Lean and Hard

The Atlantic - 7.19.13 by Paul Offit

At least 15 studies have now shown that vitamin C doesn't treat the common cold.

On October 10, 2011, researchers from the University of Minnesota found that women who took supplemental multivitamins died at rates higher than those who didn't. Two days later, researchers from the Cleveland Clinic found that men who took vitamin E had an increased risk of prostate cancer. "It's been a tough week for vitamins," said Carrie Gann of ABC News.

These findings weren't new. Seven previous studies had already shown that vitamins increased the risk of cancer and heart disease and shortened lives. Still, in 2012, more than half of all Americans took some form of vitamin supplements. What few people realize, however, is that their fascination with vitamins can be traced back to one man. A man who was so spectacularly right that he won two Nobel Prizes and so spectacularly wrong that he was arguably the world's greatest quack.

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Telegraph - 7.5.13 by Richard Gray

After analysing 480,000 sites in each persons DNA, they found 17,975 locations were altered on 7,663 genes. The human genome contains around 20,000 genes.

Photo: ALAMY

Scientists found that six months of regular exercise, such as cycling or aerobics classes, changed the action of genes involved in the storage of fat and the development of obesity.

The exercise added and removed chemical groups to the DNA in a process known as epigenetic imprinting, or methylation, causing the genes to be switched on or off.

The researchers found more than 7,000 genes were affected in this way as a result of exercise in overweight volunteers.

They also found that key genes involved in storing sugar from blood stream inside fat cells have their activity reduced by the exercise.

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Thought I'd share this with you, since I'm irritated by the public's gullibility and attraction to fads.

New Republic - 6.21.13 by Judith Shulevitz

I think that people who use cleanses may have had rough anal periods (see Freud, Sigmund).” Cleanses and their cousins, colonics, have about as much medical merit, declared Gershon, as the acts of penance done by monks who’d “walk across Europe and hit themselves on the back to purge themselves of the plague.”

Joe Wilson

One afternoon last month, I made a nervous visit to the office of Ghiora Aharoni, an Israeli sculptor and architect of some renown. The awkward part was that I hadn’t come to interview him about his work. I was there to hear about his gut. He had just finished a 21-day cleanse, the kind with supplements, protein shakes, and endorsements by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow. (It’s called the Clean Program.)1 I’d been sent to Aharoni, who turned out to be extremely gracious, by a mutual friend, Ruby Namdar, an Israeli novelist whose skeptical intelligence and Falstaffian appetites made him the last person I expected to find on a celebrity diet. Indeed, the day I learned he was on it—over a dinner of baby carrots—Ruby was very hungry and very grumpy and at a loss to explain why he was doing this to himself, other than that Aharoni had talked Ruby into joining him and three other friends in the enterprise.

I wondered, too. What draws sophisticated and healthy people like Aharoni’s friends to commercial quasi-fasts? Cleanses, whether they last a day, a weekend, or three weeks, and whether they consist exclusively of fruit and vegetable juices or just a severe restriction of solids, are quickly becoming a part of what you might call the cosmopolitan diet, consumed in the more urbane sectors of New York and Los Angeles and Austin or wherever you find Whole Foods–levels of gastronomic consciousness and sufficient disposable income. (A three-week supply of Clean Program products costs $425.) Ask around, and you’ll probably find you know someone who knows someone who’s done a cleanse of one kind or another: Blueprint, Life Juice, Master Cleanse,2 Organic Avenue.

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We can debate the reasons for this all day long, but studies have repeatedly confirmed that, when it comes to fitness, example matters.


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Millions of us have tried going on diets. They are a huge waste of time and a virtual guarantee of discouragement and defeatism. Instead of going on a short-term diet, learn how to substitute. This is what makes for permanent success in the health and fitness arena.

Here's a quote from an article I read recently about Bret Baier, a well-known anchor on Fox news:

"after a while, you become accustomed to what is in your beneficial list and you make that your choice."

That's what substitution is all about. Not starving yourself or sweating bullets trying to stick to some weird set of restrictions (like, you can have as much as you want, as long as it's only the skins of grapes! As much as you want!).


