Fw: DrMirkin's eZine: Sugared drinks, race winners, more . . .

[Guest guest]

Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine

March 18, 2012

Sugared Drinks Increase Heart Attack Risk

Among 43,000 men, 40-75 years of age, followed for 22

years, those who drank one 12-oz. sugar-sweetened beverage a day

had a 20 percent higher risk of heart disease than those who

didn't drink sugar-sweetened beverages (Circulation, published

online March 12, 2012). Each additional daily serving of a

sugared drink was associated with an additional 19 percent

increased risk for heart attacks. The study also found that the

more sugared drinks a person takes per day, the greater the

increase in cholesterol, triglycerides, Lp(a), leptin, and the

indicators of inflammation (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and

tumor necrosis factors 1 and 2). High cholesterol and

inflammation both increase risk for heart attacks.

WHY SUGARED DRINKS ARE UNHEALTHFUL WHEN YOU ARE NOT

EXERCISING: Sugared drinks raise blood sugar levels much higher

than sugared foods. When food reaches your stomach, the pyloric

sphincter at the end of the stomach closes to keep solid food in

your stomach. It permits only a soupy liquid to pass into your

intestines. When you eat solid food such as an orange, it can

stay in your stomach for up to 5 hours. On the other hand, orange

juice passes immediately into your intestines and then into your

bloodstream. So you get a much higher blood sugar level rise

after drinking orange juice than you do after eating an orange.

WHY SUGARED DRINKS ARE HEALTHFUL WHEN YOU EXERCISE:

Resting muscles are inactive and can draw sugar from your

bloodstream only with the help of insulin. Contracting muscles

can remove sugar from your bloodstream without needing insulin.

When you are exercising, contracting muscles remove sugar from the

bloodstream so fast that you rarely get a high rise in blood

sugar.

Also, sugar is the most efficient source of energy for

muscles during exercise. The limiting factor in how fast you can

move is the time it takes to move oxygen into muscles. Since sugar

requires less oxygen than fat and protein do to be converted to

energy, sugar is the fuel of choice for moving fast when you exercise.

When you exercise for more than an hour, you can run low on sugar,

but not on fat. You have a virtually unlimited source of fat in

your body. Taking sugared drinks helps you to exercise faster

and longer.

WHY A HIGH RISE IN BLOOD SUGAR IS HARMFUL: When blood sugar

levels rise too high, sugar sticks to the outer surface of cell

membranes and is eventually converted to sorbitol, which destroys

cells to cause all the terrible side effects of diabetes.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TAKE SUGARED DRINKS WHEN YOU ARE NOT

EXERCISING?

* Your blood sugar rises.

* In response, your pancreas releases large amounts of insulin.

* Insulin converts sugar to triglycerides (HIGH TRIGLYCERIDES).

* Then you use up the good HDL cholesterol in carrying the

triglycerides from your bloodstream into your liver (LOW HDL CHOLESTEROL).

* Triglycerides that are carried to your liver in large amounts

cause a FATTY LIVER.

* A fatty liver causes DIABETES.

* Diabetes is the most powerful cause of HEART ATTACKS in North

Americans.

HOW DO SUGARED DRINKS CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN AND HEART ATTACKS?

When blood sugar levels rise too high, your pancreas releases

extra insulin in an effort to lower blood sugar levels. Insulin

acts directly on your brain to make you eat more. High levels of

insulin also constrict arteries leading to your heart to block

them and increase risk for a heart attack.

SHOULD YOU TAKE ARTIFICIALLY SWEETENED DRINKS INSTEAD?

Probably not. A study following 2600 people for 10 years shows

that those who drink diet sodas daily are at 44 percent increased

risk for heart attacks and strokes. (Journal of General Internal

Medicine, published online January, 2012;27(2):135-263). Less-

than-daily consumption of artificially-sweetened drinks was not

associated with heart attacks or strokes. Other recent studies

have shown that diet soda drinkers are more likely to have high

blood pressure and blood sugars. Sweet tastes turn on the

pleasure center in your brain to make you eat more.

***********************************************

Reports from DrMirkin.com

Iron supplements

http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/iron.html

Type O blood and ulcers

http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/8416.html

Varicose veins

http://www.drmirkin.com/archive/7061.html

***********************************************

What's the Best Test to Predict Who Will Win a Race?

Before a 24-mile cycling time trial, scientists measured

the maximum amount of oxygen that riders could take in (VO2max)

and the peak power Output (PPO) adjusted for body weight. The Peak

Power Output adjusted for weight is the maximum force that a

bicycle rider can generate on his pedals. It is the best predictor

for how fast the bicycle riders could race (British Journal of

Sports Medicine, January, 2012; 46(1):36-41). That's because

cycling (and rowing) are power sports in which the strongest

trained athletes usually win. On the other hand, running and

cross country skiing are not power sports, so the best predictor

of success in their races is the maximal amount of oxygen that

they can take in and use.

The limiting factor to how fast an athlete can move over

long distances is the time it takes for oxygen to get into his

muscles. So for athletes in any endurance sport, the more oxygen

they can take in and use continuously, the faster they will race.

When you are exercising so fast that you can't get all the oxygen

you need to convert food to energy for your muscles, you become so

short of breathe that you have to slow down.

However, there is an increase in oxygen requirements as

you pedal with more force. The harder you have to press on the

pedals to move your bike, the greater your needs for oxygen.

Muscles are made up of millions of muscle fibers. When

you contract a muscle even as hard as you can, you rarely contract

more than five percent of your fibers at the same time.

If you are stronger than your opponent, you need to

contract fewer fibers at the same time to move your pedals.

