-EXERCISE & FITNESS-

Please refer to the following article(s) for complete pieces on this topic:

-Body Aches: A Message from YOU!

-Exercise + You ≠ Misery

-Exercise Infomercials: Models & Their Titillating Contraptions

-I Walk, You Run, I’ll Get There

-New Year’s Re-Solution: 5 Tips

BEARING WEIGHT – CALCIUM

“…whenever the skeleton is not bearing weight, the body begins to remove calcium from the bones.” Paralysis and immobilization are two causes mentioned within the text, another is the unwillingness to be active. Preventing stone formation truly is a whole lifestyle modification.

-Kidney Stones: Cast by Whom?

CANCER

As for exercise, David points out five reasons it’s more than beneficial:

1. Reduces adipose (fat) which is the principle site for carcinogen storage
2. Modifies hormonal imbalance.
3. Reduces blood sugar levels and decreases both insulin and IGF (Insulin-like Growth Factor)
4. Lowers cytokines (contribute to inflammation).
5. Directly stimulates the immune system.

-Cancer: It Eats Us, Vice Versa?

High-caloric intake has been associated with early puberty and total lifetime exposure to estrogen, but studies of lean verse obese vary. A longer exposure to anything toxic, including estrogen, synergizes over time and increases your odds of cancer and other various malfunctions of the body. The American Institute of Cancer offers these dietary guidelines:

1. Eating right, remaining physically active, and maintaining a healthy weight can cut cancer by 30-40%.
2. Diet with no smoking – 60-70%.
3. A simple change of incorporating five servings of fruits and veggies into your daily intake – 20%.
4. We can prevent 375,000 cases per year with a healthy diet!

-Endometriosis: Whimpering Wisdom

Dr. Malcom Pike: “We could get rid of 85% of American breast cancer by starting with ten year olds, keeping them on a low fat, high fiber diet, exercising them heavily and keeping them slim.”

-Endometriosis: Whimpering Wisdom

COLLEGE

#5 Exercise Fads

 

Everyone lifts, runs on treadmills, plays squash, or joins a just-for-fun sports team. Everyone does this, until everyone graduates and no longer feels the need to exercise as much, or maybe they just don’t have the time to anymore. What drives most people to exercise, oddly enough, it is usually the alcohol consumption—I lifted three days this week for an hour each day, that is enough exercise to rationalize a heavy consumption of alcohol on the weekend (or earlier). Exercise should not be rationalized, it should be a part of your plan to enrich your health.

-Freshman 15: Top 5 Reasons They Don’t

DIABETES

Exercise increases our muscles’ sensitivity to insulin both during and for a few hours after the activity. As an added benefit, exercise builds more muscle which in turn can become even more sensitive to insulin. This is absolutely amazing, but everything needs to be balanced.

Jenna writes about the importance of:

1. Being Safe
2. Protecting our Joints
3. Not Overdoing It
4. Not Overstimulating our Hearts

Both walking and swimming are effective means of exercise and both can eliminate many of the problems associated with exercise. Those with diabetes often have tendon thickening which causes compression of the nerves (pain), thus the importance of adequate but safe exercise. Jenna also recommends avoiding sports drinks when exercising because they tend to skyrocket your blood sugar.

-Diabetes: Type Avoidable

“There is growing evidence that lifestyle change is in many cases more effective than drug therapy, particularly in Western degenerative diseases, of which MS is one.”

• British Medical Journal—2007 Review—People with glucose intolerance on the verge of developing diabetes…
  • Lifestyle changes—diet and exercise—50% less likely to develop diabetes
  • Drugs—30% less likely…

-Multiple Sclerosis: tREASONS for Lesions

DOCTOR OZ

I got that feeling when I was driving home one day from the gym. Dr. Oz was on XM radio about to provide a snippet of advice. I do not recall the date, time, or the exact radio station, but I do recall what occurred during the conversation—I remember being home a few days later searching the web for the audio because I knew I would love to incorporate it down the road. The radio dj prompted Doctor Oz about nutrition and health and the publicly craved and idolized Doc had responded that in some countries where disease did not exist, it is because of their extreme habits in exercise, not their diets. The laughter creeped out and a shiver slipped its way to the forefront as he said diets did not have that big of an impact—keep in mind that this occurred months later.

