11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
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9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Weekly Training Article | Interval Training: A Key to Fitness | 5/7/12-5/13/12
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By Ian Williamson
When it comes to exercise, theword 'intervals' puts fear in many peoples' minds. Intervals aresometimes misunderstood, but adding them to your exercise program canhelp you burn fat and get in shape quicker.
Intervals are not for everyone.To begin performing intervals, you should be in good condition, and aphysical from your doctor is highly recommended.
What are intervals? The easiestdefinition would be periods of high intensity exercise followed byrecovery periods of low intensity exercise.
Here's an example. You arefollowing a walking program and have been walking briskly for thirtyminutes a day, four days a week. You feel pretty good but would like tolose weight a little quicker.
Intervals might be perfect foryou. Begin your regular walking program and after five minutes, jog forten, twenty, thirty seconds or more. Your heart rate will begin toincrease and your breathing will pick up. After this period, return towalking briskly until you have completely recovered. Then, begin to jogagain.
In the beginning, you may onlywant to perform two or three of these short jogs. That's fine. Do what'scomfortable for you. Later, as you become more accustomed to thisroutine, you can add more jogs or increase the length of time you jog.
During each period of jogging,your heart rate has increased. When you stop jogging and continuewalking, your heart rate will be at an increased rate for a minute orso. This is an added benefit. During aerobic exercise you want yourheart rate to increase, which makes it stronger and makes you healthier.
Intervals work great on atreadmill. You can increase the speed for however long you want, or youcan increase the height for added difficulty.
This is interval training at alow level but you still get benefits from it. You can follow a similarroutine in your other aerobic exercise, as well. For instance, if youare riding a bike for exercise, every so often pedal faster until youbegin breathing heavier, and then return to riding as before.
You can see that intervaltraining is not only for athletes. It's one of the fastest and mosteffective means of reaching a top level of fitness and decreasing bodyfat. Do these routines three or four days a week and watch your fitnesslevel go up while your pounds begin to disappear.
Source: physicalfitnessarticles.net
When it comes to exercise, theword 'intervals' puts fear in many peoples' minds. Intervals aresometimes misunderstood, but adding them to your exercise program canhelp you burn fat and get in shape quicker.
Intervals are not for everyone.To begin performing intervals, you should be in good condition, and aphysical from your doctor is highly recommended.
What are intervals? The easiestdefinition would be periods of high intensity exercise followed byrecovery periods of low intensity exercise.
Here's an example. You arefollowing a walking program and have been walking briskly for thirtyminutes a day, four days a week. You feel pretty good but would like tolose weight a little quicker.
Intervals might be perfect foryou. Begin your regular walking program and after five minutes, jog forten, twenty, thirty seconds or more. Your heart rate will begin toincrease and your breathing will pick up. After this period, return towalking briskly until you have completely recovered. Then, begin to jogagain.
In the beginning, you may onlywant to perform two or three of these short jogs. That's fine. Do what'scomfortable for you. Later, as you become more accustomed to thisroutine, you can add more jogs or increase the length of time you jog.
During each period of jogging,your heart rate has increased. When you stop jogging and continuewalking, your heart rate will be at an increased rate for a minute orso. This is an added benefit. During aerobic exercise you want yourheart rate to increase, which makes it stronger and makes you healthier.
Intervals work great on atreadmill. You can increase the speed for however long you want, or youcan increase the height for added difficulty.
This is interval training at alow level but you still get benefits from it. You can follow a similarroutine in your other aerobic exercise, as well. For instance, if youare riding a bike for exercise, every so often pedal faster until youbegin breathing heavier, and then return to riding as before.
You can see that intervaltraining is not only for athletes. It's one of the fastest and mosteffective means of reaching a top level of fitness and decreasing bodyfat. Do these routines three or four days a week and watch your fitnesslevel go up while your pounds begin to disappear.
Source: physicalfitnessarticles.net
Weekly Training Article | Common Errors to Avoid While Running | 5/14/12-5/20/12
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By David Horne
Running is one of the mostheavily participated sports and recreational activities in the world.However, from a young age, we are told to go out on the streets and rununtil we are tired. This may be alright for a while but further on downthe road you will be likely to sustain an overuse injury that takes awayyour passion for running.
In order to make running alifetime activity you need to be aware of some of the contributingfactors that lead to common running injuries. Once you acknowledge theseinjury-causing factors, then you can develop the right plan for you.This applies to both the recreational runner as well as the competitiverunner.
To ensure that you gain the mostout of your training sessions, while also reducing the risk ofsustaining an injury, be sure to take note of the following mistakesmade by many athletes and coaches.
Excessive hill running can often lead to excessive demands placed on the calf muscles (possible shin splints). Shin splints are an absolute nightmare for a runner. This type of injury can put you out of running for months.
Excessive downhill running can lead to increased stress on the quadriceps muscle. Most athletes say that running downhill is easier, however, it is just as tough on your body as running uphill.
Running in one direction allthe time (track work or running around the tennis court, footballfield, etc.) can cause excessive pronation on the inside leg. Once again, this can be easily fixed by alternating directions in which you run.
Running on unforgiving surfaces/street running (high impact).Asphalt is not an appropriate running surface. This is one of the majorcauses of knee and hip injuries for runners. Roads are made for carsand not runners! If you must run on asphalt, add in some runs on a grasssurface.
Lack of variety in your training sessions can lead to overuse injuries, as well as mental boredom.Select different workouts each week. Do you always run the same route,in the same direction, each time? If so, vary where you run, thedistance you run, as well as the intensity of the run.
Running on an uneven surface, such as a grass field.Often athletes try to avoid the hard surface of the streets so theydecide to run on uneven fields, which can lead to injuries of the feet. Ilove running on ovals as they are more friendly on my body. But Ichoose not to run on a football ground, as I know that the surface islikely to be uneven and full of holes. Most recreational parks arebetter.
Increasing training volume too quickly (allow for individual progression).This is a tough one for highly driven individuals who thrive on pushingthemselves. Have a plan and follow it. Even if you feel that you canpush yourself and run that extra mile, hold back!
Increasing the pace or speed at which you run too quickly (can be achieved slowly through Fartlek training).Try and stick with your plan and run at a similar speed before you getinto your next phase. As we improve we often want to run faster.Increasing both the speed and distance of your run at the same time canlead to injury.
It is important to wear the proper footwear when you run.Encourage your athletes to change from their normal sports shoes (eg.tennis shoes, basketball shoes) to running shoes prior to starting theirrun. Wearing tennis or basketball shoes while running long distanceswill lead to injuries. They don't provide the required support for thefeet.
Recognize that each individual will have their own pace and level of endurance, so set individual goals for each athlete.When running in a group at a set pace, that pace may be comfortable forsome runners, but too fast for others. Divide your athletes into twoeven groups. This is often a big flaw for many coaches of sports teams.We have all been guilty of doing this in the past, but you must allowfor the individual abilities of athletes.
Running long distances inextreme weather conditions, such as freezing temperatures, hot and humidconditions or even when there has been a high pollution alert levelgiven by the weather bureau. My tennis coach in college would oftenmake our team run at 7:00a.m. in the morning, in the middle of winter,in North Carolina. As you could imagine we would often suffer frombronchitis and other common respiratory ailments. Unfortunately, minedeveloped into pneumonia … so, make sure the environmental conditionsare appropriate for running.
Be smart when you run and your body will thank you for it!
Source: physicalfitnessarticles.net
Running is one of the mostheavily participated sports and recreational activities in the world.However, from a young age, we are told to go out on the streets and rununtil we are tired. This may be alright for a while but further on downthe road you will be likely to sustain an overuse injury that takes awayyour passion for running.
In order to make running alifetime activity you need to be aware of some of the contributingfactors that lead to common running injuries. Once you acknowledge theseinjury-causing factors, then you can develop the right plan for you.This applies to both the recreational runner as well as the competitiverunner.
To ensure that you gain the mostout of your training sessions, while also reducing the risk ofsustaining an injury, be sure to take note of the following mistakesmade by many athletes and coaches.
Excessive hill running can often lead to excessive demands placed on the calf muscles (possible shin splints). Shin splints are an absolute nightmare for a runner. This type of injury can put you out of running for months.
Excessive downhill running can lead to increased stress on the quadriceps muscle. Most athletes say that running downhill is easier, however, it is just as tough on your body as running uphill.
Running in one direction allthe time (track work or running around the tennis court, footballfield, etc.) can cause excessive pronation on the inside leg. Once again, this can be easily fixed by alternating directions in which you run.
Running on unforgiving surfaces/street running (high impact).Asphalt is not an appropriate running surface. This is one of the majorcauses of knee and hip injuries for runners. Roads are made for carsand not runners! If you must run on asphalt, add in some runs on a grasssurface.
