What sort of variation do we see from day-to-day and between people?

G.I. values show a certain degree of variability, both from day to day and between people. In non-diabetic subjects, the average day-to-day variation is 22 per cent (ie the G.L value varies by an average of 22 per cent). In people with type 2 diabetes, it is 16 per cent, but in individuals with type 1 diabetes, it is as high as 30 per cent. This means we should not expect to see precisely the same blood sugar levels after one particular food from one day to the next.

As is the case with any biological response there is quite wide variation between subjects ie the G.I. in one person may be double that in another. However, it is dear that subjects tend to ‘track’ well, giving high or low or intermediate responses on a consistent basis. In practice, therefore, foods will show the same ranking in terms of G.I. factor in different subjects.

Why are there different G.I. values for the same food in different publications?

In some instances, there is a difference between two results but it is small and not statistically or biologically important. For example, G.I. factors of 70 and 80 for white bread are not considered very different. The difference is within the error of the methodology. A difference of 20 units, say 60 and 80, is considered important in a clinical sense and is usually statistically significant as well.

There may also be differences due to variations in the food itself. Rice is a good example of this. Genetically determined differences in the amylose content of rice means that different varieties of rice have very different G.I. factors. Basmati rice has a low G.I. factor and Calrose rice has a high G.I. factor. In the early days of G.I. research, the variety of rice was not specified.

Again, the same food processed in different ways can produce very different G.I. factors. Breads containing a lot of intact whole grains will have a lower G.I. factor than normal soft white sandwich bread. Packaged breakfast cereals, on the other hand, are processed in similar ways all over the world and their G.I. factors are very similar in Canada, Australia and elsewhere.

A third reason for the differences is the use of two reference foods, bread or glucose. However, it is easy to convert from one scale to the other using the factor 1.4 (equals 100/70). For example, if the G.I. factor of a food is 80 when bread is the reference food, its G.I. factor on a scale where glucose equals 100, is 80 divided by 1.4 (equals 57).

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Posted by admin on May 8th, 2009 :: Filed under Diabetes

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Age. Age differences are most obvious at four different stages—childhood, adolescence, middle age and elderly—but age also interacts with gender and other variables in influencing the effects of exercise for fat loss. There are big differences between childhood and early adolescence and early and late adulthood in a range of factors which have relevance for fat loss. Metabolic rate, for example, is much higher in childhood and is known to decrease at the rate of around 2 per cent per decade after age 20. This means that by age 70, the body is burning about 10 per cent less energy at rest than it was at age 20, largely due to changes in the fatilean mass ratio. When this is coupled with a decrease in ’spontaneous physical activity’ (SPA), a decrease in the sensitivity of ? receptors on the fat cell surface modifying substrate utilisation, changes in body fat distribution and muscle content, and changes in thermogenesis, all favouring a higher fat metabolism in the young, the extra difficulty older people have in maintaining a low level of body fat is more understandable.

Decreases in aerobic capacity and muscle strength suggest that if fat losses are to be gained through physical activity in the older age groups, attention will need to be paid to the total amount of exercise (at a low-moderate intensity) and the level of incidental and spontaneous activity. Maintenance of muscle mass through resistance training may also be important in maintaining metabolic rate which is thought to be reduced due to the atrophy of type II muscle fibres with ageing.

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Posted by admin on May 8th, 2009 :: Filed under Weight Loss

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Summary of main points.

• Fat has a variety of functions, but the most important is as an energy reserve. A minimum level of body fat is essential for this purpose.

• Excessive body fat can have disease implications.

• The health implications of obesity are determined by total fat and fat distribution.

• Visceral fat, or fat stored around the organs of the trunk, is the most dangerous to health.

• Abdominal fat, or a ‘pot belly’, is the most visible indication of visceral fat.

• Diabetes, heart disease, gallstones and some cancers are the main diseases associated with excessive abdominal fatness.

Functions of fat in the body.

• Energy reserve (i.e. 1g of fat = 9kcal of energy).

• Protection of the vital organs (e.g. stomach, kidneys, liver etc).

• Heat insulation.

• Transport medium for fat-soluble vitamins and minerals (e.g. vitamins D, E and K).

• Formation of hormones (e.g. cholesterol).

• Structure of cell membranes (cholesterol and phospholipids).

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Posted by admin on May 8th, 2009 :: Filed under Weight Loss

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The well-known Russian physiologist Tarkhanov wrote: “The time will come when it will be a disgrace for a man to die less than 100 years old.”

There is extensive research going on in Russia on the prolongation of life. Russia is concentrating heavily on the preventive aspect of medicine. Russian medical scientists consider the prevention of disease and prolongation of life as their ultimate goals.

One of the Soviet scientists engaged in research on longevity is I Dr. Olga Lepeshinskaya. In her book Life, Age and Longevity, she states that the normal life span of the human beings should be not : less than 150 years, if they would observe the elementary laws of I health. Everyone who feels old before he reaches 100, she says, is j suffering from premature old age. And she claims that premature old age, like other diseases, can be prevented; it also can be successfully treated after it appears. How? Her recipe is simple enough:

sound, simple, natural nutrition;

plenty of physical work, recreation and rest;

a cheerful, optimistic outlook on life.

