Subject: Re: Exercise >>> Immunity

[Guest guest]

Message: 22

Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2005 22:28:07 -0000

From: " Rodney " <perspect1111@...>

Subject: Re: Exercise >>> Immunity

Hi folks:

Well here is another perspective on this issue. Below I post

excerpts from two studies.

The first study (from Jeff's post) shows a behaviour that reduces the

relative risk of all-cause mortality to 0.91 (or perhaps 0.87). The

other shows a different behaviour that reduces the relative risk of

mortality to 0.51.

====================

Here is the relevant excerpt from first study:

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--All-cause mortality (3728 deaths). RESULTS--

Total energy expenditure and energy expenditure from vigorous

activities, but not energy expenditure from nonvigorous activities,

related inversely to mortality. After adjustment for potential

confounders, the relative risks of dying associated with increasing

quintiles of total energy expenditure were 1.00 (referent), 0.94,

0.95, 0.91 and 0.91, respectively (P [trend] < .05). The relative

risks of dying associated with less than 630, 630 to less than 1680,

1680 to less than 3150, 3150 to less than 6300, and 6300 or more

kJ/wk expended on vigorous activities were 1.00 (referent), 0.88,

0.92, 0.87, and 0.87, respectively (P [trend] = .007). Corresponding

relative risks for energy expended on nonvigorous activities were

1.00 (referent), 0.89, 1.00, 0.98, and 0.92, respectively (P [trend]

= .36).

===================

Here is the relevant excerpt from the second study abstract:

DESIGN--Prospective population study with baseline assessment of

alcohol intake, smoking habit, income, education, and body mass

index, and 10-12 years' follow up of mortality. SETTING--Copenhagen

city heart study, Denmark. SUBJECTS--6051 men and 7234 women aged 30-

70 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--Number and time of cause-specific

deaths from 1976 to 1988. RESULTS--The risk of dying steadily

decreased with an increasing intake of wine--from a relative risk of

1.00 for the subjects who never drank wine to 0.51 (95% confidence

interval 0.32 to 0.81) for those who drank three to five glasses a

day. Intake of neither beer nor spirits, however, was associated with

reduced risk. For spirits intake the relative risk of dying increased

from 1.00 for those who never drank to 1.34 (1.05 to 1.71) for those

with an intake of three to five drinks a day. The effects of the

three types of alcoholic drinks seemed to be independent of each

other, and no significant interactions existed with sex, age,

education, income, smoking, or body mass index. Wine drinking showed

the same relation to risk of death from cardiovascular and

cerebrovascular disease as to risk of death from all causes.

CONCLUSION--Low to moderate intake of wine is associated with lower

mortality from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and other

causes. Similar intake of spirits implied an increased risk, while

beer drinking did not affect mortality. PMID: 7767150

================

As you can see, it appears that you can either exert yourself to the

tune of more than 6300 kj/week and drop you mortality by nine

percent, or, if you prefer, you can drink some wine daily and reduce

it by 49%.

As I have said here many times before, very little about

nutrition/health is known for absolutely certain, so in this vacuum

of unreliable information we each have to place our bets as regards

what our behaviour should be based on our best judgment about what

seems to make sense given the information we think we possess today.

I plan to follow the advice suggested by both the above studies. But

not in excess, and especially so, not the first.

Rodney.

--Okay. 4 oz. of dark, semi-sweet chocolate and a bottle of red wine a day.

--This ON part of CRON just keeps getting more, and more, and more onerous.

Maco