Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Our Thoughts Go To the South
Just sending out a good thought or two to the people dealing with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. No need to elaborate.
Digg This!
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Does Metabolic Syndrome Even Exist?
The following article points to a joint statement made by two powerful diabetes associations saying that metabolic syndrome, as "defined", is mainly a designation made to sell more drugs. You can check it out below:
USATODAY.com - Metabolic syndrome doesn't exist, diabetes groups claim
The pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in having Westerners believe they are sick--and in need of immediate (and expensive) treatment. In this case, the pharmaceuticals are using fear of heart disease to promote drugs for people who may not need them.
This announcement by the Diabetes associations makes a stand against randomly labeling people as disease-ridden without very strict protocols for what it means. I would imagine they'll be losing some funding from their more profit driven sponsors.
I know there's a new book or article talking about the changes being made by the FDA to accommodate the drug manufacturers market expansion, but I just can't find it. But essentially, it's saying that the government is complicit in lowering the bar for what qualifies as a disease, which I believe. Yes, we're getting sicker and fatter and less healthy, but we don't necessarily need drugs to combat this. A little more exercise would probably do the trick.
This site makes a lot of use of the term "metabolic syndrome", but I've always thought that it was odd to say that any three of five symptoms are sufficient to call it such. The one that diabetics are to be most concerned with, and the one I believe our society needs to contend with as if we're being invaded by aliens, is insulin resistance. (They call it "impaired fasting glucose" in this article, which is the same thing.)
The HRH Program is designed specifically to deal with insulin resistance, though it should help with all symptoms of metabolic syndrome, even if they "don't exist". Digg This!
USATODAY.com - Metabolic syndrome doesn't exist, diabetes groups claim
The pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in having Westerners believe they are sick--and in need of immediate (and expensive) treatment. In this case, the pharmaceuticals are using fear of heart disease to promote drugs for people who may not need them.
This announcement by the Diabetes associations makes a stand against randomly labeling people as disease-ridden without very strict protocols for what it means. I would imagine they'll be losing some funding from their more profit driven sponsors.
I know there's a new book or article talking about the changes being made by the FDA to accommodate the drug manufacturers market expansion, but I just can't find it. But essentially, it's saying that the government is complicit in lowering the bar for what qualifies as a disease, which I believe. Yes, we're getting sicker and fatter and less healthy, but we don't necessarily need drugs to combat this. A little more exercise would probably do the trick.
This site makes a lot of use of the term "metabolic syndrome", but I've always thought that it was odd to say that any three of five symptoms are sufficient to call it such. The one that diabetics are to be most concerned with, and the one I believe our society needs to contend with as if we're being invaded by aliens, is insulin resistance. (They call it "impaired fasting glucose" in this article, which is the same thing.)
The HRH Program is designed specifically to deal with insulin resistance, though it should help with all symptoms of metabolic syndrome, even if they "don't exist". Digg This!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Yoga Yields Weight Loss in Middle Age
More Parasympathetic Evidence...
The article below discusses the impact of yoga on weight loss.
Yahoo! Health News: Yoga Yields Weight Loss in Middle Age
The key quote within the article is the following:
"Middle age is a full time in life," she said. "A better response to this stress can lower cortisol and other stress hormones, which helps physiologically. If cortisol is elevated, you're more likely to have insulin resistance, which is central to obesity." So say Dr. Janine Blackman, the medical director of the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine.
The reason one gets this physiological protection from stress by practicing yoga is precisely because yoga trains the parasympathetic nervous system to be more active. The only other practices that do this are meditation and aerobic exercise.
And when the parasympathetic branch is active, you get lower cortisol secretion. Lower cortisol secretion equals less insulin resistance.
Good stuff, this yoga. Even better stuff? The Heart Rate Health Program! (You didn't know I was going to say that, did you?)
Digg This!
The article below discusses the impact of yoga on weight loss.
Yahoo! Health News: Yoga Yields Weight Loss in Middle Age
The key quote within the article is the following:
"Middle age is a full time in life," she said. "A better response to this stress can lower cortisol and other stress hormones, which helps physiologically. If cortisol is elevated, you're more likely to have insulin resistance, which is central to obesity." So say Dr. Janine Blackman, the medical director of the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine.
The reason one gets this physiological protection from stress by practicing yoga is precisely because yoga trains the parasympathetic nervous system to be more active. The only other practices that do this are meditation and aerobic exercise.
