FAILURE IS A NECESSARY PART OF TRAINING

If you never failed a rep in the gym and if you always ran the distance you said you will and if you always meet your goals in training, then how do you know you have pushed yourself to the limit? How do you know you are achieving the best that you are capable of? Do you get anxious before your workouts? Do you get nervous and sweaty palmed before your workout? If not, then I think you aren’t pushing yourself to the best of your ability. Try pushing yourself to the point of failure and that’s the only way you will know your potential. Don’t let your workouts become perfunctory just so you can get it over with. Keep challenging yourself and keep innovating in your daily workouts and that’s the only way you will endure and persevere in the long run. Don’t be afraid to fail because only then you will truly be your best or as someone put it:

“If you are afraid of being weak you will never truly be strong.”

And remember this applies to all walks of life!

THE OBSESSION WITH LOW FAT DIETS

Every now and then I hear people promoting low-fat diets, assuming that a low fat diet is naturally healthy. If fat in the body makes a person fat then it must be coming from the diet, right? It’s this simple logic that has spiraled much of the developed world into an epidemic of obesity in spite of the steady decline in overall fat consumption in our diets, thanks to the popular media and the high-carb advocates. But this couldn’t be farther from truth. The reason being that it is not the excess fat but the excess carbohydrates in our diets that gets converted to fat and stored in the adipose tissue. I have talked about the fat storage mechanism in my previous articles so I am not going to get into the details of it but I would like to reiterate that a healthy balanced diet must have ample quantities of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and omega-3 fatty acids.

Let’s look at why this low fat thinking won’t make people any slimmer. Take for example the raging success of low-fat yogurt parlors these days. I see these low-fat yogurt stores popping up all over the bay area faster than the weed in my lawn and people who have seen my lawn know what I am talking about. Their selling point is flavored low-fat yogurt and everyone seems to be raving about the low-fat aspect of it. So I went online to check the nutritional content of one such store and their offerings. Here is what it reads:

Figure 1.

So a small cup has two servings of these. There is no fat of course but looking at the sugar content it seems like a small cup would have about 4 teaspoons of sugar. And if you were someone like me and went for the large cup of the healthy stuff then you would end up getting about 52 grams or about 10 teaspoons of sugar. Now if you have been paying any attention to my previous articles you would know what eating sugar is going to do to your blood glucose levels and that getting fat has little to do with how much fat you eat but a lot more to do with your insulin response to sugars and high GI carbs. In fact the addition of a little healthy fat to this yogurt would be more wholesome and less fattening because fat slows the glucose response of carbs as illustrated in a study conducted in reference [1]. In this study ten healthy men received a 50-g portion of glucose alone and the same quantity mixed with butter, sunola oil (MUFA) or sunflower oil (PUFA) on separate days. Blood was collected at regular intervals for 2 h. The glycemic index (GI), insulin index (II) were calculated from the blood-work. It was found that addition of fat to a carb meal blunts the rise in blood glucose levels (shown in figure 2) following the meal which means smaller insulin response and less fat storage (remember, insulin is basically a storage hormone).

Figure 2.

So, from the way I see it, adding some healthy fat especially to a high GI carb meal would have the following benefits:

1) As illustrated above, fat slows the glucose spike in your blood from high GI carbs like sugar and starches.

2) Fat triggers the satiety centers in your brain and fills you up so you end up feeling fuller quicker (and you thought it was the guilt of eating fat that made you stop eating sooner).

3) Fat also slows your digestion and keeps your fuller longer so you don’t go for the next carb meal as quickly.

So the next time you go for a low-fat meal read the label closely for the amount of sugar or carb in a serving and even if it’s the most healthiest thing in the world adding some healthy fat from almond butter or such will only make it healthier.

REFERENCE:
Joannic, J.-L., Auboiron, S., Raison, J., Basdevant, A., Bornet, F. & Guy-Grand, B. (1997) How the degree of unsaturation of dietary fatty acids influences the glucose and insulin responses to different carbohydrates in mixed meals. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 65:1427-1433.

BUILD MUSCLE TO BURN FAT

An article that appeared in the women’s health magazine talks about the benefits of weight training in burning body fat:

Why weight training is a great way to burn fat

Although the article focuses on fat burning for women the same general principle applies to even men, and that is gaining muscle is the only permanent way to increase your metabolism. While cardio burns more fat during the workout, weight training wins in overall fat burning ability in the long run as muscle tissue is active tissue and burns calories even in the state of inactivity. So hit the gym and pump some iron and don’t worry about bulking up.