-Truth or Slander?

DRY EYE SYNDROME

“…making sure you are eating a balanced diet, staying well hydrated, practicing appropriate personal hygiene, getting adequate sleep, and exercising regularly, all of which will contribute to keeping dry eye in check.’

-Dry Eye Syndrome: Eye Do Matter

ENDOMETRIOSIS

“Immunotherapy treatment approach, a change in diet, and exercise—all considered alternative—are often the most effective in relieving pain.”

-Endometriosis: Whimpering Wisdom

EPILEPSY

“Ironically, seizures while exercising are rare, and overall, exercise helps reduce seizures.” You do not have to fear the hyperventilation effects of exercise either, this occurrence has been shown to improve the EEG reading (measures electrical activity within the brain). Patricia recommends that you do not exercise within four hours of sleepy time though.

-Epilepsy: Carpe Vitam

FIBROMYALGIA

Fibromyalgia is not an exciting experience and many would argue that exercise could not possibly be considered for treatment. With their already overworked and highly strained muscles, why would anyone want to invigorate them some more? About 750 studies have been done to uncover the potential benefits of exercise with this disorder and warrant its use. Almost all of them show decreased pain and improvement in quality of life. We cannot escape the fact that aerobic, strength, flexibility, and other very low impact exercises such as yoga and tai chi, have proven to be great natural treatments.

“Muscles from frequent marathon runners show scarring and extra collagen between muscle fibers.” Those with fibromyalgia can often feel this level of pain from activities of daily living and this feeling only gets worse with decreased activity levels due their elevated pain intolerance. “When  tissues are under excessive strain or the repair process is inadequate, tissue repair and remodeling can become dysfunctional.” Take your time, never force your body to do more than it is capable, even if you can force it. Forcing it leads to small bodily injuries that do add up and culminate into a permanent remodeling and a higher potential for a serious injury.

-Fibromyalgia: The Painful Truth

You know that feeling after a session at the gym or a long distance run, especially when you are just getting back into it again? For a long time it was believed that this feeling was directly related to the build up of lactic acid within your muscles, but this is not true. Lactic acid disappears within an hour after exercise, so when do you begin feeling that unavoidable muscle soreness? For most, it is usually the next day upon waking, when you realize rolling over and hopping to your feet is not a viable option.

It is believed that this muscle soreness is due to the release of chemicals responsible for repairing the muscle. Fibromyalgia patients are under constant attack, like marathon runners and many body-builders, but many believe it is due to a problem within the fascia. The fascia, as described by Ginevra, is like a tape that holds and encompasses all of the muscles within the body. It is what allows for super human strength during real life ‘fight or flight’ situations. Below is an example of what Ginevra personally recommends—provides relief for her as well as her patients: Myofascial Release Therapy.

 

-Fibromyalgia: The Painful Truth

Three recommendations for safe and effective exercise by Ginevra are:

1. Warm up before hand.
   • Warming up has been shown to prevent injuries and result in less pain afterwards.
2. Exercise gently.
   • Avoid pushing yourself too hard and only do what your body can actually handle.
3. It is vital to get enough rest and recovery time in between sessions.
   • Keeping at it won’t necessarily make you stronger, but it will put your body at a disadvantage by impairing its ability to repair the continual damage you force upon it.

How does exercise benefit both you and someone diagnosed with this disease?

• It promotes deep sleep.
• It promotes the release of endorphins, which are our natural pain killers.

-Fibromyalgia: The Painful Truth

HEADACHES & MIGRAINES

“Regularity is key: you should sleep, eat, and exercise on a regular basis.”