Lack of variety in your training sessions can lead to overuse injuries, as well as mental boredom.Select different workouts each week. Do you always run the same route,in the same direction, each time? If so, vary where you run, thedistance you run, as well as the intensity of the run.
Running on an uneven surface, such as a grass field.Often athletes try to avoid the hard surface of the streets so theydecide to run on uneven fields, which can lead to injuries of the feet. Ilove running on ovals as they are more friendly on my body. But Ichoose not to run on a football ground, as I know that the surface islikely to be uneven and full of holes. Most recreational parks arebetter.
Increasing training volume too quickly (allow for individual progression).This is a tough one for highly driven individuals who thrive on pushingthemselves. Have a plan and follow it. Even if you feel that you canpush yourself and run that extra mile, hold back!
Increasing the pace or speed at which you run too quickly (can be achieved slowly through Fartlek training).Try and stick with your plan and run at a similar speed before you getinto your next phase. As we improve we often want to run faster.Increasing both the speed and distance of your run at the same time canlead to injury.
It is important to wear the proper footwear when you run.Encourage your athletes to change from their normal sports shoes (eg.tennis shoes, basketball shoes) to running shoes prior to starting theirrun. Wearing tennis or basketball shoes while running long distanceswill lead to injuries. They don't provide the required support for thefeet.
Recognize that each individual will have their own pace and level of endurance, so set individual goals for each athlete.When running in a group at a set pace, that pace may be comfortable forsome runners, but too fast for others. Divide your athletes into twoeven groups. This is often a big flaw for many coaches of sports teams.We have all been guilty of doing this in the past, but you must allowfor the individual abilities of athletes.
Running long distances inextreme weather conditions, such as freezing temperatures, hot and humidconditions or even when there has been a high pollution alert levelgiven by the weather bureau. My tennis coach in college would oftenmake our team run at 7:00a.m. in the morning, in the middle of winter,in North Carolina. As you could imagine we would often suffer frombronchitis and other common respiratory ailments. Unfortunately, minedeveloped into pneumonia … so, make sure the environmental conditionsare appropriate for running.
Be smart when you run and your body will thank you for it!
Source: physicalfitnessarticles.net
Weekly Training Article | The Keys to Well-Rounded Strength Training | 5/21/12-5/27/12
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So you've decided to strength train,but do you have a well rounded strength training routine? There are manybooks and programs that will dispense information, but the bottom lineis that you are very unique. Your goals, your fitness level, yourexperience and your personal strengths and weaknesses all make youunique.
The reason I bring this up isbecause unless you find a program that talks directly to YOU, you willhave a hard time finding a routine that works for YOU. You'll need tofind well rounded strength training routines (many of them in fact), andhealthy meal suggestions.
A well rounded strength trainingroutine should include 7 factors. If your routine is missing one ofthese 7, I strongly recommend finding a new program. The 7 factors are:reps, sets, rest, recovery, exercises, pace and change. Some specificdetails are below.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #1: Reps. How many reps you need will depend on yourgoals. As a general guideline, you want to work anywhere between 8-12reps for adding lean muscle and toning up. Working at a rep range above15 is for endurance training. Rep ranges under 8 are primarily used foradding muscle mass and higher gains in strength.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #2: Sets. I like to stay between 3-5 sets for generalhealth and fitness. Sets higher than 5 should be supervised and part of aprogram designed by a trainer specifically for you. Sets under 3 areprimarily for power lifting and 1RM work.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #3: Rest. Inbetween each set should be at least 1 minuteof rest. This allows your muscles to gather back strength for the nextset. The only time rest between sets may be skipped is during asuperset. This is where you work one muscle and then immediately move tothe next muscle, and then back to the first muscle. Even under thiscircumstance, the first muscle is resting while you work the secondmuscle. So the rest period still exists.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #4: Recovery. If you work your biceps today, they need torest tomorrow. You should allow 48 hours of recovery between workingthe same muscle. This ensures proper rest. Gains in strength and sizeoccur during your recovery time.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #5: Exercises. You should do an exercise for each majormuscle group. If you are just beginning, I like to recommend a full bodyroutine. Choose an exercise for each muscle group and complete theproper amount of reps and sets that day.
You can split up your exercisesand perform them on different days. For example, you can do upper bodytoday and lower body tomorrow. Work your larger muscles first (chest,back, quads, etc) and then work the smaller muscles (triceps, biceps,calves, etc).
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #6: Pace. A good rule of thumb is to move through eachrepetition by following the speed of your breathe. Exhale on the hardparts and inhale on the easy parts. Or another unit of measure is 2seconds on the lift and 4 seconds on the lowering.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #7: Change. You should change your strength trainingroutine every 4-6 weeks. This will prevent your body from reaching aplateau and will help keep things fresh.
Source: physicalfitnessarticles.net
The reason I bring this up isbecause unless you find a program that talks directly to YOU, you willhave a hard time finding a routine that works for YOU. You'll need tofind well rounded strength training routines (many of them in fact), andhealthy meal suggestions.
A well rounded strength trainingroutine should include 7 factors. If your routine is missing one ofthese 7, I strongly recommend finding a new program. The 7 factors are:reps, sets, rest, recovery, exercises, pace and change. Some specificdetails are below.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #1: Reps. How many reps you need will depend on yourgoals. As a general guideline, you want to work anywhere between 8-12reps for adding lean muscle and toning up. Working at a rep range above15 is for endurance training. Rep ranges under 8 are primarily used foradding muscle mass and higher gains in strength.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #2: Sets. I like to stay between 3-5 sets for generalhealth and fitness. Sets higher than 5 should be supervised and part of aprogram designed by a trainer specifically for you. Sets under 3 areprimarily for power lifting and 1RM work.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #3: Rest. Inbetween each set should be at least 1 minuteof rest. This allows your muscles to gather back strength for the nextset. The only time rest between sets may be skipped is during asuperset. This is where you work one muscle and then immediately move tothe next muscle, and then back to the first muscle. Even under thiscircumstance, the first muscle is resting while you work the secondmuscle. So the rest period still exists.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #4: Recovery. If you work your biceps today, they need torest tomorrow. You should allow 48 hours of recovery between workingthe same muscle. This ensures proper rest. Gains in strength and sizeoccur during your recovery time.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #5: Exercises. You should do an exercise for each majormuscle group. If you are just beginning, I like to recommend a full bodyroutine. Choose an exercise for each muscle group and complete theproper amount of reps and sets that day.
You can split up your exercisesand perform them on different days. For example, you can do upper bodytoday and lower body tomorrow. Work your larger muscles first (chest,back, quads, etc) and then work the smaller muscles (triceps, biceps,calves, etc).
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #6: Pace. A good rule of thumb is to move through eachrepetition by following the speed of your breathe. Exhale on the hardparts and inhale on the easy parts. Or another unit of measure is 2seconds on the lift and 4 seconds on the lowering.
Well Rounded Strength TrainingRoutine Factor #7: Change. You should change your strength trainingroutine every 4-6 weeks. This will prevent your body from reaching aplateau and will help keep things fresh.
Source: physicalfitnessarticles.net
Weekly Training Article | Proper Hydration Is Vital | 5/28/12-6/3/12
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By Wolney H. Filho
How many liters of water do you drink per day? Everyone should drink at least 2 liters of water per day, and if you exercise or are overweight, even more. Your body is made up of mostly of water. Approximately 85% of your brain, 80% of your blood and 70% of your muscles are water. Every cell in your body needs water to live. Water is responsible for transporting nutrients and energy to muscles and for taking waste from tissues.
Water helps remove the dangerous toxins that your body takes in from the air you breathe, the food you eat, and the chemicals used in the various products you use on your skin and hair. Another thing water does for your body is cushion your joints. Water carries oxygen and nutrients into all your cells. Water also helps regulate your body temperature.
You need water to keep your metabolism working properly. In order for this to happen, there is a certain level of water in each of our bodies that we need to maintain. If we do not keep that amount, our bodies will start to dehydrate. An easy way to think of this is to imagine the oil your car needs. If your oil level gets too low, your engine will start to run rough. If you totally deplete the oil supply in your car, your engine will stop running. It's the same situation with your body.
Therefore, it's easy to see why it's very important to drink six to eight glasses of water per day. If you do not have enough water your blood pressure can fall to dangerously low levels. Blood clots may form. Your normal kidney function may become impaired. You may get terrible constipation.
Some of the signals your body gives of a low water level are constipation, terribly dry skin, and increased incidence of urinary tract infections and reoccurring headaches.
