking to hear that these rates may actually be underestimated.

But this is precisely what new research has revealed.

Body-mass index (BMI), which gauges weight in relation to height and is widely used as a measure of overweight and obesity, is to blame for the flawed assessments.

Are Nearly 60% of Americans Obese?

Researchers compared BMI measurements to body fat percentage (using a DEXA scan, which is a FAR more accurate method to assess body fat percentage) among 1,400 people.

For women, about half of those who were not classified as obese according to BMI were considered obese according to body fat.

Among men, one-quarter of those not identified as obese by BMI were found to be obese by body-fat measures.

In all, nearly 40 percent of participants whose BMI classified them as overweight were actually obese when their percentage of body fat was taken into account.

According to lead author Dr. Eric Braverman, president of the nonprofit Path Foundation in New York City, “Based on BMI, about one-third of Americans are considered obese, but when other methods of measuring obesity are used, that number may be closer to 60%.”

As such, BMI also neglects to factor in how muscular you might be.

Athletes and completely out-of-shape people can have similar BMI scores, or a very muscular person could be classified as “obese” using BMI, when in reality it is mostly lean muscle accounting for their higher-than-average weight.

Dr. Braverman says of BMI:

“Some people call it the ‘baloney mass index.”

Many studies, such as one published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, have found that a high BMI was associated with a lower risk of death, a phenomenon known as the “obesity paradox.” This finding as an example of how BMI is a flawed measurement tool, as it tells you nothing about where fat is located in the body, and it appears that the location of the fat is more important than the amount of fat when it comes to measuring certain health risks, such as heart disease risks. BMI also uses weight as a measure of risk, when it is actually a high percentage of body fat that makes a person obese.

Could Testing Your Leptin Levels Make Your BMI More Useful?

The researchers found that levels of the hormone leptin were strongly associated with body fat percentage, and suggested that testing your leptin levels could therefore be used in addition to your BMI to help get a more accurate picture of your true risk of obesity and related diseases.

The hormones your fat cells produce impact how much you eat and how much fat you burn. One of these hormones is leptin, and leptin sends signals that reduce hunger, increase fat burning and reduce fat storage. That is, if your cells are communicating properly and can “hear” this message.

If you are eating a diet that is high in sugar, fructose and grains, as the sugar gets metabolized in fat cells, fat releases surges in leptin. Over time, if your body is exposed to too much leptin, it will become resistant to the leptin (just as your body can become resistant to insulin). Leptin resistance causes an increase in the visceral fat your body produces. Likewise, it is through an inflammatory process that it’s thought visceral fat causes its damage, and the same diet that makes you leptin resistant will also increase inflammation and body fat in your body. By tending to one factor — diet — you can reduce your risk of both becoming leptin resistant and producing excess visceral fat.

What’s a Better Way to Gauge Your Weight Health than BMI?

Another simple and inexpensive option is measuring your waist circumference, as a thick waist is a well-known sign of a build-up of visceral fat, a dangerous type of fat around your internal organs that is strongly linked with type 2 diabetes, heart disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

It is thought that visceral fat is related to the release of proteins and hormones that can cause inflammation, which in turn can damage arteries and enter your liver, affecting how your body breaks down sugars and fats. When your body routinely stores excess visceral fat, you increase your risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, vascular disease, atherosclerosis (hardening of your arteries) and an increased thickness in the walls of your heart.

Your waist size is also a powerful indicator of insulin sensitivity, as studies clearly show that measuring your waist size is one of the most powerful ways to predict your risk for diabetes. Determining your waist size is easy. With a tape measure, figure the distance around the smallest area of your abdomen below your rib cage and above your belly button. If you’re not sure if you have a healthy waist circumference, a general guide is:

  • For men, between 37 and 40 inches is overweight and more than 40 inches is obese
  • For women, 31.5-34.6 inches is overweight and more than 34.6 inches is obese

The other tool, which many experts are now leaning toward as the most accurate measure of obesity, is body fat percentage. As it sounds, this is simply the percentage of fat your body contains, and it can be a powerful indicator of your health. Too much body fat is linked to chronic health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Too little body fat is also problematic and can cause your body to enter a catabolic state, where muscle protein is used as fuel. A general guideline from the American Council on Exercise is as follows:

How to Measure Your Body Fat

Body fat calipers are one of the most trusted and most accurate ways to measure body fat. A body fat, or skinfold, caliper is a lightweight, hand-held device that quickly and easily measures the thickness of a fold of your skin with its underlying layer of fat. Taken at three very specific locations on your body, these readings can help you estimate the total percent of body fat within your entire body.

You can also use a digital scale that determines body fat, which is what I use personally. I use an Eat Smart Precision GetFit Body Fat Scale that I picked up from Amazon for around $50. Currently my body fat measures at 13.5 percent on this scale, although I think it is actually closer to 11 percent or 12 percent. Although many body fat measurements can be inaccurate, they are nearly all more accurate than BMI, and are particularly useful to determine whether you are gaining or losing fat. Although the absolute value may be off, the direction you are going (whether your body fat is going up or down) will be very accurate, and this is an incredibly useful measure of whether you’re nearing your health goals or not.

As I mentioned earlier, a DEXA scan is probably one of the most accurate ways to measure body fat but it is not at all easy to find a center that uses them to measure body fat percentage. There are many DEXA scans out there but most are used to measure bone density. Additionally, a DEXA scan is an X-ray, which will expose you to radiation, and is far more expensive than all of the other methods discussed. For a fraction of the price of one DEXA scan you can pick up an Eat Smart scale and merely step on it each day to monitor your progress.

Remember that it is FAR better to monitor your body fat percentage than it is your total weight, as the body fat percentage is what dictates metabolic health or dysfunction — not your total weight.

Tried-and-True Tips for Reaching a Healthy Weight

Once you review the research, it’s clear that if you are serious about losing weight, you have got to strictly limit the amount of fructose in your diet, as evidence is mounting that excess sugar, and fructose in particular, is the primary factor in the obesity epidemic. So cutting soda from your diet is essential. However many fail to appreciate the importance of cutting out other sources of fructose, including those found in processed foods, fruit juice, excessive fruit and so-called “healthy” sweeteners like agave.

Ideally you should keep your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day and this includes fruits. This is especially true if you have insulin resistance and are overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.

For the majority of people, severely restricting carbohydrates such as sugars, fructose, and grains in your diet will be the key to weight loss. Refined carbohydrates like breakfast cereals, bagels, waffles, pretzels, and most other processed foods quickly break down to sugar, increase your insulin levels, and cause insulin resistance, which is the number one underlying factor of nearly every chronic disease and condition known to man, including weight gain.

As you cut these dietary villains from your meals, you need to replace them with healthy substitutes like vegetables and healthy fats (including natural saturated fats!). Your body prefers the carbohydrates in vegetables rather than grains and sugars because it slows the conversion to simple sugars like glucose, and decreases your insulin level. When you cut grains and sugar from your meals, you typically will need to radically increase the amount of vegetables you eat, as well as make sure you are also consuming protein and healthy fats regularly.

I’ve detailed a step-by-step guide to this type of healthy eating program in my comprehensive nutrition plan, and I urge you to consult this guide if you are trying to lose weight.

The foods you choose to eat will be the driving force behind successfully achieving your weight loss goals — even more so than exercise. But exercise is still important for weight loss and optimal health. The key to boosting weight loss and getting the most out of your exercise routine is to make sure to incorporate high-intensity, short-burst-type exercises, such as my Peak Fitness Program, two to three times per week. Several studies have confirmed that exercising in shorter bursts with rest periods in between burns more fat than exercising continuously for an entire session.

If you are struggling with your weight, exercise is clearly one of the key factors that can synergize the effects of healthy food choices and help you reach your short- and long-term weight loss goals.

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New Study Finds Too Much Exercise Can Delay Pregnancy in Normal-Weight Women

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Even though exercise is extremely healthy — it’s the closest physical strategy to a “miracle drug” that I can think of — it’s becoming increasingly clear that too much exercise is not.

For most people this is not an issue, because most people are not exercising enough — and particularly not intensely enough.

But there are instances where you need to carefully consider your exercise strategy to make sure it is in line with, and supporting, your health goals.

Optimizing your fertility and how long you will live are examples.

If You’re Normal Weight and Want to Get Pregnant, Avoid Over-Exercising

New research in Fertility and Sterility looked into the association between physical activity and time to pregnancy.

Among women who were overweight or obese, any type of exercise improved fertility.

But among normal-weight women, higher levels of vigorous exercise — such as running on a treadmill for an hour five days a week — appeared to make it harder to conceive, as it led to delays in becoming pregnant.

It’s long been known that strenuous exercise can cause disturbances to a woman’s monthly cycle, leading to a lack of ovulation and menses, along with other fertility problems.

This is particularly common among competitive female athletes and marathon runners.

However, the study’s author, Lauren Wise, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health, suggested high-intensity exercise might also disturb implantation (when a fertilized egg attaches to the uterus).

