Regardless, the benefits of alcohol’s medicinal properties are mentioned 191 times in the Old and New Testaments. Yet when you ask for a drink, you’ve asked for a narcotic. Now your saying to yourself, that is crazy talk; how can that be?  The category narcotic represents a drug that dulls the senses and induces sleep – a drug that in moderate doses dulls one’s awareness and relieves pain but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or convulsions. Those being the facts, people have used alcohol for centuries as an anesthetic because it can deaden pain. Unfortunately it makes a poor anesthetic because you cannot predict how much each person will need and how much an individual can actually tolerate. Mankind has known the effects of wine, beer, and other fermented beverages for over 5000 years.

In today’s contemporary society alcohol provides most individuals with the ability to “unwind” from the stressors of career and family. And it is well documented and researched that “if” taken in “moderation,” alcohol relaxes people, reduces inhibitions, and encourages desirable social interaction. The scientific community views alcohol as an organic compound containing hydroxyl (OH) groups. A good example is glycerol, a sweet syrupy alcohol, obtained from fatty acids that serves as the backbone for triglycerides (one of the three main classes of dietary fat) and is utilized by the body as a lipid solvent. This syrupy solution has the ability to dissolve the lipids (fat, oil, phospholipids, and sterols) right out of your cell membranes which allows alcohol to penetrate the body’s cells, rapidly killing microbial cells which also allows this compound to be considered a useful disinfectant. This is just one of the reasons why alcohols are considered toxic.

The real reason your reading this article is to determine “how much” can one have to drink. Am I right?  So let’s move on. It has been researched, verified, validated and written about over the years, and a drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 4 to 5 ounces of wine, 10 ounces of wine cooler, or 1 ounce of an 80 proof distilled spirit (whiskey, scotch, rum, or vodka).

For every article you read about the benefits of alcohol consumption, you will find one warning you about the risks associated with alcohol. A drink is any alcoholic beverage that delivers ½ ounce of pure ethanol and the actual amount a person can drink responsibly depends on genetics, health condition, gender, weight, age, and family history. Though moderate alcohol use seems to have some benefits, exceeding the two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women changes the benefit to health risk ratio. Then if you are over 65 the rules change yet again. With the increase of age, adults break down of alcohol is at a slower rate, leading to intoxication quicker and for a longer period of time.

Myth   Alcohol is legal; therefore it is not a drug.

Truth  Alcohol is legal, but it alters body functions and is medically defined as a narcotic or depressant drug.

Some individuals argue it can’t be a narcotic because it’s not regulated; well it is. There is driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunken driving, impaired driving which defines driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit. That seems pretty regulated to me. In most jurisdictions a measurement such as a blood alcohol content in excess of a defined level, such as 0.05% or 0.08% defines the offense, with no need to prove impairment or being under the influence of alcohol. It takes about an hour and a half to metabolize one drink, depending on a person’s body size, previous drinking experience, how recently the person has eaten, gender, age and the person’s current health status.

A good idea is to eat something before drinking. Unlike alcohol, food requires time for digestion, which gives your alcoholic beverage less opportunity to penetrate the wall of your stomach, allowing a diffused and delayed effect on the brain. Drinking on an empty stomach not only causes an individual to feel the effects of alcohol immediately, but also brings about a higher blood alcohol level for a longer period of time and allows maximum anesthesia to the brain. You really do not want a D.U.I do you?

Working at a country club and corporate wellness center gives a Wellcoach like myself a broad and varied perspective on the use and abuse of alcohol consumption. I have witnessed how alcohol can shift your behavior up close and personal with my athletes and weekend warriors only to recognize how commonplace having a few drinks has become. Then there is this powerful ongoing misconception in the news and on television that exercise can offset three straight nights of copious drinking. When adding the fitness factor to alcohol consumption, many times people allude to the notion of “sweating out” all the toxins associated with alcohol combined with poor eating habits and recreational drugs.

Let’s get it right from the start. Alcohol consumption can be down right lethal and toxic to the body, not only because it depends on one sole organ, the liver, but because metabolism is slower than its consumption. This means most of the calories consumed during a single sitting move straight into fat generation and storage because alcohol cannot be made into an energy source or stored as a carbohydrate. However, because of how it operates in the body during its breakdown it ends up impacting fat storage. Alcohol is broken down into acetaldehyde and eventually acetate, which is similar to vinegar. The metabolite acetaldehyde interferes with protein formation, such as those involved in blood clotting. Then there are the increased levels of alcohol consumption, which lead to an accumulation of ammonia, which is toxic to the brain. Numerous nutritional studies find that heavy drinking is most responsible for the increased development of risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome, which parallels the current obesity epidemic. The undesired outcome of having too many drinks is exhibited by increases in waist circumference (or girth), triglycerols (fatty acids), blood pressure, and blood glucose levels. It can go without saying not only is alcohol toxic to the body; it is without a doubt seriously detrimental to your waistline.

ALCOHOL and FITNESS

Working in a fitness center for three decades has allowed me to witness first hand how drinking affects a work out. Research shows the role alcohol plays in the rate of injury and performance. In fact, chronic alcohol use affects muscle fiber size, decreasing capillary infusion into the muscle, thus affecting circulation. Here is a myth you have heard for years; a shot of alcohol warms you up. The truth is alcohol diverts blood flow to the skin making you feel warmer, but it actually cools the body. Alcohol simply blunts the good intentions of exercise, health and wellness. Individuals engaging in intense exercise and intense drinking create much more physiological damage not to mention the increased risk of metabolic syndrome, estrogen dominance, tissue inflammation and detrimental protein degradation.

Yet, sports and alcohol seem to have a longstanding relationship amongst professional athletes, team sports, weekend warriors, and recreational exercisers. It is not like there are no studies out there to review. A study on “feminization” associated with chronic alcohol abuse published in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry (1988), evaluated wine drinkers versus beer drinkers. The outcome indicated fast beer drinkers, a practice prevalent among many recreational weekend exercisers, experienced significant elevation of blood estradiol otherwise known as estrogen, and depressed testosterone levels. There exists evidence that alcohol and metabolites actually affect the body’s hormonal make-up which means if a male increases his drinking level or becomes a chronic drinker, he will begin to show signs of feminization, resulting basically from an increased estrogen production, as opposed to testosterone which kind of defeats the desired outcome of building muscle mass during intense weight training.  These facts reveal that the effects of alcohol abuse outweigh the beneficial hormonal effects of resistance training. Other studies published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (2005), found that heavy alcohol use significantly reduced testosterone receptors that impact the fast twitch muscle fibers and a moderate effect on the slow twitch fibers. This doesn’t represent a real problem for females but definitely is not a good thing for men who want to intensify their weight training workout.

Basically, whether male or female, if you’re deciding to engage in intense exercise combined with intense drinking, there is no upside to achieving a fit physique.  Chronic drinking can only serve to deliver an array of physiological damage.

