FAT LOSS: RISKS OF HIGH INTENSITY EXERCISE

Irrespective of the arguments presented above, there are limitations to the prescription of intensive exercise for overfat people, which make high intensity exercise prescription for fat loss both impractical and irresponsible. Because of the inverse association between body fat and cardiovascular fitness, high intensity activity in people with low cardiovascular efficiency may be potentially dangerous, even fatal. Strenuous exercise is uncomfortable and it may result in overfat people becoming totally disenchanted with physical activity as a fat loss technique. It may also help explain the failure of the fitness industry to attract significant numbers of the almost 1 in 2 people requiring weight control services in Western countries.

A further argument given for high intensity activity is that, given a set period of available time, more vigorous activity provides more ‘bang for the buck’ in terms of body fat utilisation. If the time is extensive enough to allow for adequate fat utilisation, however, a fat unfit person is unlikely to be able to complete an exercise session at a high (e.g. 70-80 per cent V02) level of intensity. Even if it were possible, it is a diminishing effectiveness of response in relation to fat utilisation with longer duration which would defeat the purpose of the exercise. Because exercise at such a high intensity may also be uncomfortable for such a person, he or she is not likely to want to do it on a regular basis, as is necessary for optimal fat loss.

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LEVELS OF FATNESS IN POPULATIONS

The prevalence of overfatness in the modem world is related to Westernisation. With industrialisation comes ease of accessibility to foods, especially processed and fatty foods. Some industrialised countries have a higher level of overall fatness than others, with Eastern Europeans currently topping the charts. The United States is at the top of the fatness tree amongst Western nations, but Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are not far behind.

Fatness is even more prevalent in certain ethnic groups such as Australian Aborigines, Pacific Islanders and American Indians. It has been suggested that these people may have a genetic makeup (‘thrifty genotype’) which enables them to store more fat during times of ‘feast’ and/or use less energy during times of famine’. It is proposed that the harsh conditions and inconsistent food supply would have preferentially selected those people with the ‘thrifty genotype’ by giving them a survival advantage. To date, no genes have been found which endower a major propensity for fat storage and it seems unlikely that the genetic predisposition to obesity will be pinpointed to one or a few genes. Nor have any genetic markers for obesity been found in ethnic groups with high rates of obesity.

What is well known is that ethnic groups like the Aboriginal people suffer from a high rate of obesity-related diseases such as adult onset diabetes. In Nauru, for example, where super phosphate has made the population rich and the island poor, Professor Paul Zimmett of the WHO has estimated that around 20-30 per cent of the adult population have diabetes. The Pima Indians of Arizona, who have been acculturated to the modem American diet, have extreme levels of obesity and the highest rate of diabetes in the world at 50 per cent of the adult population (compared to around 3 per cent in the White community).

This picture of an obese Western world might suggest that people are indifferent to their growing corpulence. Yet the figures show otherwise. Surveys carried out in the US suggest that at least 25 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women are trying to lose weight at any one time. Over the course of a year, the number of people who attempt to lose weight at least once rises to around 40 per cent for men and 80 per cent for women. The average man wants to lose 22kg to weigh 80kg and the average woman 22.5kg to weigh 60kg. Only 27 per cent of those who see themselves as overweight admit to not currently trying to slim. Perhaps as expected, the majority are using diet as the main method—76 per cent of men and 85 per cent of women. Around 60 per cent of both men and women use increased physical activity as a means of reducing weight.

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MIRACLE FOODS FROM THE BEES: TWO REMARKABLE CASES OF RECOVERY

Mrs. Jytte Elmgaard, 35, from Denmark, was stricken by leuco-encephatalis—an organic nerve disease with epileptic attacks—in 1950. The disease is considered incurable. During the next ten years her condition grew progressively worse, until by 1961 she was totally paralyzed and bedridden. She had up to 40 epileptic attacks a day, became blind and could not move any part of her body. She lost weight and was fading away fast. No one expected her to survive . . . except her husband who didn’t want to give up.

A Danish doctor suggested trying pollen. He obtained a German pollen preparation in liquid form. Mrs. Elmgaard felt some improvement, but not much. A Swedish specialist was consulted and he advised trying Cernitin T.60 in the form of injections. Injection treatments started in May, 1963, first given by the doctor, then continued by Mr. Elmgaard. The Danish Medical Society gave permission to use these injections and the treatment was at all times under her doctor’s supervision. Later, several other pollen preparations were included in the treatment, such as Cernimult, Cernilton, Pollitabs, Polloton 25.