If you have a problem with water retention, excess salt may be the cause. Your body will tolerate a certain amount of sodium, however, the more salt you consume, the more fluid you need to dilute it. To overcome this problem, always drink plenty of water.
Do you see relationship between body dehydration and weight increase? Water contributes to energy storage, along with glycogen. Without water, extra amounts of glucose remain in the bloodstream until reaching the liver ... the extra glucose is stored as fat. Your body takes water from inside cells, including fat cells, in an effort to compensate for a dehydrated state. Less water in your fat cells means less mobilization of fat for energy.
One of the primary functions of the liver is to metabolize stored fat into energy. The kidneys are responsible for filtering toxins, wastes, ingested water and salts out of the bloodstream. If you are dehydrated, the kidneys cannot function properly and the liver must work overtime to compensate. As a result, it metabolizes less fat. So remember, if you are trying to decrease the amount of fat on your body, drink plenty of water.
There are three ways we get water into our bodies: We get it from the foods we eat, the fluids we drink and as a by-product of metabolism. It's always better to drink pure water instead of soda, tea or coffee. These products actually increase your need for fluids because most contain caffeine, which is a diuretic. Diuretics force out stored water, along with certain essential nutrients.
Source: physicalfitnessarticles.net
How many liters of water do you drink per day? Everyone should drink at least 2 liters of water per day, and if you exercise or are overweight, even more. Your body is made up of mostly of water. Approximately 85% of your brain, 80% of your blood and 70% of your muscles are water. Every cell in your body needs water to live. Water is responsible for transporting nutrients and energy to muscles and for taking waste from tissues.
Water helps remove the dangerous toxins that your body takes in from the air you breathe, the food you eat, and the chemicals used in the various products you use on your skin and hair. Another thing water does for your body is cushion your joints. Water carries oxygen and nutrients into all your cells. Water also helps regulate your body temperature.
You need water to keep your metabolism working properly. In order for this to happen, there is a certain level of water in each of our bodies that we need to maintain. If we do not keep that amount, our bodies will start to dehydrate. An easy way to think of this is to imagine the oil your car needs. If your oil level gets too low, your engine will start to run rough. If you totally deplete the oil supply in your car, your engine will stop running. It's the same situation with your body.
Therefore, it's easy to see why it's very important to drink six to eight glasses of water per day. If you do not have enough water your blood pressure can fall to dangerously low levels. Blood clots may form. Your normal kidney function may become impaired. You may get terrible constipation.
Some of the signals your body gives of a low water level are constipation, terribly dry skin, and increased incidence of urinary tract infections and reoccurring headaches.
If you have a problem with water retention, excess salt may be the cause. Your body will tolerate a certain amount of sodium, however, the more salt you consume, the more fluid you need to dilute it. To overcome this problem, always drink plenty of water.
Do you see relationship between body dehydration and weight increase? Water contributes to energy storage, along with glycogen. Without water, extra amounts of glucose remain in the bloodstream until reaching the liver ... the extra glucose is stored as fat. Your body takes water from inside cells, including fat cells, in an effort to compensate for a dehydrated state. Less water in your fat cells means less mobilization of fat for energy.
One of the primary functions of the liver is to metabolize stored fat into energy. The kidneys are responsible for filtering toxins, wastes, ingested water and salts out of the bloodstream. If you are dehydrated, the kidneys cannot function properly and the liver must work overtime to compensate. As a result, it metabolizes less fat. So remember, if you are trying to decrease the amount of fat on your body, drink plenty of water.
There are three ways we get water into our bodies: We get it from the foods we eat, the fluids we drink and as a by-product of metabolism. It's always better to drink pure water instead of soda, tea or coffee. These products actually increase your need for fluids because most contain caffeine, which is a diuretic. Diuretics force out stored water, along with certain essential nutrients.
Source: physicalfitnessarticles.net
Exercise of the Month | Hamstring Curl on Physioball | May 2012
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The Hamstring Curl is an excellent low impact exercise for the lower extremity. When you add the physioball into the equation it becomes a great core exercise, as well. Equipment needed for this exercise is minimal: an open space on the floor and a medium sized physioball.
As with any exercise, a effective warm-up is needed before proceeding. To get into position for this exercise, lay supine on your back with your feet resting on top of the physioball. To begin the exercise, tighten your abdominal muscles and lift up into a bridge position. Then, roll the ball toward you by bending your knees and hips. After you have rolled the ball inward, pause and slowly extend your knees allowing the ball to roll away from your body, stopping it when your knees are fully extended. After your become accustomed to this exercise you may add difficulty by performing the motion with only one leg on the physioball at a time.
Muscles Involved: Bicep femoris, Semimembranosus, Semitendinosus, Gluteus maximus, Abdominals, Obliques.
The Hamstring Curl is an excellent low impact exercise for the lower extremity. When you add the physioball into the equation it becomes a great core exercise, as well. Equipment needed for this exercise is minimal: an open space on the floor and a medium sized physioball.As with any exercise, a effective warm-up is needed before proceeding. To get into position for this exercise, lay supine on your back with your feet resting on top of the physioball. To begin the exercise, tighten your abdominal muscles and lift up into a bridge position. Then, roll the ball toward you by bending your knees and hips. After you have rolled the ball inward, pause and slowly extend your knees allowing the ball to roll away from your body, stopping it when your knees are fully extended. After your become accustomed to this exercise you may add difficulty by performing the motion with only one leg on the physioball at a time.
Muscles Involved: Bicep femoris, Semimembranosus, Semitendinosus, Gluteus maximus, Abdominals, Obliques.
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
Scientists Discover Mice's Hearts Can Heal Themselves, Are Other Mammals Next?
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New research published online today in the journalScience found that newborn mice can regenerate working heart tissue.So what's the big whoop? Scientists already knew that certain amphibians and fish could regenerate cardiac tissue.Well that, it turns out, is what inspired researchers at the Southwestern Medical Center in Texas to consider the possibility that mammalian hearts could also regenerate. Given the similarities in the hearts of adult zebrafish -- which can regrow tissue -- and immature mammals, researchers wondered if they couldn't "conserve," as they put it, the same mechanisms of regeneration in mice.The results? Within 21 days of scientists surgically removing a portion of the left ventricular apex from newborn mice, the tissue had completely regenerated. The problem, though, is that researchers found mice lost the capacity to regenerate cardiac tissue by the time they were seven days old.The potential implications, the scientists report, is this: "For a brief period after birth, the mammalian heart appears to have the capacity to regenerate." Which means, according to The Guardian, potentially very good things for heart attack sufferers."Now that we know that the mammalian heart indeed possesses the potential to regenerate, at least early in life," Eric Olson, one of the study's authors told The Guardian, "we can begin to search for drugs or genes or other things that might reawaken this potential in the adult heart of mice and eventually of humans."Shared from: The Huffington Post
New research published online today in the journalScience found that newborn mice can regenerate working heart tissue.So what's the big whoop? Scientists already knew that certain amphibians and fish could regenerate cardiac tissue.Well that, it turns out, is what inspired researchers at the Southwestern Medical Center in Texas to consider the possibility that mammalian hearts could also regenerate. Given the similarities in the hearts of adult zebrafish -- which can regrow tissue -- and immature mammals, researchers wondered if they couldn't "conserve," as they put it, the same mechanisms of regeneration in mice.The results? Within 21 days of scientists surgically removing a portion of the left ventricular apex from newborn mice, the tissue had completely regenerated. The problem, though, is that researchers found mice lost the capacity to regenerate cardiac tissue by the time they were seven days old.The potential implications, the scientists report, is this: "For a brief period after birth, the mammalian heart appears to have the capacity to regenerate." Which means, according to The Guardian, potentially very good things for heart attack sufferers."Now that we know that the mammalian heart indeed possesses the potential to regenerate, at least early in life," Eric Olson, one of the study's authors told The Guardian, "we can begin to search for drugs or genes or other things that might reawaken this potential in the adult heart of mice and eventually of humans."Shared from: The Huffington Post
Transfer Factor Research
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More information at: BodyHealing Site or contact me at: helderampereira.4life@gmail.com
More information at: BodyHealing Site or contact me at: helderampereira.4life@gmail.com
| Enhanced Transfer Factor and late stage cancer study: Increased tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and natural killer cell (NK) function using an integrative approach in late stage cancers.Due to the interests in transfer factor and cancer, we have compiled a page on customer's cases (cancer testimonies), Doctor's professional opinions, and notes here. Click Here to read about: Findings of Transfer factors in treatment of HIV-Infected Patients, reported by researchers from The Altay State Medical University; The Altay Regional Center for Prophylaxis and Treatment of AIDS, in the Russian Federation. Also our special report: How Your Body Kills Viruses without Drugs Also the studies on
