Diet and Health Articels

     

Anyone who has worked out in a gym, had a personal fitness assessment done or is an athlete, your VO2 Max is something you need to know. VO2 max is something we all have, it's a natural ability and it refers to the maximum oxygen consumption that you need to perform at maximum sustained output. In other words, if you're going to push yourself on the treadmill at a sustained high speed - let's say 3.5 - your VO2 max is just how hard you are going to breathe to get the amount of oxygen you need to keep up that effort.

I've heard VO2 max being described as the engine performance in your body. Consider the idea that you want to run an endurance event or compete in one, you need a high performance engine to sustain that level of performance. The higher your VO2 max, the more likely you are to perform well in that endurance event.

So you would think that based on this analogy, the higher the VO2 max is the better off you are. Not necessarily, because it depends on what your goal is. VO2 max is also not the only factor, but it does play its part. The idea being that even a moderate VO2 max can make you a sustainable endurance performer, but you may not do well in the short bursts of speed.

Your VO2 max is measured through incremental increases in your effort until you can't go any further. There are a number of ways to test your VO2 max and you're better off doing this test in a controlled atmosphere with someone monitoring because the testing portion will leave you gasping for air and making all kinds of faces. Once you know your VO2 max, you can work on improving as it necessary. There is one trick to improving your VO2 max, lose some extra weight.

Related Articles:

Excuses, Exercise & Excitement

Low Physical Activity Can Help You Improve Fitness for Postmenopausal Women

Turn Up The Heat: 10 Tips to Maximize the Calorie Burn While Walking

Lower Health Care Costs with Exercise

Yes, the title conjures up images of a futuristic world in which diabetics puff their way back to health. "New! Insulin Cigarettes!" In fact, it's rather more innocuous than that: scientists have engineered a type of insulin-containing tobacco plant that could - in theory, at least - be used as a diabetes treatment.

A study has just been completed of its use. Once freeze-dried and broken down into powder, the insulin-containing tobacco leaves were administered to mice. The scientists who came up with the plant (and who are based at the University of Central Florida), found the powder successfully prevented diabetes symptoms in the mice after eight weeks. It seems pretty safe to assume, they speculate, that humans with type 1 diabetes could get similar results from ingesting plant-based insulin.

The only snag so far is the image problem associated with tobacco. As a result, lead researcher Henry Daniell, is proposing a switch to lettuce, which is cheap, easy to grow and - oh, yeah! - is not associated with cancer. Good move.

The results of this study appear in the Plant Biotechnology Journal (July 2007).

Tags:diabetes, diabetes cure, diabetes treatment, DiabetesCure, DiabetesTreatment, diabetics, freeze dried, FreezeDried, genetic engineering, GeneticEngineering, Henry Daniell, HenryDaniell, insulin, lettuce, mice, Plant Biotechnology Journal, plant breeding, PlantBiotechnologyJournal, PlantBreeding, tobacco, type 1 diabetes, Type1Diabetes, University of Central Florida, UniversityOfCentralFlorida

Ever wonder what would happen to a non-diabetic's blood sugar if they loaded up on a pile of concentrated sugar, preservatives and weird science fats? Doctors and the ADA call it prediabetes. This clip takes it to the extreme by sandwiching the center of 16 double stuff Oreos! Sometimes you have to be insanely blunt to make your point.

This is a brilliant example of the diabetes epidemic in action. In today's world -- many people are eating for convenience without realizing the consequences. More convenient equates to less nutritious - more preservatives, more sugar and even more fattening (the wrong fats, too!) The combination increases the amount of time our digestive enzymes need to work on these lab-derived ingredients. This sustains an elevated blood sugar following the time of consumption. Add the ADA definition of pre-diabetes (a blood sugar between 140 to 199 mg/dl 2 hours after a meal) and there you have it -- a potential player on Team Diabetes!

Think what would happen if this guy was in his doctor's office 2 hours after this stunt. I'd like to thank his employer for keeping him busy (whatever he's paid to do) well after the lunch hour - and protecting him from becoming another statistic. Big ups to HR for hiring this guy!! If he's not in marketing already -- you might consider a transfer and give this guy a raise. He's my Oreo hero.

