Plant Omega-3's Better than Fish Oils

Omega-3 fatty acids protect against heart attacks, inflammatory diseases such as rheumatiod arthritis, depression, and attention deficit disorder. You probably know that you can get omega-3s in seafood or fish oils. However, the omega-3 fatty acids in seeds such as whole grains may be even more important in maintaining your health than the omega-3s from fish.

Omega-3 fatty acids are the least stable fats in our diet. Whole grains contain vitamin E to keep the omega-3s fresh and prevent them from turning rancid, but omega-3 fatty acids in fish are not protected by vitamin E and therefore turn rancid much more quickly than the omega-3 fatty acids in seeds.

Three large studies, The Lyon Heart Study, the GISSI Prevenzione Trial, and in The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Study have established that omega-3 fish oils help to prevent heart attacks and reduce pain and swelling in diseases such as arthritis, psoriasis, and possibly even asthma. Other research shows that the omega-3 alpha linoleic acids in seeds, nuts, beans and whole grain may be as necessary as the omega-3s in fish oils to prevent heart attacks. Journal references

Omega-3s found in fish oils are mostly long chain fatty acids. Omega-3s in plants, particularly seeds, contain much shorter chains and are weaker than the omega-3s found in fish. However, the shorter chain omega-3s, particularly alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), found in leafy greens and seeds are converted to the long chain fatty acids in the human body. Long- chain fish omega-3s enter blood and cells more rapidly and produce more rapid effects than short chain plant omega-3s.

Over the long haul, humans must get omega-3s from plants, as well as fish, because all omega-3s break down very quickly when exposed to oxygen in your body, and you need large amounts of vitamin E to prevent omega-3s from turning rancid. Fish oils are extremely low in vitamin E, while virtually every seed or plant source of omega-3s is loaded also with vitamin E. So your body stores far more short chain omega-3s from plants in your body fat.

Dietary fats are classified by their chemical structure into saturated, polyunsaturated and mono unsaturated. The polyunsaturated fats are further sub-classified into omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9. Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats form prostaglandins that cause clotting, a thickening of the blood and constriction of arteries that cause heart attacks.

On the other hand, omega-3 polyunsaturated fats prevent heart attacks and high blood pressure by helping thin blood, relax arteries and prevent clotting. Over millions of years, humans have consumed a diet that contained approximately equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids, but over the past 150 years, humans have increased their consumption of omega-6s by taking in vegetable oils from the seeds of corn, sunflower, safflower, cotton and soybeans.

These oils are used in most prepared foods, frozen foods, margarines, French fries, potato chips, and bakery products. North Americans eat a diet with a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids that is almost 20 times higher in omega-6s than omega-3s, instead of the earlier ratio of about 2:1. This abnormally high intake of omega-6s blocks arteries and causes swelling throughout the body. To meet your needs for short chain omega-3 fatty acids found in plants, eat plenty of green leafy vegetables, and seeds such as flaxseed, whole grains, beans and nuts. More on omega-3 fatty acids

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Eight Glasses of Water a Day: No Health Benefit

Eight glasses of water a day will just give you a lot of extra trips to the bathroom. Drinking extra water does not "flush out toxins" or offer any other useful function.

Why do so many people believe this rule? The number originally came from the National Academy of Sciences of the United States Food and Nutrition Board, which publishes recommended daily allowances of nutrients. The 1945 edition of the Food and Nutrition Board said "A suitable allowance of water for adults is 2.5 liters (about 8 cups) daily in most instances." This amount is based on the calculation of one milliliter of water for each calorie of food. HOWEVER, the Board also noted that most of the water you need is in the food you eat.

All foods contain water. Even the driest nut or seed has a lot of water in it. Furthermore, when food is digested, it is converted to energy, carbon dioxide and WATER. Most people can get the fluid the body needs from food, and they only need to drink enough water to prevent constipation.

Researchers have showed that plain water is not needed as long as enough fluid is obtained from other drinks and food. Twenty-seven healthy men consumed one of two diets for three-day periods and were studied in a lab setting. The first diet included plain water while the second omitted it, relying on only foods and beverages other than water for fluid. None of the nine measures of hydration were affected. Journal reference

A reasonable amount for a healthy human is one cup of water or any other fluid with each meal. If you have a problem with constipation you may not be drinking enough water, but if you are not constipated, you are getting plenty. You'll also want to replace fluids whenever you sweat a lot, particularly when you exercise or in hot weather. Drink water whenever you feel thirsty, but there's no health benefit from forcing yourself to drink eight glasses of water a day.

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Fewer Hard Workouts May Make You a Better Athlete

How much time should you spend working at your maximum level in your sport, compared to miles or days spent going at a relaxed pace? Researchers at the University of Madrid in Spain divided competitive distance runners into two groups. One group did frequent intense workouts and fewer slow recovery miles, while the second group did fewer intense workouts and more slow miles. At the end of five months, the runners who did fewer intense workouts and more recovery miles improved far more than those who ran fewer miles and spent a lot of their time trying to run very fast. Journal reference

All competitive athletes from marathon runners to weight lifters know that they must exercise intensely to compete successfully in sports. However, every time you exercise intensely, your muscles are damaged and you feel sore on the next day. If you try to exercise intensely when your muscles are sore, you are liable to injure yourself, break down, or become chronically fatigued with muscles hurting all the time. So athletes train by taking a hard workout that makes their muscles sore, and going easy for as many days as it takes for the soreness to go away. This study shows the importance of allowing adequate recovery time between intense workouts. Recovery workouts make your muscles more fibrous so they can take more abuse when you exercise on your hard days. Principles of training

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Cold Toes Can Mean Diabetes

Painfully cold toes can ruin outdoor sports on cold days. We solve the problem with adhesive toe-warmer packets on our socks. However, if your toes feel cold even when it is not cold outside, or if you have loss of feeling or tingling as well, you need a complete work-up for causes of nerve damage. Numb, cold or tingling feet can be one of the first symptoms of diabetes.