May 2004: New Advanced Formula Transfer Factor+ further improves on the Classic Formula. Combines Bovine and Chicken Transfer Factors. Raises NK cell activity by 437%, Details of Study Here Oct 2004: Approved for use in Russian Hospitals, details here. Read also about Mad Cow Disease, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, (BSE). Researchers indicate that BSE does not pass through the mammary gland into the colostrum or transfer factors. More. |
 A Noni (Morinda citrifolia), B Aloe Vera Concentrate (acemannan) C Endocrine System Formula, D Phytonutrient Formula with Garlic, E Bovine Colostrum, F Cordyceps Formula, G Shiitake Mushroom, H Echinacea, I Plant Polysaccharide Formula, J IP6, (Highest of group previously tested) K 4Life Transfer Factor™, L 4Life Transfer Factor Plus™ New charts: Improved results with the New Transfer Factor Advanced Formulae! here |
| 4Life™ Transfer Factor™ & Transfer Factor Plus™: "Unprecedented" Immune Boosting AbilityRecently we reported the initial results of a groundbreaking independent study using Transfer Factor™ and Transfer Factor Plus™. Both yielded unprecedented results in a study done by the Institute of Longevity Medicine in California, a laboratory recognized for its research and expertise in measuring the ability of ingredients to significantly boost the immune system. Transfer Factor™ and Transfer Factor Plus™ were tested for their ability to increase Natural Killer Cell (NK) activity. The researchers used peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from human volunteers. Test results showed that Transfer Factor™ boosted NK cell activity 103% above normal immune response without supplementation, more than two times higher than the next highest product. The study also showed that Transfer Factor Plus™ increased the NK cell activity 248% above normal immune response without supplementation, or about five times higher than any of the other previously tested products. Natural Killer Cells are an important part of our body's immune system. They seek and destroy harmful cells through direct contact. Natural Killer Cells are especially important in strengthening and supporting the immune system. David Lisonbee, CEO of 4Life™ Research, in response to this research said, "These recent findings support and substantiate the reports from thousands of distributors who use Transfer Factor™ and Transfer Factor Plus™. The study also supports many other clinical experiences and studies we are familiar with. We are very pleased with the study results, they come as no surprise to us." Independent Bio-Assay Overview December 11, 1998Salt Lake City, UT - 4Life Research, a Provo, Utah research and development company released its latest assaying and testing for its new 4Life Transfer Factor™ product. Transfer factor is a scientifically recognized delivery system for transferring immune system advantages from one species to another. In the patented process licensed to 4Life, immune factors are generated in cows and then "transferred" as a nutritional supplement to humans. Products manufactured incorporating the process are anticipated by industry experts to be the "next wave" of nutritional supplementation, operating in the newly defined area of "structure/function" claims. Dr. William Hennen, who is one of the world authorities on transfer factor, says of the science and technology: "Transfer factor is a material that has the ability to modulate the immune system. 4Life Transfer Factor™ contains both materials that help the immune system respond more effectively and materials to make sure the immune system is not over-responding." 4Life's founder and president, David Lisonbee said, "4Life has an agreement with the patent inventors to market transfer factor. United States Patent No. 4,816,563, issued on March 28, 1989, is licensed to 4Life. This patent describes the proprietary process used by 4Life to create its unique Transfer Factor™. The only patent 4Life is aware of which identifies transfer factor in colostrum, the process for obtaining transfer factor from colostrum and whey, and the patented method "to further concentrate and/or purify transfer factor" from colostrum, is the one licensed to 4Life. It is United States Patent No. 4,816,563. Laboratory Testing of 4Life's Transfer Factor™ According to William Hennen, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development at 4Life, "Each and every batch of Transfer Factor™ is tested by an independent laboratory with established, documented credentials in assessing for transfer factor activity. Very few laboratories have the experience or credentials to assay for TF activity. We go to great lengths to assure the quality of transfer factor in our product. This is the reason our distributors are consistently having such great success with Transfer Factor™. From infants to the elderly, reports keep coming in every day with results that have matched or exceeded our every expectation. Transfer factor has nearly 50 years of research and over 3,000 clinical studies and scientific papers proving its existence and effectiveness. Our licensed patent proved for the first time that transfer factor exists in colostrum and that it can be successfully extracted and assayed." Independent Laboratories Show Transfer Factor Activity in 4Life's Transfer Factor™ Independent laboratory tests clearly indicate that 4Life's Transfer Factor™ shows significant transfer factor activity equal to the effectiveness of the standard vaccine. The biological and chemical testing laboratory, BioLogics Inc. states the following regarding 4Life's Transfer Factor™: "BioLogics Inc. has completed testing the preparations of bovine colostrum you sent for evaluation for TF (transfer factor) activity. Each preparation was evaluated for TF activity using a mouse foot- pad assay which measures delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH). The results are shown below. A preparation was considered active if it induced significant DTH (p<0.005 or better) as compared to the response to [an] antigen in control mice which were naive (not treated with TF)."
"Further, it is critical to understand that a proper transfer factor assay includes both a zero-point standard and a high-end standard (to set the span of the scale.) The zero-point standard accounts for the nutritional value of the transfer factor preparation and is represented by the fractionated colostrum listed in the second row above. A vaccinated control is the GOLD STANDARD for establishing the high-end of the immunological scale as represented in the first row. As was clearly shown, 4Life's Transfer Factor™ was not only measurably more potent than the normal colostrum of the second row, it was equal to the vaccine standard in causing a strong immune response," stated Dr. Hennen. Top Transfer Factor Researcher Tests 4Life's Transfer Factor™ One of the world's leading TF researchers has also tested 4Life's Transfer Factor™ using a mouse foot-pad assay. "Three different colostrum extracts were tested, one of which was 4Life's Transfer Factor™. 4Life's Transfer Factor™ tested highest in TF activity of any of the samples tested." Retrospective Study by Dr. David MarkowitzAs a means of introducing myself, let me share some of my background with you. I have been a practicing General Pediatrician for the past 18 years, the last ten of which I have been in Kennebunk Maine. I trained at the University of Connecticut for Medical School, Internship and Residency in Pediatrics, and a Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (childhood cancer). I have encouraged our patient population to use natural products to boost their inherent health and help prevent disease for the past ten years. Most of my knowledge about this natural approach is self-taught, because little if any nutrition or prevention is taught in traditional medical school. Thankfully, this is changing. You are forcing this change because you now demand of your practitioners to learn more as you ask detailed questions of them. (Good for you!) I joined 4Life™ Research in the summer of 1998 because of my commitment to a natural approach to Health and Wellness and because of my belief in Transfer Factor™ and in the people who lead this Company. This decision has changed my life and the lives of many patients and patient famiies! OUR EARLY PRACTICE EXPERIENCE: We have introduced Transfer Factor™ to over 150 families with now over 200 persons using Transfer Factor™ on a daily basis. I now review the charts of these children on an every two month basis. The facts back up our general impression of greater health and less illness in these children. Effective 2/1/99, we have seen 80% less illness reported to us in these kids and 85% less use of antibiotics, when we compare their histories of last sick season to this year. We will soon match Transfer Factor™ users to like-aged children not using Transfer Factor™ and will report those findings when available. Most of our victories in Health have been "quiet", in that we seem to see these transfer factor kids so rarely. Some of our experience has been absolutely remarkable. To share just one with you, we have a 12 year old girl with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (one of the Jerry Lewis muscular dystrophies), who in previous years has had dozens of serious respiratory diseases requiring repeated use of antibiotics to just keep her alive. She this year has used Transfer Factor™ daily for six months and has required antibiotics just once and has never had a serious chest or respiratory infection. Transfer Factor™ has changed her life! I will share more with you over time. Addendum 3/13/99: We now have over 210 patients using Transfer Factor™ with continued success. One mother who has Hodgkin's Lymphoma now status post chemo and radiation therapy takes Transfer Factor™ daily: in three months, she has been infection-free with "daily improvement in her health and feeling of well-being" (her words). Her prior history was one with constant respiratory infections due to her severely depressed immune system. Just another quiet victory for Transfer Factor™ and 4Life™ Research. Another interesting observation from our patients: if a child stops taking Transfer Factor™, we have noticed that within 3-6 weeks, this child is in our office with some infection or another. We know that Transfer Factor™ has a half-life of about 3 weeks. This observation then fits what we know from the biologic studies. Parents then reorder the Transfer Factor™ to "never run out". Transfer Factor™ is indeed a science-based product, just as all the 4Life™ Research products are. Addendum 3/18/99: Another "little success story from Maine": We have a beautiful young boy who has suffered with a rare condition called cellular interstitual pneumonitis with multiple episodes of respiratory diseases over the years. After 4 months of Transfer Factor™ on a daily basis, he has had but one mild upper respiratory infection and no use of antibiotics during one of the worst viral respiratory and flu seasons in southern Maine in a decade. Side effects of Transfer Factor™: NONE. Need I say more! We start our age-matched study of our Transfer Factor™ kids in late April 1999. I will update as data is available. I am delighted to share with you my appointment to 4 Life Research Medical Advisory Board. We hope to encourage the development of an entire line of children's Health and Wellness products. Addendum 4/20/99: Just returned from a Wonderful First Leadership Conference. Thank all of you for your kind words and support of