No Sweat For the past few decades, we've been continually bombarded by exercise propaganda that tells us bouncing around and working up a sweat is the key to good health. But I still maintain that if you have a good diet, low in carbohydrates and vegetable fats and high in animal fats and animal protein, and if you take adequate amounts of testosterone, creatine, and human growth hormone, exercise isn't really needed at all to maintain muscle mass and good health. Exercise will, of course, increase exercise tolerance, but that does not guarantee that you are going to live longer. I recommend a book titled The Exercise Myth, by Henry A. Solomon, M.D., for a good perspective on this subject. However, for people in a sedentary job, which means most of us, a moderate amount of weightlifting is a good thing. For people entering middle age, it's more than a good thing; it is essential to preventing muscular atrophy. Creatine is a useful adjunct to this; so is testosterone if blood levels are low and in most men, testosterone levels begin dropping by the age of 40. (Of course, it's always a good idea to have hormone levels tested before your start supplementing.) You go to your doctor with heartburn. He agrees with your diagnosis. You've tried the drugstore remedies, and they have been ineffective. You ask him what can be done, "Well," he replies cheerfully, "why don't we try surgery?" You are dumbfounded by this preposterous idea. Countering with a smile of your own, you ask: "What will they do, cut out my esophagus?" Your doctor chuckles, "No, no, nothing quite that drastic." We're just talking gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), here, not cancer. The surgeon just wraps a little of your stomach around the end of your esophagus and you're as good as new." Tell your doctor you'll get back to him on this one. Surgeons have been doing this procedure for 10 years at the rate of 35,000 a year and the latest study shows dismal results. It's strange that surgeons can get away with doing just about anything they want in experimenting on patients - there is no controlling body among surgeons to prevent them for doing irresponsible things. However, if a medical doctor attempts something not approved by the medical board, say hydrogen peroxide therapy or phototherapy of the blood, he will lose his license. Or he at least will be reprimanded and put on probation. GERD is not a simple medical problem, and surgery is not the answer. Everything imaginable has been tried, and the success rate is still low. One recent study found that chewing gum has a positive effect for many patients. There is a scientific basis for this. Chewing gum causes a significant increase in salivary volume. Saliva is rich in esophago-protective factors, including epidermal growth factor, mucin, proteins and prostaglandin E2. I have found that freshly squeezed cabbage juice, one 8-ounce glass as often as needed, can often be remarkably effective. |