Moderate exercise, on the other hand, led to faster times to pregnancy among all women. Only very vigorous exercise — which was defined as running, fast cycling, gymnastics or swimming for more than five hours a week — appeared to delay exercise in normal-weight (but not overweight or obese) women. Researchers concluded:

“These findings indicate that PA [physical activity] of any type might improve fertility among overweight and obese women, a subgroup at higher risk of infertility. Lean women who substitute vigorous PA with moderate PA may also improve their fertility.”

Why Less is Sometimes More When it Comes to Exercise

A growing body of research shows you may not need to spend as much time exercising as you think — provided that you are willing to put in some authentically vigorous effort when you do. Incorporating high-intensity interval training such as that advocated by fitness experts Phil Campbell or Dr. Doug McGuff can improve your fitness regimen. These types of exercises dramatically cut down on your exercise time while producing greater benefits—simply because you’re using your body as it was designed to be used.

When doing high-intensity anaerobic exercises like Peak Fitness, you can literally be done in about 20 minutes, compared to spending an hour running on the treadmill. And according to Dr. McGuff, if you’re doing Super Slow strength training, which is another form of high-intensity type training, all you need is 12 minutes a week. Yes, you read that right: 12 minutes a week!

If you perform Peak Fitness exercises correctly, it will trigger the release of human growth hormone (HGH), also known as “the fitness hormone,” which accounts for many of the health benefits of interval training.

But be mindful of your current fitness level and don’t overdo it when you first start out. Also keep in mind that there’s no “magical” speed here. It’s entirely individual, based on your current level of fitness. Some may reach their anabolic threshold by walking at a quick pace, while others may need to perform a mad-dash to get the same effect.

The remarkable effectiveness of interval training makes logical sense when you consider that this type of exertion mimics how our ancestors lived. This is also how animals and young children behave naturally (long-duration exercise really isn’t “natural”). By exercising in short bursts, followed by periods of recovery, you recreate exactly what your body needs for optimum health. That said, engaging in these high-intensity exercises two to three times a week is likely to lead to a decrease in body fat.

If you are seeking to get pregnant, or compete athletically, you will need slightly higher body fat stores to be in the optimal range. This may be one reason why lean women engaging in too much vigorous exercise took longer to become pregnant. The study defined about five hours a week as too much, so it’s likely that Peak Fitness exercises, which take only 20 minutes for the entire workout (with only four minutes of intense exercise) and should only be performed two or three times a week, max, would actually be beneficial.

What to Eat After Exercise to Help Optimize Fertility

Interestingly, it is virtually impossible to simultaneously optimize for both longevity and competitive fitness in terms of what you eat after a workout. This is because consuming fructose after you exercise will increase production of the hormone somatostatin, a primary purpose of which is to inhibit the production of HGH.

For most people, increasing HGH through high-intensity interval exercise is an important factor for optimizing health and longevity, so most of my readers will want to avoid sugar, fructose and juice following their workouts. But if you are seeking to optimize your fertility, or compete athletically, consuming some carbs, preferably dextrose-based, in the recovery period is probably a good idea to improve your recovery time and maximize your fertility or athletic performance. If you are not concerned about fertility or athletic performance, then lower carbs and lower percentage of body fat would be a more appropriate goal.

More Strategies for Optimizing Fertility

An estimated 1 in 6 American couples struggle with fertility each year, and there’s compelling evidence that lifestyle, diet and environmental exposures are largely to blame. Not only are you exposed to hundreds (if not thousands) of toxins each and every day, but some of the most commonly prescribed drugs, poor diet, and common vitamin deficiencies have also been linked to reduced fertility, just to name a few.

As Iva Keene, author of the Natural Fertility Prescription, stated:

“Conventional IVF and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments don’t address root causes of infertility. These root causes can include: nutritional deficiencies, toxin exposure, stress, food intolerances, allergies and immune deficiencies. These subtle but critical factors interact synergistically to impact the quality of your eggs and sperm, affecting your ability to conceive and the health of your embryo.

… during the generation and maturation of gamete cells — sperm and ovum — that form an embryo [a period of 120 days], everything that you and your partner ingest, inhale or are exposed to will influence the health of your eggs and sperm for better or worse, and the ultimate quality of the genetic building blocks you pass onto your child. This is why it’s crucial to follow a good preconception plan for a minimum of 4 months before conception. A baby is a 50-50 product of his or her parents — therefore optimizing the quality of eggs and sperm is of paramount importance.”

Some natural options to consider include:

  • Optimize your vitamin D levels with safe sun exposure, a safe tanning bed or a vitamin D3 supplement. Vitamin D impacts fertility on multiple levels, including boosting levels of progesterone and estrogen in women, which may help regulate menstrual cycles and improve your likelihood of conceiving naturally. In men, vitamin D is essential for the healthy development of the nucleus of the sperm cell, improves semen quality and sperm count, and is capable of supporting healthy testosterone levels.
  • Avoid genetically engineered food, especially corn and soy. These contain significant concentrations of the herbicide glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup), which has been linked to infertility in a number of studies.
  • Avoid chemicals as much as possible. Bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalates, fluoride (in drinking water), MSG, and many, many others have shown negative impacts on your reproductive health.
  • Consume a healthy diet, rich in healthy fats and antioxidants, and low in sugar and grains. Rather than eating conventional or farm-raised fish, which are often heavily contaminated with endocrine disruptors, PCBs and mercury, supplement with a high-quality purified fish or krill oil, or eat fish that is wild-caught and lab tested for purity. Eat mostly raw, fresh foods, steering clear of processed, prepackaged foods of all kinds. This way you automatically avoid hidden fructose and artificial food additives, including dangerous artificial sweeteners, food coloring and MSG. As much as possible, purchase and consume organic, locally grown and free-range foods to reduce your exposure to pesticides, fertilizers and other toxins.
  • Identify potential gluten intolerance. Celiac disease (gluten intolerance) has been linked to fertility problems in both sexes. In men, it’s associated with abnormal sperm, such as lower sperm numbers, altered shape, and reduced function. Men with untreated celiac disease may also have lower testosterone levels.
  • Be aware of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), as research suggests cell phones may impact sperm quality as well. One study found men who talked on a cell phone for more than four hours a day had the lowest average sperm counts (50 million per milliliter) and the least healthy sperm.

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Too Busy to Exercise? Get Fit in 3 Minutes a Week

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

The most recent research shows that relatively short bursts of intense exercise—even if done only a total of a few minutes each week—can deliver many of the health- and fitness benefits you get from doing hours of conventional exercise.

By doing just three minutes of High Intensity Training (HIT) a week for four weeks, you could see significant changes in important health indices.

At some research centers, participants were able to improve their insulin sensitivity an average of 24 percent with as little as three minutes of HIT per week.

BBC News reports :

“So how does it work? …  [P]art of the explanation is (probably) that HIT uses far more of your muscle tissue than classic aerobic exercise. 

When you do HIT, you are using not just the leg muscles, but also the upper body including arms and shoulders, so that 80 percent of the body’s muscle cells are activated, compared to 20-40 percent for walking or moderate intensity jogging or cycling.”

But there’s an important caveat…

Just how well high intensity training actually works may in large part depend on your genetic makeup.

Your Genes May Determine How Little Exercise You Need

We often tend to believe that exercise will affect most people in similar ways. But that may be an oversimplification—at least when it comes to how little exercise you can get away with and still maintain good health. In the featured article, Michael Mosley offers the following explanation:

“The fact is that people respond to exercise in very different ways. In one international study 1,000 people were asked to exercise four hours a week for 20 weeks. Their aerobic fitness was measured before and after starting this regime and the results were striking. Although 15 percent of people made huge strides (so-called “super-responders”), 20 percent showed no real improvement at all (“non-responders”).

There is no suggestion that the non-responders weren’t exercising properly, it was simply that the exercise they were doing was not making them any aerobically fitter. Jamie [Timmons. Professor of ageing biology at Birmingham University] and his collaborators investigated the reasons for these variations and discovered that much of the difference could be traced to a small number of genes.  On the basis of this finding they have developed a genetic test to predict who is likely to be a responder, and who is not.”

I thought that the recent report in the BBC News was an interesting confirmation of the Peak Fitness approach I have been advocating for some time now. It is important not to get caught up in the non-responder element of the report as it is was related to aerobic fitness, which we now realize is far less important than anaerobic fitness. It is safe to assume that everyone, including you, requires the metabolic challenge to stay healthy and avoid disease. While some people may actually get more aerobically fit than others, virtually everyone seems to benefit if the exercises are done properly.

Less than One Hour a Month Can Improve Your Insulin Sensitivity by Nearly 25 Percent

Mosley tested HIT for himself, and reveals the results in the featured article. He performed the exercises on a stationary bike. After warming up, he cycled “all-out” for 20 seconds, rested for a couple of minutes, and then gave it his all for another 20 seconds. Total time; just a few minutes!  After four weeks—which amounted to a grand total of 12 minutes of intense exercise and 36 minutes of relaxed pedaling—Mosley’s insulin sensitivity had improved a respectable 24 percent. His aerobic fitness, however, remained unchanged.