And when the parasympathetic branch is active, you get lower cortisol secretion. Lower cortisol secretion equals less insulin resistance.
Good stuff, this yoga. Even better stuff? The Heart Rate Health Program! (You didn't know I was going to say that, did you?)
Digg This!
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Metabolic syndrome has possible drug targets
The news story below is a little complicated--it comes from a university press release--so I'll try to sum up the results and what I think of them in a few paragraphs.
i-Newswire.com - Press Release And News Distribution - Metabolic syndrome possible drug targets
If you've been reading through this blog at all, you'll start to get the picture that I don't think we should be waiting around for drugs or genetics breakthroughs to deal with metabolic syndrome.
So the news that there is some hope for developing drugs to treat metabolic syndrome doesn't really do much for me. (By the way, that's what the article is about.) The pharmaceutical companies must be going mad to start working on something, though.
Prevention and health maintenance is the best way to fight off metabolic syndrome. Always has been, and (even if there are drugs to treat it) always will be. Like was mentioned in the last post's article, metabolic syndrome is a heart attack waiting to happen. Let's not bargain that the heart attack is farther off than the development of a drug. Instead, let's just move our arms and legs around a little more.
It's been said that if exercise was a pill, everyone would be forced to take it.
Digg This!
i-Newswire.com - Press Release And News Distribution - Metabolic syndrome possible drug targets
If you've been reading through this blog at all, you'll start to get the picture that I don't think we should be waiting around for drugs or genetics breakthroughs to deal with metabolic syndrome.
So the news that there is some hope for developing drugs to treat metabolic syndrome doesn't really do much for me. (By the way, that's what the article is about.) The pharmaceutical companies must be going mad to start working on something, though.
Prevention and health maintenance is the best way to fight off metabolic syndrome. Always has been, and (even if there are drugs to treat it) always will be. Like was mentioned in the last post's article, metabolic syndrome is a heart attack waiting to happen. Let's not bargain that the heart attack is farther off than the development of a drug. Instead, let's just move our arms and legs around a little more.
It's been said that if exercise was a pill, everyone would be forced to take it.
Digg This!
Avoiding Metabolic Syndrome
Check out the news below if you're in any doubt that keeping yourself in shape is important for avoiding metabolic syndrome and heart attacks.
RedNova News - Health - Heartfelt Fitness: Avoiding Metabolic Syndrome
And if you think we're seeing anything else besides a coming epidemic in diabetes, consider that a full 25% of American adults already have metabolic syndrome. Enough to scare you into using the HRH Program isn't it? (Just kidding, of course. Keeping your sense of humor is important for maintaining your health, too!) Digg This!
RedNova News - Health - Heartfelt Fitness: Avoiding Metabolic Syndrome
And if you think we're seeing anything else besides a coming epidemic in diabetes, consider that a full 25% of American adults already have metabolic syndrome. Enough to scare you into using the HRH Program isn't it? (Just kidding, of course. Keeping your sense of humor is important for maintaining your health, too!) Digg This!
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Please Ignore This Headline
When I took classes in journalism, we were told to put the most important information right into the headline, because a lot of people didn't read past that.
I came across the following story, which does just the opposite of what it should have done. It puts the least important part in a headline, and in doing so could cause a dangerous mindset in people who don't read any further.
Here was the headline: Study: Diabetes due in part to genetics.
You can read the entire story here:
MercuryNews.com | 08/09/2005 | Study: Diabetes due in part to genetics
If you do read through the story, you'll see that even the researchers who made the discovery that diabetes was in part due to genetics discount the importance of genetics. They say, in effect, "blame your parents, but take responsibility for yourself." In other words, there may be a genetic component, but don't let that lead you to believe there's nothing you can do about it.
But I don't know how many times I've heard someone say, "Well, it's all genetic, so I might as well just accept it and do what I want." I hear this most often in regard to smoking. Yes, some people do smoke all the way into their nineties and die of something besides cancer or a heart attack. Just because you may be related to one of them doesn't mean you can smoke without consequence. (That goes double for people reading this, because another recent study says that smoking is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome!)
So, when I see a headline like that, I cringe. Because someone who very much needs to read the rest of the story, and to start taking responsibility for his or her diet and exercise, may just read the headline and move on to another story while dismissing the importance of the doughnut they just devoured.
