Filled to Capacity

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" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

HSI e-Alert - Filled to Capacity

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 07:00:00 -0400

HSI e-Alert - Filled to Capacity

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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August 10, 2005

 

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

If you go out of your way to eat a nutritious, balanced diet of whole

foods and then add some insurance with a selection of vitamin and

mineral supplements, all of your good efforts will be compromised if

you don't address one more key element in your health regimen.

 

If you jumped ahead of me and guessed that I'm talking about exercise,

you're half right. The key element: exercise capacity (EC).

 

Your chances of living a long and healthy life increase as your

exercise capacity increases. This was the finding of a study I told

you about more than three years ago, and its now been confirmed by a

new study. The difference this time: That previous study involved only

men; this one was just for women.

 

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Measuring up

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Your exercise capacity is a measure of your fitness level. In simplest

terms, if you exercise regularly, your ability to exercise increases.

In the 2003 study of EC in men, researchers from Stanford University

judged exercise capacity to be the most reliable predictor of lifespan.

 

Coincidentally, that study and the newest one were both published in

the New England Journal of Medicine. The one that appears in last

week's issue of the journal comes from Rush University Medical Center

in Chicago where more than 5,700 healthy women took stress tests to

measure their metabolic equivalents, or METs. (One MET is equal to the

amount of oxygen used by the average person when seated. Two METs

roughly equates to walking at a rate of less than two miles per hour,

while eight METs represents the oxygen used while jogging at a speed

of six miles per hour.)

 

The Rush researchers also gave stress tests to more than 4,400 women

who had symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Subjects in this group

were followed for five years to determine survival rate, and subjects

in the healthy group were followed for about eight years.

 

When the data was examined, the Rush team determined that women whose

exercise capacity was measured at less than 85 percent for their age

group were twice as likely to die prematurely compared to women of the

same age whose EC was 85 percent or higher. This 85 percent cutoff was

the same for both the healthy women and the women with heart disease.

 

In order to measure your METs and determine your exact exercise

capacity you'll need to consult an exercise counselor. Many gyms and

exercise clubs have equipment that will display METs information.

 

But for our purposes let's keep it simple: When you exercise on a

regular basis, your exercise capacity goes up and risk of premature

death goes down.

 

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One step at a time

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So do you need to run two miles each day and take an intensive

aerobics class several times a week to improve exercise capacity?

 

No way.

 

In the 2003 study of exercise capacity in men, the Stanford

researchers reported that even small improvements in exercise capacity

reap substantial benefits. As the study's authors put it, " Among

subjects with cardiovascular disease...we observed a near linear

reduction in risk with increasing quintiles of fitness. " In other

words, each small step in the improvement of fitness, no matter how

slight it may seem, may help prevent premature death.

 

Stanford researcher T. Edwin Atwood told CNN: " It's not how long you

exercise...It doesn't take marathons or running. Walking briskly every

day for half an hour is a great risk modifier. "

 

 

 

....and another thing

 

The Knee Thing...Part II

 

Last week I told you about my recent knee problem ( " On Bended Knee "

8/3/05). I've received several e-mails of concern from HSI members and

I appreciate those very much.

 

The good news: Apparently the problem is caused by a buildup of fluid

on the knee, not a torn ligament, and after some rest and medication

I'm feeling nearly 100 percent.

 

The bad news: There's a doctor on the loose out there who's got the

bedside manner of Yosemite Sam.

 

I scheduled an appointment with this new doctor while waiting for the

results from my MRI, which were delivered to his office. He started

things off by using a surprisingly dismissive tone in referring to the

doctor who originally treated me. " I can't believe she ordered an

MRI, " he barked.

 

I personally felt the MRI was necessary, since I literally couldn't

move my knee and could barely walk, but I didn't challenge his comment

because I quickly had bigger fish to fry with Dr. Personality. (I'll

try to be nice - we'll call him Dr. S.)

 

He asked me what I'd done to the knee. I explained that I thought I'd

injured it during a Pilates exercise while doing (far) too many reps.

He pointed to the institutional tile floor and said, " Show me the

exercise. "

 

Show him? Was he kidding? I've got a damaged knee here and he wants me

to get down on the hard floor and demonstrate? Even crazier, I did it.

It just goes to show the power of that white coat: It can make any of

us do stupid things.

 

As with my first doctor, Dr. S. immediately wrote a prescription for

ibuprofen. I told him I wasn't interested in taking a high dose of

ibuprofen because my first try at using this prescription strength

made me dizzy and very drowsy. " In fact, " I mentioned casually, " I

didn't even realize drowsiness was a side effect of ibuprofen. "

 

Dr. S's reply: " Anything can be a side effect of anything! "

 

How's that again? Do they actually teach that kind of double talk in

medical school?

 

I had to wonder if this condescending comment was a reaction to my

patient information sheet that lists all the supplements I take

regularly. Again, I didn't challenge this. I simply made my stand - I

wasn't going to take the 800 mg dosage again.

 

He held up a pad of paper and jotted down two prescription dosage

levels of another NSAID, naproxen sodium: 375 and 550. He wanted me to

buy it over-the-counter and take two 220 mg pills, equaling a dose of

440. He wrote this number between the two other numbers as if he were

speaking to an illiterate person with only the barest grasp of

mathematics.

 

He told me to take this dose twice each day for three weeks - without

fail. He added that I should NOT take the medication only when the

pain was bothering me because in order for the anti-inflammatory to be

effective it needs to maintain a consistent level in the body. To say

I'm suspicious of this concept would be putting it mildly.

 

And then it was over. After waiting an hour and 15 minutes to see this

gifted healer, in less than five minutes, Dr. S. had made me feel like

I was wasting his time. As I left his office I couldn't help but think

that it's doctors like him who are driving people away from mainstream

medicine to seek alternative therapies. I also couldn't help but think

about sitting down to write this e-mail. Next time...I'm naming names.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

/

 

 

 

Sources:

 

" The Prognostic Value of a Nomogram for Exercise Capacity in Women "

The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 353, No. 5, 8/4/05,

content.nejm.org

 

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