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Health & Fitness

WIKIPEDIA

Searching for the magic pill?

There's a lot of talk about a magic pill that will substitue for exercise.  Good luck!  The fact of the matter is that there is nothing that you can buy that will provide you with the health that comes from physical exercise.

Recent experiments conducted on laboratory mice are being misreported to an axious public suffering from overweight issues. Folks are not listening to what is being reported. The science has shown that a medication can increase the indurance of mice who have not previously been exposed to exercise. Nothing was said about substituting a pill for exercise; or, getting the benefits of exercise from a medication alone.

If the approach is to be applied to humans, what scientists hope for is that the physical aspects that keep many of us from exercising may be compensated for by medications. This is not that much different from those benefits of analgesics, like asprin and ibuprofen, which can relieve the discomfort of sore muscles during exercise.  The medication given to the laboratory mice works differently; but, the results only show that more exercise can be tollerated; not, that the medication can substitue for exercise.

Those human physiological processes which accompany exercise are very complex.  In brief, exercise works for you by engaging the majority of the body's organs, along with the muscles involved. It is the total active engagement of your body organs that promotes good health and longevity.  "Use it or lose it" is not just a clever saying.  Reality suggests that every living system is designed to be active--to hunt for food, to procreate, to run from predators; and, to be fit to do these activities at all times. So, stop waiting for a magic pill.  Get that fat tush off the couch; and, start working out, ASAP.

Health & Fitness Editor 

An anti-aging regimen

Many aspects of aging can be dealt with and even reversed.  Most adverse effects of aging are associated with cellular degeneration and destruction.  Many causes for this are known. They generally are associated with oxidation.

Although oxidation reactions are crucial for life, they can also be damaging; hence, plants and animals maintain complex systems of multiple types of antioxidants, such as glutathione, vitamin C, and vitamin E as well as enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and various peroxidases. Low levels of antioxidants, or inhibition of the antioxidant enzymes, causes oxidative stress and may damage or kill cells.

Any anti-aging regimen must deal with those forces that produce oxidation and inflammation of the body's cells. Good sleep, nutrition and exercise are central to this regimen.  Food suppliments play a large roll in attaining proper nutrition for humans.

Getting enough sleep is critical to the anti-aging regimen because while you sleep, your cells undergo a process of repair. When we look at hormone parameters from sleep, we find that sleep turns down the negative effects of cortisol and the bad neurotransmitters, like epinephrine and norepinephrine, that can be elevated during stress. Growth hormone is released during sleep—and growth hormone is the youth hormone.

A good night's sleep will enhance your cognitive ability. The day after a good night's sleep, you can think, problem-solve and remember far better than after those sleepless nights. During sleep, your body releases a hormone called melatonin, which has positive effects on your skin and your immune system.

Since sleep is so important to the anti-aging regimen, it is essential that you do what will enhance sleep and avoid what will interfere with sleep. Drinking alcoholic beverages in the evening may initially make you drowsy, but scientists know that after the initial effect of drowsiness, alcohol precipitates a burst of norepinephrine in your system. Norepinephrine is one of the hormones that go up with excitement or stress, and is the reason that many of us wake up at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning after alcohol ingestion. There is a burst of norepinephrine production causing you to come back to consciousness. It is also important that you avoid caffeine in the late afternoon and evening, because it may interfere with your sleep patterns. You should avoid any food that raises your blood sugar rapidly before you go to bed, because it will interfere with growth hormone production, robbing you of this essential anti-aging hormone.

 
 Of all the destructive pro-inflammatory and pro-aging forces that can be observed, nothing compares to stress. Many circumstances create stress in our daily lives. Arguing with family, friends or colleagues, not getting enough sleep, worrying, working too hard or even playing too hard can all create stress. Weekend warriors, who try to make up for a week of inactivity by spending hours engaged in strenuous physical sports, raise their stress levels to an unhealthy degree. Any activity that is practiced without moderation can lead to a stress response. Stress causes certain hormonal changes in our body, which rapidly alter the function of cells in our vital organs.

Hormones are an important part of looking and feeling young and vital, so we want to make sure that we don't do anything that causes negative hormonal changes. In fact, as we age, all our hormone levels decline. We see a decline in sex hormones, which give us our libido, muscle mass and secondary sexual characteristics. There is decline in growth hormone, that plays a critical role in determining muscle mass, bone density, health of our immune system, skin thickness and mental capacity. We may even see changes in hormones such as the thyroid gland, which affects our metabolism.

In Particular, Cortisol

It is interesting to note that there is one hormone that actually increases as we get older. This is the hormone known as cortisol. Many of us are already familiar with cortisol because a derivative, called cortisone, is used in topical and systemic medications and has been part of the pharmacological armamentarium for years. Cortisol is essential in our bodies to maintain homeostasis during acute forms of stress, such as fear, physical trauma and extreme physical exertion.

Cortisol is found in all animals.  It's purpose seems to be making sure that we don't end up as breakfast for some predator species.  That is why cortisol hormone levels peak just prior to dawn, around 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning; and, that is why exercise, such as running, brings those levels back to a healthy level. 

The problem exists when cortisol is present for long periods of time and in excess quantities. When we measure a young person's cortisol levels under stress, they rapidly go up, but within a few hours, they decline to normal. When we measure cortisol levels in older people, the cortisol levels rapidly rise during stress. However, levels do not return to normal for days.

In addition, cortisol levels continue increasing with age and a 65-year-old person has far higher levels of circulating cortisol than a 25-year-old circulates. Cortisol in large amounts for long periods of time is extremely toxic. Our brain cells, or neurons, are extremely sensitive to the effects of cortisol. Cortisol causes death to brain cells when it is circulating at a high level. Therefore, it is not surprising that we see brain shrinkage of senility with old age. Cortisol in excess amounts can also cause destruction of our immune system, a decrease in our muscle mass, shrinkage of our other vital organs and thinning of the skin with prominent blood vessels.

So, therefore, we must control stress—exercise and getting enough sleep is an important part of the process. Tests show that both cortisol and insulin levels are reduced dramatically by exercise.