Burn More Fat
Helen Cohen, ND
wwRecently, scientists at Laval University in Québec studied the effects various types of exercise have on the body's ability to burn fat. The subjects in one group used the stationary bikes four or five times a week for forty-five minutes of moderately paced pedaling. This group burned a lot of calories. The second group exercised the same way twice a week, while at other times they used a different method. While pedaling slowly most of the time, at infrequent periods they cycled very fast for a thirty to ninety seconds. The subjects in this group burned only half as less calories as the first group; however they lost significantly more fat.
This work confirms other similar studies, as well as beliefs of many professional trainers, that the most essential aspect of any exercise routine is its level of intensity. The authors of this study, Angelo Trembley et al, suggest that high-intensity exercise suppresses the absorption of glucose, that is readily available in muscle cells and blood, so that the body has to utilize fat stores instead.
Intensity of the exercise is not determined by the pace of an exercise but rather by the amount of work the muscles perform in a unit of time. The best exercise is the one in which, during a relatively short time, the body is working to its limit, to the point of collapse. Whether it is weightlifting, running, or cycling uphill, or any other routine that takes you to the limit of your strength and endurance, intense exercise will encourage your body to protect itself against the strain by building more muscle, bone, and support structure.
There is another significant benefit for those who constantly struggle to reduce their weight, and who always feel hungry: very intense exercise is one of the best ways to achieve a lasting sensation of satiety, which will help one to maintain a lean muscular body structure. This feeling of satiety is the direct result of the round-the-clock availability of fuel, or glucose, in the blood and tissues; the body that is regularly expected to work to the limit of its abilities must exists in a continual state of preparedness for such feats.
Exercise for Healthy Bones
Helen Cohen, ND
wwAs far as their affect on the bone tissue, not all types of exercise were created equal. One recent study (quoted last year in the Men's Health Magazine) evaluated the effects of several types of exercise on the bone density of its participants. The study found that the highest bone density is present in squash players. On the other hand, a regular biking routine, according to this study, does not provide enough weight-bearing stimulation to counteract osteoporosis.
The effect of the game of squash on the bone density of its enthusiasts is probably the result of the continuous pounding of the player's legs against the hard floor. The impact of this pounding is apparently not limited to the bones of the legs but is transmitted along the hard tissues to every vertebrae in the spine. These shock waves provide enough stimulation to encourage bone growth exactly where it is so desperately needed.
There are added benefits to the game of squash-unlike tennis and badminton, it does not require a partner to play, nor does one have to follow the strict rules of the game if one does not so desire. Just hitting the ball against the wall and running to catch it can provide hours of fun and quite an intense aerobic workout as well. Badminton can probably provide very good stimulation to the bones of the back too, however, there is definitely much less jumping and pounding, but more running in badminton (and in tennis) than in squash.
All this is wonderful news, of course, if it were not for the fact that these games are somewhat privileged in that they require a relatively expensive equipment (and perhaps special clothes) with an added price tag of costly athletic club membership as well as necessary lessons for those who do not play. Which means that this valuable exercise is unavailable for the great many impoverished middle-aged women.
With a little ingenuity a woman can overcome those pricey obstacles to her well-being. To achieve the effects of squash one should recreate the heavy jumping that produces the shock waves through the spine. In squash, the pounding is produced by the frequent lending on the heals of the feet rather then on their toes, the latter motion being undesirable for our purposes because the toes and metatarsals are specifically designed to cushion the shock of lending. If you have ever landed on your heals after an awkward jump from a height, you probable remember how it felt when the impact of the landing became transmitted all the way to the back of your head. The squash player never really lends on her feet in the same way a jumper from a height would; due to the continuous motion around the court, when she suddenly stops to hit the ball, she often lends on the whole foot in a slightly averted position to arrest the motion. However, to protect your feet and knees from damage, while trying to build up your hips and spine, you should buy the best cushioned athletic shoes available.
The idea, then, is to create a daily exercise routine which includes at least an hour of some sort of jumping around that involves lending on the whole foot, as painlessly as possible. To optimize the impact of this exercise on the density of the spine, one should devise a way to gradually increase the weight bearing down on the upper back and neck. For a younger woman, if she is ever to worry about her bone density, vigorous dancing and jumping with her small child on her shoulders would probably be an ideal situation which simultaneously resolves an added problem of what to do with the child while trying to devote an hour to herself. One can hardly imagine a child who would not enjoy this game to the fullest! If a grandchild is available, the same logic applies, provided that an older woman would take it more cautiously and slowly and only after a proper x-ray assessment. If the degree of decalcification is serious, the jumping exercise should be done with extreme caution, gradually increasing both the time and the impact of pounding, and no amount of extra weight should be placed on the head or the shoulders until the x-ray picture shows considerable thickening of the bone. It should be mentioned here, if not yet apparent, that the condition of the soft tissues surrounding the bones is quite important as well, in particularly, the muscle tone, the strength of tendons, and the integrity of joint structures.
Helen Cohen, ND
ww I saw it from at least twenty feet away.
I could not have missed it. The king of mushrooms stood on a little hill
of moss underneath a great birch tree growing alone in a dense stand of
Muskoka pine. Tall and proud, its dark brown head bowing slightly to one
side under the weight of its wisdom, it looked serene. The thick yellowish
sponge showing from underneath its brown hat revealed its aristocratic caste.
The stem of the king, white with black streaks, shared the markings of the
birch tree that has adopted it and given the Birch Boletus its name.
wwBut
of course it was food. It was probably too tall for the chipmunks that scurried
around the forest, but it was definitely food for me—as well as for
at least one snail that had left its mark on the princely hat. I let my
daughter pick up the king of mushrooms: she has to learn that food sometimes
comes from places other than city restaurants, and perhaps someday, when
she gets older and wiser, she will even agree to eat wild mushrooms.
ww
I hope that day comes soon—for nothing can compare with the taste of
a wild mushroom soup or a dish of fried mushrooms with potatoes and tomato
salad. And let’s not forget the less aristocratic mushrooms, the ones
that cannot be fried, but must be preserved. Late in winter, tired of dill
pickles, you can savour the vinegary, slippery pickled mushrooms and recapture
the pleasure of hunting them—a pleasure both keen and enduring. Picking
those wild mushrooms, hunting for the best, the dark-crowned kings, foraging
in the forest like an animal, alive with the primordial triumph of a huntress,
senses sharpened by the primary hunger of the flesh—what can compare
to that? Perhaps only making love or having babies, nothing else.
ww Intense pleasure breeds addiction. That is the lesson of my relationship with my mountain bike, which leans on a birch tree while I forage for forest food. Everyone should experience the addictive pleasures of mountain biking: no amount of vitamins or enzymes can help a person who spends every day working in a stale office, with only a short recuperation period on a living room couch. After only two months of weekend mountain biking, your stomach will be as flat as a twelve-year-old’s, and you will have to buy clothes two sizes smaller! If you start biking in your thirties, or forties you can extend your life by at least twenty years. Invest in the best bike you can afford and take it up north to the pine forest. A few hours later you will feel as light as a cloud; the pungent air of the pine forest, full of ozone, will cleanse your blood and lungs as no city therapy can.
ww And your soul too will be cleansed and rejuvenated by the embrace of Mother Nature, revealed to you in all her fragrant, naked beauty.
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