Health Advices and Longevity

Discussion in 'Health' started by drgumbybrain, Apr 28, 2018.

  1. Jinxy245

    Jinxy245 Vegan Puss

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    Especially sugar. That has been my drug of choice since I was a child. All the things mentioned about it ring true, and unfortunately it's introduced when we're younger & most vulnerable.

    There was a book published in the 70's called Sugar Blues (William Duffy is the author). It basically talks about the addictive qualities and poisonous nature of sugar. It seemed to be based on pseudo science (said my adolescent self in the 80's), but I didn't totally dismiss it. Now it would probably ring more true. I'll have to find that book again.

    Thanks Dave for starting this. Good stuff.
     
  2. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    There have been a couple studies that lifting heavy weights also stimulates higher testosterone levels. Also some studies that showed no effect. Basically a program like StrongLifts/5 x 5
    Very similar to the training regimen of Ahnold and other power lifters early in their careers before they got into bodybuilding (2 very different things, and both different from Olympic lifting)
    I have done this for a good few years now. You can learn everything you need to know just by reading the info on the website, no need to become a member.
    It has the advantage of starting you off at such a comfortable level that you won't find yourself with DOMS 2 days after your 1st workout, and gives you a chance to concentrate on form at this light weight. Plenty of YouTube videos on how to do a proper squat, deadlift, barbell row and bench & vertical press, Those are all the exercises you do, but they are all complex chain using a your largest muscles, but you'll be extensively using your core because they're all free weight and you have to control your body movement with back and ab muscles.
    It has the disadvantage of boredom, since you only ever do those 5; and pain because after a couple months of adding weight every time you complete 5 x 5 at your current weight, you get to a weight that you can't 5 x 5, then you just keep after it each session until you do it and move up. Rinse and repeat. It can be daunting. But you will get a bunch stronger. And maybe it raises your testosterone.
    I was lucky to talk a friend into it, and we have kept each other honest all this time. We only miss a couple of workouts a month, the protocol is 3 x week. We have added the odd Olympic lift just to get a little variety, and have been thinking about doing a bit of plyometrics for change and because some of them look dangerous o_O
     
  3. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Yeah, lower backs; our ancestors were far too quick about coming down from the trees and running around on two legs. Me lumbar discectomy 1984, Mrsdegraded lumbar fusion just under a year ago. I'm not exercising as much as I should (she's got more time for it), but part of our cure is a pair of those Norwegian 'stressless' chairs - I'm enjoying mine as a headphone listening station.

    My back is always there, but more of problem for me lately has been right shoulder AC and neck. I'm naturally right-handed, but have been mousing with the left for the last few years to try to minimize this. Despite that and the professionally-approved ergonomics, the tensing up and craning forward to scowl & swear at the monitor (mostly at work, I hasten to add, not when interacting with you lovely people) is only prolonging the agony. Suggestions above noted, all others welcome (especially retirement). I do recommend the chairs, but they cost more than many audio setups (certainly mine).

    And recently diagnosed, thanks to being an ageing white male: hemochromatosis. Don't yet know how extreme it's going to be, but any suggestions to avoid having to cut down on red meat & wine and any additions/alternatives to the usual treatment regime (leeches/vampires; black tea I've heard of and am fine with) would be gratefully received.
     
  4. JustAnotherRando

    JustAnotherRando My other bike is a Ferrari

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    Perhaps something like a CST trackball? I find that with a mouse I naturally inch it forward towards the screen until I'm hunched over. A trackball doesn't move. And something like the CST is hefty enough to be (for me) quite pleasant to use rather than those flimsy Logitech thumballs. You can drop a pool ball in as a replacement, it really is quite substantial.
     
  5. drgumbybrain

    drgumbybrain Science Nut

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    This looks like a lesion for repetitively doing the same moving. There are some studies that found low protein diet to improve this kind of pain. Should be considered after your other diagnose. Also, some people do benefits for short course of celecoxib or etoricoxib - 4 to 8 weeks. But for the last one, you should ask your personal doctor. There is also a suplement called MgCl2, or Cloreto de Magnésio. Don’t know how to write in English, maybe magnesium chlorite.... it helps a lot with tension and muscle spasms.
     
  6. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    This vid is IMO ''highly loaded''. While the points it made are true, they are also overblown in context.
    Germans and British have eaten fruit cakes and other sweets for hundreds of years and are fine.
    It's lack of exercise, preservatives from processed foods, pesticides from veggies and antibiotics from meat that should scare people into thinking of their health. Also thinking too much about health is probably unhealthy too, haha.
     
  7. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    Well sure, but there was a) much less sugar in them, as it was really expensive and b) it was far less processed and c) they ate way less sweets than we do.

