What you do changes gene effects on obesity

We have long known that who we become is a mixture of nature (our genetic make-up) and nurture (our lifestyle choices). Did you know research now shows us our nurture can actually change our nature, well more precisely the expression of our nature? Your lifestyle habits can turn genes that you have on or off. So even though you may have a genetic make up that is going against you, your lifestyle habits can reduce the expression of those genes. Guess we can’t always blame our mom and dad for everything, looks like we need take some self responsibility as well.

A recent study was reported by lead author Dr Qibin Qi (Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA) that linked these genetic expression changes with exercise and sedentary lifestyle habits. (see the press release here) The findings showed that increasing leisure-time activity and reducing sedentary behaviors such as watching television will both independently reduce genetic predisposition to obesity. This is great news for those of you that are concerned that you may have a “fat” gene. By reducing sedentary habits such as sitting and watching TV and getting more exercise you can significantly reduced the effect of your genetic predisposition toward obesity. How do you know if you have this genetic make up that might lead you toward obesity? Well currently genetic testing is pretty expensive, but if you have family members that struggle with obesity that might be a sign you have some genetic risks. So get more activity and less sedentary time in front of a TV. Even if you don’t have the genetic risk, your body will thank you for helping it get healthier.

Obviously the TV itself is not what causes the problem, but the sedentary life style of sitting or lying down for 4-5 hours a day in front of a TV is a problem. So instead of sitting and watching at least get up and exercise and move a little more if you watch that much TV. And of course better yet, go out for 30-60 minutes of some healthy activity, (brisk walking, playing ball with your kids or do some yard work) then watch TV if you must.

The answer is simple

"The answer is simple"...is always more effective a response than, "well, it's complicated."

This is a quote from Seth Godin from a blog post found here. While Mr. Godin is famous for his work with business and leadership, I think this quote and his blog post has a lot to offer when we look at fitness and health.

Health and fitness is complicated when we get into the science of the intricate biology and physiology of how our body works at a micro genetic and cellular level all the way to the macro systems levels. So those of us that read hundreds of research articles often have very complicated answers to try and fully explain in accurate detail what might be best. Many people peddling fitness and health info, unintentionally and sometimes intentionally, offer simplistic (and wrong) fables on ways to improve fitness and health that mislead many of us. They take a complicated science report and twist it into something simple that fits their needs to sell something. It’s interesting that they then complicate what they are selling to make it seem like it is one-of-a- kind, and health and fitness can only be accomplished if you use their product. Usually these have a testimony from people (preferably a movie star or pro athlete) to endorse it, “because it changed their life”, “nothing has ever been able to do what product X does for me” or something similar.

Mr. Godin offers some suggestions to lead to better information exchange in his blog post:

1. Take complicated overall answers and make them simple steps instead. Teach complexity over time, simply.
2. Teach a few people, the committed, to embrace the idea of complexity. That's what a great college education does, for example. That's what makes someone a statesman instead of a demagogue. Embracing complexity is a scarce trait, worth acquiring. But until your customers/voters/employees do, I think the first strategy is essential.

You can't sell complicated to someone who came to you to buy simple.

In health and fitness it seems we want something simple, yet get tricked into buying or following something that complicates things like the latest diet fad or exercise craze as the magic thing to get us healthy. When it can really be as simple as doing basic exercise and eating healthy portion controlled food to make sure we don’t take in more food then we burn off in a day. But who can sell that and make lots of money?

So remember to keep it simple and slowly learn the complexity over time if you want.

Get Healthy or Lose Weight which one?

Society has been pretty strong with its message: “thin is in” and “fat is unhealthy”. But science and reality are showing us this message may be slightly distorted. Imagine that our society having a distorted view of reality, it’s happened before and looks like it is happening again when it comes to weight and health.

Let me make sure we don’t confuse things any more then they already have been. Reducing body fat to healthy levels has been shown to reduce many health risks. But those individuals that are slightly overweight are not at any greater risk for serious health problems then those in the healthy weight range. The concern is that you are closer to being in the obese range and most people will gain weight over time, which will increase your risk substantially for many health problems the further down the obesity side you get. The important factor jumping out between the healthy and slightly over weight individuals is the difference in fitness levels. Even if you are in a healthy weight range or slightly overweight, but have a poor diet and exercise habits your risks start to go up.