If your headaches are truly this bad and you have tried eliminating all potential triggers and avoided cheating along the way, even just a little, you may wish to read this chapter.

One way we can naturally raise our threshold though: exercise. This activity, which does not have to be grueling, nor should it ever be, reduces stress and increases circulating endorphins, thus a “natural way to help raise your migraine threshold.”

-Headaches: Maybe You’re Annoying

HEART DISEASE – LIFESTYLE CHANGES

Healthy Heart Trial—low-fat vegetarian diet, exercise, and medication led to a reversal of CAD.

• Cholesterol dropped by 24%
• Stroke volume per beat increased by 30%

-Multiple Sclerosis: tREASONS for Lesions

HYPERTENSION – STRESS

…all factors that contribute to hypertension. Some studies lead one to believe that mental stress is the boulder that breaks the back, when compared to physical stress. Chronic stress injures the endothelium and subdues blood vessels and may eventually overburden them into an inability to correct themselves after stress. And this is why chronic stress can lead to atherosclerosis and hypertension.

According to the authors, this is what works:

• Exercise

-Hypertension: Duck, Duck, DASH

HEART DISEASE

Exercise capacity and sexual activity were also markedly improved.

-Heart Disease: Moderation Kills

HEART DISEASE – A  LACKLUSTER APPROACH

A study comprised of 4,347 human subjects in which the control group was offered no advice while the experimental group received cardiac rehabilitation, consisting of advice about weight loss, exercise, controlling hypertension, controlling diabetes, smoking cessation, and weight loss, shows how flawed this system truly is.

Those participants in the experimental group showed some improvement: slightly fewer heart attacks, but more nonfatal heart attacks. If you take these results as hard evidence and a viable means to explain why dietary approaches will never work, then you may be interested in this next study too.

-Heart Disease: Moderation Kills

HEPATITIS C

“Physical cure may be years away,” and this is why “we need to shift to healing—a balance and wholeness of mind, body, and spirit.”

• Physical Movement—Strengthens the body and improves emotional state.

-Hepatitis C: A Lizard’s Tale

HIV

In an HIV study—during a time when treatment was not available and death seemed imminent—where the control group were told about their diagnosis outright, their natural killer cells dropped immediately in most cases. As for those assigned to exercise, 1 month, 45 minutes of cycling, 3x/week, their cells did not have this reaction.

-Cancer: It Eats Us, Vice Versa?

HYPERTENSION

Hypertension is as common as salting the fries and its existence is directly proportional to the amount of salt being used—we use salt in heaping loads not in pinches. “Of the more than 50 million hypertensive Americans, fewer than 14 million have it under control,” and it exists as a “silent killer” for the 1/3 who are unaware.

Much of the blame must be shouldered by the doctors who are not offering enough advice about nutrition, exercise, and other lifestyle factors but rather relying on conventional medicine. It is this lack of advice that provides this silent killer the opportunity to exhibit “…no obvious symptoms until the blood pressure is very high.”

Doctor…Doctor…how could you do this to me? His or her reply would note that it was essentially you that caused your hypertension and that you were likely not taking your meds or following the medically prescribed diet appropriately. Are you to blame? Is it you that must shoulder the weight? Let’s find out…

-Hypertension: Duck, Duck, DASH

1. Decreases Blood Pressure, LDLs, Triglycerides, and Blood Sugar
2. Increases HDLs
3. Improves endothelial function & Increases nitric oxide
4. Reduces formation of blood clots
5. Burns Calories & Reduces total body fat
6. Improves blood flow
7. Helps manage stress
   • Burns off stress hormones, releases tension, and eases anxiety and depression

“…Avoid bulking up and overdoing it. And if you feel that you’re straining, ease off.” I completely agree with this, yet he offers a conflicting Harvard Alumni Health Study in which he forgets to take a stand. Burning calories, 2,100/week, decreased the participants risk of coronary artery disease by 10%. Continued improvement with a 19% reduction was achieved by setting fire to 4,200 calories, but reductions only plateaued after this level.