    If you're not careful you send up taking in several orders of magnitude more sugar, and it's all super-processed, and that's still better than high fructose communist corn juice.
     
  8. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    @Priidik

    Maybe, but 100 years ago we didn't have high fructose corn syrup, free refill sodas or three McDonalds in every town. Neither did we have candy at every checkout and neither did we have "healthy low-fat" products loaded with the white stuff. Neither were infant foods loaded with sugar to get them addicted.. you get the idea. From the 1950's and on there's been a literal sugar explosion and at the same time we've reached record highs worldwide in terms of diabetes and obesity.

    65 years ago you had one small chocolate bar in the weekend because it was special, rare and expensive. You had 2 small scoops of ice cream and that was a treat. Today some people have sugary cereal, sugary juice and sugary white bread for breakfast. Then they go for lunch with lots of fast carbs and have a soft drink with that, then in the afternoon they need a snack so maybe a snickers or a piece of cake. Then for dinner maybe another soda and in the TV sofa a big bowl of Ice cream. That's probably a pound of sugar a day and there are definitely people who live like that.

    There's been a complete "sugar inflation" in our society, everything is supposed to have sugar and if it doesn't people aren't used to the taste anymore. I guess the key takeaway is "everything in moderation" and if you're going to eat something that's bad for you at least be aware that it's bad for you.
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2018
  9. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    Thanks for the tip on this. I've been watching the Stronglifts videos and am thinking about giving it a try. I currently do cardio 3x a week with a few upper body machine sets thrown in, but the cardio gets boring. Now that the weather is nice I can get on the bike for the cardio if I want to.

    My Naturopathic doc said basically any and all exercise is good to raise T levels. Some forms of exercise are better than others for this. But the problem some of us older guys have is to just get to a place where you can do some workout without feeling like you'll either fall asleep or drop dead. So natural T replacement is great for a kick start. The road from being pretty fit to wanting to take a nap all the time happens fast. 5 years ago I was doing sprint Triathlons but it seems like a lifetime ago. I'd like to get back to where I can do 60 miles on a bike and it feels easy.
     
  10. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    Sugar itself doesn't directly cause diabetes, at least most medical specialists tend to think so.
    Obesity is combination of bad habits, not solely caused by sugar abuse.
    The secret weapon of sweets in combination with not exercising is that it screws up metabolism.
    Shit metabolism and no movement --> obesity.
    At this point variety of illnesses are invited.
    Genetics play part too. Those genetically susceptible to diabetes died young 100y ago,
    now they get offspring like every other.
    I may counter your possible implications, but I agree with limited sugar intake.
    I don't use any sugar in my coffee for 2 years now.

    The health nazis are good at blowing things out of proportion or painting all black&white.
    It goes by cycles ... first all fats are bad (it was butter and animal fats a while ago). Then, when people have caught on to that, ... preservatives are all bad (in some cases avoiding these is bad idea). Then... after that it's sugars (our body's main energy resource is bad?). Then.. it's soy and gluten (SouthPark).

    By my observation some people want to clamp into some comforting belief that they are 'doing the right thing' by subscribing to one of those ideas.
    Sometimes the improvement the person experiences through their chosen discipline looks suspiciously make-belief, which doesn't mean there isn't actual improvement. Mental well being is the most important health parameter of all.
     
  11. drgumbybrain

    drgumbybrain Science Nut

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    helll YEah!!!
     
  12. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    My N=1 experience with low T was that I couldn't run or cycle unless it was fairly short and easy, where I had been doing a few hard training sessions/week. If I tried something fairly hard, I might be crushed and unable to do any run or ride for a few days afterwards. But it didn't seem to affect strength training, I typically felt fine as I progressed through 5 x 5, then for everyone at some point it gets hard. But I had no problem to recover and be back at it 2 or 3 days later. And I cannot overemphasize enough how much I benefited from having someone to lift with; kept me pretty honest in terms of frequency.
    Triathlon was what got me into a serious reboot of myself. I was drawn just to the challenge initially, then found the variety of training for 3 sports was more mentally stimulating than doing just one thing 6 days a week.
     
  13. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    What about that dogma of drinking n litres of water a day? So which of them actually worked out n and how? And was there any actual science involved.

    I drink when I'm thirsty: my body seems to be good at giving me that message. And I add a bit because I live in a climate which I'm pretty-much used to, but not by a lifetime and certainly not by genetics.

    Disclosure: I still managed to get dehydrated one day, as in bad enough to relax for an afternoon on a drip. It was one of my rare days of actual hard work and it didn't seem that hot. But no magic value of n would have saved me from that (err... except by probably far exceeding the amount I needed to drink, so it probably actually would have, but not because 'n').
     
