Odds and Ends

Okay I have five issues with brief comments this week

Osteoporosis and Drugs: I have two things to say about this. The first is that a new drug has been developed that is supposed to be better tolerated and perhaps more effective than the more common bisphosphonates and secondly, I heard a commercial last night for one of the four or five drugs we already have for this “condition” and in that ad, an actress said, “ one out of four women are at risk for osteoporosis.” I have blogged about the concern of some scientist physicians on treating at risk conditions. Recalling that one researcher referred to osteopenia as being at risk for being at risk for breaking a bone. All that aside, 25% of all the women in the world over age 40 is a gazillionmillion – or a lot. And that is why drug companies refer to their new medicines as blockbuster drugs instead of the more appropriate life enhancing, saving, improving, etc

Empty Stomach and Fat Burning: A study published recently is causing a bit of an uproar in the exercise physiology arena. People who exercised on empty stomachs burned calories a little differently. The study subject burned more fat. Anytime you say that people burn FAT everyone gets excited but burning fat during exercise and immediately thereafter does not always and in this case did NOT equal losing fat as in weight loss. There are many reasons why one should not do intense cardio work on an empty stomach and just as many for why one should not do it on a full stomach. As a somewhat educated person in this field I offer my two cents. The very first question to ask when planning for your next preworkout snack is “when was the last time you had anything to eat?” If it was two hours ago or so – fine go on ahead and run, cycle, take a cardio class. If it was before you went to bed then I suggest a small bit to eat. In my personal experience, if I am running over 3 miles I need a little something. But also be mindful that sometimes when you are REALLY pushing yourself – food in the stomach is your enemy. Bottom line – think about it and make your own decision. Performance will always be affected by what you do and do not eat – but weight loss will always be about the calorie differential over time.

Lung Cancer Blood Test: A test is now commercially available in the US and UK to detect a certain type of antigen or inflammatory marker in the blood stream that could tell if a person has lung cancer. In my reading about this, I saw that at least one physician uses it in people who have been smoking for at least 15 years. Not everyone is excited about the test and I found it interesting that a clinician in Australia, where it is not yet available, thought it would benefit them to watch and see if this test is accurate and meaningful with the USA population before they start using it. Sounds like a plan! There is some debate on whether or not this will be any more useful that the PSA test for prostate cancer (will it prevent death) and from the test companies perspective, they also want to find markers for all the other cancers so the test can be used for those as well. At this time, insurance coverage for the test is uncertain.

Age of the Artery: Funny thing about those arteries – they tend to clog up as we get older. Some cardiologist are using test results and risk factors to calculate a persons artery age. Sure does remind me of the lung age I recently mentioned. The artery age formula is a bit different and in my opinion, less scientific than the research that has gone into determining a persons projected lung age. The problem being that very few people would have normally aging arteries as the plaque that builds up and occludes the artery wall is related to smoking, fatty acids, hypertension, diabetes and the subsequent inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. One can have normal arteries but they are referred to as “young” or atypical because so many other peoples are significantly older than they are. It is true that our lifestyle (activity and consumption) has changed so much over the last 30 years that our 40 years olds have the arteries of what would have been an 80 year olds. This is sadly true of younger and younger persons. The flip side is that an 80 year old can have much clearer arteries than a 20 year old if that 80 year old eats well, exercises and doesn’t smoke. I am not sure why we need another test to make that point.

Physical Fitness/Shape: Observing people around me – friends and strangers – as well as professional athletes and fitness leaders, has led me to feel somewhat better about myself. WHAT?! I know – comparisons usually lead to plummeting self esteem but let me explain. I take the physical activity guidelines or recommendations to heart. The recommendations suggest that we incorporate cardio activity, weight training, core and balance work into our weekly routine. Because I do, as do some of my friends, my body has some shape to it – some definition. My hard work actually pays off. I have noticed that some runners, shorter distance runners, who cross train with pool work and weight training, also have really fit looking bodies. At the same time, I have noticed others who run – only or walk only, for that matter – who look soft in the middle and lack definition. If your goal is just to burn off calories then I suppose it doesn’t matter, but if you want to be FIT – it takes more than that.