You Do Have Time to Exercise

 

The most common reason that people give for not having a regular exercise routine is that they just don't have the time. I’m not going to try to sell you on the benefits of exercise because everyone has heard it before and it doesn’t really matter anyway. People don’t skip out on exercise because they don’t think it’s good for them. People don’t exercise because they’d rather be doing something else.

People spend about an hour commuting to and from work, 8 hours a day working, and about 4 hours a day on leisure activity (half of which is either watching TV or sitting on social media). The root cause of our sedentary lifestyles is not a lack of time.

And it really doesn't take much time to begin with. 

In a study of almost 5,000 adults ages 40 - 85 by the National Cancer Institute and published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers concluded that over 110,000 deaths could be prevented annually if people included just ten minutes of moderate exercise in their daily routine. Ten minutes. Increasing the exercise to 20 or 30 minutes per day multiplied the benefit.

You seriously don't have 10 minutes a day to devote to your own health and wellness?

Aloe-free Aloe Vera

 

Aloe vera has a variety of benefits when used on your skin. You may have used it as a soothing sunburn treatment but the plant is rich in antioxidants and has proven antibacterial properties. It’s used in a great many skin care products for its healing, soothing, and hydrating effects. There is a good chance that you have used it yourself.

But Dr. Tod Cooperman, MD, president and founder of Consumer Lab, warns that many "aloe vera" gels actually contain no aloe at all. Instead, they are made with artificial thickening agents that replicate the feel of aloe fairly well but lack any of its soothing, moisturizing and anti-inflammatory qualities. What a surprise, huh?

Consumer Lab recommends carefully reading packaging and labels. Choose products that list aloe as the first ingredient and promise "no artificial thickeners".

It is sad that companies are so ready and willing to mislead and lie to us about what is in their products. But as long as laws and regulations allow it, it is not going to stop. Caveat emptor.

CBD and Anxiety

 

CBD has several well established benefits that include pain relief, reduction of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and helping to improve the quality of sleep of people suffering from insomnia. Unfortunately, the market is very lightly regulated and so the marketing departments of companies selling CBD will often stretch the truth - to put it politely.

In several trials, very high doses of CBD appeared to lower the level of anxiety induced by stressful situations like public speaking. But various study results are inconsistent. In one of the better designed studies, 32 adults with non-psychosis paranoia were randomly assigned to take either 600mg of CBD or a placebo. Two hours later the study participants were subjected to stress sufficient to elevate their heart rate and blood pressure. Those who had taken the CBD fared no better than the placebo takers.

Research using lower doses is even less encouraging. The only study done to date using a low dose of CBD included overweight or obese adults who were given 15mg of CBD daily for six weeks. They reported no better stress levels, sleep quality, relaxation or mental clarity than the participants taking a placebo.

None of this has slowed down companies from marketing CBD products with a dose as low as 10mg as being effective at "easing anxiety" and "managing stress". It is standard practice within the food and supplement industries to add small amounts of an ingredient to a product and then trumpet it as an effective way to address a problem. Mostly it is not.

As for CBD, much more research is needed to establish is usefulness against anxiety.

Can You "Target" Where You Lose Weight?

 

I participate in many Groups on Facebook related to weight loss and one of the most common questions I see is something like "How do I lose weight off my butt/gut/thighs/etc?" Is it possible to target certain parts of your body for weight loss? Are there diets or exercises or supplements that will help?

The short answer is "no". This is not what people want to hear of course, and that gives rise to screen after screen of scammers promising that it is possible. Its not. Often called "spot reduction", it is heavily promoted because the demand is so strong. But there is not much evidence to support the idea that it works.

To understand why spot reduction may not be effective, it is important to understand how the body burns fat. The fat in your cells is found in the form of triglycerides, which are stored fats that the body can use for energy. Before they can be burned for energy, triglycerides must be broken down into smaller sections called free fatty acids and glycerol, which are able to enter the bloodstream. During exercise, the free fatty acids and glycerol used as fuel can come from anywhere in the body, not specifically from the area that is being exercised.