Swedish health magazine Tidskrift for Halsa, reported three years later that Mrs. Elmgaard has miraculously returned to life. Her condition has been steadily improving. Her vision has returned, she can sit up in her bed and talk, and her paralysis has been disappearing gradually from various parts of her body. Even her weight has become normal. She has to continue with the pollen injections, which in her case seem to have the similar effect that insulin has on a diabetic. The injections keep her free from attacks and improve her general condition.

Doctors were amazed by the “miracle.” They could not believe that she was still alive. Her case was reported and widely discussed in medical literature. Doctors suggested, of course, that “certain cases of leucoencephatalis for some unknown reason can heal spontaneously.”

Another case is the dramatic case of U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas J. Tretheway. During World War II, Col. Tretheway spent nine months in a Japanese prison camp as a prisoner of war. His health was in a deplorable state and his weight dropped from 175 pounds to only 85 pounds.

One night he managed to escape. But he was lost in the jungle and finally, after about three days of wandering and with gangrene on his feet, he succumbed to weakness and malnutrition. He was found unconscious by natives of a Chinese jungle tribe.

The natives brought him to the village and treated him for several weeks with a diet rich in pollen and honey. They also coated his feet with pollen and honey. After a few weeks his strength was restored and he was able to walk. The natives guided him to the English lines. An English doctor in Calcutta told him that it was pollen and honey he was to thank for his life and the use of his feet.

Col. Tretheway reported that the natives who saved his life collected pollen from the surface of the water where it had been carried by the wind. They made cakes from it, mixing it with honey—this was their staple diet. They were tall and lean, had perfect teeth, and both children and adults seemed to be in excellent health.

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BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

As you can clearly see from the above, the objective of the doctor treating high blood pressure should not be to lower the pressure with drugs, but rather to find the underlying causes of the elevated pressure and try to eliminate them. When the underlying causes or diseased conditions are corrected, then the high blood pressure will disappear of itself.

To reduce high blood pressure with the help of drugs is just as unwise as to suppress and combat high fever with drugs. Both are highly beneficial symptoms, initiated and brought about by the body for a defensive purpose: to effectively cope with the adverse diseased conditions and to restore health. Attention should be directed at the real causes of high blood pressure. General toxemia, impaired kidney function, glandular disturbances, hardening of the arteries—these must be corrected.

The biological doctor is concerned not only with the dropping of the systolic pressure, but with the all-round lessening of the strain on the arterial system and the improvement of the general health of the patient. This is accomplished with various biological treatments which are centered around fasting and dietetic restrictions.

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THE EIGHTFOLD DIVISION OF THE IRIS

3. The Nose-Diaphragm line takes its course through the middle of the upper medial quadrant and the lower lateral quadrant, from the root of the nose to the spleen area in the left iris, or to the liver area in the right iris. In the lateral segment it represents the boundary line between chest and abdomen, which in the body is represented by the diaphragm. Hence, it is named the

Nose-Diaphragm line. White lines traversing the right iris in this area suggest conditions terminating in violent pains. It is therefore also termed: Pain-line. Similar signs in the corresponding area of the left iris suggest terminal pains arising from febrile conditions. (Splenic enlargement = inner fever.)

4. The Ear-Bladder line, which is drawn through the middle of the upper lateral quadrant and the lower medial quadrant is interpreted as Infection-line. It commences above in the ear area, and traverses the bladder area below. If this line has a dark registration in the right iris, it suggests the existence in the antecedents of severe chronic bladder disease. As practitioners, we must ascertain in diseases of the ears in children, whether the ancestors had disease of the bladder. On this basis arises the right Ear-Bladder line, also called Hereditary-transmission line, because it reveals the connection with hereditary encumbrance. In the right iris the bladder sign appears when catarrh of the bladder follows chill. If signs are seen in the bladder area of the left iris, then we should mainly think of venereal disease.

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WHEN TREATMENTS FOR TWO SYMPTOMS CLASH: DRAGGING SWOLLEN BELLY AND LOW BLOOD SUGAR

A bloated stomach and fatigue caused by low blood sugar is another tricky combination. If your belly is distended with too much water, with the result that you can’t face a big meal, and yet at the same time your blood sugar is obviously low and you’re getting tired and snappy, what can you do? One possible compromise is to eat several small meals instead of one big one.

But make sure that they’re satisfying light snacks and not too stodgy. Sweet black coffee is a useful ally too, if you like it, and it doesn’t disagree with you, because besides being a quick pick-me-up it also acts as a mild diuretic and can get rid of some of that extra water for you. It helps to wear comfortable clothes too, things that don’t restrict your belly in any way. Your choice will be influenced by the amount of work you have to do. If your blood sugar is low and you’re resting, you won’t need quite so much food to replenish your stocks as you will if you are working hard. So once again the choice is yours. Only you know exactly what your circumstances are and how you can cope with them.

