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October 21, 2005
Soy and Weight Loss
As we grow older and exercise less, the task of staying fit and trim becomes even more difficult. And while a sensible diet combined with exercise is still the best answer, new research suggests that soy can play a major role in helping you achieve your weight loss goals faster.
A significant number of research studies support claims that soy consumption can help you lose weight. Soy protein is a low-fat source of high-quality protein (compared to many other protein sources) that can help you build lean muscle mass. When combined with exercise and a healthy diet, soy protein makes an excellent “partner” in a successful weight loss plan.
1) Soy protein helps you feel fuller longer.
Recent medical studies show soy protein helps you feel less hungry, and helps you feel fuller longer.(1) Eating soy may work by causing your stomach to send an “I’m full” messages to your brain.(2) This helps reduce the urge to snack between meals and late at night - two major causes of weight gain.
2) Soy protein is “low-carb.”
Soybeans are the only vegetable that contain more protein than carbs. As a naturally low-carb food, Revival Soy is the perfect supplement to any weight loss plan, including popular “low-carb” and “high-protein” diets.
3) Soy protein has a ”low-glycemic index.”
Not only is soy protein low in carbs and fat, but it also has a low-glycemic index which means it won't cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels after consumption.(3) This prevents over secretion of insulin (insulin causes the unwanted effect of storing extra sugar in your bloodstream as body fat). Stable blood sugar and insulin levels mean fewer hunger cravings and fewer calories being stored as fat. Recent clinical trials conducted by Sydney University in Australia confirm Revival Soy has a low-glycemic index.(7)
4) Soy protein is a complete protein.
Soy protein is the only plant protein that is a complete protein, which means it contains all 9 essential amino acids in the right balance to meet your body’s needs. This means you get the highest quality protein available, with less fat and fewer calories than most meats. Soy Protein
Posted by dietsblog at 12:02 AM
October 20, 2005
Soy and Bone Health
While both men and women are likely to develop weaker bones and joints as they age, it's the loss of estrogen during menopause that puts women at greater risk during postmenopausal years.
What Causes Poor Bone Health?
Bones are continuously rebuilding themselves through an ongoing cycle in which old bone is broken down and new bone is formed. The loss of estrogen during menopause causes this "remodeling" cycle to slow down with bone breaking down faster than it reforms. Some of the calcium temporarily released from bones during this process is lost in the urine, causing bones to gradually become more porous, weak and brittle. Poor calcium intake and lack of weight-bearing exercise also contribute to bone loss.
Soy may support stronger bones by decreasing the amount of calcium lost in your urine.(1) Numerous human studies in Japan, China and America suggest soy's ability to maintain bone health, and possibly even improve bone health.(1-7) A recent study of almost 500 postmenopausal Japanese women found that women consuming high amounts of soy had significantly stronger and thicker bones than women consuming a low amount of soy. The researchers concluded, "High consumption of soy products is associated with increased bone mass in postmenopausal women.".(6) Combined with calcium, regular soy intake makes a great nutritional duo to support a healthy skeletal system. Long-term daily use is important to achieve this possible benefit.
Posted by dietsblog at 11:39 PM | TrackBack
October 18, 2005
Taking soy for cancer prevention and hair loss
Taken from an Article from “The Weekly Gleaner” Journal - www.jamaica-gleaner.com
Although I have repeatedly expressed my opinion that soy is a food that offers exceptional health benefits, I still get questioned about possible negative effects from eating soy. The facts are that medical research continues to find more and more health advantages from consuming soy foods.
Recently, scientists have claimed that eating soy could help men from developing prostate cancer and from going bald. US researchers found a molecule produced when soy is eaten that stops a hormone called Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which can fuel prostate growth or cause baldness. Writing in the journal, Biology of Reproduction, they said the finding could explain why Japanese men, who eat more soy, rarely have prostate cancer. This should be of particular significance to Jamaican men as we are ranked as having the highest level of prostate caner in the world.
equol
A little known molecule called equol – not to be confused with the sweetener Equol, is produced when daidzein – one of the main isoflavones found abundantly in soybeans – is digested in the intestines. It completely stops in its tracks the male hormone Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which normally stimulates prostate growth in men and causes male pattern baldness in both men and women. DHT has been repeatedly implicated in research into the causes of prostate disease as well as male pattern baldness. The researchers say this discovery could be particularly important for men who have been diagnosed with either an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia), or cancer of the prostate. Several human studies have suggested that eating soy reduces the risk of prostate cancer. This new research could explain why, and also lead to treatments for other hormone related diseases in men. The team found that equol, “handcuffs” the male hormone DHT – a by-product of testosterone, without affecting testosterone itself. Drugs aimed at blocking the effect of DHT have been widely developed and are now widely used to treat prostate tumours. However these drugs, while stopping the converting of testosterone into DHT, were found to cause many side effects.