Therefore, you require less oxygen and should be able to go at a

faster pace. At the end of a race, the stronger rider almost

always can ride faster. So the maximal amount of oxygen that you

can take in is important, but stronger trained riders win.

***********************************************

More Evidence That You Should Avoid Red Meat

120,000 men and women were followed for up to 28 years

(Archives of Internal Medicine, published online March 12, 2012).

Eating one serving per day of mammal meat, the size of a deck of

cards, increased their chances of dying by 13 percent, dying from

a heart attack by up to 21 percent, and dying from cancer by up to

16 percent.

SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT THAT PROLONG LIFE: The risk of death

decreased by 7 percent by substituting fish for meat, 14 percent

by substituting poultry, 19 percent by substituting nuts, 10

percent by substituting legumes, 10 percent by substituting low-

fat dairy products and 14 percent by substituting whole grains.

The researchers estimated that 9.3 percent of deaths in

men and 7.6 percent in women could be prevented if the

participants had eaten less than 0.5 servings per day of red meat.

Another study of more than 500,000 Americans over 40 shows

that those who consume the equivalent of at least a hamburger a

day have a 30 percent increased chance of dying during the next 10

years, mostly from heart disease and cancer (Archives of Internal

Medicine, March 2009). This study also found that eating fish,

chicken, turkey and other poultry decreased the risk of premature

death.

WHAT IN MEAT CAUSES PREMATURE DEATH? Mammal meats, and

particularly processed meats, contain ingredients that have been

linked to increased risk of heart attacks and cancers. These

include heme iron, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, nitrites,

and certain carcinogens that are formed during cooking.

Unprocessed red meat includes beef, pork, lamb, or hamburger and

processed red meat included bacon, hot dogs, sausage, salami, and

bologna.

NOT JUST DIETARY SATURATED FATS AND CHOLESTEROL: These

researchers, and many others, suggest that saturated fats and

cholesterol in meat are likely to cause the increased risk of

death, but this makes little sense since 1) poultry is also a rich

source of saturated fats and cholesterol, and does not increase

premature death, cancer or heart attacks; 2) people who eat a diet

rich is saturated fats from palm, palm kernel and coconut oils are

not at increased risk for premature death; and 3) eggs and shell

fish are extremely rich sources of cholesterol and they are not

associated with premature death.

HEME IRON: Iron in meat is a potent oxidant. Before the bad

LDL cholesterol can form plaques in arteries, it must first be

converted to oxidized LDL. Iron oxidizes LDL to form oxidized LDL

cholesterol.

INFLAMMATION AND Neu5Gc: The researchers did not mention

the theory that I think is the most powerful explanation for the

increased risk for heart attacks, cancers and premature death in

meat eaters: inflammation from the glycoprotein Neu5Gc.

In 1982, Ajit Varki of the University of California, San

Diego discovered a molecule called Neu5Gc that appears in the

tissues of every mammal except humans (Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences, September 29, 2003). He has put together the

pieces of a puzzle that may explain why, if we want to live into

old age, we should probably avoid eating meat from any other

mammals (Science, October 31, 2008).

WHAT IS INFLAMMATION? Your immunity is good for you. It

turns on and tries to kill germs when they invade your body.

However, if your immunity stays active all the time, it eventually

uses the same forces that kill germs to destroy your body. Your

immunity makes cytokines that dissolve the outer membranes of

attacking germs. These same cytokines can destroy the outer

membranes in your body. Indeed, long before plaques that cause

heart attacks form in your body, the cytokines erode and punch

holes in the inner linings of your arteries. Plaques form long

after a clot has formed to try to heal these lesions.

NEU5GC CAUSES INFLAMMATION: When humans ingest the flesh

or milk of any mammal, they absorb Neu5Gc and treat it the same

way as an invading germ, so they make antibodies against it. This

turns on their immunity and keeps it active so it eventually

attacks the host itself, the human body. This chronic inflammation

can cause heart attacks, strokes, cancers and premature death.

NEU5GC AND CANCER: Since humans cannot make Neu5Gc, any

amount found in human cells comes from the mammals that they have

eaten. Neu5Gc is found in high levels in tumors, with the highest

levels in metastasizing tumors. Dr Varki has shown that mice

genetically engineered so that they are unable to make Neu5Gc,

make antibodies against Neu5Gc and develop cancers when they are

given meat that contains Neu5Gc and antibodies against that sugar-

protein (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

11/13/08).

READ MY DETAILED REPORT ON Neu5Gc at

http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine110908.html

***********************************************

Recipe of the Week:

Baked Sweet Potatoes and Onions

http://www.drmirkin.com/recipes/sweetpotatoes.html

You'll find lots of recipes and helpful tips in

The Good Food Book

http://www.drmirkin.com/goodfood/index.html

***********************************************

" Like " us on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Gabe-Mirkin-on-Fitness-Health/200757859968159

Twitter

http://twitter.com/DrGabeMirkin

***********************************************

BACK ISSUES of the eZine from 2004-2011 are available at

http://www.drmirkin.com/public/EzineList.html

YOU ARE WELCOME TO COPY the e-Zine's contents for

use in your own newsletter, company or club publication,

BLOG or website. Please give proper credit and a link

back to

http://www.drmirkin.com

The e-Zine is provided as a service. Dr.Mirkin's reports and

opinions are for information only, and are not intended to

diagnose or prescribe. For your specific diagnosis and

treatment, consult your doctor or health care provider.

For more information visit

http://www.drmirkin.com

We DO NOT sell, rent or give your e-mail address to anyone.

Copyright 2011 The Sportsmedicine Institute, Inc.

http://www.DrMirkin.com

Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

10901 Connecticut Avenue, Kensington MD 20895, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:

http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?zAwszEwstCwMLCxMDJwstEa0jMzsbOyMnOw

=