I can put gas into a car to get me from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’, and for argument’s sake, let us imagine that my journey in miles is my life in years. I also know how much gasoline it will take me to get from sperm to eternal rest. If I for some reason choose to over-fill it for the journey, would my car become obese? No. A puddle would splash into existence beneath my feet and only my receipt would print out a heftier number. I find this Harvard Study misleading based on this reasoning.

It is misleading because, do we need to burn more calories than we need to burn? Obviously we do not, but unlike an automobile, our bodies can unwillingly be forced to adapt, saving the ground beneath our feet from a puddle of fries…and I wish I could say the same for that receipt. This redundancy is both idiotic and extremely taxing on your only automobile through life, your body.

Mark also writes that anything that can make you strain, including heavy weight lifting, isometric exercises, rope climbing, sit-ups, and push-ups, should be attempted in a safe and aware manner—”…certain resistance exercises that drive your blood pressure up…”

How shall we proceed then? Mark tells us that sedentary people have a “20 to 50 percent increased risk of developing hypertension” compared to fit and active people. He also recommends reaching an intensity or a higher heart beat, and maintaining it. Forty-five minutes of aerobic exercise and fifteen minutes of resistance exercise each day, coupled with the loss of 4,200 calories per week, is also on his regimen.

I feel a structured plan will work because I know from personal experience. I feel a calorie counting plan will inevitably fail though, as the majority of you already know. Knowing that a brisk walk can be enough though, should be intriguing enough to engage you more fully. He writes that systolic blood pressure elevates during a walk and tends to drop afterward. In a study with mildly hypertensive men, the drop lasted 8-12 hours after the exercise. So, minus the calorie counting, relaxed aerobic exercise coupled with some manageable resistance exercise may be your best bet.

-Hypertension: Duck, Duck, DASH

HYPERTENSION – OVERDRIVE FACTORS

3. Physical Stress

• “Yet too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.”
  • Exercise
  • Pain
  • Heat/Cold
  • Lack of Sleep
  • Illness
• When done appropriately, the heart pumps more efficiently:
  • Decreased atherosclerosis
  • Decreased blood fats
  • Decreased vascular resistance

-Hypertension: Duck, Duck, DASH

IBS

“Regular exercise can relieve your IBS symptoms and improve your digestive health.”

• “…just half an hour of moderate exercise such as aerobic walking four or five times a week may be all it takes to make you feel better.”
• Journal of Gastroenterology Nursing Study—IBS women found to be “significantly” less active than control group.
• “…make you look years younger than your chronological age.”
• “The average American loses 10 to 20 percent of muscle strength between the ages of twenty and fifty and another 25 to 30 percent between fifty and seventy.”
  • Strength training helps stave it off.

-IBS: Gut Milk?

1. Strengthens defense against disease.
2. Decreases:
   • Cancer
   • Cardiovascular disease
   • Colds
   • Urinary tract infections
   • Diabetes
   • Hypertension
   • Obesity
   • Osteoarthritis
   • Osteoporosis
   • Stroke
3. Relieves:
   • Anxiety
   • Depression
   • Stress
   • Low back pain
   • Constipation
4. Improves:
   • Cholesterol
   • Lymphatic flow—delivers immune cells & eliminates toxins
   • Flexibility
   • Immune System
   • Mental alertness/Reaction time
   • Mood
   • Muscle strength
   • Self-esteem
   • Sexual drive
   • Short-term memory
   • Sleep
   • Relaxation
   • Vision

Studies show that heart attack sufferers, with exercise, can reduce their risk of a second attack by as much as 20-25%, but…

• “You don’t have to spend hours in the gym to enjoy these benefits.”
• “…but don’t try to make up for lost time by increasing the intensity of your workout.”