Ideal Soy food – The Empowering Shake
Although many Jamaicans have still not acquired the taste for soy-based foods, I have found that the simplest way to include enough high quality soy protein (with the equol producing isoflavones) in our diet is with soy based protein shake drinks. Dr David Heber, a renowned expert on human nutrition has highlighted the many benefits of soy protein meal replacement drinks in his best selling book “The LA Shape Diet”. Here is his recipe for what he calls “The Empowering Shake”.
To a blender:-
1. Add 8 ounces of soymilk
2. Ass 2 tablespoons of meal replacement powder (I recommend Herbalife Formula 1)
3. Add 2 tablespoons of soy protein powder (I recommend Performance Protein Powder)
4. Add 1 cup of fresh fruit (papaya or bananas are my favourite) and 4 cubes of ice
5. Blend to the consistency of a smoothie.
6. Drink or eat your shake with a spoon slowly. This allows your system to digest this liquid meal easily while you practice to eat your other meals more slowly.
For more than a decade my routine breakfast has consisted of an empowering shake along with fruit and a mug of green tea.
Soy Plus Green Tea
Why green tea? Well another recent study of Japanese and Korean men has found that production of significant amounts of equol in the body is associated with consumption of not only soy and also of green tea. This may suggest that for us Jamaicans, adopting just one feature of the Asian diet – either soy or green tea – may not carry as much benefit as taking a more holistic approach and including both. As real green tea has a number of other healthy benefits, I drink it throughout the day as a hot or cold drink. Remember – Let your food be your medicine and your medicine your food.
You may email Dr Vendryes as info@drvendryes.com
Posted by dietsblog at 1:25 AM
October 1, 2005
Nutrition for Older Athletes
I am now running at 59, the sort of times I was running as a 19-year-old” Bruce Tulloh
Recent advances in sports science have shown the athlete, as well as the average person (that is to say, an unfit person), can reverse most of the effects of ageing by using the right exercise and nutritional programmes.
Jean Borotra and Kitty Godfrey playing tennis into their 90s
Edward Weston, who walked across the USA – and back – in his mid-70s
Ron Taylor, who could run 100 metres in 11.3 seconds at the age of 60
Cliff Young, who won the first Sydney to Melbourne race at the age of 61
How to beat the ageing process
With recent leaps in research funding, great advances have been made in our understanding of the ageing process. And with this understanding comes the ability to counter its effects. Here is some background:
As we get older, the rate of cell division slows down and some tissues begin to perform less efficiently. There is a loss of elasticity, both in the skin and in ligaments. There is a decline in the maximum heart rate and in maximum power output.
Nature will take its course. However, with the right kind of training and nutrition it is possible to remain at international level to the age of 40 – as witness Eamonn Coghlan’s sub-four-minute miles, Al Oerter’s record in the discus and the victories of the 42-year-old Podkopayeva at 1500 metres in 1994.
In events involving pure endurance, the limits can be extended for longer. The world’s best for a marathon at the age of 50 stands at 2:11, a time that would win many international marathons.
Nutritional secrets: the benefits and costs
In some quarters, ‘nutrition’ has a bad name. With unsupported new fads appearing every week in the Sunday newspapers we cannot be held to blame for that.
So why do we need to examine our nutritional intake – and what are the benefits and costs?
As we get older, recovery from hard training sessions takes longer, while the cumulative effects of normal ‘wear and tear’ and previous injuries are increasingly evident. As time goes by, joints tend to become less flexible, full-range movement more difficult and pain and stiffness ever more apparent.
It’s time to take control of your ‘wear and tear’
To help offset the inexorable decline in mobility and even accelerate recovery from injury, you need to take control of your nutritional intake.