The sad thing is that if you suffer from two symptoms that clash there really aren’t any simple solutions. In the end you are faced with a difficult choice — to decide which of your two symptoms upsets you most — and then to treat that and put up with the other one. I know that’s not the answer you would like, but I’m afraid it’s the only one I can give you.

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PARENT/PHYSICIAN PARTNERSHIP: CHOOSING A DOCTOR

Raising a child is a big responsibility, and it’s always comforting to know that there’s someone you can turn to when you have a problem. For advice on many of your concerns about your child you can call on your own parents, your family and friends, other parents, your child’s teachers. But when it comes to your child’s health the person you need is a physician.

To get the best from your child’s doctor, you must first select the best doctor for your child. A pediatrician is a doctor who sees only children. The pediatrician has had an extra three to five years of special training in the physical, emotional, and educational needs of young people. Your family physician probably has comparable training in terms of years of study, but this study has been directed to people of all ages rather than just to children. The best pediatrician you can find should, in theory, know more about children than the best family doctor you can find.

The most important thing, however, is that you should be able to get along with the doctor who is caring for your child. If you feel more comfortable with your own family physician than with any pediatrician in your locality, you may decide to have the family physician take care of your child, too. You know what’s best for you and the child, so trust your own decision.

Your child’s doctor, who is a trained and experienced professional, should be a reliable and sympathetic source of information and advice throughout your child’s growing years. Always remember, though, that the doctor is a medical adviser, not another parent. There are decisions about your child’s well-being that only you can make, and a good doctor does not try either to make child-rearing decisions for you or to make you feel that you’re not a competent parent. A good parent/doctor relationship is one in which each partner respects the other.

How do you find a good doctor? If the child is your first, the doctor who delivered your baby can give you names of local physicians and maybe recommend someone who is well thought of by other new parents. You may have a friend or neighbor with children who can recommend someone. If you’ve moved to a new area, consult a neighbor who has children, or call the local hospital or the local branch of the state medical society. Professional organizations will not give you recommendations as such; they will give you names and expect you to make your own inquiries. However, a phone call and a visit to a doctor’s office should be enough to tell you whether or not that doctor is right for you and your child. It is also a good idea to visit the doctor even before your baby is born to become acquainted and to arrange for your baby’s medical care.

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NEWBORN BABY: FIRST MONTHS OF LIFE

Spitting up

Many babies spit up either as they are being burped or a little while after a feeding. This is normal. Check with your doctor if the baby is spitting up large amounts, is having projectile vomiting (forceful, explosive vomiting), or does not appear to be gaining weight. Consult your doctor if the baby is spitting up and also seems hungry all the time, or becomes limp and not alert.

To reduce spitting up, try burping the baby more often during a feeding, or changing the feeding position slightly so that the baby is more upright. It may help to have the baby rest quietly in an infant seat for a few minutes after feeding, rather than laying the baby down or encouraging active playing.

The pacifier (dummy)

Babies need to suck a certain amount each day. If your baby is hungry but only takes a small amount of food, he or she probably only needed to suck. If this happens consistently, a pacifier is a great help. It meets the baby’s need to suck but spares you the inconvenience of trying to feed a baby who really isn’t hungry. After about six months (remember, all babies are different and this may vary), the baby will no longer need extra sucking. Then you can take away the pacifier.

Breast-feeding

Many doctors today recommend breastfeeding, if it is possible, for a number of reasons. First, breast milk passes on to the baby some of the mother’s own resistance to infections. Second, many babies develop allergies to infant formulas, but it is rare for a baby to be allergic to the mother’s milk. Third, breast-feeding is much more convenient than bottle-feeding, because it is always available and needs no sterilizing, mixing, or refrigeration. Fourth, the experience of breast-feeding is emotionally satisfying for both mother and baby.

Even if you breast-feed, you can give the baby an occasional bottle or give one feeding a day by bottle. This can give you a chance to be away from the baby sometimes or to sleep through the night while the baby’s father gives a feeding. The breasts can be emptied with a breast pump if they become uncomfortably full.

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LIVING WITH DIABETES: HOW WAS INSULIN DISCOVERED?

The story of the discovery of insulin is a long and fascinating one and to some extent it is also the story of our understanding of diabetes itself.

As a medical condition, diabetes has been known to mankind for two thousand years and perhaps the very first known reference to diabetes is in an Egyptian papyrus thought to have been written about one thousand five hundred years ÂÑ.

