July 24, 2005
Slow Lifting
A technique called super-slow weight lifting can help older
people become very strong. When you move very slowly with a
weight, your muscles fatigue and weaken so that the weight feels
much heavier than it is. Moving a weight very slowly in sets of
ten causes the same amount of damage as moving a much
heavier weight rapidly, and causes the same type of muscle
damage. Lifting lighter weights slowly is far less likely to cause
injuries than heavy lifting. You can become just as strong using
the slow lifting technique, and you are more likely to stay injury-
free.
However, if you are training for a sport that requires fast
movements, the super-slow training method may not be your
best choice. Training is specific. You have to exercise against
resistance moving fast to be able to use your muscles quickly.
Slow lifting can make you strong, but it is not the best way to
prepare you for fast-moving competitive sports such as tennis,
ping-pong, cycling, basketball or volleyball.
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Dear Dr. Mirkin: Are colon cleansers necessary for good health?
No! Regular use of colon cleansers or laxatives can harm
you by blocking the absorption of nutrients from your colon into
your bloodstream. There are two absorption systems in the
digestive tract. First the food that you eat passes from your
stomach to your upper intestines, where secretions from your
stomach, liver, intestines and pancreas break down
carbohydrates, fats and proteins into their building blocks. Only
these building blocks -- basic sugars, amino acids, fatty acids
and glycerol -- are absorbed from your intestines into your
bloodstream. The food that is not broken down cannot be
absorbed so it passes to your colon.
Bacteria in your colon convert undigested starches into
short chain fatty acids that heal ulcers, prevent colon cancer and
other cancers, reduce the pain of arthritis, prevent the arterial
damage of arteriosclerosis, lower cholesterol, and even lower
high blood pressure. Colon cleansers or laxatives reduce the
absorption of these beneficial short chain fatty acids.
Promoters who recommend these products claim that
they remove old stool that gets stuck and rots in your colon, but
this is ridiculous. Undigested waste products stick together by a
physical process called surface tension, so they cannot pass by
older stool. If you are often constipated, see report #G211.
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Dear Dr. Mirkin: My teenage daughter wants to know if the
exercise she does now will help her bones stay strong when
she’s sixty.
I’m glad she’s concerned, because if a woman lives long
enough, she can expect to have osteoporosis. Lifting weights
during adolescence can help prevent osteoporosis when women
are older. A woman’s bones are strongest when she is 20, and
after that, she loses bone continuously for the rest of her life. If
an elderly woman breaks her hip from osteoporosis, she has a
20 percent chance of dying from complications within the year.
The stronger and larger a woman’s bones are when she is
younger, the stronger they will be when she is older.
A muscle can only be as strong as the bones on which it
attaches. Lifting weights when a woman is young enlarges her
bones and makes them stronger. Just exercising will not
strengthen bones. Female marathon runners who stop
menstruating because they do not eat enough food to meet their
calorie requirements, develop osteoporosis even if they run more
than 100 miles per week. To help build bone, exercise must be
done against resistance. All women can gain bone by lifting
weights at any age.
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Recipes for refreshing soups for hot days – served cold!
Gazpacho
Black Bean Gazpacho
Chilled Red Pepper Soup
Yet Another Gazpacho
Recipe List
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