Moving on to a dietary perspective, alcohol derived from alcoholic beverages slows down the body’s use of fat for fuel by as much as 33 1/3 percent, causing more fat to be stored. The storage of fat is primarily visceral fat tissue stored within the abdominal cavity, which translates to around the middle or thighs and legs. Therefore alcohol consumption on top of a person’s normal caloric consumption of food is fattening both through the calories (7 calories per gram) and through its effect on fat metabolism. The reason is that ethanol is a much less complicated molecule, super easy to digest and absorb fast so it’s given the red carpet treatment the moment you take that first melodious sip. In fact, it gets absorbed and metabolized before most medications and nutrients. Then to worsen the whole drinking experience, 20 percent of the substance is absorbed right through the walls of an empty stomach, which gives alcohol access to the brain in a New York minute. It would be wise to “think” before you reach for a glass of euphoric delight and eat a high-fat snack.  High fat foods generally help to keep the alcohol in your stomach longer, this is why food establishments put peanuts and those cute little fish in front of you when they serve you that martini. Of course there is a secondary reason for the “no charge snacks,” they are full of sodium and make you thirsty.

Moving on, once alcohol reaches the stomach, it begins to break down with the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme. Women produce less of this enzyme, which may help to partially explain why we become more intoxicated on less alcohol than men.  As your drink travels through the stomach, it is rapidly absorbed in the upper portion of the small intestine. The alcohol-laden blood from the small intestines then travels to the liver via the veins and capillaries of the digestive tract, which affects nearly every liver cell. The liver cells are the only cells in our body that can produce enough of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase to oxidize alcohol at an appreciable rate.

Alcohol affects every organ of the body; its most dramatic impact is upon the liver due to its ability to filter the blood, remove and process nutrients, manufacture materials for export to other parts of the body, and destroy toxins or store them to keep them out of the circulation.  The liver cells normally prefer a diet of fatty acids as fuel, and package excess fatty acids as triglycerides (fat), which they then route to other tissues within the body.  However, when alcohol is present, the liver cells are directed to first metabolize the alcohol, letting the fatty acids accumulate, sometimes in huge amounts. Listen closely; cause I don’t want to mince my words, alcohol metabolism permanently changes liver cell structure, which impairs the livers ability to metabolize fats. This explains why heavy drinkers tend to develop what is known as a “fatty liver.”

Unfortunately, the liver is able to metabolize about 1 ounce of ethanol per hour.  Another way to think of it is it takes the body approximately an hour and a half to metabolize one drink. If more alcohol arrives in the liver than the enzymes can handle, the excess alcohol travels to all parts of the body, circulating until the liver enzymes are finally able to process it. Whether it be beer, wine or liquors, all confer the very same health effects. And what may that be you’re asking yourself? Well, according to Eric Rimm, ScD, associate professor of nutrition at the School of Public Health at Harvard University, the French Paradox surrounding the heart friendly benefit of red wine as a health food due to its antioxidants is no longer the thought. More recent research has shown that antioxidants are not the answer. The ethanol in the alcohol raises levels of protective high-density lipoproteins (HDL, or good cholesterol), which is what helps protect against plaque buildup in the arteries and reduce clotting factors that contribute to heart attacks and stroke. Any kind of beverage that contains alcohol when consumed in moderation (one to two drinks a day) helps reduce the risk of heart disease.

A liver clogged with fatty acids cannot function properly. Liver cells become less efficient at performing a number of tasks, which impairs a person’s nutritional health in a way that cannot be corrected with diet alone. To overcome problems associated with alcohol consumption, the individual needs to stop drinking for a while; otherwise the liver’s inability to synthesize fatty acids accelerates the more you drink.

Alcohol is age resistant. Meaning age really doesn’t matter to our old friend alcohol. Alcohol is smart as a whip and knows implicitly that our teens and young adults do not benefit by drinking; rather they increase the probability of dying from other causes such as car crashes, homicides, and other forms of violence. Alcohol’s efficacy is just not equal for men, women, young, old and the health impaired and as for the wine consumption don’t even get me started. The science on wine and health is mixed and comes down to who is paying for the comment.

ALCOHOL and the BRAIN

 Regardless of the potential dangers associated with alcohol being given the status of a toxic narcotic, droves of the business sector, young singles, teens and moms with kids, the sick, aging and elderly, depressed and lonely individuals take a drink to relax or relieve anxiety.  People honestly believe that alcohol is a stimulant because it seems to lower inhibitions, when in actuality it sedates or suppresses inhibitory nerves, which are more numerous than excitatory nerves. This makes alcohol a depressant, which affects all the nerve cells.

When alcohol makes its way to the brain it affects judgment and reasoning, then if you continue drinking it diffuses into other parts of the brain affecting speech and vision, with the next drink your blood alcohol continues to rise affecting voluntary muscular control, causing you to stagger and slur your speech. At this point respiration and heart action is compromised and the drinker’s brain center becomes completely overwhelmed and subdued, and they pass out – “thank God for little favors”.  Any higher dose gives the body an anesthetic effect that could stop breath and heart. Large amounts of alcohol consumption can lead to the accumulation of ammonia, which is toxic to the brain. This is why you hear about young college kids dying at a party from alcohol; they drank so fast that the effects of alcohol continued to accelerate after the person had gone to sleep. Party a lot, drink ample alcohol, get a buzz from another substance, take an antidepressant, then go home.  You realize you need sleep right away so you take a sleep med or Tylenol PM with another drink.  In the case of Heath Ledger, there was immediate speculation he had overdosed on illicit drugs, but autopsy reports ruled this death an accidental toxic combination of prescription painkillers, anti-anxiety medication, and sleeping pills.

Alcohol provides your body 7 calories per 1 gram and fat provides 9 calories per 1 gram and 28 grams equals 1 ounce. Therefore alcohol consumption on top of a person’s normal caloric consumption of food is fattening both through the amount of calories it delivers and through its effect on fat metabolism. The reasoning is that ethanol is a much less complicated molecule, super easy to digest and absorb fast so the body simply gives it the red carpet treatment the moment you take that first sip. In fact, it gets absorbed and metabolized before most medications and nutrients.  Fat just happens to be the most efficient metabolic way to pack on the pounds. On the other hand you utilize a small amount of calories when your body tries to turn carbohydrates and protein meals into body fat. Regardless, any food loaded with fats whether omega-3, 6, and 9 or monounsaturated, saturated, or trans fatty acids will immediately get access to your belly, saddlebags or any other area your body directs it to be.

Typically alcohol reduces appetite – making people unaware that they are hungry.  But in people, who are tense, uptight, type “A” personalities or the sick and the elderly who have lost interest in food, small doses of wine taken 20 minutes before a meal improves appetite. The key beverage here is wine. The congeners of wine are credited with this improvement. Wine in moderate doses improves morale; self-esteem, stimulates social interaction, and promotes restful sleep.

Factoid: Congeners are chemical substances other than alcohol that account for some of the physiological effects of alcoholic beverages, such as appetite, taste, and aftereffects.

The more alcohol calories you budget the less nutritional food you can eat. It doesn’t stop here; alcohol abuse not only displaces nutrition from the diet but also affects tissue metabolism. The more alcohol you drink, the less likely that you will eat enough food to obtain adequate nutrition.  The cell tissue’s metabolism of nutrients goes haywire. The inadequate food intake and impaired nutritional absorption that accompanies alcohol abuse can lead to many vitamin deficiencies.  Bottom line alcohol abuse disrupts the way your body does business.

Truth  Too much alcohol in any form produces a hangover.

