Exercise Reduces Effects of Aging
Some entrepreneurs claim growth hormone levels decrease as we age and that their products will help you combat this process. It is true that growth hormone levels drop as a person ages, but there is no evidence it is caused by a lack of growth hormone causes or that taking growth hormone slows aging.
Whether growth hormone increases muscle and gets rid of fat is unclear. Furthermore, it is against the law to sell it without a prescription, so these products do not contain any growth hormone.
Products that are sold as “growth hormone releasers” are just amino acids, the building blocks of protein that are the same as the protein you get in your food.
Anything you eat can be called a growth hormone releaser because all foods raise blood levels of growth hormone temporarily.
When you eat protein, blood levels of growth hormone rise even higher. Growth hormone releaser pills cost much more than food and have not been shown to raise blood levels better than ordinary foods.
Exercise also can be called a growth hormone releaser because it causes blood levels of growth hormone to rise more and longer than eating does. Recent research shows growth hormone levels are lowered when people have lots of fat stored in their bellies. However, no one knows whether these growth hormone manipulations have any effect on the aging process because we have no dependable tests for aging.
Common tests to measure aging actually measure fitness. To reduce the effects of aging and improve your performance on all medical tests of aging, start an exercise program. If you want to gain muscle and lose fat, reduce your intake of refined carbohydrates and fatty foods, eat plenty of the foods that come from plants (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and other seeds) and maintain a regular, vigorous exercise program.
My doctor says the bone-strengthening medicine I take is also good for my heart. Is this true?
Almost all treatments for osteoporosis also help prevent arteriosclerosis. Statins like Pravachol, Zocor and Lipitor, used to lower cholesterol, also strengthen bones.
Bisphosphonates like Fosamax and Actinal, used to treat weak bones, also help to lower cholesterol and prevent heart attacks. Thiazolidinediones like Actos and Avandia, used to treat diabetes and lower triglycerides, also help strengthen bones.
Does milk cause asthma?
Ancient Egyptian physician Rabbi Moses Maimonides claimed drinking milk increased mucous production to cause asthma. One thousand years later, Maimonides has been proven wrong.
In one study, asthmatics and nonasthmatics were given whole milk, skim milk or water, and doctors found no evidence drinking milk increased shortness of breath or coughing. However, milk might make it more difficult for an asthmatic to breathe during an attack. Milk thickens secretions, so mucous that is already there will thicken and offer greater resistance against the air as you breathe.
You suffer an asthma attack when the inner linings of the tubes that carry air to and from the lungs are swollen and blocked with mucous, but the mucous secreted by cells in your bronchial tubes has a useful function.
The air you breathe is filthy with pollen, mold, dust and other pollutants that are carried into your bronchial tubes with each breath. Then hairs that line your bronchial tubes sweep the mucous and the filth up to your mouth, from where you swallow them.