Substituting is simple: You make a list of the stuff that's bad, and another list of the stuff that's good. Then you replace the bad with the good. Every chance you get. Whether you're cooking at home or eating out. What's bad? Simple carbs. What's good? Protein, good (polyunsaturated) fats and complex carbs.

You can't each as much as you want, unless you want just enough to maintain a healthy weight. I'm not that lucky. I don't get to eat as much as I want because, for whatever reason, I want more than I need. So I have to restrict my calorie intake, but eating as much as I need is not that difficult, and the benefits keep me motivated.

An added benefit, though, of substituting good foods for bad ones, is that your appetite is far more controllable. Bad carbs, as we know, cause sugar spikes and are somewhat addictive. The more you eat them the more you want/need them. Replace them with complex carbs and you'll see your cravings diminish to a level that you can control.

So try substitutions rather than going on short-term diets. You'll see that I'm right!

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It would never happen, but I wish fitness product ads would all have to have a big warning on the screen. Something like, "Please know that this product will NOT make you look like this model we paid to promote it. EVER!"

You can't get chiseled abdominals by using that gadget for only 10 minutes a day. Maybe 2 hours a day would do it in a year, but then you'd probably get a hernia.

These models got to look the way they look only by lots and lots of exercise, and some pretty serious portion control along with it. Believe it. And you can look like that too, assuming you're also 25 and willing to devote yourself to fitness and healthy eating.

When we see people who look good - I mean trim, strong, energetic - it's easy to assume they're just lucky that way. Don't believe that. They don't look that way by luck and great genes. They look that way because they're careful about what and how much they eat, and because they stick to a good exercise regimen.

The cool thing about all this - the fact that it's not about luck or good genes - is that you can do it too.

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Not discussing unpleasant people here, although they should be given a wide berth. We're talking about creeping weight gain.

Things have a way of catching up to us when we stop paying attention. The cute little wildebeest foal kneels daintily to sip cool water from the Nile river. It's not focusing on its surroundings for the moment, the water is just too delicious not to enjoy the pleasure of slaking its thirst. Sadly, you know what happens. The ravenous, 20-foot crocodile has been creeping up, closer and closer until...the little foal is now afternoon tea.

If you stop paying attention to your fitness, guess what? The fat will get laid down, cell by cell, not calling attention to itself, as stealthily as a Predator drone seeking targets of opportunity
over Afghanistan. You don't really notice anything wrong for awhile. But eventually, when your clothes start feeling a bit tighter than usual, what happens? You blame the dry-cleaner.

Some of us don't start to really show weight gain until it gets to 30 or 40 pounds. When it gets to the point that we can't deny the truth any longer, we  feel discouraged and defeated. How am I going to lose this 40 pounds? Dieting is a waste of time! I'm OK the way I am! Etc.

The only way to avoid this unhappy outcome that I have found is to beware the creep. I have to stay on top of it or it will get so out of hand that the difficulty of fixing it seems overwhelming. It's so much easier to trim off 5 extra pounds than it is to confront and defeat 50 or more.

So take my advice and beware the creep!

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The Fight Against Cancer Includes Exercise - by Melanie Bowen

At the moment of receiving the initial diagnosis, cancer begins taking its toll on the body and the mind. The stress alone involved with hearing the news can be devastating. In addition, enduring subsequent treatments and medications all cause an emotional, physical and psychological strain. Numerous studies indicate that when cancer patients engage in some type of physical activity from the beginning they gain numerous benefits, aid in a quicker recovery, and improve the overall quality of life.

Light Exercise

When undergoing aggressive treatments for mesothelioma or other lung related cancers, even light exercise often makes a world of difference. Light exercise involves any repetitive physical movement that does not alter an individual’s breathing pattern. The activity does not cause shortness of breath and one may carry on a conversation while performing the exercise. The regimen is also not so strenuous that it causes perspiration.