children. It is truly heartening to see and feel the commitment. An update as to our kids here locally: review of records show a 79% reduction in reported illness and an 82% reduction in the use of antibiotics. Still truly amazing results with thusfar no untoward side effects. One additional single victory: an 8 year old with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis now on Transfer Factor™ and FibroAMJ™ and in FULL remission for 8 weeks and on no traditional allopathic meds. The quality of this child's life has dramatically improved. Addendum 4/27/99: A hint of what is coming! During the Leadership Conference, Dr. William Hennen announced the introduction of a second generation Transfer Factor™ product, called Transfer Factor Plus™. This will not replace Transfer Factor™, just augment it's usefulness, by boosting additional components of the immune system in different and possibly more effective ways, particularly in the body's constant battle against bacterial disease and malignancy. This product, just as all the 4LR products, will cure nothing: it rather boosts the body's ability to handle a multitude of health challenges, in this case, via the immune system. Dr. Hennen will share many more details about T-F Plus in the near future on our website. And 4LR has already starting working on the third and fourth generations of Transfer Factor™, each with a promise of greater Health and Wellness! Addendum 5/5/99: Some wonderful news to share with you. We now have two brothers who carry the diagnosis of Autism, both on Transfer Factor™ for 4 months. Mother reports a dramatic increase in communication skills and much improved interactions with people and decreased "flapping" behavior. She is quietly delighted (holding her breath!). Our age-matched review will start in late 5/99. Will add details as they become available. Essential Guide to Autism - "Finally, You Too Can Join Others Who Have Discovered Simple Methods To Effectively Spot The 31 Signs of Autism & Breakthrough Information To Maximize the Potential of Someone With Autism - Guaranteed."Addendum 5/8/99: More great news, this time using Transfer Factor™ in an 8 year old with recurrent leukemia on harsh chemotherapy. Since using Transfer Factor™ the last three months, this young man has has NO untoward side-effects due to chemo and has had no fever episodes requiring admission to hospital and antibiotic use. And he is doing very well with his leukemia as well. Soon he will start on the new T Factors Plus product (June 1999). Will update as progress becomes available. Addendum 5/15/99: First some quick news: I will be presenting our Transfer Factor™ experience in Philadelphia this coming Saturday, 5/22/99. Hope to see you there. Additional practice news with some early experience with T-Factors +: As a Medical Advisory Board member, I had three bottles of pre-release Transfer Factor Plus™ available to me. We used it in a 6 year old with an antibiotic resistant sinusitis (28 day treatment). Within 36 hours of Transfer Factor Plus™ use, he was TOTALLY CLEAR of congestion, fever, and the thick purulent green nasal discharge had cleared. A 49 year old father of a patient with an undiagnosed mass in his throat and neck: he refused to see his allopathic MD out of fear but wanted to try something "natural". I encouraged him to see his doctor and offered him some Transfer Factor Plus™. After three weeks of use, it has been reduced 80% in size. He is delighted and now has promised to see his doctor for a follow-up. We also have two adults with metastatic malignancy who have started on the product with thusfar no feedback. Will keep all informed of their progress. Total patient load now using Transfer Factor™ is over 250. Have also started the tedious task of an age and sex-matched review of our Transfer Factor™ experience this past sick season. Will have results within the next three months. Addendum 5/23/99: Early results from the first of four months of study re: age-matching. We have now compared 25% of our 125 kids on Transfer Factor™ to like aged and sexed children in the practice who sis not use Transfer Factor™: Although preliminary in nature, we see a 62% reduction in reported illness and an 85% reduction in reported antibiotic use in those children who used Transfer Factor™ daily. I remind all that this is but 25% of the data, so stay tuned for the remainder over the next 2-3 months. Our first two Transfer Factor Plus™ reports: a 6 year old boy with a 28 day history of antibiotic-resistant sinusitis responded in less than 36 hours of immune boosting with Transfer Factor Plus™ (one cap twice daily). He was symptom-free at 36 hours! Another experience for the books: a 49 year old with an undiagnosed mass (4-5 cm) in his neck and throat of 4 months duration and growth, who refused to see his allopathic MD out of fear. There is no demonstrable mass in this neck/throat after 23 days of immune-boosting with 2 caps of Transfer Factor Plus™ three times daily. He was strongly encouraged to see his MD for diagnosis and follow-up. Thusfar he has refused to do so, but we are still working on him. He continues to promise that he will follow up with his physician. More experience with Transfer Factor Plus™ to follow. Addendum 6/5/99: Our 49 year old father of one of our patients did see his MD and found to have normal exam. Chest X-ray was clear and now remains asymptomatic for 6 weeks on Transfer Factor Plus™. We have now compared 45% of our Transfer Factor™ users to age- and sex-matched patients in the practice for the last 9 months. Still astouding results with 68% less reported illness and 84% less use of antibiotics. We now have used T-Factors Plus in 7 people, 5 with bacterial disease (4 sinusitis and 1 impetigo) and 2 with apparent malignant disease, thusfar with all positive experiences. Total Transfer Factor™ users in the practice number 250 children and many of their parents. We now encourage all of our Transfer Factor™ families and new users to stay on Transfer Factor™ as their immune boosting base and use T-Factors Plus as an additional supplement at times of "stress". Now Transfer Factor™, T-Factors Plus™, and BioVits fill our patient families' "Health and Wellness" cabinet (notice, not a "medicine" cabinet). More later... Addendum 7/2/99: And now on to our age/sex-matched study. . . I have now completed a retrospective study comparing kids in the Practice who have used Transfer Factor™ consistently for six or more months to same sexed and aged children in the Practice who did not use Transfer Factor™ during the same period. Our computers matched the ages and sexes of the children. All records were reviewed including those of our office, those of cross-covering MD's and the ER and data were compared. The results are indeed remarkable! We found 74% less reported illness and 84% less reported use of antibiotics in the consistent Transfer Factor™ users when compared to non-Transfer Factor™ users. 125 Transfer Factor™ users were reviewed with 87 kids using Transfer Factor™ consistently for six months or more, aged 8 months to 9 years. We are delighted with these results! We will be preparing manuscripts for submission to various medical journals and hopefully, allowing us to share our results with the more traditional allopathic medical world. A T- Factors Plus experience to report: a 37 year old father of 4 children, diagnosed with advanced Hepatitis C, complicated by gastro-esophageal reflux, chronic constipation, severe fatigue, and sleeplessness. After only 2-3 weeks of Transfer Factor Plus™ at 2 caps three times daily, this man reports improved liver function testing (by documented lab testing), NO reflux, much improved bowel function (he has stopped all meds!), and now much improved energy and sleep (6-8 hours nightly). We know that Hep C is an "envelope virus" and with improved immune and complement function with Transfer Factor Plus™ boosting, it would appear that he is now able to better handle this chronic viral infection NATURALLY! Will update you on his condition as time passes. Our 49 year old with the unidentified neck mass continues to be symptom-free and feeling well. More later... Addendum 7/13/99: People say that Summer is "slow" for networkers. I remind all of you that every day of every month of every season is the right and only time to share these products. And if you think about it, those with Fibro or Chronic Fatigue need us now more than ever. They deserve to feel good during these warm summer months. How about 1-2 months of immune-boosting before the cold weather hits in the Fall. We would all be healthier this coming sick season with 2 months of Transfer Factor™ or Transfer Factor Plus™ on board. Traveling this Summer for vacation? What an extra-ordinary opportunity to share our Mission and Products with people in other areas. Our goal is to get the word out there that people can live Healthier lives. Summer is "slow" if only you choose it to be that way! Now GO FORTH and share our Vision for Health and Wellness. I look forward to meeting many of you in the San Francisco area at the end of the month! Now fill your Health and Wellness Cabinet with Transfer Factor™, Transfer Factor Plus™, and the rest of 4LR products and share them with the rest of the World! I bid you Peace. Dr. David Molecular Weight Laboratory Testing of 4Life's Transfer Factor™ An independent laboratory experienced in molecular weight analysis tested samples of 4Life's Transfer Factor™ and found it to contain exactly what 4Life claims it contains: Molecules in the molecular weight of 10,000 daltons or less. Bay Bioanalytical Laboratory, Inc. stated in their report: "[We] have reviewed the analysis of [4Life's] Transfer Factor performed in our laboratory using HPLC and a size exclusion column coupled with a light scattering, refractive index and a UV detector. Based on our analysis we can conclude [that] the analyzed fraction is composed primarily of molecules below 10,000 [daltons] molecular weight."Bay Bioanalytical Laboratory, Inc. Transfer Factor Plus™: An In Vivo Study 27 April, 2000Purpose of Study: To determine the effectiveness of natural products in increasing the function of Natural Killer (NK) cell activity in chronic illnesses. In this study persons suffering from Fibromyalgia were chosen to take part in an in vivo study. Background: It is felt that chronic illnesses represent immune system failures in most instances, particularly in the Fibromyalgia Syndrome. There have been many published reports of low Natural Killer cell activity or function in persons with Fibromyalgia. Natural Killer Cells: Natural Killer cells are the first line of defense in our innate immune systems. Natural Killer cells are lethal lymphocytes containing granules filled with potent chemicals. They do not need to recognize a particular antigen but rather attack "nonself". They protect against and target tumor cells and a wide variety of infectious microbes, particularly virally infected cells. NK cells kill by binding to their targets and delivering a lethal burst of chemicals that produce holes in the target cell's membrane. Fluids seep in and leak out and the cells burst and die. Patient Selection: Nine patients were enrolled in the study who had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and who weren't taking any known immune stimulants at the time of enrollment.