Remember the movie The Hangover, when Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, and Bradley Cooper “come to” after a crazy night of bachelor-party revelry, they find a baby in the closet and a tiger in the bathroom and they can’t seem to locate their best friend Justin Bartha, the groom?  After an episode of drinking your body may exhibit the similar symptoms of a hangover, which range from headache, upset stomach, and nausea, dry mouth, loss of memory and the worst, severe tremors, which requires medical management. I can’t over emphasize that alcohol is a narcotic as well as a depressant, which produces the effect of a drug withdrawal. The actual hangover is caused by:

.  Alcohol Abuse

.  Mixing or switching drinks

.  Dehydration of the brain

.  The byproduct of formaldehyde in the body

The cure for a hangover is simple.  Don’t over indulge with alcohol, drink water between your drinks, and give yourself plenty of time to drink that drink.  Remedies like vitamins, tranquilizers, aspirin, drinking more alcohol, breathing pure oxygen, exercising, and eating a particular food is useless. Fluid replacement is the only way to normalize the body’s chemistry.

THE UPS AND DOWNS of ALCOHOL

The benefits associated with moderate alcohol consumption:

.  Reduce your risk of developing heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and intermittent    claudication

.  Reduce your risk of dying from a heart attack

.  Possibly reduce your risk of strokes, particularly ischemic strokes

.  Lower your risk of gallstones

.  Possibly reduce your risk of diabetes

The risks associated with anything over moderate to excessive alcohol consumption can lead to serious health problems:

.  Cancer of the pancreas, mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus and liver, and breast cancer

.  Pancreatitis, especially in people with high levels of triglycerides in their blood

.  Sudden death in people with cardiovascular disease

.  Heart muscle damage (alcoholic cardiomyopathy) leading to heart failure

.  Stroke

.  Blood pressure

.  Brain atrophy (shrinkage)

.  Cirrhosis of the liver

.  Miscarriage

. Fetal alcohol syndrome in unborn child, including impaired growth injuries due to impaired motor     skills

. Suicide

People with certain health problems probably shouldn’t drink any alcohol.  If you have:

.  A history of a hemorrhagic stroke

.  Liver disease

.  Pancreatic disease

.  Evidence of precancerous changes in the esophagus, larynx, pharynx or mouth

.  Family history of alcoholism

.  If you are pregnant

The following target population should avoid drinking alcoholic beverages:

.  Children and adolescents.

.  People of any age who cannot drink moderately.

.  People who plan to drive, operate machinery, or take part in other physical activities that require focus, skill, decision-making, or coordination to maintain safety.

Myth   Alcohol is a stimulant.

Truth  Alcohol depresses the brain activity.

Alcohol reacts and interacts with many common frequently prescribed drugs and over-the-counter medications so check with your doctor and pharmacist before drinking any type of alcoholic beverage. For example, if you combine alcohol with aspirin, you increase your risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. And if you use alcohol and acetaminophen (Tylenol and other brands similar), you increase your risk of liver damage. The United States Food and Drug Administration requires all over-the-counter pain relievers and fever reducers to carry a warning label advising that those who consume three or more drinks a day to consult with their physicians before using the prescribed medication. Do you, or your family and friends take any of the following medications? If so, please note that people taking prescription or over the counter medications will have a reaction of some type when drinking alcohol. Alcohol alters the effectiveness or toxicity of many medications and some medications may increase blood alcohol levels.

.  Antibiotics

.  Anticoagulants

.  Antidepressants

.  Diabetes medications

.  Antihistamines

.  Anti-seizure medications

.  Beta-blockers

.  Pain relievers

.  Sleeping pills

So if a person drinks and uses another drug at the same time, the drug will be metabolized more slowly and will exert a more potent effect. This happens because your body is busy disposing of the alcohol, so the drug cannot be handled until later; which initiates a dose build up to where its effects are greatly amplified sometimes to the tune of an overdose.

Case in point, when a heavy drinker on prescription mediations stops drinking there is no alcohol to compete with other medications, so the drugs are metabolized by the liver much faster than before, which makes it hard to determine the correct dosage of a medication that was prescribed when that individual was typically under the influence of alcohol. So it may be a good idea to visit your doctor to see if you need to change the dosage.

More on the Downside of Alcohol

 Alcohol does for the drinker what nicotine does to the smoker, robbing the body of vitamins and minerals.

.  Stomach cells over secrete both acid and histamine causing inflammation.

.  Intestinal cells fail to absorb thiamin (required by the brain and neurological functions),

foliate (required for blood formation and digestion), vitamin B6 (needed for healthy blood),

and other vitamins.

.  Liver cells lose efficiency in the activation of vitamin D, which alters production and excretion of bile. Liver cells experience a reduced capacity to process and use vitamin A.

.  The kidney starts to excrete magnesium, calcium, potassium, and zinc.

.  Rod cells in the retina, which process vitamin A alcohol (retinol) to the form needed in vision, find themselves processing drinking alcohol instead.

.  Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome characterized by paralysis of the eye muscles, poor muscle coordination, impaired memory, and damaged nerves which can be treated with B vitamin thiamin yet to recover from this chronic condition you would need to reduce or stop your alcohol intake so you could metabolize your food.

.  Contributes to heart disease, stroke, and birth defects.

.  Inhibits the production of new cells and the rapid dividing of cells of the intestine and blood.

.  Alcoholic beverages can interfere with your ability to absorb and use calcium. And its diuretic quality promotes calcium loss through urine. Finally, Alcohol may counteract any beneficial effect calcium has on blood pressure.

When we take a look at alcohol and regulation of body weight, a variety of systems exist to maintain body weight whether it be your set-point or some other predetermined point.

Studies with both animals and humans have demonstrated the real existence of controls.

Your regulatory systems involving the brains neurotransmitters oversee the activity of feeding.  The catecholamines, norepinephrine and dopamine (neurotransmitters made from amino acids) are then released by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) in direct response to dietary consumption. These neurotransmitters govern the activities associated with the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that senses a variety of conditions in the blood then signal other parts of the brain or body to adjust those conditions when necessary.

Alcohol neurotransmitters affect the hypothalamus and its perception of consumption needs.  There is evidence to suggest regulation takes place on both a short and long-term basis; short term regulation of body weight and consumption needs referring to factors such as hunger, appetite, and satiety; while long term regulation involves a signal from the body’s adipose (fat) tissue when normal body composition is disturbed as in weight loss.

Myth   Wine and beer are mild and do not lead to addiction.

Truth  Wine and beer drinkers worldwide have the highest rates of death from alcohol-related illnesses. It’s not what you drink, but how much, that makes the difference.

