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Statin Drugs can reverse the benefits of exercise!

Statins Can Undo the Benefits of Exercise
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The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, discovered that statin use led to dramatically reduced fitness benefits from exercise, in some cases actually making the volunteer LESS fit than before!
The participants in the study included 37 overweight, sedentary men and women, all of whom had symptoms of metabolic problems, such as high blood pressure or excess abdominal fat. None of them had exercised regularly within the past 12 months, and most had slightly but not excessively elevated cholesterol levels.
Before the trial, muscle biopsies were taken from each participant to evaluate mitochondrial content, and their aerobic fitness was determined using treadmill testing. All participants were instructed to maintain their regular diet. The participants were then divided into two groups. One group was given a daily 40 mg dose of simvastatin (Zocor). The other group did not receive any medication. Both groups then began a supervised 12-week exercise program, walking or jogging on a treadmill for 45 minutes, five days a week. At the end of the three-month long trial, their aerobic fitness and muscles were retested. The results were astounding:
On average, unmedicated volunteers improved their aerobic fitness by more than 10 percent. Mitochondrial content activity increased by 13 percent
Volunteers taking 40mg of simvastatin improved their fitness by a mere 1.5 percent on average, and some had reduced their aerobic capacity at the end of the 12-week fitness program. Mitochondrial content activity decreased by an average of 4.5 percent
According to senior study author John P. Thyfault, a professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri:
“Low aerobic fitness is one of the best predictors of premature death. And if statins prevent people from raising their fitness through exercise, then that is a concern.”
How Statins Might Undo Fitness Benefits and Make Your Heart Health Worse
The key to understanding why statins prevent your body from reaping the normal benefits from exercise lies in understanding what these drugs do to your mitochondria—the energy chamber of your cells, responsible for the utilization of energy for all metabolic functions.
The primary fuel for your mitochondria is Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), and one of the primary mechanisms of harm from statins in general appears to be related to COQ10 depletion. This also explains why certain statin users in the featured trial ended up withworse aerobic fitness after a steady fitness regimen.
It's been known for many decades that exercise helps to build and strengthen your muscles, but more recent research has revealed that this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential role exercise can play in your health. A 2011 review published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism pointed out that exercise induces changes in mitochondrial enzyme content and activity (which is what they tested in the featured study), which can increase your cellular energy production and in so doing decrease your risk of chronic disease.
The researchers stated:
"Increasing evidence now suggests that exercise can induce mitochondrial biogenesis in a wide range of tissues not normally associated with the metabolic demands of exercise. Perturbations [changes] in mitochondrial content and (or) function have been linked to a wide variety of diseases, in multiple tissues, and exercise may serve as a potent approach by which to prevent and (or) treat these pathologies."
Increasing mitochondrial activity is incredibly important because free radicals, which are toxic byproducts of metabolism as well as exposures to chemicals, pollutants and other toxins, can overwhelm your body's defenses, leading to oxidative damage to cells and tissues that can destroy cellular proteins, lipids and DNA, as well as lead to the loss of mitochondrial function. In the long-term, irreversible damage in the mitochondria can occur, leading to:
Lower threshold for physical exercise
Impaired ability to utilize carbohydrates and fat for energy
Insulin resistance
Excessive weight gain
Accelerated aging
If You’re on a Statin Drug, You MUST Take COQ10 find it here
If you take a statin drug without supplementing with CoQ10—or ideally, the reduced form, called ubiquinol, which is far more effective—your health is at serious risk. CoQ10 is used by every cell in your body, but especially your heart cells. Cardiac muscle cells have up to 200 times more mitochondria, and hence 200 times higher CoQ10 requirements than skeletal muscle.
Now imagine if you start straining your heart with exercise and not counteracting the CoQ10 depletion caused by the drug... it’s no wonder, really, that statin users couldn’t improve their fitness levels! There simply wasn’t enough mitochondrial fuel in their system. This is why supplementing with ubiquinol or CoQ10 is so critical when you’re taking a statin drug. A recent study in theEuropean Journal of Pharmacology7 showed that ubiquinol effectively rescued cells from the damage caused by the statin drug simvastatin, thereby protecting muscle cells from myopathies.
Premature aging is yet another side effect of statin drugs, and it's also a primary side effect of having too little CoQ10. Deficiency in this nutrient also accelerates DNA damage, and because CoQ10 is beneficial to heart health and muscle function this depletion leads to fatigue, muscle weakness, soreness and, ultimately, heart failure...
Again demonstrating the necessity of CoQ10 supplementation during statin therapy, a recent study evaluating the benefits of CoQ10 and selenium supplementation for patients with statin-associated myopathy found that, compared to those given a placebo, the treatment group experienced significantly less pain, decreased muscle weakness and cramps, and less fatigue.
Statins also interfere with the mevalonate pathway, which is the central pathway for the steroid management in your body. This too could be a contributing factor as to why statins have such a detrimental impact on your ability to reap health benefits from exercise. As previously explained by Dr. Ron Rosedale:
"First and foremost, cholesterol is a vital component of every cell membrane on Earth. In other words, there is no life on Earth that can live without cholesterol. That will automatically tell you that, in and of itself, it cannot be evil. In fact, it is one of our best friends. We would not be here without it. No wonder lowering cholesterol too much increases one's risk of dying. Cholesterol is also a precursor to all of the steroid hormones. You cannot make estrogen, testosterone, cortisone, and a host of other vital hormones without cholesterol."
Beware the Health Hazards of Statin Drugs!
First, if you are a woman, it’s critical for you to know that statins are classified as a "pregnancy Category X medication" meaning,it causes serious birth defects, and should NEVER be used if you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also announced it’s considering additional warning labels for statin drugs. Among them are warnings that statins may increase your risk of:
Liver damage detox your liver with Optimal health by Health Flex
Memory loss and confusion , Alzheimers, and dementia can be combated with Methylcobalamin B-12
Type 2 diabetes
Muscle weakness (for certain statins)
In all, statin drugs have been directly linked to over 300 side effects,