…take it easy and do not exceed your limits. For some odd reason we seek an exercise regiment that has become a generalized struggle. A grunted run or an aching bench press…is it worth it?

-IBS: Gut Milk?

INFORMERCIAL EQUIPMENT

You do not have to go to the gym to exercise, but you do have to commit to actually doing something. I say that these contraptions are ridiculous, but if you stick with some of them, you will get results. No exercise is perfect and no exercise will get you results within the minute. You need to develop a workout plan and stick to it. If you are not seeing the results you want to see, keep working out and modify it as needed. Do not envision yourself as that fitness model, envision yourself getting healthy and fit.

-Exercise Infomercials: Models & Their Titillating Contraptions

KIDNEY STONES – MEN

With all that you have read thus far, can you come to a valid conclusion as to why men suffer from kidney stones more often than their female counterparts?

“…larger muscle mass, hence they have more of the daily breakdown and rebuilding of tissue that results in metabolic waste.” Not only do men have a larger muscle mass, they seek to make it even larger. I myself once fell into the belief that getting big muscles was healthy. Eventually, I did choose to ponder about my exercise methods, and in time, I did modify them for health purposes.

I never had a great answer for why I did not believe lifting heavier and heavier weights was necessary for health. Our body should not be worn down like that and I want my joints to be functioning when I am 150 years were my go to solutions. This book really opened my eyes to how devastatingly taxing it can be, to over-exercise in order to achieve a macho-like appearance, on our kidneys and body in general.

-Kidney Stones: Cast by Whom?

LUPUS

“Judicious exercise is very important and is a very important part of managing lupus.”

1. Improves flexibility & sense of wellbeing
2. “…Never exercise beyond the point of minimal discomfort.”
   • Great advice, and I could not agree more. Exercise is not something to counteract an obese belly or to power a body through a defensive line or even a locker. Exercise should be enjoyable and beneficial, not grueling and pain-inducing.
3. It is best to strengthen and improve endurance without putting too much stress on a single joint.
4. Inactivity = osteoporosis and muscle weakness and wasting.

-Lupus: The Girl Who Cried Wolves

LUPUS – PREGNANCY

“Patients with very active disease frequently have irregular periods or none at all. This is the body’s reaction to stress, menstrual regularity is restored to normal when the disease is under adequate control.” This made me think of nothing other than female athletes and I don’t why because this material has come up before. I used to believe that they were phenomenal specimens and at the peak of their health. Two conflicting dilemmas clash here: Are young females too young and is extreme exercise to achieve an olympic athlete status the best measure to suppress womanhood?

From what I have read thus far, yes I believe young girls begin menstruating at an age that is way too young. As for the second, that is an obvious no and is nothing but a bodily reaction, just as David stated. These female athletes may appear healthy with the apparent markings—muscles and endurance feats—but these markings are only misrepresentations of their health. Misrepresentations that have been concluded for a bit too long as of being the source of health.

-Lupus: The Girl Who Cried Wolves

MENOPAUSE

To help alleviate menopausal symptoms, Patricia recommends:

• Exercise

-Epilepsy: Carpe Vitam

MSG

“…many processed and then canned, jarred, bottled, bagged, boxed, or frozen—contain either MSG or an ingredient rich in MSG.”

Sometimes it is found in foods marked as all natural or no artificial ingredients and many times it is found in exercise supplements. MSG is a very potent excitotoxin and even small amounts can trigger migraines.

“The best way to avoid MSG is to eat food made from fresh ingredients, otherwise, read labels carefully.”

-Headaches: Maybe You’re Annoying

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

“Lifestyle change is the most important issue as it is with most chronic diseases. Diet, sunlight, exercise, meditation, preventing depression, resolution of difficult emotional issues. These are the keys.”

-Multiple Sclerosis: tREASONS for Lesions

Here, in verbatim, is the summarized evidence concerning exercise that George provides:

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS – STRESS

Noteworthies:

• Over 50% with MS diagnosed during the disease process.
• Evidence for omega-3s and exercise reducing stress.