Bourbon/80 proof     1.5 ounces      95 calories

Bourbon/86 proof      1.5 ounces      105 calories

Bourbon/90 proof      1.5 ounces       110 calories

Brandy/80 proof         1.5 ounces       95 calories

Brandy/86 proof         1.5 ounces       105 calories

Brandy/90 proof         1.5 ounces       110 calories

Gin/80 proof                1.5 ounces         95 calories

Gin/86 proof                1.5 ounces       105 calories

Gin/90 proof               1.5 ounces        110 calories

Rum/80 proof            1.5 ounces          95 calories

Rum/86 proof            1.5 ounces         105 calories

Rum/90 proof             1.5 ounces          110 calories

Scotch/80 proof         1.5 ounces            95 calories

Scotch/86 proof         1.5 ounces          105 calories

Scotch/90 proof         1.5 ounces           110 calories

Vodka/80 proof         1.5 ounces             95 calories

Vodka/86 proof          1.5 ounces          105 calories

Vodka/90 proof          1.5 ounces           110 calories

Whiskey/80 proof      1.5 ounces            95 calories

Whiskey/86 proof       1.5 ounces          105 calories

Whiskey/90 proof       1.5 ounces           110 calories

Beer                                 12 ounces          160 calories

Nonalcoholic beer        12 ounces             32 calories

Red wine                          4 ounces             85 calories

White wine                      4 ounces             80 calories

Margarita                         4 ounces           270 calories

Daiquiri                            4 ounces           225 calories

Pina colada                       4 ounces          262 calories

Lite on Tap

Amstel Light                      95 cals/5g carbs

Beck’s Premier Light    64 cals/3.9g carbs

Budweiser Select            99 cals/3.1g carbs

Coors Light                       102 cals/5g carbs

Corona Light                      99 cals/5g carbs

Heineken Premium Light      99 cals/6.8g carbs

Michelob Ultra               95 cals/2.6g carbs

Miller Chill                     110 cals/6.5g carbs

Miller Lite                        96 cals/3.2g carbs

O’Douls                            65 cals/13.3g carbs

Sam Adams Light          119 cals/9.6g carbs

If you want to include alcohol in a calorie-controlled diet plan, then drink no more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men. A “drink” is defined as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or one-and-a-half ounces of 80-proof liquor. You will need to account for such beverages in your daily caloric consumption.  A good strategy is drink with your meal.  It keeps you from drinking too much. How alcohol affects your body weight depends on your overall diet and exercise plan.

This brief commentary is meant simply to open your mind and explore some of the ways alcohol can affect your mental and physical wellness. Alcohol is noted by the news, popular magazines and television networks as a contributor in too many deaths, disturbing and uncontrollable behaviors that are connected to our young, aging, and famous. In the case of alcohol, the most assured path to health and wellness is to refuse it altogether, but knowing the social pressure and advertising dollars put into our celebrated alcoholic beverages; if you decide to drink, do so in mindful reflection of the potential outcomes and in moderation. Talk with your pharmacist. They will know alot about the substance you have been prescribed. These facts don’t mean that you can’t drink moderately and maintain a healthy weight, but rather pointing to the ugly fact that this delightful beverage is not a diet drink.  You booze you lose.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Nutrition and Your Health Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 5^th ed., 2000, Home and Garden Bulletin no. 232, available at www.usda.gov/cnpp or call (888) 878-3256

References:

Frances Sizer and Eleanor Whitney, Nutrition Concepts and Controversies, ninth edition.

L. Kathleen Mahan and Sylvia Escott-Stump, Krause’s Food, Nutrition & Diet Therapy.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA):

Neuroscience: Pathways to Alcohol Dependence Part II–Neuroadaptation, Risk, and Recovery, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2008

Neuroscience: Pathways to Alcohol Dependence Part 1–Overview of the Neurobiology of Dependence, Vol. 31, No. 3, 2008

Alcohol and Other Drugs, Vol. 31, No. 2, 2008

Systems Biology: The Solution to Understanding Alcohol-Induced Disorders?, Vol. 31, No.1, 2008

Alcohol Metabolism Part II: A Key to Unlocking Alcohol’s Effects, Vol. 30, No.1, 2007

Alcohol Metabolism Part I: Mechanisms of Action, Vol. 29, No. 4, 2006

Alcohol and Tobacco: An Update, Vol. 29, No. 3, 2006

National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions: Selected Findings, Vol. 29, No. 2, 2006

Health Services Research, Vol. 29, No.1, 2006

Focus on Young Adult Drinking, Vol. 28, No. 4, 2004/2005

Screening and Brief Intervention, Part II-A Focus on Specific Settings, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2004/2005

Screening and Brief Intervention, Part 1-An Overview, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2004/2005

Alcoholic Liver Disease, Part II – Mechanisms of Injury, Vol. 27, No. 4, 2003

Alcoholic Liver Disease, Part 1-An Overview, Vol. 27, No. 3, 2003

Alcoholic Brain Disease, Vol. 27, No. 2, 2003

Epidemiology in Alcohol Research, Vo. 27, No. 1, 2003

Women and Alcohol: An Update, Vol. 26, No. 4, 2002

Genetic Technology in Alcohol Research, Vol. 26, No. 3, 2002

Alcohol and Comorbid Mental Health Disorders, Vol., 26, No. 2, 2002

Preventing Alcohol-Related Problems, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2002

Alcohol-Related Birth Defects: An Update, Vol. 25, No. 3, 2001

Alcohol and Violence, Vol. 25, No. 1, 200

Life Science Editorial Services:

Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research

Drug & Alcohol Dependence

Alcohol & Alcoholism

Alcohol

Journal of Studies on Alcohol

American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse

Addiction

American Journal of Epidemiology

International Journal of Epidemiology

Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute:

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

National Institute on Drug Abuse

National Institutes of Health

National Institutes on Mental Health
http://www.nmh.nih.gov

National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCAD) 
http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/

National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) 
http://www.nasadad.org/

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration
http://www.samhsa.gov/

College Drinking Prevention, NIAAA
http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/

Drug Policy Alliance 
http://www.drugpolicy.org/homepage.cfm

Flavanols are the main type of flavonoid found in cocoa and chocolate. In addition to having antioxidant qualities, research indicates that flavanols have other positive influences on vascular health, such as reducing blood pressure by controlling arterial tension by increasing the amount of nitric oxide in the blood. Chocolate improves blood circulation to the brain for up to two and three hours after it is eaten. The flavonoids dilate the blood vessels in the brain allowing a larger blood flow, which means more oxygen to the brain. This helps the brain to fight off fatigue, insomnia, and aging, improving memory and learning.

When you eat a chocolate morsel, phenylethylamine, a neuronal disinhibitor switches on the brain’s pleasure nuclei inducing a state of euphoric excitement during sex. This basically boosts the sex drive producing a sensation similar to alcohol. The improved circulation and blood flow induced by flavonoids also enhances sex drive. Chocolate raises the serotonin levels similar to what an antidepressant drug does, stimulating endorphins.

Chocolate increase your good cholesterol (HDL) while lowering the bad cholesterol (LDL) all due to the antioxidant properties same as those found in fruits and vegetables, wine, and tea. The antioxidants found in chocolate actually clean up the arteries, acting like brooms sweeping plaque out of the arteries. Dark chocolate make blood platelets less sticky and able to clot decreasing the risk of heart attack by 50%, coronary disease by 10%, and premature death by 8%.

And if you catch a cold, the cocoa in chocolate has been shown to be more effective against coughing than many medicines without side effects with the exception of weight gain if consumed in excess. Then if you feel a little anemic, chocolate contains iron including magnesium, proven to minimize pre-menstrual symptoms (PMS). The high levels of magnesium in cacao is an important mineral that aids in the regulation of digestion, neurological functions, and the cardiovascular system improving overall health especially for individuals that are magnesium deficient.

If you want to live long and be well, study after study has concluded that chocolate extends life by about a year and impedes cell deterioration. But the caveat is to consume raw cacao every day rather than the more sweetened varieties.

Theobromine, an alkaloid similar to that found in caffeine is also found in chocolate.  It seems to be able to defend the mouth against tooth decay, and is more effective than fluoride in increasing the strength of the crystalline structure of teeth by eliminating streptococcus mutans, a bacteria found in the oral cavity that contributes to tooth decay.

