A recent study published in the journal Mechanisms of Aging and Development confirms the “anti-aging” effect of high-intensity training.
Telomere shortening occurs as you age, however the factors involved are not entirely understood as of yet. The study was conducted to determine whether age-associated telomere shortening is related to habitual endurance exercise and maximal aerobic capacity.
The results suggest there’s a direct association between reduced telomere shortening in your later years and high-intensity-type exercises.
The authors’ state:
“The results of the present study provide evidence that leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is related to regular vigorous aerobic exercise and maximal aerobic exercise capacity with aging in healthy humans.
LTL is not influenced by aerobic exercise status among young subjects, presumably because TL is intact (i.e., already normal) in sedentary healthy young adults.
However, as LTL shortens with aging it appears that maintenance of aerobic fitness, produced by chronic strenuous exercise and reflected by higher VO2max, acts to preserve LTL.
… Our results indicate that leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is preserved in healthy older adults who perform vigorous aerobic exercise and is positively related to maximal aerobic exercise capacity. This may represent a novel molecular mechanism underlying the “anti-aging” effects of maintaining high aerobic fitness.”
But that’s not all.
High-intensity interval-type training also boosts human growth hormone (HGH) production. A 2003 study published in the journal Sports Medicine found that “exercise intensity above lactate threshold and for a minimum of 10 minutes appears to elicit the greatest stimulus to the secretion of HGH.”
Along with hair and nails, skin is the fastest growing and most superficial tissue in the body. As such, it has a high demand for nutrients in order to continuously replenish itself with rapidly developing immature skin cells from the layers below. Even a marginal deficiency of nutrients such as vitamin A, the carotenoids, vitamin D, vitamins B1 and B2, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin E, vitamin C or essential fatty acids can result in impaired development of skin cells, resulting in skin that is less smooth, prone to lesions, less elastic and more likely to suffer accelerated aging.
For sun- and chemical-induced free-radical damage that causes premature aging of the skin, wrinkling, cancerous conditions, other forms of skin damage, the appropriate supplement contains optimal levels of antioxidants to help protect your skin from the aging and damaging effects caused by the sun: Antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, selenium and zinc intercept and neutralize free radicals and defend skin cells from these damaging effects. Antioxidants also protect skin from ultraviolet light damage.
For skin disorders such as dermatitis (skin inflammation problems), lack of smoothness, seborrhoea-like scaly lesions, irregular pigmentation, the appropriate supplement contains B vitamins at sufficient doses to ensure the healthy development of skin cells: B-vitamin supplementation corrects these skin problems and successfully treats a wide range of dermatitis problems. B vitamins also help to improve the smoothness and texture of the skin.
For unhealthy skin, acne and other conditions, the appropriate supplement provides adequate daily doses of zinc and selenium to enhance your skin’s vitality and appearance: Zinc improves oil gland function, local skin hormone activation, wound healing, inflammation control within the skin and tissue regeneration of skin cells. Selenium plays a key role in antioxidant protection and in the prevention and management of various skin conditions.
Healthy skin is an important step toward a healthy, happy you, so what are you waiting for? Ask your doctor about how to give yourself an “inner facial” with the right nutrition.
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A new breed of sweet potato is being touted as the superfood of the future, with experts saying the vegetable may stop people from getting cancer.
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Soyoung Lim, a researcher from Kansas State University, developed the variety of sweet potato with a purple skin and flesh to boost its cancer-fighting properties.
Lim said the colouring contained the chemical anthocyanin, which lowers the risk of cancer and could even slow down some types of the disease. Scientists have found anthocyanin slows down the growth of cancerous cells in colon cancer.
Source: The Times Of India
Doping in professional baseball has trained a spotlight on two hormones that many pro athletes use to get ahead of the competition — anabolic steroids and human growth hormone.
But the use of those drugs isn’t limited to the professionals athletes.
They also can be found in colleges, high schools and even middle schools. And it’s not just athletes who are using them.
Young people experimenting with the hormones — using one or “stacking” two or more at a time and usually at doses much higher than would ever be medically prescribed — are just flirting with disaster, adolescent physicians and sports specialists say.
Misuse of the drugs can lead to serious consequences, including heart problems, diabetes and personality changes.
Jay Hoffman knows well some of those side effects:
Now a professor of health and exercise science at the College of New Jersey, Hoffman used anabolic steroids in NFL training camps with the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Jets in the 1980s, a time when their use was legal.
He encountered what he called the “normal side effects”– hypertension, acne, fluid retention — but stopped using the drugs when he became overly aggressive after taking Anadrol, an oral steroid notorious for its potency.