THE HEALING POWER OF THE MIND: THE PLACEBO EFFFECT

Most everyone must have heard of the placebo effect. It’s the healing effect that arises from the belief that something is beneficial. There are stories of world war II nurses giving saline water shots to injured soldiers and telling them they were given a powerful shot of morphine (because they ran out of morphine, of course). Surprisingly many of the soldiers did feel a reduction in pain. In almost all the drug clinical trials there is some placebo effect observed in the control group that receives the ‘sugar pill’. A recent article in the Scientific American talked about a patient with cancer tumors all over his body. He was fighting for every breath but believed that a new drug, Krebiozen, which was going to be given to him, would cure him of his cancer. Three days after he received his first injection he was able to walk and his tumors had shrunk by half. 10 days of treatment later he was discharged. Other patients in the hospital that received the same drug didn’t show any improvement. So why this miraculous recovery in this case? Apparently when the brain believes in something it triggers the appropriate response in the body to make it a reality. There have been known cases of multiple personality disorders in which a person suffers from a split personality and one of the personalities has diabetes while the other personality is perfectly healthy. So when the person is in the diabetic personality state he in fact has an insulin disorder and while he is in the healthy personality state his insulin response is perfectly normal, all in the same body! Scientists are now trying to unlock the missing link between what the mind believes and how the body heals due to that belief. So perhaps Aamir’s mantra ‘all is well’ works within one’s body! Or in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger (from his bodybuilding days): Where the mind goes, the body follows! These days I keep patting my injured shoulder and telling myself ‘all is well’ 

IT’S NOT HUMOROUS TO BREAK A HUMERUS

Exercising helps alleviate depression by increasing the serotonin levels in the brain but recently I have been experiencing the effects of withdrawal symptoms from the lack of exercise in other words: depression! It goes back to about 3 weeks ago when a slip and fall on an extended arm (trying to save my laptop) caused me to dislocate my right shoulder. It wasn’t just any ordinary dislocation, but my humerus head (the top of upper arm bone) hit the shoulder capsule causing a little dime sized chip to separate out. On top of that the shoulder capsule itself got ruptured (also known as the glenoid labrum tear), the treatment of which requires arthoscopic surgery at an outpatient clinic (not a big deal). To make a long story short the shoulder is pretty messed up and even after fixing it will require 3-4 months of rehab to be fully functional and so any upper body exercising is out of the question. So I decide to take up my old favorite exercise, running. But my better half decides to consult an astrologer and the pundit was so good that he exactly predicted the three injuries I had in the past 8 months and further said that the stars are not in my favor until the end of Feb 2010. So what does the wife do? She puts a total ban on any exercising for the next 4 months, even running! So the only exercise I am getting these days is doing bicep curls with the TV remote. In the mean time my depression is on the rise because I can’t do my favorite activities like swimming, weightlifting and exercising in general. Plus the constant pain in my shoulder doesn’t let me sleep at night. These days the only comfort I find is in junk food, candy (thanks to Halloween!) and a shot or two of tequila (hey, it at least helps me sleep!). I’ll still keep up my reading of health and fitness and keep posting my thoughts every now and then. Until then you folks keep away from wet surfaces and in case you do end up in a slippery situation, remember that nothing (except a child you are carrying in your arms) is worth breaking a body part.

CHOLESTEROL: IS IT REALLY THE ENEMY?

This is the follow up of my last article and an attempt at elucidating the role of cholesterol in the human body and why it’s not the axis of evil as it’s made out to be.

Cholesterol belongs to a class of substance called steroids. It’s wax like and is essential for the proper functioning of cells in the human body. In recent decades it has been maligned as the most nefarious substance to be found in the human body, mainly by the vegetable oil industry (post WW II) and lately by the pharmaceutical industry that make cholesterol lowering statin drugs. While the real truth is that Cholesterol is not only beneficial to the human body but also essential for many of the proper body functions. Most of the cholesterol found in the body is synthesized in the liver, more than anything you will ever get from any diet. Some of the vital functions of cholesterol are:

Cholesterol is a vital component of all the cell membranes. Without cholesterol in the cell membranes our cells wouldn’t have the 3-dimensional structure they now have. They would be as flat as a pancake. This role of cholesterol has profound implications for brain and nerve cell functionality and longevity in spite of how simple it sounds. Nerve cells and brain cells are the ones that use the most cholesterol since they don’t multiply like other cells and need to maintain their rigidity and longevity. So what happens when cholesterol levels go down, with say the use of a statin drug? The result is the onset of nerve cell and brain cell death due to which poor brain function, depression, memory loss, suicidal tendencies increase and get worse as the dosage of statin is increased. In fact there is a very good book about this titled: Lipitor- thief of memory by Dr. Duane Graveline. There are other very good studies done at Johns Hopkins on the benefits of Ketogenic diet (KD) on the human brain [1]. A Ketogenic diet is very high in fat (mostly saturated fats from butter, cheese, Bacon and other red meats) with minimal carbohydrates and enough protein to sustain growth. In this study the authors have shown how KD can help children with epilepsy. When other conventional medications for the treatment of epilepsy fail a child is put on KD for a period of two years and in most cases the child is fully cured. The study further went on to show that KD can provide symptomatic and disease-modifying activity in a broad range of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, and may also be protective in traumatic brain injury and stroke. Stanford children’s hospital has some information about KD and treatment for epilepsy in children here:

http://www.lpch.org/clinicalSpecialtiesServices/ClinicalSpecialties/Neurology/neurology.html

There are other studies [2] that show that a deficiency of cholesterol hinders with the oxytocin receptor, ligand activity and G-protein coupling of the serotonin-1A receptor in the brain leading to autism spectrum disorders (ASD). They have shown that individuals treated with dietary supplementation of cholesterol display fewer autistic behaviors, infections, and symptoms of irritability and hyperactivity, with improvements in physical growth, sleep and social interactions. Other behaviors shown to improve with cholesterol supplementation include aggressive behaviors, self-injury and temper outbursts.