-Multiple Sclerosis: tREASONS for Lesions

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS – SWANK’S STUDY

…before winding up for Professor Swank’s grandslam of a study. Using “meticulous examination and recording of dietary fat consumption,” he followed 150 MS patients for 34 years. The criteria of his study matched that of his time, but has been noted to be lacking in our own.

• No control group, but comparison with other studies with patients who did not stick to the diet.
  • 72/144 stuck to the diet—<20g per day of saturated fat.
• Swank Scale—range from 0-6
  • 0—normal performance & normal neuro findings.
  • 1—normal performance physically & mentally, neuro signs present.
  • 2—mildly impaired physical performance but ambulant, neuro signs present, able to work part time or full time, occasional variable memory impairment.
  • 3—severely impaired performance but ambulant, able to work (usually part time), neuro impairment usually widespread, variable memory impairment frequently present.
  • 4—wheelchair needed, memory often impaired.
  • 5—confined to bed & chair.
  • 6—Deceased.

‘Good Dieters’—”Regardless of level of disability at entry to the trial, good dieters did not deteriorate significantly”

• Level 1 at entry—1.9 average
• Level 2 at entry— 3.6 average
• Level 3 or worse at entry—4.0 average
• All three groups “shown to markedly slow progression.”

Those with minimal disability at entry—95 alive after 34 years.

‘Bad Dieters’

• Minimal disability at entry—5.3 average
• Moderate disability at entry—5.3 average
• Severe disability at entry—5.6 average
• Only 7% remained active.
• Death rate—58/72 (45 from MS related causes)

‘Those Who Did Not Adhere’

• 78-91% dead, depending on entry level.
• “There is real hope of stabilizing the illness no matter how advanced it is.”
• “…those who could not stick to the diet and deteriorated actually reduced their saturated fat consumption very significantly (to 29-33g/day: this is a huge change compared with the average American intake of around 150g/day), but this was not enough. It is clear that close enough is not enough; the diet is really an all or nothing change.”
  • George writes that we preferentially take up slash incorporate saturated fatty acids into our cells and that an aim of “almost zero” is the only way around this.

15 years after…—Swank attempted to contact…

• Found 15 of them—ages 72-84
  • 13—”essentially normal and walking without difficulty.”
  • 2—”required assistance” with walking

Continued following into 2003…

• ‘Good’ dieters—16g of saturated fat per day—47 survivors at 50 years
• ‘Bad’ dieters—38 g of saturated fat per day—16 survivors at 50 years

-Multiple Sclerosis: tREASONS for Lesions

OBESITY – PILLS

“Obesity drugs are seen as the middle ground for patients who struggle with strict diet and exercise regimens, but do not want the risks of bariatric surgery.”

Their middle ground lacks a longitudinal exactitude and only exists within the minds of the lazy and ignorant. They find warning labels on drugs trivial—as insignificant as the mile-a-minute spokesperson who reads the illegible insect text at the end of a truly heartwarming drug commercial that makes you crave some fresh fruit. For an obese society that is so afraid of the word calorie or finding a gram of fat on the back of their candy-bars, I have great difficulty in seeing how you can disregard the this will likely kill you warning so easily.

-Qnexa: Disregarding the Un-…

OSTEOARTHRITIS

“Without exercise, the cartilage becomes thin, dry, and more susceptible to damage.”

1. Synovial fluid flows in and out and lubricates and nourishes the components of your joints while doing so.
2. Strengthens supporting structures, and improves flexibility, range of motion, and shock absorption.
   • Strength loss often precedes osteoarthritis.
3. Improves biomechanics and you essentially move better.
4. Prevents joint deformity.
5. Contributes to better emotional health.
6. Reduces stress and promotes relaxation.
7. Enhances sleep.
8. Improves body composition and increases its resistance to other diseases.
9. Improves insulin sensitivity.
10. Builds up a reserve capacity.