Walking is a great example of a simple light exercise. The activity improves overall muscle strength, inhibits bone loss and helps combat the fatigue that patients commonly endure secondary to chemotherapy. Walking also offers emotional and psychosocial benefits, as individuals feel a sense of accomplishment. How often and how far patients walk depends on individual tolerance. Start by simply walking to and from the end of the block, and gradually increase the distance. Walk with a friend or a family member. This type of exercise proves especially beneficial for patients with cancers affecting the lungs.

Moderate Exercise

Patients finished with cancer treatment often begin some type of moderate activity, which helps regain strength faster. These activities typically produce perspiration after repetitive movement for 10 minutes. Respirations may become faster, but the exercise does not render the individual breathless. During the activity, one should have the ability to carry on a conversation without difficulty.

If patients are physically ready to take on a moderate level of exercise then water aerobics should be a consideration. Community swimming pools often offer this type of exercise class. The movements performed while in the buoyancy of an aquatic environment improve overall cardiovascular fitness, circulation and flexibility while increasing bone and muscle strength. Since water aerobics is considered as a low-impact exercise because being 90% lighter in the water, there is less stress placed on the joints. As a result, this exercise may be ideal for those with joint complications.

Advanced Exercise

After having regained strength and endurance from moderate activities, individuals typically progress to a more advanced level of exercise. These activities help tone the body and may aid in weight loss if needed. Aggressive exercise causes deep and rapid respirations. Perspiring begins after a few minutes.

Implementing a weight-training regimen further improves muscle and skeletal strength and enhances cardiovascular fitness when performed correctly. Although you may feel as if your body is ready to do more, when beginning a weight-training program it is important to not forget to start slowly and that healing is a gradual process. Get guidance from a physical therapist or seek advice from a trainer at a local gym. The type of training cancer survivors may attempt largely depends on the type of cancer and treatment individual patients endure. Coaches or therapists have the knowledge and expertise to create a program that targets specific areas of the body depending on a person’s strength and weaknesses.


Other positive aspects of continuing some type of physical routine throughout the treatment process include increased energy, a better appetite and a more restful sleep. Researchers also find that exercise often helps combat the discomfort and unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Before beginning any activity, always consult with your personal health care provider. Exercise and physical activity may not be a cure for cancer, however it should be considered as a crucial component in the road toward recovery.

Editor's Note: Melanie is currently a Master's student with a passion that stems from her grandmother's cancer diagnosis. She often highlights the great benefits of alternative nutritional, emotional, and physical treatments on those diagnosed with cancer or other serious illness.  To read more from Melanie, visit her blog for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. In her spare time, you can find Melanie trying new vegan recipes, on her yoga mat, or spending time with her family.

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Being overweight, not to mention morbidly obese, created a multitude of inconveniences and lifestyle restrictions for me, as it does for millions of Americans. One of these restrictions was the hassle of air travel.

Faced with the difficulties for an overweight person of walking through miles of airport corridors, as well as the discomfort of too-small airline seats, many simply give up on air travel altogether. It had been almost a decade since I last traveled by air. The thought of the challenges I would face was simply too overwhelming.

Now that I'm back to a healthy weight and level of fitness, I recently rejoined the air-traveling public, and the experience was a tremendous boost to my motivation to stay healthy and fit.

Walking through the airports was easy and comfortable. I fit comfortably in the economy-class seats. The seat belts had lots of extra length to cinch tight. And I wasn't embarrassed to be seen by the people at the other end.

You have to find motivation wherever you can, and for me, being able to travel comfortably is a biggie!

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Let's face facts: Gym music generally sucks.


I find myself wondering, when subjected to the indignity of having to hear what's coming over the hidden speakers, where do they find this music? There was one gym I worked out at years ago that had romantic soul music playing in the background. Talk about de-motivating. I felt like superman in the presence of a metric ton of kryptonite.

This is why you have to bring your own music to the gym. Good music takes my workouts to the highest levels and pushes my pace and intensity. I don't understand the neuroscience behind this phenomenon. but it's totally real.

So here's a new entry into the smartphone market that's specifically designed to motivate you: FIT Radio.

Check out the video to see it in action:




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