An interesting article on the CNN health website talks about the risks of low cholesterol and its connection to depression and violent behavior. It lists some studies that have shown a link between low cholesterol levels and the risk for depression and violent behavior. Just like reference [2] it shows that low cholesterol levels might lead to low serotonin activity in the brain which in turn leads to violent and aggressive behavior. By the way exercise has shown to increase serotonin activity in the brain (another reason to start exercising). The CNN article can be found here:

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/men/06/30/low.cholesterol.wmd/index.html

The effect on low cholesterol on muscle cells has been studied by researchers at the Texas A&M University [3]. Various mechanisms of statin toxicity have been identified in the case of muscle cells. These factors reduce muscle mass, energy, vitality and lead to general lack of fitness. In this study they compared two groups of people on a strict exercise regimen but one of them was given statin drugs while the other was given a placebo. They found that the group that took cholesterol lowering statin drugs had a lower muscle strength gain. Muscle fatigue and pain is a well documented side effect of statin drugs. Some of the side effects of statins can be found at mayoclinic.com website here:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/statin-side-effects/MY00205

The famous Merck and Schering-Plough cholesterol-lowering drug Vytorin, is being investigated for fraud across the country for increasing the risk of certain forms of cancer by 64%. The drug is very good at lowering LDL cholesterol but in doing so it substantially increases the risk of some forms of cancer. There are numerous ongoing studies investigating the link between low LDL levels and the risk of developing cancer.

The other role of cholesterol in the body is the formation of bile salts in the liver which help digest food. Without this the food you consume wouldn’t be properly digested and assimilated in the body and you would wither away in starvation no matter how much you ate. Cholesterol also assists in the conversion of vitamin D from sunlight and in the assimilation of vitamin A and E.

Cholesterol also being the master steroid assists in the formation of sex hormones, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone without which our normal sexual development wouldn’t be possible.

It is sad that cholesterol has been touted as the single most devious villain in the fight against CHD by the vegetable oil industry and the pharmaceutical industry for obvious reasons (isn’t billions of dollars reason enough?). A further testimony to the pharmaceutical industry’s vested interest in selling statins to the general population is the latest recommendation to put children as young at 8 on statins:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1035152/Why-doctors-believe-children-young-statins.html

Talk about expanding the market base. Time to buy some Pfizer and Merck shares, I say!

While I am not suggesting that we go all out in our intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, I do believe that anything (natural) taken in moderation won’t harm your body. If you do have high cholesterol it may be a symptom of some other underlying factor such as stress and treating it with statins so that your numbers look good on paper would do nothing to alleviate the real cause. So treat the cause and not the symptom. I believe the best way to combat CHD is by living healthy, eating healthy and staying happy. After following this lifestyle if your cholesterol numbers are still high then so be it. Trust your body in that it knows what’s right for you and messing with the natural pathways of your body with synthetic drugs might prove counter-effective in the long run. So the next time your doctor suggests cholesterol lowering medication, stop and ask: is it really necessary and can I do something about it with a change in my lifestyle?

REFERENCES:
1) Maciej Gasior, Michael A. Rogawski, and Adam L. Hartman, Neuroprotective and disease-modifying effects of the ketogenic diet, Behav Pharmacol. 2006 September; 17(5-6): 431–439.
2) Aneja A., Tierney E., Autism: The Role of Cholesterol in Treatment. International Review of Psychiatry, 2008 Apr 20(2):165-70)
3) Texas A&M University (2008, January 10). Surprise -- Cholesterol May Actually Pose Benefits. ScienceDaily.

A FURTHER TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF SATURATED FAT

Today the world's oldest person Gertrude Baines died at the age of 115. Guess what were her favorite foods? Crispy bacon, fried chicken and ice cream. Also the oldest human to ever live, Jeanne Louise Calment who lived in Arles, France, died at the age of 122. She consumed 2 pounds of chocolate every week. Her doctor convinced her to give up sweets at 119 and she died 3 yrs later. She attributed her longevity to her sense of humor and her attitude of not taking anything seriously. I have a feeling she would have lived even longer had the doctor not persuaded her give up chocolate. She perhaps got withdrawal symptoms and ended up in depression which in turn caused her to die 3 yrs later. I don't understand her doctor's thinking. I mean why fix something that has worked for 119 yrs? Duh!

So don't worry be happy and like my good friend says 'happy people live longer'. OK, time to go and have my butter omelet!