Older athletes are more vulnerable to chronic joint pain and stiffness, you are not powerless to act. While it is obviously vital to get your training right, there is also a place for nutrition.
On the available evidence, the right supplements offer effective pain and stiffness reduction, and even appear to be able to slow down the process of cartilage degeneration itself.
Their regenerative mode of action means for those prone to chronic joint stiffness and pain, there’s no reason not to take these supplements indefinitely, especially as they are relatively inexpensive. First we need to look at the causes:
Causes of joint pain and stiffness
There are a large number of possible causes of joint pain and stiffness, and the diagnosis of a particular problem can be a very complex process – just ask any physiotherapist! Causal factors:
1. Acute injuries come on suddenly and are usually associated
with some kind of trauma. Common examples include:
Ligaments torn or damaged by unusual or excessive movement of the joint;Impact injuries.
Protruding/prolapsed intervertebral disc, where unusual intervertebral
Forces lead to the deformation of the disc, allowing it to come into close proximity with nerves
2. Chronic injuries tend to come on quite gradually, thus making them trickier to diagnose. Common examples include:
Overuse injuries, where the long-term training volume exceeds the capacity of the joints involved to undergo adequate repair and recovery
Muscle imbalance injuries, where the joint fails to operate through its correct range of movement because of unequal or unbalanced muscular forces acting on the joint, or (particularly in the case of the spine) inadequate stabilisation of the joint(s) by the deep postural muscles
3. Degenerative conditions are associated with longer-term, less easily reversible functioning of the joints and are much more common in mature athletes. These conditions frequently include:
Arthritic-type wear and tear, where the articular cartilage becomes worn, leading to narrowed joint spaces, sometimes referred to as osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory condition of the joints caused by an auto-immune reaction
Low synovial fluid secretions, leading to reduced lubrication in the joint capsule.
Common to all these causal factors is the process of inflammation. Although part of the normal healing process, it can actually impede this process when it becomes chronic.
So those are the causes. What’s the solution?PERFORMANCE MASTERS SPECIAL REPORT
What science has to say about nutrients and vitamins
The role of nutrition in combating degenerative or inflammatory joint conditions has traditionally been regarded with scepticism. In recent years, however, research has indicated that good nutritional practice can play a significant role, both in promoting recovery from acute and chronic injuries and in ameliorating some of the effects of the degenerative conditions described above.
There are a number of nutrients and vitamins that are particularly important for older athletes, which should be well supplied in their diet.
Benefits such as:
The formation of collagen, a protein forming the basis for connective tissue such as tendons and intervertebral discs
The promotion of water retention and elasticity in joint cartilage and the inhibition of enzymes that break down cartilage
Anti-inflammatory effects
Antioxidants that also improve local circulation and promote a strong collagen matrix in joints
Antioxidant nutrients that afford protection from free radical damage in the body
Natural supplements Vs ibuprofen
Have you ever worried about taking too many ibuprofen – or some other anti-inflammatory drug?
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), including ibuprofen, have been shown to inhibit the repair and even accelerate the destruction of cartilage.
What this means for you
There is increasing evidence that moderate exercise may enhance some immune responses and lead to a lowered incidence of illness
The physiological deterioration associated with ageing is not inevitable but is due to a detraining effect of decreased exercise, often coupled with an increase in body fat
The athletes’ motto ‘If you don’t use it – you lose it’ applies to all of us, at whatever age
Nutrition for older athletes: tested foods and supplements can protect your joints from age-related degeneration
How to keep up to speed: the bad news is that speed declines with age; the good news is that you can arrest and even reverse this process
What the scientists say
The following roundup of recent research from the scientific, medical and sports journals looks at the problems and possibilities of older athletes:
How fitness protects the ageing brain and improves memory in mid-life
Power Vs endurance: what goes first in the ageing stakes?
Bone maintenance in older runners
Older athletes can reduce the risk factors for heart disease
This exercise regime will boost bone density and lean muscle mass
Why the muscles shrink with age – and what to do about it
Do the young respond more effectively to aerobic training? Don’t you believe it
A group of elderly hour-a-day exercisers who are aerobically 30 years younger
Nutrition for athletes
Posted by dietsblog at 8:46 PM