Here are some Russian longevity secrets, nutritionally speaking:

Food processing and refining is not as advanced in Russia as it is here; Russians still eat largely natural, unprocessed, unrefined I foods.

There are very few additives allowed in food processing or manufacturing; all artificial colorings and flavorings are totally prohibited.

Russians eat very little meat compared to Americans. Only 25 percent of their protein intake is acquired from animal sources j (in the United States it is 71 percent).

There are fewer devitalized foods and condiments available: no chewing gum, no Coca-Cola, no TV dinners.

Add to this less polluted water, virtually unpolluted air, no lead allowed in gasolines, more fertile soils, considerably less use of patented nonprescription drugs, and the great popularity of outdoor sports, hikes, bicycle tours, swimming, etc., and you can see why Russians are achieving better health and longer life. Their mortality rate is 7.6 per thousand against 9.4 in the United States and they have seven times more people reaching 100 years of age than has our country.

Here are a few other longevity points based on Russian medical discoveries and the experience of 21,000 Russian centenarians:

Russian scientists believe that vitamin C is the long-sought Fountain of Youth. They encourage Russians to collect wild rose hips and cultivate hip-bearing “vitamin roses” in their backyards for a plentiful supply of Vitamin C.

Russian scientists believe that vitamin E plays a vital role in staying younger longer and preventing premature aging. They prescribe vitamin E for the youthful function of sex glands and the healthy function of the reproductive system. At the Institute of Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Science, experiments with vitamin E have shown that it has an emormously beneficial effect on the diseases of old age, specifically in combination with vitamin A. The rejuvenating property of these vitamins, aside from their direct effect on sex glands, is explained by the fact that they strengthen the ability of the tissues to absorb oxygen, restore impaired circulation in blood vessels, especially in the small capillaries, and help to restore the normal permeability of the blood vessels.

Studies of Russian centenarians show that almost all of them use lots of honey in their diet. Russian doctors encourage people to eat honey; they also prescribe honey as medicine and use it in hospitals, at bedtime, to induce a deep, restful sleep.

Russians eat enormous quantities of sunflower seeds and use unrefined cold-pressed sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, the deficiency of which is definitely linked with premature aging. Sunflower seeds are also an excellent source of complete protein, B-vitamins, and minerals, especially zinc, which has been recently found to play an important role in the growth and maturity of the gonads, the sex glands, and is also directly linked with the health of the prostate gland. Zinc has been pointed out as an active agent in most so-called virility foods, such as oysters, raw nuts, sea foods, onions, etc. Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are very rich in this mineral.

Russians eat great amounts of raw onions and garlic, both considered by many nutritionists to be important life-prolongers.

Russian people eat lots of fermented foods; sour bread, sour pickles, sauerkraut, sour milk, kefir, yogurt. It has been demonstrated that fermented lactic-acid foods have an extremely cleansing and revitalizing effect on the digestive and assimilative tracts, and also have a direct curative effect, especially on the degenerative diseases. It could be, therefore, said that these foods have a rejuvenating effect.

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Posted by admin on May 8th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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The successful biological program for bringing blood pressure down and keeping it low must include the following proven measures:

Repeated 7- to 14-day fasts on fruit and vegetable juices, plus vegetable broth.

Lacto-vegetarian diet, high in natural raw fruits and vegetables and low in animal protein.

Continuous practice of undereating and keeping slim.

Exclusion of salt, coffee, and alcohol.

Exclusion of white sugar, white bread and all refined and

denatured foods.

Inclusion of special food supplements:

Vitamin E—take one to two tablespoons of wheat germ 0ji each day. Add raw wheat germ to your diet. Take vitamin E capsules, 300 to 600 International Units a day. Note: because vitamin E increases the strength of the heart beat, it may sometimes elevate the blood pressure temporarily. In case of severe hypertension, start with 100 I.U. and gradually increase to 600 I.U. a day.”

Vitamin C—take rose hips in powder or tablet form, or other natural vitamin C supplements, amounting to 1,000 to 1,500 mg. of C a day, and 20 to 100 mg. of rutin or mixed bioflavonoids.

Choline—take 2 tbsp. of lecithin each day. Supplement your diet with brewer’s yeast, rich in B-vitamin complex.

Potassium—eat lots of green leafy vegetables, potatoes (boiled or baked in their jackets), and other vegetables. Avoid salt. You may also wish to discuss with your doctor the advisibility of supplementing your diet with potassium salts in tablet form.

Garlic—take odor-free garlic and parsley tablets before each meal.

Regular walking and deep breathing exercises.

Dry brush massage morning and evening.

Elimination of possible emotional causes of disease.

The biological clinics in Europe and in the United States have records of thousands of cases of high blood pressure completely cured by the application of the treatments as outlined in this chapter. These treatments are safe and harmless and can be applied by yourself in your own home, if your blood pressure is not too high. In cases of severe hypertension it may be wise to show this chapter t0 your doctor and ask him about the advisability of undertaking this program of treatment under his supervision.

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Posted by admin on May 8th, 2009 :: Filed under General health

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