Despite an awareness of diabetes and the fact that so many people have suffered from it, virtually nothing was known of the nature of the condition or its cause. Doctors had only known that it was associated with the passing of a large quantity of urine and excessive thirst and the name diabetes literally means ‘an excessive flow of fluid’.

It was not until the 17th century that an Englishman named Thomas Willis noted that the urine of persons with diabetes was sweet and tasted like honey or sugar.

Thus the name of the condition came to be ‘diabetes mellitus’, from the Latin word for honey. So it was that doctors came to realize that diabetes mellitus had something to do with sugar. The proof that this sweetness of the urine was in fact due to sugar was made by another Englishman, Matthew Dobson, and a century later. Dr Dobson also found that the blood of patients with diabetes was also sweet, and he came to the important conclusion that the sugar in the urine came because there was excessive sugar in the blood.

The next important advance was made by a French scientist, Claude Bernard. Bernard discovered that sugar was normally kept at a constant level in the bloodstream and that the regular source of sugar in the blood was derived from stores in the liver. The substance that acts as a sugar store in the liver we call Glycogen.

A most important step in our understanding of diabetes came in 1889 when a German laboratory worker called Minkowski found that removing a dog’s pancreas led to it getting severe diabetes. Thus the origin of diabetes was traced to the pancreas. This observation was taken further still in 1901 when Dr Opie in Baltimore, USA, noted that in those with diabetes certain tissue cells in the pancreas, the ‘Islets of Langerhans’, were degenerated.

In 1916 a British physiologist, Sir Edward Sharpey-Schafer, suggested that diabetes was due to a lack of a chemical substance produced by these ‘islet’ cells. This very important suggestion paved the way for the search for this chemical substance they produced.

From then on many people attempted to extract this substance from the pancreas. Dr Zuelzer, a German, treated some people with diabetes with such an extract, apparently with some response. However his experiments were not completely successful and many other people had tried the same thing and failed.

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CANCER: PROTECTING THE PROSTATE

Prostate cancer is to men roughly what breast cancer is to women. Each is far and away the most prevalent cancer for its respective sex, and each is a solid second (behind lung cancer) in deaths caused. And just as its breast-based relative was for women, prostate cancer has become the emblem of middle-age male health angst. It seems like that plum-size gland is going to get you, sooner or later.

But doctors have noticed that men are taking another tip from women. They’re fighting back. Proof? Well, how often did you hear prostate cancer or the prostate itself even mentioned 15 years ago?

“Prostate cancer has come out of the closet,” Dr. Catalona says. “Everybody knows what a breast is, and everybody knows what a lung is. But until very recently a lot of men didn’t know what a prostate was, or where it was.”

For the record, your prostate gland surrounds the urethra at the base of your penis and helps produce the semen you’re so fond of giving away. It seems to be built to go partially wrong. It often starts to enlarge (benignly) in your forties, and from 30 percent to 50 percent of men in their forties and fifties have precancerous lesions on its surface. Not all develop into cancer, but those that do are, on average, diagnosed at age 72. But with new methods of detection, the age at diagnosis is decreasing.

You don’t have to die from prostate cancer. “The disease is definitely treatable,” says “warren Heston, Ph.D., director of the George M. O’Brien Urology Research Center at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.” Early detection is very much a big key.”

But your best weapon against prostate cancer is not getting it in the first place. And, hey, most guys don’t. “About one in five men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime,” Dr. Catalona estimates. “So the chances are 80 percent that you won’t be.”

Not the worst of odds. And you can make them better by adding the following prostate-specific weapons to your anti-cancer arsenal.

Whip up some spaghetti. Vegetables, in general, fight cancer. But it’s tomatoes that go right after prostate cancer, according to Dr. Giovannucci, who worked on the Harvard study that came up with this happy I news. Tomatoes are rich in the antioxidant lycopene, which may lower risk

of prostate cancer. “For prostate cancer, it’s important to include tomatoes in your diet-tomato sauce, in particular,” Dr. Giovannucci says. He suggests two one-cup servings a week.

Grab some soy, boy. Soy products are rich in genistein, a weak estrogen with antioxidant properties that, studies have shown, will slow the progression of prostate cancer. That may explain the fact that Japanese men eat a lot of soy and seldom get prostate cancer, while American men eat almost no soy and get lots of prostate cancer.

Get enough vitamin E. Dr. Heston points to a Finnish study that found that those who took 50 milligrams of vitamin E “actually had a 30 percent reduction in the development of full prostate cancer.” Dr. Heston suggests that getting your Daily Value of 30 international units, or about 20 milligrams, would be beneficial.

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