What is the optimal exercise for losing weight?

People are easily confused by the following principle of exercise physiology:

High-intensity exercise, such as running, sprint- swimming or high-intensity aerobics burns 100% carbohydrates. Low intensity-exercise like slow walking or light house cleaning burns exclusively fat.

Generally people are very happy to hear this thinking they won’t have to sweat to shed body fat. However, there are 2 additional factors to consider: the net amount of fat burned during exercise and the post-exercise burn.

Calories Burned During 60 Minutes
Slow walking – 175 (all fat)
Moderate-intensity jogging – 500 (250 fat, 250 carb)
High-intensity running – 750 (all carbohydrate)

The first point is that moderate intensity activities burns the most fat during the exercise session.

Post-exercise burn, however, is even more important. While our bodies cannot process fat quickly enough to fuel a sprint across a swimming pool, we do burn the fat after getting out of the pool. High-intensity exercise draws fat out of our fat cells into the blood stream and increases metabolism for up to 24 hours after exercise. Basically, the harder you work during the exercise, the more fat your metabolism will burn the rest of the day.

If you are working on losing or maintaining your weight, try one of the following moderate-intensity exercises 30-45 minutes 3-6 times a week:

Swim, jog, take an aerobic class, dance, play racquetball, ride your bike, use the elliptical machine, or speed walk (consider carrying hand weights)

If you would like Better Living to calculate your moderate-intensity heart rate, email me at mark@betterliving.biz. Simply provide your approximate age.

Nothing Scares Me More...

…than the thought of losing my mind. Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease are scary prospects of aging. Have you watched a loved one become forgetful or start repeating himself?

What if you could prevent the cognitive decline from affecting you? Focus on your midsection.

A 2008 study in Neurology showed that mental impairments are nearly 3 times more likely to strike those with excessive abdominal fat. The researchers measured the sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) of over 6,500 Californians. Thirty-six years later the researchers checked medical records and found dementia diagnosis 272% more in those who had 9.8 inch SAD versus those with only 7.5 inch or less SAD.

The results are striking as it suggests central obesity during a person’s 30’s and 40’s accurately predicts risk of mental decline after age 70.

To measure your SAD, lie on your back with your knees bent and lower back touching the floor. Balance a yardstick across your abdomen halfway between the top of your pelvis and your lowest rib. Then use a ruler to measure the distance from the floor to the balanced yardstick. If you find this confusing, there is a helpful diagram at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittal_Abdominal_Diameter.

If yours SAD is over 10 inches please feel free to contact me at thies@umich.edu. Better Living offers weight loss/management classes, nutrition counseling and exercise programming.

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Whitmer, R.A. et. al., Central obesity and increased risk of dementia more than three decades later, Neurology March 26, 2008

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittal_Abdominal_Diameter

The Trans Fat Story

Trans fat is the abbreviated name for any monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat with a trans-isomer fatty acid. Historically only ruminant animals (e.g., cows) could make trans fats. However, humans proved far more successful in producing it in large quantity with the advent of Crisco in 1911. The process called partial hydrogenation adds hydrogen atoms to an unsaturated fat molecule making it more saturated and converts some of the cis-fatty acids into trans-fats. Okay, that is enough chemistry for one message!

Trans fats erupted in popularity because of their usefulness in baking and their longer shelf life. However, we now know that they increase bad cholesterol (LDL), decrease good cholesterol (HDL) and increase risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease. You should decrease your trans fat intake to trace amounts if not eliminate it entirely.

Follow these tips to get rid of trans fat from your diet:

• Read your ingredient labels on any baked good. If it has the words “partially-hydrogenated” it contains some trans fat. I have found this on several products that state “Zero Trans Fat” on the label. It should read 0.4g trans fat as manufacturers are allowed to round down.
• Avoid eating donuts, muffins, coffee cake and other non-homemade baked goods. I recently bought a cookie at the airport that had 3g trans fats!!
  
• Avoid eating fast food deep fried in oils that contain trans fat.
  

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat

Protect your brain and heart with one important nutrient!

Recent research suggests the current RDA (1.3-1.7mg) for vitamin B6 may be woefully low. Researchers found B6 blood levels (measured by plasma pyridoxal 5’ –phosphate) to be clinically low in several populations despite consuming 2-2.9mg B6. Those most at risk for low B6 levels are people over 65yrs, current and former users of oral contraceptives, smokers and non-Hispanic blacks. However, the findings suggest everyone may benefit from increasing the RDA for vitamin B6 to 3mg or more.

Inadequate intake of B6 is linked with higher blood levels of homocysteine. High homocysteine is correlated with both coronary artery disease and Alzheimer’s Disease. Luckily, consuming 3mg of vitamin B6 daily seems to protect from homocysteine rising to dangerous levels – (over 10.2µmol/L doubles risk of coronary disease, over 14µmol/L doubles risk of Alzheimer’s disease).

Pay attention to vitamin B6 and homocysteine with these tips:

• Get your plasma pyridoxal 5’ –phosphate and homocysteine checked at your next physical. These are not standard tests, but research indicates they are important.
• Start each day with a fortified breakfast cereal (e.g., 0.5 cup Kellogg’s All Bran supplies 3.6mg by itself!)
• Increase your intake of chickpeas, tuna, rice, halibut, potato and fortified products such as, Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles. All of these are great sources of vitamin B6.

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Morris MS, Picciano MF, Jacques PF, Selhub J, Plasma pyridoxal 5’-phosphate in the US population: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2004, Am J Clin Nutr2008;87:1446-54

Spence JD. Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease: how low should plasma homocyst(e)ine levels go? Am J Cardiovascular Drugs 2001;1:85-9

Seshadri S. Elevated plasma homocysteine levels: risk factors or risk marker for the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease” J Alzheimers Dis 2006;9:393-8

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR21/nutrlist/sr21w415.pdf