He writes:

“It turns out that the genetic test they had done on me had suggested I was a non-responder and however much exercise I had done, and of whatever form, my aerobic fitness would not have improved. My dreams of winning Olympic gold ended there and then. I will continue doing HIT because I can see the benefits. It won’t suit everyone, because although it is short, it is extremely intense.”

This truly is amazing, and while aerobic fitness is indeed important, improving and maintaining good insulin sensitivity is perhaps one of the most important aspects of optimal health. Previous research has demonstrated that 20 minutes of high intensity training, two to three times a week, can yield greater results than slow and steady conventional aerobics done five times a week. But the fact that you can improve your insulin sensitivity by nearly 25 percent with a time investment of less than ONE HOUR A MONTH really should send people straight to the gym en masse…

How to Maximize the Health Benefits of  Peak Fitness Training

However, you don’t need a gym to perform high intensity interval exercises. It can be performed with virtually any type of exercise; with or without equipment. You can just as easily perform interval training by walking or running outdoors as you can using a recumbent bike or an elliptical machine.

While it’s theoretically possible to reap valuable results with as little as three minutes once a week, it might be more beneficial doing them two or three times a week for a total of four minutes of intense exertion, especially if you are not doing strength training.. You do not need to do them more often than that however. In fact, doing it more frequently than two or three times a week can be counterproductive, as your body needs to recover between sessions.

I personally do Peak Fitness on an elliptical once a week (see below) but currently, twice a week, I am doing a fairly intense strength training workout.  If I feel that I have plenty of energy and can complete the workout, then I continue in that frequency, but if I get tired and poop out during the session, I know it is time for me to increase my recovery time. In that case, I decrease strength training to once a week and put more time in on the Power Plate.

If you want to do more, focus on making sure you’re really pushing yourself as hard as you can during those two or three weekly sessions, rather than increasing the frequency. Intensity is KEY for reaping all the benefits interval training can offer. To perform it correctly, you’ll want to raise your heart rate to your anaerobic threshold, and to do that, you have to give it your all for those 20 to 30 second intervals.  Here’s a summary of what a typical interval routine might look like using an elliptical:

  • Warm up for three minutes
  • Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should be gasping for breath and feel like you couldn’t possibly go on another few seconds. It is better to use lower resistance and higher repetitions to increase your heart rate
  • Recover for 90 seconds, still moving, but at slower pace and decreased resistance
  • Repeat the high intensity exercise and recovery 7 more times

When you’re first starting out, depending on your level of fitness, you may only be able to do two or three repetitions of the high intensity intervals. As you get fitter, just keep adding repetitions until you’re doing eight during your 20 minute session. You will notice that the Peak Fitness has 30 seconds rather than 20 and goes for 8 sessions so it is a harder workout. But, as the article states, if you do less, you will still get benefits. They just may not be as dramatic as with the Peak Fitness approach.

Even Brief Exercise Produces Genetic Changes

The featured findings also support recent research published in the journal Cell Metabolism, which shows that when healthy but inactive people exercise intensely, even if the exercise is brief, it produces an immediate change in their DNA . While the underlying genetic code in the muscle remains unchanged, exercise causes important structural and chemical changes to the DNA molecules within the muscles, and this contraction-induced gene activation appears to be early events leading to the genetic reprogramming of muscle for strength, and to the structural and metabolic benefits of exercise.

Several of the genes affected by an acute bout of exercise are genes involved in fat metabolism. Specifically, the study suggests that when you exercise, your body almost immediately experiences genetic activation that increases the production of fat-busting proteins. Previous studies have identified and measured a wide variety of biochemical changes that occur during exercise. More than 20 different metabolites are affected by exercise, including compounds that help you burn calories and fat, and compounds that help stabilize your blood sugar. These biochemical changes create a positive feedback loop.

As mentioned earlier, one of the key health benefits of exercise is that it helps normalize your glucose and insulin levels by optimizing insulin receptor sensitivity. This is perhaps the most important factor for optimizing your overall health and preventing chronic disease.

Aim for a Well-Rounded Fitness Program

While high intensity interval exercises accomplish greater benefits in a fraction of the time compared to slow, endurance-type exercises like jogging, I do not recommend limiting yourself to a few minutes of exercise per week. If that’s all you have for now, then by all means, do what you can. But ideally, to truly optimize your health, you’ll want to strive for a varied and well-rounded fitness program that incorporates other types of exercise as well. Without variety, your body will quickly adapt. As a general rule, as soon as an exercise becomes easy to complete, you need to increase the intensity and/or try another exercise to keep challenging your body.

I recommend incorporating the following types of exercise into your program:

  1. Interval (Anaerobic) Training: This is when you alternate short bursts of high-intensity exercise with gentle recovery periods.
  2. Strength Training: Rounding out your exercise program with a 1-set strength training routine will ensure that you’re really optimizing the possible health benefits of a regular exercise program. You can also “up” the intensity by slowing it down. For more information about using super slow weight training as a form of high intensity interval exercise, please see my interview with Dr. Doug McGuff.
  3. Core Exercises: Your body has 29 core muscles located mostly in your back, abdomen and pelvis. This group of muscles provides the foundation for movement throughout your entire body, and strengthening them can help protect and support your back, make your spine and body less prone to injury and help you gain greater balance and stability. You need enough repetitions to exhaust your muscles. The weight should be heavy enough that this can be done in fewer than 12 repetitions, yet light enough to do a minimum of four repetitions. It is also important NOT to exercise the same muscle groups every day. They need at least two days of rest to recover, repair and rebuild. Exercise programs like Pilates and yoga are also great for strengthening your core muscles, as are specific exercises you can learn from a personal trainer.
  4. Stretching: My favorite type of stretching is active isolated stretches developed by Aaron Mattes. With Active Isolated Stretching, you hold each stretch for only two seconds, which works with your body’s natural physiological makeup to improve circulation and increase the elasticity of muscle joints. This technique also allows your body to repair itself and prepare for daily activity. You can also use devices like the Power Plate to help you stretch.

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Serious Tip to Help Women Cheat Death

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

If you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, new research suggests that one of the best strategies to improve your chances of recovery is to start a regular exercise program.

This is a radical departure from the now-outdated advice that cancer patients should rest and take it easy the way heart attack patients were treated fifty years ago.

If your oncologist is not yet up to speed on the healing power of exercise, you may want to consider finding one who is …

Exercise after Cancer Diagnosis Improves Survival

A new study has shown that breast cancer patients who start exercising regularly within six months of diagnosis can lower their chances of dying by up to 30 percent.

The researchers found a benefit among those who exercised a minimum of 2.5 hours a week for 18 consecutive months, although the best results came to those who exercised almost every day.

The physical activity supported the women’s ability to fight off the disease, improving both overall and disease-free survival.

A separate, earlier study by Harvard Medical School researchers found similar benefits … breast cancer patients who exercise moderately — 3-5 hours a week — reduce their odds of dying from breast cancer by about half as compared to sedentary women.

In fact, any amount of weekly exercise increased a patient’s odds of surviving breast cancer, and this held true regardless of whether women were diagnosed early on or after their cancer had spread.

The new recommendation — that cancer patients and cancer survivors should exercise at least 2.5 hours a week (an amount that should be easily attainable) — was buttressed in a report by Macmillan Cancer Support. As Jane Maher, chief medical officer of Macmillan Cancer Support and clinical oncologist, told BBC News:

“The advice that I would have previously given to one of my patients would have been to ‘take it easy’. This has now changed significantly because of the recognition that if physical exercise were a drug, it would be hitting the headlines.”

Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, echoed these sentiments:

“Cancer patients would be shocked if they knew just how much of a benefit physical activity could have on their recovery and long term health … “

You Can Get BETTER Results with FAR Less Exercise

It is important to understand that these researchers were not aware of the superior results of using high-intensity interval Peak Fitness type exercises. That was not part of the study design, but if it were, my guess is that it would have been FAR more effective than the 2.5 hours of exercise they found to be effective. More than likely one hour per week of high intensity would be far more beneficial. But that one hour is TOTAL time including warm up, recovery and cool down. The actual amount of high intensity exercise is only TWELVE MINUTES per week, which is quite extraordinary.

The report noted that evidence is growing to support the role of physical activity at all stages of cancer, both during and after treatment:

“Physical activity is important for cancer patients at all stages of the cancer care pathway. There is evidence to support the role of physical activity for the following stages of the cancer care pathway:

  1. During cancer treatment – physical activity improves, or prevents the decline of physical function without increasing fatigue.
  2. After cancer treatment – physical activity helps recover physical function.
  3. During and after cancer treatment – physical activity can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and mortality for some cancers and can reduce the risk of developing other long-term conditions.
  4. Advanced cancer – physical activity can help maintain independence and wellbeing.”

Exercise Can Help You Feel Like Yourself Again

A cancer diagnosis is mentally and physically exhausting, and if you are undergoing radiation or chemotherapy as a form of treatment, this can be particularly debilitating (you may want to look into some of the natural cancer treatments available, which do not cause the serious, sometimes deadly, side effects associated with conventional cancer treatment). Exercise can be invaluable here, helping to lessen your symptoms and generally improve how you feel, which means you’ll be able to get back to your normal life more quickly.

