Salt myths, 8 glasses of water a day, hospital rankings, growth hormone, American Medical Association

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A column by Mike Furci that brings you research, trends and other info to help you with your fitness, health and nutritional needs.


...it’s not necessary to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to maintain optimum health? We’ve been told this arbitrary recommendation for years. There is little evidence for or against any of the supposed benefits of extra water, such as increased toxin excretion, improved skin tone, lessened hunger, and reduced headache frequency. A review of the available research concludes that for average healthy people, more water doesn’t mean better health. (Mercola.com newsletter)

Bill Maher

…only when a muscle is contracting with the greatest possible force at any given moment is there maximum intensity? When you’re training in such a way that every rep of every set requires an absolute maximum effort, the duration of that workout must be and will be brief. High intensity muscular contraction, in other words, prevents a large number of such contractions.

So, maximum training intensity limits the duration of your training. What’s even more significant is that anything less than maximum intensity will result in less than optimal gains. (“High Intensity Training: The Mike Mentzer Way”)

...“U.S. News and World Report” ranks America’s hospitals? They also rank colleges, law schools and medical schools. I’ve read that these institutions go through great lengths to improve their standings because these reports have so much influence. In their 2007 edition of America’s Best Hospitals, 5,462 medical centers and 16 specialties were ranked. Only 173 hospitals made it into the rankings, and a mere 18 displayed expertise with at least six specialties, qualifying for the Honor Roll. Below are the top five. (US News and World Report)

1. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
2. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
3. UCLA Medical Center
4. Cleveland Clinic (I give it some Home Town Pride!)
5. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

...there are many myths about salt? The following are all false:

Myth 1: There is no difference between unrefined sea salt and refined table salt.
Unrefined salt contains more than 80 minerals and elements that are useful in our body. Refined table salt contains two, along with chemicals that were used to process it.

Myth 2: Salt causes hypertension. Two authors looked at 57 trials of people with normal blood pressure. A low sodium diet resulted in an insignificant reduction of blood pressure. Many other studies have found similar findings. (Blood pressure has more to do with chronically elevated insulin levels associated with a higher carb diet.)

Myth 3: A low salt diet is healthy. Researchers have found there is no difference in deaths and cardiovascular events between low salt groups and high salt groups, although other research has shown a 400 percent increased risk of heart attack associated with a high salt diet. (Vitamin Research News 2008;22(1))

...growth hormone promotes lipolysis (fat burning) and inhibits lipogenisis (fat storage), while also stimulating protein synthesis (muscle building)?
(nmsociety.org)

...a protein/carb pre-workout drink enhances the growth hormone response to exercise? Remember, though, that carbohydrates generally decrease GH levels if you are not training. (nmsociety.org)

...the American Medical Association (AMA) has never been about health, but instead wealth and power? In 1899 the AMA began granting its “seal of approval” to certain drug companies that placed large ads in JAMA (the “Journal of the American Medical Association”). To no surprise there was never any testing of any products. If you paid, you got the seal. By 1950 the ad revenue exceeded $9 million thanks to the tobacco industry. To put it quite simply, the same is true today; if you do not pay, you are excluded. To keep their control over the health industry the AMA considers osteopathy and homeopathy to be cults, and still refuses to endorse chiropractic as a viable alternative, despite the evidence. (Mercola.com)

This AMA monopoly is responsible for the following problems in conventional medicine:

  • Heavy ties to the drug industry
  • Reliance on drugs, surgery and hospital stays
  • No competition, which leads to outrageous prices
  • Calling tried and true remedies and all non-medical doctors quacks

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