Length of Study: Blood work was drawn on day 1 before the beginning of the use of the products and on day 21 after using the products for 20 consecutive days. Methodology:The patients' blood was drawn and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and NK cell activity was assessed by a variation of the 51Cr release assay. The target cells were live K562 erytholeukemic cells. NK cytolytic activity was calculated at the baseline of day 1 and on the 21st day. Patient NK Results
Comment: If a person has a Natural Killer cell activity below 20%, they are felt to be more susceptible to acute or chronic illnesses, or to have a compromised ability to recover from existing illnesses. All of the nine volunteers had NK cell function of less than 20% activity with a range of 6 to 13%, and an average of the group of 10% activity. Summary:All of the nine patients had significant increases in Natural Killer cell activity. The levels after 20 days on the products now ranged from 19.5% to 35.5% with an average of 26.9% or 269% of baseline. Prior in vitro testing of Transfer Factor Plus™ revealed an increase in activity of 248%. Other products were used in addition to Transfer Factor Plus™ to address other issues associated with Fibromyalgia (Fibro AMJ Daytime and Nighttime Formulas and Choice 50 antioxidants). These products are not known to have an effect on natural killer cell activity. We believe the significant immunostimulatory effect was achieved through the use of Transfer Factor Plus™. Rob Robertson, M.D *Products provided by 4Life™ Research 2066 South 950 East, Provo, UT 84606 Transfer Factor Study with Autistic Children9 children ages: 2.9-9.9 average age: 5.07 These children were given three capsules of Transfer Factor, three times daily, for three months. Each patient was assessed prior to the treatment, six weeks into the study, and at the completion of the three-month study. Dr. Bock used the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale for evaluation purposes. This method applies different scores based on: stereotyped "autistic" behaviors, communication, social interaction and developmental markers. These scores are then added together to determine an autism quotient. The higher the autism quotient is, the higher the degree of autism in the patient. At the end of the three-month study, seven out of the nine autistic children had at least some improvement. Specifically, these improvements included:
Essential Guide to Autism - "Finally, You Too Can Join Others Who Have Discovered Simple Methods To Effectively Spot The 31 Signs of Autism & Breakthrough Information To Maximize the Potential of Someone With Autism - Guaranteed." |
A number of the studies on this website involve transfer factors derived from human blood leukocytes. There are specific reasons why we included information from studies using transfer factors not manufactured by 4Life™ Research. First, all transfer factors extracted from bovine colostrum in these studies were extracted according to the patent guideline. Secondly, the transfer factor derived from human blood leukocytes has the same molecular structure as transfer factor derived from colostrum. The only difference is the information encoded into the sequence of amino acids. The transfer factors that are found in colostrum were deposited there by blood leukocytes. When a mammal is lactating, large numbers of Leukocytes can be seen migrating into the mammary glands. The transfer factors are deposited intact into the gland to be blended into the colostrum. The transfer factor peptide does not go through any transforming process that would alter its molecular nature. What is in the blood is what you get in the colostrum. Researchers have found that stomach acids do not degrade transfer factors that are consumed orally. Nature has prepared these tiny molecules to be transferred through the colostrum to the calf or human baby without being degraded. Researchers believe that a cap on the end of the peptide along with the size of the molecule may contribute to the reasons that the transfer factors pass through the digestive system intact. The following information is included on this website for educational purposes. We have a concern that individuals visiting this website that may be suffering from a disease may not understand the complexity of studies. We are concerned that you may drop traditional medical treatment, without guidance from a medical professional, for a nutritional protocol. Because of that concern we provide you with the following suggestions. Disclaimer: The information on this website page is provided for educational purposes only. We strongly suggest that you do not construe the information on this site as suggesting that Transfer Factor, Transfer Factor Plus or any other nutrient can prevent or cure a disease. We do not have enough proof to make that claim. If you are ill we strongly suggest that you consult a medical doctor. According to FDA guidelines, there would have to be a great deal more research on these products to know its long-term effect on disease. As part of an overall regimen of diet, exercise and nutritional supplementation, we believe TF and TF+ can be helpful in you pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. We encourage you to use common sense in your assessment of this information. The management of 4Life™ Research or the FDA has not evaluated this information.
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More information at: BodyHealing Site or contact me at: helderampereira.4life@gmail.com
Eva Vertes looks to the future of medicine
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Eva Vertes isn't a normal young person. At least, that's what our culture would tell us. Her discovery, at age 17, of a compound that inhibits brain cell death was regarded as a step toward curing Alzheimer's and won her Best in Medicine at the International Science Fair. Quickly labeled a microbiology prodigy, Eva now aims to find better ways to treat — and avoid — cancer.
Eva Vertes isn't a normal young person. At least, that's what our culture would tell us. Her discovery, at age 17, of a compound that inhibits brain cell death was regarded as a step toward curing Alzheimer's and won her Best in Medicine at the International Science Fair. Quickly labeled a microbiology prodigy, Eva now aims to find better ways to treat — and avoid — cancer.