The fact is that there's plenty we can do about preventing or reversing Type II Diabetes. If you're not yet on the HRH Program, for instance, that could be one of the big steps you could take to make sure you're doing everything you can to override whatever genetic or behavioral lot this world has dealt to you.
So, the moral of the story is, ignore headlines that seem to let you off the hook. Digg This!
I came across the following story, which does just the opposite of what it should have done. It puts the least important part in a headline, and in doing so could cause a dangerous mindset in people who don't read any further.
Here was the headline: Study: Diabetes due in part to genetics.
You can read the entire story here:
MercuryNews.com | 08/09/2005 | Study: Diabetes due in part to genetics
If you do read through the story, you'll see that even the researchers who made the discovery that diabetes was in part due to genetics discount the importance of genetics. They say, in effect, "blame your parents, but take responsibility for yourself." In other words, there may be a genetic component, but don't let that lead you to believe there's nothing you can do about it.
But I don't know how many times I've heard someone say, "Well, it's all genetic, so I might as well just accept it and do what I want." I hear this most often in regard to smoking. Yes, some people do smoke all the way into their nineties and die of something besides cancer or a heart attack. Just because you may be related to one of them doesn't mean you can smoke without consequence. (That goes double for people reading this, because another recent study says that smoking is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome!)
So, when I see a headline like that, I cringe. Because someone who very much needs to read the rest of the story, and to start taking responsibility for his or her diet and exercise, may just read the headline and move on to another story while dismissing the importance of the doughnut they just devoured.
The fact is that there's plenty we can do about preventing or reversing Type II Diabetes. If you're not yet on the HRH Program, for instance, that could be one of the big steps you could take to make sure you're doing everything you can to override whatever genetic or behavioral lot this world has dealt to you.
So, the moral of the story is, ignore headlines that seem to let you off the hook. Digg This!
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Get Fit to Fight Metabolic Syndrome
Here's more good news for people who are doing the HRH Program--or considering it. The link below talks about a huge study that shows how effective moderate exercise can be to preventing metabolic syndrome. Check it out at:
Yahoo! Health News: Get Fit to Fight Metabolic Syndrome
The strongest result was found for women who kept themselves fit. They were 63 percent less likely to get metabolic syndrome than the least fit of the people in the study.
For the men, the results are nearly as good, with a 53 percent reduction. No word as to whether the 10 percent difference is caused by watching too much football on Sundays. Digg This!
Yahoo! Health News: Get Fit to Fight Metabolic Syndrome
The strongest result was found for women who kept themselves fit. They were 63 percent less likely to get metabolic syndrome than the least fit of the people in the study.
For the men, the results are nearly as good, with a 53 percent reduction. No word as to whether the 10 percent difference is caused by watching too much football on Sundays. Digg This!
Monday, August 08, 2005
Diabetes Spurred By Adult Lifestyles
A lot of people still believe the getting Type 2 Diabetes is mainly a genetic issue. But now, more research is pointing to the influence of adult lifestyles--or more specifically, choices people make when they're adults. Check out the article below.
Yahoo! Health News: Diabetes Spurred By Adult Lifestyles
The study started just after World War II, which puts it at one of the longer ones done on humans. That gives it extra power to determine what causes the problems, as researchers have been following the choices these families have made for nearly sixty years.
I was a little surprised to learn that a lot of researchers believed--and many probably still do believe--that getting insulin resistance is due to impaired womb development. Of course, putting the poor decisions of a child--even one well into adulthood--onto its mother is not a new. Researchers have long blamed pregnant women for all sorts of things.
Though this article doesn't go into these adult lifestyle decisions, we know pretty well that eating massive amounts of sugar and not getting enough quality exercise is among the risk factors for developing adult diabetes symptoms like insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. Digg This!
Yahoo! Health News: Diabetes Spurred By Adult Lifestyles
The study started just after World War II, which puts it at one of the longer ones done on humans. That gives it extra power to determine what causes the problems, as researchers have been following the choices these families have made for nearly sixty years.
I was a little surprised to learn that a lot of researchers believed--and many probably still do believe--that getting insulin resistance is due to impaired womb development. Of course, putting the poor decisions of a child--even one well into adulthood--onto its mother is not a new. Researchers have long blamed pregnant women for all sorts of things.
Though this article doesn't go into these adult lifestyle decisions, we know pretty well that eating massive amounts of sugar and not getting enough quality exercise is among the risk factors for developing adult diabetes symptoms like insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. Digg This!
