Plant-based Supplement Increase Urinary pH
Some foods are acid-forming in the body while others are alkalinizing. In order to maintain the acid-base balance needed to keep the tissues healthy, the body most mobilize internal resources to draw tissue pH back toward homoeostasis if the diet is imbalanced heavily in the direction of either acid-forming or alkalinizing foods. The typical American diet is heavily imbalanced in the direction of acid-forming foods (meats, dairy, grains) versus alkalinizing foods (fruits and vegetables). This imbalance may increase the risk of osteoporosis and other health problems. Researchers from the University of Texas recently investigated whether a plant-based dietary supplement could reduce the acid load of men and women eating their normal diet. They used urinary pH as an indicator of acid load. Thirty-four subjects used the supplement for 14 days after establishing their baseline urinary pH in a seven-day pre-intervention period. On average, urinary pH increased from 6.07 in the baseline period to 6.27 at the end of the intervention. The authors of the study, which was published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, concluded, "Supplementation with a plant-based dietary product for at least seven days increases urinary pH, potentially increasing the alkalinity of the body."
Aerobic, Anaerobic Exercise Impact Heart Risk Factors Differently
According to the results of a new study by Brazilian researchers, an exercise program designed to minimize heart disease risk should include both aerobic and anaerobic workouts, as they affect the various risk factors differently. Twenty-two men and women were separated into three groups. Over a 12-week period, one group exercised at an intensity equaling 90 percent of anaerobic threshold, one group exercise at an intensity equaling 110 percent of anaerobic threshold, and a third group did not exercise. Both types of exercise affected all of the measured heart disease risk factors significantly compared to inactivity, but aerobic exercise had the greatest impact on hip circumference and total cholesterol, while anaerobic exercise had the greatest impact on waist-to-hip ratio. The effects of the two forms of exercise on total body mass, body mass index, waist circumference, blood glucose and body composition were roughly equal.
Telephone Weight-Loss Coaching Works
Researchers at Brigham Young University recently studied the independent and combined effects of telephone weight-loss coaching and a diet supplement on weight loss in 120 overweight men and women. Half of the subjects received 11, 30-minute telephone coaching sessions over four months and the other half did not. Within each group, half of the subjects also took a daily diet supplement while the other half received a placebo. Subjects receiving coaching lost more weight than those that did not, and subjects receiving the supplement lost more weight than those that received the placebo. Subjects receving the coaching only lost more weight than those receiving the supplement only, and those that received both lost the most weight of any group. So, what was the diet supplement? The study abstract doesn't identify it!
Beta-Alanine Effective in Elderly
It's not all bad news for the makers of beta-alanine supplements. While most recent studies on younger populations have failed to support the results of earlier studies showing that beta-alanine supplementation increases anaerobic endurance, a new study by researchers at the University of Oklahoma suggests that it does in elderly persons. Twenty-six elderly men and women were randomly given either a beta-alanine supplement or a placebo for 90 days. All of the subjects submitted to fitness tests before and after the treatment period. More than two-thirds of those in the beta-alanine group showed improvement after the treatment period, compared to 21.5 percent of those in the placebo group. Why did more than one in five of those in the placebo group improve? That's what I want to know!
