From: Abstract (provisional) of “Arginine and antioxidant supplement on performance in elderly male cyclists: a randomized controlled trial”

A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (23 March 2010) has shown that an arginine and antioxidant-containing supplement increased the anaerobic threshold at both week one and week three in elderly cyclists.

Background to the Study

Human exercise capacity declines with advancing age. These changes often result in loss of physical fitness and more rapid senescence. Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in improvement of exercise capacity through vascular smooth muscle relaxation in both coronary and skeletal muscle arteries, as well as via independent mechanisms. Antioxidants may prevent nitric oxide inactivation by oxygen free radicals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an L-arginine and antioxidant supplement on exercise performance in elderly male cyclists.

To carry out the study, sixteen male cyclists were randomized to receive either a proprietary supplement (Niteworks(R), Herbalife International Inc., Century City, CA) or a placebo powder. Exercise parameters were assessed by maximal incremental exercise testing performed on a stationary cycle ergometer using breath-by-breath analysis at baseline, week one and week three.

Result

L-arginine and antioxidant supplementation can improve exercise performance in the elderly.

You can read a provisional pdf version of the full study here.

Fruit, whole or as juice, is an indispensible part of a healthy breakfast. Now, it seems, we have to watch out how our juices are packaged if we want to avoid causing the opposite to what we intend.

Scientists University of Copenhagen found that bottles of fruit juice and squash/cordial contain levels of antimony that were 2.5 times higher than deemed safe in drinking water under EU guidelines. In some cases the levels of antimony were ten times higher.

What is antimony? Antimony is often used in the production of PET bottles, the clear plastic bottles in which we like to buy our fruit juices.

The study has now shown that sugary drinks (fruit juices…) can be dangerous if bought and stored in these clear plastic bottles. Other studies have shown that the danger is not only that of cancer but also of disruption to our endocrine system. This means that this causes disruption to the functioning of our body’s own hormones.

Not a pretty picture? See for yourself:

You can read the full article on “Carcinogen antimony found in fruit juices” here.

Definitions and explanations of PET and antimony are most easily accessed at the Wiki articles on PET – Polyethylene terephthalate.

Here is a useful definition of Endocrine disruption and which chemicals cause it.

(This is an excerpt from a longer article published by Dr. Mercola)

In today’s modern world of medicine the FDA just will not let companies that sell products make medical claims about them unless they have been tested at great expense, and approved as a drug. But this was not always the case.

In a 1924 booklet published by the Arm & Hammer Soda Company, the company starts off saying, “The proven value of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda as a therapeutic agent is further evinced by the following evidence of a prominent physician named Dr. Volney S. Cheney, in a letter to the Church & Dwight Company:

“In 1918 and 1919 while fighting the ‘Flu’ with the U. S. Public Health Service it was brought to my attention that rarely any one who had been thoroughly alkalinized with bicarbonate of soda contracted the disease, and those who did contract it, if alkalinized early, would invariably have mild attacks.”

Recommended dosages from the Arm and Hammer Company for colds and influenza back in 1925 were:

• During the first day take six doses of half teaspoonful of Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at about two hour intervals

• During the second day take four doses of half teaspoonful of Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at the same intervals

• During the third day take two doses of half teaspoonful of Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water morning and evening, and thereafter half teaspoonful in glass of cool water each morning until cold is cured

Read the full article here.