The yo-yo diets of many overweight people trying to lose the last 5-10 pounds are probably more harmful to their health then the actual few pounds they carry. Yo-yo diets tend to cause damage to your metabolism long term which will make it more difficult to keep weight off over time and allow you to creep down the obesity trail over time.

Moral of the story – a fit overweight person is probably better off then an unfit thin person when it comes to health and reducing risk for diseases. If you are overweight getting healthy through diet and exercise is more important then the actually losing a few pounds. If you lose a few pounds that is just a bonus of good diet and exercise. If you don’t lose any weight, but get yourself more fit, realize you have become healthier and don’t worry to much about those last few pounds whether they come off or not. Also if you are thin but don’t exercise and eat poorly, don’t let your look fool you into thinking you are free of the risks of chronic diseases just because your not overweight, because you are still at risk!

Water or Sports Drinks?

When we are exercising or doing physical activity there is much debate and confusion over how much hydration we need.

The sports drink industry has gradually convinced us over the recent years that we need to replace all of the fluids, carbohydrates and salts that we are depleting with exercise. Much of the research that these claims are built off was done on people that were depleted of these things prior to starting their exercise and then exercised at maximum levels. Most of us don’t deplete our stores of fluids, carbohydrates and salts before exercise. We drink fluids through out the day, we eat foods that keep us loaded with a reserve of carbohydrates and the American diet usually is never lacking for salts. On top of that, when we are at the gym or home doing some exercise or activity we are not at top high level athlete intensity and trying to run the Boston Marathon or racing the Tour de France.

So what and how much do I need to drink when exercising? If you are an average person working out at the gym for an hour or less, there is no need to drink anything other than water. And that is only if you feel thirsty. If you like the sports drinks because they taste better, then choose one with a small amount of carbohydrates (3% or less). Drinking those extra calories can lead to weight gain if not controlled properly. All the other high tech additives that claim to perk you up, metabolize your energy, improve your focus and enhance your immune system that are added will do none of what they claim, so don’t waist your money based on the claims.

If you are a high intensity exerciser and your event lasts longer then an hour or two then consuming some carbohydrates (no more then 6%) and electrolytes may be needed. It is important to drink to thirst and not force yourself to drink if you are not thirsty as drinking to much can lead to low sodium balance called hyponatremia. No more then 8 ounces every 20 minutes is the current recommendation again that is only if you are thirsty.

Interview on Healthy, Wealthy and Smart

I had the opportunity to be on an internet radio talk show today - Healthy, Wealthy and Smart with Karen Litzy.  We talked mostly about using current neuroscience pain education with acute injury patients. 

You can listen to the taped recording at Talkalternative.com under Monday's Shows Healthy, Wealthy and Smart or clinic the link here and it should take you there.

You can leave any comments about the interview on the blog here, would love to get feedback.

Healthy eating can help make a happier you

Having a bag of potato chips or large bowl of ice cream to help us cope with stress may not be as beneficial as we often think. For many people when they feel depressed or anxious out by life events they often turn to comfort foods such as candy, potato chips or other junk foods. These foods may give an impression of comfort initially, but new research is showing that they are actually leading to more mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.

Felice Jacka, PhD and colleagues from Deakin University and the University of Melbourne in Australia found that better diet quality is associated with better mental health. Those individuals with better diet associated with better mental health in those that they studied. Also when following them over a two year period they noticed that those that improved their diet also saw improvements in their mental health, while those whose diet worsened saw their mental health get worse as well.

This better diet as recognized by this study included 2 or more servings of fruits and 4 or more servings of vegetables whole grains and high-quality meat and fish, along with general avoidance of processed foods including chips, fried foods, chocolate, sweets and ice cream. They found individuals with better quality diets were less likely to be depressed, whereas a higher intake of processed and unhealthy foods was associated with increased anxiety.

Depression and anxiety are very complicated disorders and research has not shown specifically that they can be solved with simple diet changes alone. But an improvement in your diet might help you on your road to improved mental health.