Proper exercise can strengthen and maintain healthy bones for the rest of your life, but “you don’t have to lift hundreds of pounds to improve your strength.”

• Obese people have strong bones—”If you gain just 10 pounds, you may be increasing the force certain joints must bear from 25 pounds up to 100 pounds.”
  • “The slower you lose weight, the better.”
• “Never exercise through joint pain!”
• Never stretch a cold muscle.
• “…vigorous exercise actually increases the functional status of those with osteoporosis…”—Heed this advice with caution.

-Osteoarthritis: Joint Carnage, I Mean *Cartilage

OSTEROARTHRITIS – DEPRESSION

Jason notes that 9.5% of the general population are depressed at some point during a given year and that in an anxiety study—”…the patients who felt the most anxiety had the highest levels of pain and disability, no matter how much joint damage was visible on the x-rays.” So here are some general recommendations:

• Exercise & positivity

-Osteoarthritis: Joint Carnage, I Mean *Cartilage

OSTEOARTHRITIS – OBESITY

A 1990s study revealed that for every 10 pounds of extra weight, you increase your osteoarthritis risk by 1.4 times. Obesity is a vicious cycle, but it is also a choice. We can feel bad for the obese and they can feel bad for themselves, but there is something they can do. Continuing with their current trend, they become unable to exercise sooner or later, thus making their joint situation even less adequate. Diabetic neuropathy and the onslaught of obesity-related disease—practically every disease imaginable—will follow. It all affects your joints—diabetic neuropathy for instance, alters joint movement, balance, and sensation.

Jason writes: “…it’s what you do on a daily basis that makes the difference.” I am going to borrow my already borrowed quote from above about losing weight and crash dieting/exercising—”The slower you lose weight, the better.” I touched on this topic in my Kidney Stones article and I feel you should check that out. What most do not realize, is that their weight does not just go poof. Your weight has toxins, hormones, and bodily wastes stored within its fat cells. Losing weight too quickly or yo-yo-ing on diet and exercise plans will only put your body at an even bigger disadvantage.

Imagine that onslaught of toxins, hormones, and bodily wastes surging through your body as you pop a pill that promises to make you petite in under a few weeks. It overwhelms your entire system. We must also realize that fat is not the only thing to be digested, your muscles, bones, etc… will also have to be restructured in order to match your ‘new’ body’s requirements, which will be much less. Something the author brought up in my kidney stones article really opened my mind—digesting your ‘meat’ results in an “infusion of the same substances in your system as the digestion of meat.”

-Osteoarthritis: Joint Carnage, I Mean *Cartilage

OSTEOPOROSIS

Young and old, here are some of the factors that both the author and a study offer up as to what it causing osteoporosis:

• Lack of exercise
• Less than 4 hours/day on feet

-Osteoporosis: Snap, Crackle, Fracture?

Maintain Normal Weight…

• Weight loss leads to a loss in bone density.
• Exercise interrupts menstrual cycle—known to lose bone density and fracture.

Exercise…

• Walking three times per week—”…can substantially increase bone strength.”
• “…single most effective strategy…”—Based on demands, it causes the bone to become heavier and stronger.

Avoid Smoking and Consumption of Alcohol…

• French study noted that one to three glasses of wine each day may have a positive effect on bone health—authors caution though that nutrition and exercise likely played a role.

-Osteoporosis: Snap, Crackle, Fracture?

• NASA—astronauts lose bone at 1.5% per month.
• Bedridden people—increased loss of calcium in urine
• Age/Elderly (study of 86-96 year olds)—”…dramatically increased their strength” and balance within eight weeks.
• Heavier weight for few repetitions better than light weight at higher reps—Lighter weight had no effect on bone density.