The Macmillan Cancer Support report highlighted the following ways that exercise can help you to mitigate some of the common side effects of conventional cancer treatment, including the ability to:

Why You Should Start Exercising Even if You’re Cancer-Free…

Exercise is one of the most powerful strategies available to reduce your cancer risk, so starting a program while you’re cancer-free should increase your chances of staying that way.

The notion that exercise may help prevent cancer dates back to 1922, when two independent studies observed that cancer deaths declined among men working occupations that required higher amounts of physical activity. Since then a paper in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise reported that “more than a hundred epidemiologic studies on the role of physical activity and cancer prevention have been published.”

In the same paper, which reviewed published epidemiologic studies on physical activity and the risk of developing cancer, it’s noted that:

“The data are clear in showing that physically active men and women have about a 30-40% reduction in the risk of developing colon cancer, compared with inactive persons … With regard to breast cancer, there is reasonably clear evidence that physically active women have about a 20-30% reduction in risk, compared with inactive women. It also appears that 30-60 min·d-1 of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity is needed to decrease the risk of breast cancer, and that there is likely a dose-response relation.”

How Does Exercise Fight and Prevent Cancer?

One of the primary reasons exercise works to lower your cancer risk is because it decreases your insulin receptor sensitivity thus lowering your insulin and leptin levels. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risk. It’s also been suggested that apoptosis (programmed cell death) is enhanced by exercise, increasingly the likelihood that cancer cells will die. Exercise also improves the circulation of immune cells in your blood, as well as your lymphatic system, which has no “pump” other than your bodily movements. The job of these cells is to neutralize pathogens throughout your body, as well as destroy precancerous cells before they become cancerous.

According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, which explored the relationship between exercise and cancer, exercise affects several biological functions that may directly influence your cancer risk. These effects include changes in:

Tips for Exercising Safely if You Have Cancer

You may find that you’re able to take part in a regular exercise program — one that involves a variety of exercises like strength training, core-building, stretching, aerobic and anaerobic — with very little changes necessary. Ideally your fitness program should be like any other — comprehensive, providing activities that will improve your strength, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities with high-intensity Peak Fitness exercises.

However, you may find that you need to exercise at a lower intensity or for shorter durations at times. Always listen to your body and if you feel you need a break, take time to rest. Even exercising for a few minutes a day is better than not exercising at all, and you’ll likely find that your stamina increases and you’re able to complete more challenging workouts with each passing day. In the event you are suffering from a very weakened immune system, you may want to exercise in your home instead of visiting a public gym.

What Else Can You do to Help Prevent Breast Cancer?

It’s estimated that about 40 percent of U.S. breast cancer cases could be prevented if people made wiser lifestyle choices. This is not intended to place blame but rather to empower you to take control of your health. I believe these estimates are even far too low, and it is more likely that 75 percent to 90 percent of breast cancers could be avoided by strictly applying the following recommendations.

  • Eat healthy. This means avoid sugar, especially fructose, as all forms of sugar are detrimental to health in general and promote cancer. Also, focus on eating whole, organic foods and fresh vegetables while avoiding cancer-causing foods.
  • Vitamin D. There’s overwhelming evidence pointing to the fact that vitamin D deficiency plays a crucial role in cancer development. You can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by optimizing your vitamin D levels with adequate sun exposure. And if you are being treated for cancer it is likely that higher blood levels—probably around 80-90 ng/ml—would be beneficial. The health benefits of optimizing your levels, either by safe sun exposure (ideally), a safe tanning bed, or oral supplementation as a last resort, simply cannot be overstated.
  • Get proper sleep both in terms of getting enough sleep, and sleeping between certain hours. According to Ayurvedic medicine, the ideal hours for sleep are between 10 pm and 6 am. Modern research has confirmed the value of this recommendation as certain hormonal fluctuations occur throughout the day and night, and if you engage in the appropriate activities during those times, you’re ‘riding the wave’ so to speak, and are able to get the optimal levels. Working against your biology by staying awake when you should ideally be sleeping or vice versa, interferes with these hormonal fluctuations. It’s also important to sleep in complete darkness, as this is what allows your body to produce melatonin, a natural cancer fighter. According to Dr. Christine Horner, a board certified general and plastic surgeon: “If we, for instance, go to bed by 10, we have higher levels of our sleep hormone melatonin; there’s a spike that occurs between midnight and 1am, which you don’t want to miss because the consequences are absolutely spectacular. Melatonin is not only our sleep hormone, but it also is a very powerful antioxidant. It decreases the amount of estrogen our body produces. It also boosts your immune system … And it interacts with the other hormones.  So, if you go to bed after 10 … it significantly increases your risk of breast cancer.”
  • Effectively address your stress. The research shows that if you experience a traumatic or highly stressful event, such as a death in the family, your risk of breast cancer is 12 times higher in the ensuing five years. So be sure you tend to your emotional health, not just your physical health.

I recently interviewed Dr. Christine Horner, a board certified general and plastic surgeon, who shared her extensive knowledge about breast cancer—its causes and its cures, and the pro’s and con’s of various screening methods. I suggest you listen to that interview now, in addition to learning about the many all-natural cancer-prevention strategies listed above.

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Running Marathons Is Not Natural for the Body

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Hi this is a question from Nikos in Greece and he is a dentist and he is used to run marathons and he is 61 years old and he is wondering if it is advisable for a 61-year-old to run marathons.

The reason why I am not very much in favor of running marathons is because it is very unnatural for the human body to endure such enormous amounts of stress, because when you consistently have to use the heart and the lungs in such a way that they have to go in overdrive, and go into an anaerobic process, that means using existing oxygen in the body, rather than one that is made available through the breathing… when you go rapidly out of breath, then the body goes into the anaerobic mode which can deplete or can stress the cells quite thoroughly, deeply, which means they cannot do their normal regular jobs, and typically after a marathon there is a depletion of energy for several days, sometimes for weeks, which means that that there is considerable amount of damage done to the cells.

The other thing is that marathon runners actually shrink their hearts, this is something that not many marathon runners are actually aware of. When you only use the muscles and when you run in a marathon you know that the muscles actually shrink, they become less, because you use up a huge amount of energy and nutrients made available to the muscles so the muscles tend to become smaller and then they replenish during the resting period afterwards but the heart muscle, the heart is a muscle, also starts shrinking because it is overused, it’s depleted and it takes time for it to regenerate itself, but in many cases when there are professional marathon runners, they actually shrink their hearts and they it can become very, very small, and eventually it can lead to infarction and that’s why we do find quite a few marathon runners have died as soon as they cross the finishing line or even before crossing the finishing line.

So there is a risk involved and I would hate that you would incur such a risk for proving to yourself that you can, as a 61-year-old, do that. There are many ways to enhance your health and to exercise in a more kind way that means kind to your body rather than stressing it so much.

On the other hand, you find that the lung capacity also diminishes in time. It’s found that the lungs themselves also beginning to shrink.

On the other hand when you look at short distance runners they have very, very strong hearts, they have actually some of the best hearts in the world, and their lung capacity is absolutely normal and they have incredible strength and also muscle strength.

The reason why that is, is because the short distance runners they only stimulate their hearts like running hundred meters is giving the heart a boost, its making it move very rapidly, pump up blood very rapidly and then suddenly there is a stop and so this have been shown, found, to be extremely beneficial for the body, it’s a similar system as described in the Pace system, P-A-C-E, where you alternate very strong physical activity but that is very short like one minute followed by minute or two of resting or slowing down and again repeating a very strenuous workout for one minute and then slowing down or relaxing, and repeating that for six to eight times. So within two minutes you have done a workout, which is far more beneficial than hours of aerobic exercise.

This is the kind of workout that animals do in the wilderness, like if you look at wild horses, they run a short distance, then they stop, graze, and then they run again some short distance. There is no animal in the world that is constantly running like marathons runners are, that is considered, in the animal kingdom, totally abnormal, it just doesn’t happen. So it’s good to experience breaks between such workouts but not to stress the body on going for, sometimes hours, which can have its own risks that I don’t recommend to anyone.

There are marathon runners that are healthy, they are particularly of the Kapha type in Ayurveda which you can find more information about that in my book “Timeless Secrets Of Health And Rejuvenation”. They have the longest endurance, they are the least susceptible to over exercising, they have almost an endless amount of energy, they would be the best suited for such more strenuous workouts but if you are a Pitta type or a Vata type then there are considerable risks involved in running marathons, and it would be better if you had some more gentle exercise programs that you do that are equally rewarding.

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This Type of Exercise Can Actually Make You Smarter

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Your brain can shrink up to 15 percent as you get older, and this size decrease is associated with dementia, poor memory and other mental health issues like depression.

But this shrinkage isn’t inevitable. People with “healthy” brains are less likely to experience this loss in brain size, even if they’re older.

What’s one of the most important steps you can “take” to keep your brain healthy? Exercise!

Want to Get Smarter? Do This Often…

If you value your brainpower, you’ll want to make certain that exercise is a regular part of your life.