Nerves can be damaged by something pinching or stretching them, such as excessive pressure from moving a limb repeatedly (as in carpal tunnel syndrome in your hand), scar tissue, or a disc problem in your back. Nerves can also be damaged by diabetes; lack of a vitamin (such as B12 in pernicious anemia); infections such as Lyme disease, shingles and herpes; poisonings by substances such as mercury or lead, or by diseases such as multiple sclerosis. You should never ignore a neuropathy because many causes are controllable before you suffer permanent damage to your nerves. Check with your doctor to find the cause of any neuropathy.

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How to Lower Your Chances of Dying Early

Researchers at National Cancer Institute in Bethesda showed that engaging in physical activity for at least three hours per week appears to decrease chances of dying early by more than 25 percent.

The investigators evaluated the exercise habits of 252,925 adults aged 50 to 71 years who were enrolled in the National Institutes of Health–American Association of Retired Persons (NIH-AARP) Diet and Health Study. 7900 deaths occurred during 1,265,347 person-years of follow-up. Those with the relatively modest exercise program of 30 minutes on most days of the week, or vigorous exercise of at least 20 minutes three times per week, were 27 percent less likely to die during the followup period. The authors state that: "Our findings suggest that engaging in any physical activity by those who are currently sedentary represents an important opportunity to decrease the risk of mortality." Journal reference

Another study from India showed that former athletes who continue to exercise all their lives are far less likely to suffer heart attacks than former athletes who do not continue to exercise. Compared to sedentary former athletes, active older athletes weigh less, have less body fat, lower total cholesterol, bad LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and ratio of total cholesterol to good HDL cholesterol than sedentary older athletes, all signs of decreased risk for heart attacks. Surprisingly, sedentary older athletes have higher cholesterol and triglyceride levels than sedentary older non-athletes. It takes a lot of muscle to be a good athlete. Insulin, insulin-like growth factors and growth hormones give people large muscles and bones to make them stronger. However, these same hormones also cause the body to store fat. So former athletes who stop exercising are more likely to be fat and have higher cholesterols because of these same hormones.

The message is: start exercising, and once you start, keep it up for the rest of your (long) life.

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Cofactors May Explain Why Some Get Colon Cancer, Others Don't

Although scientists are not sure what causes colon or rectal cancers, they know that they are associated with lack of exercise, eating too much meat, and the human wart virus (HPV). A study from Sendai, Japan shows that men who spend a lot of time walking are at reduced susceptibility to developing colon cancer.

An extensive review of the world's literature shows that colorectal cancer occurs far more frequently in prosperous industrialized countries, and that dietary factors may cause up to 75 percent of these cancers. You are increased risk for colon cancer if you are overweight, and exercise reduces your risk. Rectal cancer is not affected by obesity or exercise, and may be associated more with infection, such as with the HPV virus that causes genital warts. Since the vast majority of people who are infected with HPV do not get cancer, we have to explain why some do. The leading theory is that of cofactors: some combination of infectious agents, genetic susceptibility or lifestyle factors. I think that rectal cancer requires some kind of infection, but you do not develop the cancer unless you also smoke, lack vitamin D, eat a lot of meat, or some other combination of factors. Colon cancer appears to require some combination of factors such as lack of vitamin D, eating meat, not exercising or not eating enough foods from plants. Journal references; more on colon cancer

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Walking for Fitness

Walking is a very safe sport because it rarely causes injuries. Running causes injuries frequently because you take both feet off the ground at the same time and land with a tremendous force that can tear muscles and shatter bones. On the other hand, when you walk, you always keep at least one foot on the ground and land with minimal foot strike force.

If you want to walk to become fit, you need to move quickly. You should exercise vigorously enough to increase your heart rate at least 20 beats a minute higher than when you rest. That means you will be breathing harder and probably perspiring. There are two ways to increase your walking speed. You can take longer steps or you can move your feet at a faster rate. To lengthen your stride, swivel your hips so you reach out further forward with your feet. This will cause you to twist your body from side to side, which will tend to make you point your toes inward when your feet touch the ground. When you point your toes in, you lose distance. Try to point your toes forward with each step.

To move your feet at a faster rate, you have to move your arms faster. Every time you move one leg forward, your arm on the same side moves back and the arm on the other side moves forward. Your legs will only move as fast as you can move your arms. Bend your elbows so you can move your arms faster. The fulcrum of your arm-swing is at your shoulder. The straighter you keep your elbows, the longer it takes your arms to swing forward and back. Bending your elbows shortens the swing and helps you speed up your pace. More on how to start an exercise program

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