SportsGeezer

Cleansing: A Big Waste of Waste

At one end of the spectrum of bogus health and medical treatments, we have the billion dollars spent each year on marketing by big pharma. On the other end, so to speak, we have colon cleansing. In this "moving" piece in the Boston Globe, health columnist Judy Foreman talks to health and medical experts about the benefits of "cleansing." Foreman's most powerful endorsement: "Some alternative medicine practitioners... believe - although research is skanty - that cleaning out the colon occasionally may help some people."  Not quite powerful enough for Geezer. Read more in the Boston Globe.

Remember Fat But Fit? Good. Now Forget It.

Remember fat but fit--the assertion that those of us who carry a few extra pounds were just as healthy as those who don't?  Well, forget it, because a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests researchers got it wrong, again. The Boston Globe reports that the study, which tracked almost 38,000 women, considered height, weight and amount of weekly physical activity, including walking, jogging, bicycling and swimming. Women were considered active if they followed government-recommended guidelines and got at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week, including brisk walking or jogging. Women who got less exercise than that were considered inactive. Researchers found that, compared with normal-weight active women, the risk for developing heart disease was 54 percent higher in overweight active women and 87 percent higher in obese active women. By contrast, it was 88 percent higher in overweight inactive women; and 2 1/2 times greater in obese inactive women.
Read more in the Boston Globe.

Hypertension: A Good Reason to Just Say Yes to Drugs

No. Hypertension does not mean being tense. No. Hypertension cannot be cured by losing weight. Yes, as many as 66 percent of people 60 and older have elevated pressures that warrant treatment, so you would think at least 50 percent of people over 60 would get their facts straight. They don't, as Jane Brody reports in the New York Times. The big take away here: don't count on getting your blood pressure down without drugs. It's a nice idea, and weight loss, improvements in diet and exercise habits can help people lower an elevated pressure, but, the Times tells us, most people need help from medication, notably a diuretic in combination with one or two other drugs. Read more in the New York Times. 

The Low Carbon Diet: Eating Our Way to a Healthier Planet

Gosh, the Low Carbon Diet Program, as developed by the Bon Appetit Management Company, is a complicated business. Geezer is pleased to attempt to read what is billed as " first national program to highlight the significant connections between food and climate change," and he appreciates the effort by Bon Appetit, a food service company that feeds some of America's most respected companies (Target) and universities (M.I.T.) to add a few years to life of the planet by directing us to foods that can be produced and sold with minimal energy consumption, but a slow reader could starve to death before learning what, exactly, we are supposed to eat. Geezer recommends the thoughtfully offered Low Carbon Diet Pocket Guide, which comes in PDF form, and whose five easy low carbon diet tips are presented below:
1. If you bought it, eat it. Don't waste food.
2. Make "seasonal and regional" food your mantra.
3. Moove away from beef and cheese.
4. Don't buy air-freighted food.
5. If it's processed and packaged, skip it.
Read more about the Low Carbon Diet Program.

The Health Benefits of Wine: Better Late than Never

HealthDay, a website whose content is a lot like that of SportsGeezer, but less fun to read, reports on research suggesting that people who start drinking moderate amounts of wine in middle age can lower their risk of heart attack by up to 68 percent. The study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, collected data on 7,697 people between 45 and 64 years old and non-drinkers at the start of the trial. HealthDay reports that during the study, 6 percent of the participants began moderate drinking,  defined as one drink a day or less for women and two drinks a day or less for men. After four years, those men and women who became moderate drinkers reduced their risk of developing cardiovascular disease or having a heart attack by 38 percent, compared to the non-drinkers. Healthday reports that those people who drank wine had 68 percent fewer cardiovascular events, while those who drank  beer, liquor and mixed drinks had only a 21 percent benefit. Read more in HealthDay.

Ten Diet Books Reviewed, Smartly

The L.A. Times gives us a quick, funny, and comparative critique of ten new books about how to eat better and clean up our acts. With titles like "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" and "Skinny Bitch," the books are getting smarter, or looking smarter anyway, and these reviews keep up the pace. Worth reading for the chuckles, even if you already are a "Skinny Bitch."  Read more in the L.A. Times.

Is XanGo All Hype? Or Just Mostly Hype?

First, a confession: Geezer has never tasted XanGo. Perhaps someday he will, if he can overcome his aversions to purple beverages, extreme marketing hype, and spending large amounts of money on small amounts of anything.
How hyped is XanGo? Let us count the ways: The XanGo website claims that  "XanGo^® Juice boasts a proprietary whole–fruit formula, harnessing a concentrated rush of xanthones—a vigorous family of next–generation phytonutrients." Wait there's more: "Research shows xanthones possess potent antioxidant properties that may help maintain intestinal health, strengthen the immune system, neutralize free radicals, help support cartilage and joint function, and promote a healthy seasonal respiratory system." Hard to believe, yet the most surprising information on the XanGo site is not nutritional, its the price of XanGo--$37.50 a bottle. Could anything be worth that price? Much of the answer can be found in this piece in the L.A Times, which directs our attention to an independent lab test performed for the Associated Press showing that XanGo's antioxidant strength is no better than that of other readily available fruit juices. In fact, by molecular weight, XanGo's antioxidants measured 14,884 "micromoles" per liter -- slightly more than in cranberry juice but lower than in black cherry and less than half the amount in blueberry juice.
Read more about XanGo in the L.A. Times.

What's So Healthful About Oats?

What's so healthful about oats? In a word: beta-glucan. Beta-glucan, as Judy Foreman tells us in this short piece in the Boston Globe, is a natural anti-inflammatory agent that suppresses the body's production of certain cytokines. Foreman reports that a 2007 study of more than 27,000 post-menopausal women followed for 17 years, concluded that eating whole grains such as oats was linked to a lower risk of death from diseases that are triggered by inflammation, including heart disease and diabetes.
Wait, there's more: an analysis of data pooled from 10 studies published in 2007 by the Cochrane Collaboration touted the benefits of whole grains for lowering both LDL ("bad" cholesterol) and total cholesterol in people diagnosed as being at risk for coronary heart disease. Eight of the 10 studies involved only oats, and seven of those found a clear, beneficial effect.  The researchers cautioned, however, that even though studies show a consistent, positive effect, most are short-term and are paid for by companies that sell oat products.
More from the Boston Globe's Judy Foreman.

Is Unpasteurized Milk Better for You?

Is unpasteurized milk better for you? Lots of people think it is. They argue that pasteurization destroys beneficial bacteria, enzymes, and raw fats that boost the immune system and aid digestion. Yet the FDA advises against the consumption of raw milk because it is a welcoming host to pathogens such as listeria and salmonella. Gosh, who to believe?  The Boston Globe reports that researchers at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Basel in Switzerland followed nearly 15,000 children ages 5 to 15 in Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, and Germany from 2001 to 2004. The study, sponsored by the European Union and published in 2007, found that children who drank raw milk had a lower incidence of asthma and allergies. 
Read more about the raw milk debate in the Boston Globe.
And the debate goes on, here.

What the World Needs Now: Personal Power Bars

It started, readers will be unsurprised to learn, in Los Angeles, city of people for whom all things were created. And it was, Geezer admits, a very cool idea for a mom and son business.  The New York Times reports on the so far succeeding efforts of a California mother and son to build YouBar, an online business selling power bars whose ingredients are chosen by the customer. The Times reports that for those who want You Bars but cannot make decisions about the ingredients, the site offers several popular recipes with ideas on customizing them. Have a look.
Read more about YouBar in the New York Times.