The more chocolate is processed (through things like fermentation, alkalizing, roasting, etc.), the more flavanols are lost. Most commercial chocolates are highly processed. Although it was once believed that dark chocolate contained the highest levels flavanols, recent research indicates that, depending on how the dark chocolate was processed, this may not be true. The good news is that most major chocolate manufacturers are looking for ways to keep the flavanols in their processed chocolates. But for now, your best choices are likely dark chocolate over milk chocolate (especially milk chocolate that is loaded with other fats and sugars), and cocoa powder that has not undergone Dutch processing (cocoa that is treated with an alkali to neutralize its natural acidity).

Alas with everything in life there are two sides to every story. Look for the downside of chocolate in an upcoming issue of moderhippiemag.com or visit coachconner.com.

One of the most pressing problems associated with technostress is that people don’t get to unwind or recover.  There is a continual, unrelieved build up of stress on a chemical level, which in turn eventually contributes to a behavioral and/or physical problem. Technostress hits us on an emotional level and emotions control our hormones through biochemical changes in the brain. Whether techno-stressors are labeled good or bad, stress depletes the mind and body hindering its ability to perform efficiently. When technostress reaches extremely high levels, it becomes a concern because of the effect of the stress hormone cortisol.  When you operate on full throttle your glands become exhausted, and you end up with low levels of cortisol and no back up to increase the hormone.

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms of technological stressors are:

. Feelings of memory loss, forgetting what you started to do or why you walked into a particular room

. Impatient with self and others

. A lessened ability to relax or slow down

. Anxiety over having lost access to your cell phone, palm, TV or other types of techno equipment

. Headaches, stomach discomfort, back pain, ulcers, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

. Difficulty falling asleep

. Continuously checking your e-mail, voicemail, surfing the web, and other types of techno equipment, and not turning it off for the night

THE CURE

Managing Technostress

Ethel Roskies, author of Stress Management: A New Approach to Treatment (1991) makes the point that stress has become the fashionable disease of today and the treatment for stress is a popular and profitable activity. The commodity called stress has created the need for stress management methods. To manage the high-tech addiction of overload, we must go to the place it originates, the brain. To help the brain retain cognitive fitness, we must look at factors that affect the brain:

. Glucose (sugar) and H2O (water) – Low levels of glucose (hypoglycemia) and dehydration significantly affects the functioning of the brain.  Eating complex carbohydrates, fresh fruit and vegetables is a great way to replenish glucose and not feel run-down.  The slow release of glucose from complex carbs keeps the brains energy level consistent with less dramatic spikes representing a healthier choice then that of simple carbohydrates like fruit juice, candy or sweet treats which break down immediately causing the body to have dramatic spikes.

. Hydration – Keep your brain hydrated, about 80% of your brain is actually water, and the rest of it is taken up by both physical and biochemical structures.  Your brain uses about 25% of the oxygen and sugar that your body circulates for nutritional needs.

. Rest – You need recovery, downtime and sleep.  Studies show that optimal amounts of sleep range from 7 to 8 hours per night for men and 6 to 7 hours for women. Ignoring sleep is like neglecting to pay your credit card – it’s only going to get worse. Sleep and rest are a necessity not a luxury.

. Time Management – Give yourself more time to do everything by building a margin for error. Schedule time to take care of specific daily tasks.

. Time Out – Set regular “Time-Out” periods or simply go outside and take a break or meditate.

. Self Care – Meditate, stretch, and exercise. Get out of the office or home and do some deep breathing.

. Eye Strain – Take a short vision break every 30-minutes.

. Focus on the Moment – Limit multitasking and practice being present.

. Boundaries – Make clear distinctions between work times and free times. Limit the times of the day when you check emails, cell phone, play games, watch TV or access other technological devices. Use technology to create and publicize your boundaries. Educate and contract realistic timelines with others.

.  Prioritize – Ask yourself what is of primary importance in your life. Think about what refreshes you and deliberately plan to fit that activity into your schedule.

Bottom line, technostress manifests itself in each and every one of us to various degrees.  It is not a matter of “if” but rather “when” a technological glitch nails you.  Your ability to cope, and problem solve make the difference in the degree of perceived hassle.

I have one more question that has not been answered regarding whether technostress is a passing problem or continuous future concern for the future generations.  Today’s children have grown up in the information age, so will there always be the problem of information overload with increasing availability of information sources and ways to access the sources, including upgrades, enhancements, and newer and better hardware and software? My belief is that technology is not the problem, but rather the issue of time management and unrealistic expectations when assessing the effectiveness of a particular hardware or software in a work related scenario. Technology should be viewed as a sport which requires conditioning, cross training, proper nutrition, and recovery time.

In 1984, Craig Brod coined the phenomenon in his book “Technostress” which identified the techno phenomenon as promoting breaks in concentration, feelings of being overwhelmed, and a high degree of anxiety. The tools we use shape our minds and the human species is being shaped by these technological interactions. As a self-aware creature we are impressionable; subject to strong mental or emotional responses and able to receive and respond to the external stimuli of technological stress; the state of being constantly stimulated or perpetually “plugged in.”  I see it everyday, people glued to a cell phone or texting while driving or kids consumed with computer games or television.

This growing mindset has radically altered the way we build our personal and professional lives and how we interact with others. For instance, instead of confronting the “how” we react to techno stressors that cause mental and physical sickness, we prefer to focus on “what” we can fix with medications for sleep depravation, alertness, mood, indigestion, relaxation, and sex. We don’t regard technostress as a potential problem.

Once you have the disease it affects the brain, giving people a diminished ability to accurately estimate how long a task really takes to complete. This leads to constantly overestimating performance standards and timelines in the workplace and dampens one’s ability to manage their time effectively. This newfound perception of efficiencies is a false reality often leading to neglecting extra time for outside activities. Our sped up mental framework becomes a “time warp” increasing levels of frustration, anxiety and criticism of self, others and the workplace.

Even the human genes and memes are evolving at different rates. Genes refer to the makeup of all living things. Then there are the memes, which refer to ideas, messages, and opinions that are shared and modified within the human species. Memes can replicate and mutate thousands of times faster than genes thanks to the internet, and humanity has become pressured, stressed by changing ideas well before our cells have a chance to adapt, creating mental disconnects and high levels of dysfunction. The technology play with reveals what kind of species we will become.

Sadly technology increases time spent in sedentary work habits. Sitting before a computer screen or accessing other technological equipment for long periods of time increases mental labor, which in turn consumes a tremendous amount of energy, leading to a deep, emotionally based fatigue that is quite different from physical fatigue.  At the end of the day the inexorable advances associated with this “time saving” technology meant to help us stay more connected serve instead to keep us from ever fully disengaging.

Technological devices have overridden man’s natural rhythms that once defined the human species and now are blurring life’s boundaries. Technostress is just like any other addiction; you become an excessive-compulsive addict interacting with technology. The stress hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol fuel arousal and create the need, the rush and the high of being connected. When we decide to put our mind and body on the back burner, we are eventually going to receive an invoice in the form of necessary healing. This technological  addiction has produced a depressed population that is fragmented, lacking purpose, and filling doctor’s offices with an array of aliments.  We are without intimate connections and isolated from community support.