Potassium-Rich Foods May Cut Stroke, Heart Disease Risk
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By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay ReporterA diet rich in foods that are loaded with potassium can reduce your risk for a stroke by 21 percent and may also lower your risk of heart disease, a new study suggests.Good sources of potassium include bananas and other fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, poultry and dairy, the researchers noted.And ounce per ounce, sweet potato and tomato paste top the list, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.“The average dietary potassium intake in most countries worldwide is much lower than recommended by health authorities, and increasing potassium intake may provide protection against stroke and other cardiovascular disorders,” said lead researcher Dr. Pasquale Strazzullo, a professor of medicine at the Federico II University of Naples Medical School, in Italy.The report is published in the March 1 online edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.For the study, Strazzullo’s team pulled data about potassium and cardiovascular disease from 11 studies, which included a total of 247,510 men and women. The researchers looked at what people in these studies recalled eating in the past day.This process is called a meta-analysis, in which researchers look for trends in the data that may support a particular conclusion, even when these data were not the main point of the study.They found that people who consumed 1.64 grams of potassium or more a day had a 21 percent lower risk of stroke and also tended to have a lower risk of any cardiovascular disease.Strazzullo noted that five or more servings of fruits and vegetables will provide the amount of potassium needed to get this protective effect.“The protective effect of potassium against the risk of stroke and other vascular events may in part be traced to its blood pressure-lowering effect, particularly in hypertensive individuals and in those with elevated sodium intake,” Strazzullo said.However, other processes appear to be at work as well, he added. For example, potassium may be involved in slowing the process of atherosclerosis and preventing the thickening of the walls of arteries, all of which can lead to cardiovascular disease.“More recently, a high-potassium diet was shown to exert a protective effect against the development of vascular damage induced by excess salt intake, thus counteracting, to some extent, the dangerous effects of eating too much salt. This large body of evidence from experimental studies provides biological plausibility to the protective effect of dietary potassium against cardiovascular events,” Strazzullo said.A higher potassium intake is safe for most people, Strazzullo said, adding that there might be some concern about elevated potassium for patients with kidney failure or those taking medicines that lower potassium. In those cases, patients should speak with their doctors, he added.Dr. Larry B. Goldstein, director of the Duke Stroke Center at Duke University Medical Center, commented that “this is completely consistent with current American Heart Association dietary recommendations.”The best example is the DASH-type eating plan, which has been tested in various studies, he said. “The DASH diet is rich in fruits and vegetables and nuts, moderate in low-fat dairy products, low in sodium and high in potassium. The effect on stroke is likely mediated, at least in part, through lower blood pressure,” Goldstein said.Another expert, Dr. Gregg Fonarow, spokesman for the American Heart Association and professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, added that “clinical trials have established that a diet high in potassium and low in sodium can significantly lower blood pressure.”Because high blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for heart disease and stroke, it follows that higher-potassium diets would be linked to lower risk of stroke and heart attacks, he said.“However, a higher-potassium diet potentially has other mechanisms of benefit, including protecting blood vessels from oxidative damage and limiting thickening of the blood vessel wall,” Fonarow said.Increasing potassium in the diet while limiting sodium may help to reduce the risk of stroke and confer other cardiovascular benefits, he said. “Fruits such as bananas, cantaloupe, grapefruit, oranges, vegetables like tomatoes and low-fat dairy products are a good source of dietary potassium,” he said.More informationFor more information on the best sources of potassium, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.SOURCES: Pasquale Strazzullo, M.D., professor, medicine, Federico II University of Naples Medical School, Italy; Larry B. Goldstein, M.D., professor, medicine, and director, Duke Stroke Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; Gregg Fonarow, M.D., spokesman, American Heart Association, and professor, cardiology, University of California, Los Angeles; March 1, 2011, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, onlineLast Updated: March 06, 2011Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
By Steven ReinbergHealthDay ReporterA diet rich in foods that are loaded with potassium can reduce your risk for a stroke by 21 percent and may also lower your risk of heart disease, a new study suggests.Good sources of potassium include bananas and other fruits and vegetables, as well as fish, poultry and dairy, the researchers noted.And ounce per ounce, sweet potato and tomato paste top the list, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.“The average dietary potassium intake in most countries worldwide is much lower than recommended by health authorities, and increasing potassium intake may provide protection against stroke and other cardiovascular disorders,” said lead researcher Dr. Pasquale Strazzullo, a professor of medicine at the Federico II University of Naples Medical School, in Italy.The report is published in the March 1 online edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.For the study, Strazzullo’s team pulled data about potassium and cardiovascular disease from 11 studies, which included a total of 247,510 men and women. The researchers looked at what people in these studies recalled eating in the past day.This process is called a meta-analysis, in which researchers look for trends in the data that may support a particular conclusion, even when these data were not the main point of the study.They found that people who consumed 1.64 grams of potassium or more a day had a 21 percent lower risk of stroke and also tended to have a lower risk of any cardiovascular disease.Strazzullo noted that five or more servings of fruits and vegetables will provide the amount of potassium needed to get this protective effect.“The protective effect of potassium against the risk of stroke and other vascular events may in part be traced to its blood pressure-lowering effect, particularly in hypertensive individuals and in those with elevated sodium intake,” Strazzullo said.However, other processes appear to be at work as well, he added. For example, potassium may be involved in slowing the process of atherosclerosis and preventing the thickening of the walls of arteries, all of which can lead to cardiovascular disease.“More recently, a high-potassium diet was shown to exert a protective effect against the development of vascular damage induced by excess salt intake, thus counteracting, to some extent, the dangerous effects of eating too much salt. This large body of evidence from experimental studies provides biological plausibility to the protective effect of dietary potassium against cardiovascular events,” Strazzullo said.A higher potassium intake is safe for most people, Strazzullo said, adding that there might be some concern about elevated potassium for patients with kidney failure or those taking medicines that lower potassium. In those cases, patients should speak with their doctors, he added.Dr. Larry B. Goldstein, director of the Duke Stroke Center at Duke University Medical Center, commented that “this is completely consistent with current American Heart Association dietary recommendations.”The best example is the DASH-type eating plan, which has been tested in various studies, he said. “The DASH diet is rich in fruits and vegetables and nuts, moderate in low-fat dairy products, low in sodium and high in potassium. The effect on stroke is likely mediated, at least in part, through lower blood pressure,” Goldstein said.Another expert, Dr. Gregg Fonarow, spokesman for the American Heart Association and professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, added that “clinical trials have established that a diet high in potassium and low in sodium can significantly lower blood pressure.”Because high blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for heart disease and stroke, it follows that higher-potassium diets would be linked to lower risk of stroke and heart attacks, he said.“However, a higher-potassium diet potentially has other mechanisms of benefit, including protecting blood vessels from oxidative damage and limiting thickening of the blood vessel wall,” Fonarow said.Increasing potassium in the diet while limiting sodium may help to reduce the risk of stroke and confer other cardiovascular benefits, he said. “Fruits such as bananas, cantaloupe, grapefruit, oranges, vegetables like tomatoes and low-fat dairy products are a good source of dietary potassium,” he said.More informationFor more information on the best sources of potassium, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.SOURCES: Pasquale Strazzullo, M.D., professor, medicine, Federico II University of Naples Medical School, Italy; Larry B. Goldstein, M.D., professor, medicine, and director, Duke Stroke Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; Gregg Fonarow, M.D., spokesman, American Heart Association, and professor, cardiology, University of California, Los Angeles; March 1, 2011, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, onlineLast Updated: March 06, 2011Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
How Patients Think, and How They Should
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Most of us believe we are rational decision makers. But medical decisions are especially complex, thanks to the numerous unknowns and the uniqueness of each person’s body. Suppose you’ve just found out that you or a loved one has prostate cancer, one of the many examples in Jerome Groopman and Pamela Hartzband’s illuminating new book, “Your Medical Mind.” Nearly every urologist would recommend radical surgery to remove the organ. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?
¶But let’s look at the numbers more closely. Prostate cancer is slow-moving; more people die with it than from it. According to one 2004 study, for every 48 prostate surgeries performed, only one patient benefits — the other 47 patients would have lived just as long without surgery. (Groopman and Hartzband discuss the important epidemiological concept “number needed to treat,” which applies to surgeries, prescriptions, therapies, you name it.) Moreover, the 47 who didn’t need the surgery are often left with an array of unpleasant and irreversible side effects, including incontinence, impotenceand loss of sexual desire. The likelihood of one of these side effects is over 50 percent — 24 of our 47 will have at least one. This means a patient is 24 times more likely to experience the side effect than the cure.¶“Your Medical Mind,” a kind of sequel to Groopman’s 2007 best seller, “How Doctors Think,” aims to empower patients to become active participants, indeed negotiators, in decisions about their health care. “The path to maintaining or regaining health is not the same for everyone,” Groopman and Hartzband write. “Medicine involves nuanced and personalized decision making by both the patient and the doctor.” I suspect insurance companies, H.M.O.’s and more than a few doctors are going to hate this book.¶Groopman and Hartzband explore two sets of biases that affect patient decisions. We can be minimalists, preferring to do as little as possible, or maximalists who aggressively pursue treatment. We can be technology enthusiasts, seeking the newest drugs or procedures, or naturalists who believe the body can cure itself, perhaps with the aid of spiritual and plant-based remedies. Of course, these orientations interact: anyone who lives in Northern California knows someone who eagerly takes armloads of herbal supplements while having their chi realigned in between weekly acupuncture sessions (maximalist-naturalist). And there are minimalist-technologists, who avoid medical treatment when possible but if surgery is required will ask for the latest high-tech roboticlaser surgery. Understanding these biases, the authors argue, can lead to more effective doctor-patient dialogue.