Staying active with a variety of activities is best, as each type of execise may offer unique benefits for your brain health and may even help your brain to grow as you get older, rather than shrink.

For instance, a review of more than 100 studies, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, revealed that both aerobic and resistance training are important for maintaining cognitive and brain health in old age.

The lead researcher, Michelle Voss, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Iowa, noted multiple benefits of each.

As reported in the Los Angeles Times:

“Aerobic exercise improves ability to coordinate multiple things, long-term planning and your ability to stay on task for extended periods. Resistance training, which is much less studied than the aerobic side of things, “improves your ability to focus amid distracters.”

… Voss explained that MRIs of people in their 60s showed increases in gray and white matter after just six months of exercise. This happens in the prefrontal and temporal lobes, sites that usually diminish with age. With exercise, Voss says, they grow.

Voss also explained that the hippocampus area of the brain, key for memory formation, shrinks 1% to 2% per year in those older than 60, but when people in this age group begin fitness regimens, it grows by 1% to 2% instead.  Beyond growing one’s brain, exercise improves the ability of different parts of the brain to work together, Voss says.”

Do You Want to Avoid Alzheimer’s Disease?

According to one of the studies referenced above, moderate exercise can reverse normal brain shrinkage by 2 percent, effectively reversing age-related hippocampus degeneration by one to two years. Also according to the study, the people in the control group who didn’t exercise saw an average of 1.4 percent decrease in hippocampus size.

Now listen up … when these researchers say the hippocampus region of the brain increases in size as a response to exercise, they are talking about a powerful tool to fight the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The hippocampus, which is considered the memory center of your brain, is the first region of your brain to suffer shrinkage and impairment at the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, leading to memory problems and disorientation.

According to the research team:

“We demonstrate that loss of hippocampal volume in late adulthood is not inevitable and can be reversed with moderate-intensity exercise.”

Other contributing factors to brain disease caused by the normal aging process may also include a decrease in blood flow to your brain, and the accumulation of environmental toxins in your brain. Exercise can help ameliorate both of these conditions by increasing blood flow to your brain, thereby increasing oxygen supply to your brain and encouraging a more vigorous release and removal of accumulated toxins through better blood circulation. Increased blood flow may also promote delivery of more of the nutrients necessary to keep your brain cells healthy in the first place.

This is Your Brain “on Exercise”

Exercise encourages your brain to work at optimum capacity by causing nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections and protecting them from damage. Animal tests have illustrated that during exercise their nerve cells release proteins known as neurotrophic factors. One in particular, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health, and has a direct benefit on brain functions, including learning. Further, exercise provides protective effects to your brain through:

  • The production of nerve-protecting compounds
  • Greater blood flow to your brain
  • Improved development and survival of neurons
  • Decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases

A 2010 study on primates published in the journal Neuroscience also revealed that regular exercise not only improved blood flow to the brain, but also helped the monkeys learn new tasks twice as quickly as non-exercising monkeys — a benefit the researchers believe would hold true for people as well.

Exercise Important for Kids’ Brains Too

Many people don’t think about their brain function until they start to lose it, i.e. when they begin to feel the hands of time start ticking away. But that is not to say that only those who are in their golden years can benefit. An extensive review of 14 studies, ranging in size from as few as 50 participants to as many as 12,000, demonstrated that the more physically active schoolchildren are, the better they do academically.

One test program not too far from our Chicago-area office at Naperville Central High School in Illinois illustrated this point in a powerful way two years ago. Students participated in a dynamic morning exercise program at the beginning of the day, and had access to exercise bikes and balls throughout the day in their classrooms. The results were astounding. Those who participated nearly doubled their reading scores, and their math scores increased 20-fold!

Research has also shown that after 30 minutes on the treadmill, students solve problems up to 10 percent more effectively. So it’s important that you encourage your child to stay active after school and on weekends in order to reap the wonderful brain-boosting benefits that exercise has to offer. Even better, be a positive role model and stay active together as a family.

You Can Still Have a Life if You Exercise…

Many people sabotage their exercise efforts before they even begin because they tell themselves they’re too busy. But here’s the thing, you don’t have to devote hours everyday to stay in shape and get the health benefits exercise has to offer.

One of the best exercises available – Peak Fitness – takes just 20 minutes to complete. This is because it’s a high-intensity exercise, alternating short bursts of activity with periods of rest in between, which gives you phenomenal results in a fraction of the time compared to traditional cardio workouts. There are no rules for the specific manner in which this is achieved—you could do this running in the backyard, or using a treadmill, elliptical machine, or recumbent bike – or you could do it bicycling outdoors. Here are the core principles:

  1. Warm up for three minutes
  2. Then, go all out, as hard as you can for 30 seconds
  3. Recover at a moderate pace for 90 seconds
  4. Repeat 7 more times, for a total of 8 repetitions
  5. Cool down for a few minutes afterwards by cutting down your intensity by 50-80 percent

Peak Fitness should only be done a few times a week. So one day you might do a Peak Fitness interval type workout, the next day you might spend 45 minutes going through a strength-training routine. The next, you pop in a Pilates video before your morning shower, and then over the weekend maybe you don another Peak Fitness work out and head outside hiking with the kids or riding bikes around your neighborhood.

Your exercise program can and should conform to your lifestyle, and once you develop a solid routine, you’ll find you look forward to and enjoy your exercise sessions all while reaping their massive rewards to your brain, and your overall, health. You simply won’t want to stop as you know how good you feel when you exercise regularly. That my friends, is one of the best types of positive reinforcement known to man.

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Improve Blood Sugar Within 24 Hours, After Just 1 Session

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Did you know that working out just 20 minutes using interval exercise may provide many of the same benefits of much longer workouts done in conventional “long-duration” style?

A growing body of research shows you may not need to spend as much time exercising as you think — provided that you are willing to truly put in some effort when you do.

Most recently, a Canadian research team recently gathered several groups of volunteers, including sedentary but generally healthy middle-aged men and women, and patients of a similar age who had been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.

The participants were asked to undertake a program of cycling intervals — repeated short bursts of strenuous activity, divided by rest periods.

According to the New York Times:

“Most of us have heard of intervals, or repeated, short, sharp bursts of strenuous activity, interspersed with rest periods.

Almost all competitive athletes strategically employ a session or two of interval training every week to improve their speed and endurance.

But the Canadian researchers were not asking their volunteers to sprinkle a few interval sessions into exercise routines.

Instead, the researchers wanted the groups to exercise exclusively with intervals.”

After several weeks on the program, both the unfit volunteers and the cardiac patients showed significant improvements in their health and fitness. Most remarkably, the cardiac patients showed “significant improvements” in both heart and blood vessel functioning. And, contrary to what popular belief might dictate, the intense exercises did not cause any heart problems for any of the cardiac patients. The belief is that the brevity of the exercise helps insulate your heart from the intensity.

How Intense is “High Intensity” Training?

The key to make interval training work is intensity. The cycling program developed for the out of shape and ill patients in the featured study was a gentler version of the interval training typically used, when you really go all out to reach your maximum heart rate. In this modified routine, the participants did one minute of strenuous effort, raising their heart rate to about 90 percent of their maximum, followed by one minute of recovery.

These intervals were repeated 10 times for a 20 minute long workout.

Your maximum heart rate can be roughly calculated as 220 minus your age. However, to measure the intensity of your effort, you really need a heart rate monitor. It’s nearly impossible to accurately measure your heart rate manually when it is above 150. And accuracy is important. There’s a big difference between a heart rate of 170 and 174 (or 160 and 164 if you are over 50). Once you reach your maximum heart rate you may feel a bit light headed and, of course, VERY short of breath. But your body catches up quite rapidly and in about 30-60 seconds you will start to feel much better. Most people feel tired but great once they’re done.

For the past couple of years, I’ve heavily promoted high intensity interval training as a key strategy for improving your health, boosting weight loss, promoting human growth hormone (HGH) production, and improving strength and stamina. I’ve been doing it myself since April 2010, after meeting fitness expert Phil Campbell (author of Ready Set Go), so I can also vouch for its effectiveness from personal experience.

Summary of my Interval Training Program

The interval program created by Phil Campbell also takes about 20 minutes, but here you’ll want to push your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold during the exertion portion. The silver lining is that the actual sprinting totals a mere 4 minutes instead of 10! Here’s a summary of what a typical interval routine might look like (for a full demonstration, see the video below):

  1. Warm up for three minutes
  2. Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should be gasping for breath and feel like you couldn’t possibly go on another few seconds
  3. Recover for 90 seconds, still moving, but at slower pace and decreased resistance
  4. Repeat the high intensity exercise and recovery 7 more times, for a total of 8 repetitions

By the end of your 30 second period you will want to reach these markers:

  • It will be relatively hard to breathe and talk because you are in oxygen debt
  • You will start to sweat. Typically this occurs in the second or third repetition unless you have a thyroid issue and don’t sweat much normally.
  • Your body temperature will rise
  • Lactic acid increases and you will feel a muscle “burn”

While you may need to slowly work your way up to this point, ultimately you want to exercise vigorously enough to reach your anaerobic threshold as this is where the “magic” happens that will trigger your growth hormone (HGH) release. HGH, also known as “the fitness hormone,” accounts for many of the health benefits of interval training.