  14. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    When I was in the Escalante National Park the rule was: if your pee is not perfectly transparent and clear you're less than 30m from dehydration and hallucination/confusion and less than 1h from passing out and then dying if you don't get rescued.*

    Experienced it myself, ran out of water, 30m later I was sitting in the only running creek with no memory of getting there.

    Working the forge in the summer, 1L of fluid every hour. You only have to skip one to end up on the floor with a pounding headache, a bleeding nose and a gap in your memory.

    *if you spend years in the desert you can last longer apparently, but my predominantly cold weather and damp weather genetics never let me experience that.
     
  15. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    Humbug is your science...

    Now I will say this. We as a society (at least in the US) consume way, way too many calories in the fluids we drink. Soda is bullshit, juice is bullshit, energy drinks are bullshit. Milk is probably bullshit too, but I don't want to admit that because of how I love cream in my morning coffee...

    Now replacing all that bullshit with water; that's doing yourself a favor. Lemon water might be even better...

    And I'll put an apple and a glass of water against a Red Bull any day of the week, for a pick me up.
     
  16. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    My mother claims that my grandmother very rarely drank water. Most of her intake was just from the food she ate. She lived on a farm and worked hard. She lived to be 94.

    But that seems like a rarity to me. I strive for bodyweight lbs/2 = oz consumed, but rarely achieve that. There are usually 2 or 3 times during a summer when I get dehydrated working outside for a few hours and then get bad headaches or extremely fatigued. So I try to keep water nearby. Both my regular MD and Naturopath doc say drink lots of water. "Lots" has never been clearly defined by either.
     
  17. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    Excessive consumption of sugar and high fructose corn syrup tends to lead to fatty liver disease and insulin resistance, which essentially is type 2 diabetes. And once you have type 2 diabetes, mild or otherwise, your body's ability to burn fat as an energy source gets out of whack. You're now hooked on fast carbs as an energy source and the only way to keep your energy levels up during the day is to keep snacking.

    The snickers ad with a guy who turns into a diva is a perfect example of a guy who's hooked on fast carbs, and very likely has some kind of insulin resistance. The body of a healthy person, which doesn't have insulin resistance, is able to easily use fat as an energy source and even if that person only eats one meal a day the body can handle that. First after the main meal is consumed the body runs on glucose, then later after maybe 6-12h the body starts to run on fat and this is perfectly normal. The thing that happens in a person with insulin resistance is that the body can't switch to running on fats and hence you get energy dips and cravings.

    I'm not a health Nazi, at least I don't think so. I drink, I eat chocolates and ice cream etc. If there's a party and they serve cake I'll have a slice. But cutting out as much sugar as possible from my everyday life has been a huge boost to my health and overall sense of well being. Glucose isn't bad, we probably couldn't live without it. It's the excessive insulin spikes which are messing us up. You want slow carbs, protein, natural fat and fiber. Not empty calories which spike your blood sugar and have almost zero nutritional value.
     
  18. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    I have been avoiding sugar for years now. I replaced it with honey. Once in a few weeks I allow myself a sugary sweet but that is it.

    I drink mostly coffee and water. When I feel I need to replace my coffee, I go for smoothies or proper fruit juice (with the pulp still inside). If you have a real craving for sugar, add some bananas and mangoes to your diet. Those two fruits are amazing additions to your diet.

    Why do I do this? It feels right. As a kid I became very serious with my sports (in particular fencing) and I learnt to listen to my body (which was a painful lesson). After a while you prefer a healthier diet because it makes you feel better.

    My main struggle these days is to remain injury free. My job is demanding though so I value my sleep. Without enough sleep the body cannot properly recover.
     
  19. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Agreed! Purely by chance, I suppose, I dislike the taste of coca cola! And my soda, or what us Brits call fizzy drinks, intake is basically zero. I actually consider that I consume a lot of sugar: about four teaspoonsful a day in hot drinks. And then I read about how much people are getting in all those fizzy drinks, not to mention the chocolates and stuff!

    Curiously, I get a craving for something like 7-up when I have flu or fever. As soon as I'm better I forget the stuff again.

    And the Great Water Purists would not even allow your touch of lemon. Oh no, it has to be pure! And probably mountain-bottled mineral water too! I generally drink mine with just a touch of rose syrup for the flavour.

    There is water in most of the stuff we eat and drink. But (and this is nothing to do with me occasional having anti-alcohol rant), beer, etc, really does not count, because we probably piss more out than we drink.
     
  20. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    I mean that's like ... all everybody drinks everywhere all the time here. Highest per capita consumption of bottles water by miles, very common to have contract where they just deliver crates to your house and pick up the (glass) empties.

    Not drinking bottled mountain water is positively strange here!
     

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