“I decided that it just didn’t pay for me, every year to struggle to make a club and to use that,” said Hoffman, who now helps advise baseball’s Texas Rangers and other teams about steroid use. “I just didn’t like what was going on.”
Hoffman and others believe that pro athletes, such as Roger Clemens, have a responsibility as role models to younger athletes in terms of proper training techniques.
Clemens was the biggest name in a report headed by former Senate majority leader George Mitchell on the use of steroids and other performance-enhancement drugs in baseball. The FBI is investigating Clemens to determine whether he lied to a congressional panel when he denied taking steroids and HGH.
Anabolic steroids, also called anabolic-androgenic steroids, are synthetic versions of testosterone, a hormone that occurs naturally in the body. We need testosterone, which is produced the adrenal gland or testicles, and human growth hormone at different times to grow and develop normally. Anabolic means to “build up,” and androgenic refers to the development and maintenance of male sexual characteristics, such as deeper voice, body hair and muscle mass.
Young people feel the pressure:
Dr. Joe Congeni, sports medicine director at Akron Children’s Hospital, estimates that between 8 percent and 10 percent of high school athletes in our region use anabolic steroids, a number that has not changed much recently.
“I think there’s a lot of pressure on these kids to experiment,” said Congeni. “They don’t care about the future; they care about the now. That’s a natural trait of teenagers.”
A child who takes anabolic steroids before he or she is done growing faces a potentially irreversible side effect: closure of the growth plates, which are areas of cartilage that allow the bones to grow through adolescence. One progressive course of steroids is enough to permanently close the growth plates and stunt growth, according to Dr. Bernard Griesemer, a St. Louis expert on steroid use in young athletes.
HGH is produced by the pea-sized pituitary gland located at the base of the brain. HGH stimulates growth and cell production, causing increased height in childhood and maintenance of muscle and tissue throughout life.
HGH is often lumped together with steroids as a performance enhancer. While several studies have found that it reduces body fat and increases muscle mass, there is little evidence it increases strength or stamina.
Many athletes use HGH, to sculpt the muscles, in combination with anabolic steroids, which add strength. HGH also has become popular with nonathletes and recently has been tied to musicians, rappers and other celebrities.
And when celebrities are using it, the kids who want to look like them will usually try it too, said Griesemer.
“It’s becoming more common, because it’s now no longer just for the athlete population, it’s for the kids who want to look like they’ve just walked off the magazine cover,” said Griesemer, who was an anti-doping investigator for the 1998 Winter Olympics. “They’re using [HGH] for cosmetic purposes only.”
HGH is not addictive, but it can cause high cholesterol and problems with cardiovascular health and may increase the risk for diabetes, said Leona Cuttler, chief of pediatric endocrinology at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. Because HGH triggers an increase in cell production and growth, many doctors worry there is an increased cancer risk with its use.
The fight to control HGH
HGH is not a controlled substance like anabolic steroids. The federal government regulates the manufacture, distribution and use of drugs classified as controlled substances.
But many feel it is much too easy for people, including teenagers, to get their hands on HGH, and in December, Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, introduced legislation that would make HGH a controlled substance.
That move has frustrated endocrinologists who treat patients, primarily children, with a legitimate medical need for the hormone. Cuttler, who also is director of the Center for Child Health and Policy at UH, calls it a misguided effort that has “sort of lumped growth hormone and steroids as drugs that are abused by athletes without sorting out their medical needs.
“I think there is a momentum to do something and to avoid it being used by athletes, and avoid it being in the culture of young people and adolescents,” she said. “But I’m just not sure this is the right way to approach it.”
Griesemer disagrees.
“I don’t see the logic of their lack of support,” he said. “This stuff is not coming in by the package. It’s not coming in by the truckload. It’s coming into this country by the container-load. It’s a mess.”
Hoffman is concerned about teens using these black-market hormones without supervision simply because they see their idols doing it and think it must be safe.
“If you spend five minutes in a locker room, you realize these guys should not be role models,” he said. “I don’t think there’s enough research out there, and you’re running the risk of some serious, irreversible side effects.”
WHEN PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE STEROIDS: People often are confused about steroid abuse because there are several different kinds of steroid hormones that serve different purposes in the body. All are lipid soluble, meaning they dissolve in fats. They pass easily through the cell membrane and bind to a specific receptor in the cell.
Glucocorticoids: A type of steroid that includes prednisone, dexamethasone and hydrocortisone. Often prescribed to treat inflammatory conditions, such arthritis, pneumonia and asthma, or to prevent organ rejection. “This is often what people mean when they say their grandmother took steroids,” said Dr. Thomas Murphy, director of the Division of Endocrinology at MetroHealth Medical Center.
Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Includes testosterone and its synthetic equivalents. Used to replace testosterone in people with a deficiency. Any disease or damage to the testicles, pituitary gland or hypothalamus, as well as genetic abnormalities, chemotherapy, tumors, infection and glandular malformations can cause such a deficiency.
There is little data on the long-term consequences of anabolic steroid use or about what happens when they are used in very high levels, as is often reported by athletes and bodybuilders. At medical doses, common but reversible side effects include hair loss, acne, development of breast tissue in males, infertility and decreased testicular size, said Murphy.
More serious recognized side effects include hypertension and a small but significant effect on cholesterol levels that can increase chances of a heart attack or a stroke.
A child who takes a course of these steroids before he or she is done growing could permanently close the bone’s growth plates, irreversibly stunting growth.Lack of proof: Dr. Bernard Griesemer, an expert on steroid use in teens, often is frustrated by the argument that none of the side effects of steroid use has been proven.
“When people [use that argument] you have to point out that they’re never going to be able to prove this,” he said. “You’re not going to take a child and put him in a double-blind crossover study using a potentially lethal medication.”
Herbal Power of Ashwagandha is standardized to contain the highest percentage of Withanolides (8%), the active compounds in Withania Somnifera that is responsible for the adaptogenic & tonic effects. Most Ashwagandha in the market contains <5% Withanolides.
Ashwagandha–Rejuvenating Tonifier
The name Ashwagandha is from the Sanskrit language and is a combination of the word ashva, meaning horse, and gandha, meaning smell. The root has a strong aroma that is described as “horse-like”. In Ayurvedic, Indian, and Unani medicine, ashwagandha is described as “Indian ginseng“.
Traditional Use of Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha has been used throughout India for thousands of years as a rejuvenating tonifier (rasayana in Ayurvedic herbalism). It was widely used to support vitality in people of all ages, including children, and to enhance reproductive function in both men and women. Traditionally, this herb has been used as an aphrodisiac, liver tonic, anti-inflammatory agent, and astringent. The results of clinical trials indicate that ashwagandha has anti-aging, immunomodulatory, antidepressive, and other therapeutic effects.
Ashwagandha contains several active constituents including alkaloids (isopelletierine, anaferine), steroidal lactones (withanolides, withaferins), and saponins. Withanolides serve as hormone precursors that can convert into human physiologic hormones as necessary. Preliminary animal evidence suggests ashwagandha may have a variety of pharmacological effects including analgesic, antipyretic, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects.
Ashwagandha– Powerful Adaptogen
The high stress levels of our society have a profound impact on well-being, impacting our bodies and health in ways that are continually being revealed by new research. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is widely used in modern Western herbalism as an adaptogen—a substance that can help our bodies healthfully adapt to physiological and psychological stress, thus increasing resistance to stressors. Adaptogenic botanicals are increasingly important in today’s society, where high stress levels negatively impact many different body systems. Many health practitioners believe adaptogens are just as important to our health as better-known nutrients and botanicals, such as antioxidants. Research suggests the mechanism of action of adaptogens may include modulation of the pituitary-hypothalamus-adrenal gland axis. They increase resistance against external stressors, have a balancing effect and stabilize normal body functions.
Ashwagandha: Anti-Stressor
Ashwagandha has been shown to increase stress resistance, improve memory-related performance, and protect against stress induced responses such as anxiety, and physiological imbalances, according to numerous animal studies and several human studies. Some researchers think ashwagandha has a so-called “anti-stressor” effect. Preliminary evidence suggests ashwagandha might suppress stress-induced increases of dopamine receptors in the corpus striatum of the brain. A comparison of the anxiety-reducing and antidepressive actions of ashwagandha with those of the benzodiazepine lorazepam was made in mice. Mice treated with both agents exhibited a reduction in brain concentrations of a marker of clinical anxiety. In addition, ashwagandha exhibited an antidepressive effect. The results of similar studies support the use of ashwagandha as an anti-stress adaptogen. In a rat model of chronic stress, the stress-reducing activities of extracts from ashwagandha were compared with those of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng). Both agents reduced the number and severity of chronic stress–induced ulcers, reversed the chronic stress–induced inhibition of male sexual behavior, and inhibited the adverse effects of chronic stress on the retention of learned tasks. Well-controlled clinical studies are needed to further confirm ashwagandha’s benefits for humans.
The anti-aging effects of Ashwagandha were shown in a double-blind clinical trial in which 101 healthy men aged 50–59 years received a dosage of 3 grams Ashwagandha for 1 year. Specifically, significant improvements in hemoglobin, red blood cell counts, hair melanin concentrations, and serum cholesterol concentrations were observed.
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