But be mindful of your current fitness level and don’t overdo it when you first start out. Also keep in mind that there’s no “magical” speed here. It’s entirely individual, based on your current level of fitness. Some may reach their anabolic threshold by walking at a quick pace, while others may need to perform a mad-dash to get the same effect.

The Many Health Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training

Once you engage in these high-int ensity exercises two to three times a week, most people notice the following benefits:

The remarkable effectiveness of interval training makes logical sense when you consider that this type of exertion mimics how our ancestors lived. This is also how animals and young children behave naturally (long-duration exercise really isn’t “natural”). By exercising in short bursts, followed by periods of recovery, you recreate exactly what your body needs for optimum health, and that includes the production of growth hormones, the burning of excess body fat, and improved cardiovascular health and stamina.

More Supporting Evidence

In a 2008 study published in the Journal of Physiology, Canadian researchers compared the effects of steady versus interval cycling. Active but untrained young men and women were divided into two groups:

  • The interval training group performed four to six repeats of 30-second all-out effort, with 4 ½ minutes of recovery between repeats, three days a week
  • The conventional cardio group cycled continuously for 40-60 minutes, five days a week

After six weeks, the leg muscles of those in the interval training group exhibited similar physiological changes as seen in those who performed multiple, hour-long sessions each week of steady cycling. The main difference? Those performing interval training spent just 1.5 hours per week in the gym, compared to about 4.5-5 hours for the conventional group.

Researchers have also concluded that interval training has a significantly beneficial impact on insulin sensitivity. In a study published last year, unfit but otherwise healthy middle-aged adults were able to improve their insulin sensitivity and blood sugar regulation after just two weeks of interval training (three sessions per week). A follow-up study of the featured study also found that interval training positively impacted insulin sensitivity. In fact, the study involved people with full-blown type 2 diabetes, and just ONE interval training session was able to improve blood sugar regulation for the next 24 hours.

Interval Training is Part of a Balanced Exercise Routine

Exercise is one of the most important tools that you can implement to gain optimal health, but as great as it is, it’s still important to include a variety of activities. Otherwise, your body will quickly adapt to your program, and whenever exercise becomes easy to complete, it’s a sign you need to work a little harder and give your body a new challenge. So when you’re planning your exercise routine, make sure to incorporates the following types of exercise:

  • Aerobic: Jogging, using an elliptical machine, and walking fast are all examples of aerobic exercise. As you get your heart pumping, the amount of oxygen in your blood improves, and endorphins, which act as natural painkillers, increase. Meanwhile, aerobic exercise activates your immune system, helps your heart pump blood more efficiently, and increases your stamina over time.
  • Interval (Anaerobic) Training: Again, this is when you alternate short bursts of high-intensity exercise with gentle recovery periods.
  • Strength Training: Rounding out your exercise program with a 1-set strength training routine will ensure that you’re really optimizing the possible health benefits of a regular exercise program.

Here you also have the option of including Super Slow Weight Training, which will give you many of the same health benefits as interval training on a recumbent bike, for example. The only difference is you’re doing it with weights. For more information about this, please see my interview with Dr. Doug McGuff. Another benefit of super-slow weight training that makes it ideal for virtually everyone, regardless of age or fitness level, is its safety, as it actively prevents you from accidentally harming your joints or suffering repetitive use injury.

  • Core Exercises: Your body has 29 core muscles located mostly in your back, abdomen and pelvis. This group of muscles provides the foundation for movement throughout your entire body, and strengthening them can help protect and support your back, make your spine and body less prone to injury and help you gain greater balance and stability.

You need enough repetitions to exhaust your muscles. The weight should be heavy enough that this can be done in fewer than 12 repetitions, yet light enough to do a minimum of four repetitions. It is also important NOT to exercise the same muscle groups every day. They need at least two days of rest to recover, repair and rebuild.

Exercise programs like Pilates and yoga are great for strengthening your core muscles, as are specific exercises you can learn from a personal trainer.

  • Stretching: My favorite type of stretching is Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) developed by Aaron Mattes. With AIS, you hold each stretch for only two seconds, which works with your body’s natural physiological makeup to improve circulation and increase the elasticity of muscle joints. This technique also allows your body to repair itself and prepare for daily activity.

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Chiropractors and Exercise Are Better than Drugs Says New Study

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Chronic pain is an exceedingly common condition impacting an estimated 76.5 million Americans, one-third of whom describe their pain as severe and “disabling”.

Among them, many suffer from neck pain, which is the third most common type of pain according to the American Pain Foundation.

It is estimated that 70 percent of people will experience neck pain at some point in their lives but research into effective treatments is surprisingly limited.

If you visit a conventional physician for pain, there’s a very good chance you’ll leave with a prescription for a medication, as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acetaminophen (Tylenol) and even opioids (OxyContin, Vicodin, etc.) are the go-to treatment for pain in the modern medical world.

However, there are better options than drugs for neck pain, not only in terms of pain relief, but also in helping to treat the underlying cause of the pain so that healing can truly occur.

New Study Shows Exercises and Chiropractic Care Beat Drugs for Neck Pain

According to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and funded by the National Institutes of Health, medication is not the best option for treating neck pain.

After following 272 neck-pain patients for 12 weeks, those who used a chiropractor or exercise were more than twice as likely to be pain free compared to those who took medication.

Specifically:

  • 32 percent who received chiropractic care became pain free
  • 30 percent of those who exercised became pain free
  • 13 percent of those treated with medication became pain free

Researchers concluded:

“For participants with acute and subacute neck pain, SMT [spinal manipulation therapy] was more effective than medication in both the short and long term. However, a few instructional sessions of HEA [home exercise with advice] resulted in similar outcomes at most time points.”

Why Exercise is Essential if You Have Neck Pain

Because exercise often leads to improved posture, range of motion and functionality of your body, it can help treat the underlying source of your pain as well as help prevent chronic neck pain from developing in the first place. Exercise helps prevent and relieve pain through a number of mechanisms including strengthening key supportive muscles and restoring flexibility.

Not surprisingly, repetitive strain injuries have become increasingly common as so many people spend most of their work days sitting in front of computers. Computer work is associated with neck pain specifically originating from the trapezius muscle, also referred to as trapezius myalgia, and many types of neck pain can be traced back to poor posture at work or during your commute.

It’s a vicious cycle as poor sitting posture leads to neck pain and once neck pain develops, it can make your posture even worse. For instance, one study showed people with chronic neck pain demonstrate a reduced ability to maintain an upright posture when distracted.

The same study further revealed, however, that after following a specific exercise program, people with neck pain had an improved ability to maintain a neutral cervical posture during prolonged sitting, which suggests it may help break the poor posture/neck pain cycle. Other research has similarly shown that exercise is incredibly beneficial for treating neck pain including:

  • Research in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that repetitive strain injury caused by office work can be reduced using certain strength training exercises.
  • A study published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism showed that strength training targeting the neck and shoulder muscles is the most beneficial treatment for women with chronic neck muscle pain as opposed to a general fitness routine.

Five Specific Exercises to Target Chronic Neck Pain

Five specific strength exercises target the neck and shoulder muscles involved in causing chronic neck pain. Both studies mentioned above involved the same five exercises using hand weights, and detailed explanations of how to perform each exercise are provided by the National Research Centre for the Working Environment.

  1. Dumbbell shrug Stand upright with the hand weights at the side of your body. In one even motion, lift your shoulders up towards your ears and lower them again slowly. At the same time, try to relax your jaw and neck.
  2. One-arm row Stand with one knee on the bench and lean on the same-side hand on the front of the bench. With the free arm you pull the weight up towards your lower chest. When the weight touches your chest, lower it in a controlled motion.
  3. Upright row Stand upright with your arms stretched and the hand weights in front of your body. Lift the weights in a straight line as close to your body as possible, until they reach the middle of your chest and your elbows point up and out. During the whole exercise, the hand weights should be placed lower than the elbows.
  4. Reverse fly Lie down on a bench in a 45° forward bent angle with the hand weights hanging towards the floor. Lift the weights outward and upward until they are horizontal, and then lower the weights in one controlled motion. During the exercise, the elbows should be slightly bent.
  5. Lateral raise / shoulder abduction Stand upright with the hand weights at the side of your body. Lift the weights outward and upward until they are horizontal, and then lower the weights in one controlled motion. During the exercise, the elbows should be slightly bent.

The researchers recommended performing the exercises three times per week (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) and alternating between exercises 1, 2, and 5 on one day, and exercises 1, 3, and 4 the next. When starting out, perform 2 sets of each exercise with 8-12 repetitions for each set. Increase at your own pace to 3 sets for each. Depending on the exercise and your current muscle strength, the recommended beginner’s weight is between 6-12 lbs.

As a general rule of thumb, increase the weight as soon as you can comfortably execute all three sets. As a guideline, the participants in the study roughly doubled the weight used in 10 weeks. After approximately four weeks, you can reduce the number of repetitions of the last sets in order to increase the weight.