Another perspective was brought to the forefront in an article from Wired magazine, titled “Why the future doesn’t need us.”  Bill Joy, CEO of Sun Microsystem rants that the enormous computing power combined with the manipulative advances of physical sciences and the new, deep understanding in genetics open up the opportunity to completely redesign the world, for better or for worse. Joy predicts that the emerging technologies are likely to profoundly alter humanity and even life on earth.  He leaves us with the parting thought that as a species we are far from understanding how genetic patterns turn into organisms, yet we are well along in changing those patterns and thereby changing science from a way of understanding how nature works into a tool for changing what humanity will become.

A hundred years ago our greatest minds started to visualize a more efficient world where advances in technology would make life highly productive, consistent, and profitable. In return these technological marvels were supposed to give us more time for friends, family and ourselves. For instance, the technological invention we call the printing press didn’t subtract an economic value from society; rather it engendered an explosion of value that benefitted all mankind.

We are invaded on all fronts from computers, incoming faxes, copiers, E-mail, voicemail, chiming cell phones, TV, online games, DVDs, laptops, iPods, the iPad, The Kindle Reader, The Sleep Number and the list keeps getting bigger and better. Technological stress has become a national epidemic. The sheer speed of the technological experience produces an extreme future that impoverishes our present moments. What ever happened to the concept of “savoring” life? Isn’t that why all these devices came about in the first place?

We are like frogs in a simmering pot of technological change and we can’t even identify how this connectivity has affected our stress levels. The first inkling that there may be a problem came in 1984 when Craig Brod, author of Technostress identified the human cost of the computer revolution and the emerging problem as a modern day disease of adaptation caused by an inability to cope with the new computer technologies in a healthy manner. The symptoms of technostress during this period ranged from irritability, headaches, nightmares, and resistance to learning about the computer or an outright rejection of the technology layered with pressure in the work place to accept and utilize these new techno devices. Today’s information intense IT environment lends to the feeling of diminished human intelligence, less capable in comparison to most machines. The question is how are the relationships and activities we are connecting to online changing what it means to be human? To value technological and virtual reality over our humanity is a choice that will collide with over a hundred thousand years of biological wisdom, amputating our senses and crippling our ability to feel.

Granted we are no longer able to live in this world without being involved with some form of technology,but aren’t we all super human carrying our IPhones, Droids, and Crackberrys complete with Internet access? Technology may have a brain and store your info in the cloud but behavioral economist Richard Thaler refers to the human brain as a slow, erratic central processing unit making it almost impossible to handle more than several things at the same time. The end result is our minds create the illusion that we can multi-task. But isn’t that why we have technological devices? For instance, every one at some point has caught themselves cooking dinner while talking or texting a friend on the cell phone, doing a load of laundry and watching their favorite TV show.  I’ve done it, you’ve done it. Technology has given us the false perception of “Multitasking.” Even though technology enables us to maintain the illusion that we can do many things at the same time, the brain becomes overloaded and stressed out trying to keep up. During techno overload, your brain flips your body’s switches in an attempt to absorb large amounts of information in order to act on a decision or the processing of information, to acquire knowledge, to achieve higher levels of understanding, and for maximizing performance through learning. Your brain relies on a kind of mental accounting but it has limited processing abilities. We are not like a computer with the capability of storing or minimizing information. When involved in techno interactions, interruptions from sources such as cell phones and computers, there is a break in concentration, mental focus and continuity. According to researchers, with each interruption it takes approximately 25 minutes to get back to work.

A 2005 study sponsored by Hewlett-Packard found the average worker lost 10 IQ points when interrupted by ringing telephones and incoming e-mails, which they equated with missing an entire night of sleep. These techno timesavers turned out to be the very devices that we are told will make our lives more efficient and easier; yet promote unexpected mental and physical consequences. “This cortical flaw has been exacerbated by modernity”, says Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide.  He points to the notion that we live in a culture that’s awash in information; it’s the age of Google, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, cable news, Wikipedia, and LinkedIn. Because of this instant second to second processing of information bytes, we get anxious whenever we are cut off from all this knowledge, as if it is impossible to live, work or make decisions without being plugged in 24/7.  There is a cost that comes with all this technological advancement.  The hidden cost lies in the human brain; it wasn’t designed to deal with such a surfeit of data.  And within all this technological opportunity is the danger that we are constantly exceeding the capacity of our brainpower. Jonah Lehrer makes the analogy that it is like trying to run a new computer program on an old machine; the antique microchips try to keep up, but eventually they fizzle out.

Technology has increased the availability of information exchange and the speed at which that information can be acquired, giving our society a Polaroid mindset, searching for instant gratification. In fact the world has become interconnected to the point of mass hysteria and mental distraction. You can’t tell the gossip and rumor mill from the validated facts when hearing it online or in the news. The pure volume of information being consumed in your techno diet produces information fatigue syndrome. What scares me is that technology has changed our perception of time and has altered our internal clock to fast forward for information acquisitions which in turn leads to unrealistic expectations.

As in the movie CLICK starring Adam Sandler, a harried workaholic meets Christopher Walken and gets his hand on a magical remote that he uses to fast forward, bypassing life’s distractions; he mutes conversations, skips unpleasant situations and really lives an empty existence. In the end Sandler realizes how he has basically missed out on life, family experiences, valuable learning, health and wellness.

But Herbert Simon, Nobel Prize winner and late professor at Carnegie Mellon University said it best: “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” Technology has saddled us with blinders and has left us with a diminished understanding for what it takes to be world class; distorting our thinking and dulling our value for human excellence through the process of “intellectualizing and digitizing” monumental human achievements. This growing mindset has radically altered the way we build our personal and professional lives and how we interact with others.

Technology is here to stay, a permanent brick in the wall of our society – it is still in its infancy and we are just learning its effects on mind and bodies. These devices will only grow in use and with it technostress will become more common. Let’s not substitute our day to day reality with the virtual reality of cyberspace which can only clash with decades of biological wisdom, amputate our senses, hamper our feelings and perpetuate stress. I will leave you with this thought bite, as a society we need to balance our humanology with technology. If we don’t focus on the amount of technology we consume, we will start to normalize the abnormal.  Visit coachconner.com for more on techostress; How you Catch it and How you Cure it.

Factoid:  In 1963 a ten year old boy weighed, on average, 74.2 pounds. Now the average boy weighs 85 pounds.

There are also racial and class gaps in obesity rates, with more blacks and Hispanics being obese in 40 states and the District of Columbia. More than one-third of adults who earned less than $15,000 per year were obese. Among those who made $50,000 or more, 24 percent were obese. Those figures indicate that low weight is more a function in the U.S. of better diet choices than of poverty preventing people from having enough to eat.

Factoid: Although 80 percent of Americans realized that childhood obesity is a growing issue and more than 12 million American children and adolescents are obese — that’s one-third of American children — 84 percent of parents said they thought their own children were at a healthy weight.

Each year, obesity causes at least 112,000 excess deaths in the United States.  A study published in the August 24, 2006 New England Journal of Medicine showed increase risk of death among both men and women who were overweight but not obese. Obesity has been associated with numerous, adverse health risks. They include: type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, gallstones, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, GERD, stress incontinence, heart failure, degenerative joint disease, birth defects, miscarriages, asthma, (esophageal, colorectal, liver, pancreatic, lung, prostate, kidney, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma and leukemia), and  cancer (breast, colorectal, gallbladder, pancreatic, lung, uterine, cervical, ovarian, kidney, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma).

