July 18, 2001[Volume 2, Issue 15]

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In this issue of To Your Health:

• Dispelling Myths about Strength Training
• Vitamin C for the Skin
• Missing Work Because of Depression
• Soy Protein for School Lunches

In the past decade, the popularity of nutritional supplements has grown by leaps and bounds. The supplement craze has reached such a fever pitch that conventional supermarkets now carry many of the same products once reserved only for nutrition marts and health food stores.

Glucose and amino acid supplementation has been lauded by many in the bodybuilding world for its ability to increase muscle protein synthesis following resistance exercise. However, the mechanisms underlying this supposed action remain unsupported by the literature, including this study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Seven previously untrained men and women (average age: 23 years) trained on a leg-extension machine for 10 weeks - four sets of 10 repetitions, five days per week. Alternate legs were trained on successive days, and subjects ingested a supplement containing glucose, amino acids, or a neutral placebo on alternate days, immediately after training.

Although serum insulin concentration after supplement ingestion peaked at nine times the placebo level, no significant strength differences were noted between the supplement leg and the placebo leg. The authors suggest: "Athletes and others who wish to gain muscle strength may not benefit by supplementing their workouts in such a manner."

Reference: Williams A, Oord M, Sharma A, et al. Is glucose/amino acid supplementation after exercise an aid to strength training? British Journal of Sports Medicine 2001: Vol. 35, No. 10, pp109-113.

For more information on sports and fitness, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/sports.html.

Vitamin C for the Skin

We've all heard about the benefits of vitamin C, and just about everyone knows where to find good sources of this important nutrient - look no further than the produce section at your local market. Oranges, grapefruit (and other citrus fruits), broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes and sweet peppers are a few of the many fruits and vegetables that contain high amounts of vitamin C.

What you may not know is that vitamin C is also necessary in tissue growth and repair, suggesting its potential role in retarding skin damage and skin aging. Researchers evaluated this premise in a recent study published in the European Journal of Dermatology. Twenty female volunteers (aged 55-60 and suffering from photoaged skin on the neck) received a six-month application of topical vitamin C or placebo. Results showed a significant decrease in the wrinkles and deep furrows on the side of the neck treated with the vitamin C cream. This improvement was confirmed by patient self-assessment and by a dermatologist's clinical examination.

Your doctor can provide you with more information on minimizing skin damage, and on the many benefits of a well-balanced diet rich in the proper nutrients. For more information on vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals, visit https://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/nutrients.html.

Reference: Humpert P. Topical vitamin C in the treatment of photoaged skin. European Journal of Dermatology 2001: Vol. 11, pp172-173.

Missing Work Because of Depression

Do you feel unhappy most of the time? Do you frequently get upset over little things? Do you frequently feel like crying? The answers to these and other seemingly simple questions can be important in diagnosing an all-too-common illness: depression.

Depression can be devastating to everyday life, including family relationships, friendships, and the ability to work. Employers have long coped with employee absenteeism, but a new study reveals that depression may be a substantial contributing factor.

The study used statistical analyses to evaluate more than 6,000 employees at three corporations. Workers exhibiting symptoms of depression were twice as likely to miss work (at least one missed workday in the previous four weeks) due to health reasons, compared with workers without depressive symptoms; decreased job performance was also seven times higher for depressed vs. nondepressed employees.

These findings emphasize that depressive disorders persist over time and can have a significant impact on workplace effectiveness.

Reference: Druss B, Schlesinger M, Allen H. Depressive symptoms, satisfaction with health care, and two-year work outcomes in an employed population. The American Journal of Psychiatry 2001: Vol. 158, No. 5, pp731-34.

Soy Protein for School Lunches

While strides have been made in recent years to improve the nutritional quality of cafeteria food provided to schoolchildren, there's still more work to be done. Pizza, French fries, tacos and friend chicken nuggets remain staples of the daily student diet; the majority of fat from these and other foods comes from meat, dairy and processed foods.

A study in the April 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Dietary Association investigated the effects of substituting meat with soy products, with the specific intention of evaluating the impact of such a substitution on the overall nutritional quality of school lunches. Meat content was reduced by 30% and replaced with soy protein in 132 elementary school lunch selections, including Sloppy Joes; lasagna; pizza; chicken enchiladas; and tuna and ham salad.

Results: With the exception of chicken entrees, kilocalories and average grams of total and saturated fat decreased in meat-only entrees (replaced with soy) than in entrees with fat from additional ingredients such as cheese or oil.

The authors note in their conclusion that soy protein can be a good way to improve the nutritional quality of school lunches, particularly those in which meat (pork, ground beef and ground turkey) is the primary source of fat.

Your doctor of chiropractic can help outline a nutritional and exercise program suitable to your family's needs. For additional information on nutrition, visit https://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/nutrients.html.

Reference: Thomas J, Lutz S. Soy protein lowers fat and saturated fat in school lunch beef and pork entrees. Journal of the American Dietary Association 2001: Vol. 110, No. 4, pp461-63.

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