September 18, 2005
Stress Does Not Increase Need for Vitamins
Several years ago a major drug company claimed that its
vitamin pills helped to relieve stress from the "complications of
everyday life" and gave their products names such as
"StressTabs." The New York Attorney General forced them to
stop their deceptive advertising, but many people still remember
and believe this claim. There is no evidence that stress
increases your needs for vitamins or that taking vitamins will help
you handle stress. When you eat vitamins in pills or in your food,
they go into your bloodstream and then into cells. They function
by combining with other chemicals in cells called apoenzymes, to
form complete enzymes that cause reactions to proceed in your
body. All chemical reactions in your body require enzymes to
make them go, and that is why vitamins are essential. For
example, all of the B vitamins form enzymes that convert food to
energy. But since enzymes only start chemical reactions and are
not used up by them, they can be used over and over again and
only minuscule amounts are needed from your diet.
In the 1930's, Hans Selye of McGill University in
Montreal reported that the adrenal glands contain the highest
concentration in the body of vitamin C. The adrenal glands make
cortisol from vitamin C. When a person is under stress, the
adrenal glands make tremendous amounts of cortisol and the
concentration of vitamin C in them drops. However, scientists
have known for more than forty years that the levels of vitamin C
in the adrenal glands are still high enough to continue to produce
cortisol and that giving extra vitamin C will not increase
production of cortisol. So the myth that vitamins treat stress is
based on a misinterpretation of one study on one vitamin, and
that research did not show that taking extra vitamins prevents
stress.
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Dear Dr. Mirkin: What kind of exercise program do you
recommend after a knee injury?
If you break cartilage in your knee, avoid sports that
cause further damage such as those requiring running and
jumping. You can help to prevent more cartilage loss with an
exercise program that strengthens the muscles that control your
knee. Bones are soft. To keep them from wearing down at joints,
their ends are covered with a thick white gristle called cartilage.
Broken cartilage never heals. Removing broken cartilage may
increase a person's chances of needing a knee replacement in
the future, particularly if the exerciser continues to run and jump.
Former world-class athletes are supposed to have tough,
strong bodies, but they suffer high risk for permanent knee
damage , while non-competitive exercisers are at very low risk.
Repeated cortisone-type injections can weaken cartilage and
cause further damage. Nonsteroidal pain medications do not
prevent further damage. Weak thigh muscles increase chances
for further knee damage, so all people with knee damage should
strengthen the muscles that control their knees using a special
knee weight machine, and start a supervised program of cycling
or swimming, provided that it does not hurt.
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Reports from DrMirkin.com
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How can lack of muscle increase risk for cancer?
Are chelated mineral supplements better than ordinary ones?
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Dear Dr. Mirkin: Does it matter whether I get omega-3 fatty acids
from plants or seafood? I’m a vegetarian and prefer not to eat
fish.
By now, most people know that omega-3 fatty acids help
to prevent heart attacks, and that they can get lots of omega-3
fatty acids from fish. But most people do not know that the
omega-3 fatty acids in seeds such as whole grains may be even
more important in maintaining your health than the omega-3 fatty
acids found in fish. Virtually every plant source of omega-3's also
contains vitamin E, while fish oils are low in vitamin E. All
omega-3's break down very quickly when exposed to oxygen in
your body, and vitamin E stabilizes them so they are more
effective.
Omega-3s found in fish oils are mostly long chain fatty
acids. Omega-3s in plants, particularly seeds, contain much
shorter chains and are weaker than the omega-3s found in fish.
However, the shorter chain omega-3s, particularly alpha-linolenic
acid (ALA), found in leafy greens and seeds are converted to the
long chain fatty acids in the human body. To meet your needs
for short chain omega-3 fatty acids found in plants, eat lots of
green leafy vegetables, and seeds such as flaxseed, whole
grains, beans and nuts.
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Recipe of the Week - It's Squash Time!
Butternut Squash-Fruit Casserole
List of Diana's Healthful Recipes
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