Yet with all this doom and gloom, it seems to be the American way to believe in a healthy lifestyle, but take a long hard look at the endless hoards of humanity eating super sized meals, living on energy drinks side by side with diet soft drinks, vitamin bars and smoothies available for everything from boosting energy to helping your mental and physical performance and of course weight loss.  In an effort to live life to the fullest, it seems we run through our over-committed, fast-paced daily lives trying to keep up with the Jones, The Biggest Loser, charity events, bible study, book and garden club, school conferences, after school activities, work and professional commitments while we grab a hamburger, fries, diet coke, Café Latte with 2%, a taco salad or chicken wrap.  We’ve become a fast food nation, in fact, Americans spend more money on fast food and eating out than on higher education, technology, transportation, movies, books, magazines, newspapers, and CDs combined.

Obesity is a complex problem, due to life style choices. If we hope to change our circumstances, we need to take a look at the bigger picture, not just eating low fat, no carbs, and lean protein.  Living the American dream means an abundance of inactivity, tired and stressed working parents, carry-out meals from Whole Food, and mindless eating in front of TV, or on line.
People are overweight because they eat more calories than they burn. This is not new information yet for some reason the average American doesn’t want to buy into the simplicity of that statement.  Think about it for a moment Asians living in their native countries aren’t fat because they eat whole food and get plenty of exercise in their daily lives till they move to  America. Carb load, pasta-eating marathoners aren’t overweight, because they get plenty of exercise, even Lance Armstrong when not in training is an easy 10 pounds more in weight due to less intense levels of activity. Daily activity, not just the consumption of fat and carbohydrate, make a critical difference between being obese or healthy.

Factoid: Most theories on obesity fall into three categories:  Genetic and parental influence, high caloric intake, and low energy expenditure.  Other factors related to obesity may have genetic component, including resting metabolic rate (RMR), energy cost of exercise, level of habitual physical activity, response to high consumption, and the relative rate of carbohydrates to lipid (fat) oxidation.

The Biology of Obesity

The biology of food intake is unbelievably complex, involving smell, taste, texture, site, temperature, cognitive and emotional responses and metabolic/autonomic information, which signal the brain to initiate or cease eating. Scientific studies have known and identified several substances that act on the brain to signal a need for an increase in food intake. Likewise, several substances have been identified that signal the brain to decrease food intake.  The newest research on obesity was done by an obesity researcher at the University of Washington named Adam Drewnowski.  He has spent thirty years studying human taste, food preferences and dietary choices. Drewnowski gave himself a hypothetical dollar to spend.  He wanted to understand why in today’s plentiful American society, people with the least amount of money to spend on food are the ones most likely to be overweight.  In the pursuit of answering this question, he discovered that he could buy the most calories per dollar in the middle aisles of the supermarket.  As you know the middle aisles of a supermarket represent a landscape of imperishable packaged goods, processed foods with a minimum of 30 ingredients and soft drinks. Fresh food, natural and organic, dairy, meat, fish, and produce line the perimeter of most grocery stores.  Drewnowski found that one dollar had the purchasing power to buy 1,200 calories of a processed snack food yet only 250 calories of fresh produce. Then of course you need something to wash it all down which translated into another dollar worth of soda for 875 calories but only 170 calories of fresh orange juice. Let’s face it America has become a food fun house riddled with fatty, salty, sugary, delicious foods at every corner, and more to the point, accessible and cheap. It comes down to profitability and how the food manufacturer, restaurant, or grocery store can make one more penny on the sale.

Diet and Obesity and Genetics

Of course other studies suggest that shared genes are more important than shared living environment when talking obesity.  Yet not all researchers believe that genetic factors dominate obesity, biological inheritance was found to account for only 25 percent of the variance in a person’s fat mass.  Non-genetic factors influencing obesity such as life style choices, environmental surroundings, and cultural factors were shown to be more important.

Ok, yes each individual is metabolically unique with a different reaction to food absorption of vitamins and minerals, or the reactions from a sugar surge, caffeine rush, alcohol buzz, or the simple sensory stimulation and craveability of specific food products loaded with sugar, fat and salt. But what if you eat healthy foods yet can not seem to control your appetite?   Voilà, the Atkins Diet, or a high protein – low carb/no carb diet will remedy that problem advocating eating protein at every meal. Atkins philosophy was that this type of diet gives a person the opportunity to control their appetite. Yes it is well documented that protein provides an individual more satiety than fat. Yet a well balanced diet full of whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, seafood, and low fat dairy beats a diet full of protein hands down by delivering the body an abundance of fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Despite the controversy over diets, food groups, and exercise, these studies demonstrate that individuals are all engineered differently, making some more prone to obesity than others because of genetic factors.  Unfortunately, these types of individuals must be extraordinarily careful with their diet and exercise behavior if they hope to counteract genetic tendencies.  Regardless of being good or bad concerning their diet and exercise habits, many times these individuals must accept a body shape and size that is different than the mass media portrays.

It should be no surprise that studies indicates that both obese children and adults are less active than normal-weight people.  In general, research data shows that physical activity decreases in direct relationship to the degree of obesity.  With all the research and studies out there we still don’t know whether inactivity is the primary source of weight gain or rather obesity leads to inactivity.  Regardless of the scenario, the interesting news is the calorie expenditure of the obese person is more than a person of normal weight.  In other words, even though obese people tend to engage in less physical activity than a lean person, they expend more energy in the course of that activity due to pure body mass.  The end result is that daily energy expenditure from physical activity has been found in most studies to be of little different between the obese and non-obese people, despite a lower level of physical activity.  This was due primarily to a higher Resting Metabolism Rate in the obese, which is attributed to having to maintain a larger body mass.  In general, obese people were found to expend more energy each day than nonobese people, for this reason, most thought leaders agree that overeating is a more important factor than inactivity in the explanation for the large and increasing numbers of obese people in developing countries.  Nevertheless, it is my belief that increased physical activity, especially cardiovascular intense exercise is necessary for the overall success of any weight-management program combined with sensible diet habits. And by investing in heart health you can increase your efficiency and performance when simply living life or working out.

