May 15, 2005
Anabolic Steroids Make You Stronger, but At What Cost?
Athletes train to become stronger by lifting heavy weights
on one day, feeling sore on the next day, and than not lifting
heavy until the soreness disappears. Most people cannot lift very
heavy weights more often than every five to 14 days. If you take
steroids, you recover much faster so you can do more work and
build muscles faster.
In one study, doctors monitored young men as they lifted
weights and took steroids (synthetic male hormones) to make
themselves stronger. Sixty-one percent experienced changes in
sexual desire, 48 percent became manic or depressed, 46
percent had their testicles shrink, 43 percent suffered from acne,
37 percent developed enlarged breasts, and 62 percent had
abnormal liver function tests.
The doctors discussed their abnormal tests with these
otherwise healthy men. Only 19 percent said that they would not
take male hormones in the future. On steroids, they could lift very
heavy every other day and were so enthralled with their huge
muscles that they didn't care how much they were harming
themselves.
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Dear Dr. Mirkin: How should I use the incline feature on my
treadmill?
Good treadmills have a lever that raises the front end to
simulate running up hills, because running on level ground does
not strengthen your upper leg muscles significantly. Running
strengthens primarily your lower leg muscles. You stress your
upper leg muscles only when you run up hills. Each one-percent
increase in the elevation angle on your treadmill requires four
percent more energy.
Serious runners train by running intervals. They run a
short distance very fast, rest and then run very fast again. A
typical workout could be to run four half-mile repeats, averaging
two minutes each, with a slow one-eighth mile jog between each
run. If you run a half mile on level ground in three minutes, you
will run three minutes and eight seconds on a one percent
incline, or eight seconds slower. Runners can expect slower
times when they run up hills, but they will strengthen their upper
legs.
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Dear Dr. Mirkin: How can I tell if I am getting enough vitamin D?
More North Americans are deficient in vitamin D than any
other vitamin except B12. Vitamin D deficiency can cause
osteoporosis, impair immunity and cause a variety of other health
problems. Most people do not meet their requirements for vitamin
D with food; they get it from sunlight. If you have fair skin,
exposing a few of inches of skin to sunlight for ten minutes a day
provides all the vitamin D you need. Darker skins require more
time or more exposed skin.
Food sources of vitamin D include fatty fish, eggs, liver,
vitamin D-fortified milk and butter, but concern about heart
attacks has caused many North Americans to reduce their intake
of these foods. At the same time, changing lifestyles and concern
about skin cancer has caused many people to reduce their
exposure to sunlight. Many senior citizens develop vitamin D
deficiency because they do not go outdoors at all.
Vitamin D is necessary to keep bones strong. One third
of the people who develop hip fractures lack vitamin D. To find
out if you are deficient in vitamin D, ask your doctor to draw a
blood test for 24 hydroxy vitamin D. If you have low levels, you
need more vitamin D. You can take a supplement that contains
400 international units of vitamin D; or get more exposure to
sunlight unimpeded by glass. Drinking vitamin D-fortified milk will
not correct a deficiency because the calcium in the milk
inactivates the vitamin D, so the amount available to your body is
not increased no matter how much milk you drink.
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Dear Dr. Mirkin: I don't know beans! Do beans include lentils?
What are the best types of beans for the diet?
Lentils and dried or split peas are included in the "beans" group
(all are "legumes"). All types of beans are fine -- dried or canned;
use any kind you like. The various varieties are pretty much
interchangeable in recipes. Many supermarkets keep the widest
selection of beans in the Hispanic or International section. Here
are a few of Diana's favorite recipes using beans; you'll find
MANY more in the Recipe section of DrMirkin.com
Fastest Beans and Rice
Golden Lentil Soup
Southwestern Bean Salad
Recipe List