A large number of studies have shown spot reduction to be ineffective. For example, one study in which 24 people who only completed exercises targeting the abdominals for six weeks found no reduction in belly fat. Another study that followed 40 overweight and obese women for 12 weeks found that resistance training of the abdominals had no effect on belly fat loss compared to dietary intervention alone. A study focusing on the effectiveness of upper body resistance training had similar results. This 12-week study included 104 participants who completed a training program that exercised only their non-dominant arms. 

Scientific evidence shows that spot reduction is not effective and that fat loss tends to be generalized to the entire body, not the body part being exercised.

What does work? Consuming fewer calories than you burn each day will eventually result in weight loss. Couple this with a program of healthy protein and strength exercises and you will see results. As one example, here is what John's Hopkins Medical School suggests for losing belly fat. And remember, you didn't gain the extra weight over a weekend. Don't expect to lose it that way either.

As for all the incredible products and programs that people are willing to sell you, don't expect them to slim down anything except your wallet.

More Magnesium, But Not Too Much

Vitamin D gets all the buzz but maybe we should be worrying more about magnesium. About 35% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, including 61% of those over age 70. Meanwhile, nearly half of Americans do not get enough magnesium, as well as 70% of those over 70. A magnesium deficiency can have serious and widespread consequences. Magnesium helps to regulate blood pressure, blood sugar and heart rate and is essential for maintaining bone strength (along with vitamin D) nerve and muscle function. It is believed to lower fracture risk in older adults and slow the advancement of sarcopenia (age related muscle loss). 

"(Magnesium) is an essential nutrient needed for hundreds of biochemical reactions in the body," says Anna Taylor, a registered dietician at the Cleveland Clinic. 

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for magnesium varies with age. A healthy 13 year old male requires about 240mg daily. This increases to 400mg at age 30 and 420mg at age 50. Corresponding RDAs for females are 240mg, 310mg and 320mg.

Leafy greens, whole grains, beans and nuts are good food sources of magnesium but many foods contain some. If you choose to supplement, 350mg is the recommended maximum dosage, as it is possible to get too much. Side effects of a magnesium overdose can include nausea and diarrhea. In severe cases of overdose, the patient can experience dizziness, slow heartbeat, fainting and respiratory problems.

As always, check labels. Many of the cheaper oral magnesium supplements found on supermarket shelves contain cheap filler ingredients such as magnesium stearate or titanium dioxide.

Yogurt and Blood Pressure

 

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but a yogurt a day may be the key to reducing your blood pressure. Researchers from the United States and Australia found that adding a serving of yogurt to a hypertension patient’s daily diet lowers their blood pressure by an average of 7 points compared with those who rarely or never ate yogurt. The study of more than 900 adults measured each person’s yogurt eating habits through a food frequency questionnaire, so it is not as solid as a clinical study. But the results were consistent and significant.

Yogurt is a food that is high in calcium, magnesium and potassium, all nutrients which are known to help regulate blood pressure. The live bacteria in an active yogurt culture also produce a protein that has blood pressure lowering effects.

If you want to give this a try, keep in mind that not all yogurt is created equal. Not all contain live cultures and many are loaded with added sugar, artificial sweeteners and additives. So read the label before you buy it.

Does When You Sleep Matter?

Everyone knows that good, restful sleep is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle. If we are consistently getting less than 7 hours of sleep it can can eventually lead to health consequences that affect our entire body. These effects include thinking, concentration and memory, immune system strength, high blood pressure and increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. But what about when you get your sleep? Does that make any difference?

A 2021 study of over 88,000 adults suggests that it does.

Researchers followed study participants for almost 6 years and found that those regularly going to bed after midnight had a 25% higher risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke than those who crept between the sheets earlier. Going to sleep between 10:00 and 11:00 pm is associated with a lower risk of developing heart disease compared to earlier or later bedtimes.

Note that this sort of study does not prove that later bedtimes cause heart problems. But those who were up later had more heart related problems such as high blood pressure, obesity and pre-diabetes. Researchers adjusted for age, gender, sleep duration, sleep irregularity (defined as varied times of going to sleep and waking up), self-reported chronotype (early bird or night owl), smoking status, body mass index, diabetes, blood pressure, blood cholesterol and socioeconomic status.

I would not lose any sleep (sorry...) over going to bed at 11pm instead of 10pm. But do make sure you are getting enough.