EXERCISE CAN HELP PREVENT DEMENTIA

Exercise for Brain Health
by Dr. Janet Zand
   If you're concerned about developing Alzheimer's, you may want to consider adopting a very intensive exercise routine. For years, researchers have linked exercise with a reduced risk of heart disease and dementia. What was curious, however, was how and why exercise reduced the risk of dementia.
   Fortunately, researchers at the Mayo Clinic published a very interesting paper that helped explain what was at the root of this odd connection--and found it was nitric oxide.  Nitric Oxide produced naturally in the body (in the endothelium--the lining of arteries), is essential to help keep arteries open and functioning, so that oxygen-rich blood can flow throughout the body.
   It makes sense that if arteries in the brain are not experiencing healthy blood flow, thinking may become sluggish and memory problems could occur. But N-Os effect on the brain goes even deeper than that.
   The Mayo researchers found that when N-O production is inhibited, a biochemical reaction occurred that leads to an increase in amyloid precursor protein: The building block for amyloid plaque
   Amyloid plaques are sticky buildup that accumulates outside nerve cells (neurons). Amyloid is a protein that is normally found throughout the body. For reasons as yet unknown, in Alzheimer's the protein divides improperly, creating a form called beta amyloid, which is toxic to neurons in the brain.
   As neurons begin to die, they mix with the amyloid protein and form plaques on the brain--the hallmark of an Alzheimer's diagnosis.
   Because N-O is generated during intensive exercise, it is a viable way to increase N-O levels in the body and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.
   According to senior author Zvonimir Katusic, a professor of anesthesiology and pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic, "There is a lot of literature showing that every time you exercise, you stimulate the endothelium to produce more nitric oxide. What we have identified in this paper may help explain the reported cognitive benefit of exercise."    Of course, not everyone is able to exercise on a regular basis or at levels intensive enough to promote N-O production in their body. Fortunately, there are other natural options for increasing N-O production, such as supplementing your diet with N-O activating foods high in dietary nitrates. Preserving healthy blood vessel walls is important to preventing cognitive impairment and ultimately Alzheimer's disease, but that's not all.. Professor Katusic also noted that a variety of conditions known to increase heart disease risk--high cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and aging--are all associated with reduced levels of N-O in the endothelium Thanks to these researchers and others like them, we know just how important N-O--or lack of N-O--is to our health. From the brain, to the heart, to every artery and capillary that pumps life-giving blood throughout the entire human body, N-O is essential to maintaining quality Optimal Health

Can a just short little interval exercise help?