I want to take a moment and interrogate that last bullet point. Maybe management of bone density is the best way to go. Maybe lifting heavy weights increases bone density, but do we need thicker bones? Maybe the activities of daily life are enough to ensure adequate bone density? Nobody knows for sure what a good bone density is, but I doubt your bones will cripple and crack while living as naturally as possible.

-Osteoporosis: Snap, Crackle, Fracture?

OSTEOPOROSIS – BONE REMODELING

It is the osteoclasts that purposely pull the wrong Jenga block out and it is the osteoblasts that restore it or put it back together for another round of life. What determines another round of life is up to you, just as what determines longevity.

• “A certain amount of muscle strain also helps to maintain bone. That is why exercise, particularly weight-bearing, is essential to perpetuate healthy bone remodeling.”

My only advice is to proceed gently and to heed these words with caution. We have sportifyed exercise beyond life’s daily tasks, making it both competitive and injury-inducing. My personal belief is that lifting may build stronger bones, but are not our bones strong enough? Are we only hypertophy-ing our bones and our bodies towards real damage?

-Osteoporosis: Snap, Crackle, Fracture?

OSTEOPOROSIS – CALCIUM

Do we actually suffer from a lack of calcium and does supplementation work?

4. “A diet that is modest in protein, high in vegetables and complimented by exercise is much more effective.”

-Osteoporosis: Snap, Crackle, Fracture?

OSTEOPOROSIS – HYPERPARATHYROIDISM

Released from bone, absorbed in the intestines, and excreted in urine, calcium is regulated by the parathyroid hormone. High levels of this hormone may cause the bones to give up their calcium and lead to too much being absorbed from the food we eat—kidney stones may develop. Menstrual irregularities such as strenuous athletic training, emotional stress, and low body weight can ensure a woman’s inability to achieve peak bone mass while inching her closer to bone loss and fractures.

-Osteoporosis: Snap, Crackle, Fracture?

OSTEOPOROSIS – RECOMMENDATIONS

The authors of one study suggest that:

• Maintain body weight
• Walk for exercise

-Osteoporosis: Snap, Crackle, Fracture?

PARKINSON’S – CONSTIPATION

“But Parkinson’s definitely slows down the gastrointestinal tract from one end to the other, making swallowing, stomach emptying, and movement of the intestines increasingly sluggish.”

• Authors recommend exercise, fiber, coffee, and 5-6 glasses of water to stimulate bowel movements.

-Parkinson’s: Social Rigidity

SENSA

This week I cringe for the imbeciles who will be shaking themselves senseless while seemingly turning pizza pies and extra curly fries into treadmills and a few dumbbell reps (no exercise required). Some more clinically-proven bullshit. Another adaptive knack for those still shake shaking their Shake Weights.

-Cringe (#1): It Makes Sensa?

SLEEP

As you have already read, deep and effective sleep is severely limited by the constant activation of the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism and the end result is pain. This cycle can continue or you can attempt to improve it. Ginevra’s Sleep Hygiene list of recommendations consists of behaviors and habits to improve your sleep:

4. Avoid strenuous exercise four hours before bed.

-Fibromyalgia: The Painful Truth

SOFT DRINKS

A Boston study may make you think twice about soft drinks, even rationalizing them with exercise. The results: Girls who were physically active and drank soda were five times more likely to fracture bones. The researchers were unsure to why this association existed, but one theory blames phosphorous, which is abundant in soft drinks, for stealing calcium from the bones and gradually weakening them over time. Mary Lou writes that we should avoid:

• Extreme weight loss
• Smoking
• Sedatives
• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• …but perform weight bearing exercise in order to promote bone health.

-Endometriosis: Whimpering Wisdom

STRESS

“You can have the best diet in the world, but if you are self abusive, anxious, or unhappy, your nervous system and digestive system may suffer.”

Patricia shares that “stress is a leading cause of seizures” and offers insight into various ‘stress busters’:

• Stress

-Epilepsy: Carpe Vitam