Tags:2 hours after eating, 2HoursAfterEating, ADA, allie beatty, allie beatty diabetes advocate, AllieBeatty, AllieBeattyDiabetesAdvocate, American diabetes Association, AmericanDiabetesAssociation, avandia, avandia news, AvandiaNews, best YouTube video, BestYoutubeVideo, big pharma, BigPharma, cause of diabetes, CauseOfDiabetes, concentrated sugar, ConcentratedSugar, convenicence foods, ConvenicenceFoods, dangerous fat, DangerousFat, diabetes advocate, diabetes consumer advocate, diabetes drugs, diabetes epidemic in action, diabetes OC, diabetes online community, DiabetesAdvocate, DiabetesConsumerAdvocate, DiabetesDrugs, DiabetesEpidemicInAction, DiabetesOc, DiabetesOnlineCommunity, digestive enzymes cannot lower blood sugar fast enough, DigestiveEnzymesCannotLowerBloodSugarFastEnough, do cookies cause diabetes, DoCookiesCauseDiabetes, EFAs, effects of diabetes, EffectsOfDiabetes, elevated blood sugar, ElevatedBloodSugar, essential fatty acids, EssentialFattyAcids, food and drug causes diabetes, food with carbs raise blood sugar, FoodAndDrugCausesDiabetes, FoodWithCarbsRaiseBloodSugar, glucotrol, healthy fats, HealthyFats, high blood sugar, high blood sugar 2 hours after food, high fat diet, HighBloodSugar, HighBloodSugar2HoursAfterFood, HighFatDiet, how do you get diabetes, HowDoYouGetDiabetes, ingredients, leading diabetes advocate, LeadingDiabetesAdvocate, michael moore, MichaelMoore, more convenient foods, more preservatives, MoreConvenientFoods, MorePreservatives, My Oreo Hero, MyOreoHero, obesity epidemic, ObesityEpidemic, omega 3 fatty acids, Omega3FattyAcids, oral meds, OralMeds, oreo cookies, OreoCookies, popular diabetes website, PopularDiabetesWebsite, pre-diabetes, prediabetes, prediabetes in action, PrediabetesInAction, preservative foods, PreservativeFoods, preservatives are hard to digest, PreservativesAreHardToDigest, sicko, sugar raises blood sugar, SugarRaisesBloodSugar, Team Diabetes, TeamDiabetes, The Oreo Hero, TheOreoHero, trans fat, TransFat, Tu diabetes, Tudiabetes, type 2 diabetes epidemic, Type2DiabetesEpidemic, who's that kid with the oreo cookie, Who'sThatKidWithTheOreoCookie

Chris just shared flip flops are not the wisest choice of footwear, especially for a diabetic. I love 'em at the pool, but nearly all other moments I sport shoes with plenty of support -- I only torture myself with heels on special occasions.

Check out this innovative product in the pipeline for the feet of people with diabetes. Zephyr Technology is developing a high tech inner sole to help detect and prevent foot ulcerations. Zephyr already makes smart fabrics capable of measuring skin temperature, heart beat, posture, activity and even breathing rates. They have recently teamed up with AUT University scientists to help develop its ShoePad product to measure temperature and pressure for early warning of problem areas. Zephyr says the ShoePad could prevent around 85 percent of the foot amputations performed on diabetics in the United States annually. Neuropathy and ischaemia are two main disorders underlying foot problems. If you don't feel an ulceration on the foot, it can become infected and possibly lead to amputation. Here is a clinical review of the diabetic foot, adapted from the ABC of Diabetes. Be prepared, there are some graphic pictures. But don't get freaked out, foot ulcerations are preventable and a majority are curable if treated promptly.

This new insole has fewer sensors than existing products, delivering an affordable, simple-to-use product. A marketable product will be awhile, the insole is still in research and development, but maybe you'll have the outside chance to slip a pair into your shoes during the clinical trials. I need a smart insole that tells me to "kick off those impractical high heels!" next time I'm on a wedding dance floor.

Tags:ABC of Diabetes, AbcOfDiabetes, AUT University scientists developing ShoePad, AutUniversityScientistsDevelopingShoepad, diabetes, foot ulcerations in people with diabetes, FootUlcerationsInPeopleWithDiabetes, high heels, HighHeels, ShoePad, smart insole could prevent up to 85 percent of amputations, smart insole to detect and prevent foot ulcerations, SmartInsoleCouldPreventUpTo85PercentOfAmputations, SmartInsoleToDetectAndPreventFootUlcerations, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, Type1Diabetes, Type2Diabetes, Zephyr Technologies, ZephyrTechnologies

Earlier today I blogged about the Avandia advisory panel which met today. As of earlier today, the word was an FDA official, David Graham, had issued a written preview of the comments he intended to make. In it, Graham stated his view that GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug Avandia is dangerous and should therefore be removed from sale.

Now comes breaking news from the Associated Press that the panel will recommend, against the wishes of many - Dr. Graham included, that Avandia stick around. According to the AP, government health advisers have argued that, hey, sure Avandia may cause increased risk of heart attack, but let's just keep it out there. What?! As of writing, the AP was still waiting for a tally of how the panel voted on the issue, but word is a majority voted against recommending a ban.

The FDA's patient representative for the panel was quoted as saying studies indicating Avandia causes heart trouble "have very significant weaknesses and are inadequate for us to make that kind of decision." In short, the FDA seems to be saying Avandia causes heart damage, but the study-based proof is not strong enough for a ban. Talk about your contradictory messages! Baffled? Disgusted? Join the club.

Tags:advisory panel, AdvisoryPanel, AP, Associated Press, AssociatedPress, Avandia, cardio, David Graham, DavidGraham, diabetes, diabetes drug, DiabetesDrug, FDA, FDA official, FdaOfficial, Food and Drug Administration, FoodAndDrugAdministration, Glaxo, GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, heart attack, heart health, heart trouble, HeartAttack, HeartHealth, HeartTrouble, prescription drugs, PrescriptionDrugs, type 2 diabetes, Type2Diabetes