Factoid: You often hear and it is widely believed that fat children become fat adults, yet only about one-third of obese preschool aged children become obese as adults.  But as the child ages, about one half of obese school-age children become obese adults,  and more than 80 percent of obese adolescents remain obese into adulthood.
Americans have become continually fatter for years, and with the increase in waistlines has come a surplus of conventional advice, TV shows, diet books and pills and supplements, weight loss specialist and gurus. The message seems to be, if we could just return to traditional diets, if we just walk for 20 minutes a day, exercise gurus and government officials maintain, America’s excess pounds would slowly but surely melt away. With this being said, the director of the USA’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared that obesity is the nation’s number one health problem. Dr Julie Gerberding said that US citizens are far more likely to die from diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes which are caused by bad lifestyle choices such as smoking, eating too much and exercising too little. Statistics show that 65% of US adults are overweight or obese, and in three states – Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia – 25% of adults are obese. The top five causes of death in the US are heart disease, cancer, stroke, lung disease, and accidents. However, obesity is the leading cause of the top three killers on this list.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 29th October 2003.
Diet and exercise do matter, but they now know these environmental influences alone do not determine an individual’s weight. Body composition also is dictated by genetics/DNA and monitored by the brain. Bypassing these physical systems is not just a matter of “willpower.” Scientists are less optimistic. But the notion of getting back to American basics and the “Good Ole Day” is suspect. In 1966, when Americans were still comparatively thin, more than two billion hamburgers already had been sold in McDonald’s restaurants, noted Dr. Barry Glassner, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California. The recent rise in obesity may have more to do with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles than with the quality of our diets.
Glassner points out, if we were to go back to the good ole days, we would find that the meals we romanticize in the past somehow left out the reality of what Americans were really eating.  The average meal had whole milk and ended with apple pie a-la-mode. The typical meal had plenty of fat and calories.
Then there is the notion of exercise. First, the federal government told Americans to exercise for 30 minutes a day. Then, dietary guidelines issued in 2005 changed the advice, recommending 60 to 90 minutes of moderate exercise a day. Many said the goal was unrealistic for Americans. But for many scientists, the question was whether such an exercise program would really help people lose weight. Evidence suggests the after-dinner walk or 30 minutes on the treadmill may seem like a good choice, and it may be better than another night watching the television. But modest exercise of this sort with out a reduction in caloric intake may not do much to reduce weight.
Dr. Jeffrey, another obesity researcher at Rockefeller University notes the balance between calories and exercise is far more difficult than most people imagine.  The math ought to work this way: Let do the math, there are 3,500 calories in a pound. If you subtract 100 calories per day by walking for 20 minutes, you ought to lose a pound every 35 days. Clearly there is a problem with the math.
Factoid: First, it’s difficult for an individual to hold calorie intake to a precise amount from day to day. Meals at home and in restaurants vary in size and composition; the nutrition labels on purchased foods — the best guide to calorie content — are at best rough estimates. Calorie counting is therefore an imprecise art.
Needs and Rewards
It has been said that the brain is the command center of an elaborate communication network essential to energy regulation. This network involves the brain, the central and peripheral nervous system, the gastro-intestinal tract, the hormonal system, fat tissue and more. It works like this, the brain’s hypothalamus receives signals from all these areas of the body, integrating the information, then prioritizing what needs to be done to maintain the body’s internal balance called the homeostatic system. If scientists could just explain the failure of the body’s homeostatic system, we could maintain energy balance and our bodies could compensate by burning more calories or by lessening our appetite.
Dr. Barry E. Levin, a neurologist at New Jersey Medical School, has been doing just that by investigating the brain’s role in obesity for more than 20 years. His recent findings suggest that exercise early in life may prevent obesity, even in people who have a genetic propensity to gain weight. Levin was asked what drives a person to overeat, he suggested the balance between food intake and energy expenditure is a complex process that involves two systems in the brain: a need-based system that triggers hunger when the body requires energy, and a reward-based system that triggers the desire to eat. The two sites are close to each other anatomically and work like parts of a machine.
The body’s need-based system involves metabolism. It’s the part that monitors calories and receives signals from the body — for example, shifting levels of glucose or the hormone  insulin and leptin — that tell you you’ve eaten enough and it’s time to stop. If you’re genetically prone to becoming obese, you may not be very sensitive to those signals, and you’ll eat more before stopping than someone who is not obesity-prone.
Everyone’s system strives to maintain a constant weight, or set point. The set point can be shifted upward, but only over time. If you overeat during a single meal — say, a big Thanksgiving dinner — your body goes into overdrive to try to get rid of those excess calories. But if you gain weight gradually, your body eventually will become accustomed to a higher weight and work to maintain it shifting to a new set point.
When Levin was asked about the brain’s reward system, his reply focused on the tastes and textures of your favorite foods, and the joys of dining out with family and friends, is linked to many of the same metabolic pathways as the need-based system.  When interviewed by David Kessler, author of The End of Overeating, Barry Levin, was a physician and professor at the New Jersey Medical School, where he demonstrated he could genetically bred rats that would be more prone to obesity. Levin bred one strain to overfeed when a high-calorie diet was available and the other strain which did not ordinarily overfeed-an obesity-resistant rat. Yet after a period of eating extra calories, the obesity-resistant rats typically cut back their food consumption much faster than obesity-prone rats.
But when both groups of rats were offered a rich, creamy liquid high in sugar and fat, those patterns changed.  The brain played by a different set of rules. All the rats ate without restraint, gorging themselves.  His findings concluded that increasing the fat content of a resistant rat’s diet won’t make the animal overeat or become obese. But when the same obese-resistant rat was feed a diet high in fat and sugar, it would grow just as fat as an obesity-prone rat on a high-calorie diet. So this reward system seems to override everything, even normal signals of hunger and satiety. It drives many people to overeat and probably is responsible for much of the increase in obesity we’ve seen over the past few decades.
This study points to the fact that genes are responsible for 60 to 70 percent of obesity, in that they can program you to be obesity-prone. Your set point is genotype-specific, meaning it’s tied to your genetic template, and it’s very difficult to change. In fact, once an obesity-prone individual actually becomes obese, it’s nearly impossible to return to a normal weight. So although many people believe that individuals who are overweight simply lack the willpower to stop overeating, in fact it’s much more complicated. If someone is obesity-prone, many times they are also highly sensitive to cues in the environment, such as the smell or taste of a favorite food. At the moment and the foreseeable future, the best treatment for obesity is prevention and management.
Summary
Obesity can lead to a long list of complications, such as heart disease, diabetes and several forms of cancer. It can also lead to lower self-esteem, cause depression and discomfort in social situations, and can significantly impact a person’s quality of life. Opinions differ on the cause of obesity, with some arguing that “super-sized” restaurant portions and aggressive food industry advertising are to blame; others fault heredity and lifestyle. While genetics does play a part in deciding who is fat and who is thin, the sedentary lifestyle led by most Americans is making it increasingly difficult for them to suppress the hunger gene.
“Almost all of our current eating or activity patterns are those that promote weight gain—using the least possible amount of energy or maximizing quantity rather than quality in terms of food,” said Dr. Shiriki Kumanyika, professor of epidemiology at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine in Philadelphia. “People haven’t just made the decision to eat more and move less; the social structure has played into people’s tendencies to go for convenience foods and labor-saving devices.” She says the solution is to ensure that those who need to lose weight do not have to do it alone. Dr. Kumanyika is the chair of the working group at the American Heart Association (AHA). Kumanyika  is not talking about creating a dieting society, but more about looking at the choices in front of people on a daily bases.
Preventing weight gain needs to be integrated into everyday life. She notes that this means making good food choices for healthful eating and physical activity. By strategically eating healthier meals, smaller food portion sizes in restaurants and getting off the couch, walking or riding a bike instead of driving. As a society we need to make changes that will move the social norm to where physical activity is the new behavior.
While individuals need to be responsible for their feet and forks, given the level of obesity in the country it would be silly to think that the environment doesn’t play a role. Most professionals believe that if we are to combat this epidemic, we need to create a modern world where the path of least resistance leads to physical activity and healthy eating.  New research suggests that the number of healthy citizens is in a steady decline.  It is estimated that, over the next decade, the public dangers associated with obesity will escalate to the point of overshadowing the health advantages associated with other health initiatives such as anti-smoking.

References:

David Kessler, MD, The end of overeating, 2009

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