The Benefits of Chiropractic Care and Other Alternative Treatments for Neck Pain

Seeing a qualified chiropractor is another wise option if you suffer from chronic pain. I am an avid believer in the chiropractic philosophy, which places a strong emphasis on your body’s innate healing wisdom and far less reliance on Band-Aids like drugs and surgery. Chiropractic, osteopathic, and naturopathic physicians receive extensive training in the management of musculoskeletal disorders during their course of graduate healthcare training, which typically lasts from 4-6 years.

Due to their comprehensive training in musculoskeletal management, numerous sources of evidence have shown that chiropractic management is much safer and often more effective than allopathic medical treatments, particularly for back and neck pain. In addition, researchers have also found that chiropractic adjustments affect our bodies on a deep cellular level.

What that means is that chiropractic care may affect the basic physiological processes that influence oxidative stress and DNA repair, so in addition to addressing any immediate spinal misalignment that might cause pain, it can also address deeper dysfunction in your body.

As many of you know I am an osteopathic physician. DOs, like chiropractors, also receive extensive additional training in spinal adjustments and may also be a good option for you. However, in my experience, only a small percentage of DOs are skilled in this area as they have chosen a more conventional allopathic model. So if you see a DO for this make sure they provide this service.

Overall, the important point to remember is that there are many other options for treating chronic pain than drugs. For instance, therapeutic massage has been found to offer clinically significant improvement in function and symptoms for those with neck pain, while a variety of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments (including acupuncture, massage, spinal manipulation, and mobilization) were deemed to be significantly more efficacious than no treatment, placebo, physical therapy, or usual care in reducing pain immediately or at short-term after treatment for those with neck or low-back pain.

So you have options when it comes to dealing with your pain, and there is good reason to explore them before you opt for medicated relief. Additionally, many massage and physical therapists can provide effective alternatives.

Pain Medications are Risky at Best

Millions of Americans depend on anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve pain, but the drugs are among the most dangerous on the market. Aside from significantly increasing your heart risks (such as a two to fourfold increase in the risk of heart attacks, stroke or cardiovascular death), NSAIDs are linked to serious gastrointestinal risks like bleeding of the digestive tract, increased blood pressure and kidney problems. Remember, this applies not only to prescription medications like Celebrex but also to over-the-counter drugs like aspirin, Advil and Motrin.

It’s very difficult to find a drug-based method of pain relief that is not saddled with severe side effects. The FDA has even recently limited the amount of acetaminophen allowed in prescription products and added a boxed warning due to liver toxicity concerns. Acetaminophen is actually the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States.

As for the opioid painkillers like OxyContin, they are among the most commonly abused prescription drugs and are a leading contributor to the rising rates of fatal prescription drug overdoses. Many become addicted after using them to treat conditions like back or neck pain.

But no matter what type of painkiller you choose, the bottom line to remember is that they do not come without risks! Unfortunately, if you visit your conventional physician with chronic pain, a long-term treatment plan will typically include a drug-combination approach, using anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-seizure medications, muscle relaxants and possibly other types of pain medication as well. In other words, the answer for pain relief is drugs, drugs and more drugs — each one raising your risk of suffering potentially lethal side effects. Is there a better way?

More Natural Solutions for Neck (and Other Types of) Pain

In the case of neck pain, the underlying cause is often related to body mechanics, meaning your posture or muscle balance is off kilter. Addressing your posture (or other factors that may be contributing to the strain, such as sleeping in an awkward position) and treating the condition with exercises is often effective at relieving the pain and addressing the underlying cause. If you have chronic pain of any kind, please understand that there are many safe and effective alternatives to prescription and over-the-counter painkillers, though they may require some patience.

Among the best are:

  • Start taking a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat like krill oil. Omega-3 fats are precursors to mediators of inflammation called prostaglandins. (In fact, that is how anti-inflammatory painkillers work, they positively influence prostaglandins.) The omega-3 fats EPA and DHA contained in krill oil have also been found in many animal and clinical studies to have anti-inflammatory properties.
  • Eliminate or radically reduce most grains and sugars (including fructose) from your diet. Avoiding grains and sugars will lower your insulin and leptin levels. Elevated insulin and leptin levels are one of the most profound stimulators of inflammatory prostaglandin production. That is why eliminating sugar and grains is so important to controlling your pain.
  • Optimize your production of vitamin D by getting regular, appropriate sun exposure, which will work through a variety of different mechanisms to reduce your pain.

In the meantime, you don’t need to suffer unnecessarily. Following are options that provide excellent pain relief without any of the health hazards that pain medications often carry.

  • Astaxanthin: One of the most effective oil-soluble antioxidants known. It has very potent anti-inflammatory properties and in many cases works far more effectively than NSAIDs. Higher doses are typically required and one may need 8 mg or more per day to achieve this benefit.
  • Ginger: This herb is anti-inflammatory and offers pain relief and stomach-settling properties. Fresh ginger works well steeped in boiling water as a tea or grated into vegetable juice.
  • Curcumin: Curcumin is the primary therapeutic compound identified in the spice turmeric. In a study of osteoarthritis patients, those who added 200 mg of curcumin a day to their treatment plan had reduced pain and increased mobility. In fact, curcumin has been shown in over 50 clinical studies to have potent anti-inflammatory activity, as well as demonstrating the ability in four studies to reduce Tylenol-associated adverse health effects.
  • Boswellia: Also known as boswellin or “Indian frankincense,” this herb contains powerful anti-inflammatory properties, which have been prized for thousands of years. This is one of my personal favorites as I have seen it work well with many rheumatoid arthritis patients.
  • Bromelain: This protein-digesting enzyme, found in pineapples, is a natural anti-inflammatory. It can be taken in supplement form, but eating fresh pineapple may also be helpful. Keep in mind that most of the bromelain is found within the core of the pineapple, so consider leaving a little of the pulpy core intact when you consume the fruit.
  • Cetyl Myristoleate (CMO): This oil, found in fish and dairy butter, acts as a “joint lubricant” and an anti-inflammatory. I have used a topical preparation for myself to relieve ganglion cysts and a mild annoying carpal tunnel syndrome that pops up when I type too much on non-ergonomic keyboards.
  • Evening Primrose, Black Currant and Borage Oils: These contain the fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which is useful for treating arthritic pain.
  • Cayenne Cream: Also called capsaicin cream, this spice comes from dried hot peppers. It alleviates pain by depleting the body’s supply of substance P, a chemical component of nerve cells that transmits pain signals to your brain.
  • Therapeutic modalities such as yoga, acupuncture, meditation, hot and cold packs, and even holding hands can also result in astonishing pain relief without any drugs.

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Simple Activity to Radically Decrease Breast Cancer Risk

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By: Dr. Mercola
Source: Mercola.com

Breast cancer is a growing epidemic among women, with just under 12 percent of women developing an invasive form of the disease during their lifetimes.

This works out to about one in eight U.S. women!

Research suggests, however, that one of the most powerful ways to lower this risk substantially is through the simple act of exercise.

New research is underway to determine just how much exercise — either 150 minutes or 300 minutes a week — is best for cancer prevention, but it’s safe to say that starting an exercise regimen, if you’re not already participating in one, is a very wise strategy to optimize your health.

Exercise May Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk by Up to 40 Percent

The notion that exercise may help prevent cancer dates back to 1922, when two independent studies observed that cancer deaths declined among men working occupations that required higher amounts of physical activity.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that the topic received due attention once again, and since then a paper in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise reported that “more than a hundred epidemiologic studies on the role of physical activity and cancer prevention have been published.”

In the same paper, which reviewed published epidemiologic studies on physical activity and the risk of developing cancer, it’s noted that:

“The data are clear in showing that physically active men and women have about a 30-40% reduction in the risk of developing colon cancer, compared with inactive persons … With regard to breast cancer, there is reasonably clear evidence that physically active women have about a 20-30% reduction in risk, compared with inactive women. It also appears that 30-60 min·d-1 of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity is needed to decrease the risk of breast cancer, and that there is likely a dose-response relation.”

More recently, two other studies echoed this finding:

  • Women who were active at home during the day, engaging in heavy lifting or carrying rather than mostly sitting, had a 38 percent reduced risk of invasive breast cancer
  • Strenuous activity in teens and moderate activity after menopause also lead to a reduction in breast cancer risk

Why Might Exercise be Useful for Cancer Prevention?

One of the primary reasons exercise works to lower your cancer risk is because it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risk. It’s also been suggested that apoptosis (programmed cell death) istriggered by exercise, causing cancer cells to die. Exercise also improves the circulation of immune cells in your blood. The job of these cells is to neutralize pathogens throughout your body, as well as destroying precancerous cells before they become cancerous..

The better these cells circulate, the more efficient your immune system is at defending itself against infections and diseases like cancer.

Unfortunately, many public health guidelines still focus only on the aerobic aspects of exercise, and this exclusive focus can lead to imbalances that may actually prevent optimal health. This is why it’s so important to maintain a well-balanced fitness regimen, that includes not just aerobics, but also strength training, stretching, and most importantly, high-intensity interval training (which I’ll discuss shortly).