¶Groopman, an oncologist at Harvard Medical School and a staff writer at The New Yorker, and Hartzband, an endocrinologist at Harvard, introduce a number of other helpful concepts readers may not be familiar with, like the “risk for disease,” which is important to untangling disease statistics. Say a drug promises to reduce your risk of fatal illness X by 50 percent. Sounds great, doesn’t it? But suppose there was only a one-in-1,000 chance that you’d get the disease to begin with: reducing your risk by 50 percent means that you’ll now have a one-in-2,000 chance of getting it. Most medications have side effects, and the likelihood of these may far exceed that of being helped by the medication. For example, the “number needed to treat” for a particular cholesterol-lowering drug is 300. (For every 300 people taking it, only one heart attack is prevented.) The drug has a 5 percent probability of side effects, including severe muscle and joint painand gastrointestinal distress. Thus, for every person helped, 15 people (5 percent of 300) will experience side effects and not be cured. In other words, anyone taking the drug is 15 times more likely to experience the unwanted effects of the medication than the beneficial ones.¶Of course, none of us want to think of ourselves as a statistic. What if the one person saved is me? When it comes to deciding whether to pursue a certain treatment, the rational course is to consider all the relevant factors — age, weight, medical history, other conditions and so on — and then follow these newly refined statistics, a process known as Bayesian reasoning, a method Groopman discusses in “How Doctors Think.”¶Yet studies by cognitive psychologists have shown that our brains are not configured to think statistically, whether the question is how to find the best price on paper towels or whether to have back surgery. In one famous study, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman found that even doctors and statisticians made an astonishing number of inference errors in mock cases; if those cases had been real, many people would have died needlessly. The problem is that our brains overestimate the generalizability of anecdotes. Scientists call anecdotes the “n of 1,” pseudo-experiments with no controls and only one subject. The power of modern scientific method comes from random assignment of treatment conditions; some proportion of people will get better by doing nothing, and without a controlled experiment it is impossible to tell whether that homeopathic thistle tea that helped Aunt Marge is really doing anything.¶Groopman and Hartzband understand our psychological need for first-person stories, illustrating their statistical points with vivid case histories, including their own. (Groopman describes a failed spinal surgery that turned him from a maximalist to a more “risk averse” patient, a self-described “doubter”; Hartzband recounts the time she passed on an M.R.I. after a ski accident and the knee got better on its own.) You’ll close the book with an entirely new attitude and set of tools for making medical decisions.¶Much of this decision making revolves around your own willingness to take risks and your threshold for putting up with inconvenience, side effects or pain. Returning to prostate surgery, consider that six weeks is the advised recovery period. Coincidentally, the operation will, on average, add six weeks to your life. (This averages across the 47 people who had no benefit from the operation and the one person who did.) To my way of thinking, the decision then becomes this: When do you want to “spend” those six weeks? When you’re relatively young and feeling well, or at the end of your life, when you’re old and only dimly aware of your surroundings?¶But as Groopman and Hartzband argue, we can put up with things we could not have imagined. Extensively incapacitated patients tend to report life satisfaction equal to what they reported previously. Facing death, we often completely reassess what we thought we could tolerate, just to add a few more weeks to life.¶“If medicine were an exact science, like mathematics, there would be one correct answer for each problem,” Groopman and Hartzband write. There isn’t. One close friend of mine with prostate cancer opted for immediate surgery, fully aware of the risks and side effects, just to “get the cancer out — now!” Another said he would rather risk dying sooner than lose sexual function, and so he rejected surgery in favor of a vegan diet and yoga, and has no regrets 10 years later, remaining happily symptom-free. Groopman and Hartzband’s important book will help doctor and patient learn how each of us navigates our own tolerance for risk, thus improving outcomes on both sides of the examination table.¶Daniel J. Levitin is a professor of psychology at McGill University and the author of “This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession.”
Most of us believe we are rational decision makers. But medical decisions are especially complex, thanks to the numerous unknowns and the uniqueness of each person’s body. Suppose you’ve just found out that you or a loved one has prostate cancer, one of the many examples in Jerome Groopman and Pamela Hartzband’s illuminating new book, “Your Medical Mind.” Nearly every urologist would recommend radical surgery to remove the organ. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?¶But let’s look at the numbers more closely. Prostate cancer is slow-moving; more people die with it than from it. According to one 2004 study, for every 48 prostate surgeries performed, only one patient benefits — the other 47 patients would have lived just as long without surgery. (Groopman and Hartzband discuss the important epidemiological concept “number needed to treat,” which applies to surgeries, prescriptions, therapies, you name it.) Moreover, the 47 who didn’t need the surgery are often left with an array of unpleasant and irreversible side effects, including incontinence, impotenceand loss of sexual desire. The likelihood of one of these side effects is over 50 percent — 24 of our 47 will have at least one. This means a patient is 24 times more likely to experience the side effect than the cure.¶“Your Medical Mind,” a kind of sequel to Groopman’s 2007 best seller, “How Doctors Think,” aims to empower patients to become active participants, indeed negotiators, in decisions about their health care. “The path to maintaining or regaining health is not the same for everyone,” Groopman and Hartzband write. “Medicine involves nuanced and personalized decision making by both the patient and the doctor.” I suspect insurance companies, H.M.O.’s and more than a few doctors are going to hate this book.¶Groopman and Hartzband explore two sets of biases that affect patient decisions. We can be minimalists, preferring to do as little as possible, or maximalists who aggressively pursue treatment. We can be technology enthusiasts, seeking the newest drugs or procedures, or naturalists who believe the body can cure itself, perhaps with the aid of spiritual and plant-based remedies. Of course, these orientations interact: anyone who lives in Northern California knows someone who eagerly takes armloads of herbal supplements while having their chi realigned in between weekly acupuncture sessions (maximalist-naturalist). And there are minimalist-technologists, who avoid medical treatment when possible but if surgery is required will ask for the latest high-tech roboticlaser surgery. Understanding these biases, the authors argue, can lead to more effective doctor-patient dialogue.¶Groopman, an oncologist at Harvard Medical School and a staff writer at The New Yorker, and Hartzband, an endocrinologist at Harvard, introduce a number of other helpful concepts readers may not be familiar with, like the “risk for disease,” which is important to untangling disease statistics. Say a drug promises to reduce your risk of fatal illness X by 50 percent. Sounds great, doesn’t it? But suppose there was only a one-in-1,000 chance that you’d get the disease to begin with: reducing your risk by 50 percent means that you’ll now have a one-in-2,000 chance of getting it. Most medications have side effects, and the likelihood of these may far exceed that of being helped by the medication. For example, the “number needed to treat” for a particular cholesterol-lowering drug is 300. (For every 300 people taking it, only one heart attack is prevented.) The drug has a 5 percent probability of side effects, including severe muscle and joint painand gastrointestinal distress. Thus, for every person helped, 15 people (5 percent of 300) will experience side effects and not be cured. In other words, anyone taking the drug is 15 times more likely to experience the unwanted effects of the medication than the beneficial ones.¶Of course, none of us want to think of ourselves as a statistic. What if the one person saved is me? When it comes to deciding whether to pursue a certain treatment, the rational course is to consider all the relevant factors — age, weight, medical history, other conditions and so on — and then follow these newly refined statistics, a process known as Bayesian reasoning, a method Groopman discusses in “How Doctors Think.”¶Yet studies by cognitive psychologists have shown that our brains are not configured to think statistically, whether the question is how to find the best price on paper towels or whether to have back surgery. In one famous study, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman found that even doctors and statisticians made an astonishing number of inference errors in mock cases; if those cases had been real, many people would have died needlessly. The problem is that our brains overestimate the generalizability of anecdotes. Scientists call anecdotes the “n of 1,” pseudo-experiments with no controls and only one subject. The power of modern scientific method comes from random assignment of treatment conditions; some proportion of people will get better by doing nothing, and without a controlled experiment it is impossible to tell whether that homeopathic thistle tea that helped Aunt Marge is really doing anything.¶Groopman and Hartzband understand our psychological need for first-person stories, illustrating their statistical points with vivid case histories, including their own. (Groopman describes a failed spinal surgery that turned him from a maximalist to a more “risk averse” patient, a self-described “doubter”; Hartzband recounts the time she passed on an M.R.I. after a ski accident and the knee got better on its own.) You’ll close the book with an entirely new attitude and set of tools for making medical decisions.¶Much of this decision making revolves around your own willingness to take risks and your threshold for putting up with inconvenience, side effects or pain. Returning to prostate surgery, consider that six weeks is the advised recovery period. Coincidentally, the operation will, on average, add six weeks to your life. (This averages across the 47 people who had no benefit from the operation and the one person who did.) To my way of thinking, the decision then becomes this: When do you want to “spend” those six weeks? When you’re relatively young and feeling well, or at the end of your life, when you’re old and only dimly aware of your surroundings?¶But as Groopman and Hartzband argue, we can put up with things we could not have imagined. Extensively incapacitated patients tend to report life satisfaction equal to what they reported previously. Facing death, we often completely reassess what we thought we could tolerate, just to add a few more weeks to life.¶“If medicine were an exact science, like mathematics, there would be one correct answer for each problem,” Groopman and Hartzband write. There isn’t. One close friend of mine with prostate cancer opted for immediate surgery, fully aware of the risks and side effects, just to “get the cancer out — now!” Another said he would rather risk dying sooner than lose sexual function, and so he rejected surgery in favor of a vegan diet and yoga, and has no regrets 10 years later, remaining happily symptom-free. Groopman and Hartzband’s important book will help doctor and patient learn how each of us navigates our own tolerance for risk, thus improving outcomes on both sides of the examination table.
A version of this review appeared in print on October 9, 2011, on page BR28 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Heal Thyself.
Published at New York Times
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