Muscle over fat

I suppose it is no different today than at any time in our nation's history, but why is only bad news considered to be news? Why can't we get daily updates about the success stories from our soldiers in Iraq? Why don't we get hourly news reports reinforcing our nation's farm products as wholesome and necessary?

I am not quite sure other than I realize that we, as humans, just aren't wired to relate to good news as well as that with a hint of a scare. If you are in need of a scare today, you might as well quit reading now. From this point forward, this column is reporting only good news that you otherwise probably wouldn't hear much about; so if you like it, tell all of your friends and neighbors.

"Milk does the body good" has been proven in a whole new sense at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Researchers compared the effects of drinking nonfat milk, a soy protein drink or a carbohydrate drink on muscle building and fat burning after subjects completed weight lifting workouts. The research was done by Stuart M. Phillips, Ph.D., associate professor of kinesiology and an exercise physiologist. The results have been published in the Aug. 1, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Phillips and his colleagues recruited 56 healthy young men, average age 22, and assigned them to drink milk, a soy drink or a carbohydrate drink immediately after their weight training exercises and then one hour later. The milk and soy drinks were matched for protein, fat, and carb content. Each had 18 grams of protein, 1.5 grams of fat and 23 grams of carbohydrates.

Participants weight-trained five days a week for 12 weeks, and all the participants were novices. They had not done any weight training for the past eight months. The exercises were done on standard weight training machines, which worked out all the major muscle groups, with participants increasing repetitions as they gained strength.

The milk drinkers gained the most muscle. "The gains of muscle in the milk group were 8.8 pounds, vs. 6 pounds for the soy group, vs. 5.3 pounds for the control group (drinking the carbohydrate drink)," says Phillips. "The group that drank the milk gained 60 percent more muscle than the carbohydrate group and 40 percent more than the soy group," Phillips says.

Those who drank milk also had more strength gains than the other two groups in two kinds of individual exercises: knee extensions and hamstring curls.

The milk drinkers also lost more body fat. "They lost almost 2 pounds of body fat," he says. "The soy group barely changed, in terms of body fat. It was about a third of a pound. In the control group (the carbohydrate drinkers) it was about a pound of body fat lost.

Experts have responded to these results indicating that they are not really sure why the milk protein is beneficial, but think that the calcium may allow your body to burn more fat. Interestingly enough--as our nation attempts to figure out why so many of our youths are overweight--could it be that we are overlooking some simple reasons: too much couch time, poor drink choices and not enough milk?

The National Institute of Health indicates that fewer than one in 10 girls and just one in four boys ages 9 through 13 are getting enough calcium. Some experts call osteoporosis a juvenile disease because poor bone mass in adulthood often begins in adolescence. Soda and sports drinks not only take the place of milk, but they also tie up calcium and vitamin D so that they are not available for use by the growing body. This results in tooth decay and an increased likelihood of broken bones.

During growth spurts, it is essential that growing children get enough calcium to supply their bones with needed nutrients. In fact, 90 percent of a person's peak bone mass for adulthood is established by the late teen years. The strength and health of an adult's bones largely depends on calcium intake during formative years.

Yet, we have seen a trend of kids drinking less milk every year. Activists have been trying to get milk and dairy products out of our kid's diets. And the results of this study confirm what farm families have known all along: Milk and dairy products are an essential part of your daily diet, no matter how old you are. Of course, naysayers have overlooked the fact that the first food substance we are provided at birth is milk. Would our maker have started us off on the wrong foot? We need to get back to a basic diet that includes milk, meat, fresh fruits and vegetables--and good, old-fashioned hard work--and we can make a big dent in the obesity problem in this country.

Source: http://www.hpj.com/archives/2007/aug07/aug27/Muscleoverfat.cfm

Male exercise reduces broken bone chances later in life

Bone fractures and other bone problems later in life can lead to dire consequences. After all, limiting mobility later in life is not a good thing from a physical and psychological perspective. Can it be prevented? Calcium intake and eating the right way can surely enhance bone density and help prevents these kinds of problems.

While much of the attention goes to women and possible causes of osteoporosis, I don't hear that much about men and possible bone problems later in life. But, osteoporosis can happen to men as well. But, just like with women, there are ways to prevent it.

The solution? Get regular doses of exercise throughout your early life. Prepare those bones and muscles to be as strong as possible for later in life as a result, and perhaps you won't have to deal with something as life-changing as a hip replacement.

Source: http://www.thatsfit.com/2007/06/19/male-exercise-reduces-broken-bone-chances-later-in-life/

Lazy children risk broken bones

Children who do not take enough exercise are in danger of suffering broken bones in later life, according to a study.

Many are failing to build up their skeleton during a vital two-year window before puberty, which is critical to building healthy bones.

Researchers in Canada have found children have the greatest increase in bone mineral after the growth spurt just before puberty.

In girls this tends to be between 10 and 12 and in boys it is from 13 to 15.

Extra effort to exercise during this time can make a big difference, say researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, who are studying 383 children.

Research co-ordinator Heather McKay said: "If we can increase bone mass by 10% by adulthood, we can decrease the incidence of fractures by 50%."

The young volunteers took part in a circuit training programme lasting 10 minutes just three times a week.

Children in this group have to skip and do box jumps, side-to-side jumps and other high-impact exercises.

Other children spend the same amount of time doing stretches and warm ups.

After a year, the girls doing circuit training had amassed an extra 2% of bone mineral compared with the stretchers.

After two years they were ahead by 5%, it is reported in New Scientist.

'Banking' bones

The results on boys are still being analysed.

People lose a quarter of their bone mass as they age.

Whether this weakens our bones largely depends on how much we build them up in childhood.

Experts believe changes need to be made to the way physical education is taught in schools.

The National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) believes these findings need to be taken on board by parents and children.

A spokesman said: "The NOS is concerned about the type of physical activity that children are getting, often with too little emphasis being put into weight bearing exercises such as running, skipping and jumping.

"The NOS would like every child to get the right level of physical activity and put "bone in the bank" for later in life.

"Many children need to be more physically active and one of the ways of tackling the huge problem of osteoporosis is to encourage youngsters to increase peak bone mass by taking enough of the right type of exercise with a well-balanced calcium rich diet."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1751664.stm