Top Kinetics and exercise information

Ever wonder just how much exercise you really need to get good results? Many people don’t know.A team of researchers from McMaster University wanted to find out. They looked at two groups; one was healthy middle-aged men and women and the other were older people who were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.Each was tested on the stationary bike for things like peak power output and maximum heart rate. As a whole, participants in both groups were out of shape. Researchers wanted to find out if interval training provided the same fitness and health benefits as the more lengthy and traditional moderate endurance training that so many people do.

People in both groups were then put on a program of cycling intervals that included short burst of strenuous exercise at roughly 90 percent of their maximum heart rate followed by one minute of rest. This exercise-then-rest regimen was repeated 10 times over the course of 20 minutes.The results?Both groups showed significant improvements in their health and fitness.Impressed with the results, scientists performed a separate experiment to see if Type 2 diabetes patients could also experience benefits from such training.The answer is yes.

Just a single session of exercise that used one minute of intense training followed by one minute of rest improved blood sugar regulation especially after meals.

Martin Gibala, professor of kinesiology at McMaster who oversaw the high-intensity studies said, “If you have time for regular 30-minute or longer endurance exercise training, then by all means, keep it up. There’s an impressive body of science showing that such workouts are very effective at improving health and fitness. But if time constraints keep you from lengthier exercise, consult your doctor for clearance, and then consider rapidly pedaling a stationary bicycle or sprinting uphill for one minute, aiming to raise your heart rate to about 90 percent of your maximum. Pedal or jog easily downhill for a minute and repeat nine times, perhaps twice a week. It’s very potent exercise and very quickly, it’s done.”And if leaving the house or the office is difficult, use those stairs! A study on mortality rate in men with varying levels of physical activity, as would be expected, found that the group of men with high levels of physical activity had a 32% reduction in mortality rate compared to those in the sedentary group. A study on mortality rate in men with varying levels of physical activity, as would be expected, found that the group of men with high levels of physical activity had a 32% reduction in mortality rate compared to those in the sedentary group.

A subset of these sedentary men began exercising at or around age 50 – after 10 years, these men had the same mortality rate as the men who had been actively exercising all along.¹

In addition to the many well-known benefits of exercise (prevents chronic disease, reduces cancer risk, beneficial for heart health), there is now accumulating evidence that exercise slows aging at the DNA level.

Telomeres are non-coding regions located on the end of linear chromosomes, and they are shortened with each cell division until the cell no longer divides. For this reason, telomere length is an indicator of cellular aging. Telomere length is maintained in actively dividing cells (such as stem cells and immune cells) by an enzyme called telomerase. There is an inverse association between leisure time exercise energy expenditure and telomere length – meaning that those who exercise regularly have “younger” DNA in their immune cells than those who are sedentary.^2-3A study of middle-aged German track and field athletes found not only longer telomeres in immune cells but also increased activity of the telomerase enzyme and decreased expression of cell-cycle inhibitors – molecules that prevent cell division – in these athletes compared to age-matched untrained individuals.⁴

Collectively, these studies tell us that exercise not only prevents disease, but promotes longevity, even if we get a late start.

References:

1. Byberg L et al. Total mortality after changes in leisure time physical activity in 50 year old men: 35 year follow-up of population based cohort. BMJ 2009;338:b688

2. Ludlow AT et al. Relationship between Physical Activity Level, Telomere Length,

and Telomerase Activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 October ; 40(10): 1764–1771

3. Cherkas LF et al. The association between physical activity in leisure time and leukocyte telomere length. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jan 28;168(2):154-8.

4. Werner C et al. Physical Exercise Prevents Cellular Senescence in Circulating Leukocytes and in the Vessel Wall. Circulation. 2009 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print]