Additionally, according to a 2000 study published in the British Medical Journal, which explored the relationship between exercise and cancer, exercise affects several biological functions that may directly influence your cancer risk. These effects include changes in:

If You Have Breast Cancer, Exercise is Also Beneficial

Many health care practitioners advise their patients to avoid exercise during and after cancer treatment. But increasing evidence is showing that this outdated advice is actually causing cancer patients harm, as regular exercise can lead to a number of health improvements for cancer patients, including:

  • Better aerobic fitness
  • Increased muscular strength
  • Improved quality of life
  • Less fatigue

Harvard Medical School researchers found patients who exercise moderately — 3-5 hours a week – reduce their odds of dying from breast cancer by about half as compared to sedentary women, so this is a very powerful strategy. In fact, any amount of weekly exercise increased a patient’s odds of surviving breast cancer. This benefit also remained constant regardless of whether women were diagnosed early on or after their cancer had spread.

Patients receiving the biggest boost from exercise were those most sensitive to estrogen, the most commonly recognized hormone-sensitive form of breast cancer. (Previous research has shown exercise lowers estrogen levels, which can fuel the growth of breast cancer cells.) However, it’s reasonable to assume that exercise would likely be beneficial for many types of cancer patients.

Often, you will be able to take part in a regular exercise program — one that involves a variety of exercises like strength training, core-building, stretching, aerobic and anaerobic — with very little changes necessary.

However, you may find that you need to exercise at a lower intensity or for shorter durations at times. Always listen to your body and if you feel you need a break, take time to rest. Even exercising for a few minutes a day is better than not exercising at all, and you’ll likely find that your stamina increases and you’re able to complete more challenging workouts with each passing day. In the event you are suffering from a very weakened immune system, you may want to exercise in your home instead of visiting a public gym.

How to Optimize Your Exercise Program to Achieve the Most Benefits

As mentioned, ideally your fitness program should be comprehensive, providing activities that will improve your strength, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities with high-intensity “Peak Fitness” exercises.

During ‘peak fitness exercises,’ you raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold for 20 to 30 seconds, followed by a 90-second recovery period. You repeat this cycle for a total of eight repetitions. Peak exercises are particularly beneficial because this type of interval training triggers the natural production of human growth hormone (HGH), also known as “the fitness hormone.” HGH plays an integral role in maintaining youthfulness and strength. (For an in-depth explanation of my Peak Fitness regimen, please review this past article.)

Another boon of Peak Fitness exercises is the amount of time you save. Including a three-minute warm up and two-minute cool down, your total time investment is a mere 20 minutes as opposed to your regular hour-long treadmill session, and you are really only exerting yourself for four minutes.

Generally, a 20-minute session about three times a week is all you need to stay fit, along with your strength-training, flexibility, stretching and so on, on alternate days.

Other Important Breast Cancer Prevention Strategies

I recently interviewed Dr. Christine Horner, a board certified general- and plastic surgeon, who shared her extensive knowledge about breast cancer—its causes and its cures, and the pro’s and con’s of various screening methods. I suggest you listen to that interview now, in addition to learning about the many all-natural cancer-prevention strategies below.

In the largest review of research into lifestyle and breast cancer, the American Institute of Cancer Research estimated that about 40 percent of U.S. breast cancer cases could be prevented if people made wiser lifestyle choices. I believe these estimates are far too low, and it is more likely that 75 percent to 90 percent of breast cancers could be avoided by strictly applying the following recommendations.

  • Eat healthy. This means avoid sugar, especially fructose, as all forms of sugar are detrimental to health in general and promote cancer. Also, focus on eating whole foods and fresh vegetables while avoiding cancer-causing foods.
  • Vitamin D. There’s overwhelming evidence pointing to the fact that vitamin D deficiency plays a crucial role in cancer development. You can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by optimizing your vitamin D levels with adequate sun exposure. And if you are being treated for cancer it is likely that higher blood levels—probably around 80-90 ng/ml—would be beneficial. The health benefits of optimizing your levels, either by safe sun exposure (ideally), a safe tanning bed, or oral supplementation as a last resort, simply cannot be overstated.

In terms of protecting against cancer, vitamin D has been found to offer protection in a number of ways, including:

  • Regulating genetic expression
  • Increasing the self-destruction of mutated cells (which, if allowed to replicate, could lead to cancer)
  • Reducing the spread and reproduction of cancer cells
  • Causing cells to become more highly differentiated (cancer cells often lack differentiation)
  • Reducing the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, which is a step in the transition of dormant tumors turning cancerous

To learn the details on how to use vitamin D therapeutically, please review my previous article, Test Values and Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency.

  • Get proper sleep both in terms of getting enough sleep, and sleeping between certain hours. According to Ayurvedic medicine, the ideal hours for sleep are between 10 pm and 6 am. Modern research has confirmed the value of this recommendation as certain hormonal fluctuations occur throughout the day and night, and if you engage in the appropriate activities during those times, you’re ‘riding the wave’ so to speak, and are able to get the optimal levels. Working against your biology by staying awake when you should ideally be sleeping or vice versa, interferes with these hormonal fluctuations.According to Dr. Horner:
    “If we, for instance, go to bed by 10, we have higher levels of our sleep hormone melatonin; there’s a spike that occurs between midnight and 1am, which you don’t want to miss because the consequences are absolutely spectacular. Melatonin is not only our sleep hormone, but it also is a very powerful antioxidant. It decreases the amount of estrogen our body produces. It also boosts your immune system… And it interacts with the other hormones.  So, if you go to bed after 10… it significantly increases your risk of breast cancer.”
  • Effectively address your stress. The research shows that if you experience a traumatic or highly stressful event, such as a death in the family, your risk of breast cancer is 12 times higher in the ensuing five years. So be sure you tend to your emotional health, not just your physical health.

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Exercise Safely For Less Than 10 Minutes A Day Using The PACE Training Technique

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By Andreas Moritz

The detrimental consequences of strenuous workouts

Don’t drastic weight-reduction plans produce dramatic results? What about all those people on television talk shows who lose, say, 20 pounds in 30 days or 100 pounds in 9 months? Yes, the results are certainly dramatic but what is not quite so publicly publicized is that about half the overweight individuals who subject themselves to such physical ‘abuse’ regain their lost weight in 12 months. Those who don’t, have to keep up the rigorous and punishing routines or risk putting it all back on.

Conventional weight-loss plans place a tremendous strain on the human body, prompting many to give up mid-way. Slacken the routine just a little and you gain the weight you lost by starving and sweating it out. This can be devastating and many individuals give up trying altogether. The message you are sending their body is: “It is impossible for me to lose weight. I am always going to be overweight.”

There are detrimental consequences of strenuous workouts such as long sessions of aerobics or endurance training. Why do so many overweight individuals regain the weight they shed when they stop working out? There is a fundamental flaw to exercising to the point of exhaustion – it burns fat, which is the wrong fuel! As shocking as that might sound, this is how it works at the physiological level. Extended workouts, or exercising for more than 20 minutes, releases cortisol, which in turn burns fat for fuel during the exercise session.

Since fat reserves are depleted, your body then synthesizes and stores more fat to replenish the depleted reserves in preparation for the next workout. With every successive workout, the fat-burning-fat storing cycle is further established till the body learns that it must make and store more fat every time some is burned. Hence, long and punishing workouts actually make the body store fat. That doesn’t seem to be a problem as long as you keep on exercising and burning the fat that builds up. Slow down a little and weight gain sets in.

A healthy alternative – PACE It Out

A healthy alternative is interval training. Going by the rather formidable term ‘Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion’ or simple PACE, this means engaging in very short bursts of intense exercise followed by a very short period of rest and recovery.

Choose an exercise that suits you – like jogging, spot running, skipping or using an exercise bike. Engage in a short, intense burst of exercise lasting for no more than 30 seconds, then stop and rest for two minutes. Repeat this four times and you’re done exercising for the day – in eight minutes flat!

Now repeat this three to four times a week and not only will you lose weight, you will feel revitalized, rejuvenated and invigorated with an enhanced cardiovascular capacity, and lean and strong muscles, among many other health benefits.

How does interval training or PACE work at the physiological level? Why doesn’t it cause the same devastating effects as aerobic exercise?

When you exercise in short bursts, your body burns carbohydrates in the form of stored glycogen stored in the muscles and liver. It doesn’t burn fat during the session. After each session, it starts burning fat to replenish the depleted glycogen from your muscles and liver which were used during your training session.

Your body then continues to metabolize and burn fat for the next 24 hours after your interval training session. Your body thus learns that it does not have to store fat only to burn it again during a rigorous workout but that it must slowly burn fat to replenish depleted glycogen reserves. This is called afterburn, a magical and automatic process you can in motion by simply tweaking the type of exercise!

And in case it didn’t strike you – do the math and you’ll realize you need to exercise for quite literally less than 10 minutes a day! How’s that for people who are pressed for time?

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This is an excerpt from my book FEEL GREAT, LOSE WEIGHT

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